News Flashes

(a tough stance for tolerance)

Prime Minister David Cameron addressing the Munich Security  Conference said, “We will not defeat terrorism simply by the action we take outside our borders….We will no longer truckle to politically correct notions  of passive tolerance.”

Germany’s  Chancellor, Angela Merkel stated that her countrymen’s attempts to live side by  side have failed, utterly failed.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy said, “The truth is that in all our  democracies we’ve been too concerned about the identity of the new arrivals and  not enough about identity of the country receiving them.”

In Englandand Ireland, effective 9/16, Catholic will go back to the obligation to abstain from meat on  Friday. (Comment: Hurrah! This is a  positive step in demonstrating our Catholicism. And what do you think about  this? aljagoe@comcast.net.)

After being accused of sabotaging efforts by  Catholic Bishops to report clerical sex abuse cases to the police, the Vatican made  the rare move to recalling its ambassador to Ireland. (Comment: Ouch!)

(A positive  step toward tolerance) Ronald Levy, a Stanford professor was the first Jew to  receive King Faisal International Prize in Medicine (known at the “Arab Nobel
Prize”).

 

Today’s  Martyrs

Fr. Hguyen Van Ly, who is recognized as one of Viet Nam’s most prominent advocates  for religious freedom and related human rights, has been re-arrested after being temporarily released from his 8-year prison sentence because of having suffered several strokes and a brain tumor. On July 25, the bastard Viet Nam authorities took him from a home for retired priest and returned him to jail.  The U. S.  Commission on International Religious Freedom has condemned the Vietnamese  government for this act.

 

My favorite priest, layperson, breathing  saint or organization

Allen Hunt is  my kind of a man. For his background, he is a fellow Southerner — from Georgia, he has  also made several major changes in his life, and he, too, is a Catholic  convert.

After achieving a successful career in the business world,  he got his Master of Divinity degree at Emory School of Theology and a PH.D. in  New Testament and Ancient Christian Origins at Yale University.  For several years he was a popular minister in Methodist churches in the Atlanta region, including  a leading mega-church with a 7,000 membership.

As a new ministry venture, he initiated The Allen Hunt Show, which began as a  local talk radio show and soon became a nationally syndicated weekend show. He  then had to step aside from ministry to devote full time to his radio  show.  Then in 2008, he converted to the Catholic Church. The following year, Allen was named to the prestigious Talkers Magazine’s 100 heavy hitters in  talk radio.

The success of the Allen  Hunt Show is achieved by Allen’s talent in addressing issues of morality  and faith in a comfortable way.  His charisma vibrates through the air waves. In addition to the masses of devoted listeners whom he reaches each weekend, Allen is a fireball in his many charitable endeavors, such as his annual Allen Hunt Show Luncheon to benefit the Murphy-Harpst Children’s Home in Cedartown,  Ga.

I would enjoy hosting a lunch for Allen and my London friend, Canon Stuart Wilson. With these two  spiritual giants, I would sit back, keep my mouth shut and listen with delight.

Now, tell me about your favorite Catholic priest,
layperson or organization that is making a difference

aljagoe@comcast.net 

 

Interesting Sayings

Let our heart be holy and unpolluted, as far as is  possible and may be. For so shall we follow Christ, according as he gives us  the grace, and he will dwell joyfully in us.

Saint  Cyril of Alexandria  (died in 444)

We must be cheerful, ready to receive things much  greater than ourselves. Let us be like children clapping their hands and giving  vent to their joy in shouts and laughter. We have but one thing to do – a very  easy thing at first sight – just to admire the handiwork of God, to live it for  its beauty and riches, to clap our hands in our surprise at its glories and its  mysteries. Dom Anscar Vonier, O.S.B.,
abbot of Buckfast Abber in Devon, England (died  1906)

Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a  member of Congress. But then I repeat myself. Mark  Twain

Some cause happiness wherever they go; others,  whenever they go. Oscar Wilde

Interesting Signs:

(In a  restaurant)  Unattended kids will be given a  shot of espresso and a free puppy

(On  a roadside) Drive Slow — See Our Village

Drive Fast – See Our Judge

(Historic Area- Fire Hazard  notice) Don’t even fart in the forest

Communiqués 

I think it was sacrilegious for you to picture Christ  holding a glass with an alcoholic drink! 
Mildred Rutledge, Jackson,MS

(Reply: Sorry, Mildred, but at the Wedding Feast at Cana,  I don’t think Christ ordered a diet Coke.)

