As our week continues, I offer the Truro Cathedral choir singing William Maher’s Soul Of My Saviour:
31 July 2012
NH State Fire Marshal Warns of Gas Pipe Hazard
Flexible stainless steel gas tubing, used in homes and other buildings since the early 1990’s, presents a severe fire hazard from lightning strikes unless it is properly installed, according to New Hampshire State Fire Marshal J. William Degnan.
“There have been at least eight fires in New Hampshire since 2008 resulting in moderate to severe structural damage related to yellow coated corrugated stainless steel tubing (CSST),” Degnan said in a prepared statement. “The danger arises when this tubing is not properly grounded, allowing it to become energized if lightning strikes near a building.”
Degnan, who is Vice President of the National Association of State Fire Marshals, said the tubing is used with natural gas and propane installations. The tubing can be identified by its yellow coating, but he noted it may be used in inaccessible places. It can range from one-half in to two inches in diameter. It is flexible and easy to install and may have been used in renovations, gas piping system replacement or upgrades, or new appliance installations.
He urged building owners to have their gas systems inspected by a New Hampshire licensed fuel gas fitter who has been specially trained to identify and correct any problems in fuel gas systems.
The CSST industry and the National Association of State Fire Marshals are urging building owners to ensure that CSST gas piping systems are bonded to the electrical grounding system of the building. The bonding jumper or wire should be connected to the CSST piping system at the entry point of the natural gas or propane piping and run directly to the electrical grounding system.
Background information:
Water and the Legacy of Rachel Beckwith
In a recent post, Deacon Greg Kandra shared the story of Rachel Beckwith, who, instead of presents for her ninth birthday, asked friends and family to donate $9 so that children her age in Africa would have clean water to drink.
She fell short of her $300.00 goal, and, tragically, was killed in an automobile accident a month after her birthday.
However, there is more to the story:
The Deacon's Bench: “Water is life”: a 9-year-old girl’s remarkable legacy (27 JUL 12)
Lumen Gentium: The Mystery of the Church (33, continued)
Chapter IV of Lumen Gentium, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, is entitled “The Laity.” It continues as follows:
“33. . . . Besides this apostolate which certainly pertains to all Christians, the laity can also be called in various ways to a more direct form of cooperation in the apostolate of the Hierarchy (3*). This was the way certain men and women assisted Paul the Apostle in the Gospel, laboring much in the Lord.(198) Further, they have the capacity to assume from the Hierarchy certain ecclesiastical functions, which are to be performed for a spiritual purpose.
“Upon all the laity, therefore, rests the noble duty of working to extend the divine plan of salvation to all men of each epoch and in every land. Consequently, may every opportunity be given them so that, according to their abilities and the needs of the times, they may zealously participate in the saving work of the Church.”
(198) Cf. Philippians 4:3; Romans 16:3 ff.
(3*) Cfr. Pius XII, Alloc. Six ans se sont ecoules, 5 oct. l9S7: AAS 49 (19S7) p. 927. De mandato et missione canonica, cfr. Decretum De Apostolatu laicorum, cap. IV, n. 16, cum notis 12 et 15.
To access the complete document, please visit:
Archbishop Chaput on Building a Culture of Religious Freedom
“A friend of mine, a political scientist, recently posed two very good questions. They go right to the heart of our discussion today. He wondered, first, if the religious freedom debate had ‘crossed a Rubicon’ in our country’s political life. And, second, he asked if Catholic bishops now found themselves opposed – in a new and fundamental way – to the spirit of American society.”
Archbishop Charles Chaput, Archbishop of Philadelphia, recently gave the keynote address at the 2012 Napa Institute Conference.
To access a transcript of his presentation, please visit:
National Catholic Register: Building a Culture of Religious Freedom (27 JUL 12)
Background information:
The Napa Institute was organized to “equip Catholic leaders to defend and advance the Catholic Faith in ‘the Next America’ – today’s emerging secular society.”
Reflection Starter from St. Thérèse of Lisieux
“The value of our life does not depend on the place we occupy. It depends on the way we occupy that place.” – Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face (Saint Thérèse of Lisieux)
30 July 2012
Fire Adapted Communities
Last year, the U. S. Forest Service (part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture) reported more than 13,000 wildfires in the northeastern area. These fires burned more than 76,000 acres of forest and grassland. A number of these wildfires threatened, damaged, or destroyed structures that were located in the fire’s path.
Ina an initiative designed to help make their communities more defensible against wildfires, the National Fire Protection Association recently launched the Fire Adapted Communities website as a resource for homeowners, businesses, and emergency managers.
For more information about this resource, please visit:
Background information:
Lumen Gentium: The Mystery of the Church (33, continued)
Chapter IV of Lumen Gentium, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, is entitled “The Laity.” It continues as follows:
“33. . . . The lay apostolate, however, is a participation in the salvific mission of the Church itself. Through their baptism and confirmation all are commissioned to that apostolate by the Lord Himself. Moreover, by the sacraments, especially holy Eucharist, that charity toward God and man which is the soul of the apostolate is communicated and nourished. Now the laity are called in a special way to make the Church present and operative in those places and circumstances where only through them can it become the salt of the earth (2*). Thus every layman, in virtue of the very gifts bestowed upon him, is at the same time a witness and a living instrument of the mission of the Church itself ‘according to the measure of Christ's bestowal’.(197)”
(197) Ephesians 4:7.
(2*) Cfr. Pius XI, Litt. Encycl. Quadragesimo anno 15 maii 1931: AAS 23 (1931) p. 121 s. Pius XII, Alloc. De quelle consolation, 14 oct. 1951: AAS 43 (1951) p. 790 s.
To access the complete document, please visit:
Thank You, Lord
Thank you, Lord, for fresh garden vegetables and for those persons who raise them for their own families and for those who share their harvest with friends and neighbors.
On an Atheist’s Conversion
“Leah Libresco was raised in an atheist household on Long Island. She gained notoriety as an atheist blogger who focused on such diverse topics as math and morality. She often wrestled with Catholic ideas: the blog, mischievously titled ‘Unequally Yoked,’ initially started as a place where she could interrogate and consider arguments raised by her then boyfriend, a practicing Catholic. Needless to say, readers were startled when, on June 18, she announced her conversion to Roman Catholicism. ‘This is my last post for the Patheos Atheist portal,’ she wrote. The comboxes exploded.”
In a recent post, writer Eve Tushnet offered her recent interview with Leah Libresco. This report includes Ms. Libresco’s reflection on her conversion to Catholicism and on a number of other items.
To access Ms. Tushnet’s complete post, please visit:
Catholic Lane: A Geek and Her God: An Interview with Leah Libresco (25 JUL 12)
Reflection Starter from Robert Louis Stevenson
“Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant.” – attributed to Robert Louis Stevenson
29 July 2012
5-Alarm Fire Heavily Damages Charlton, MA, Warehouse
On Thursday, 26 July, a five-alarm fire heavily damaged the Old Woolen Mill warehouse at the intersection of City Depot Road and Route 31 in Charlton, MA. The fire destroyed six businesses, including a classic car restoration company.
The initial alarm was transmitted at approximately 2100 hours. Six firefighters were injured during the fire.
