Evangelium Vitae Novena Day 7 - For Clergy

As the laity, we look to our shepherds for guidance. Preaching counter to the popular culture, however, is a monumental task. Our good priests and bishops are constantly under attack from the devil, as they bring the Word of Jesus to us. Today we pray that they be given the strength of true leaders, under the armor of God and the protection of Saint Michael the Archangel - for we are truly in a battle for souls.

Daily prayer: Pope Saint John Paul II's Prayer to our Lady.

O Mary

bright dawn of the new world,

Mother of the living,

to you do we entrust the cause

Look down, O Mother,

upon the vast numbers

of babies not allowed to be born,

of the poor whose lives are made difficult,

of men and women

who are victims of brutal violence,

of the elderly and the sick killed

by indifference or out of misguided mercy.

Grant that all who believe in your Son

may proclaim the Gospel of Life

with honesty and love

to the people of our time.

Obtain for them the grace

to accept that Gospel

as a gift ever new,

the joy of celebrating it with gratitude

throughout their lives

and the courage to bear witness to it

resolutely, in order to build,

together with all people of good will,

the civilisation of truth and love,

to the praise and glory of God,

the Creator and lover of life.

Day 7: March 22 - For a stronger witness from the clergy.

We need to make sure that in theological faculties, seminaries and Catholic institutions sound doctrine is taught, explained and more fully investigated. May Paul's exhortation strike a chord in all theologians, pastors, teachers, and in all those responsible for catechesis and the formation of consciences. Aware of their specific role, may they never be so grievously irresponsible as to betray the truth and their own mission by proposing personal ideas contrary to the Gospel of life as faithfully presented and interpreted by the Magesterium. EV 82.

Heavenly Father, Your message of the Gospel of life has been misinterpreted and diluted, ignored and ridiculed, devalued and denied by many within the Church. Please sharpen the consciences of Your shepherds; remind them of their great responsibility to transmit Your truths to the faithful. And create in them a loud voice that cries out above the clamour of the world, "Choose life and reject the culture of death!"

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Evangelium Vitae Meditations:

Evangelium Vitae Novena Day 1 - Contraception

Evangelium Vitae Novena Day 1 - Contraception

Evangelium Vitae Novena Day 2 - Abortion

Evangelium Vitae Novena Day 3 - Euthanasia of the Elderly and Disabled

Evangelium Vitae Novena Day 4 - Commodification of Unborn Children and Mothers

Evangelium Vitae Novena Day 5 - Sex Industry

Evangelium Vitae Novena Day 6 - Legislators

Evangelium Vitae Novena Day 7 - ClergyEvangelium Vitae Novena Day 8 - Laity

Evangelium Vitae Novena Day 9 - Chastity

Evangelium Vitae Novena 20th Anniversary - Closing Prayer

A New Priest, Nigerian Praise Songs, and Pentecost

Today, Pentecost, was an amazing faith experience for our parish. Newly ordained Father Emmanuel Cyril Udoh celebrated his Mass of thanksgiving with us. Fr. Emmanuel is from Nigeria and we have shared in his vocation as he came to us as a seminarian, then became a deacon, and finally a fully ordained priest. It's been a blessing to watch him grow in confidence as he was able to more fully minister to us as he strode confidently toward priesthood. His homilies were so inspiring and he always shared a beautiful smile - looking directly into one's eyes as those who are pure in spirit are prone to do.

Fr. Emmanuel's family - mother, father, sister - as well as a close friend joined us today. It was my husband's turn to lector, wearing his read tie, and our daughter sang joyfully about the Holy Spirit in the choir. I felt fully immersed, in a tangible way, in this beautiful day. How fitting that it was Pentecost! Father spoke of language barriers and shared that his homeland boasts a total of 250 native languages. Neatly, he tied in the multi-lingual miracle of Pentecost with the universality of the language of love. Genuine love honors no barriers - language or otherwise. It is something everyone understands.

