Novena for the Feast of the Martyrdom of St. John the Baptist

August 29th is the feast of the Beheading of St. John the Baptist the patron of the Order of Malta. Here is a short prayer that can be prayed as a novena to him.

O martyr invincible, who, for the honor of God and the salvation of souls, didst with firmness and constancy withstand the impiety of Herod even at the cost of thine own life, and didst rebuke him openly for his wicked and dissolute life; by thy prayers obtain for us a heart, brave and generous, in order that we may overcome all human respect and openly profess our faith in loyal obedience to the teachings of Jesus Christ, our Divine Master.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be,

V. Pray for us, St. John the Baptist
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray,

O God, who hast made this day to be honorable in our eyes by the commemoration of the Martyrdom of St. John the Baptist, grant unto Thy people the grace of spiritual joy, and direct the minds of all Thy faithful into the way of everlasting salvation. Through Christ our Lord.
Amen

Novena for the Feast of the Martyrdom of St. John the Baptist

August 29th is the feast of the Beheading of St. John the Baptist the patron of the Order of Malta. Here is a short prayer that can be prayed as a novena to him.

O martyr invincible, who, for the honor of God and the salvation of souls, didst with firmness and constancy withstand the impiety of Herod even at the cost of thine own life, and didst rebuke him openly for his wicked and dissolute life; by thy prayers obtain for us a heart, brave and generous, in order that we may overcome all human respect and openly profess our faith in loyal obedience to the teachings of Jesus Christ, our Divine Master.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be,

V. Pray for us, St. John the Baptist
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray,

O God, who hast made this day to be honorable in our eyes by the commemoration of the Martyrdom of St. John the Baptist, grant unto Thy people the grace of spiritual joy, and direct the minds of all Thy faithful into the way of everlasting salvation. Through Christ our Lord.
Amen

Sisters ask, What Are We Doing Wrong?

An association of U.S. Roman Catholic sisters raised questions Monday about why they are the target of, and who is paying for, a Vatican investigation that is shaping up to be a tough review of whether sisters have strayed from church teaching.

The Leadership Conference of Women Religious, representing about 800 heads of religious orders, said there was a "lack of full disclosure about the motivation and funding sources" for the inquiry. The group also said it objects to the Vatican plan to keep private the reports that will be submitted to the Holy See.

"There's no transparency there," said Sister Annmarie Sanders, a conference spokeswoman.

At the conference's assembly last week in New Orleans, the outgoing president of the group, Sister J. Lora Dambroski, described the investigation as a challenge to creatively live out the Gospel and said it could be "another definining moment" for Catholic sisters.

While I don't know that there is anything wrong per se with trying to be creative in spreading the message of the Gosepel it does become problematic when "creatively living out the Gospel" becomes your ultimate goal.

In the publication U.S. Catholic, which isn't even worthy of being called "fishwrap," one of their bloggers writes,

I wonder how that would jive with previous generations of religious. I still think the desire to wear a habit has more to do with the individual than with the essence of religious life--you don't see judges wearing their robes as a "witness" to the judicial system, though their robes were originally daily garments. And it strikes me that joining religious life to develop one's own spiritual life, instead of a desire for ministry, is a little self-focused. At the same time, perhaps the many options available to young people now means that what is unique about religious life will bubble up.

It would seem that the writer has fallen prey to the modernist "heresy of good works." described so well by Dom Chautard in The Soul of the Apostolate. Or perhaps like many Catholics today he has confused things that are primary with those that are secondary. The First Commandment is "To love God above all things," the second is "To love your neighbor." Another wonderful English Dominican writer from last century, Fr. Gerald Vann wrote this in The Divine Pity, A Study in the Social Implications of the Beatitudes,

What is the purpose of the grace of God, the sacramental system, the whole dynamism of the supernatural life, but to enable us to know God, to love God, to serve God? That is the "one thing necessary"; that is the only complete fulfillment of the heart's desire; and the fact that if we achieve it we shall find much else included in it, must not for a moment lead us into a confusion between the relative importance of finite and Infinite.