Media reports:
NECN: No hydrants to fight fire in Charlton, Mass. (27 JUL 12)
WCVB-TV: Fire destroys warehouse at Charlton mill complex (27 JUL 12)
Fire destroys warehouse at Mass. mill complex (26 JUL 12)
Telegram & Gazette: Investigators dig through Charlton mill blaze rubble (27 JUL 12)
Telegram & Gazette: Tenant warned about car-cutting business where fire started (28 JUL 12)
Telegram & Gazette: Slideshow: Charlton mill fire
Facebook: Providence Canteen (with photos from the fire scene)
YouTube: Charlton MA Mill Fire 72712
Background information:
On Gospel Values and Sports
At the 2012 Summer Olympics began, Catholic News Service offered a video reflection on how the church uses sports to teach Gospel values. The narrative is presented by Msgr. Mario Lusek, chaplain of the Italian Olympic team.
(Thank you, Deacon Greg Kandra, for the tip.)
Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Today is the Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. The assigned readings are 2 Kings 4:42-44, Ephesians 4:1-6, and John 6:1-15. The Responsorial Psalm is Psalm 145 (Psalm 145:10-11, 15-18).
For one version of the Responsorial Psalm set to music, please visit:
YouTube: Responsorial Psalm - Psalm 145 Praise to the Goodness and Greatness of God
Today’s Gospel reading is as follows:
Jesus went across the Sea of Galilee. A large crowd followed him, because they saw the signs he was performing on the sick. Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. The Jewish feast of Passover was near.
When Jesus raised his eyes and saw that a large crowd was coming to him, he said to Philip, “Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?” He said this to test him, because he himself knew what he was going to do.
Philip answered him, “Two hundred days’ wages worth of food would not be enough for each of them to have a little.”
One of his disciples, Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, said to him, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what good are these for so many?”
Jesus said, “Have the people recline.”
Now there was a great deal of grass in that place. So the men reclined, about five thousand in number.
Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to those who were reclining, and also as much of the fish as they wanted. When they had had their fill, he said to his disciples, “Gather the fragments left over, so that nothing will be wasted.”
So they collected them, and filled twelve wicker baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves that had been more than they could eat. When the people saw the sign he had done, they said, “This is truly the Prophet, the one who is to come into the world.”
Since Jesus knew that they were going to come and carry him off
to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain alone.
Reflections on these readings:
Oblates of St. Francis de Sales: Sundays Salesian: 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time (July 29, 2012)
A Concord Pastor Comments: Leftovers from Jesus' picnic! (28 JUL 12)
Dr. Marcellino D'Ambrosio: The Eucharist vs. Junk Food - You Are What You Eat
The Deacon's Bench: Homily for July 29, 2012: 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time (28 JUL 12)
The Lectionary: God sustains his people in time in need (17th Sunday in Ordinary Time B) (26 JUL 12)
Dr. Scott Hahn: Bread Left Over (July 29th 2012 - Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time)
The Word Encountered: The Bread of Life (Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time B)
Dominican Daily: Word to Life: Sirius XM: Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (28 JUL 12)
Lumen Gentium: The Mystery of the Church (33)
Chapter IV of Lumen Gentium, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, is entitled “The Laity.” It continues as follows:
“33. The laity are gathered together in the People of God and make up the Body of Christ under one head. Whoever they are they are called upon, as living members, to expend all their energy for the growth of the Church and its continuous sanctification, since this very energy is a gift of the Creator and a blessing of the Redeemer.”
To access the complete document, please visit:
Thank You,Lord
Thank you, Lord, for Your constant presence – whether we are aware of You or not, whether we acknowledge You or not.
Matthew Warner on Orthodoxy of the Heart
“Orthodox means right belief (or right opinion). And it’s certainly a useful way of categorizing doctrine or the teachings of various groups. But when I’ve applied the label to myself, I think I’ve often forgotten what it truly means to be orthodox (FYI – I’m not referring to the Orthodox Church here, just the act of being orthodox). I’ve seen it in a lot of others who call themselves orthodox, too.”
In a recent National Catholic Register commentary, Matthew Warner reflected on the essentials of orthodoxy.
To access Matt’s complete post, please visit:
Reflection Starter from Archbishop Fulton Sheen
“Dead bodies float downstream; it takes live bodies to resist the current.” - Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen
28 July 2012
André Rieu/Suzan Erens: "“Memory”
It’s time for some music from André Rieu: In this video, soprano Suzan Erens (from the Netherlands) is singing “Memory,” from the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Cats:
Westfield, MA, Police Officer Dies in Accident at Construction Site
Another New England public safety servant recently died in the line of duty, again a reminder of the hazards and stresses faced by the members of the region’s emergency services.
Officer Jose Torres, a 27-year veteran of the Westfield, MA, Police Department, died as a result injuries sustained when he was hit by a dump truck Thursday morning, 26 July, while directing traffic at a construction site in the vicinity of 44 Pontoosic Road.
Media reports:
NECN: Westfield, Mass. officer killed (26 JUL 12)
Background information:
Annie E. Casey Foundation Releases 2012 KIDS COUNT Data Book
Each year, the Annie E. Casey Foundation publishes the KIDS COUNT Data Book, which is designed to track the well-being of the nation’s children, state by state. As the foundation released this year’s Data Book, their 23rd, they reported that America’s children and families face a crossroad. “After the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, our economy has begun to slowly recover. Unemployment has declined and state revenues are trending upward, but the recovery is fragile. Many families are still coping with hardship caused by a long and deep recession, and states and localities still face serious fiscal challenges.”
To access the complete report, please visit:
Annie E. Casey Foundation: 2012 KIDS COUNT Data Book
2012 Data Book Profiles on Key Indicators of Child Well-being (New England States):2012 KIDS COUNT Data Book: Connecticut
2012 KIDS COUNT Data Book: Maine
2012 KIDS COUNT Data Book: Massachusetts
2012 KIDS COUNT Data Book: New Hampshire
2012 KIDS COUNT Data Book: Rhode Island
2012 KIDS COUNT Data Book: Vermont
Background information:
Lumen Gentium: The Mystery of the Church (32, continued)
Chapter IV of Lumen Gentium, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, is entitled “The Laity.” It continues as follows:
“32. . . . Therefore, from divine choice the laity have Christ for their brothers who though He is the Lord of all, came not to be served but to serve.(196) They also have for their brothers those in the sacred ministry who by teaching, by sanctifying and by ruling with the authority of Christ feed the family of God so that the new commandment of charity may be fulfilled by all. St. Augustine puts this very beautifully when he says: ‘What I am for you terrifies me; what I am with you consoles me. For you I am a bishop; but with you I am a Christian. The former is a duty; the latter a grace. The former is a danger; the latter, salvation’ (1*).”
(196) Cf. Matthew 20:28.
(1*) Cf. Conc. Vat. I, Sess. IV, Const. Dogm. Pastor aeternus. Denz. 1821 (3050 s.).
To access the complete document, please visit:
Thank You, Lord
Thank you, Lord, for people who serve our parish communities by cleaning and otherwise maintaining our church buildings.
Msgr. Pope on Meaning Well Vis-à-vis Doing Well
“I have noticed that it is very common today that moral assessments seem to center quite a lot around the intentions and feelings of the person involved. What is actually being done seems less significant and as long as a person ‘means well’ or feels something is right then it is OK for them and we should make no further moral discernment. It is enough for too many that the person feels the act is right and means well.”
In a recent commentary, Monsignor Charles Pope (pastor of Holy Comforter-Saint Cyprian Parish, Washington, DC) reflected on good intentions vis-à-vis actually doing well in our lives, in the life of our society.
