+JMJ+
In this e-weekly:
- More Than 40,000 Young People Make Pilgrimage to Virgin of Rio Blanco Shrine in Argentina (Diocesan News and BEYOND)
- St. Peter Basilica Website (by laptop)
- Litany of Humility (under the Praying Hands at end)
In this e-weekly:
- More Than 40,000 Young People Make Pilgrimage to Virgin of Rio Blanco Shrine in Argentina (Diocesan News and BEYOND)
- St. Peter Basilica Website (by laptop)
- Litany of Humility (under the Praying Hands at end)
Catholic Good News
Receiving the Gospel, Serving God and Neighbor
Bury the Dead
" So he called his son Tobiah; and when he came, he said to him:
"My son, when I die, give me a decent burial." (Tobit 4:3).
Receiving the Gospel, Serving God and Neighbor
Bury the Dead
" So he called his son Tobiah; and when he came, he said to him:
"My son, when I die, give me a decent burial." (Tobit 4:3).
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
The seventh corporal (bodily) work of mercy is: To bury the dead. We have sometimes lost sight of this because we want to distance ourselves from death. But as it was a priority among Jews because the person was made in the image of God and His desired dwelling place, all the more do Catholics honor the body with Christian burial.
Today we perform the work of mercy of burying the dead by attending wakes and Funeral Masses. When our loved ones die, to fulfill this we make sure that they have a Funeral Mass offered for them and that their bodies are buried in blessed ground (ground that has been blessed by prayer and holy water).
While the Church does allow cremation for those who do not use it to deny the resurrection of the body, the Church requires that the cremated remains of loved ones are buried in ground that is blessed. The cremated mortal remains of our loved ones are not to be kept as if we could ever possess them, or to be distributed or spread over an area even if they request it. The reason is that we belong to God, we did not create ourselves, so while we have the power, we do not have the authority to ever misuse the body, alive or dead.
Try to attend parish funerals, especially if you do not think many people will attend, and see that the dead receive a proper burial. The dead need your prayers and mine and this work of mercy, as you and I will when the Lord calls us from this life!
Peace and prayers in Jesus through Mary, loved by Saint Joseph,
Father Robert
P.S. Check the green sections in this e-weekly for the exact words of the Church concerning this.
P.S.S. This Sunday is: 31st Sunday of Ordinary Time. The readings can be found at: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/110523.cfm
The seventh corporal (bodily) work of mercy is: To bury the dead. We have sometimes lost sight of this because we want to distance ourselves from death. But as it was a priority among Jews because the person was made in the image of God and His desired dwelling place, all the more do Catholics honor the body with Christian burial.
Today we perform the work of mercy of burying the dead by attending wakes and Funeral Masses. When our loved ones die, to fulfill this we make sure that they have a Funeral Mass offered for them and that their bodies are buried in blessed ground (ground that has been blessed by prayer and holy water).
While the Church does allow cremation for those who do not use it to deny the resurrection of the body, the Church requires that the cremated remains of loved ones are buried in ground that is blessed. The cremated mortal remains of our loved ones are not to be kept as if we could ever possess them, or to be distributed or spread over an area even if they request it. The reason is that we belong to God, we did not create ourselves, so while we have the power, we do not have the authority to ever misuse the body, alive or dead.
Try to attend parish funerals, especially if you do not think many people will attend, and see that the dead receive a proper burial. The dead need your prayers and mine and this work of mercy, as you and I will when the Lord calls us from this life!
Peace and prayers in Jesus through Mary, loved by Saint Joseph,
Father Robert
P.S. Check the green sections in this e-weekly for the exact words of the Church concerning this.
P.S.S. This Sunday is: 31st Sunday of Ordinary Time. The readings can be found at: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/110523.cfm
592. What is the sense of the petition “Give us this day our daily bread”? (Catechism of the Catholic Church, CCC 2828-2834, 2861)
a) God is the only one who can feed us
b) that our trust must be a demand we make upon God
c) it is the daily nourishment that helps us recognize how good God is
d) none of the above
593. What is the specifically Christian sense of this petition? (CCC 2835-2837, 2861)
a) applies equally to hunger for the Word of God and for the Body of Christ
b) it is a hunger for the Holy Spirit
c) We ask this with complete confidence for this day – God’s “today”
d) all of the above
594. Why do we say “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us”? (CCC 2838-2839, 2862)
a) we say it for our neighbor to hear, it does not apply to us.
b) it is an ideal that we only accomplish in heaven
c) we acknowledge that we are sinners and yet proclaim his mercy
d) we are not forgiven our sins until our enemies forgive us
(Answers at the end)
a) God is the only one who can feed us
b) that our trust must be a demand we make upon God
c) it is the daily nourishment that helps us recognize how good God is
d) none of the above
593. What is the specifically Christian sense of this petition? (CCC 2835-2837, 2861)
a) applies equally to hunger for the Word of God and for the Body of Christ
b) it is a hunger for the Holy Spirit
c) We ask this with complete confidence for this day – God’s “today”
d) all of the above
594. Why do we say “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us”? (CCC 2838-2839, 2862)
a) we say it for our neighbor to hear, it does not apply to us.
b) it is an ideal that we only accomplish in heaven
c) we acknowledge that we are sinners and yet proclaim his mercy
d) we are not forgiven our sins until our enemies forgive us
(Answers at the end)
Corporal Works Of Mercy
(Latin corporale "of the body" + Greek ergon "activity, work"+ from Latin merces "price paid" = "price paid work of the body")
- bodily deeds of compassion toward others mandated by Christ
[The seven practices of charity, based on Christ's prediction of the Last Judgment (Matthew 5:3-10) that will determine each person's final destiny. They are: 1. to feed the hungry; 2. to give drink to the thirsty; 3. to clothe the naked; 4. to shelter the homeless; 5. to visit the sick; 6. to visit those in prison; and 7. to bury the dead.]
(Latin corporale "of the body" + Greek ergon "activity, work"+ from Latin merces "price paid" = "price paid work of the body")
- bodily deeds of compassion toward others mandated by Christ
[The seven practices of charity, based on Christ's prediction of the Last Judgment (Matthew 5:3-10) that will determine each person's final destiny. They are: 1. to feed the hungry; 2. to give drink to the thirsty; 3. to clothe the naked; 4. to shelter the homeless; 5. to visit the sick; 6. to visit those in prison; and 7. to bury the dead.]
