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Prayers for a priest after suicide…
A terrible thing happened recently. A young priest, almost certainly reacting badly to medication, committed suicide. Fr. Evan Harkins, of the Diocese of Kansas City – St. Joseph, had been on medication for an ailment. It seems to have affected him in a profoundly negative way. I know I can count on you readers to pray for him and for his family and friends. There is a lesson that comes from this. Medications can do really strange things to your mind. In the wake of Fr. Harkins’ death, the Abbess of Gower – you will remember the great consecration of the Abbey and Abbess – sent out a letter which described the bad experience of some of the sisters who had some medication. HERE She writes about how medications for other things induced in her sisters...
The sexual revolution is destroying lives by the millions. Are we to believe that Sodom is the answer?
Back in 2014, I wrote a book called Defending Marriage: Twelve Arguments for Sanity. I spoke not as an interpreter of Scripture or of the teachings of the Church. My arguments were based on observation, logic, history, anthropology, and culture. As far as I know, no Catholic on the left has taken them up. My arguments included analyses of what we have already done wrong and why, and predictions as to what must happen if we yield to the lures of Sodom. Opponents at that time fell into two groups. By far the larger of the two predicted that nothing would happen. The re-definition of marriage would only extend to a relatively small number of couples a good that was available to everyone else, and that would be no less available to them for being so extended. A development unprecedented in hum...
“It’s the end of an era” — Buffalo to shut down Christ the King Seminary in May…
Christ the King Seminary, which for 163 years trained men to become Catholic priests, will be shut down in May at the end of the current academic year, as the Buffalo Diocese slashes costs amid a clergy sex abuse scandal that’s led to a dramatic downturn in giving. The Rev. Kevin Creagh, seminary rector and president, announced the decision on campus this afternoon to faculty, staff and students, following votes of the board of trustees and members of the seminary corporation. Creagh cited diocesan financial constraints and “uncertainties surrounding future vocations” in explaining the closure. “This is very difficult for us. It’s a very sad and disappointing moment in our history. It’s the end of an era,” he said. Bishop Edward B. Scharfenberger, chairman of the se...
Ecclesiastical judgment: What about those saints who left their spouses or children for consecrated life?
By Dr. Jeff Mirus ( bio – articles – email ) | Jan 28, 2020 The ways of God in the formation of saints are indeed mysterious. This was impressed upon me again by an article on Rose Hawthorne by Patricia Snow in the January issue of First Things. Under the title Hawthorne’s Daughter, Snow explores what she calls the “shadow” hanging over Rose Hawthorne’s cause for canonization. That shadow is the set of circumstances under which she left her husband, George, who had converted to Catholicism with Rose in 1891. (Perhaps most readers already know that Rose was the daughter of the great American novelist, Nathaniel Hawthorne.) In time, Rose felt a strong call to serve the poor who were suffering from cancer. Her only child had died at the age of five and, after a period of depressio...
One again, Argentina has dug itself into a financial hole — and this time, the new Argentinian president is hoping the Pope can help dig them out…
In the presidential election in October, Alberto Fernández, who heads a coalition of Peronists that includes former President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, handily beat the conservative incumbent, Mauricio Macri. Mr. Macri was a market darling whose “take debt first, reform later” program was felled by financial panic halfway through his four-year term. The pope did not hide his disapproval of Mr. Macri’s efforts. When Mr. Fernández, who was sworn in as president in December, meets the pope at the Vatican on Friday, they are expected to discuss a recurrent problem: how to save Argentina from another debt default. The president hopes to kick off his relationship with the pope with the right foot, even despite his pledge to push for the legalization of abortion. In his first six weeks in o...
A dramatic moment in Bible history that almost everyone missed…
Presentation in the Temple – L. Carracci (1605) I want to anticipate Sunday’s feast of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple. Let’s consider an event that was glorious in its significance and fulfilment, yet was missed by nearly everyone. Joseph and Mary had brought Jesus to the Temple to present Him there. As they ascended the glorious steps to the Temple Mount, they were fulfilling a requirement of the Law. You are to give over to the LORD the first offspring of every womb. All the firstborn males of your livestock belong to the LORD. Redeem with a lamb every firstborn donkey, but if you do not redeem it, break its neck. Redeem every firstborn among your sons. In days to come, when your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ say to him, ‘With a mighty hand the LORD brought us out o...
