Memorial of Blessed Alfredo Cardinal Schuster, OSB Bailiff Grand Cross of Honor and Devotion of the SMOM

Cardinal Schuster was born in Rome of Bavarian parents on 18 January 1880 and was baptized Alfredo Ludovico Luigi.  He entered the Benedictine monastery of St Paul-Outside-the-Walls when he was 11,and in 1896 began his novitiate, taking the name of Ildefonso.  He made his solemn profession in 1902.

After studying philosophy at Sant' Anselmo (Rome) and theology at St Paul's Abbey, he was ordained a priest in 1904.  He was appointed Archbishop of Milan by Pope Pius XI on 26 June 1929 and created a Cardinal on 15 July.  In 1933 he was invested Bailiff in the Order of Malta.

A few days before he died, he withdrew to Venegono Seminary.  His last, moving words were to the seminarians:

“You want something to remember me by.  All I can leave you is an invitation to holiness...”.

He died a few days later on 30 August 1954.  His cause for canonization was introduced in 1957 by his successor, Archbishop Giovanni Battista Montini, the future Pope Paul VI.  When his tomb was opened on 28 January 1985, his body was found to be intact.  He was beatified on 12 May 1996.

[The Collect]

Almighty God, through your grace, Blessed Alfredo Ildefonso,  

by his exemplary virtue built up the flock entrusted to him.

Grant that we, under the guidance of the Gospel,

may follow his teaching and walk in sureness of life,

until we come to see you face to face in your eternal kingdom.

We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son,

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever.

Amen.

Memorial of Blessed Alfredo Cardinal Schuster, OSB Bailiff Grand Cross of Honor and Devotion of the SMOM

Cardinal Schuster was born in Rome of Bavarian parents on 18 January 1880 and was baptized Alfredo Ludovico Luigi.  He entered the Benedictine monastery of St Paul-Outside-the-Walls when he was 11,and in 1896 began his novitiate, taking the name of Ildefonso.  He made his solemn profession in 1902.

After studying philosophy at Sant' Anselmo (Rome) and theology at St Paul's Abbey, he was ordained a priest in 1904.  He was appointed Archbishop of Milan by Pope Pius XI on 26 June 1929 and created a Cardinal on 15 July.  In 1933 he was invested Bailiff in the Order of Malta.

A few days before he died, he withdrew to Venegono Seminary.  His last, moving words were to the seminarians:

“You want something to remember me by.  All I can leave you is an invitation to holiness...”.

He died a few days later on 30 August 1954.  His cause for canonization was introduced in 1957 by his successor, Archbishop Giovanni Battista Montini, the future Pope Paul VI.  When his tomb was opened on 28 January 1985, his body was found to be intact.  He was beatified on 12 May 1996.

[The Collect]

Almighty God, through your grace, Blessed Alfredo Ildefonso,  

by his exemplary virtue built up the flock entrusted to him.

Grant that we, under the guidance of the Gospel,

may follow his teaching and walk in sureness of life,

until we come to see you face to face in your eternal kingdom.

We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son,

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever.

Amen.

60's Band Key to Understanding Same-Sex Marriage Debate

 Who would have thought a 60's pop band could bring clarity  to understanding the same-sex marriage issue.

60's Band Key to Understanding Same-Sex Marriage Debate

 Who would have thought a 60's pop band could bring clarity  to understanding the same-sex marriage issue.

Crudem Updates from Haiti

Check out this wonderful video presented by Denise Hoffman updating the work of the Crudem Foundation in Haiti.  http://www.crudem.org/2010/03/30/denise-hoffmann-presentation/

Crudem Updates from Haiti

Check out this wonderful video presented by Denise Hoffman updating the work of the Crudem Foundation in Haiti.  http://www.crudem.org/2010/03/30/denise-hoffmann-presentation/

The "Great" Adventure of the Herdist

Some thoughts of Erik von Kunnelt-Leddihn on how sex becomes the final attempt of the herdist to escape his loneliness and loss of identity in the herd.

