Confraternity of the Most Holy Rosary

One of the greatest spiritual weapons we have is to pray the Holy Rosary. If you pray the Rosary each day I encourage you to join the Confraternity of the Most Holy Rosary and join your prayers with all past, present and future members of the Confraternity. Read more about it below and the minimal obligations. Follow their link to join or for more information.


The CONFRATERNITY OF THE MOST HOLY ROSARY(An Archconfraternity)
A World-Wide Movement of Prayer Entrusted to the DOMINICAN ORDERby the HOLY SEE More than 500 Years Ago.
The Rosary Confraternity is a spiritual association (of the Catholic Church), the members of which strive to pray the entire Rosary during the course of each week. They form a union of countless hundreds of thousands of the faithful throughout the world who, along with their own intentions, include the intentions and needs of all its members, while they in turn pray for them.
Since the Holy Father has recently added the five luminous mysteries, we encourage members of the Confraternity to include that extra weekly Rosary. However, we have as yet received no official statement regarding this matter. Those who recite only the fifteen traditional mysteries will continue to share in the benefits of the Confraternity until some official source declares the contrary.
As Pope Leo XIII said in his encyclical on the Confraternity, "whenever a person fulfills his obligation of reciting the Rosary according to the rule of the Confraternity, he includes in his intentions all its members, and they in turn render him the same service many times over."
Each member includes deceased fellow members as well; and thus he knows that in turn he will be included in the prayers of hundreds of thousands both now and hereafter. This led the Cure of Ars to say: "If anyone has the happiness of being in the Confraternity of the Rosary, he has in all corners of the world brothers and sisters who pray for him." The deceased cannot be enrolled in the Confraternity.
Read the obligations, benefits, indulgences, and Fifteen Promises of the Blessed Virgin to Christians who faithfully pray the Rosary. There is also a Rosary Confraternity Prayer.
Those who pray the Rosary regularly would do well to be enrolled in the Confraternity to gain extra spiritual benefits for each Rosary they pray. or write to The Rosary Center, PO Box 3617, Portland, OR 97208, USA.

Cause of Canonization for Archbishop Sheen

The cause of canonization of Archbishop Sheen is moving forward. I am posting the following:
Please visit the web site for more information on how to pray for and promote his cause. There is also information on the Wartime Prayer Book written by Bishop Sheen which I will post more about later.
http://www.archbishopsheencause.org/
http://www.wartimeprayerbook.org/

A VERY IMPORTANT MESSAGE from Father Andrew Apostoli, C.F.R. Vice-Postulator for Archbishop Sheen's Canonization Cause

Dear Friends of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen
May the Lord give you His peace!
I have been writing appeal letters to you to request your prayerful and financial support for the Cause of Beatification and Canonization of our beloved Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen. With your kind and generous support we have made substantial strides in moving the Cause forward. In fact, we hope to conclude the gathering of all the necessary information required for presentation to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints in Rome by December 31st, 2007. We thank you very much for your generous support in the past and ask you to kindly support our efforts into the future when we anticipate that our expenses will increase substantially!
In the past, you have received your mailing and returned your responses to the Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen office in Irving, Texas. This will change soon. As you may know, Archbishop Fulton Sheen was born in El Paso, Illinois and was an active member and priest in the Catholic Diocese of Peoria. So, as we continue the advancement of the Cause for Canonization, we have agreed that, as of January 1, 2008, the foundation activities will be centralized in the Diocesan City of Peoria under the guidance of Bishop Daniel Jenky, C.S.C.
We would like to invite you to attend a very special Mass on Sunday, February 3, 2008, at the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Peoria. The ceremony of the Postrema Sessio will take place, whereby all documents, books and testimonies collected on behalf of the cause are then certified and forwarded to the offices of His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI. We hope that you can attend, but if you cannot, please keep this important ceremony in your good prayers.
Asking the Lord to bless you and all your loved ones, I am
Yours in Jesus, Mary and Joseph,

Fr. Andrew Apostoli, C.F.R. Vice Postulator

God's Guardian of the Child

There was much discussion a few month's back on the upcoming elections and the importance of abortion and a candidate's views on it. Although it remains the moral issue of the election I came across another Fr. McNabb essay that was first printed in Blackfriars, July 1929 dealing with the education of children and a statement from the English Hierarchy on the eve of a general election. The Bishops were not afraid to issue this statement to ensure that the voters understood the ethical principles involved without respect to either party's position.

"In view of the approaching General Election, the Archbishops and Bishops of England and Wales deem it well to remind all Catholic voters of the following principles which underlie the Catholic attitude on Education, so that in giving their votes such electors may act in conformity with Catholic teaching and tradition in this matter of vital importance."

PRINCIPLES TO BE REMEMBERED

1) It is no part of the normal function of the State to teach.

2) The State is entitled to see that citizens receive due education sufficient to enable them to discharge the duties of citizenship in its various degrees.

3) The State ought, therefore, to encourage every form of sound educational endeavour, and may take means to safeguard the efficiency of education.