As Joyful Catholics, in our day-to-day existence, we  must demonstrate visceral Catholicism.
Ellie Jacobs, Houston,  TX

 Jean-Baptiste Lamy, the first archbishop in Santa Fe, NM, wrote, “Let  there be a bonding with Jesus Christ. We deserve to be united with him by an
eternal love and joy.” Charles  Wiggins, Seattle,WA

 I am convinced one of the reasons many are  leaving the Church is    because Vatican II removed some of the pitons necessary in  practicing our Faith. Matilda  Miller, Cambridge, MA

It’s time to end the horseshit mentality war between  Jews, Christians and Muslims. Nostradamus, org.

Thank you for acknowledging the effective work  Missions-Connect is doing in helping the poor in Cambodia.   Khmer You, RT 

Chuckle  Time

Two nuns were embarrassed  when they went to the corner grocery store to get a 6-pack of beer for their  piazza party that evening. One explained to the grocer, “We use beer to wash  our hair. We call it the Catholic shampoo.”

He smiled and added a bag of pretzels, saying, “The curlers  are on the house.”

We do indeed need to show joy as Catholics.

 We do indeed need to show joy as Catholics.   My motto — “Be happily and uncomplicatedly Catholic.”

Michael J. Sheehan, Archbishop ofSanta Fe

 

-         The Joyful Catholic has been added to the select list of Catholic Blogs.

-         The British government is planning to end the current ban on religious ceremonies for same-sex marriages, but churches would not be required to perform such ceremonies.

-         Regarding where your charity dollars go, Catholic Charities and Salvation Army have the smallest administrative expenses. Those who eat up most of your charitable dollars before they reach recipients are: UNICEF ($1,200,000 for CEO Careel Stern); American Red Cross ($652,000 salary for President Marsha Evans), The United Way ($375,000 for President Brian Gallagher).

-         The World Bank reported that surging food prices have pushed 44million people worldwide into extreme poverty. This increases the number of undernourished people to 1 billion.

-         In his Easter message, Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, endorsed (though not specifically) us Joyful Catholics when he said, “We are officially told it is good to be happy. Politicians have started talking about happiness rather than prosperity and there is even a research programme on the subject… Let a thousand street parties blossom!”

 

                                                      Today’s Martyrs

Qamar David, a Catholic businessman inPakistan, who was imprisoned for life for blasphemy against the Koran, was tortured and murdered in jail on March 15.

                                 

My favorite priest, layperson, breathing saint or organization

 Tom Crowe recommends Father Michael Scanlan at the Franciscan University of Steubenville. “In 1974 when he took charge of the failing college, Father Scanlon re-invigorated it with the person of Jesus Christ, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, trying in every way to make the person of Christ the center of College activities. In getting to know the students, to solve the major problem of loneliness he launched the faith household system in which, today, 60 % of the student body participate. Under his guidance, the school grew from a few hundred students to over 2,400.

          “He initiated summer youth conferences which last year had 35,000 teens participating in 18 locations across the U. S.and Canada. On the local level, he was a champion of civil rights and personally integrated the local public swimming pool.

          “Father Mike, though his devotion to the Holy Spirit and his dedication to education has done as much as any single person in this country over the past 50 years to rebuild this Church. He is moving on to the next phase of his life. We are all better, much better, for his work at the tiny college in this post-industrial rust belt town, because from it emanates a spirit, an energy that can set the world on fire.

