Catholic Church Uses Video Contest to Promote Sacrament of Confession.

Ave Maria!

An ingenious video contest organized by the dioceses of NYC, Brooklyn and Rockville Center to promote confession among youth is offering a first prize of a $25,000 scholarship plus another $25,000 to the Catholic School or Parish of the winner’s choice. The author of the above very well done video has offered to send a portion of the award to the friars. Very generous indeed. But, he is up against some stiff competition at the iConfess YouTube Channel with over 90 submissions! So much very good work. Truly a smash success for the entire program. But please do give this video a view and go to Youtube and vote for him. You never know.

   Send article as PDF   

Ave Maria! Media ignores the March for Life where an estimated 400,000 marchers attended this year!!

None of the broadcast news programs from Monday evening and Tuesday morning covered the 2011 “March for Life” in Washington, DC, a pro-life rally that reportedly drew at least tens of thousands of attendees.

Neither NBC, ABC, nor CBS gave any coverage Monday to the March for Life on their respective evening news programs; none of the networks covered the story Tuesday morning. The New York Times did not cover the story, as the MRC’s blog “Times Watch” documented. The Washington Post, however, did provide a fair account of the rally in its Metro section.

via ABC, CBS, NBC, New York Times All Ignore March for Life | LifeNews.com.

   Send article as PDF   

Marchers protest abortion rights

Pro-life supporters prayed in front of the Planned Parenthood center on South College Avenue Monday, two days after the 38th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision regarding abortion.

The group — made up of area lay and ordained Catholics — started in St. Charles Catholic Church on the east side of the IU campus at about 11 a.m. and marched down Third Street.

Marchers protest abortion rights | City & State | Indiana Daily Student.

   Send article as PDF   

January 12, 2011. Bridget Curran is an Australian film-maker and author who embarked on a journey to tell of everyday encounters with the Virgin Mary.

In her book “The Miracles of Mary,” Curran depicts encounters with Mary by Christians and non-Christians in the form of apparitions, weeping statues, and other miracles that she notes in detail.

via “Miracles of Mary,” book documents miracles of the Virgin Mary.

   Send article as PDF   

Pope Benedict XVI condemned anti-Christian violence, persecution and discrimination, along with all religious intolerance, in a New Year’s appeal that came just hours after a bomb exploded outside a Coptic church in Alexandria, Egypt as worshippers left Mass, killing more than 20 people.

In addition to appeals to political leaders to take concrete steps to end religious discrimination, the Holy Father issued an invitation to leaders of all the world’s religions to meet with him in Assisi this coming October to mark the 25th anniversary of the 1st World Day of Prayer for Peace.

via Pope invites leaders of the world’s religions to Assisi, to pray for peace.

   Send article as PDF   

December 29, 2010. Benedict XVI will turn 84 years old in April and it will mark is sixth year as Pope. However, this is not stopping him from planning a year with thousands of travel miles and preparing to publish more of his writings. According to his official agenda, he will make eight trips during 2011 and publish two volumes of his book “Jesus of Nazareth.”

His writings on meditations and reflections on the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus will be hitting the bookshelves on March 13. And in November the third and last part will be released, focusing on the childhood of Jesus.

via Pope’s Agenda for 2011: Four international trips and two books.

   Send article as PDF   

by friar John Mary

We are pleased to show the looks of the new studio built for Radio CorMariae. After months of day after day work, corresponding to upwards of a thousand man hours, the studio is just about ready for use.

We are continuing to wire the final components in the two rooms: one main studio for the board operator along with interview personnel and another room for the production work on the audio files.

Most of the equipment is new, although the console, one of the most important pieces of equipment, is nearly a couple generations old.We are able to use this older console for now as we are learning to crawl in our radio station adventure. For now we are happy to use this one, not to mention the price is right ($0), but later, when we get into some heavy production work, we will need to buy a more state-of-the-art piece of equipment. Without even looking at digital ones, the still-in-use analog consoles start in the range of $5,000 to $13,000.

via Studio Nearly Complete.

   Send article as PDF   

December 29, 2010. Pope Benedict XVI’s journey to Portugal marked the month of May. The pope travelled to the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima to celebrate the ten year anniversary of the beatification of Jacinta and Francisco, two of the three shepherds to whom the Virgin Mary appeared.

Benedict XVI

“The Virgin Mary came down from heaven to remind us of the Gospel’s truths that are a source of hope for a human race, void of love and without hope of salvation.”

via May 2010: Pope visits Shrine of Fatima in Portugal.

   Send article as PDF   

St. Francis of Assisi has always been numbered amongst my favourite saints and continues to be so as a man of the Church who was inspired by the gospels, by the apostolate, by the wonder of God’s creation and by a most literal and heroic poverty, also maintaining his fidelity to the Church of Rome and further understanding the importance of divine worship and that the worship and temple of God should itself not be impoverished.

St. Francis, as with other saints, has much to teach us today. The Holy Father reminded us in an audience earlier this year about St. Francis and his own context:

“Three times the crucified Christ came to life and said to him: “Go, Francis, and repair my Church in ruins.” This simple event of the Word of the Lord heard in the church of San Damiano hides a profound symbolism. Immediately, St. Francis is called to repair this little church, but the ruinous state of this building is a symbol of the tragic and disturbing situation of the Church itself… More at New Liturgical Movement.

