Caput Mundi

Florida GOP Primary-GO NEWT GO

2012-01-23T16:43:00.003-05:00

Caput Mundi Blog endorses Roman Catholic, Speaker Newt Gingrich to be the standard bearer of the GOP, in terms of the Florida primary, for candidate to the Presidency of the United States of America...

Urbi Et Orbi

2011-12-28T07:00:00.002-05:00

Pope Benedict XVI delivers his traditional Christmas 'Urbi et Orbi' blessing from the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican on December 25, 2011.

Picture & caption courtesy of Daylife-Getty Images

St. Charles Borromeo-My Namesake Feast Day

2011-11-04T01:14:00.002-04:00

Saint Jude Thaddeus

2011-10-28T03:30:00.000-04:00

Saint Ursula

2011-10-21T02:23:00.001-04:00

Saint Luke The Evangelist-Ora Pro Nobis

2011-10-18T06:19:00.000-04:00

St. Luke's Parish-Patron:

St. Luke, an early convert of paganism to Christianity, was born a Greek and a Gentile in Antioch, Syria. He was a physician and it is believed that he may have also been a slave, as it was not uncommon in his day for slaves to be educated in medicine so the family would have a resident physician.

St. Luke became a close companion of Paul of Tarsus and accompanied him on his missionary journeys. It is very possible that St. Luke provided medical assistance to Paul when he had been beaten, stoned or nearly drowned while evangelizing to the Western Roman Empire.

St. Luke is the only Gentile to have written books in the Bible. He is the writer of the third Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles and his writings have been proven to be historically accurate.

It is believed that St. Luke lived a long life and died of natural causes c. 74 in Greece. Recent scientific research has proven the relics in the Basilica of St. Justina in Padua, Italy are those of St. Luke. The research was conducted at the request of Archbishop Antonio Malttiazzo of Padua.

According to tradition, his body was taken to Constantinople in the fourth century during the Crusades and later transported to Padua. His headless skeleton has been kept in a lead box in the Basilica of St. Justina in Padua, Italy. St. Luke's cranium was brought to St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague in 1364 by the request of Emperor Charles IV.

There is debate as to when St. Luke's body was transported from Constantinople to Padua, as historical archives reveal that St. Luke's bones may have been in the city as early the eighth century, during the Iconoclastic Controversy.

Saint Luke is often depicted as painting portraits of Mary. According to tradition, Luke was believed to have painted portraits of both Mary and Jesus, which were to have been hung in the Basillica of Santa Maria Maggiore. Centuries later, it was proven that Luke did not paint such images but he is still considered the patron saint of artists because of this tradition.

Saint Luke is also portrayed with pen in hand because he is, of course, the writer of the third Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles. He is often shown with an ox, which is a symbol of sacrifice – the sacrifice Jesus made for the world.

Saint Luke's feast day is celebrated on October 18th. It can be celebrated by reading the Acts of Apostles and praying the three canticles he preserved for us – the Benedictus, the Magnificat and the Nunc Dimittis.

Saint Michael-Ora Pro Nobis

2011-09-29T01:10:00.001-04:00

Saint Michael's Church in Hammerfest, Norway (northern most Catholic church on Earth)
St. Michael's Catholic Cathedral in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Related Links:

Feast of Sts. Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, Archangels

St. Michael, St. Gabriel, & St. Raphael

Michael the Archangel

Saint Michael-Roman Catholic Wikipedia

St. Michael the Archangel-New Advent

2009 St. Michael Post

St. Michael the Archangel (Miami Parish)

U Catholic Analysis of Sts. Michael, Gabriel & Raphael

Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray; and do Thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host by the Divine Power of God cast into Hell, Satan and all the evil spirits, who roam throughout the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.

Our Lady of Schoenstatt-Traveling Campaign

2011-09-14T06:42:00.004-04:00

Our Lady of Schoenstatt, Germany
Our personalized shrine for the Pilgrim Mother Campaign
Our participation in the Schoenstatt Movement as she arrived on Saturday, Sept. 10th, to our home in Kendall.
Schoenstatt shrine in Brasilia, Brazil

Mein Bruder, Der Papst

2011-09-14T06:39:00.001-04:00

Pope Benedict XVI's brother, the Rev. Georg Ratzinger presents his book "My Brother the Pope" in Regensburg, southern Germany, Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2011. He says in the book that his younger sibling never changed as he climbed the ecclesiastical ladder to the Vatican.

Photo and caption courtesy of Daylife

The New Eve

2011-08-14T19:34:00.000-04:00

Mary Cooperatrix of Salvation:

We believe that the Blessed Mother of God, the New Eve, Mother of the Church, continues in Heaven her maternal role with regard to Christ's members, cooperating with the birth and growth of divine life in the souls of the redeemed.

Pope Paul VI
Credo of the People of God #19
30 June 1968

St. Christopher-Patron Saint of Travel

2011-07-25T02:21:00.005-04:00

Related Links:

2009 St. Christopher Post

2010 St. Christopher Post

14 Holy Helpers

Blonde Reflection

2011-07-04T08:45:00.002-04:00

Via Daylife:

A woman looks on as Pope Benedict XVI leads the Sunday angelus prayer from the window of his private apartment in Saint Peter's Square at the Vatican July 3, 2011.

I Support & Stand With Father John Corapi

2011-07-01T04:11:00.000-04:00

Saint Peter & Saint Paul-Ora Pro Nobis

2011-06-28T23:56:00.001-04:00

Related Links:

Catholic Culture

Wikipedia Entry

Catholic News Agency

EWTN

SPQN

Scripture:

"Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven" Matthew 16:17b-19

"But you, be self-possessed in all circumstances; put up with hardship; perform the work of an evangelist; fulfill your ministry.
For I am already being poured out like a libation, and the time of my departure is at hand.
I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith.
From now on the crown of righteousness awaits me, which the Lord, the just judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me, but to all who have longed for his appearance." 2 Timothy 4: 5-8

Papa Ratzinger Launches Twitter Milestone

2011-06-28T19:43:00.005-04:00

Via NBC News:

Pope Benedict XVI is on Twitter, and he tweets from an iPad.

His Holiness sent out an initial tweet, announcing the launch of a Vatican news portal. Vatican officials said the Pope personally sent out the social networking missive.

"Dear Friends, I just launched News.va Praised be our Lord Jesus Christ! With my prayers and blessings, Benedictus XVI," read the tweet.

The tweet was sent using Twitter's iPad app, meaning the head of the Catholic Church has an iPad. The message went out a day before the 60the anniversary of Benedict's ordination as a priest.

The news portal aggregates information from the Vatican's various media platforms. The portal was launched for the feast day of St. Peter and Paul, which falls on June 29 but officially begins with a vesper service June 28.

Pictures courtesy of Daylife

Related Links:

Vatican News Portal

Facebook-Vatican Portal

Twitter-Vatican News (English)

You Tube-Vatican

Saint Anthony of Padua-Patron Saint of Lost Things

2011-06-13T04:49:00.012-04:00

Unfailing Prayer to Saint Anthony:

*Blessed be God in His Angels and in His Saints.

O Holy St. Anthony, gentlest of Saints, your love for God
and Charity for His creatures made you worthy, when on
earth, to possess miraculous powers. Miracles waited on
your word, which you were ever ready to speak for those in
trouble or anxiety.

Encouraged by this thought, I implore of you to obtain for me (request).
The answer to my prayer may require a miracle. Even so, you are the saint of Miracles.

O gentle and loving St. Anthony, whose heart was ever full
of human sympathy, whisper my petition into the ears of the
Sweet Infant Jesus, who loved to be folded in your arms, and
the gratitude of my heart will ever be yours.

Amen. (Say 13 Paters, Aves, and Glorias)

*On a personal note, I can personally attest this prayer truly works!

Related Links:

Patron Saint of Lost Things

Wikipedia entry

Basilica of St. Anthony-Italy

Doctor of the Church

New Advent entry

American Catholic special entry

Catholic Tradition

SQPN entry

St. Anthony portal

Anthony of Padua-Mary Pages

Feast Day photos-The Burning Fire blog

Jesus Forever

2011-06-11T10:58:00.000-04:00

"And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age." Matthew 28:20

A Day In The Life of The Pope-Matt Lauer

2011-06-08T07:14:00.002-04:00

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Saint Paul's 'Hope'

2011-06-01T10:15:00.000-04:00

"Patience Breeds Hope."