CFL bulbs, or compact fluorescent light bulbs: energy savings
Commonly referred to as CFLs, compact fluorescent lamps or compact fluorescent light bulbs, the energy-saving bulbs have escaped the stereotype of buzzing, flickery, washed-out lights to become one of the poster children for consumers taking action in the modern green movement. The bulbs, which can replace incandescent, halogen and other electric lights around your house, use between 60% and 80% less energy than their incandescent counterparts, making them an increasingly popular way to cut energy use without having to make any radical changes, like replace your lighting fixtures or rewire your house, in many cases.
Dimmable compact fluorescent light bulbs
In addition to using a fraction of the energy, compact fluorescent light bulbs have a much longer usable life than incandescents, typically lasting between 6,000 and 15,000 hours, compared to 1,000 hours or so for incandescent bulbs. Recent improvements in technology have improved both the light quality and versatility of CFLs -- many now emit a more pleasant "soft white" light and work in dimmable and three-way fixtures. All of this adds up to a bulb that can save the user upwards of $30 over its life and save 2000 times its own weight in greenhouse gas emissions.
Respect for the dead
2299 The dying should be given attention and care to help them live their last moments in dignity and peace. They will be helped by the prayer of their relatives, who must see to it that the sick receive at the proper time the sacraments that prepare them to meet the living God.
2300 The bodies of the dead must be treated with respect and charity, in faith and hope of the Resurrection. The burial of the dead is a corporal work of mercy;92 it honors the children of God, who are temples of the Holy Spirit.
2301 Autopsies can be morally permitted for legal inquests or scientific research. The free gift of organs after death is legitimate and can be meritorious.
The Church permits cremation, provided that it does not demonstrate a denial of faith in the resurrection of the body.
Catechism of the Catholic Church #2299-2301
Commonly referred to as CFLs, compact fluorescent lamps or compact fluorescent light bulbs, the energy-saving bulbs have escaped the stereotype of buzzing, flickery, washed-out lights to become one of the poster children for consumers taking action in the modern green movement. The bulbs, which can replace incandescent, halogen and other electric lights around your house, use between 60% and 80% less energy than their incandescent counterparts, making them an increasingly popular way to cut energy use without having to make any radical changes, like replace your lighting fixtures or rewire your house, in many cases.
Dimmable compact fluorescent light bulbs
In addition to using a fraction of the energy, compact fluorescent light bulbs have a much longer usable life than incandescents, typically lasting between 6,000 and 15,000 hours, compared to 1,000 hours or so for incandescent bulbs. Recent improvements in technology have improved both the light quality and versatility of CFLs -- many now emit a more pleasant "soft white" light and work in dimmable and three-way fixtures. All of this adds up to a bulb that can save the user upwards of $30 over its life and save 2000 times its own weight in greenhouse gas emissions.
Respect for the dead
2299 The dying should be given attention and care to help them live their last moments in dignity and peace. They will be helped by the prayer of their relatives, who must see to it that the sick receive at the proper time the sacraments that prepare them to meet the living God.
2300 The bodies of the dead must be treated with respect and charity, in faith and hope of the Resurrection. The burial of the dead is a corporal work of mercy;92 it honors the children of God, who are temples of the Holy Spirit.
2301 Autopsies can be morally permitted for legal inquests or scientific research. The free gift of organs after death is legitimate and can be meritorious.
The Church permits cremation, provided that it does not demonstrate a denial of faith in the resurrection of the body.
Catechism of the Catholic Church #2299-2301
Catholic Websites of the Week
St. Peter Bascilica Website
http://www.vaticanstate.va/content/vaticanstate/en/monumenti/basilica-di-s-pietro.html
https://www.vaticanstate.va/it/monumenti/basilica-di-san-pietro/basilica.html
This extensive site covers the art, history and architecture of the Vatican Basilica. It includes numerous pictures, an interactive floor plan map and the entire text of several books and scholarly articles. If you have ever wondered which saint was on top of the Colonnade or are doing historical research, St. Peter's Basilica.org is the place to visit for this and much more.
St. Peter's is not only home to the Pope, but is our spiritual home, where the Church has nurtured and raised Christians through her two thousand year history. However, for many of us St. Peter's is too far away to visit. This website is a wonderful way to experience her beauty and richness from your own home.
St. Peter Bascilica Website
http://www.vaticanstate.va/content/vaticanstate/en/monumenti/basilica-di-s-pietro.html
https://www.vaticanstate.va/it/monumenti/basilica-di-san-pietro/basilica.html
This extensive site covers the art, history and architecture of the Vatican Basilica. It includes numerous pictures, an interactive floor plan map and the entire text of several books and scholarly articles. If you have ever wondered which saint was on top of the Colonnade or are doing historical research, St. Peter's Basilica.org is the place to visit for this and much more.
St. Peter's is not only home to the Pope, but is our spiritual home, where the Church has nurtured and raised Christians through her two thousand year history. However, for many of us St. Peter's is too far away to visit. This website is a wonderful way to experience her beauty and richness from your own home.
Best Parish Practices
CREATE AND HAVE MERCY BAGS AT YOUR PARISH OFFICE FOR THOSE IN NEED
People will often come to a Parish Office or places where churches gather asking for food or things they need. Having Mercy Bags of food and other needed items can be a Work of Mercy and help someone who is in need of essentials.
BENEFITS:
Having Mercy Bags of food and other needed items such as hygiene items can be a Work of Mercy and help someone who is in need of essentials. It allows parishes to serve and help the Parish Office and staff in concrete ways.