As the Mass came to an end, we had the opportunity to speak with the Udoh family and then later share a brunch celebration with them. After the meal, our parish presented Fr. Emmanuel with a sick call set - engraved with his name and date of ordination. To our amazement, his family spontaneously broke into a song of thanksgiving! Later when the cards and notes from parishioners were presented, we were again treated to an outburst of song. The pure joy and unapologetic praise was something I will never forget. What a pleasure it has been to get to know this young man. He has all the markings of making a holy priest and a gift to those who are privileged to know him. We, the people of the parish of St. Elizabeth, are blessed to be among them.

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(L) Father posed with his father, mother, youngest sister, and good friend. (R) Erika and I put him to work right away by having him bless our handmade veils and bracelets.

Since I noticed that Mrs. Udoh covers during Mass and I make veils, I gave her a very special chapel veil that I made for Easter. Upon receiving the gift, she insisted on having our photo taken together. As you can tell from the result, some others were eager to be included in the moment as well.

Be sure to check out their wonderful praise songs in the videos below.

 

Father Emmanuel receives his sick call set from one of the parish council members.

His parents react to cards and notes from parishioners from St. Elizabeth.

Blog Blink - 13 Top Posts from 2013

Happy New Year!!!

As we bid farewell to the calendar year of 2013, I thought it might be fun to have a countdown of my 13 favorite/most popular posts. I'd like to extend a special thank you to Monica, over at Equipping Catholic Families, for the idea and for setting up this linking opportunity!

Graphics for Designs by Birgit's 13 best blog  posts of 2013

So, without further ado, here's the countdown of favorites for 2013:

#13 - St. Michael the Archangel Costume for Catholic Boys - Our boys are surrounded by floofy, pink princesses and their dress-up attire all year long. All Saints Day offered the opportunity to transform them into gallant, saintly heroes.

#12 - A Baker's Dozen: Reflections From a 17-Year-Old Bride - As my husband and I celebrated our 39th wedding anniversary, I shared my perspective as a teen bride.  

#11 - Pope Francis Wants a Mess? Let's Stir Up Some Pro-life Passion - Pope Francis famously gave the young people at World Youth Day the instruction to create a mess in proclaiming the Gospel. In this post I give his words a pro-life perspective.

#10 - Are Aborted Babies Saints in Heaven? - So many of us are affected by abortion or pregnancy loss. The age old question has been where do those babies go, since they were unable to obtain the sacrament of Baptism?

#9 - A Fool's Paradise or Sin Makes Us Stupid - Spring-boarding off a popular cleaning commercial, I share an inspirational sermon from a holy priest.

#8 - Hey Scarlet, Don’t Play Games With Your Soul - Putting off for tomorrow, what needs to be addressed today, is no way to prepare for His coming!

#7 - Don't be a Cafeteria Prolifer - Just as we can't pick and choose which Church teachings to which we adhere, we need to treat our unborn brethren without prejudice.

#6 - Angelina Jolie and Me: A Preemptive Strike at Breast Cancer - As an 8 year breast cancer survivor, carrying the often fatal BRCA-1 gene, I share moral and scientific reasons to take preventive measures.

#5 - Interior Disposition: Why Fix Your Hair, If You're Wearing a Veil? - All kidding aside, veiling is only an exterior devotion that should reflect an interior communion with Christ and His Church.

#4 - Meatless Friday: Hearty Crock Pot Potato Soup - This Meatless Friday recipe became wildly popular when it was picked up as a favorite with a crock pot cooking site. Yum!

#3 - News Flash! The Pope is Catholic - With the changing of the guard in the pontificate, speculation arose as to the faithfulness of the new pope and his more earthy 'style'. An in-depth look, however, confirms he is continuing to guide the Church faithfully.

#2 - Veiling Revisited - Is It Mandatory? - With my decision to begin the devotion of veiling a year and a half old, I reviewed some of the questions surrounding the revival of veiling.

And FINALLY, the most popular post of 2013...