To access Msgr. Pope's complete post, please visit:
Msgr. Charles Pope: It is not enough to mean well, we actually have to do well. (23 JUL 12)
Reflection Starter from Dale Carnegie
“Don’t be afraid to give your best to what seemingly are small jobs. Every time you conquer one it makes you that much stronger. If you do the little jobs well, the big ones tend to take care of themselves.” – Dale Carnegie
27 July 2012
Urban Institute Reports on One Initiative to Address Chronic Truancy
The Urban Institute is offering a report by the Case Management Partnership Initiative that addresses chronic truancy by linking truant ninth graders and their families to social services and case management, along with regular interagency case management meetings.
A pilot initiative was conducted at Anacostia and Ballou High Schools, the District of Columbia during the 2011-2012 school year. The initial evaluation of this initiative found that the pilot program successfully implemented an interagency partnership and linked families to needed services, which likely improved family well-being. Whether this impacted truancy is not yet known.
To access the complete report, please visit:
Background information:
Lumen Gentium: The Mystery of the Church (32, continued)
Chapter IV of Lumen Gentium, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, is entitled “The Laity.” It continues as follows:
“32. . . . If therefore in the Church everyone does not proceed by the same path, nevertheless all are called to sanctity and have received an equal privilege of faith through the justice of God.(194) And if by the will of Christ some are made teachers, pastors and dispensers of mysteries on behalf of others, yet all share a true equality with regard to the dignity and to the activity common to all the faithful for the building up of the Body of Christ. For the distinction which the Lord made between sacred ministers and the rest of the People of God bears within it a certain union, since pastors and the other faithful are bound to each other by a mutual need. Pastors of the Church, following the example of the Lord, should minister to one another and to the other faithful. These in their turn should enthusiastically lend their joint assistance to their pastors and teachers. Thus in their diversity all bear witness to the wonderful unity in the Body of Christ. This very diversity of graces, ministries and works gathers the children of God into one, because ‘all these things are the work of one and the same Spirit’.(195)”
(194) Cf. 2 Peter 1:1.
(195) 1 Corinthians 12:11.
To access the complete document, please visit:
Thank You, Lord
Thank you, Lord, for the gift of fans and the ways in which they help circulate air. Thank you also for the people who design, manufacture, distribute, install, and maintain them.
Msgr. Pope on the Secular World’s Rejection of Natural Law
“One of the great losses to Western Culture is the increasing refusal to accept that there is a Natural Law to which we may commonly refer. This is especially problematic in pluralistic and secularist societies like the post-Christian West where reference to the sacred text of Scripture is not considered authoritative by many.”
In a recent commentary, Monsignor Charles Pope (pastor of Holy Comforter-Saint Cyprian Parish, Washington, DC) reflected on the relationship between the abandonment of Natural Law and the declining West’s “collective decision to take a moral holiday.”
To access Msgr. Pope's complete post, please visit:
Msgr. Charles Pope: A Lament at the Secular World’s Rejection of Natural Law (19 JUL 12)
Reflection Starter from John Quincy Adams
“The Sermon on the Mount commands me to lay up for myself treasures, not upon earth, but in Heaven. My hopes of a future life are all founded upon the Gospel of Christ.” – John Quincy Adams, in a letter after negotiating the Treaty of Ghent, 24 December 1814
26 July 2012
IAFC: Smart Choices for Smoke Alarm Placement
The International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) offers an on-line tool kit designed to help firefighters encourage homeowners to understand smoke alarms and think strategically about their placement.
Fire safety officials recommend that homeowners make sure they have alarms in every bedroom or just outside the bedroom in the hallway.
For more information about this tool kit, please visit:
IAFC: Smart Choices for Smoke Alarm Placement
Background information:
U.S. Fire Administration: Smoke Alarms
U.S. Fire Administration: Smoke Alarms: What You Need to Know
Lumen Gentium: The Mystery of the Church (32)
Chapter IV of Lumen Gentium, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, is entitled “The Laity.” It continues as follows:
“32. By divine institution Holy Church is ordered and governed with a wonderful diversity. ‘For just as in one body we have many members, yet all the members have not the same function, so we, the many, are one body in Christ, but severally members one of another’.(191) Therefore, the chosen People of God is one: ‘one Lord, one faith, one baptism’(192); sharing a common dignity as members from their regeneration in Christ, having the same filial grace and the same vocation to perfection; possessing in common one salvation, one hope and one undivided charity. There is, therefore, in Christ and in the Church no inequality on the basis of race or nationality, social condition or sex, because ‘there is neither Jew nor Greek: there is neither bond nor free: there is neither male nor female. For you are all ‘one’ in Christ Jesus’.(193)”
(191) Romans 12:4-5
(192) Cf. Ephesians 4:5.
(193) Galatians 3:28; cf. Colossians 3.11.
To access the complete document, please visit:
Thank You, Lord
Thank you, Lord, the gift of electricity and for those who work to provide it to our homes and communities.
Father James Schall on the Message of Christianity
“The characteristic of the modern age is that men concentrate on themselves and what they can and want to do. This and this alone is what life is about. No outside source can guide, command, or coerce us. Man is autonomous. He is only what he makes himself to be, whatever it is. He does not make himself into what he ‘ought’ to be. The word ‘ought’ has no meaning.”
In a recent commentary, Father James Schall, S. J., Professor of Political Philosophy at Georgetown University, reflected on one aspect of the meaning of life as reflected by the life of Jesus.
Crisis Magazine: The Point of Christianity (18 JUL 12)
Background information:
Reflection Starter from Bernice Johnson Reagon
“Life’s challenges are not supposed to paralyze you, they’re supposed to help you discover who you are.” – Bernice Johnson Reagon
25 July 2012
CDC Reports on Motor Vehicle Crash Deaths in Metropolitan Areas
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), although rates have declined in recent years, motor vehicle crashes remain a leading cause of injury death in the United States. In 2009, a total of 34,485 motor vehicle crash deaths were reported among U.S. residents, and 22% of those who died were aged 15–24 years. Motor vehicle crashes were the leading cause of death for that age group, which represents approximately 14% of the total U.S. population.
To assess patterns in motor vehicle crash death rates for persons of all ages and for those aged 15–24 years, in recognition of the elevated risk for this age group, CDC used data from the National Vital Statistics System and the U.S. Census Bureau for 2009 representing the 50 most populous U.S. metropolitan statistical areas (including Boston – Cambridge – Quincy, Massachusetts – New Hampshire; Hartford – West Hartford – East Hartford, Connecticut; and Providence – New Bedford – Fall River, Rhode Island – Massachusetts). Although rates for the MSAs generally were lower than the rate for the nation as a whole, higher rates for persons aged 15–24 years were observed both in the MSAs and nationally. According to CDC, the wide variation in rates among MSAs suggests a need to better understand how urban development patterns might relate to MVC deaths and to identify and implement effective strategies to reduce the number of such deaths.
To access the complete report, please visit:
CDC: Motor Vehicle Crash Deaths in Metropolitan Areas — United States, 2009
Background information:
The Vocal Majority: “You Raise Me Up”
As we continue to live this week, I offer The Vocal Majority singing “You Raise Me Up”:
Background information:
Lumen Gentium: The Mystery of the Church (31)
Chapter IV of Lumen Gentium, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, is entitled “The Laity.” It continues as follows:
“31. The term laity is here understood to mean all the faithful except those in holy orders and those in the state of religious life specially approved by the Church. These faithful are by baptism made one body with Christ and are constituted among the People of God; they are in their own way made sharers in the priestly, prophetical, and kingly functions of Christ; and they carry out for their own part the mission of the whole Christian people in the Church and in the world.
