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St Joseph
March 19th Feast Day
by Larry Bethel
St Joseph
March 19th Feast Day
by Larry Bethel
March 19th is the feast day of St Joseph, in one of his titles, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
At St Anthony Church above the statue of St Joseph is the Latin, Ite ad Joseph in Omnibus.
Meaning, "In everything go to Joseph". I had been told once this was referring to the Joseph in the Old Testament and definitely not St Joseph. I said "Bah" to this, but under my breath.
So, recently I went digging around and found an Encyclical of Pope Leo XIII, Quamquam Pluries, "On Devotion to Joseph", given August 15, 1889.
The whole encyclical makes wonderful reading and can be found on the Ewtn or Vatican website. Here are a couple of pertinent quotes, " You well understand Venerable Brethren, 
that these considerations are confirmed by the opinion held by a large number of the Fathers, to which the sacred liturgy gives its sanction, that the Joseph of ancient times, son of the patriarch Jacob, was the type of St Joseph, and the former by his glory prefigured the greatness of the future guardian of the Holy Family. And, in truth, beyond the fact that the same name was given to each, you well know the points of likeness that exist between them.
that these considerations are confirmed by the opinion held by a large number of the Fathers, to which the sacred liturgy gives its sanction, that the Joseph of ancient times, son of the patriarch Jacob, was the type of St Joseph, and the former by his glory prefigured the greatness of the future guardian of the Holy Family. And, in truth, beyond the fact that the same name was given to each, you well know the points of likeness that exist between them..... And as the first caused the prosperity of his master's domestic interests and at the same time rendered great services to the whole kingdom, so the second, destined to be the guardian of the Christian religion, should be regarded as the protector and defender of the Church, which is truly the house of the Lord and the kingdom of God on earth. These are the reasons why men of every rank and country should fly to the trust and guard of the blessed Joseph."
I have also found many Churches, such as St Joseph Shrine in St Louis with "Ite ad Joseph" usually above the St Joseph altar. I even found a local brass band, which plays marches and stage concerts during the period of St Joseph feast days, in Gozo/Malta named, you guessed it, Ite ad Joseph.
There is also this great recommendation to Go to St Joseph from the Doctor of the Church St Teresa, "I do not remember even now that I have ever asked anything of him which he has failed to grant. I am astonished at the great favors which God has bestowed on me through this blessed saint, and at the perils from which he has freed me, both in body and in soul. To other saints the Lord seems to have given grace to succour us in some of our necessities but of this glorious saint my experience is that he succours us in them all and that the Lord wishes to teach us that as He was Himself subject to him on earth.... just so in Heaven He still does all that he asks."
St Joseph, ora pro nobis.
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Letter of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI to the Bishops of the Catholic Church
Concerning the Remission of the Excommunication of the Four Bishops Consecrated by Archbishop Lefebvre
The Vatican
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/letters/2009/documents/hf_ben-xvi_let_20090310_remissione-scomunica_en.html Concerning the Remission of the Excommunication of the Four Bishops Consecrated by Archbishop Lefebvre
The Vatican
Dear Brothers in the Episcopal Ministry!
The remission of the excommunication of the four Bishops consecrated in 1988 by Archbishop Lefebvre without a mandate of the Holy See has for many reasons caused, both within and beyond the Catholic Church, a discussion more heated than any we have seen for a long time. Many Bishops felt perplexed by an event which came about unexpectedly and was difficult to view positively in the light of the issues and tasks facing the Church today. Even though many Bishops and members of the faithful were disposed in principle to take a positive view of the Pope’s concern for reconciliation, the question remained whether such a gesture was fitting in view of the genuinely urgent demands of the life of faith in our time. Some groups, on the other hand, openly accused the Pope of wanting to turn back the clock to before the Council: as a result, an avalanche of protests was unleashed, whose bitterness laid bare wounds deeper than those of the present moment. I therefore feel obliged to offer you, dear Brothers, a word of clarification, which ought to help you understand the concerns which led me and the competent offices of the Holy See to take this step. In this way I hope to contribute to peace in the Church. continue to full article
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Seventh Annual Clear Creek Monastery Workday and Pig Roast
On Saturday, March 7, 2009, Clear Creek Monastery hosted it's Seventh Annual Workday and Pig Roast. Click on link above to see pictures of the day.