In all that follows, then, these primary truths must be all the time presupposed and kept in mind. To be poor in spirit, to be meek, to be clean of heart; all these things denote an attitude of soul towards the world; but primarily they denote an attitude of sould towards God. The beatitudes mean, first of all, that the man who is poor in spirit and meek and clean of heart is succeeding in the essential Christian struggle and so is blessed: is succeeding in the struggle to kill the false self by the daily ascetism of accepting and welcoming God's will, the struggle to find God by that daily searching and listening which is the life of prayer, and the struggle with the mind's waywardness to gain, after immense difficulty and constant failure, that abiding sense of the presence of God which is the condition of our ability to see and will all things in union with Him. Yes, we must long, and pray, and work, to be filled with the love of our neighbor; but first of all, above all, we must long and pray and work to possess the one thing necessary, the substance of life everlasting, the thing whereof this other, when it is strongest and deepest, is the expression and derivative: we must seek till we are given to find and possess, as [St.] Catherine did, the heart of Christ.

Surely any of us could be faulted for being "self-focused" in our spiritual life if we are seeking our will instead of God's will but that is why the renunciation of self is so important. But to follow a religious vocation to draw nearer to God is not "self-focused" rather "properly focused. As Fr. Vann and Dom Chautard wrote so well, is that the deeper our intimacy with Jesus; the greater will be our ability to carry out our ministry in His name.

Sisters ask, What Are We Doing Wrong?

An association of U.S. Roman Catholic sisters raised questions Monday about why they are the target of, and who is paying for, a Vatican investigation that is shaping up to be a tough review of whether sisters have strayed from church teaching.

The Leadership Conference of Women Religious, representing about 800 heads of religious orders, said there was a "lack of full disclosure about the motivation and funding sources" for the inquiry. The group also said it objects to the Vatican plan to keep private the reports that will be submitted to the Holy See.

"There's no transparency there," said Sister Annmarie Sanders, a conference spokeswoman.

At the conference's assembly last week in New Orleans, the outgoing president of the group, Sister J. Lora Dambroski, described the investigation as a challenge to creatively live out the Gospel and said it could be "another definining moment" for Catholic sisters.

While I don't know that there is anything wrong per se with trying to be creative in spreading the message of the Gosepel it does become problematic when "creatively living out the Gospel" becomes your ultimate goal.

In the publication U.S. Catholic, which isn't even worthy of being called "fishwrap," one of their bloggers writes,

I wonder how that would jive with previous generations of religious. I still think the desire to wear a habit has more to do with the individual than with the essence of religious life--you don't see judges wearing their robes as a "witness" to the judicial system, though their robes were originally daily garments. And it strikes me that joining religious life to develop one's own spiritual life, instead of a desire for ministry, is a little self-focused. At the same time, perhaps the many options available to young people now means that what is unique about religious life will bubble up.

It would seem that the writer has fallen prey to the modernist "heresy of good works." described so well by Dom Chautard in The Soul of the Apostolate. Or perhaps like many Catholics today he has confused things that are primary with those that are secondary. The First Commandment is "To love God above all things," the second is "To love your neighbor." Another wonderful English Dominican writer from last century, Fr. Gerald Vann wrote this in The Divine Pity, A Study in the Social Implications of the Beatitudes,

What is the purpose of the grace of God, the sacramental system, the whole dynamism of the supernatural life, but to enable us to know God, to love God, to serve God? That is the "one thing necessary"; that is the only complete fulfillment of the heart's desire; and the fact that if we achieve it we shall find much else included in it, must not for a moment lead us into a confusion between the relative importance of finite and Infinite.

In all that follows, then, these primary truths must be all the time presupposed and kept in mind. To be poor in spirit, to be meek, to be clean of heart; all these things denote an attitude of soul towards the world; but primarily they denote an attitude of sould towards God. The beatitudes mean, first of all, that the man who is poor in spirit and meek and clean of heart is succeeding in the essential Christian struggle and so is blessed: is succeeding in the struggle to kill the false self by the daily ascetism of accepting and welcoming God's will, the struggle to find God by that daily searching and listening which is the life of prayer, and the struggle with the mind's waywardness to gain, after immense difficulty and constant failure, that abiding sense of the presence of God which is the condition of our ability to see and will all things in union with Him. Yes, we must long, and pray, and work, to be filled with the love of our neighbor; but first of all, above all, we must long and pray and work to possess the one thing necessary, the substance of life everlasting, the thing whereof this other, when it is strongest and deepest, is the expression and derivative: we must seek till we are given to find and possess, as [St.] Catherine did, the heart of Christ.

Surely any of us could be faulted for being "self-focused" in our spiritual life if we are seeking our will instead of God's will but that is why the renunciation of self is so important. But to follow a religious vocation to draw nearer to God is not "self-focused" rather "properly focused. As Fr. Vann and Dom Chautard wrote so well, is that the deeper our intimacy with Jesus; the greater will be our ability to carry out our ministry in His name.