HOW:
Talk to your Parish Priest and ask if something like this is needed or can be done through the Parish Office. Then a committee or individual creates Mercy Bags. If they are food bags, they can contain imperishables, yet easily accessible food like applesauce single servings, individually wrapped breakfast bars, chicken or fish servings or beef jerky in easily tear-open containers, peanut butter plastic jar, small water bottles, plastic table service wrapped in a napkin, and all kept together in a double plastic sacks. If they are hygiene bags, individually wrapped items or items bought in bulk and individually wrapped in zip lock bags again kept in double plastic sacks. These can be done 10 or 15 bags at a time delivered to the Parish Office in a tote or box and they handed out one by one by staff appropriately at the door. Prayer cards or holy items can also be placed in them. Committee or individual can also pray then for persons receiving them.
CREATE AND HAVE MERCY BAGS AT YOUR PARISH OFFICE FOR THOSE IN NEED
People will often come to a Parish Office or places where churches gather asking for food or things they need. Having Mercy Bags of food and other needed items can be a Work of Mercy and help someone who is in need of essentials.
BENEFITS:
Having Mercy Bags of food and other needed items such as hygiene items can be a Work of Mercy and help someone who is in need of essentials. It allows parishes to serve and help the Parish Office and staff in concrete ways.
HOW:
Talk to your Parish Priest and ask if something like this is needed or can be done through the Parish Office. Then a committee or individual creates Mercy Bags. If they are food bags, they can contain imperishables, yet easily accessible food like applesauce single servings, individually wrapped breakfast bars, chicken or fish servings or beef jerky in easily tear-open containers, peanut butter plastic jar, small water bottles, plastic table service wrapped in a napkin, and all kept together in a double plastic sacks. If they are hygiene bags, individually wrapped items or items bought in bulk and individually wrapped in zip lock bags again kept in double plastic sacks. These can be done 10 or 15 bags at a time delivered to the Parish Office in a tote or box and they handed out one by one by staff appropriately at the door. Prayer cards or holy items can also be placed in them. Committee or individual can also pray then for persons receiving them.
By Julieta Villar
ACI Prensa Staff, Nov 3, 2023 / 18:30 pm
During the month of October under the theme “Like the martyrs, together with Mary, firm in the faith,” thousands of people from the northern province of Jujuy in Argentina make pilgrimages to the shrine of their patroness, the Virgin of Río Blanco and Paypaya. Last weekend more than 40,000 young people turned out for the pilgrimage.
The pilgrims, coming from different parts of the province, began to arrive at Río Blanco on Friday, Oct. 27, some after walking more than 60 miles. Once there, they camped on the shrine grounds.
On Saturday afternoon the activities began, organized by the diocesan youth ministry.
Saturday culminated with the celebration of Mass and a night of adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, which lasted until 11 p.m.
The pilgrims continued to arrive until Sunday to participate in the main Mass, which was offered by the bishop of Jujuy, César Daniel Fernández.
In his homily, the prelate encouraged the young people to feel personally loved by God. “God is tattooed on the hearts of those who were baptized and never abandons us,” he said.
Throughout Sunday, Masses were celebrated at the shrine and the rosary was prayed.
Speaking with Todo Jujuy online news, Fernández said: “With great joy we receive so much sacrifice, effort, and enthusiasm from these young people who want great things for their lives.”
“We as adults must wish them the best and build the best for them through the conditions so that they can work, study, and give meaning to their lives,” he urged.
The prelate considered that this “date” that the young people meet every year in Río Blanco “will give them a lot of strength to continue the fight in their everyday lives.”
“We always hope that this sanctuary, which is emblematic for the province, which is the religious heart, has the best to offer everyone a place to encounter God. Faith does not slacken,” he concluded.
ACI Prensa Staff, Nov 3, 2023 / 18:30 pm
During the month of October under the theme “Like the martyrs, together with Mary, firm in the faith,” thousands of people from the northern province of Jujuy in Argentina make pilgrimages to the shrine of their patroness, the Virgin of Río Blanco and Paypaya. Last weekend more than 40,000 young people turned out for the pilgrimage.
The pilgrims, coming from different parts of the province, began to arrive at Río Blanco on Friday, Oct. 27, some after walking more than 60 miles. Once there, they camped on the shrine grounds.
On Saturday afternoon the activities began, organized by the diocesan youth ministry.
Saturday culminated with the celebration of Mass and a night of adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, which lasted until 11 p.m.
The pilgrims continued to arrive until Sunday to participate in the main Mass, which was offered by the bishop of Jujuy, César Daniel Fernández.
In his homily, the prelate encouraged the young people to feel personally loved by God. “God is tattooed on the hearts of those who were baptized and never abandons us,” he said.
Throughout Sunday, Masses were celebrated at the shrine and the rosary was prayed.
Speaking with Todo Jujuy online news, Fernández said: “With great joy we receive so much sacrifice, effort, and enthusiasm from these young people who want great things for their lives.”
“We as adults must wish them the best and build the best for them through the conditions so that they can work, study, and give meaning to their lives,” he urged.
The prelate considered that this “date” that the young people meet every year in Río Blanco “will give them a lot of strength to continue the fight in their everyday lives.”
“We always hope that this sanctuary, which is emblematic for the province, which is the religious heart, has the best to offer everyone a place to encounter God. Faith does not slacken,” he concluded.
 |  |
'Authentic Racial Reconciliation,' From the Heart of the ChurchNews: Racism
Adora Namigadde
Oct 26, 2017
2The founders of a new initiative say the Catholic Church could be a leader on discussions about racism and discrimination — but right now, it’s not. Their new project, the Before Gethsemane Initiative, aims to address that.
Chenele Shaw, co-founder of the Before Gethsemane Initiative. Courtesy photo.
“The Church should be leading on these issues, and she’s not right now, unfortunately,” the project’s co-director, Maria Benes, laments.
She told The Pillar that in recent months, she’s been told about incidents of racism and Catholic contexts.
“I’ve heard at Catholic schools, Asian students being told to go back to Wuhan, many of whom are not even Chinese. Wrong regardless, but a lot of them in this case were being told to go back to Wuhan because of the pandemic. I’ve heard even of the n-word still used in some Catholic schools.”
That kind of language is a problem, and Benes wanted to be part of the solution.
Benes reached out to Chenele Shaw, a former youth minister and theology teacher who is passionate about creating a welcoming environment for racial minorities in the Church.
Benes and Shaw hit it off. Soon, the women decided to launch the Before Gethsemane Initiative.