One should, in that connection, certainly not forget the "greatest" adventure of the herdist, his banal excursions into the animalistic aspects of sex. Here he hopes to drown the despair over his loneliness in the herd. The Romantic may be alone, but he is never lonely, and that because of his knowledge of the presence of God. (Certainly, also, there is more loneliness in an apartment house or in a crammed subway than in a village with widely dispersed cottages.) Yet the restriction of adventure to the sexual sphere is the reason why our urban culture and civilization is so terribly oversexed. The great thirst does not go for "women" or "men" but for sex alone, sex for sex' sake. It is not the attraction of the other sex, but sex as a drug and escape. It thus stands in the same category as the movies. Modern man, having abandoned the supernatural, here seeks for perhaps a last consolation, in order not to be completely overpowered by machine and monotony.

It should not be denied that the ugliness and the deadly routine of traditionless urban civilizations engendered often a nostalgic thirst in man for beauty and romance, and this may be the reason for the enormous power of Eros in the technicized world. In the shadow of soul-murdering offices and workshops, of desolate railway yards and "main streets," [strip malls] without character and expression, love becomes the only emotional experience and woman the only living memory of nature and a paradise lost.The greatest love is the love of God and the lasting "marital" love between the sexes overbridging the immense psychological abyss between man and woman is not unrelated to the love of God; it is basically the love for one of His children. The very delight in the otherness of the beloved person is a tacit, loving recognition of God's all-embracing greatness. True love between man and woman accepts the mysterious variety of God's creation whose harmony even original sin did not entirely destroy.

The intrinsic immorality of perverted love lies in its being fundamentally egocentric. It is the rejection of the grandeur and the mysterious diversity of this God-made world; it is love of one's own person in the same sex and therefore nothing else but sexualized egoism.

The "Great" Adventure of the Herdist

Some thoughts of Erik von Kunnelt-Leddihn on how sex becomes the final attempt of the herdist to escape his loneliness and loss of identity in the herd.

One should, in that connection, certainly not forget the "greatest" adventure of the herdist, his banal excursions into the animalistic aspects of sex. Here he hopes to drown the despair over his loneliness in the herd. The Romantic may be alone, but he is never lonely, and that because of his knowledge of the presence of God. (Certainly, also, there is more loneliness in an apartment house or in a crammed subway than in a village with widely dispersed cottages.) Yet the restriction of adventure to the sexual sphere is the reason why our urban culture and civilization is so terribly oversexed. The great thirst does not go for "women" or "men" but for sex alone, sex for sex' sake. It is not the attraction of the other sex, but sex as a drug and escape. It thus stands in the same category as the movies. Modern man, having abandoned the supernatural, here seeks for perhaps a last consolation, in order not to be completely overpowered by machine and monotony.

It should not be denied that the ugliness and the deadly routine of traditionless urban civilizations engendered often a nostalgic thirst in man for beauty and romance, and this may be the reason for the enormous power of Eros in the technicized world. In the shadow of soul-murdering offices and workshops, of desolate railway yards and "main streets," [strip malls] without character and expression, love becomes the only emotional experience and woman the only living memory of nature and a paradise lost.The greatest love is the love of God and the lasting "marital" love between the sexes overbridging the immense psychological abyss between man and woman is not unrelated to the love of God; it is basically the love for one of His children. The very delight in the otherness of the beloved person is a tacit, loving recognition of God's all-embracing greatness. True love between man and woman accepts the mysterious variety of God's creation whose harmony even original sin did not entirely destroy.

The intrinsic immorality of perverted love lies in its being fundamentally egocentric. It is the rejection of the grandeur and the mysterious diversity of this God-made world; it is love of one's own person in the same sex and therefore nothing else but sexualized egoism.

Eagle at Eagle Lake

We just returned from a  family vacation which is why the posting has been pretty non-existant the past couple weeks.  Here's one of the pictures over the lake.  It is aptly named Eagle as you can see from the one in the background just above the tree line.