“What specifically characterizes the laity is their secular nature. It is true that those in holy orders can at times be engaged in secular activities, and even have a secular profession. But they are by reason of their particular vocation especially and professedly ordained to the sacred ministry. Similarly, by their state in life, religious give splendid and striking testimony that the world cannot be transformed and offered to God without the spirit of the beatitudes. But the laity, by their very vocation, seek the kingdom of God by engaging in temporal affairs and by ordering them according to the plan of God. They live in the world, that is, in each and in all of the secular professions and occupations. They live in the ordinary circumstances of family and social life, from which the very web of their existence is woven. They are called there by God that by exercising their proper function and led by the spirit of the Gospel they may work for the sanctification of the world from within as a leaven. In this way they may make Christ known to others, especially by the testimony of a life resplendent in faith, hope and charity. Therefore, since they are tightly bound up in all types of temporal affairs it is their special task to order and to throw light upon these affairs in such a way that they may come into being and then continually increase according to Christ to the praise of the Creator and the Redeemer.”
To access the complete document, please visit:
Thank You, Lord
Thank you, Lord, for the prayers offered for us (as individuals and/or as part of a group) and the ways in which You deem to answer these prayers.
On the Relationship Between Faith and Reason
“One of my friends, the most brilliant man I know, is a molecular biologist. He is also a Dominican priest, equally at home speaking to world-class scientists on the aging of cells as he is speaking to ordinary people on submitting to the direction of the Holy Spirit in all that they do, including such simple things as deciding what path to take to go home.”
In a recent commentary, Anthony Esolen (a writer and lecturer at Providence College) reflected on the relationship between faith and reason.
To access Professor Esolen’s complete post, please visit:
Reflection Starter from Mark Hart
“‘Anti-Christian’ people don’t do nearly as much damage to Christ’s Church as joyless Christians do.” – Mark Hart (The Bible Geek)
24 July 2012
Lumen Gentium: The Mystery of the Church (30)
Chapter IV of Lumen Gentium, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, is entitled “The Laity.” It begins as follows:
“30. Having set forth the functions of the hierarchy, the Sacred Council gladly turns its attention. to the state of those faithful called the laity. Everything that has been said above concerning the People of God is intended for the laity, religious and clergy alike. But there are certain things which pertain in a special way to the laity, both men and women, by reason of their condition and mission. Due to the special circumstances of our time the foundations of this doctrine must be more thoroughly examined. For their pastors know how much the laity contribute to the welfare of the entire Church. They also know that they were not ordained by Christ to take upon themselves alone the entire salvific mission of the Church toward the world. On the contrary they understand that it is their noble duty to shepherd the faithful and to recognize their miniseries and charisms, so that all according to their proper roles may cooperate in this common undertaking with one mind. For we must all ‘practice the truth in love, and so grow up in all things in Him who is head, Christ. For from Him the whole body, being closely joined and knit together through every joint of the system, according to the functioning in due measure of each single part, derives its increase to the building up of itself in love’.(190)”
(190) Ephesians 4:15-16.
To access the complete document, please visit:
Catholic Faith Moves Man to Forgiveness
“Arturo Martinez-Sanchez says he had no choice but to forgive the man suspected of sexually assaulting and killing his wife and young daughter in an April 2012 attack that also left him seriously wounded.”
A recent Catholic News Agency article reported on the response of Mr. Martinez-Sanchez after the attack in Las Vegas, NV. He is slowly recovering from his injuries, and he has since reopened his boxing gym.
In the article, Mr. Martinez-Sanchez reflects on the importance of God’s command to forgive others who hurt us.
To access the complete CNA article, please visit:
Reflection Starter from Samuel Adams
“If men of wisdom and knowledge, of moderation and temperance, of patience, fortitude and perseverance, of sobriety and true republican simplicity of manners, of zeal for the honour of the Supreme Being and the welfare of the commonwealth; if men possessed of these other excellent qualities are chosen to fill the seats of government, we may expect that our affairs will rest on a solid and permanent foundation.” – Samuel Adams (1780)
23 July 2012
Forum Report: Overweight and Obesity in Massachusetts - A Focus on Physical Activity
The New England Alliance for Children’s Health recently released a report on the Massachusetts Health Policy Forum, “Overweight and Obesity in Massachusetts: A Focus on Physical Activity.” This event, held on 16 May, was cosponsored by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, the Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Foundation, and the Boston Foundation.
According to the Massachusetts Health Policy Forum, inadequate physical activity is a driving force behind the childhood obesity epidemic. Overall, Massachusetts ranks 33rd for percentage of overweight and obese children compared to the rest of the country, and last with the lowest percentage of high school students who meet the recommendation for sixty minutes of daily physical activity. The state also ranks in the bottom 25% for overall policy environment to promote physical education. With one in three children and two out of three adults in the nation overweight or obese, the Forum is advising that this is becoming a crisis of obesity-related disease, societal stress, and economic burden. Reversing this dangerous trend requires making physical activity a higher priority. Change needs to come through state-wide action, school initiatives, and community-based intervention, and it requires support from a broad-based coalition of engaged stakeholders.
To access the complete Forum report, please visit:
Background information:
Lumen Gentium: The Mystery of the Church (29, continued)
Chapter III of Lumen Gentium, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, is entitled “On the Hierarchical Structure of the Church and in Particular of the Episcopate.” It continues as follows:
“29. . . . Since these duties, so very necessary to the life of the Church, can be fulfilled only with difficulty in many regions in accordance with the discipline of the Latin Church as it exists today, the diaconate can in the future be restored as a proper and permanent rank of the hierarchy. It pertains to the competent territorial bodies of bishops, of one kind or another, with the approval of the Supreme Pontiff, to decide whether and where it is opportune for such deacons to be established for the care of souls. With the consent of the Roman Pontiff, this diaconate can, in the future, be conferred upon men of more mature age, even upon those living in the married state. It may also be conferred upon suitable young men, for whom the law of celibacy must remain intact.”
To access the complete document, please visit:
Dr. Peter Kreeft on the Uniqueness of Christianity
“Ronald Knox once quipped that ‘the study of comparative religions is the best way to become comparatively religious.’ The reason, as G. K. Chesterton says, is that, according to most ‘scholars’ of comparative religion, ‘Christianity and Buddhism are very much alike, especially Buddhism.’
“But any Christian who does apologetics must think about comparative religions because the most popular of all objections against the claims of Christianity today comes from this field. The objection is not that Christianity is not true but that it is not the truth; not that it is a false religion but that it is only a religion. The world is a big place, the objector reasons; ‘different strokes for different folks’. How insufferably narrow-minded to claim that Christianity is the one true religion! God just has to be more open-minded than that.”
In a recent commentary, Peter Kreeft, Ph.D. (professor of philosophy at Boston College, author, and speaker), reflected on Christianity (especially Catholicism) and its relationship to other religions.