Be Taught by [Modernist] Nuns, Become a Public Protestor

As I mentioned in the last post there is ample evidence of the Vatican investigation of women religious in the U.S. Here is another gem from the NCAN website. [To be fair the criticism of NCAN and its members should in no way be construed as criticism of the many wonderful and holy women religious serving the Catholic Church.]

Dear Sister, Annually those of us, members of the Board of the National Coalition of American Nuns(NCAN), come together to critique and review the events of the past year that give us hope as we faithfully live out our lives as women religious in the Church. As we gathered in Chicago August 15-17, 2007, we were heartened by your response to the remarks by the superintendent of schools for the Scranton, PA diocese. You were correct in stating that his request for a letter from your pastor, indicating that you or any teacher is a practicing Catholic, is inappropriate. NCAN congratulates you and supports you in your action taken on behalf of justice. We (many of us former teachers) do know that the class content may be rapidly forgotten once a course is passed. However, we feel that the last lesson you taught your students will shape their future lives. As they mature and grow more solidly to be their own persons, we believe they will follow your example of questioning and publicly protesting injustice. Enclosed is a brochure describing the mission of NCAN. We affirm your public voice for justice. Blessings on your future choice in mission. Sincerely, Mary Ann Coyle, SL for the Board of NCAN

So the best we can hope for after years of being educated by these Nuns is their example of questioning and public protest. No mention of being virtuous Catholics living the Faith they profess and believe just be a public protestor. More than likely they have not been taught the true Faith at all, merely the modern evolution of the protestant "social gospel" movement of the 1920's.

Be Taught by [Modernist] Nuns, Become a Public Protestor

As I mentioned in the last post there is ample evidence of the Vatican investigation of women religious in the U.S. Here is another gem from the NCAN website. [To be fair the criticism of NCAN and its members should in no way be construed as criticism of the many wonderful and holy women religious serving the Catholic Church.]

Dear Sister, Annually those of us, members of the Board of the National Coalition of American Nuns(NCAN), come together to critique and review the events of the past year that give us hope as we faithfully live out our lives as women religious in the Church. As we gathered in Chicago August 15-17, 2007, we were heartened by your response to the remarks by the superintendent of schools for the Scranton, PA diocese. You were correct in stating that his request for a letter from your pastor, indicating that you or any teacher is a practicing Catholic, is inappropriate. NCAN congratulates you and supports you in your action taken on behalf of justice. We (many of us former teachers) do know that the class content may be rapidly forgotten once a course is passed. However, we feel that the last lesson you taught your students will shape their future lives. As they mature and grow more solidly to be their own persons, we believe they will follow your example of questioning and publicly protesting injustice. Enclosed is a brochure describing the mission of NCAN. We affirm your public voice for justice. Blessings on your future choice in mission. Sincerely, Mary Ann Coyle, SL for the Board of NCAN

So the best we can hope for after years of being educated by these Nuns is their example of questioning and public protest. No mention of being virtuous Catholics living the Faith they profess and believe just be a public protestor. More than likely they have not been taught the true Faith at all, merely the modern evolution of the protestant "social gospel" movement of the 1920's.

Why The Vatican is Visiting Congregations of Women Religious

Here is a conference announcement for anyone who doubts the reason why the Vatican is investigating congregations of women religious in this country. Or just visit the NCAN website for ample evidence.

40th Anniversary Celebration
National Coalition of American Nuns
Worker Justice in Church and Society
A conference day for women
religious,congregational leaders, and all interested in justice for workers
September 26, 2009, 9:00 a.m.– 3:00 p.m.
Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet St. Joseph Hall
St. Louis, MO

Keynote Speaker: “Worker Justice in the Church”
Theresa Kane, RSM, former LCWR President

Keynote Speaker: “Worker Justice in Society”
Eileen Purcell, a life time organizer for social and economic justice,
most recently with the Service Employees International Union

Margaret Ellen Traxler Award Recipient
Sr.Louise Lears, SC, placed under interdict by Archbishop
Raymond Burke on June 26, 2008 for her support of the priestly ordination of two
women

Why The Vatican is Visiting Congregations of Women Religious

Here is a conference announcement for anyone who doubts the reason why the Vatican is investigating congregations of women religious in this country. Or just visit the NCAN website for ample evidence.

