Readings & Reflections: Friday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time & St. Lawrence of Brindisi, July 21,2017
Lawrence was born in 1559 A.D. in Brindisi, Italy. He joined the Capuchins, becoming a masterful scholar of Scripture. Throughout his life he served as preacher, diplomat, and learned Scriptural writer. He held all leadership roles in the Franciscan Order. Lawrence was deeply moved by the mystery of the Incarnation, the coming of Christ in the flesh. Accordingly, he drew close to Mary, writing the Mariale, a theological meditation that anticipated later magisterial pronouncements concerning Mary’s role in the dispensing of graces. He loved the Eucharist, and his Masses frequently lasted several hours. To his first Capuchin superior, who wanted to impress upon him the severity of the religious life, he said, “Father, there will be nothing difficult here, provided we have a crucifix.” After preaching throughout Europe, Lawrence was made the chaplain of the imperial army under Rudulf II. At Stuhlweissenburg near Budapest, he rode into battle, clutching only a crucifix. On the final day of the battle, Lawrence wore out five horses. The Ottoman forces were defeated. Lawrence died in 1619 A.D. and was named Doctor of the Church in 1959 A.D.read more
July 20, 2017. Mgsr. Looy, president of Caritas Europa says he sees refugees being integrated, accepted and respected.
According to the UN Refugee Agency, about 65.3 million people around the world have been forced to flee their homes, leading to the highest displacement numbers in recorded history. Out of that number, there are almost 21.3 million refugees, and more than half of them are under age 18.read more
“Let us pray for all the victims of mafias; let us ask for the strength to go forward, to continue to fight against corruption,” was Pope Francis’ tweet, published only in Italian on July 19, 2017, for the 25th anniversary of the murder of the anti-mafia Judge Paolo Borsellino.
On July 19, 1992, less than two months after the murder of Giovanni Falcone, the 52-year-old judge was the victim of an “attack on Via d’Amelio” along with the five policemen charged with his protection. The Pope has often raised his voice against the mafias, as he did during his visit to Cassano all’Jonio, in the province of Cosenza in Calabria in June 2014: while there he denounced the misdeeds of the “N’Drangheta,” Calabrian mafia, affirming that those who engage in organized crime do not adore God but adore evil,” “they are not in communion with God , they are excommunicated.”read more
CHRISTIANS SUE HAWAII OVER MANDATORY ABORTION REFERRALS
by Stephen Wynne • ChurchMilitant.com • July 19, 2017
Non-compliance can result in $500 for first offense and $1,000 for each subsequent offense
HONOLULU (ChurchMilitant.com) – Hawaii’s pregnancy resource centers are fighting to block a law that would require them to refer clients for birth control and abortions. Failure to comply would result in hefty fines.
Submitted by the state’s Women’s Legislative Caucus and signed into law by Gov. David Ige, and backed by Planned Parenthood, SB 501 mandates that “limited service” pregnancy centers notify women that Hawaii offers public programs providing “immediate free or low-cost access to comprehensive family planning services, including, but not limited to, all FDA-approved methods of contraception and pregnancy-related services for eligible women.”read more
A study in contrast between American and European attitudes
By Timothy Gordon
The proper question to be raised in this and in any unfortunately similar case is this: what are the best interests of the patient? We must do what advances the health of the patient, but we must also accept the limits of medicine and, as stated in paragraph 65 of the Encyclical Evangelium Vitae, avoid aggressive medical procedures that are disproportionate to any expected results or excessively burdensome to the patient or the family. Likewise, the wishes of parents must [be] heard and respected, but they too must be helped to understand the unique difficulty of their situation and not be left to face their painful decisions alone. If the relationship between doctor and patient (or parents as in Charlie’s case) is interfered with, everything becomes more difficult and legal action becomes a last resort, with the accompanying risk of ideological or political manipulation, which is always to be avoided, or of media sensationalism, which can be sadly superficial. ~Abp. Vincenzo Pagliaread more
“Population control: just enough of me, way too much of you.” ~P.J. O’Rourke
The world’s population can fit into a land mass the size of Texas,with a house and a yard for each person.
The entire world population can fit in a land mass the size of Texas, with room for a house and a yard for each family. And current technology gives us the capability to feed the world three times over. In spite of the false narrative pushed by population control advocates (invariably white, Western and wealthy), the world is not overpopulated, nor do more people lead to more poverty. It’s just the opposite.
The wealthiest nations in the world — Macau, Monaco, Singapore, Hong Kong, to name a few — are also the most densely populated. They enjoy the highest standards of living and the most thriving economies.read more
By now, it’s plain even to those with poor vision that the Church has been overrun by lefties, meaning those who have a Socialist, Marxist, Saul Alinskian, globalist worldview, who will stop at nothing from forcing their rigid, intolerant view of mankind down the throats of faithful Catholics. They started slowly at first, quietly getting their ducks in a row in theological centers and religious houses all over the Catholic world in the West. They set about to destroy the liturgy, Catholic education, Catholic theology and the entire Catholic culture that had once been named Western civilization.read more
Why are so many Catholics disturbed, annoyed, restless, frightened and angry?
It’s because we are going through a time of Catholic realignment.
In the United States and the rest of the developed world we are experiencing a breakdown of the old Catholic tribalism that we have got used to over the last fifty years since the close of the second Vatican Council.
During that time period we have seen the Catholic Church Europe and North America divide into “Liberal” and “Conservative.” The liberal Catholics have their publishing houses, colleges, religious orders and members of the hierarchy. Likewise the conservative Catholics.read more
Within Catholic ultra traditionalist circles a new wave of ugliness has arisen. Numerous traditionalist blogs, websites and publications spew disrespectful hatred towards the Catholic church. They mock the Mass by despising the “Novus Ordo” they denigrate the Holy Father referring to him as “Pope Frank” or “Bergoglio” and refer to their mother the Catholic Church with adolescent disrespect as “FrancisChurch”.
I avoid commenting on the filth because, why wallow in sewage? I’m not going to link to the aggregators and websites in question because if you’re interested all you have to do is snoop around a little and follow a few links. You’ll see how they lie, misrepresent and tear down fellow Catholics, how these self appointed prophets ridicule, gossip and slander their fathers in God, and how these self righteous, pretentious Pharisees vomit their bile on all they meet.read more
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Why are so many Catholics disturbed, annoyed, restless, frightened and angry?
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