To access Dr. Kreeft’s complete post, please visit:
Dr. Peter Kreeft: The Uniqueness of Christianity (17 JUL 12)
Reflection Starter from Stephen Covey
“You have to decide what your highest priorities are and have the courage – pleasantly, smilingly, nonapologetically – to say ‘no’ to other things. And the way to do that is by having a bigger ‘yes’ burning inside. The enemy of the ‘best’ is often the ‘good.’” – Dr. Stephen Covey
22 July 2012
Basil Valdez: “Lead Me Lord”
As our Sunday celebration continues, I offer this version of “Lead Me Lord” by Basil Valdez (with video shots of the Banaue Rice Terraces) in the mountains of Ifugao in the Philippines):
Lumen Gentium: The Mystery of the Church (29)
Chapter III of Lumen Gentium, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, is entitled “On the Hierarchical Structure of the Church and in Particular of the Episcopate.” It continues as follows:
“29. At a lower level of the hierarchy are deacons, upon whom hands are imposed ‘not unto the priesthood, but unto a ministry of service.’(74*) For strengthened by sacramental grace, in communion with the bishop and his group of priests they serve in the diaconate of the liturgy, of the word, and of charity to the people of God. It is the duty of the deacon, according as it shall have been assigned to him by competent authority, to administer baptism solemnly, to be custodian and dispenser of the Eucharist, to assist at and bless marriages in the name of the Church, to bring Viaticum to the dying, to read the Sacred Scripture to the faithful, to instruct and exhort the people, to preside over the worship and prayer of the faithful, to administer sacramentals, to officiate at funeral and burial services. Dedicated to duties of charity and of administration, let deacons be mindful of the admonition of Blessed Polycarp: ‘Be merciful, diligent, walking according to the truth of the Lord, who became the servant of all.’(75*)”
(74*) Constitutiones Ecclesiac aegyptiacae, III, 2: ed. Funk, Didascalia, II, p. 103. Statuta Eccl. Ant. 371: Mansi 3, 954.
(75*) S. Polycarpus, Ad Phil. 5, 2: ed. Funk, I, p. 300: Christus dicitur . omnium diaconus factus .. Cfr. Didache, 15, 1: ib., p. 32. S.Ignatius M. Trall. 2, 3: ib., p. 242. Constitutiones Apostolorum, 8, 28, 4: ed. Funk, Didascalia, I, p. 530.
To access the complete document, please visit:
Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Today the Church celebrates the Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. The assigned readings are: Jeremiah 23:1-6, Ephesians 2:13-18, and Mark 6:30-34. The Responsorial Psalm is Psalm 23 (Psalm 23:1-6).
For one version of the Responsorial Psalm set to music, please visit:
YouTube: Gelineau "Responsorial Psalm 23"
The Gospel reading is as follows:
The apostles gathered together with Jesus and reported all they had done and taught. He said to them, "Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while."
People were coming and going in great numbers, and they had no opportunity even to eat. So they went off in the boat by themselves to a deserted place. People saw them leaving and many came to know about it. They hastened there on foot from all the towns and arrived at the place before them.
When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.
Reflections on these readings:
Oblates of St. Francis de Sales: Sundays Salesian: 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time (July 22, 2012)
The Deacon's Bench: Homily for July 22, 2012: 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time (21 JUL 12)
Dr. Scott Hahn: One Flock (July 22nd 2012 - Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time)
The Word Encountered: Jesus No Boy-O (Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time B)
Dominican Daily: Word to Life: Sirius XM: Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (21 JUL 12)
Thank You, Lord
Thank you, Lord, for the many ways You surround us with the mantle of Your love when we are facing tragedies.
Denver Bishops Respond to Aurora Shootings
“Last night at the Century Movie Theater in Aurora, a gunman walked into a full theater and opened fire on scores of moviegoers. In the largest mass shooting in America in more than five years, 12 people were killed and about 50 were wounded by gunfire. We are shocked and saddened by this tragedy. Our hearts and prayers go out to those impacted by this evil act.”
Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila and Auxiliary Bishop James D. Conley of the Archdiocese of Denver recently released a joint statement on the recent tragic mass shooting in Aurora, Colorado.
To access their complete statement, please visit:
Media report:
Catholic News Agency: Mass in Aurora draws people seeking answers to tragedy (20 JUL 12)
Reflection Starter from Archbishop Charles Chaput
“Asking a Christian to keep his religion out of the public square is like asking a married man to act single in public.” – Archbishop Charles Chaput, O.F.M. Cap.
21 July 2012
Peter, Paul and Mary: “Puff The Magic Dragon”
In this video, Peter, Paul and Mary sing their well-loved song, “Puff The Magic Dragon”:
Drowned Buildings
“Buildings of different purposes, rising out of lakes and rivers, submerged in gallons of water - the places where people once lived and worked, a homes to weeds and fishes now. These buildings were flooded and drowned by men's own doing, in their hurry to change nature's path for dams and reservoirs.”
The World Geography recently offered these photos of “drowned buildings” rising out of the water:
The World Geography: 8 Amazing Drowned Buildings
There are also areas in New England with drowned villages (although they are usually well under water). These include the Scituate Reservoir in Rhode Island and the Quabbin Reservoir in Massachusetts. When these reservoirs were built, the structures in the affected communities were dissembled (and in some cases moved), although the foundations remain.
Southern Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket, and Mount Hope Bay Designated No Discharge Areas
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has designated the coastal waters of Nantucket, Vineyard Sounds and the Islands, and Mount Hope Bay in Massachusetts as “No Discharge Areas.” According to EPA, this designation completes the protection of more than 95 percent of Massachusetts coastal waters from boat-generated sewage pollution.
With this designation, discharges of treated and untreated boat sewage are prohibited within the town boundaries of Chilmark, West Tisbury, Tisbury, Oak Bluffs, Edgartown, Gosnold, Falmouth, Mashpee, Barnstable, Yarmouth, Dennis, Harwich, Chatham, and Nantucket as well as within the waters of Mt. Hope Bay. The designation for Mt. Hope Bay means that discharging boat sewage is prohibited within the town boundaries of Dighton, Berkley, Freetown, Somerset, Swansea, and Fall River. Mount Hope Bay is a shared waterbody between Massachusetts and Rhode Island, and in 1998 Rhode Island designated all of its state waters, including Mount Hope Bay, as no discharge.
Many other areas in New England already have designated their coastal waters as No Discharge Areas, including:
- all state marine waters of Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire, and
- Boothbay Harbor, Casco Bay, Kennebunk/Kennebunkport/Wells, the Southern Mount Desert area, and West Penobscot Bay (Camden/Rockport/Rockland), Maine.
For more information on the “No Discharge Areas”, please visit:
Lumen Gentium: The Mystery of the Church (28, continued)
Chapter III of Lumen Gentium, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, is entitled “On the Hierarchical Structure of the Church and in Particular of the Episcopate.” It continues as follows:
“28. . . . In virtue of their common sacred ordination and mission, all priests are bound together in intimate brotherhood, which naturally and freely manifests itself in mutual aid, spiritual as well as material, pastoral as well as personal, in their meetings and in communion of life, of labor and charity.
“Let them, as fathers in Christ, take care of the faithful whom they have begotten by baptism and their teaching.(186) Becoming from the heart a pattern to the flock,(187) let them so lead and serve their local community that it may worthily be called by that name, by which the one and entire people of God is signed, namely, the Church of God.(188) Let them remember that by their daily life and interests they are showing the face of a truly sacerdotal and pastoral ministry to the faithful and the infidel, to Catholics and non-Catholics, and that to all they bear witness to the truth and life, and as good shepherds go after those also,(189) who though baptized in the Catholic Church have fallen away from the use of the sacraments, or even from the faith.
“Because the human race today is joining more and more into a civic, economic and social unity, it is that much the more necessary that priests, by combined effort and aid, under the leadership of the bishops and the Supreme Pontiff, wipe out every kind of separateness, so that the whole human race may be brought into the unity of the family of God.”