Saint Paul The Apostle

St. Augustine of Canterbury

2011-05-27T09:26:00.002-04:00

St. Augustine of Canterbury:

In the year 596, some 40 monks set out from Rome to evangelize the Anglo-Saxons in England. Leading the group was Augustine, the prior of their monastery in Rome. Hardly had he and his men reached Gaul (France) when they heard stories of the ferocity of the Anglo-Saxons and of the treacherous waters of the English Channel. Augustine returned to Rome and to the pope who had sent them—St. Gregory the Great (September3 )—only to be assured by him that their fears were groundless.

Augustine again set out. This time the group crossed the English Channel and landed in the territory of Kent, ruled by King Ethelbert, a pagan married to a Christian. Ethelbert received them kindly, set up a residence for them in Canterbury and within the year, on Pentecost Sunday, 597, was himself baptized. After being consecrated a bishop in France, Augustine returned to Canterbury, where he founded his see. He constructed a church and monastery near where the present cathedral, begun in 1070, now stands. As the faith spread, additional sees were established at London and Rochester.

Work was sometimes slow and Augustine did not always meet with success. Attempts to reconcile the Anglo-Saxon Christians with the original Briton Christians (who had been driven into western England by Anglo-Saxon invaders) ended in dismal failure. Augustine failed to convince the Britons to give up certain Celtic customs at variance with Rome and to forget their bitterness, helping him evangelize their Anglo-Saxon conquerors

Laboring patiently, Augustine wisely heeded the missionary principles—quite enlightened for the times—suggested by Pope Gregory the Great: purify rather than destroy pagan temples and customs; let pagan rites and festivals be transformed into Christian feasts; retain local customs as far as possible.

The limited success Augustine achieved in England before his death in 605, a short eight years after he arrived in England, would eventually bear fruit long after in the conversion of England. Augustine of Canterbury can truly be called the “Apostle of England.”

Blessed Pope John Paul II-Pray For, Guide & Protect Us

2011-05-26T14:48:00.004-04:00

Our Lady of Sheshan Prayer

2011-05-18T16:10:00.005-04:00

The Pope has asked the faithful to pray especially for Chinese Catholics next Tuesday, May 24th...Feast of Our Lady, Help of Christians, for the Catholic Church in China:

Virgin Most Holy, Mother of the Incarnate Word and our Mother,
venerated in the Shrine of Sheshan under the title “Help of Christians”,the entire Church in China looks to you with devout affection.

We come before you today to implore your protection.
Look upon the People of God and, with a mother’s care, guide them along the paths of truth and love, so that they may always be
a leaven of harmonious coexistence among all citizens.

When you obediently said “yes” in the house of Nazareth,
you allowed God’s eternal Son to take flesh in your virginal womb
and thus to begin in history the work of our redemption.

You willingly and generously cooperated in that work,
allowing the sword of pain to pierce your soul,
until the supreme hour of the Cross, when you kept watch on Calvary, standing beside your Son, who died that we might live.

From that moment, you became, in a new way,
the Mother of all those who receive your Son Jesus in faith
and choose to follow in his footsteps by taking up his Cross.

Mother of hope, in the darkness of Holy Saturday you journeyed
with unfailing trust towards the dawn of Easter.
Grant that your children may discern at all times,
even those that are darkest, the signs of God’s loving presence.
Our Lady of Sheshan, sustain all those in China,
who, amid their daily trials, continue to believe, to hope, to love.
May they never be afraid to speak of Jesus to the world,
and of the world to Jesus.

In the statue overlooking the Shrine you lift your Son on high,
offering him to the world with open arms in a gesture of love.
Help Catholics always to be credible witnesses to this love,
ever clinging to the rock of Peter on which the Church is built.
Mother of China and all Asia, pray for us, now and for ever. Amen!

Saint Dymphna-Ora Pro Nobis

2011-05-14T14:31:00.008-04:00

Prayer to St. Dymphna:

Lord, our God, you graciously chose St. Dymphna as patroness of those afflicted with mental and nervous disorders and Spiritual afflictions. She is thus an inspiration and a symbol of charity to the thousands who ask her intercession.

Please grant, Lord, through the prayers of this pure youthful martyr, relief and consolation to all suffering such trials, and especially those for whom we pray. (Here mention those for whom you wish to pray).

We beg you, Lord, to hear the prayers of St. Dymphna on our behalf. Grant all those for whom we pray patience in their sufferings and resignation to your divine will. Please fill them with hope, and grant them the relief and cure they so much desire.

We ask this through Christ our Lord who suffered agony in the garden. Amen.

Related Links:

Saint Dymphna-May 15

Belgium Shrine

Patron of Spiritual & Mental Afflictions

SQPN profile

Catholic Encyclopedia profile

Catholic Online profile

National Shrine-Ohio

Wikipedia entry

The Story of St. Dymphna-Franciscan Mission

Franciscan Mission Associates

Digital Era Pope-Beatification of Giovanni Paolo II

2011-04-29T15:45:00.009-04:00

October 22-Official Feast Day Celebration

Karol Józef Wojtyła-Ioannes Paulus PP. II
Blessed Servant of God, Pope John Paul II The Great
Born: 18 May 1920
Death: 2 April 2005

Pontificate:
16 October 1978-2 April 2005

Related Links:

John Paul II-Vatican Page Facebook

Radio Vaticana

Giovanni Paolo You Tube Page

Holy See website

Beatification Calendar

John Paul II Tribute Page

Divine Mercy Sunday

Salt & Light TV JP2 Coverage

EWTN

Nine Days That Changed The World DVD

Panorama Mag Photo Array

"Providence decided that John Paul II should die right on the eve of that day (Divine Mercy Sunday) in the arms of Divine Mercy." Pope Benedict XVI

Saint Catherine of Siena-Ora Pro Nobis

2011-04-28T22:07:00.000-04:00

Happy Easter

2011-04-23T17:46:00.004-04:00

Happy Easter-Feliz Páscoa-Joyeuses Pâques-Buona Pasqua-Feliz Pascua

Blessed Virgin Mary's Blue Eyes

2011-04-20T05:30:00.000-04:00

Via A Moment with Mary:

“What we really looked at and admired were her eyes. Mary’s eyes are something else. We saw her eyes so blue, a blue not found on the earth. In fact, that blue is all we know about Mary. It’s all her goodness, all her sweetness and all her tenderness in one. What really impressed us children was the purity that exuded from the regard of that beautiful lady.”

Jacqueline Aubry’s Testimony (Ile de Bouchard, France)
Bernard Peyrous in The Events of Ile de Bouchard (Les événements de l’Ile Bouchard)

Happy Birthday Papa Ratzinger

2011-04-15T19:01:00.012-04:00

Joseph A. Ratzinger
Born: April 16, 1927
Marktl, Bavaria, Germany

Papst Bier

2011-04-15T07:02:00.002-04:00

Raise a Toast to Papa Ratzinger today...on the Friday before his birthday

Special Beer:

The "Pope’s Beer" (Papst-Bier) developed by the brewery Weideneder at Tann is a true deference to the famous son of our home, our Bavarian Pope Benedikt XVI.
A beautiful old proverb says "hop and malt – God may preserve them all!" ("Hopfen und Malz – Gott erhalt's!") and shows that the Catholic Church and beer are parts of the same philosophy in life and together have been building a devout alliance full of the joys of life - an alliance for centuries - because: "Eating and drinking keep together body and soul".

Due to this close matured connection between the Church and the art of brewing we consider it to be our obligation to appreciate the election of a Bavarian Pope in a Bavarian way. Weideneder as one of the typical rural breweries is part of the landscape Joseph Ratzinger was born at and has been living in.

The Pope’s Beer is a festival beer of highest quality containing only exquisite raw materials, presenting a mild character and a light colour, brewed strictly in accordance with the German beer purity law.

The especially festively designed labels show our Pope Benedikt XVI. and the house where he was born in Marktl am Inn.

"The Pope’s Beer" (Papst-Bier) - the original festival beer coming from the home of our Pope Benedikt XVI.

Pope Benedikt XVI. He was elected with 100 of 117 votes as Pope on 19 April 2005. He was born in Marktl on 16 April 1927, as Joseph Alois Ratzinger. With Benedikt XVI. a German has been elected as Pope - after 482 years.

Only 19 hours after the election of Pope Benedikt XVI. Fritz Weideneder presents the first bottles of his Pope’s Beer in Marktl. They have even been labelled by hand. Due to the enormous demand from all over the world – even from Ausstralia and Japan – the Weideneder brewery added the Pope’s Beer to its range of products. We can provide you with an extensively varied assortment of gift articles about the Pope’s Beer (Papst-Bier)!