Captors murder 18-year-old Michael Nnadi, Nigerian seminarian who was kidnapped in January…
Sokoto, Nigeria, Feb 1, 2020 / 01:51 pm (CNA).- One of four Nigerian seminarians kidnapped last month has been killed, reportedly by his abductors. The three seminarians kidnapped along with him were released in the weeks following their kidnapping. “With a very heavy heart, I wish to inform you that our dear son, Michael was murdered by the bandits on a date we cannot confirm. He and the wife of a doctor were arbitrarily separated from the group and killed. The Rector identified the corpse this afternoon,” Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah of Sokoto, Nigeria, said in a statement released Feb. 1. Michael Nnadi was 18 years old. Information about the woman killed with Nnadi is not yet available. Nnadi himself was taken by gunmen from Good Shepherd Seminary in Kaduna, around 10:30 pm on Jan. 8. Wi...
Underground Catholics ignore China’s religion rules amid dangers…
Communist China has accelerated its policy of “sinicization” of religions, with the implementation of a new set of crippling rules which Christian leaders say spell danger for their people, particularly for underground Catholics.The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) had announced last year that revised administrative measures on religions would come to in force from Feb. 1 across the country, covering all religions. Among other things, the rules stipulate that each religion will be headed by a state-appointed conference, which will function as the supreme decision-making body for the respective religious group. “Does this aim to abolish the traditional church model headed by bishops and replace them with group conferences? If there is no Catholic head for a church, is it ...
Parts of China ban Christian funerals as new rules take effect…
Christian funerals have been banned in some areas of China as the communist government begins to enforce a set of repressive regulations on religious practices. In the eastern province of Zhejiang, the government has put in force a set of Regulations on Centralized Funeral Arrangement, which bans priests from attending funeral prayers outside a religious place. The government claims the new rules aim to “get rid of bad funeral customs and establish a scientific, civilized and economical way of funerals.” “Clerical personnel are not allowed to participate in funerals” at homes and “no more than 10 family members of the deceased are allowed to read scriptures or sing hymns in a low voice,” the rules state. The new rules began to take effect recently, although enacted on...
Angelus Address: On the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord…
Here is a ZENIT translation of the address Pope Francis gave today, before and after praying the midday Angelus with those gathered in St. Peter’s Square. * * * Before the Angelus: Dear Brothers and Sisters, good morning! Today we celebrate the feast of the Presentation of the Lord, when the newborn Jesus was presented in the Temple by the Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph. Observed on this date also is the World Day of Consecrated Life, which recalls the treasure in the Church of those that follow the Lord closely, professing the evangelical counsels. The Gospel (Cf. Luke 2:22-40) recounts that forty days after His birth, Jesus’ parents took Him to Jerusalem to consecrate Him to God, as prescribed by the Jewish Law. And, while describing a rite provided by the tradition, this episode cal...
Why light can help us stop bad habits…
Have you ever thought about the correlation of the time of day to the bad habits we have? While its not always the case, typically we are tempted the most during the night-time hours. Why is that? This isn’t a new idea, as the Bible plainly reveals the reason why it is sometimes difficult to remain virtuous in physical darkness. The man who dishonors his marriage bed says to himself, “Who can see me? Darkness surrounds me, walls hide me, no one sees me. Who can stop me from sinning?” (Sirach 23:18) For thinking that in their secret sins they were unobserved behind a dark curtain of forgetfulness. (Wisdom 17:3) Think about it for a few minutes. What bad habits do you have? Are there any “pet sins” that are difficult for you to stop? What time of day is it easiest for you...
“Lead us not into temptation” — What can this possibly mean?
By Dr. Jeff Mirus ( bio – articles – email ) | Jan 31, 2020 Not long ago Pope Francis expressed concern that, in praying the Our Father, people should not think that God ever leads them into temptation, so another translation would be better. Actually, however, God does in some sense lead us into temptation. When we look at this from the mindset of the ancient Jews, we can see very clearly how this is true. It is bound up in the reality of Providence. In general, the Old Testament texts do not distinguish what we would now call God’s permissive will from his active will. This can create confusion when we read things like, “God hardened Pharaoh’s heart”. If that is so, how can Pharaoh be blamed for his response to Moses? Why is it Pharaoh’s chariots and charioteers that are dest...