(186) Cf. 1 Corinthians 4:15; 1 Peter 1:23.
(187) 1 Peter 5:3.
(188) Cf. 1 Corinthians 1:2; 2 Corinthians 1:1.
(189) Cf. Luke 15:4-7.
To access the complete document, please visit:
Thank You, Lord
Thank you, Lord, for the variety of fragrances that come forth from plant life as a consequence of summer heat, gentle rain, and other natural conditions.
Joanne McPortland on Bright Lines and the Catholic Church
“I have come home to a Church that is all about bright lines, honoring clearly defined rules and standards that leave little room for personal interpretation – not in all areas, by any means, but in the ones that count. I have come home to a Church that does not tolerate everything and does not apologize for that – but one that, get this, does not mistake tolerance for love and intolerance for hate. I have come home to a Church that is hierarchical in structure and teaching, one that privileges Scripture and Tradition over personal revelation, natural law over experiment, life in its messiness over temporal expediency, the common good over the individual entitlement, God’s will over what I want. In a world of Anything Goes, I have come home to a Church that says No, It Doesn’t.”
In a recent commentary, writer Joanne McPortland reflected on one aspect of the Church and its place in the world.
To access her complete post, please visit:
Reflection Starter from Fulton Sheen
“It [the Catholic Church] never suits the particular mood of any age, because it was made for all ages. A Catholic knows that if the Church married the mood of any age in which it lived, it would be a widow in the next age. The mark of the true Church is that it will never get on well with the passing moods of the world: ‘I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.’ (John 15:19)” – Venerable Fulton J. Sheen
20 July 2012
Midsummer Drowning Checkup: 90 Child Drownings Nationwide since Memorial Day
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s (CPSC) Pool Safely: Simple Steps Save Lives campaign is reporting that ninety children younger than 15 were reported to have drowned in swimming pools since Memorial Day.
According to media reports, an additional 106 children of that age required emergency response for near-drowning incidents. CPSC is advising that these incidents provide a sobering reminder of how a fun day at the pool can quickly turn tragic.
The figures show that young children and toddlers are especially vulnerable to drowning because 72 percent of the children reported to have drowned since Memorial Day were younger than five years old.
In light of this information, the campaign is encouraging water parks, municipal swimming pools, and other indoor and outdoor aquatic facilities to celebrate Pool Safely Day, an annual event promoting water safety that encourages all Americans to pool safely every day. Participants from around the U.S. will be participating in Pool Safely Day activities during the week of July 22-29, 2012. More than 70 facilities in 30 states have registered events with CPSC during that week. Planned events include free swimming lessons, CPR training, and distributing Pool Safely information materials to parents and caregivers.
CPSC's latest submersion report shows that an average of 390 pool or spa-related drownings occur each year for children younger than 15, based on statistics from 2007-2009. About 5,200 pool or spa-related emergency department-treated submersion injuries occur on average each year for children younger than 15.
The Pool Safely campaign offers information on simple steps that parents, caregivers, and pool owners can take to ensure that children and adults stay safe around pools and spas, including:
- Stay close, be alert and watch children in and around the pool. This means never leave children unattended in a pool or spa; always watch children closely around all bodies of water; teach children basic water safety tips; and keep children away from pool drains, pipes and other openings.
- Learn and practice water safety skills. This means every family member should know how to swim and learning to perform CPR on children and adults.
- Have appropriate equipment for your pool or spa. This include fencing, a lockable safety cover, proper drain covers to avoid entrapments, and lifesaving equipment such as life rings and a reaching pole.
The Pool Safely campaign was launched in 2010 to raise awareness about pool and spa safety, as mandated by the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act. This year, the campaign is increasing its focus on populations most at risk of drowning, including children younger than 5 years old (who represent 75 percent of child drowning fatalities on average) and African American and Hispanic children between the ages of 5 and 14 (who drown at higher rates than white children, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). Data from USA Swimming indicates that 70 percent of African American children and 62 percent of Hispanic children cannot swim, making them especially vulnerable to drowning.
Background information:
CPSC: Pool Safely: Simple Steps Save Lives Campaign
CPSC: Pool or Spa Submersion: Estimated Injuries and Reported Fatalities, 2012 Report (May 2012)
Lumen Gentium: The Mystery of the Church (28, continued)
Chapter III of Lumen Gentium, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, is entitled “On the Hierarchical Structure of the Church and in Particular of the Episcopate.” It continues as follows:
“28. . . . Priests, prudent cooperators with the Episcopal order,(72*) its aid and instrument, called to serve the people of God, constitute one priesthood (73*) with their bishop although bound by a diversity of duties. Associated with their bishop in a spirit of trust and generosity, they make him present in a certain sense in the individual local congregations, and take upon themselves, as far as they are able, his duties and the burden of his care, and discharge them with a daily interest. And as they sanctify and govern under the bishop’s authority, that part of the Lord’s flock entrusted to them they make the universal Church visible in their own locality and bring an efficacious assistance to the building up of the whole body of Christ.(184) intent always upon the welfare of God’s children, they must strive to lend their effort to the pastoral work of the whole diocese, and even of the entire Church. On account of this sharing in their priesthood and mission, let priests sincerely look upon the bishop as their father and reverently obey him. And let the bishop regard his priests as his co-workers and as sons and friends, just as Christ called His disciples now not servants but friends.(185) All priests, both diocesan and religious, by reason of Orders and ministry, fit into this body of bishops and priests, and serve the good of the whole Church according to their vocation and the grace given to them.”
(184) Cf. Ephesians 4:12.
(185) Cf. John 15:15.
(72*) Ordo consecrationis sacerdotalis in praefatione.
(73*) Cf. S. Ignatius M. Philad. 4: ed. Funk, I, p. 266. S. Cornelius I, apud S. Cyprianum, Epist. 48, 2: Hartel, III, 2, p. 610.
To access the complete document, please visit:
Thank You, Lord
Thank you, Lord, for the gift of conscience and the many ways in which You guide its development in a right manner.
Jeremy Rivera on What Faith in Action Looks Like
“Though not as often as prior to getting married, now and then I still take kind-hearted people up on the invitation to speak. I’ve always found the entire thing a bit strange, getting paid to travel and speak about matters of faith and life. In fifteen years, no engagement has ever been the same. As a former evangelical pastor, I had officiated weddings, spoken at funerals, baptized new believers and prayed for people on their deathbeds. Today, whether the audience is Catholic, Protestant, non-denominational or ‘spiritual not religious’, I’ve learned that people laugh at good jokes, love to eat and will respect anyone passionate and sincere enough to share their heart with strangers. From Costa Rica to Spain, Hawaii to New York or any of the other 40 States where I’ve shared the gospel, people want to know if God is real and what real faith looks like today . . . which you can’t really demonstrate by simply showing up to speak.”
In a recent commentary, speaker and writer Jeremy Rivera reflected on what one aspect of what faith in action looks like.