The name is meant to evoke Christ’s prayer for unity and conversion in John 17, before his agony in the Garden of Gethsemane.
The founders of the Before Gethsemane Initiative say there are a lot of obstacles to Christian unity — and attitudes about race are among them.
“There’s a lot of political allegiance that happens in the Church that kind of strays us away from our universal call to holiness and the idea that we’re called to love one another,” Shaw told The Pillar.
“Sometimes that can get muddied up into the truth of what we’re being called to be -- Catholics that live consistent life ethics. It can get muddied up by believing we have to be perfectly aligned with one political party or the other. Therefore, there’s a lot of gaps on either side.”
That’s why the group’s co-directors put adherence to Catholic teaching at the forefront: every publicly-associated member signs a fidelity statement declaring strict adherence to key Catholic teachings: the inherent dignity of every person from conception to natural death, the real presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist, and abortion as an intrinsic evil.
The group’s co-founders want to bring racism and xenophobia to the fore of conversation among Catholics.
Benes said the group aims to address racism and xenophobia from a Catholic lens – promoting prayer and fasting, education and difficult conversations as the road to repentance for those who inflict racism on others, and forgiveness for those who have experienced it. They hope to help people suffering from wounds related to racism to find healing, and to help unify the Church, and inspire conversion, through fasting and prayer.
The vision for Before Gethsemane
When Benes and Shaw started telling people about their project a few months back, interest in the group grew quickly. Within 24 hours of reaching out to people about the initiative, Benes was connected with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), Fr. Josh Johnson, and former EWTN Radio host Gloria Purvis, who saw her show cancelled in December 2020, after complaints from a radio syndicate about her discussion of George Floyd and other topics connected to racism.
“Finding Chenele and a lot of people on our board was honestly through me saying a prayer to the Holy Spirit, then doing a Google search,” Benes says. “I found this site for Catholic speakers of color. Honestly most of us have not met in-person before, except for a few of us.”
Benes and Shaw say Catholic groups and a few bishops have expressed interest in their work.
Before Gethsemane hosted its first conversation Oct. 14, with a virtual gathering of 30 Catholic school principals, and a school has agreed to partner with them.
Benes and Shaw say they aim to help lead conversations in different settings to help people at all education and age levels recognize and address racism.
“Our hope with our initiative is to be able to address people in the Church with both education and with healing opportunities,” Shaw says. “So we’d like to provide education like workshops, bible studies, etc., but also healing and mental health resources for Black and brown Catholics.”
They’d also like to offer racial reconciliation retreats, collaboration with Catholic counselors and awareness and sensitivity training to Catholic organizations like schools and parishes.
Shaw heads the spiritual and mental health pillar of the organization, while Benes handles the piece on facilitating challenging conversations.
Shaw stresses that as Catholics, racial reconciliation necessarily involves forgiveness.
“We like what Fr. Josh Johnson has said a lot about that,” Shaw says. “People that commit acts of racism are not only called to say sorry and apologize, but also to change their ways. And the people called to forgive acts of racism are not only called to forgive but to also go through the process of healing, which works together.”
Authentic racial reconciliation
Difficult conversations are right up Maria Benes’ alley – as a second grader, she feared she would have to watch her parents get divorced.
“My parents almost got divorced over political and religious differences. But they decided to stay together, and they learned to work through things,” Benes recalls.
“They still don’t agree on everything, and in fact there’s a lot they still don’t agree on. But I grew up learning how to have difficult political conversations at the dinner table. I think that’s why I’m so passionate about helping bridge the political divide with God at the center.”
Benes carried that skillset into her career and expanded upon it. She holds a masters in international affairs, with a concentration in conflict resolution, and she has spent five years teaching students at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln the art of participating in tough political discussions.
Maria Benes, co-founder of the Before Gethsemane Initiative. Courtesy photo.“I developed a curriculum for how to teach students how to have controversial political conversations,” Benes says. “A lot of it is related to emotional intelligence.”
Her eight tips for difficult conversations are preparation, relationship, avoiding “whataboutism,” vulnerability, listening, using “I” over “we” statements, admitting when one is wrong, and assuming the other person has the best of intentions.
“Whataboutism” refers to an attempt to divert attention away from the topic at hand by making a counter-accusation.
“It’s like if someone says, ‘Well, your political party doesn’t care about healthcare,’ or ‘Your political party doesn’t care about abortion,’” Benes says. “Certainly some mortal sins are worse than others. If something is a mortal sin, we can acknowledge that without having to say, ‘Well, this mortal sin is worse.’ At that point, we are not striving for excellence.”
In the years Benes taught people how to have challenging conversations, she says students only broke out into fights twice. Both times, they were breaking one of her rules.
“In one case where there was this open fight between two students, it was actually because they broke [the rule on using “I” instead of “we” statements]. It was two Latino students that had very different past experiences -- one, his father was a legal immigrant who had a six-figure salary and was doing very well in the United States. The other one, she grew up super poor, had a ton of family members, some of whom were not here legally. And they were both using ‘we’ statements as if they were speaking for all Latino people.”
Before Gethsemane will modify its approach based on the age and education level of participants. The organization is using a Catholic human dignity curriculum from the perspective of Catholic social teaching. For older students and adults, it will make use of a multimedia curriculum about Catholic social teaching, called Connected.
“When I talked about controversial issues with my students, I would pray and fast for them at least a week, if not more in advance. Then I’d get to the classroom early and sprinkle holy water around the room, sprinkle blessed salt,” Benes says.
That’s a tradition the leadership of Before Gethsemane will continue.
“So we actually do a lot of this stuff when we go into schools. We will start praying and fasting,” Benes says. “So the group we have right now, we will pray and fast for them as a team before we even go and see them.”
In the words of board member Janine Christiano, “We are not going to solve this problem without God.”
Next steps
“We have so many secular initiatives that I think are doing a great job on the education and awareness piece, but this is really ultimately about a change of heart in all of us. And that’s not going to come apart from God,” Christiano said.
Benes and Shaw say they’ve both experienced God at work in their project, and they know it is possible for all Catholics to feel welcomed in the Catholic Church, whose very name speaks to the idea of universality.
