A Call To Action, A Call For Evangelization

I hesitated to post this, but given the alarming nature of it, I couldn't resist.....it's all about demography and the shifting of faith.

I think it is imperative that the demographics of the world are understood. If you have the time, then Mark Steyn’s America Alone is the definitive book to read, but the following little You Tube video is a great cliff notes presentation on the issue. A blogging pal of mine somewhat jokingly said that Christ is going to have to return within the next generation. Otherwise, Israel as a nation will no longer exist for Him to return to.

Response is in comments section

Pope St. Pius V, The Battle of Lepanto And The Rosary

Sounds like a great movie in the making......ah...but in this PC infected world we live in, it'll probably never happen.

Culminating the RCIA program at the Saturday Night Vigil, the night when converts are accepted into the Catholic church, one needs to choose a famous biblical name, preferably a saint, to be confirmed under. I chose Pope St. Pius V.

I chose Pope St. Pius V because of his leadership in the fight against the Ottoman Empire, which helped prevent Christians from becoming Muslim slaves in the great Battle of Lepanto in the 16th century. He created the Holy League which was an alliance formed in Europe to prevent the spread of the Protestant movement, but more importantly, the spread of Islam by the Turks and the Ottoman Empire.

The Battle of Lepanto was the greatest naval battle in history at the time, defeating the Ottoman Empire and severly crippling the Turks' strength in a future war that saw the crushing defeat of the Ottoman Empire at the Gates of Vienna in 1683.

Pope Pius V, in the last year of his papacy in 1571, tried to rally the nations of Europe to join in a Holy League to stop and roll back the Muslim enemy which threatened the entire continent. Spain, whose King Philip II was also King of Austria, responded favorably. The Muslims were then engaged in the conquest of Cyprus, an island belonging to the Republic of Venice.

Leading Venetian officials would have preferred to have worked out some peaceful-coexistence agreement with the Sultan, but under the crusading influence of Saint Pius V, they decided to join the Holy League along with the republics of Genoa and Lucca and the dukes of Savory, Parma, Ferrara and Urbino.

The Papal fleet was of course part of the Holy Alliance. Pius V asked Philip to appoint Don Juan of Austria, the 25-year old son of Emperor Charles V, as commander-in-chief of a planned expedition against the Muslims. After receiving the banner of the Holy League from the Pope, through Cardinal Granvalla, Don Juan's fleet set sail from Genoa for Naples on June 26, 1571.

Few historians mention that just before the departure, Philip II presented Don Juan with a picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe which she had caused to be miraculously imprinted on the cloak of the Indian peasant Juan Diego in Mexico 40 years before. Don Juan placed the picture in the chapel of the admiral-vessel, the Genoese John Andrew Doria, asking for Mary's protection of his expedition.

On September 16, the Christian fleet put to sea. Don Juan anchored off of Corfu where he learned that the Muslims had leveled entire towns and villages and then retreated to the coast of Lepanto in the Gulf of Corinth.

At dawn on October 7, at the entrance to the Gulf of Patras, the Christian and Muslim fleets finally came face to face for the battle of Lepanto.

The wind and all military factors favored the Muslims, but Don Juan was confident. He boarded a fast ship for a final review of his fleet. He shouted encouraging words to the men and they shouted back. After Don Juan returned to his own position, the wind mysteriously changed to the advantage of the Christian fleet. First-hand witnesses wrote about this moment as a most dramatic turn-of-events resulting from an "unknown factor".

At that very moment, at dawn on October 7, 1571-- as Vatican Archives later revealed--Pope Pius V, accompanied by many faithful, was praying the Rosary in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore. From dawn to dusk the prayers continued in Rome as the Christians and the Muslims battled at Lepanto. When it was all over the Muslims had been defeated. Of some 270 Muslim ships, at least 200 were destroyed. The Turks also lost 30,000 men while Christian casualties numbered between 4,000 and 5,000.

The Rosary had won a great military victory. Like all truly great military leaders who hate war and love peace, Don Juan retired after his victory at Lepanto. He died a few years later at the age of 31. Another who took part in the great battle of Lepanto, Miguel de Cervantes, lived longer to write his famous tribute to Christian chivalry, Don Quixote.

Also among St. Pope Pius V's contributions that were the most important works to the church were his restoration of the Roman Missal to the ancient rite usage in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, and promotion of St. Dominic’s devotion to the Rosary with the pious recitation of the fifteen mysteries as well as living his life serving and helping the poverty stricken and the ill/severly ill.

Read more about the Battle of Lepanto here.......

Weekend Funnies

Lost on a rainy night, a nun stumbles across a monastery and requests shelter there.

Fortunately, she’s just in time for dinner and was treated to the best fish and chips she had ever tasted.

After dinner, she went into the kitchen to thank the chefs. She was met by two of the brothers.
The first one says, “Hello, I am Brother Michael, and this is Brother Charles.”
“I’m very pleased to meet you,” replies the nun. “I just wanted to thank you for a wonderful dinner. The fish and chips were the best I’ve ever had. Out of curiosity, who cooked what?”