Eagle at Eagle Lake

We just returned from a  family vacation which is why the posting has been pretty non-existant the past couple weeks.  Here's one of the pictures over the lake.  It is aptly named Eagle as you can see from the one in the background just above the tree line.

Bob Newhart Ties One On, Ties the Knot

In light of Judge Walker's ridiculous court decision on Prop. 8,  I was reminded of this very funny video.

Bob Newhart Ties One On, Ties the Knot

In light of Judge Walker's ridiculous court decision on Prop. 8,  I was reminded of this very funny video.

Judge Walker Focused on Wrong Issue

I have been critical of Cardinal Mahoney in the past but here he gets it right in this post from his blog

Today it was announced that U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn R. Walker has ruled that Proposition 8 which was enacted by the People of California is unconstitutional. His decision fails to deal with the basic, underlying issue--rather he focused solely upon individual testimony on how Prop 8 affected them personally. Wrong focus.

There is only one issue before each of us Californians: Is Marriage of Divine or of Human Origin?

Judge Walker pays no attention to this fundamental issue, and relies solely upon how Prop 8 made certain members of society "feel" about themselves.

Those of us who supported Prop 8 and worked for its passage did so for one reason: We truly believe that Marriage was instituted by God for the specific purpose of carrying out God's plan for the world and human society. Period.

Every single religious faith community in our known history has held this belief since recorded history began. Every indigenous group discovered down through history also understood this belief about marriage, and carried out cultural and religious practices to sustain that belief. Marriage is of divine origin, and that belief is embedded deeply into the heart and spirit of human beings--also described as the natural law for the human family.

Judge Walker assumes that the institution of marriage is of human and civil origin, and therefore, that "marriage" can mean anything any person wishes to ascribe to the institution. Wrong.

The union of a man and of a woman in a life-long loving and caring relationship is of divine origin. No human nor civil power can decree or declare otherwise.

It is too bad that Judge Walker chose to listen to anguished voices about their perception of marriage rather than plumb the depths of the origin of this divinely inspired institution.

For many of us, we will continue to believe that God is the origin of marriage, and we will follow God's constant revelation to that effect.

We in the Roman Catholic Community are totally "pro-marriage" and "pro-family" precisely in the understanding God gave when the first human beings received the breath of God's spirit.

Judge Walker Focused on Wrong Issue

I have been critical of Cardinal Mahoney in the past but here he gets it right in this post from his blog

Today it was announced that U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn R. Walker has ruled that Proposition 8 which was enacted by the People of California is unconstitutional. His decision fails to deal with the basic, underlying issue--rather he focused solely upon individual testimony on how Prop 8 affected them personally. Wrong focus.

There is only one issue before each of us Californians: Is Marriage of Divine or of Human Origin?

Judge Walker pays no attention to this fundamental issue, and relies solely upon how Prop 8 made certain members of society "feel" about themselves.

Those of us who supported Prop 8 and worked for its passage did so for one reason: We truly believe that Marriage was instituted by God for the specific purpose of carrying out God's plan for the world and human society. Period.

Every single religious faith community in our known history has held this belief since recorded history began. Every indigenous group discovered down through history also understood this belief about marriage, and carried out cultural and religious practices to sustain that belief. Marriage is of divine origin, and that belief is embedded deeply into the heart and spirit of human beings--also described as the natural law for the human family.

Judge Walker assumes that the institution of marriage is of human and civil origin, and therefore, that "marriage" can mean anything any person wishes to ascribe to the institution. Wrong.

The union of a man and of a woman in a life-long loving and caring relationship is of divine origin. No human nor civil power can decree or declare otherwise.

It is too bad that Judge Walker chose to listen to anguished voices about their perception of marriage rather than plumb the depths of the origin of this divinely inspired institution.

For many of us, we will continue to believe that God is the origin of marriage, and we will follow God's constant revelation to that effect.

We in the Roman Catholic Community are totally "pro-marriage" and "pro-family" precisely in the understanding God gave when the first human beings received the breath of God's spirit.