The group submitted paperwork for the organization to reach 501c3 nonprofit status earlier this month.
“I hear the IRS is really backed up right now, unfortunately. With the pandemic, it may be up to a year before we get that back,” Benes says. “Once we get that, we can do state filings for non-profit raising. In the meantime, we’re able to start going into schools and parishes.”
For now, they’re fundraising, and praying for the work ahead.
Adora Namigadde
Oct 26, 2017
2The founders of a new initiative say the Catholic Church could be a leader on discussions about racism and discrimination — but right now, it’s not. Their new project, the Before Gethsemane Initiative, aims to address that.
Chenele Shaw, co-founder of the Before Gethsemane Initiative. Courtesy photo.
“The Church should be leading on these issues, and she’s not right now, unfortunately,” the project’s co-director, Maria Benes, laments.
She told The Pillar that in recent months, she’s been told about incidents of racism and Catholic contexts.
“I’ve heard at Catholic schools, Asian students being told to go back to Wuhan, many of whom are not even Chinese. Wrong regardless, but a lot of them in this case were being told to go back to Wuhan because of the pandemic. I’ve heard even of the n-word still used in some Catholic schools.”
That kind of language is a problem, and Benes wanted to be part of the solution.
Benes reached out to Chenele Shaw, a former youth minister and theology teacher who is passionate about creating a welcoming environment for racial minorities in the Church.
Benes and Shaw hit it off. Soon, the women decided to launch the Before Gethsemane Initiative.
The name is meant to evoke Christ’s prayer for unity and conversion in John 17, before his agony in the Garden of Gethsemane.
The founders of the Before Gethsemane Initiative say there are a lot of obstacles to Christian unity — and attitudes about race are among them.
“There’s a lot of political allegiance that happens in the Church that kind of strays us away from our universal call to holiness and the idea that we’re called to love one another,” Shaw told The Pillar.
“Sometimes that can get muddied up into the truth of what we’re being called to be -- Catholics that live consistent life ethics. It can get muddied up by believing we have to be perfectly aligned with one political party or the other. Therefore, there’s a lot of gaps on either side.”
That’s why the group’s co-directors put adherence to Catholic teaching at the forefront: every publicly-associated member signs a fidelity statement declaring strict adherence to key Catholic teachings: the inherent dignity of every person from conception to natural death, the real presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist, and abortion as an intrinsic evil.
The group’s co-founders want to bring racism and xenophobia to the fore of conversation among Catholics.
Benes said the group aims to address racism and xenophobia from a Catholic lens – promoting prayer and fasting, education and difficult conversations as the road to repentance for those who inflict racism on others, and forgiveness for those who have experienced it. They hope to help people suffering from wounds related to racism to find healing, and to help unify the Church, and inspire conversion, through fasting and prayer.
The vision for Before Gethsemane
When Benes and Shaw started telling people about their project a few months back, interest in the group grew quickly. Within 24 hours of reaching out to people about the initiative, Benes was connected with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), Fr. Josh Johnson, and former EWTN Radio host Gloria Purvis, who saw her show cancelled in December 2020, after complaints from a radio syndicate about her discussion of George Floyd and other topics connected to racism.
“Finding Chenele and a lot of people on our board was honestly through me saying a prayer to the Holy Spirit, then doing a Google search,” Benes says. “I found this site for Catholic speakers of color. Honestly most of us have not met in-person before, except for a few of us.”
Benes and Shaw say Catholic groups and a few bishops have expressed interest in their work.
Before Gethsemane hosted its first conversation Oct. 14, with a virtual gathering of 30 Catholic school principals, and a school has agreed to partner with them.
Benes and Shaw say they aim to help lead conversations in different settings to help people at all education and age levels recognize and address racism.
“Our hope with our initiative is to be able to address people in the Church with both education and with healing opportunities,” Shaw says. “So we’d like to provide education like workshops, bible studies, etc., but also healing and mental health resources for Black and brown Catholics.”
They’d also like to offer racial reconciliation retreats, collaboration with Catholic counselors and awareness and sensitivity training to Catholic organizations like schools and parishes.
Shaw heads the spiritual and mental health pillar of the organization, while Benes handles the piece on facilitating challenging conversations.
Shaw stresses that as Catholics, racial reconciliation necessarily involves forgiveness.
“We like what Fr. Josh Johnson has said a lot about that,” Shaw says. “People that commit acts of racism are not only called to say sorry and apologize, but also to change their ways. And the people called to forgive acts of racism are not only called to forgive but to also go through the process of healing, which works together.”
Authentic racial reconciliation
Difficult conversations are right up Maria Benes’ alley – as a second grader, she feared she would have to watch her parents get divorced.
“My parents almost got divorced over political and religious differences. But they decided to stay together, and they learned to work through things,” Benes recalls.
“They still don’t agree on everything, and in fact there’s a lot they still don’t agree on. But I grew up learning how to have difficult political conversations at the dinner table. I think that’s why I’m so passionate about helping bridge the political divide with God at the center.”
Benes carried that skillset into her career and expanded upon it. She holds a masters in international affairs, with a concentration in conflict resolution, and she has spent five years teaching students at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln the art of participating in tough political discussions.
Maria Benes, co-founder of the Before Gethsemane Initiative. Courtesy photo.“I developed a curriculum for how to teach students how to have controversial political conversations,” Benes says. “A lot of it is related to emotional intelligence.”
Her eight tips for difficult conversations are preparation, relationship, avoiding “whataboutism,” vulnerability, listening, using “I” over “we” statements, admitting when one is wrong, and assuming the other person has the best of intentions.
“Whataboutism” refers to an attempt to divert attention away from the topic at hand by making a counter-accusation.
“It’s like if someone says, ‘Well, your political party doesn’t care about healthcare,’ or ‘Your political party doesn’t care about abortion,’” Benes says. “Certainly some mortal sins are worse than others. If something is a mortal sin, we can acknowledge that without having to say, ‘Well, this mortal sin is worse.’ At that point, we are not striving for excellence.”
In the years Benes taught people how to have challenging conversations, she says students only broke out into fights twice. Both times, they were breaking one of her rules.