St. Isidore of Seville Prayer

2011-04-04T07:45:00.000-04:00

Saint Joseph-Ora Pro Nobis

2011-03-19T03:52:00.004-04:00

Ash Wednesday-Lent 2011

2011-03-08T16:45:00.001-05:00

Online Lent calender can be found here

USCCB Lent guide can be found here

Nine day novena to St. Joseph here

Giovanni Paolo II Website

2011-02-11T11:51:00.005-05:00

New Venerable, Pope John Paul II Beatification and Canonization site here

Figurines

2011-01-15T08:53:00.001-05:00

Figurines of late pope John Paul II (C) and Benedict XVI are on display at a Vatican shop on January 14, 2011. John Paul II is to be beatified on May 1, 2011, the Vatican announced, after Pope Benedict XVI signed an official decree. (Getty Images)

Happy New Year !!!

2011-01-01T14:48:00.002-05:00

Paul VI Appreciation Post

2010-12-21T12:35:00.000-05:00

Our Lady of Guadalupe-Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe

2010-12-11T07:39:00.002-05:00

Pope John XXIII Appreciation Post

2010-12-05T12:18:00.000-05:00

Popes Regarding Socialism

2010-11-15T18:43:00.002-05:00

PIUS IX (1846-1878)

The Overthrow of Order

"You are aware indeed, that the goal of this most iniquitous plot is to drive people to overthrow the entire order of human affairs and to draw them over to the wicked theories of this Socialism and Communism, by confusing them with perverted teachings."
(Encyclical Nostis et Nobiscum, December 8, 1849)

LEO XIII (1878-1903)

Overthrow is Deliberately Planned

"... For, the fear of God and reverence for divine laws being taken away, the authority of rulers despised, sedition permitted and approved, and the popular passions urged on to lawlessness, with no restraint save that of punishment, a change and overthrow of all things will necessarily follow. Yea, this change and overthrow is deliberately planned and put forward by many associations of communists and socialists."
(Encyclical Humanum Genus, April 20, 1884, n. 27)

Debasing the Natural Union of Man and Woman

"They [socialists, communists, or nihilists] debase the natural union of man and woman, which is held sacred even among barbarous peoples; and its bond, by which the family is chiefly held together, they weaken, or even deliver up to lust."
(Encyclical Quod Apostolici Muneris, December 28, 1878, n. 1)

The Harvest of Misery

"...there is need for a union of brave minds with all the resources they can command. The harvest of misery is before our eyes, and the dreadful projects of the most disastrous national upheavals are threatening us from the growing power of the socialistic movement."
(Encyclical Graves de Communi Re, January 18, 1901, n. 21)

SAINT PIUS X (1903-1914)

The Dream of Re-Shaping Society will Bring Socialism

"But stranger still, alarming and saddening at the same time, are the audacity and frivolity of men who call themselves Catholics and dream of re-shaping society under such conditions, and of establishing on earth, over and beyond the pale of the Catholic Church, 'the reign of love and justice' ... What are they going to produce? ... A mere verbal and chimerical construction in which we shall see, glowing in a jumble, and in seductive confusion, the words Liberty, Justice, Fraternity, Love, Equality, and human exultation, all resting upon an ill-understood human dignity. It will be a tumultuous agitation, sterile for the end proposed, but which will benefit the less Utopian exploiters of the people. Yes, we can truly say that the Sillon, its eyes fixed on a chimera, brings Socialism in its train."

(Apostolic Letter Notre Charge Apostolique ["Our Apostolic Mandate"] to the French Bishops, August 15, 1910, condemning the movement Le Sillon)

BENEDICT XV (1914-1922)

Never Forget the Condemnation of Socialism

"It is not our intention here to repeat the arguments which clearly expose the errors of Socialism and of similar doctrines. Our predecessor, Leo XIII, most wisely did so in truly memorable Encyclicals; and you, Venerable Brethren, will take the greatest care that those grave precepts are never forgotten, but that whenever circumstances call for it, they should be clearly expounded and inculcated in Catholic associations and congresses, in sermons and in the Catholic press."

(Encyclical Ad Beatissimi Apostolorum, November 1, 1914, n. 13)

PIUS XI (1922-1939)

Socialism Cannot Be Reconciled with Catholic Doctrine

"We make this pronouncement: Whether considered as a doctrine, or an historical fact, or a movement, Socialism, if it remains truly Socialism, even after it has yielded to truth and justice on the points which we have mentioned, cannot be reconciled with the teachings of the Catholic Church because its concept of society itself is utterly foreign to Christian truth."
(Encyclical Quadragesimo Anno, May 15, 1931, n. 117)

Catholic Socialism is a Contradiction

"[Socialism] is based nevertheless on a theory of human society peculiar to itself and irreconcilable with true Christianity. Religious socialism, Christian socialism, are contradictory terms; no one can be at the same time a good Catholic and a true socialist." (Ibid. n. 120)

PIUS XII (1939-1958)

The Church Will Fight Socialism to the End

"[The Church undertook] the protection of the individual and the family against a current threatening to bring about a total socialization which in the end would make the specter of the 'Leviathan' become a shocking reality. The Church will fight this battle to the end, for it is a question of supreme values: the dignity of man and the salvation of souls." ("Radio message to the Katholikentag of Vienna," September 14, 1952 in Discorsi e Radiomessaggi, vol. XIV, p. 314)

The All-Powerful State Harms True Prosperity

"To consider the State as something ultimate to which everything else should be subordinated and directed, cannot fail to harm the true and lasting prosperity of nations." (Encyclical Summi Pontificatus, October 20, 1939, n. 60)

JOHN XXIII (1958-1963)

"No Catholic could subscribe even to moderate socialism"

"Pope Pius XI further emphasized the fundamental opposition between Communism and Christianity, and made it clear that no Catholic could subscribe even to moderate Socialism. The reason is that Socialism is founded on a doctrine of human society which is bounded by time and takes no account of any objective other than that of material well-being. Since, therefore, it proposes a form of social organization which aims solely at production; it places too severe a restraint on human liberty, at the same time flouting the true notion of social authority." (Encyclical Mater et Magistra, May 15, 1961, n. 34)

PAUL VI (1963-1978)

Christians Tend to Idealize Socialism

"Too often Christians attracted by socialism tend to idealize it in terms which, apart from anything else, are very general: a will for justice, solidarity and equality. They refuse to recognize the limitations of the historical socialist movements, which remain conditioned by the ideologies from which they originated." (Apostolic Letter Octogesima Adveniens, May 14, 1971, n. 31)

JOHN PAUL II (1978-2005)

Socialism: Danger of a "simple and radical solution"

"It may seem surprising that 'socialism' appeared at the beginning of the Pope's critique of solutions to the 'question of the working class' at a time when 'socialism' was not yet in the form of a strong and powerful State, with all the resources which that implies, as was later to happen. However, he correctly judged the danger posed to the masses by the attractive presentation of this simple and radical solution to the 'question of the working class.'" (Encyclical Centesimus Annus - On the 100th anniversary of Pope Leo XIII's Rerum Novarum, May 1, 1991, n. 12)

BENEDICT XVI (2005 - present)

We do not Need a State which Controls Everything

"The State which would provide everything, absorbing everything into itself, would ultimately become a mere bureaucracy incapable of guaranteeing the very thing which the suffering person - every person - needs: namely, loving personal concern. We do not need a State which regulates and controls everything, but a State which, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, generously acknowledges and supports initiatives arising from the different social forces and combines spontaneity with closeness to those in need. … In the end, the claim that just social structures would make works of charity superfluous masks a materialist conception of man: the mistaken notion that man can live 'by bread alone' (Mt 4:4; cf. Dt 8:3) - a conviction that demeans man and ultimately disregards all that is specifically human." (Encyclical Deus Caritas Est, December 25, 2005, n. 28)

Source: America Needs Fatima

Saint Charles Borromeo

2010-11-04T07:32:00.000-04:00

Saints.SQPN.com:

Saint Charles Borromeo

Also known as

* Apostle to the Council of Trent
* Carlo Borromeo
* Father of the Clergy

Memorial

* 4 November
* formerly 5 November

Profile:

Born to a wealthy, noble family, the third of six children, son of Count Giberto II Borromeo and Margherita de’ Medici. Nephew of Pope Pius IV. Suffered with a speech impediment. Studied in Milan, and at the University of Pavia, studying at one point under the future Pope Gregory XIII. Civil and canon lawyer at age 21. Cleric at Milan, taking the habit on 13 October 1547. Abbot commendatario of San Felino e San Graziano abbey in Arona, Italy, on 20 November 1547. Abbot commendatario of San Silano di Romagnano abbey on 10 May 1558.