To access Jeremy’s complete post, please visit:
Reflection Starter from C. S. Lewis
“God’s demand for perfection need not discourage you in the least in your present attempts to be good, or even in your present failures. Each time you fall He will pick you up again. And He knows perfectly well that your own efforts are never going to bring you anywhere near perfection.” – C. S. Lewis (in Mere Christianity)
19 July 2012
Catholics Come Home Item
Catholics Come Home recently shared the following on its Facebook page:
Background information:
Forest Friendly Development
Each year in this region and throughout the nation, a number of acres of forest are being converted to developed uses. The Center for Watershed Protection and the U.S. Forest Service - Northeastern Area State & Private Forestry advise that municipalities and developers in urbanizing areas can take steps to protect existing forest resources and prevent forest loss while still allowing for development by (among other practices):
- directing growth away from large, ecologically intact forest land using zoning and urban growth techniques;
- permanently protecting valuable forest land through the purchase of land and conservation easements;
- developing municipal programs for community reforestation projects on public lands, providing incentives for planting trees on private property, and establishing procedures for long term maintenance of the urban forest; and
- limiting overall forest loss during development through local regulations that:
- limit clearing of native vegetation,
- require forest conservation,
- require forested stream buffers,
- promote development that conserves open space,
- include provisions for physically protecting trees during construction,
- provide stormwater credits for tree conservation and planting, and
- require tree planting in landscaped areas or as part of reforestation requirements.
For more information about “forest friendly development,” please visit:
Background information:
Center for Watershed Protection
USDA Forest Service: Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry
Lumen Gentium: The Mystery of the Church (28)
Chapter III of Lumen Gentium, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, is entitled “On the Hierarchical Structure of the Church and in Particular of the Episcopate.” It continues as follows:
“28. Christ, whom the Father has sanctified and sent into the world, (176) has through His apostles, made their successors, the bishops, partakers of His consecration and His mission.(62*) They have legitimately handed on to different individuals in the Church various degrees of participation in this ministry. Thus the divinely established ecclesiastical ministry is exercised on different levels by those who from antiquity have been called bishops, priests and deacons.(63*) Priests, although they do not possess the highest degree of the priesthood, and although they are dependent on the bishops in the exercise of their power, nevertheless they are united with the bishops in sacerdotal dignity.(64*) By the power of the sacrament of Orders,(65*) in the image of Christ the eternal high Priest,(177) they are consecrated to preach the Gospel and shepherd the faithful and to celebrate divine worship, so that they are true priests of the New Testament.(66*) Partakers of the function of Christ the sole Mediator,(178) on their level of ministry, they announce the divine word to all. They exercise their sacred function especially in the Eucharistic worship or the celebration of the Mass by which acting in the person of Christ (67*) and proclaiming His Mystery they unite the prayers of the faithful with the sacrifice of their Head and renew and apply (68*) in the sacrifice of the Mass until the coming of the Lord(179) the only sacrifice of the New Testament namely that of Christ offering Himself once for all a spotless Victim to the Father.(180) For the sick and the sinners among the faithful, they exercise the ministry of alleviation and reconciliation and they present the needs and the prayers of the faithful to God the Father.(181) Exercising within the limits of their authority the function of Christ as Shepherd and Head,(69*) they gather together God's family as a brotherhood all of one mind,(70*) and lead them in the Spirit, through Christ, to God the Father. In the midst of the flock they adore Him in spirit and in truth.(182) Finally, they labor in word and doctrine,(183) believing what they have read and meditated upon in the law of God, teaching what they have believed, and putting in practice in their own lives what they have taught.(71*)”
(176) John 10:36.
(177) Hebrews 5:1-10, 7:24, 9:11-28.
(178) 1 Timothy 2:5.
(179) Cf. 1 Corinthians 11:26.
(180) Cf. Hebrews 9:11-28.
(181) Hebrews 5:1-4.
(182) John 4:24.
(183) Cf. 1 Timothy 5:17.
(62*) Cf. S. Ignatius M., ad phes. 6, 1: cd. Funk, I, p. 218.
(63*) Cf. Conc. Trid., Sess. 23, sacr. Ordinis, cap. 2: Denz. 958 (1765), et can. 6: Denz. 966 (1776).
(64*) Cf. Innocentius I, Epist. d Decentium: PL 20, 554 A; sansi 3, 1029; Denz. 98 (215): Presbyteri, licet secundi sint sa erdotcs, pontificatus tamen api em non habent.. S. Cyprianus, Epist. 61, 3: ed. Hartel, p. 696.
(65*) Cf. Conc. Trid., l. c., Denz. 962-968 (1763-1778), et in specie l an. 7: Denz. 967 (1777). Pius II, Const. Apost. Sacramentum ordinis: Denz. 2301 (38S7-61).
(66*) Cf. Innocentius I, 1. c. S. Gregorius Naz., Apol. II, 22: PGS, 432 B. Ps.-Dionysius, Eccl. ier., 1, 2: PG 3, 372 D.
(67*) Cf. Conc. Trid., Sess. 22: Denz. 940 (1743). Pius XII, Litt. Encycl. Mediator Dei, 20 nov. 1947: AAS 39 (1947) p. 553; Denz. 2300 (3850).
(68*) Cf. Conc. Trid. Sess. 22: Denz. 938 (1739-40). Conc. Vat.II, Const. De Sacra Liturgia, n. 7 et n. 47.
(69*) Cf. Pius XII, Litt. Encycl. Mediator Dei, 1. c., sub. n. 67.
(70*) Cf. S. Cyprianus, Epist. 11, 3: PL 4, 242 B; Hartel, II, 2, p. 497.
(71*) Ordo consecrationis sacerdotalis, in impositione vestimentorum.
To access the complete document, please visit:
Thank You, Lord
Thank you, Lord, for the blessing of telephones, whether they be landline-based or radio-based, and for those who design manufacture, and/or maintain the phones and the systems that allow them to operate.
A Conversion Reflection
“In the middle of life, I fell in love. For my forty-ninth birthday, my wife Lauren gave me a three-day visit by myself at a monastery in South Texas. I went there simply to read for a while and relax. I wasn’t a believer in much of anything, I wasn’t religious, and while I was there, I didn’t see any visions or hear voices.
“But when I came back, I was on a path. Something had happened. An invisible hand was pressing me in the small of my back, propelling me forward.”
In a recent two-part commentary, Richard Cole reflected on his conversion to Catholicism.
To access Mr. Cole’s complete post (both parts), please visit:
Good Letters: Of Monks, Conversion, and Radio Astronomy, Part 1 (12 JUL 12)
Good Letters: Of Monks, Conversion, and Radio Astronomy, Part 2 (13 JUL 12)
18 July 2012
USFA Report: 2011 On Duty Firefighter Deaths
The U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) has released a report, Firefighter Fatalities in the United States in 2011.
According to the report, there were 83 on duty firefighter fatalities in the United States as a result of incidents that occurred in 2011. This represents a continuing decline in the overall number of firefighter fatality deaths in recent years and an almost five percent decrease from the 87 fatalities reported for 2010. When analyzing the overall trend in the United States going back to 1977, accounting for the Hometown Heroes added to totals since the law changed in 2004, the 2011 total represents the lowest year of record for the second year in a row.
Heart attacks were responsible for the deaths of 50 firefighters (60 percent) in 2011, nearly the same proportion of firefighter deaths from heart attack or stroke (63 percent) in 2010. Ten on duty firefighters died in association with wildland fires, the lowest number of annual firefighter deaths associated with wildland fires since 1996. Fifty-four percent of all firefighter fatalities occurred while performing emergency duties.
Four of the firefighters who died while responding to incidents in 2011 were killed by trauma caused by motor vehicle collisions, including three in privately-owned vehicles and one in a fire department apparatus.