40th Anniversary Celebration
National Coalition of American Nuns
Worker Justice in Church and Society
A conference day for women
religious,congregational leaders, and all interested in justice for workers
September 26, 2009, 9:00 a.m.– 3:00 p.m.
Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet St. Joseph Hall
St. Louis, MO

Keynote Speaker: “Worker Justice in the Church”
Theresa Kane, RSM, former LCWR President

Keynote Speaker: “Worker Justice in Society”
Eileen Purcell, a life time organizer for social and economic justice,
most recently with the Service Employees International Union

Margaret Ellen Traxler Award Recipient
Sr.Louise Lears, SC, placed under interdict by Archbishop
Raymond Burke on June 26, 2008 for her support of the priestly ordination of two
women

Christianity and "Social Justice"

As if I wasn't already overburdened with things to read I recently discovered another writer to add to the list. His name is Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn and among other biographical items of note he was a Knight of Malta. Here is an excerpt from his work The Timeless Christian, dealing with Christianity and Social Justice.

Now, there is a genuine social justice which proceeds not from the principle of equality, but from the principle: Suum cuique — to each his own. It is true that to deprive the workman of his just wage is not only a sin, but a sin that cries to heaven for vengeance. When one hinders social advance by putting barriers in the way of the diligent and the talented, one not only commits a personal injustice, but damages the common good of the whole nation, which always requires a genuine elite of ability and the contribution of extraordinary brainpower in every walk of life. And it would be socially unjust if a few individuals or certain groups had so much material wealth that, in consequence of this concentration of property and income, other classes had to live not only in povery, but in misery. Whoever lives in real abundance has a Christian duty to assist those living in wrechedness. Before we proceed, however, let us affirm that the notion of misery is different from that of poverty. Péguy has already drawn the distinction between pauvreté and misère. To live in misery means to suffer genuine physical privation: to know cold and hunger, to have no proper dwelling, to be dressed in rags, to be unable to secure medical attention. The poor, by contrast, have the necessities of life, but scarcely any more. They can borrow books, no doubt, but cannot buy them; they can hear music on the radio, but cannot afford a ticket to a concert; they cannot indulge in little extras of food and drink, but should, by self-discipline, be able to save a little. The poor have, therefore, the normal material preconditions for happiness — unless plagued by acquisitiveness or even envy, which has become a political force in the same measure as people have lost their faith. The fact that there are happy poor (alongside unhappy rich people) is beside the point. Demagogues know how to stir up terrible and murderous unrest even among the happy poor, as has been demonstrated clearly by the history of the left from Marat to Marx to Lenin to Hitler. (TC, 53-54)

Christianity and "Social Justice"

As if I wasn't already overburdened with things to read I recently discovered another writer to add to the list. His name is Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn and among other biographical items of note he was a Knight of Malta. Here is an excerpt from his work The Timeless Christian, dealing with Christianity and Social Justice.

Now, there is a genuine social justice which proceeds not from the principle of equality, but from the principle: Suum cuique — to each his own. It is true that to deprive the workman of his just wage is not only a sin, but a sin that cries to heaven for vengeance. When one hinders social advance by putting barriers in the way of the diligent and the talented, one not only commits a personal injustice, but damages the common good of the whole nation, which always requires a genuine elite of ability and the contribution of extraordinary brainpower in every walk of life. And it would be socially unjust if a few individuals or certain groups had so much material wealth that, in consequence of this concentration of property and income, other classes had to live not only in povery, but in misery. Whoever lives in real abundance has a Christian duty to assist those living in wrechedness. Before we proceed, however, let us affirm that the notion of misery is different from that of poverty. Péguy has already drawn the distinction between pauvreté and misère. To live in misery means to suffer genuine physical privation: to know cold and hunger, to have no proper dwelling, to be dressed in rags, to be unable to secure medical attention. The poor, by contrast, have the necessities of life, but scarcely any more. They can borrow books, no doubt, but cannot buy them; they can hear music on the radio, but cannot afford a ticket to a concert; they cannot indulge in little extras of food and drink, but should, by self-discipline, be able to save a little. The poor have, therefore, the normal material preconditions for happiness — unless plagued by acquisitiveness or even envy, which has become a political force in the same measure as people have lost their faith. The fact that there are happy poor (alongside unhappy rich people) is beside the point. Demagogues know how to stir up terrible and murderous unrest even among the happy poor, as has been demonstrated clearly by the history of the left from Marat to Marx to Lenin to Hitler. (TC, 53-54)