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Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest
w w w. I n s t i t u t e - C h r i s t - K i n g . o r g
Old St. Patrick Roman Catholic Oratory Bulletin
806 Cherry Street, Kansas City, MO 64106
Second Sunday of Lent
March 8 - March 15, 2009
http://www.institute-christ-king.org/uploads/kansascity/bulletins/2009-03-08.pdf
Dear Faithful,Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest
w w w. I n s t i t u t e - C h r i s t - K i n g . o r g
Old St. Patrick Roman Catholic Oratory Bulletin
806 Cherry Street, Kansas City, MO 64106
Second Sunday of Lent
March 8 - March 15, 2009
http://www.institute-christ-king.org/uploads/kansascity/bulletins/2009-03-08.pdf
There are many important feastdays and events during Lent and Holy Week. So as to
make you aware of them, I have included this calendar of events for March up until
Easter. http://www.institute-christ-king.org/uploads/kansascity/bulletins/2009-03-08.pdf
In Christo Rege et Maria,
Canon William Avis
Rector of Old Saint Patrick Oratory
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Thomas A'Kempis
A.M.D.G. et B.V.M.H.
Submitted by James Spencer
"Sometimes thou shalt be deserted by God; at other times shalt be afflicted by thy neighbor; and what is more, thou shalt often be a trouble to thyself. Neither can thou be delivered by any remedy, but as long as it shall please God, thou must bear it. For God willeth that thou learn to suffer tribulation without comfort, and wholly submit thyself to Him, and become more humble by tribulation. No man has so heartfelt a sense of the Passion of Christ as he whose lot it hath been to suffer like things. The cross, therefore, is always ready, and everywhere awaiteth thee. Thou canst not escape it, whithersoever thou runnest; for wheresoever thou goest, thou carriest thyself with thee, and shalt always find thyself. Turn thyself upwards or turn thyself downwards; turn thyself inward or turn thyself outward; everywhere thou shalt find the cross. And everywhere thou must of necessity hold fast patience, if thou desirest inward peace and would merit an eternal crown."
(This is part 4 of 14 from Book II, Chapter 12, "The Royal Road of the Holy Cross," of The Imitation of Christ by Thomas A'Kenpis.)
When Henry David Thoreau wrote, "Most people live in a state of quiet deperation," he identified himself as an astute but shallow observer of the human condition. Astute because he recognized that suffering is the universal lot of mankind; shallow because he apparently never suspected that suffering has, or at least can have, supernatural dimensions. Conversely, Thomas A'Kempis focused mostly on those supernatural dimensions. Thus, his treatment of suffering is positive, even joyous, whereas Thereau's was negative and discouraging.
Nota bene: In the last sentence, the use of "is" for Thomas A'Kempis' treatment and "was" for Thereau's was unconsious, but perhaps subconscously motivated, because it does seem to attest to the relative vitality and longevity of the works of these two men.
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Civil War Generation Brooklyn Convent Closes
Published: February 05, 2009
Courtesy: Cathnews USA
http://www.cathnewsusa.com/article.aspx?aeid=11592
The historic Brooklyn Convent of Mercy which rose during the Civil War, twenty years before the Brooklyn Bridge opened, is closing after nearly 150 years of service to orphans, disabled and poor. And more than four decades passed before the Empire State Building appeared on the Manhattan skyline seen from the windows of the Brooklyn convent.
Newsday reports that since 1862, the fortress-like complex has sheltered, educated and nurtured people in need, from Irish orphans to developmentally disabled adults and poor Hispanic children.
But suddenly, some months ago, the convent's elderly residents faced shattering news: They learned they'd be forced to leave the "mother house" of the Sisters of Mercy in Brooklyn, a Catholic order whose aim is "to help people to overcome the obstacles that keep them from living full and dignified lives," according to their mission statement.
The reason for the convent closure in mid-February: money. Engineers said it would cost more than $20 million to fix structural and safety problems discovered in the building in the Fort Greene neighborhood.
Preservationists fear that the property - a collection of buildings that covers almost a city block - could be targeted by developers and demolished, like other religious institutions across the country that have vanished for lack of money or members.