“In one case where there was this open fight between two students, it was actually because they broke [the rule on using “I” instead of “we” statements]. It was two Latino students that had very different past experiences -- one, his father was a legal immigrant who had a six-figure salary and was doing very well in the United States. The other one, she grew up super poor, had a ton of family members, some of whom were not here legally. And they were both using ‘we’ statements as if they were speaking for all Latino people.”
Before Gethsemane will modify its approach based on the age and education level of participants. The organization is using a Catholic human dignity curriculum from the perspective of Catholic social teaching. For older students and adults, it will make use of a multimedia curriculum about Catholic social teaching, called Connected.
“When I talked about controversial issues with my students, I would pray and fast for them at least a week, if not more in advance. Then I’d get to the classroom early and sprinkle holy water around the room, sprinkle blessed salt,” Benes says.
That’s a tradition the leadership of Before Gethsemane will continue.
“So we actually do a lot of this stuff when we go into schools. We will start praying and fasting,” Benes says. “So the group we have right now, we will pray and fast for them as a team before we even go and see them.”
In the words of board member Janine Christiano, “We are not going to solve this problem without God.”
Next steps
“We have so many secular initiatives that I think are doing a great job on the education and awareness piece, but this is really ultimately about a change of heart in all of us. And that’s not going to come apart from God,” Christiano said.
Benes and Shaw say they’ve both experienced God at work in their project, and they know it is possible for all Catholics to feel welcomed in the Catholic Church, whose very name speaks to the idea of universality.
The group submitted paperwork for the organization to reach 501c3 nonprofit status earlier this month.
“I hear the IRS is really backed up right now, unfortunately. With the pandemic, it may be up to a year before we get that back,” Benes says. “Once we get that, we can do state filings for non-profit raising. In the meantime, we’re able to start going into schools and parishes.”
For now, they’re fundraising, and praying for the work ahead.
Corpus Christi Bishop Donates Bone Marrow to Save a Mother's Life
Corpus Christi, Texas, Nov 9, 2019 / 02:01 pm (CNA).- This week, Bishop Michael Mulvey of Corpus Christi reflected on bone marrow donations and the life of the mother whom he helped save.
Before he became a bishop, Michael Mulvey joined the Be the Match Registry, the world’s largest register for bone marrow transplants (BMT), which is run by the National Marrow Donor Program.
After the organization discovered a match, South Texas Catholic reported, Mulvey, 70, traveled to San Antonio to make a peripheral stem cell donation. He had matched with a mother who had been diagnosed with a type of blood cancer.
Although Mulvey has never met the woman, he said he was humbled by the experience and expressed gratitude to be able to contribute to the well-being of this mother and her family.
“Knowing that because of the life I have been given by God – I was able to give back and make a big difference in this person’s life, in the life of her children and her family is something I have thought of quite often,” he told South Texas Catholic Nov. 5.
Mulvey said he was introduced to Be the Match in 2004, while he was a priest of the Diocese of Austin. There, he had met Leticia Mondragon, a donor development and engagement specialist with GenCure who partners with Be the Match.
“When I was assigned in Austin years ago, one of our very charitable and active parishioners was signing up people for Be the Match,” said Bishop Mulvey, according to South Texas Catholic. “I appreciated her commitment and dedication to this cause, and after hearing more about the registry, I signed up.”
BMT replaces unhealthy bone marrow with healthy marrow from an outside source. The procedure is used to cure cancers in the blood as well as diseases in the bones and immune system. Among other illnesses, BMT has been used for leukemia, aplastic anemia, and sickle cell disease.
According to South Texas Catholic, Mondragon said the process to sign up is more convenient than in the past, noting that people may apply through their smartphone.
Unlike blood donations, a match for BMT does not focus on blood type, but ethnicity. Mondragon expressed hope that the new system will add more “people of all ethnic backgrounds” to the registry.
She stressed the importance of BMT donors, stating that life-threatening disorders are discovered every few minutes, and thanked the bishop for his contribution.
“Every three minutes someone is diagnosed with a life-threatening blood cancer or blood disorder, such as leukemia or lymphoma,” said Mondragon, according to South Texas Catholic.
“We are thankful Bishop Mulvey wanted to share his story because it is so important that we have leaders like him promoting our global life-saving mission,” she further added.
Bishop Mulvey described the experience not only as an opportunity for charity but as a spiritual encounter.
“St. Matthew says what you have received as a gift, give as a gift,” said Bishop Mulvey, South Texas Catholic reported. “We must always remember that everyone’s life is a gift and true gratitude is expressed when you are willing to give back and share what you have.”
Pope Francis: The Future of the World Depends on the Family
By Hannah Brockhaus
Vatican City, Nov 11 (EWTN News/CNA) -
The future of the Church and the world is dependent on the good of the family, said Pope Francis in a video message Saturday.
“The love between a man and woman is one of the most generative human experiences, it is the ferment of the culture of encounter and brings to the present world an injection of sociality,” the Pope said.
“The family born of marriage creates fruitful bonds, which reveal themselves to be the most effective antidote against the individualism that currently runs rampant.”
Quoting his 2016 apostolic exhortation, Amoris laetitia, he emphasized, “Indeed the good of the family is decisive for the future of the world and of the Church.”
The Pope sent a video message to participants in the third international symposium on Amoris laetitia, organized by the Italian bishops’ conference. Taking place in Rome Nov. 11, the theme of the meeting was: “The Gospel of love between conscience and norm.”
Speaking about the role of the properly formed conscience, Francis warned against the temptation to turn to a sort of egoism or “cult of self.”
“The contemporary world risks confusing the primacy of conscience, which is always to be respected, with the exclusive autonomy of the individual in relation to the relationships he lives,” he said.
This is why, he said, there is a need to form consciences – not substitute them – and to accompany spouses and parents in learning to “apply the Gospel to the concreteness of life.”
In the reality of the family and of marital love, there may come situations which require “arduous choices,” he continued, and these should be made “with righteousness.” Therefore, divine grace, “which illuminates and strengthens married love and parental mission,” is absolutely necessary for spouses and the family.