Prior commendatario of San Maria di Calvenzano abbey on 8 December 1558. Protonotary apostolic participantium and referendary of the papal court to Pope Pius IV on 13 January 1560. Member of the counsulta for the administration of the Papal States on 22 January 1560. Appointed abbot commendatario of Nonatola, San Gallo di Moggio, Serravalle della Follina, San Stefano del Corno, an abbey in Portugal, and an abbey in Flanders, Belgium on 27 January 1560. Created cardinal on 31 January 1560 at age 22.

Apostolic administrator of Milan, Italy on 8 February 1560. Papal legate to Bologna and Romandiola for two years beginning on 26 April 1560. Deacon on 21 December 1560. Vatican Secretary of State. Governor of Civita Castellana,Italy in 1561. Governor of Ancona on 1 June 1561. Made an honorary citizen of Rome, Italy on 1 July 1561. Founded the Accademia Vaticana in 1562. Governor of Spoleto, Italy on 1 December 1562. Ordained on 4 September 1563. Helped re-open the Council of Trent, and participated in its sessions during 1562 and 1563. Named prince of Orta in 1563. Member of the Congregation of the Holy Office. Bishop of Milan on 7 December 1563. President of the commission of theologians charged by the pope to elaborate the Catechismus Romanus. Worked on the revision of the Missal and Breviary. Member of a commission to reform church music. Archbishop of Milan on 12 May 1564. Governor of Terracina, Italy on 3 June 1564. Archpriest of the patriarchal Liberian basilica in Rome in October 1564. Count of the Palatine in 1564. Prefect of the Tridentine Council from 1564 until September 1565. Papal legate in Bologna, Romandiola, legate a latere, and vicar general in spiritualibus of all Italy on 17 August 1565. Grand penitentiary on 7 November 1565.

Participated in the conclave of cardinals in 1565 to 1566 that chose Pope Pius V; he asked the new pope to take the name. Protector of the Swiss Catholic cantons; he visited them all several times worked for the spiritual reform of both clergy and laymen. Due to his enforcement of strict ecclesiastical discipline, some disgruntled monks in the Order of the Humiliati hired a lay brother to murder him on the evening of 26 October 1569; he was shot at, but was not hit.

Participated in the conclave in 1572 that chose Pope Gregory XIII. Member of the Apostolic Penitentiary in May 1572. Worked with the sick, and helped bury the dead during the plague outbreak in Milan in 1576. Established the Oblates of Saint Ambrose on 26 April 1578. Teacher, confessor and parish priest to Saint Aloysius Gonzaga, giving him his first communion on 22 July 1580. To help the Swiss Catholics he founded the Collegium Helveticum.

Saint Charles spent his life and fortune in the service of the people of his diocese. He directed and fervently enforced the decrees of the Council of Trent, fought tirelessly for peace in the wake of the storm caused by Martin Luther, founded schools for the poor, seminaries for clerics, hospitals for the sick, conducted synods, instituted children’s Sunday school, did great public and private penance, and worked among the sick and dying, leading his people by example.

Born

* morning of Wednesday 2 October 1538 in the castle at Aron, diocese of Novara, Italy

Died

* 8:30pm on 3 November 1584 of a fever at Milan, Italy
* his will named the Hospital Maggiore of Milan as his heir
* buried in the metropolitan cathedral of Milan
* relics transferred to a chapel built by Count Renato Borromeo in piazza San Maria Podone, Milan on 21 September 1751

Beatified

* 1602 by Pope Clement VIII

Canonized

* 1 November 1610 by Pope Paul V

Patronage

* against abdominal pain
* against colic
* against intestinal disorders
* against stomach diseases
* against ulcers
* apple orchards
* bishops
* catechists
* catechumens
* Lombardy, Italy
* Monterey, California, diocese of
* Rocca di Papa, Italy
* seminarians
* spiritual directors
* spiritual leaders
* starch makers

Representation

* cardinal wearing a cord around his neck; it symbolizes the cord or halter worn around his neck during the plague of Milan, Italy in 1575
* bishop wearing a cord around his neck
* cleric curing the sick
* Holy Communion
* coat of arms bearing the word Humilitas

Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska

2010-10-05T05:49:00.002-04:00

Saint Peter Appreciation Post

2010-10-04T21:45:00.006-04:00

Death of the Apostle and First Pope Peter

2010-10-01T21:13:00.000-04:00

Historical basis for Apostle Peter's death date:

"Ergo abolendo rumori Nero subdidit reos. et quaesitissimis poenis adfecit quos per flagitia invisos vulgus christianos appellabat. Auctor nominis eius christus. Tyberio imperitante per procuratorem pontium pilatum supplicio adfectus erat. repressaque in praesens exitiabilis superstitio rursum erumpebat. non modo per iudaeam originem eius mali. sed per urbem etiam quo cuncta undique atrocia aut pudenda confluunt celebranturque .,. Igitur primum correpti qui fatebantur. deinde indicio eorum multitudo ingens. haud proinde in crimine incendii. quam odio humani generis coniuncti sunt..."

"Therefore, to put an end to the rumor, Nero created a diversion and subjected to the most extraordinary tortures those called Christians, hated for their abominations by the common people. The originator of this name (was) Christ, who, during the reign of Tiberius, had been executed by sentence of the procurator Pontius Pilate. Repressed for the time being, the deadly superstition broke out again not only in Judea, the original source of the evil, but also in the city (Rome), where all things horrible or shameful in the world collect and become popular. So an arrest was made of all who confessed; then on the basis of their information, an immense multitude was convicted, not so much of the crime of arson as for hatred of the human race." --Tacitus's Account of Nero's Persecution of Christians, Annales, 15, 44.2-8 (Tacitus lived from c. AD 56-c. 120; he wrote the Annales after AD 100; he was not a Christian, and is regarded as one of Rome's greatest historians)

Both the pagan historian Tacitus and St. Clement of Rome (the fourth Pope; his papacy was from about 92 to 99 AD) tell of a night of horror (August 15, 64 A.D.) when in the imperial parks Christians were put into animal skins and hunted, were brutally attacked, and were made into living torches to light the road for Nero's chariot.

There was a considerable Jewish population in Rome in the first century, but the Emperor Claudius expelled all Jews from Rome in A.D. 49-50, perhaps due to controversy between Jews and Jewish Christians. (Suetonius, the Roman historian, says that the expulsion was due to disturbances in the city "caused by the certain Chrestus" [Christ].)

Claudius died in 54 AD. Since Paul's Letter to the Romans was addressed to Christians in Rome in the late 50s, it is thought that Christians had returned to the city after Claudius' death.

In July of A.D. 64, more than half of Rome was destroyed by fire. Rumor blamed the tragedy on Nero, who wanted to enlarge his palace.

But Tacitus tells us that he shifted the blame by accusing the Christians.

According to Tacitus, a "great multitude" of Christians were put to death because of their "hatred of the human race."

Peter is thought to have been executed at this time.

Nero, threatened by an army revolt and condemned to death by the Senate, committed suicide in 68 AD at the age of 31.

What was the date of Peter's death?

The brilliant Italian scholar Margherita Guarducci, who passed away several years ago, argued, compellingly, that it was precisely on October 13, 64 AD -- the day of the final apparition at Fatima in 1917.

Guarducci, in a study on this question, wrote: "Tacitus has no hesitation in establishing the year 64 for these events. If we look at the series of events the historian lists as having happened between the fire of Rome (July 18-19) and the end of the year, we can establish that the Vatican spectacles took place in the first half of October. Nor is it difficult to prove that between the end of 64 and Nero's death on June 9, 68, there are no other periods in which there was anti-Christian persecution of the type that Tacitus and Clement describe.

It is also useful to note that the period between the end of September 66 and the beginning of 68 can be excluded without doubt since that was the period of Nero's travels in Greece."

She continues: "But, confirming the dating proposed for the circus spectacles and, therefore, for Peter's martyrdom, are two other important, anonymous, texts in Greek contained in a papyrus conserved in Vienna today. They are the Apocalypse of Peter and the Ascension of Isaiah. I believe that these texts (belonging to the so-called "apocalyptic literature," a very common category between the end of the first century and the first half of the second which used prophetic and symbolic language to interpret historical events of the time) are so well informed on the history of the Neronian period that they must have been written not long after events in 64 (not after the year 80, perhaps).

