Lumen Gentium: The Mystery of the Church (44, continued)

Chapter VI of Lumen Gentium, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, is entitled “Religious.” It continues as follows:

“44. . . . The evangelical counsels which lead to charity (5*) join their followers to the Church and its mystery in a special way. Since this is so, the spiritual life of these people should then be devoted to the welfare of the whole Church. From this arises their duty of working to implant and strengthen the Kingdom of Christ in souls and to extend that Kingdom to every clime. This duty is to be undertaken to the extent of their capacities and in keeping with the proper type of their own vocation. This can be realized through prayer or active works of the apostolate. It is for this reason that the Church preserves and fosters the special character of her various religious institutes.”

(5*) Cfr. S. Thomas, Summa Theol. II-II, q. 184, a. 3 et q. 188, a. 2. S. Bonaventura, Opusc. X, Apologia Pauperum, c. 3, 3: cd. Opera, Quaracchi, t. 8, 1898, p. 245 a.

 

To access the complete document, please visit:

Dogmatic Constitution on the Church - Lumen Gentium

Thank You, Lord

Thank you, Lord, for moments when we have “a song in our hearts.”

Dr. Lilles on God Speaking to Us

“There are many who believe that God does not speak to us and that prayer is nothing more than an imaginary conversation with ourselves that makes us feel better about things.  Such a belief may well be supported by the fact that many people who say they are praying are actually engaged in just such a delusion.  Yet such explanations of prayer, as sophisticated as they appear, do not adequately account for what both great saints and repentant sinners discover in the silence of their hearts.”

In a recent commentary, Dr. Anthony Lilles (assistant professor of theology at Saint John Vianney Theological Seminary, Denver, CO) reflected on our interaction with God during prayer.

To access the complete post by Dr. Lilles, please visit:

Beginning to Pray: Does God Really Speak to Us? (29 AUG 12)

Reflection Starter from Fulton Sheen

“One can be impolite to God, too, by absorbing all the conversation, and by changing the words of Scripture from ‘Speak, Lord Thy servant hears’ to ‘Listen, Lord, Thy servant speaks.’ God has things to tell us that will enlighten us – we must wait for Him to speak.” – Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

The Marcels: “Blue Moon”

Yesterday many people observed the second full moon in August, a phenomenon often referred to as a “blue moon” (the next such occurrence will not happen until July 2015).

With this blue moon in mind, I offer this version of The Marcels singing “Blue Moon”:

NSBA on Good Things About Public Education

In the June 2012 issue of its journal, American School Board Journal, the National School Boards Association offered a list of successes in public education, with suggestions for ways to improve.

To access this list, please visit:

ASBJ: 10 Good Things About Public Education (June 2012)

Well Done, T.J.!

Son Tom’s LOPCO Contracting was recently complimented for its finish work on the City Arts for Youth “Tile and Paint” mural installation in the Greater Kennedy Plaza Skating Rink Tunnel, Providence, RI.

Media report:

Providence Business News: LOPCO Selected for Greater Kennedy Plaza Skating Rink Tunnel Project (27 AUG 12)

Background information:

LOPCO Contracting

Greater Kennedy Plaza

National Endowment for the Arts

Rhode Island Builders Association

Holy Father's Prayer Intentions for September

Pope Benedict's prayer intentions for September are:

General intention: That politicians may always act with honesty, integrity, and love for the truth.

Mission intention: That Christian communities may have a growing willingness to send missionaries, priests, and lay people, along with
concrete resources, to the poorest Churches.

Lumen Gentium: The Mystery of the Church (44)

Chapter VI of Lumen Gentium, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, is entitled “Religious.” It continues as follows:

“44. The faithful of Christ bind themselves to the three aforesaid counsels either by vows, or by other sacred bonds, which are like vows in their purpose. By such a bond, a person is totally dedicated to God, loved beyond all things. In this way, that person is ordained to the honor and service of God under a new and special title. Indeed through Baptism a person dies to sin and is consecrated to God. However, in order that he may be capable of deriving more abundant fruit from this baptismal grace, he intends, by the profession of the evangelical counsels in the Church, to free himself from those obstacles, which might draw him away from the fervor of charity and the perfection of divine worship. By his profession of the evangelical counsels, then, he is more intimately consecrated to divine service.(4*) This consecration will be the more perfect, in as much as the indissoluble bond of the union of Christ and His bride, the Church, is represented by firm and more stable bonds.”

(4*) Paulus VI, 1. c., p. S67.

 

To access the complete document, please visit:

Dogmatic Constitution on the Church - Lumen Gentium

Thank You, Lord

Thank you, Lord, for public transportation systems and for those whose design, build, maintain, and operate them.

On Spreading the Good News and Defending the Faith

“In a meeting last year with Church leaders involved in the New Evangelization, Pope Benedict XVI said, ‘Today’s world needs people who proclaim and testify that it is Christ who teaches the art of living, the way of true happiness, because he himself is the path of life.’

“‘Dear friends, being evangelizers is not a privilege but a commitment that comes from faith,’ the Holy Father continued. ‘To the question the Lord addresses to Christians: ‘Whom shall I send and who will go for us?’, answer with the same courage and the same trust as the Prophet: ‘Here am I! Send me’ (Isaiah 6:8).’

“While some are called to be missionaries in foreign lands, for most of us, evangelization of inactive or non-Catholics begins in our own homes and communities. CWR recently spoke with five prominent Catholic evangelists, who offered suggestions to Catholics on ways they can evangelize those they encounter day-to-day.”

A recent article in The Catholic World Report ideas from five Catholic apologists about ways to spread the Good News and defending the Faith.

To access the complete article, please visit:

Catholic World Report: Lessons from Catholic Evangelists (22 AUG 12)

Reflection Starter from Ronald Reagan

“Abraham Lincoln once said, ‘I would be the most foolish person on this footstool earth if I believed for one moment that I could perform the duties assigned to me without the help of one who is wiser than all.’ I know that in the days to come and the years ahead there are going to be many times when there will only be one set of footprints in my life. If I did not believe that, I could not face the days ahead.” – President Ronald Reagan (at the National Prayer Breakfast, 5 February 1981; the reference is to the poem, "Footprints in the Sand")