Basilica of San Francesco d’Assisi, Assisi

   Send article as PDF   

What CHILD is this? What’s Christmas?

via Gloria.tv: What CHILD is this? What’s Christmas?.

   Send article as PDF   

-
December 27, 2010. ROME REPORTS has listed the ten most important news stories from the Vatican in 2010, with its short and long term impacts.

In tenth place is the establishment of a Pontifical Council for the New Evangelization. It is the Pope’s reply to the decline in numbers of Christians in Europe and North America. He has also called a synod on the theme for the year 2012. (LINK HERE)

via ROME REPORTS TV News Agency.

   Send article as PDF   

December 25, 2010. ‘May the birth of the Prince of Peace remind the world where its true happiness lies; and may your hearts be filled with hope and joy, for the Saviour has been born for us,’ said the Pope during his Christmas speech, the Urbi et Orbi message. The Pope also denounced the situation of Christians in China and asked God to ‘inspire political and religious leaders to be committed to full respect for the religious freedom of all’.

via ROME REPORTS TV News Agency.

   Send article as PDF   

Ave Maria!
This is a great explanation of how the dating of Christmas is based on the date of the Incarnation in Mary’s womb and the birth of John the Baptist not on some acquiescence to paganism as is so often claimed.
From Locuta Est:
-

As we approach the Solemnity of the Nativity of our Lord, periodicals both secular and religious attempt the task of explaining the dating of Christmas. It never ceases to amaze me how even when theories have been sufficiently debunked they continue to persist in popular myth. The myth is that placing the birth of Jesus on December 25 was a Christian response to a pagan Roman festival honoring the “unconquered sun god.”

In his book The Spirit of the Liturgy, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger argues against the thesis of the pagan festival. “The claim used to be made that December 25 developed in opposition to the Mithras myth, or as a Christian response to the cult of the unconquered sun promoted by Roman emperors in the third century in their efforts to establish a new imperial religion. However, these old theories can no longer be sustained. The decisive factor was the connection of creation and Cross, of creation and Christ’s conception” (Ratzinger, 108).

via Roma locuta est: The Dating of Christmas.

   Send article as PDF   

Ave Maria! Merry Christmas

1. Once in royal David’s city

Stood a lowly cattle shed,

Where a mother laid her Baby

In a manger for His bed:

Mary was that mother mild,

Jesus Christ her little Child.

2. He came down to earth from heaven,

Who is God and Lord of all,

And His shelter was a stable,

And His cradle was a stall;

With the poor, and mean, and lowly,

Lived on earth our Savior holy.

3. And through all His wondrous childhood

He would honor and obey,

Love and watch the lowly maiden,

In whose gentle arms He lay:

Christian children all must be

Mild, obedient, good as He.

4. For he is our childhood’s pattern;1

Day by day, like us He grew;

He was little, weak and helpless,

Tears and smiles like us He knew;

And He feeleth for our sadness,

And He shareth in our gladness.

5. And our eyes at last shall see Him,

Through His own redeeming love;

For that Child so dear and gentle

Is our Lord in heaven above,

And He leads His children on

To the place where He is gone.

6. Not in that poor lowly stable,

With the oxen standing by,

We shall see Him; but in heaven,

Set at God’s right hand on high;

Where like stars His children crowned

All in white shall wait around.

   Send article as PDF   

Ave Maria!

Correction - Originally this was titled “Our Founder’s Parents will Be Beatified”, following the post of Fr. Z’s blog. However it seems this is a miss translation and, in fact, their cause will merely be officially accepted. This simply means the process is not as far along but is nevertheless very promising. We will keep you posted on any further clarifications and progress in their cause.

Settimo Manelli (1886-1978) and Licia Gualandris (1907-2004).

The parents of Fr. Stefano Manelli, founder and Minister General of the Franciscans of the Immaculate will be beatified. Truly great news.

From Fr. Zuhlsdorf:

In the Italian daily La repubblica there is an article about an upcoming beatification.

Vatican City – In spite of the fact that only his salary was coming in, they had 21 children: an example of Christian “faithfulness” and “acceptance” which the Church points to also for every family today with the beatification of the couple. ….

I don’t have time to translate the whole thing, but with the beatification Holy Church will hold up Settimo Manelli (1886-1978) and Licia Gualandris (1907-2004) as “exemplary spouses and parents”.

In a time when families are being called upon to tighten the belt, in a time when the decline of the number of children being brought into families with a loving father and mother in the home, in a time when more and more children are being exposed less and less to a life of Christian faith well-lived, this beatification takes on its own importance, much as did the beatifications of Bl. Luigi Quattrocchi and Maria Corsini, or that of St. Gianna Beretta Molla.

via An upcoming beatification | Fr. Z’s Blog – What Does The Prayer Really Say?.

Did you catch the age of Licia Manelli? She was about 97 (1907-2004)!! This is after having 21 children! I guess this beatification proves Paul right in 1 Tim 2:15, “Yet she shall be saved through childbearing; if she continue in faith, and love, and sanctification, with sobriety.” Deo Gratias!

   Send article as PDF