I also believe that they are the fruit of the same Judeo-Christian environment. After addressing Nero's infamies, the authors of the two texts announce his punishment as imminent. According to the author of the Apocalypse, it would be none other than Peter's martyrdom that would mark the beginning of the emperor's end. This statement is echoed in the Ascension text which affirms that Nero's kingdom would last for "three years, seven months and 27 days" after the apostle's death.

She concludes: "If we calculate three years, seven months and 27 days from Nero's death (June 9, 68), we arrive at the year 64 and October 13 to be precise: this date falls perfectly within the period in which, according to the Tacitus passage, we have set the unleashing of Nero's persecutions."

And she notes: "October 13 was not just any ordinary day. It was the anniversary of Nero's ascent to the throne, his dies imperii. Moreover October 13, 64 was the 10th anniversary of his reign (decennalia), October 13, 54/October 13, 64)... It is highly likely, then, that the Emperor Nero, who loved manifestations to be as spectacular as possible, would have promoted cruel spectacles for his decennalia (a feast when, in the person of the emperor made a god, the majesty of the Roman Empire was exalted). It is highly likely that he would have organized the execution of Christians who were already condemned on charges of being enemies of the empire."

So, it is quite likely that the precise date of Peter's martrydom was October 13, 64 AD.

The blood of martyrs is the seed of the Church.

Saint Michael The Archangel

2010-09-29T12:25:00.004-04:00

Latin:

Sancte Michael Archangele, defende nos in proelio;
contra nequitiam et insidias diaboli esto praesidium.

Imperat illi Deus; supplices deprecamur: tuque, Princeps militiae coelestis,
Satanam aliosque spiritus malignos, qui ad perditionem
animarum pervagantur in mundo,
divina virtute in infernum detrude.
Amen.

English:

Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in the battle,
be our safeguard and protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil;
may God rebuke him, we humbly pray; and do thou,

O Prince of the heavenly host, by the power of God,
thrust into hell Satan and all evil spirits who wander through the world
seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.

Related Links:

The Feast of Sts. Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael

The Bishop of Rome Lands in UK

2010-09-16T08:36:00.005-04:00

I will be posting on Facebook and Twitter, all aspects of the Papal Visit to the United Kingdom.

I can be added on Facebook here

Follow my tweets here

Links:

EWTN coverage

Salt & Light TV coverage

Official Papal Visit blog

Daylife Picture gallery

The Monarchist Blog

In honor of the Holy Father's trip:

William Shakespeare's Richard II, Act II, Scene 1

This royal throne of kings, this sceptr'd isle,
This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars,
This other Eden, demi-paradise,
This fortress built by Nature for herself
Against infection and the hand of war,

This happy breed of men, this little world,
This precious stone set in the silver sea,
Which serves it in the office of a wall
Or as a moat defensive to a house,

Against the envy of less happier lands,
This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England.

Cardinal Newman-Faith & Reason

2010-09-14T09:22:00.000-04:00

Angelus-12 September 2010

2010-09-13T09:51:00.001-04:00

29 August 2010-Angelus

2010-08-31T09:09:00.001-04:00

World Youth Day Madrid 2011

2010-08-31T09:06:00.001-04:00

Vacation Time-August 2010

2010-07-30T17:03:00.009-04:00

Caput Mundi blog is officially announcing that I am hereby on a vacation and a hiatus from this particular blog, from August 1, 2010 thru September 6, 2010...

For those of you who find me simply irresistible and cannot obviate the need to remain in contact with my me, I refer you, below, to the following options:

1) Friend me on Facebook here

2) Follow me on Twitter here

3) Email me directly @ cemiami@gmail.com

4) Add me on MSN messenger via, cemiami@live.com

5) If you directly desire Papal/Catholic related news, click on the links on the side bar. (Vatican You Tube, Rome Reports, VIS Blogs, EWTN, etc.)

No, I will not be vacationing on the Maldives Islands (spectacularly pictured above) but I do hope to be in Rome, God willing, next year!!!

Best Regards to all my faithful readers and I humbly thank you for gracing my virtual presence.

Castel Gandolfo Pictures

2010-07-26T09:01:00.005-04:00

A 50-cent euro coin bearing the image of Pope Benedict XVI is pictured in Rome on July 22, 2010. For eight years the Vatican City euros served only as popular collectors' items, initially featuring the face of Benedict's predecessor John Paul II, who died in 2005. (Daylife Photos-Getty)

Photos courtesy of Daylife

Castel Gandolfo activities:

Cardinal Bertone:

Pope reading:

Related Links:

Amici di Papa Ratzinger

Saint Christopher, 'Christ Bearer', Patron Saint of Travel

2010-07-25T08:27:00.003-04:00

St. Christopher:

Feast Day:
July 25

Born:
Canaan

Died:
251, Asia Minor

Patron of:
bachelors, transportation (drivers, sailors, etc.), travelling (especially for long journeys), storms, epilepsy, gardeners, holy death, toothache

St. Christopher, a martyr, probably of the third century. Although St. Christopher is one of the most popular saints in the East and in the West, almost nothing certain is known about his life or death. The legend says: A heathen king (in Canaan or Arabia), through the prayers of his wife to the Blessed Virgin, had a son, whom he called Offerus (Offro, Adokimus, or Reprebus) and dedicated to the gods Machmet and Apollo.

Acquiring in time extraordinary size and strength, Offerus resolved to serve only the strongest and the bravest. He bound himself successively to a mighty king and to Satan, but he found both lacking in courage, the former dreading even the name of the devil, and the latter frightened by the sight of a cross at the roadside. For a time his search for a new master was in vain, but at last he found a hermit (Babylas?) who told him to offer his allegiance to Christ, instructed him in the Faith, and baptized him.

Christopher, as he was now called, would not promise to do any fasting or praying, but willingly accepted the task of carrying people, for God's sake, across a raging stream. One day he was carrying a child who continually grew heavier, so that it seemed to him as if he had the whole world on his shoulders. The child, on inquiry, made himself known as the Creator and Redeemer of the world.

To prove his statement the child ordered Christopher to fix his staff in the ground. The next morning it had grown into a palm-tree bearing fruit. The miracle converted many. This excited the rage of the king (prefect) of that region (Dagnus of Samos in Lycia?). Christopher was put into prison and, after many cruel torments, beheaded.

The Greek legend may belong to the sixth century; about the middle of the ninth, we find it spread through France. Originally, St. Christopher was only a martyr, and as such is recorded in the old martyrologies. The simple form of the Greek and Latin soon gave way to more elaborate legends. We have the Latin edition in prose and verse of 983 by the subdeacon Walter of Speyer, "Thesaurus anecdotorum novissimus" (Augsburg, 1721-23), II, 27-142, and Harster, "Walter von Speyer" (1878).

An edition of the eleventh century is found in the Acta SS., and another in the "Golden Legend" of Jacob de Voragine. The idea conveyed in the name, at first understood in the spiritual sense of bearing Christ in the heart, was in the twelfth or thirteenth century taken in the realistic meaning and became the characteristic of the saint. The fact that he was frequently called a great martyr may have given rise to the story of his enormous size. The stream and the weight of the child may have been intended to denote the trials and struggles of a soul taking upon itself the yoke of Christ in this world.

The existence of a martyr St. Christopher cannot be denied, as was sufficiently shown by the Jesuit Nicholas Serarius, in his treatise on litanies, "Litaneutici" (Cologne, 1609), and by Molanus in his history of sacred pictures, "De picturis et imaginibus sacris" (Louvain, 1570). In a small church dedicated to the martyr St. Christopher, the body of St. Remigius of Reims was buried, 532 (Acta SS., 1 Oct., 161). St. Gregory the Great (d. 604) speaks of a monastery of St. Christopher (Epp., x., 33). The Mozarabic Breviary and Missal, ascribed to St. Isidore of Seville (d. 636), contains a special office in his honour. In 1386 a brotherhood was founded under the patronage of St. Christopher in Tyrol and Vorarlberg, to guide travellers over the Arlberg.

In 1517, a St. Christopher temperance society existed in Carinthia, Styria, in Saxony, and at Munich. Great veneration was shown to the saint in Venice, along the shores of the Danube, the Rhine, and other rivers where floods or ice-jams caused frequent damage. The oldest picture of the saint, in the monastery on the Mount Sinai dates from the time of Justinian (527-65). Coins with his image were cast at Wurzburg, in Wurtermberg, and in Bohemia.