Brother Charles replied, “Well, I’m the fish friar.”

She turned to the other Brother and said, “Then you must be…?”

“Yes, I’m afraid so — I am the chip monk.”

Looking For The Seven Sacraments in the "Our Father"

Awesome, I came across this here.

The 1st Station, the Station of Deliverance:

The petition is, "Deliver us from evil."
The sacrament of the 1st Station is Baptism, which delivers us from evil.

The 2nd Station, the Station of Trial:

The petition is, "Lead us not into temptation."
The sacrament of the 2nd Station is Confirmation, which strengthens us for trial.

The 3rd Station, the Station of Mercy:

The petition is, "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us."
The sacrament of the 3rd Station is Reconciliation, which brings us mercy.

The 4th Station, the Station of Consecration at the Altar:

The petition is, "Give us this day our daily bread."
The sacrament of the 4th Station is Eucharist, which brings us the Bread of Life.

The 5th Station, the Station of Consecration in Suffering:

The petition is, "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven."
The sacrament of the 5th Station is the Anointing of the Sick, which unites our suffering to the suffering of Christ, who did the Father's will on earth as in heaven.


The 6th Station, the Station of Ecclesial Communion:

The petition is, "Thy kingdom come."
The sacrament of the 6th Station is Holy Orders, which gives the priesthood of the kingdom begun here on earth.


The 7th Station, the Station of Personal Communion:

The petition is, "Hallowed be thy name."
The sacrament of the 7th Station is Matrimony, which makes of two persons, one, as the Holy Name is the Name of Three Persons in One.

Christ The King's Chapel for cancer patients of all faiths

It couldn't have happened at a more fitting time, and it couldn't have been a more powerful symbol.

When the 8-foot golden cross was placed atop the dome of the new St. Peregrine Chapel at Christ the King Catholic Church in Mesa on Good Friday, the church took one step closer to its goal of becoming a beacon of hope for people of all faiths who are suffering from cancer.
The church's pastor, the Rev. Steven Kunkel, was thrilled with the fact that construction workers just happened to choose Good Friday to install the cross atop the chapel dome.

"I think it was the work of the Holy Spirit," Kunkel said.
When the chapel opens sometime this summer, it will be a place for people to find prayer, peace, compassionate counseling and even free wigs.

The only facility of its type in Arizona, the chapel is not based on any model elsewhere.

Read the rest...............

Take a look a the St. Peregrine's Chapel website here.

View the Shrine's video here.

The Basic Principle Of Catholic Ethics Of Human Life and Christ And The Fifth Commandment

The Basic Principle Of Catholic Ethics Of Human Life
Persons are not things, objects of manipulation and control and design, to be judged by some other, higher standard than persons. There is no higher standard – God himself is personal (“I AM”). Persons are subjects, I’s. They are subjects of rights.They are not to be judged as worth more or less on some abstract, impersonal scale of health, intelligence,physical power, or length of life. Each life, each individual, each human being is unique, and each is equally and infinitely precious. That is the root of Catholic morality on all issues of human life.

Christ and the fifth Commandment
Instead of shrinking the fifth Commandment, as the modern “quality of life” ethic does, Christ expanded it. “In the Sermon on the Mount, the Lord recalls the commandment ‘You shall not kill,’ (Mt 5:21.) and adds to it the proscription against anger, hatred, and vengeance [Mt 5:21-22]. Going further, Christ asks his disciples to turn the other cheek, to love their enemies. (Cf. Mt 5:22-39; 5:44) He did not defend himself and told Peter to leave his sword in its sheath” (Cf. Mt 26:52.).

Men of CTK, Feel Free To Post Or Comment

If you feel this endeavor is beneficial, I can show you the ins and outs of posting/commenting at one the upcoming meetings.

A note from Deacon Tom:

Dear brothers,

Here is the schedule for the fall retreats:

Christ Renews-Men
October 17-18

Christ Renews-Women
October 24-25

I want to thank all of you for your continuing commitment to Christ Renews His Parish. You are a great group of men and your commitment to Christ and one another is very evident!

I would like to share with you a scripture passage from St. Paul that always gives me encouragement:

We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed;
perplexed, but not driven to despair;
persecuted, but not forsaken;
struck down, but not destroyed…
(2 Corinthians 4:8-9 - RSV)


In Christ,

Deacon Tom Bishop

Benedict at 82; The Last 20th Century Man

Yesterday Pope Benedict XVI celebrated his 82nd birthday. Time flies so quickly; it seems like yesterday he was visiting Ground Zero and greeting the youth of New York!





In honor of his birthday, I am reposting this from last April:

h/t The Anchoress

BENEDICT XVI; THE LAST 20th CENTURY MAN

It seems almost silly to say I am bringing coverage of Benedict XVI’s extraordinary sojourn in America to a close (actually, my final final thoughts are here) because the truth is I will likely be reading all of his addresses more closely and bringing them up in coming weeks, but the wall-to-wall writing will end here. I do want, though, to end with a thought that blipped through my head when Benedict was in DC, and again as he addressed the United Nations.