To many, the convent transcends its walls. "It represents the spirit of wanting to do things for the right reason," said 91-year-old Sr Olivia Clifford. "I can look at a person - a poor person, or even a very rich person who needs help, and say, 'I'm doing this because Jesus lives in him as well as he lives in me.' And therefore you reach out to that person and do good."
In the spacious chapel, sunlight streams through German-made stained-glass windows - one of them a gift from former orphans. "This chapel means more to me than any spot on earth and I cannot bear the thought of losing it," said Sr Camille D'Arienzo, 76, a past president of the Brooklyn Sisters of Mercy who worked from convent offices, while living elsewhere. D'Arienzo would once have been called the mother superior, cloaked in a long black-and-white habit. These days, she wears civilian clothing, sometimes with elegant earrings.
The 29 nuns who still lived at the convent recently were all moving to Catholic-run homes in the New York area.
"Sept. 28 - I'll never forget it," said Clifford. "That's the day they broke the news to us that the house was slipping."
A decision on the future of the complex has yet to be made by leaders of the order's Mid-Atlantic Community, in Merion, Pa., who oversee 1,100 sisters in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, Massachusetts and New York.
A decision on the future of the complex has yet to be made by leaders of the order's Mid-Atlantic Community, in Merion, Pa., who oversee 1,100 sisters in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, Massachusetts and New York.
The Mercy order could use the money from selling the property, worth millions, to bolster the mission of the dwindling number of sisters - about 8,000 worldwide, down from 10,000 a decade ago.
"At this point, every option has to be considered, and anything is possible," said Sr Christine McCann, president of the Mid-Atlantic Community that's part of the Institute of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas in Silver Spring, Md.
The institute is an umbrella group for 4,078 sisters in the Americas, the Caribbean, Guam and the Philippines.
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Excerpts from the Article
The Coming Evangelical Collapse
by Michael Spencer
The Christian Science Monitor
http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0310/p09s01-coop.html?page=1
Blogger's note" this is aninteresting read on the future of evangelicals in the USA as seen by an evangelical. Michael Spencer is a writer living and working in Kentucky. He describes himself as "a postevangelical reformation Christian in search of a Jesus-shaped spirituality." This essay blogger's note: these excerpts are) is adapted from a series on his blog, InternetMonk.com .
"...We are on the verge – within 10 years – of a major collapse of evangelical Christianity. This breakdown will follow the deterioration of the mainline Protestant world and it will fundamentally alter the religious and cultural environment in the West."
"...Millions of Evangelicals will quit. Thousands of ministries will end. Christian media will be reduced, if not eliminated. Many Christian schools will go into rapid decline. I'm convinced the grace and mission of God will reach to the ends of the earth. But the end of evangelicalism as we know it is close."
"...Two of the beneficiaries will be the Roman Catholic and Orthodox communions. Evangelicals have been entering these churches in recent decades and that trend will continue, with more efforts aimed at the "conversion" of Evangelicals to the Catholic and Orthodox traditions. " follow this link for full article
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Random Catholic Images
...off the net...
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More Catholics Embrace Traditions
Faithful say they find comfort in time-honored rituals such as Latin Masses, indulgences.
Gregg Krupa / The Detroit News
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090313/LIFESTYLE04/903130400/1041
Faithful say they find comfort in time-honored rituals such as Latin Masses, indulgences.
Gregg Krupa / The Detroit News
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090313/LIFESTYLE04/903130400/1041
When the Sussmans of Brighton visit upstate New York or Quebec, they make sure to bring back some indulgences -- the kind that, they and other Catholics believe, spares them from some of the suffering for their sins.
"When we visited the Martyr's Shrine in Fultonville, N.Y., there are certain devotions you can say, and if you receive Holy Communion and go to confession within seven days, I believe it is an indulgence," said Amy Sussman, 46. "When we go on a trip, we always take advantage of those opportunities. Every little bit helps."
Many Catholics say they have never heard of indulgences, except for perhaps Martin Luther's complaint during the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century that clerics were corruptly selling them.
But more Catholics are embracing traditional forms of worship that had fallen into obscurity, including the version of the Mass said in Latin, frequent use of the ritual known as the Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and some priests and seminarians are wearing cassocks, the close-fitting, body-length, black vestment that largely fell out of favor among American Catholic priests by the 1960s.