His statues were placed at the entrances of churches and dwellings, and frequently at bridges; these statues and his pictures often bore the inscription: "Whoever shall behold the image of St. Christopher shall not faint or fall on that day."

The saint, who is one of the fourteen holy helpers, has been chosen as patron by Baden, by Brunswick, and by Mecklenburg, and several other cities, as well as by bookbinders, gardeners, mariners, etc. He is invoked against lightning, storms, epilepsy, pestilence, etc. His feast is kept on 25 July; among the Greeks, on 9 March; and his emblems are the tree, the Christ Child, and a staff. St. Christopher's Island (commonly called St. Kitts), lies 46 miles west of Antigua in the Lesser Antilles.

2009 Post:

St. Christopher:

St. Christopher, one of the "Fourteen Sainted Helpers," has been highly venerated since ancient times in both the Eastern and Western Churches. The older martyrologies say that he suffered death for Christ; in more recent centuries piety has woven garlands of legend about his name. Christopher has become a giant who wished to enter the service of the most powerful of lords. He first thought that the emperor qualified; later he selected the devil, and finally he discovered Christ to be the most powerful Sovereign over all the world. From then on he served Him with greatest fidelity.

Because Christopher was of giant stature, he practiced charity by carrying pilgrims across a certain river. Once a child asked to be taken across. He complied as usual. While carrying the child on his shoulders through the river, it became heavier and heavier, and finally he could hardly support it. Then the revelation was made: "You are carrying the Lord of the world!" It was Christ (Christopher means "Christ-carrier").

The legend has the nature of a symbol. Bishop Vida gives the following exposition: "Because you, O Christopher, always carried Christ in your heart, the artists place Christ on your shoulders. Because you suffered much, they paint you standing deep in the waters. And because you could not accomplish this without being large of stature, they have made you a giant, bigger than great temples; therefore do you live under the open heavens during the greatest cold. And since you conquered all that is difficult, they have given you a blossoming palm as traveling staff."

Patron: Archers; automobile drivers; automobilists; bachelors; boatmen; bus drivers;, cab drivers; floods; fruit dealers; fullers; hailstorms; holy death; lorry drivers; mariners; market carriers; motorists; porters; Rab, Croatia; sailors; storms; sudden death; taxi drivers; toothache; transportation; transportation workers; travellers; truck drivers; truckers; watermen.

Symbols: Giant; torrent; tree; man with Christ on his shoulders.

The 'Christ Bearer'

St. Christopher is still a saint. Tradition holds that he died at Lycia on the southern coast of Asia Minor about the year 251. Various legends surround his life. The most popular is that he was a rather ugly, giant man, born to a heathen king who was married to a Christian, who had prayed to the Blessed Mother for a child. Originally named "Offerus," he carried people across the river for his livelihood. (Another source stated that he was named "Reprobus" prior to his baptism, and then changed his name.)

He converted from paganism through the teaching of a hermit, named "Babylas." Christopher believed that our Lord was the most powerful of all, more powerful than any man and one whom even Satan feared.

Again according to legend, one day one of his passengers to cross the river was a small child. As they proceeded, the child kept growing heavier; and Christopher feared that they would drown. The child then revealed Himself as Jesus, and the heaviness was due to the weight of the world that He carried on His shoulders.

According to the Roman Martyrology, he suffered martyrdom during the persecution of Emperor Decius by being shot with arrows after surviving burning.

The name Christopher means "Christ bearer." He is the patron saint of travelers, especially those driving cars. His popularity increased during the Middle Ages. However, evidence attests to widespread devotion even prior to this time: St. Remigius of Rheims was buried in 532 in a church dedicated to St. Christopher; Pope St. Gregory the Great (d. 604) mentioned in his letters a monastery dedicated to this saint; and the Mozarabic Breviary and Missal of St. Isidore of Seville (d. 636) has a special office dedicated to him.

St. Christopher is particularly venerated in Southern Germany, Austria and Northern Italy (which was part of the Austrian Empire until after World War I), because he is one, of the "Fourteen Holy Helpers," a group of saints invoked as early as the 12th century in these areas and who are honored on Aug. 8: St. Denis of Paris (headache and rabies), St. Erasmus or Elmo (colic and cramp), St. Blaise (throat ailments), St. Barbara (lightning, fire, explosion, and sudden and unprepared death), St. Margaret (possession and pregnancy), St. Catherine of Alexandria (philosophers and students, and wheelwrights), St. George (protector of soldiers), Sts. Achatius and Eustace (hunters), St. Pantaleon (tuberculosis), St. Giles (epilepsy, insanity and sterility), St. Cyriac (demonic possession), St. Vitus (epilepsy) and St. Christopher (travelers). The German Dominicans promoted this veneration, particularly at the Church of St. Blaise in Regensburg (c. 1320).

Moreover, medals of St. Christopher and car medallions or pins are still manufactured and used by the faithful. St. Christopher's feast day is still July 25, and the proper of the Mass in his honor is found in the 1962 edition of the Roman Missal still authorized for the Tridentine Mass.

The confusion over whether St. Christopher is still a saint arose when Pope Paul VI revised the Liturgical Calendar, which includes the feast days of saints that are commemorated at Mass. Due to the proliferation of the number of feast days over the centuries, the Second Vatican Council in its "Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy" proposed, "Lest the feasts of the saints should take precedence over the feasts which commemorate the very mysteries of salvation, many of them should be left to be celebrated by a particular Church, or nation, or family of religious. Only those should be extended to the universal Church which commemorate saints who are truly of universal importance" (No. 111).

With this in mind, a special commission — Consilium — examined the calendar and removed those saints whose historical base was more grounded on tradition than provable fact, changed the feast days to coincide with the anniversary of a saint's death or martyrdom whenever possible, and added saints that were recently canonized and had universal Church appeal. Moreover, local conferences of bishops could add to the universal calendar those saints important to the faithful in their own country.

In no way did the Church "de-canonize" St. Christopher or anyone else, despite the lack of historical evidence surrounding their lives. St. Christopher is still worthy of our devotion and prayers, and each of us should be mindful that he too is called to be a "bearer of Christ."

St. Christopher the Martyr:

Before the 1969 reform of the Roman calendar, Christopher was listed as a martyr who died under Decius. Nothing else is known about him. There are several legends about him including the one in which he was crossing a river when a child asked to be carried across. When Christopher put the child on his shoulders he found the child was unbelievably heavy. The child, according to the legend, was Christ carrying the weight of the whole world. This was what made Christopher patron saint of travelers and is invoked against storms, plagues, etc.. His former feast day is July 25.

Before the formal canonization process began in the fifteenth century, many saints were proclaimed by popular approval. This was a much faster process but unfortunately many of the saints so named were based on legends, pagan mythology, or even other religions -- for example, the story of the Buddha traveled west to Europe and he was "converted" into a Catholic saint! In 1969, the Church took a long look at all the saints on its calendar to see if there was historical evidence that that saint existed and lived a life of holiness. In taking that long look, the Church discovered that there was little proof that many "saints", including some very popular ones, ever lived. Christopher was one of the names that was determined to have a basis mostly in legend. Therefore Christopher (and others) were dropped from the universal calendar.

Some saints were considered so legendary that their cult was completely repressed (including St. Ursula). Christopher's cult was not suppressed but it is confined to local calendars (those for a diocese, country, or so forth). His name Christopher, means Christ-bearer. He died a martyr during the reign of Decius in the third century.

New Advent entry:

(Greek christos, Christ, pherein, to bear. Latin Christophorus, i.e. Christbearer).
A martyr, probably of the third century. Although St. Christopher is one of the most popular saints in the East and in the West, almost nothing certain is known about his life or death.

The legend says: A heathen king (in Canaan or Arabia), through the prayers of his wife to the Blessed Virgin, had a son, whom he called Offerus (Offro, Adokimus, or Reprebus) and dedicated to the gods Machmet and Apollo. Acquiring in time extraordinary size and strength, Offerus resolved to serve only the strongest and the bravest. He bound himself successively to a mighty king and to Satan, but he found both lacking in courage, the former dreading even the name of the devil, and the latter frightened by the sight of a cross at the roadside.