(Now, tell me about your favorite Catholic priest, layperson or organization that is making a difference.)

aljagoe@comcast.net

 Interesting sayings

 As I sit here, the beating of my heart, the ebb and flow of my breathing, the movements of my mind are all signs of God’s ongoing creation of me. I pause for a moment and become aware of the presence of God within me.

Sacred Space: The Prayer Book 2009

 

Ilia Delio on the cover of America, the Catholic

If the secular, scientific culture behaves like a rabbit, leaping across vast areas of discovery and invention, the Catholic Church too often behaves like a turtle, crawling up from behind, hesitant to accept new scientific discoveries.

Ilia Delio, O.S.F.

 

In Eugene O’Neill’s play, Lazarus Laughed, a witness standing by the tomb, half dead with fright, tells how Jesus and Lazarus looked at each other for a long time. Then Jesus smiles and Lazarus begins to laugh and cries out, “There is no death! There’s only life!”

Patricia Livingston

 

                                   Communiqués 

-         I congratulate your for your blog which fecundates our Catholicism.

Roger Wentworth,Cambridge,MA 

-         Your continuing to report on today’s Christians martyrs puts a dampener on the concept of respect for other religions.

Rezar Johnson, New York, NY 

-         How can I suggest a topic for one of your future blogs?

Helen Ellis, Miami, FL

(Please be my guest and send your suggestions to me at aljagoe@comcast.net)

 

Chuckle time

The bishop went into the church office and handed several pieces of paper to a young volunteer standing next to the shredder, “Please help me,” he said. “I don’t know how to work these different machines.”

          After the volunteer inserted the papers and pressed the button, the bishop said, “This is tomorrow’s homily I have been working on for two weeks. I only want one copy.”

 Special Intentions List

As you pray with a broad brush, please include these loved ones, who have been submitted by our readers. You, too, are invited to send me names of your special persons who are in need of prayer.  My address is aljagoe@comcast.net. They will be on the list for 60 days. At the end of that time, if prayers are still needed, you merely have to renew the name.

Juanita Caldwell, Isola Todd, Jill Todd, David Abbey, Linwood “Skip” Williams, Roseanne Somlock, Nicholas Gallagher, Tom Lewis, Donald Whitcomb, Violeta Zepeda, John Aylor, Rev. Joseph Marini, Enrique Portillo,

 Sharon McPike, Tom Ryan, Joseph Normile, Jim Quimby, Russell Edwards,  

Rev. Stephen Huffstetter, Hugh Cannon, Eric Moore, Joan Barrett,

8-year-old Michael Fotta and his parents, Lolita Alvarez,

Camilus Musselman, Ed Block, Isobel Milligan, Peter Bartkiewiez and his family, Joe Toles, Camilus Musselman,   Ed Cole, Bishop Thomas Olmsted,

Jay Parker, William Stephenson, Roger Stoven, Bob Abbott, Denny Kline, Lois Pinkin, Larry Mannino, Cheryl DeSantis, Lenore Sommers

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, Laura Marsh, Marie Lyons, John Vaughey,

Christian martyrs in the Middle East, those in refugee camps throughout the world, the Japanese victims of their recent calamity.

“Be happily and uncomplicatedly Catholic.”

We do indeed need to show joy as Catholics.

My motto — “Be happily and uncomplicatedly Catholic.”

 Michael J. Sheehan Archbishop of Santa Fe

News Flashes -

A good endorsement for Catholic schools. In her interview with The New York Times, Melinda Gates, co-chairwoman of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation said about her high school in Dallas: “The Ursuline nuns were a bit more liberal, so they really taught us how to think about the problems of the world. The school motto is “Serviam”, that is, “I will serve.” – Encouraging news about our young Catholics. Kevin Jackson, the Pastoral Seminarian at Texas A&M, reports that there are so many students attending their weekly Mass that they have run out of seats. Great going, Kevin!