#1 - Elf on the Shelf and Santa Claus - What are They Really Teaching Children? - Call me a Scrooge or call me a purist, but the Elf and I don't see eye to eye. While I don't condemn those who love the prank-filled interloper, I share my reasoning - based on family anecdotes. 

SHEESH, after compiling my list and creating a collage of graphics from the above posts, I realized that I'd omitted a popular and vital post from the collection.

Just call this your New Years BONUS post:

The Salvation Army: 5 Ethical Questions to Ask Before You Feed the Red Kettle - A part of charity is determining that our gift is going to an ethical organization, with ethical beliefs. The facts presented in this post might just surprise you.

*This post is also participating in a link-up over at Amongst Lovely Things



Now it's your turn...link up your favorites post here:

Holy Thursday and Foot Washing - Misunderstanding What Catholics Do

So here we are again - Holy Week. A most splendid - the most splendid week of the year! Yes, Christmas brings us the infant God made man, but during this week He fulfills that purpose for which he was conceived of the Virgin Mary. Holy Week, however, comes replete with painful awareness of how many Catholics (including clergy) simply don't choose to follow the instructions (rubrics anyone?) that clearly give priests the black - exact words to say - and the red - exact instructions for what they (and we, the faithful) are to do. Now before someone says, "but if it's not expressly forbidden, we can add to the things we can do", here's a word: NO!

Let's take some secular examples.

1) a prima ballerina decides that she will enhance the carefully crafted choreography of Swan Lake and just add some cutsie little steps here and there - at her pleasure.

2) a legal secretary decides that her boss' brief needs a bit of enhancement and throws in a few things she's learned at night school.

3) a sou chef takes the recipe of his master and tweaks it just a bit.

Pow! All heck would surely break out. Not just because the servant hadn't done what the master intended but also because the resulting chaos would affect everyone involved.

And so it is with the optional rite of Foot Washing - Mandatum (command) - on Holy Thursday. The rubrics are clear - men (viri) are to have their feet washed - twelve, if you want to follow Jesus' lead. Why twelve and why men, you might ask? Well, because a secondary function of our remembrance of that day (aside from the - very important - institution of the Eucharist!), is the institution of the priesthood, initiated with the twelve apostles. Can women become priests? Contrary to liberal wishes the answer has irrevocably been given by Pope John Paul II - never!

As has been pointed out by Fr. Z,"let it be remembered that the Church’s legislation allows for the washing of the feet of only men. MEN = VIRI = MEN. Not manish women or any other critter. Even if some claim to have received permission to wash the feet of women, and even if the claims were true, those permissions would in no way change the law for the rest of the world. Period. Furthermore, I have never seen a letter or a copy of a letter from the Congregation in Rome granting such a permission. I doubt anyone else has either".

Canon lawyer, Dr. Edward Peters has written about it thoroughly and shares the wording of the rubric with us - along with emphasis of the Latin, in which it was written. The word man (viri) can only be interpreted one way, and it's not mankind (or humankind).

I'd rather just see this optional rite done away with altogether. Why oh why does the focus always have to be on 'us' (the people)? Holy Thursday is about the institution of the priesthood. It is about the institution of the Eucharist. And yet, here we are again. With our self congratulatory songs, choirs up front so that we may focus away from everything that we should be focusing on - Jesus, present to us as food at the foot of the cross! I'm so very frustrated and it takes away my right to worship in the way Mass was intended* (complete with thorough instructions). I've seen even babies' feet washed, mostly women's feet washed, and commemorative towels given out as 'door prizes' for those women and men who participated. I'm beyond frustrated by this lack of saying the black and doing the red!

Rant over...

May we all celebrate a holy, Holy Thursday! Happy Holy Week!

The Last Supper - the reason for Holy Thursday!

*From Redemptionis Sacramentum (Latin, “The Sacrament of Redemption”).

"It is the right of the Christian people themselves that their diocesan bishop should take care to prevent the occurrence of abuses in ecclesiastical discipline, especially as regards the ministry of the word, the celebration of the sacraments and sacramentals, the worship of God, and devotion to the saints (24)."