While some critics see a challenge to the modernity and openness forged by the epochal Second Vatican Council, which concluded 45 years ago, the Catholics who seek the time-honored practices say it is largely a matter of appeal and aesthetics -- they say they simply experience a better, more vigorous practice of the faith in the more traditional rituals.
At a time of declining church attendance and surveys showing fewer Americans participating in organized religion, some Catholics say they may hold a key to a deepening of faith. While experts say no other denominations or faiths seem to be experiencing such a vigorous return to older rituals, the Catholic experience mirrors to some degree the dramatic growth of evangelical practices.
Stan Bloch, 60, says he remembers the practices of indulgences from his youth.
"They were something we spoke about when I was going to grade school, about 55 years ago, 60 years ago," Bloch said as he prepared a bingo game for seniors in the parish hall at Our Lady Queen of Apostles in Hamtramck. "And, actually, for the last 20 or 25 years or so, you never heard anything about indulgences at all.
"I think some Catholics are starting to bring back some of the older traditions. There has been sort of a tendency for people to become a little lax about the practice of their faith. A lot of people don't go to church on a regular basis. Perhaps it is the tenor of the times, and I think maybe, too, with the soft economy, the two wars, Pakistan becoming a hot spot, people are looking for a little bit of strength."
Indulgences are a means of mitigating worldly suffering one may experience after sin, even if it has been forgiven by a priest in the sacrament of confession. The practice was expanded among Catholics recently by Pope Benedict XVI and Cardinal Adam Maida as part of the celebration of the birth of St. Paul 2,000 years ago.
More evidence of the embrace of traditional Catholic practices is the Latin Mass, which the Archdiocese of Detroit has allowed to expand in recent years. There are now at least 14 churches in Metro Detroit, up from just a few several years ago, that offer that type of service.
While ecclesiastic policy and issues of church and perhaps even secular politics are all implicated by the Latin Mass, many Catholics who attend say they enjoy it for aesthetic reasons and how it makes them feel about experiencing their faith.
"It just entered my mind that I was tired about the Mass being so much about me," Matthew Hill of Ferndale, who attends Latin Masses at St. Josaphat, near the Detroit Medical Center. "There is a real sense that with the priest facing the people and with the need to be always responding to something or doing something that it's very much thinking about myself and about us being here.
"And in the traditional Mass, as the priest faces the altar with his back to the congregation, that is all about God, not me. This is about worshiping God. This isn't about navel gazing."
Several churches hosting Latin Masses say attendance is rising. Some 150 people now attend the Masses at St. Josaphat, and about half of the congregation consists of young families and adults in their 30s and 40s.
Some Catholics who attend the more traditional rituals say they are quite progressive in outlook, willing to at least discuss issues like married and women priests and are more accepting of homosexuality than the Vatican, for example. They say their choice of forms of worship is not at all about the politics of the church. They simply find the traditional Mass aesthetically pleasing, with its Gregorian chants, use of the old term "Holy Ghost" instead of "Holy Spirit," burning of incense, frequent ringing of bells to mark important junctures of the service and the formal procession of 10 altar boys, deacons and priests dressed in traditional cassocks and lace-embroidered surplices at the beginning and end of the Mass.
The Mass also includes the ritual of the Adoration of the Holy Eucharist, which is not often seen in many parishes. In the ceremony, a priest removes a large Communion host -- which Catholics believe is the body of Christ -- from a tabernacle and places it in the display case of a large, ornate, gold-leaf monstrance. The monstrance is then displayed on the altar of the church, while priests burn incense, chant prayers and the congregation prays in worship of Jesus Christ.
"For me, it started with an interest in traditional music, the Latin music, organ and choral tradition I first experienced when I was in college in Boston," said Alex Begin of Bloomfield Hills. "That led me to the precision of the prayers and the rubrics of the Mass in this traditional form.
"The new version of the Mass is almost an abridged form," Begin said. "But, the music -- we are looking at a tradition of hundreds and hundreds of years of the world's greatest composers who wrote for the Mass."
You can reach Gregg Krupa at (313) 222-2359 or gkrupa@detnews.com.
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Catholic Images for emails and Documents
submitted by Stella Gruenbacher
Mrs. Stella Gruenbacher has been kind enough to send these great images for us to enjoy!submitted by Stella Gruenbacher
Thank you Mrs. Gruenbacher for your contribution.
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