For a time his search for a new master was in vain, but at last he found a hermit (Babylas?) who told him to offer his allegiance to Christ, instructed him in the Faith, and baptized him. Christopher, as he was now called, would not promise to do any fasting or praying, but willingly accepted the task of carrying people, for God's sake, across a raging stream. One day he was carrying a child who continually grew heavier, so that it seemed to him as if he had the whole world on his shoulders. The child, on inquiry, made himself known as the Creator and Redeemer of the world. To prove his statement the child ordered Christopher to fix his staff in the ground. The next morning it had grown into a palm-tree bearing fruit. The miracle converted many. This excited the rage of the king (prefect) of that region (Dagnus of Samos in Lycia?). Christopher was put into prison and, after many cruel torments, beheaded.

The Greek legend may belong to the sixth century; about the middle of the ninth, we find it spread through France. Originally, St. Christopher was only a martyr, and as such is recorded in the old martyrologies. The simple form of the Greek and Latin passio soon gave way to more elaborate legends. We have the Latin edition in prose and verse of 983 by the subdeacon Walter of Speyer, "Thesaurus anecdotorum novissimus" (Augsburg, 1721-23), II, 27-142, and Harster, "Walter von Speyer" (1878). An edition of the eleventh century is found in the Acta SS., and another in the "Golden Legend" of Jacob de Voragine.
The idea conveyed in the name, at first understood in the spiritual sense of bearing Christ in the heart, was in the twelfth or thirteenth century taken in the realistic meaning and became the characteristic of the saint. The fact that he was frequently called a great martyr may have given rise to the story of his enormous size. The stream and the weight of the child may have been intended to denote the trials and struggles of a soul taking upon itself the yoke of Christ in this world.

The existence of a martyr St. Christopher cannot be denied, as was sufficiently shown by the Jesuit Nicholas Serarius, in his treatise on litanies, "Litaneutici" (Cologne, 1609), and by Molanus in his history of sacred pictures, "De picturis et imaginibus sacris" (Louvain, 1570). In a small church dedicated to the martyr St. Christopher, the body of St. Remigius of Reims was buried, 532 (Acta SS., 1 Oct., 161). St. Gregory the Great (d. 604) speaks of a monastery of St. Christopher (Epp., x., 33). The Mozarabic Breviary and Missal, ascribed to St. Isidore of Seville (d. 636), contains a special office in his honour. In 1386 a brotherhood was founded under the patronage of St. Christopher in Tyrol and Vorarlberg, to guide travellers over the Arlberg. In 1517, a St. Christopher temperance society existed in Carinthia, Styria, in Saxony, and at Munich. Great veneration was shown to the saint in Venice, along the shores of the Danube, the Rhine, and other rivers where floods or ice-jams caused frequent damage. The oldest picture of the saint, in the monastery on the Mount Sinai dates from the time of Justinian (527-65). Coins with his image were cast at Würzburg, in Würtemberg, and in Bohemia.
His statues were placed at the entrances of churches and dwellings, and frequently at bridges; these statues and his pictures often bore the inscription: "Whoever shall behold the image of St. Christopher shall not faint or fall on that day." The saint, who is one of the fourteen holy helpers, has been chosen as patron by Baden, by Brunswick, and by Mecklenburg, and several other cities, as well as by bookbinders, gardeners, mariners, etc. He is invoked against lightning, storms, epilepsy, pestilence, etc. His feast is kept on 25 July; among the Greeks, on 9 March; and his emblems are the tree, the Christ Child, and a staff.
St. Christopher's Island (commonly called St. Kitts), lies 46 miles west of Antigua in the Lesser Antilles.

B16 Vacation Footage

2010-07-23T13:37:00.001-04:00

Piazza San Pietro

2010-07-21T08:15:00.005-04:00

Curtis Stigers & The Forest Rangers - John The Revelator

2010-07-20T08:46:00.006-04:00

Eddie James "Son" House, Jr.'s lyrics:

Who's that writin'? John the Revelator
Tell me who's that writin'? John the Revelator
Tell me who's that writin'? John the Revelator
Wrote the book of the seven seals

Who's that writin'? [response] John the Revelator
Tell me who's that writin'? John the Revelator
Well who's that writin'? John the Revelator
Wrote the book of the seven seals

You know God walked down in the cool of the day
Called Adam by his name
But he refused to answer
Because he's naked and ashamed

You know Christ had twelve apostles
And three he led away
He said, "Watch with me one hour
'till I go yonder and pray."

Christ came on Easter morning
Mary and Martha went down to see
He said, "Go tell my disciples
To meet me in Galilee."

Curtis Stigers & The Forest Rangers version:

Summer Angelus @ Castel Gandolfo

2010-07-18T15:46:00.008-04:00

The faithful are greeted by Pope Benedict XVI as he leads his Angelus prayer at his summer residence in Castelgandolfo, south of Rome July 18, 2010. (Daylife-Reuters)

"If one deserts the throne of Peter, does he still think that he is in the church?" Saint Cyprian

Full Angelus:

'The Word of God':

Sunday Angelus:

Raphael in the UK:

New consistory:

Chavez challenges the Vatican:

Related Links:

Here is a translation of the address Benedict XVI gave today before praying the midday Angelus together with those gathered in the courtyard of the papal summer residence in Castel Gandolfo

"Without love, even the most important activities lose value and do not bring joy. Without a profound meaning, everything we do is reduced to sterile and disordered activism."

At his Angelus, Benedict XVI emphasizes that without the truth and love that Jesus gives us, "the most important activities lose value and give no joy...but the Word of God is eternal and gives meaning to our daily activities."

Before Sunday's Angelus prayer from the intimate courtyard of his summer residence at Castel Gandolfo, Pope Benedict XVI spoke of the need to listen to the Word of God. As Mary does in Sunday's Gospel, we must learn to choose the "best portion" in our relationship with the Lord

On Thursday, the Church will celebrate the feast of St. Mary Magdelene, one of the most prominent women mentioned in the New Testament

Vatican spokesman Fr. Federico Lombardi said Saturday that the new norms on sexual abuse are an "important step," but, he warned, law "is not everything" in the battle against serious sins

67 million Catholics in the United States represent just six percent of the total Catholic population of almost 1.2 billion, meaning that 94 percent of Catholics in the world don’t automatically see things through American eyes

Leonid Fyodorov himself came to realize the truth of the Universal Church. For the realization of this ideal, when 23 years old he left Russia and went to Italy and converted to Catholicism

Thascius Caecilius Cyprianus

Cyprian (d. 258). Cyprian is important in the development of Christian thought and practice in the third century, especially in northern Africa

Catholic Encyclopedia St. Cyprian entry

St. Cyprian of Carthage-SQPN entry

This weekend the Vatican was targeted in a cyber attack by an unknown person who used the Google Internet search engine to misdirect Web browsers searching for information

Tradition holds that the "Mona Lisa" is a painting of Lisa Gherardini, wife of Florentine merchant Francesco del Giocondo, and that da Vinci started painting it in 1503

A painting found in Rome may be the work of Baroque master Caravaggio

A member of British Parliament says he fears violence at an open air mass with Pope Benedict XVI after an Islamic publication called Muslims to attend the Mass to convert Catholics and “tell the Pope in no uncertain terms what Muslims think of his evil slanders against the last Prophet of God and his message.”

Indian who was Vatican diplomat in Iraq named nuncio to United Nations

Pope preparing speeches on Cardinal Newman for UK trip

Orthodox Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russias says he and Benedict XVI often see eye-to-eye on many issues, especially with regard to those of a moral nature

Fr. Paul Vlaar, a priest in the Diocese of Haarlem-Amsterdam in the Netherlands, was suspended last week following a World Cup-themed Mass he presided over which was seen by his bishop as disrespectful to the Eucharist

Dutch analysis from Mark de Vries & his 'In Caelo et in Terra' blog

Dutch parishioners mass behind orange priest

Some parishioners have set up a Facebook support site for Father Vlaar

Benedict XVI, following a 400-year tradition, has been at Castel Gandolfo since July 7. Unlike previous years, he did not elect for a time of vacation in the mountains, but went directly to the summer residence where he has a schedule that includes time for writing

B16 Castel Gandolfo Angelus

2010-07-12T09:02:00.014-04:00

Pope Benedict XVI waves as he leads his Angelus prayer at his summer residence in Castelgandolfo, south of Rome, July 11, 2010. (Daylife Reuters)

Pictures courtesy of Daylife

St. Benedict of Nursia:

Full Angelus:

Blessed Parents of St. Therese of Lisieux:

Related Links:

Vatican posts financial loss for third year in a row

Chinese Christianity has grown at a meteoric rate in recent decades, swelling from around four million faithful in 1949 to over fifty million today

Irish Catholic youths rioted in Belfast before Monday's mass parades by Protestant brotherhood the Orange Order, leaving more than two dozen police officers injured

Sts. Nabor and Felix

San Benedetto è il "grande patrono del mio pontificato", ha ricordato papa Ratzinger nella preghiera dell'Angelus

Sts. John Jones and John Wall

Prince Charles snubbed as 'too busy' Pope refuses to meet him

Major renovations, infrastructure upgrades and a sluggish global economy left the Vatican City State budget in the red; however, donations to the pope were up from recent years

The Brussels public prosecutor's office confirmed Friday that Cardinal Godfried Danneels, retired archbishop of the city, did not download pornography to his computer

Here is the letter Benedict XVI sent to Latin Patriarch Fouad Twal of Jerusalem after the Pope's apostolic visit to Cyprus

The Church in Cuba announced Saturday that 12 more political prisoners will be leaving for Spain, accounting now for a total of 17 out of 52 prisoners expected to be released

Anglicans Vote to Ordain Women Bishops. Canterbury Trail Leading to Rome?