4) To parents whose economic means are insufficient to pay for the education of their children, it is the duty of the State to furnish the necessary means, providing them from the common funds arising out of the taxation of the whole community, but in so doing the State must not interfere with parental responsibility, nor hamper the reasonable liberty of parents in their choice of a school for their children. Above all, where the people are not all of one creed, there must be no differentiation on the ground of religion.

5) Where there is need of greater school accommodation the State may, in default of other agencies, intervene to supply it; but it may do so only in default of, and in substitution for, and to the extent of, the responsibility of the parents' of the children who need this accommodation.

6) The teacher is always acting in loco parantis, never in loco civitatis, though the State to safeguard its citizenship may take reasonable care to see that teachers are efficient.

7) Thus a teacher never is and never can be a civil servant, and should never regard himself or allow himself to be so regarded. Whatever authority he may possess to reach and control children, and to claim their respect and obedience, comes to him from God, through the parents, and not through the State, except in so far as the State is acting on behalf of the parents."

St. Walburga's Tridentine Mass

Update as of January 1, 2009 there is no longer an Extraordinary Form Mass at St. Walburga's.  It is now weekly at Sacred Heart in Robbinsdale at 11:30 a.m.

There is a change to the time for the monthly Tridentine Mass at St. Walburga's in Rogers. Beginning February 10th, the Mass will be on the 2nd Sunday of the month instead of the 1st Sunday. The time remains at 1:00.

Catholic Death-Row Inmate and Evangelist

In the Catholic Sentinel there is an inspiring story of the conversion of an inmate on Death-Row in Oregon and the saint whom he credits for his conversion.

January Argument of the Month Club Dinner

THE ARGUMENT OF THE MONTH CLUB
A MEN’S FORUM FOR CATHOLIC APOLOGETICS
Presents:Thou shall NOT Eat! The Catholic Canon Law Regarding the Denial of the Eucharist to Certain Individuals
Speaker: Mr. Benedict Nguyen
M.T.S., J.C.L., Chancellor of the Dioceses of La Crosse

Chancellor Benedict Nguyen holds a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree in (Liturgical) Musicology from the University of Kansas and a Master of Theological Studies (M.T.S.) degree from the University of Dallas. He has pursued legal studies at the Columbus School of Law in Washington, D.C. and earned a Pontifical Licentiate (J.C.L.) degree in Canon Law at the Catholic University of America. He also holds a Juris Doctorate (J.D.) law degree from the Hamline University School of Law in St. Paul, Minnesota, where he was a three-time recipient of the CALI Award for academic excellence in corporate law, non-profit law and critical studies in law and region.

As Chancellor for the Diocese of La Crosse, he also serves as a canon lawyer for the Diocese, the Diocesan Director of Communications & Media Relations, Diocesan Director of Catholic Cemeteries, Defender of the Bond in the Matrimonial Tribunal, and is the Chairman of the Board for Catholic Charities of the Diocese of La Crosse. In addition, he is the adult choir director at his home parish of St. James in La Crosse. He is also an Adjunct Professor of Canon Law for the Institute for Pastoral Theology of Ave Maria University.

He has published works in various print and electronic media including, Catholic World News, Catholic Education Resource Center, Lauda Jerusalem!, and The Catholic World Report. Chancellor Nguyen and his wife Elizabeth have five children.He will address issues such as: What does Church law say about denying Holy Communion? When and why does the Church deny the Eucharist to certain groups or individuals? Under what circumstances may a Catholic politician and others be denied the Eucharist? Is this a political act? Why does there seem to be confusion on this issue?

Tuesday, January 8th Basement of St. Augustine Church in South St. Paul.
6:30 pm Social (beverages and appetizers)
Dinner at 7:00 PM
Total cost for the evening $12 at the door

Come argue against our speaker or defend his position if you agree during the Q&A, which starts immediately following dessert. You are all encouraged to enjoy the good humor, food and fellowship. We enjoy the company of men from all different creeds and ages. Priests and seminarians get in for free but are not shown any partiality in debate. Fathers may bring their underage sons as long as they accompany them.

St. Augustine Catholic Church5th Ave. N. & 3rd St. N in South St. Paul
PLEASE ENTER THE CHURCH BASEMENT FROM THE EAST SIDE
FOR DIRECTIONS AND UP COMING SPEAKERS GO TO WWW.AOTMCLUB.COM
IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS CALL KENT WUCHTERL AT 612- 722-8444 OR JOSH TESKE AT 612-227-5674

Highland LifeCare Center

After several months of fundraising, remodeling and various attempts by the Devil to prevent it's opening, the power of prayer prevailed and the Highland LifeCare Center will open the doors of it's new location on Ford Parkway in St. Paul on Wednesday, January 2nd. HLCC is one of 24 crisis pregnancy centers that are part of the Total LifeCare Centers network in Minnesota and Wisconsin. The new location has much greater visibility and presence than the previous site. It is in it's own building, along major bus lines, and most importantly it will be across a parking lot from one of the largest abortuary's in the region, Planned Parenthood's Highland Park clinic. The Center has a small chapel and Archbishop Flynn has given permission for Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament during business hours. Despite the proximity to Planned Parenthood the mission of HLCC is not to be confrontational but to provide a pro-life alternative for women facing a crisis pregnancy, parental education classes, and other pregnancy related resources .