Pope Francis’ video message echoed his recent keynote address to a major conference on the future of the European Union, in which he spoke out against abortion and said the Christian understanding of the family can serve as a model on which the European continent can base its identity as it faces a changing and uncertain future.
In the family, “diversity is valued and at the same time brought into unity,” Francis said Oct. 28, explaining that the family “is the harmonious union of the differences between man and woman, which becomes stronger and more authentic to the extent that it is fruitful, capable of opening itself to life and to others.”
General Audience: The Importance of Forgiveness in the Family
Vatican City, 4 November (VIS) – Giving and mutual forgiveness, without which no love can be lasting, were the theme of the Pope's catechesis during this Wednesday's general audience.
Before examining this issue in depth, the Holy Father recalled that the recently concluded assembly of the Synod of Bishops had reflected at length on the vocation and mission of the family in the life of the Church and in contemporary society. “It was an event of grace. At the end the Synod Fathers submitted to me the text containing their conclusions. I wanted this text to be published, so that everyone could participate in the work we have been devoted to together for two years. This is not the moment to examine the conclusions, on which I myself have to reflect”.
“In the meantime, however, life does not come to a halt, and in particular the live of families does not stop! You, dear families, are always journeying. And you already continually write in the pages of concrete life the beauty of the Gospel of the family. In a world that at times becomes arid of life and love, every day you speak of the great gift that is marriage and the family”.
The Pope went on to introduce the central theme of his catechesis, reciting the words of the Lord's Prayer: “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us”. “It is not possible to live without forgiveness, or at least you cannot live well, especially in the family. Every day we wrong each other. We must take account of these errors that we make due to our fragility and our selfishness. However, what is required of us is to heal the wounds we make straight away, to immediately weave again the threads we have broken. If we wait too long, it all becomes more difficult. And there is a simple secret for healing wounds and undoing accusations: never let the day finish without apologising. … If we learn to say we are sorry immediately and to offer mutual forgiveness, the wounds are healed, the marriage is strengthened, and the family becomes an increasingly solid home, that resists the shocks of our evils, great and small”.
“If we learn to live this way within the family, we will also do so outside, wherever we find ourselves. It is easy to be sceptical about this. Many – Christians included – think it is an exaggeration. … But thanks to God this is not the case. Indeed, it is precisely by receiving God's forgiveness that, in turn, we are able to forgive others. … And it is essential that, in an at times pitiless society, there be places such as the family where we can learn to forgive each other”.
“The Synod also revived our hope in this regard: the capacity to forgive others and oneself forms part of the vocation and mission of the family. … The Church, dear families, is always beside you to help you build your home on the rock Jesus spoke of”, exclaimed Francis. “And I assure you that if you are capable of journeying ever more decisively along the path of the Beatitudes, learning and teaching to forgive each other, then in all the great family of the Church the capacity to bear witness to the renewing power of God's forgiveness will grow”.
“Otherwise, we will give beautiful sermons and perhaps even cast out the odd demon, but in the end the Lord will not recognise us as His disciples, as we have not been able to forgive or to allow ourselves to be forgiven. Christian families can truly do much for today's society, and also for the Church. … Let us pray that families may be increasingly able to live and build concrete roads to reconciliation, where no-one feels abandoned to the burden of his own trespasses”.
Finally the Pope, accompanied by the with the thousands of faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square, repeated the phrase from the Lord's Prayer: “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us”.
Knights of Columbus Donate 500th Ultrasound MachinePope Considers Lesson of Zacchaeus in Angelus Address By Kathleen Naab Baltimore, Md., Nov 8, 2014 / 09:27 am (EWTN News) - More pregnant women can see their unborn babies thanks to a five-year-old Knights of Columbus program that has provided 500 ultrasound machines to pro-life pregnancy centers.
“Not only has this program saved the lives of countless unborn children, but it has saved many mothers – and fathers – from a lifetime of regret,” Supreme Knight Carl Anderson said Nov. 4.
Anderson and Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore, the fraternal order’s supreme chaplain, presented the program’s 500th ultrasound machine to the Greater Baltimore Center for Pregnancy Concerns for use at its facility in Dundalk, Md.
The presentation took place at the Baltimore Hilton during an annual meeting of the order’s leaders from around the world.
Anderson credited the program’s success to “the generosity of brother knights from coast to coast.”
The Catholic fraternal order began the ultrasound program in 2009, encouraging state and local councils to fund half the cost of ultrasound machines for qualified pregnancy resource centers. The Knights of Columbus Supreme Council’s Culture of Life Fund then provided matching funds to buy the machines, which can cost over $20,000 each.
The organization has now purchased machines in all 50 U.S. states, Jamaica and Canada. The machines’ collective value is almost $26 million. The program has also begun to fund mobile ultrasound machines that can be used in multiple communities.
Knights of Columbus groups in Texas have funded the most ultrasound machine purchases of any state, totaling 40, followed by Missouri, Florida, California and Michigan.
The Knights of Columbus, a Catholic fraternal order, was founded in New Haven, Conn., in 1882 by Venerable Michael J. McGivney, a parish priest. It has 1.8 million members worldwide who perform volunteer service and works of charity and fraternity.
Corpus Christi, Texas, Nov 9, 2019 / 02:01 pm (CNA).- This week, Bishop Michael Mulvey of Corpus Christi reflected on bone marrow donations and the life of the mother whom he helped save.
Before he became a bishop, Michael Mulvey joined the Be the Match Registry, the world’s largest register for bone marrow transplants (BMT), which is run by the National Marrow Donor Program.
After the organization discovered a match, South Texas Catholic reported, Mulvey, 70, traveled to San Antonio to make a peripheral stem cell donation. He had matched with a mother who had been diagnosed with a type of blood cancer.
Although Mulvey has never met the woman, he said he was humbled by the experience and expressed gratitude to be able to contribute to the well-being of this mother and her family.
“Knowing that because of the life I have been given by God – I was able to give back and make a big difference in this person’s life, in the life of her children and her family is something I have thought of quite often,” he told South Texas Catholic Nov. 5.
Mulvey said he was introduced to Be the Match in 2004, while he was a priest of the Diocese of Austin. There, he had met Leticia Mondragon, a donor development and engagement specialist with GenCure who partners with Be the Match.