"The imposition of a socialist state inspired by the Cuban communist regime that has been enforced through laws and facts that ignore the popular will and the Constitution is absolutely unacceptable.” Venezuelan Bishops to tyrant Hugo Chavez

Castel Gandolfo Bound, New Dutch Catholic

2010-07-07T13:48:00.006-04:00

Pope Benedict XVI (R) shakes hands with Rabbi Arthur Schneier, senior Rabbi at Park East Synagogue in New York, during his weekly general audience on July 7, 2010. (Daylife-Getty Images)

All pictures above courtesy of Daylife

Dutch mega soccer star Wesley Sneijder, Catholic convert, and wife Yolanthe Cabau

Off to Castel Gandolfo:

Statue of Saint Hannibal of France:

Blessed Duns Scotus:

Benedict XVI's adherence to democracy:

Michelangelo, Donatello and Andrea Bregno on display:

Related Links:

Dutch soccer player Wesley Sneijder and his conversion to the Catholic faith

Yolanthe Cabau van Kasbergen-Wesley Sneijder's Catholic girlfriend

As part of a government probe into allegations of child abuse by priests, Cardinal Godfried Danneels was questioned for several hours by Belgian police on Tuesday

Polish bishops have given a mixed reception to their country's new president, Bronislaw Komorowski, a 58-year-old Catholic father of five and former seminary history teacher

The Prefecture of the Papal Household has announced that while Benedict is at his summer residence, all private and special audiences will be suspended, and for the next three weeks (July 14, 21 and 28), there won’t be any general audiences either

Oggi e' il terzo anniversario della pubblicazione del motu proprio "Summorum Pontificum"

Pope Benedict XVI will not be tuning in to see if his fellow Germans make it to the World Cup final, sources at the Vatican press office said ahead of Wednesday night's semi-final clash with Spain

Before his general audience this morning, Benedict XVI blessed a marble statue of St. Annibale Maria di Francia (1851-1927), founder of the Congregation of the Rogationist Fathers of the Heart of Jesus and of the Daughters of Divine Generosity

There are now 107 living members of the College of Cardinals eligible to vote in a papal election, and 5 more cardinals will reach the age of 80 by mid-October of this year

Before his general audience this morning, Benedict XVI blessed a marble statue of St. Annibale Maria di Francia (1851-1927), founder of the Congregation of the Rogationist Fathers of the Heart of Jesus and of the Daughters of Divine Generosity

Greek Catholics celebrated on July 4 their first Mass in 62 years in the parish church of Bocsa, with what was described as a "festive and moving" atmosphere.
The Bosca parish is unique because, thanks to an agreement between Orthodox and Greek-Catholics, it will be shared between the two Churches

Looking forward to his time at the hilltop retreat, the Holy Father asked during the Polish greeting after the catechesis at Wednesday morning's general audience for "prayers in the days of my sojourn at Castel Gandolfo."

The Roman Catholic Church said Wednesday that Cuba has agreed to free 52 political prisoners and allow them to leave the country in what would be the island's largest mass liberation of dissidents since Pope John Paul II visited in 1998

Archbishop Burke has been made a member of the Congregation for Divine Worship (CDW)

B16 lauds St. Maria Goretti

Lord Patten of Barnes, who is in charge of the government preparations for the Pope's State visit, explained this to journalists in a press conference Monday, which he gave along with Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Westminster

Coronation of Pope John XXIII in French

In an interview with the Globovision network, the secretary general of the Bishops' Conference of Venezuela, Bishop Jesus Gonzalez de Zarate, strongly rejected the insults President Hugo Chavez made against Cardinal Jorge Urosa of Caracas, whom the president called a "pig," a "bum" and a "disgraceful bishop."

Pope Benedict XVI named a new bishop to Germany's Augsburg Diocese, whose former bishop resigned in the wake of accusations of hitting students and financial impropriety

Is 2010 the new 2000?

According to an article in tomorrow’s L’Osservatore Romano, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the Archbishop of Buenos Aires and Primate of Argentina, has said that if a proposed bill giving same-sex couples the opportunity to marry and adopt children should be approved, it will “seriously damage the family.”

Chinese Bishop Julius Jia Zhiguo of Zhengding, who was arrested and imprisoned in March 2009, was released by the authorities Wednesday

The ingrained media defensiveness of the Roman Curia must also change: the attitude, entrenched over centuries, that the best story is no story. No, the best story is a good story that presents facts accurately and does so in such a way that the essentials of the Church’s evangelical message get communicated

The archbishop of Caracas, Venezuela, is denouncing the government's attempts to install a Marxist Socialist regime through "unconstitutional" and "illegal" methods violating the rights and will of the people

Lutherans Seek Full Communion with Catholic Church

More Evidence Exonerating Pius XII

2010-07-06T18:52:00.004-04:00

Pius XII's pro-Jewish WW2 efforts:

Pope Pius XII, the controversial wartime pontiff, may have saved thousands of Jews by secretly securing visas so they could escape Nazi Germany, a historian has claimed.

Pope Pius, who was labelled “Hitler’s Pope” because of his silence during the Holocaust, may have arranged the exodus of about 200,000 Jews from Germany just three weeks after Kristallnacht, when thousands of Jews were rounded up and sent to concentration camps.

The claim was made by Dr Michael Hesemann, a German historian carrying out research in the Vatican archives for the Pave the Way Foundation, a US-based inter-faith group.

He said that Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli – the future Pius XII – wrote to Catholic archbishops around the world to urge them to apply for visas for “non-Aryan Catholics” and Jewish converts to Christianity who wanted to leave Germany.

Elliot Hershberg, the chairman of the Pave the Way Foundation, said:“ We believe that many Jews who were successful in leaving

Europe may not have had any idea that their visas and travel documents were obtained through these Vatican efforts.

“Everything we have found thus far seems to indicate

the known negative perception of Pope Pius XII is wrong.”

Pius XII was criticised for failing to denounce explicitly the Holocaust, the Nazi regime or to excommunicate Hitler.

Dr Hesemann says that additional evidence suggests that the visas would have been given to ordinary Jews desperate to escape persecution.

“The fact that this letter speaks of 'converted Jews’ and 'non-Aryan’ Catholics indeed seems to be a cover,” said Dr Hesemann.

“You couldn’t be sure that Nazi agents wouldn’t learn about this initiative,” he said.

“Pacelli had to make sure they didn’t misuse it for their propaganda, that they could not claim that the Church is an ally of the Jews.”

The appeal from Cardinal Pacelli, then the Vatican’s Secretary of State, was dated Nov 30, 1938 – 20 days after Kristallnacht, the “night of broken glass”.

Cardinal Pacelli was able to ask for the visas because the 1933 concordat he signed with the Nazis specifically provided protection for Jews who converted to Christianity.

Dr Ed Kessler, the director of the Cambridge-based Woolf Institute of Abrahamic Faiths, said: “It is clear that Pius XII facilitated the saving of Roman Jews.”

In December, Pope Benedict XVI placed Pius one step closer to sainthood when he declared him “Venerable”, meaning that the Church believes he lived a life of “heroic virtue”.

Two miracles are needed to canonise him as a saint and the Vatican is investigating at least one apparently inexplicable healing.

Some Jewish groups want the process frozen until the Vatican is ready to open its secret wartime archives in 2014.

Sir Martin Gilbert, a British historian and the world’s leading expert on the Holocaust, has said that Pope Pius XII should be considered as a “Righteous Gentile” by Yad Vashem, the Israeli Holocaust remembrance authority.