Benedict XVI is the last man of the 20th century to walk the global stage. He saw tyranny overtake his country and the minds and imaginations of his countrymen, as well as his own liberty. He watched the cold war play out and worked closely with one of the destructors of that system. That he viewed all of these things through the lens of faith and mystery means that his perspective is not only singular, it is supernatural, as well.

Before we knew him as Benedict, while he was still Joseph Ratzinger, he was telling us what he knew, but between his “rottweiler” caricature and all the religious wrappings, we missed it:

“…the population of an entirely planned and controlled world are going to be inexpressibly lonely … and they will then discover the little community of believers as something quite new. As a hope that is there for them, as the answer they have secretly always been asking for.” [emphasis mine - admin] — (from God and the World)

He knows. Listen to this 20th century man who sees what comes ahead because he vividly remembers all that came before - all that we want to believe we’ve left behind. He recognizes the tyrant because he has seen it, has felt its breath on his very neck. And in that statement, he acknowledges for us that the tyrant this time will eat up liberty so thoroughly that only in the spirit will freedom be found, nourished and strengthened. A totalitarian world without a spiritual defense will be unsurvivable.

Someone asked me why I did not write about Bill Maher’s standard-issue hate words about Benedict - timed to coincide with his visit and thus garner Maher the most attention.

I did not comment on Maher because it seemed pointless to; every word he speaks about Benedict proclaims himself, and his own lonely creed of atheism.

Bill Maher is a 21st century man; a fervent atheist, as fierce in his secular faith as the holiest of rollers. When I consider that line by then-Cardinal Ratzinger…”the population of an entirely planned and controlled world are going to be inexpressibly lonely…” I think Maher is already living there in that cold place, where one may lunch with the cool kids who hold court in the lunchroom, but then go home to a solitary room, hoping in nothing beyond their still-deigning to like you tomorrow.

Atheism may be the burgeoning movement, but that’s only because atheism is so easy. It requires nothing more of you than your willingness to cultivate cynicism, which is the laziest thing to grow. It lives of a piece with Benedict’s “dictatorship of relativism” and his counsel that

“relativism…does not recognize anything as definitive [its] ultimate goal consists solely of one’s own ego and desires.

…An “adult” faith is not a faith that follows the trends of fashion and the latest novelty; a mature adult faith is deeply rooted in friendship with Christ. It is this friendship that opens us up to all that is good and gives us a criterion by which to distinguish the true from the false, and deceipt from truth.

Relativism is a growth-stunter. When nothing matters and you answer for nothing, you’re living the life of a child, and a nation of children cannot survive for very long. Relativism-embracing Europe is dying for that reason, because growing up and parenting others is not just difficult, it is selfless; in relationships one is answerable to another.

In Christ we have a relationship, and Jesus calls us on it. We are answerable to Him, and (insofar as he has promised it) he to us.

Benedict knows this, just as he knew that sex scandals and bishops - including himself - must be called on and made answerable by and to the faithful, who in turn have their own responsibilities and relationships to maintain. This is hard stuff, not easy; it requires the cultivation of faith and trust, not cynicism. It requires the difficult, painful work of looking at things one would rather not, and asking forgiveness and trying to heal and rebuild. If we do that work, we can - eventually - look each other in the face, standing free and independent, living honorably together, in truth, and with no need to hide. We’ll be able to withstand the vagaries of life with hope, and joy and real peace.

Relativism is a game of hide-and-seek. Benedict XVI is calling out, “olly-olly-ox-in-free.” He’s saying “let’s get everyone out from the shadows” including the church itself.

That is the work of adult faith and if we now continue in this vein, we will be strengthened; we will grow; we will survive and be ready to face that cold, lonely “planned and controlled” world, and to ultimately defeat it. We begin again, as we mean to continue.

UPDATE: Just finishing my thought: Benedict is only a man - with all that coverage you might wonder if I have forgotten that, but I have not. He is a man, trying to shepherd the 21st Century, with the wisdom gleaned in the last century, the most deadly century. Actually, he is the last active soldier of the greatest generation, still standing, still fighting, and he will, I think, cast a giant shadow

Linking to this piece, Brian Saint-Paul at Inside Catholic makes a very insightful observation:

21st century man has skipped the last 100 years entirely. That’s why he can continue to parrot the parlour atheism of the 19th century without the 20th century’s sad lesson on where such things lead.

Beautifully said.

Change! White House Asked Catholic University to Cover Jesus Sign For Obama Talk

Georgetown hides the name of Jesus during Obama speechOfficials at Georgetown University covered over a sign that displayed the name of Jesus, at the request of the White House, when President Obama spoke on the Catholic campus on April 14, CNSNews reports. A sign reading "IHS"-- a Greek reference to Jesus-- was covered "so as not to be seen out of context," a Georgetown spokesman told CNSNews. . . .