To access a copy of the complete report, please visit:
Lumen Gentium: The Mystery of the Church (27, continued)
Chapter III of Lumen Gentium, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, is entitled “On the Hierarchical Structure of the Church and in Particular of the Episcopate.” It continues as follows:
“27. . . . A bishop, since he is sent by the Father to govern his family, must keep before his eyes the example of the Good Shepherd, who came not to be ministered unto but to minister,(170) and to lay down his life for his sheep.(171) Being taken from among men, and himself beset with weakness, he is able to have compassion on the ignorant and erring.(172) Let him not refuse to listen to his subjects, whom he cherishes as his true sons and exhorts to cooperate readily with him. As having one day to render an account for their souls,(173) he takes care of them by his prayer, preaching, and all the works of charity, and not only of them but also of those who are not yet of the one flock, who also are commended to him in the Lord. Since, like Paul the Apostle, he is debtor to all men, let him be ready to preach the Gospel to all,(174) and to urge his faithful to apostolic and missionary activity. But the faithful must cling to their bishop, as the Church does to Christ, and Jesus Christ to the Father, so that all may be of one mind through unity,(61*) and abound to the glory of God.(175)”
(170) Cf. Matthew 20:28; Mark 10:45.
(171) Cf. John 10:11.
(172) Cf. Hebrews 5:1-2.
(173) Cf. Hebrews 13:17.
(174) Cf. Romans 1:14-15.
(175) Cf. 1 Corinthians 4:15.
(61*) Cf. S. Ignatius M., ad ephes. 5, 1: ed. Funk, I, p. 216.
To access the complete document, please visit:
Thank You, Lord
Thank you, Lord, for the buildings in which we live and work and for the many ways in which You work through those who design, build, and maintain them.
Msgr. Pope on Discernment and Avoiding Rash Judgment
“Discernment is a spiritual discipline that is important for us to develop in our Christian walk. The word ‘discern’ is derived from the Medieval Latin word cernere, meaning to sift, separate, or distinguish. Hence, as we can see, discernment is a discipline that counsels us to make careful distinctions and to avoid rash conclusions. While most people tend to place discernment in the realm of spiritual issues, spiritual direction, and vocations only, discernment has a wider application in how we understand the people and situations in our life.”
In a recent commentary, Monsignor Charles Pope (pastor of Holy Comforter-Saint Cyprian Parish, Washington, DC) reflected on discernment and its role in all the parts of our lives.
To access Msgr. Pope's complete post, please visit:
Reflection Starter from Stephen Covey
“The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.” – Dr. Stephen Covey
(Dr. Covey, 79, author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People and a number of other works, passed away Monday, 16 July.)
17 July 2012
Bridgeport, CT, to Receive Assistance in Combating Childhood Hunger
The National League of Cities’ Institute for Youth, Education and Families has selected eleven cities, including Bridgeport, CT, to receive technical assistance and grant funding as part of a national initiative to reduce childhood hunger.
The cities are to receive grants (of up to $60,000) and practical guidance as they strive to increase children’s participation in the federal Afterschool Meal Program. This initiative is part of the Cities Combating Hunger through Afterschool Meal Programs (CHAMP) initiative.
Background information:
NLC: Cities Combating Hunger through Afterschool Meals Programs
Food Research and Action Center: Afterschool Nutrition Programs
Hillsong: “Great is the Lord”
As we continue to live this week, I offer this version of Hillsong singing “Great is the Lord”:
Lumen Gentium: The Mystery of the Church (27, continued)
Chapter III of Lumen Gentium, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, is entitled “On the Hierarchical Structure of the Church and in Particular of the Episcopate.” It continues as follows:
“27. . . . The pastoral office or the habitual and daily care of their sheep is entrusted to them completely; nor are they to be regarded as vicars of the Roman Pontiffs, for they exercise an authority that is proper to them, and are quite correctly called ‘prelates,’ heads of the people whom they govern.(59*) Their power, therefore, is not destroyed by the supreme and universal power, but on the contrary it is affirmed, strengthened and vindicated by it,(60*) since the Holy Spirit unfailingly preserves the form of government established by Christ the Lord in His Church.”
(59*) Leo XIII, Epist. Encycl. Satis cognitum, 29 iun. 1896: ASS 28 (1895-96) p. 732. Idem, Epist. Officio sanctissimo, 22 dec. 1887: AAS 20 (1887) p. 264. Pius IX itt. Apost. ad Episcopol Geraniae, 12 mart. 1875, et alloc. onsist., 15 mart. 187S: Denz. 112-3117, in nova ed. tantum.
(60*) Conc. Vat. I, Const. dogm. Pastor aeternus, 3: Denz. 1828 ( 3061) . Cfr. Relatio Zinelli: Mand 1 2, 1114 D.
To access the complete document, please visit:
Cardinal Dolan on Reaching Out to Those who Have Left the Church
“Do you agree that we get way too many statistics? Seems as if every time I turn around, I’m looking at ‘the results of a new survey.’ What’s worse, the findings often seem to contradict themselves!
“One of these statistics does haunt me, though: recently scholarly research shows that, over the last decade or so, about 10 percent of our Catholic people have left the Church.”
In a recent commentary, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York, reflected on why people leave the Church.
To access Cardinal Dolan’s complete post, please visit:
Catholic New York: Cardinal Dolan’s Column: Evangelizing Amid Sobering Statistics (12 JUL 12)
Reflection Starter from C. S. Lewis
“I didn’t go to religion to make me happy. I always knew a bottle of Port would do that. If you want a religion to make you feel really comfortable, I certainly don’t recommend Christianity.” – C. S. Lewis
16 July 2012
Three Massachusetts Utilities Receive APPA’s Reliable Public Power Provider Award
The Northeast Public Power Association is reporting that three Massachusetts utilities recently received the American Public Power Association’s Reliable Public Power Provider (RP3) Award. The North Attleborough Electric Department and Westfield Gas & Electric received platinum level awards, and the Wakefield Municipal Gas & Light Department received a gold level award (for the second time in two years).
APPA’s RP3 program to designed to encourage public power systems to demonstrate basic proficiency in four important disciplines: reliability, safety, workforce development, and system improvement.
Background information:
APPA: Reliable Public Power Provider Program
American Public Power Association
Northeast Public Power Association
North Attleborough Electric Department
Lumen Gentium: The Mystery of the Church (27)
Chapter III of Lumen Gentium, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, is entitled “On the Hierarchical Structure of the Church and in Particular of the Episcopate.” It continues as follows:
“27. Bishops, as vicars and ambassadors of Christ, govern the particular churches entrusted to them (58*) by their counsel, exhortations, example, and even by their authority and sacred power, which indeed they use only for the edification of their flock in truth and holiness, remembering that he who is greater should become as the lesser and he who is the chief become as the servant.(169) This power, which they personally exercise in Christ’s name, is proper, ordinary and immediate, although its exercise is ultimately regulated by the supreme authority of the Church, and can be circumscribed by certain limits, for the advantage of the Church or of the faithful. In virtue of this power, bishops have the sacred right and the duty before the Lord to make laws for their subjects, to pass judgment on them and to moderate everything pertaining to the ordering of worship and the apostolate.”
(169) Cf. Luke 22:26-27.
(58*) Benedictus XIV, Br. Romana Ecclesia, 5 oct. 1752, p 1: Bullarium Benedicti XIV, t. IV, Romae, 1758, 21: . Episcopus Christi typum gerit, Eiusque munere fungitur. Pius XII, Litt. Encycl. Mystici Corporis, 1. c., p. 211: . Assignatos sibi greges singuli singulos Christi nomine pascunt et regunt.
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