 

Facit  Short Story

Morning thought  

Today, I’ll be a wave rider!

A Joyful Catholic, I am!

    My favorite priest, layperson, breathing saint or organization.

Among those I admire is Jeff Skoll, the Canadian billionaire. With his fortune, he is investing in movies with a positive message and projects that promote world peace. During his lifetime, he also plans to give away all that he has. With his chronic back pains which have not been eliminated with five operations, he also knows the price of self-suffering. Thank you, Jeff, for being a splendid example for all, both rich and poor.

(Now, tell me about your favorite Catholic priest, layperson or organization that is making a difference aljagoe@comcast.net)

 

Interesting sayings

God who, by the very laws of his infinite sanctity, must be infinite joy, infinite gladness; one might almost say the he wears an infinite smile of eternal happiness. While he strikes, his hands are full of sweetness, and we feel in our very faults we are received into his arms and find ourselves resting on the infinite sweetness of God.

Dom Anscar Vonier, O.S.B. the abbot of Buckfast Abbey in Devon, England, who died in 1906.

That which is loved is always beautiful. A Norwegian proverb

There is no room for pride of posturing once we realize that we cannot function at our best if we don’t want the best for everyone.

Kristin Armstrong

Acknowledge that without me you can do nothing, but I will never let you lack help as long as you keep your weakness and nothingness buried in my strength.

One of the many revelations of his Sacred Heart received by Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque, who died in 1690.

I can’t censor the gleam in my eyes. Charles Laughton

Communiqués –

Your blast at the folkie Masses should remind our priest that Pope Benedict XVI said, “ This celebration, at which God not only comes close to us but also enters the very fabric of our existence, is fundamental to being able truly to live with God and for God and to carry the light of God in this world. We must all work together to celebrate the Eucharist even more profoundly: not only as a rite, but as an existential process that touches me in the very depths of my being, more than any other thing.” Regina Hopkins, Minneapolis -

Your “Friggin’ Sing-along-Mass” is a well crafted vitriol of this current horrid practice in our Church. Ken Reggins, Cambridge, MA -

 It’s old codgers like you complaining about the new Mass who are trying to move the Church back into the Middle Ages. Oscar Backstrom, St. Augustine, FL

Chuckle time

When the old pastor returned to his parish after a month’s vacation, he was surprised to find that both the number of people coming for confession and the collections had peaked. The young priest who had been covering for him said, “You told me to do anything I wanted to do, and I did.” The old man nodded and said, “But I don’t approve of two things you have done; first, the drive-in confessional. And then, the neon sign on top of the church COME IN AND TELL OR GO TO HELL.

 

 

Special Intentions List

As you pray with a broad brush, please include these loved ones, who have been submitted by our readers. You, too, are invited to send me names of your special persons who are in need of prayer. My address is aljagoe@comcast.net. They will be on the list for 60 days. At the end of that time, if prayers are still needed, you merely have to renew the name. Juanita Caldwell, Isola Todd, David Abbey, Linwood “Skip” Williams, Roseanne Somlock, Nicholas Gallagher, Tom Lewis, Donald Whitcomb, Violeta Zepeda, John Aylor, Rev. Joseph Marini, Enrique Portillo, Sharon McPike, Tom Ryan, Joseph Normile, Jim Quimby, Russell Edwards, Gertrude Goldstein, Rev. Stephen Huffstetter, Hugh Cannon, Eric Moore, Joan Barrett, 8-year-old Michael Fotta and his parents, Lolita Alvarez, Camilus Musselman, Ed Block, Isobel Milligan, Peter Bartkiewiez and his family, Joe Toles, Grace Toomey, Bob Earll, Camilus Musselman, Ed Cole, Bishop Thomas Olmsted, Jay Parker, William Stephenson, Roger Stoven, Bob Abbott, Denny Kline, Lois Pinkin, Larry Mannino, Cheryl DeSantis