“When I was assigned in Austin years ago, one of our very charitable and active parishioners was signing up people for Be the Match,” said Bishop Mulvey, according to South Texas Catholic. “I appreciated her commitment and dedication to this cause, and after hearing more about the registry, I signed up.”
BMT replaces unhealthy bone marrow with healthy marrow from an outside source. The procedure is used to cure cancers in the blood as well as diseases in the bones and immune system. Among other illnesses, BMT has been used for leukemia, aplastic anemia, and sickle cell disease.
According to South Texas Catholic, Mondragon said the process to sign up is more convenient than in the past, noting that people may apply through their smartphone.
Unlike blood donations, a match for BMT does not focus on blood type, but ethnicity. Mondragon expressed hope that the new system will add more “people of all ethnic backgrounds” to the registry.
She stressed the importance of BMT donors, stating that life-threatening disorders are discovered every few minutes, and thanked the bishop for his contribution.
“Every three minutes someone is diagnosed with a life-threatening blood cancer or blood disorder, such as leukemia or lymphoma,” said Mondragon, according to South Texas Catholic.
“We are thankful Bishop Mulvey wanted to share his story because it is so important that we have leaders like him promoting our global life-saving mission,” she further added.
Bishop Mulvey described the experience not only as an opportunity for charity but as a spiritual encounter.
“St. Matthew says what you have received as a gift, give as a gift,” said Bishop Mulvey, South Texas Catholic reported. “We must always remember that everyone’s life is a gift and true gratitude is expressed when you are willing to give back and share what you have.”
Pope Francis: The Future of the World Depends on the Family
By Hannah Brockhaus
Vatican City, Nov 11 (EWTN News/CNA) -
The future of the Church and the world is dependent on the good of the family, said Pope Francis in a video message Saturday.
“The love between a man and woman is one of the most generative human experiences, it is the ferment of the culture of encounter and brings to the present world an injection of sociality,” the Pope said.
“The family born of marriage creates fruitful bonds, which reveal themselves to be the most effective antidote against the individualism that currently runs rampant.”
Quoting his 2016 apostolic exhortation, Amoris laetitia, he emphasized, “Indeed the good of the family is decisive for the future of the world and of the Church.”
The Pope sent a video message to participants in the third international symposium on Amoris laetitia, organized by the Italian bishops’ conference. Taking place in Rome Nov. 11, the theme of the meeting was: “The Gospel of love between conscience and norm.”
Speaking about the role of the properly formed conscience, Francis warned against the temptation to turn to a sort of egoism or “cult of self.”
“The contemporary world risks confusing the primacy of conscience, which is always to be respected, with the exclusive autonomy of the individual in relation to the relationships he lives,” he said.
This is why, he said, there is a need to form consciences – not substitute them – and to accompany spouses and parents in learning to “apply the Gospel to the concreteness of life.”
In the reality of the family and of marital love, there may come situations which require “arduous choices,” he continued, and these should be made “with righteousness.” Therefore, divine grace, “which illuminates and strengthens married love and parental mission,” is absolutely necessary for spouses and the family.
Pope Francis’ video message echoed his recent keynote address to a major conference on the future of the European Union, in which he spoke out against abortion and said the Christian understanding of the family can serve as a model on which the European continent can base its identity as it faces a changing and uncertain future.
In the family, “diversity is valued and at the same time brought into unity,” Francis said Oct. 28, explaining that the family “is the harmonious union of the differences between man and woman, which becomes stronger and more authentic to the extent that it is fruitful, capable of opening itself to life and to others.”
General Audience: The Importance of Forgiveness in the Family
Vatican City, 4 November (VIS) – Giving and mutual forgiveness, without which no love can be lasting, were the theme of the Pope's catechesis during this Wednesday's general audience.
Before examining this issue in depth, the Holy Father recalled that the recently concluded assembly of the Synod of Bishops had reflected at length on the vocation and mission of the family in the life of the Church and in contemporary society. “It was an event of grace. At the end the Synod Fathers submitted to me the text containing their conclusions. I wanted this text to be published, so that everyone could participate in the work we have been devoted to together for two years. This is not the moment to examine the conclusions, on which I myself have to reflect”.
“In the meantime, however, life does not come to a halt, and in particular the live of families does not stop! You, dear families, are always journeying. And you already continually write in the pages of concrete life the beauty of the Gospel of the family. In a world that at times becomes arid of life and love, every day you speak of the great gift that is marriage and the family”.
The Pope went on to introduce the central theme of his catechesis, reciting the words of the Lord's Prayer: “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us”. “It is not possible to live without forgiveness, or at least you cannot live well, especially in the family. Every day we wrong each other. We must take account of these errors that we make due to our fragility and our selfishness. However, what is required of us is to heal the wounds we make straight away, to immediately weave again the threads we have broken. If we wait too long, it all becomes more difficult. And there is a simple secret for healing wounds and undoing accusations: never let the day finish without apologising. … If we learn to say we are sorry immediately and to offer mutual forgiveness, the wounds are healed, the marriage is strengthened, and the family becomes an increasingly solid home, that resists the shocks of our evils, great and small”.
“If we learn to live this way within the family, we will also do so outside, wherever we find ourselves. It is easy to be sceptical about this. Many – Christians included – think it is an exaggeration. … But thanks to God this is not the case. Indeed, it is precisely by receiving God's forgiveness that, in turn, we are able to forgive others. … And it is essential that, in an at times pitiless society, there be places such as the family where we can learn to forgive each other”.
“The Synod also revived our hope in this regard: the capacity to forgive others and oneself forms part of the vocation and mission of the family. … The Church, dear families, is always beside you to help you build your home on the rock Jesus spoke of”, exclaimed Francis. “And I assure you that if you are capable of journeying ever more decisively along the path of the Beatitudes, learning and teaching to forgive each other, then in all the great family of the Church the capacity to bear witness to the renewing power of God's forgiveness will grow”.
“Otherwise, we will give beautiful sermons and perhaps even cast out the odd demon, but in the end the Lord will not recognise us as His disciples, as we have not been able to forgive or to allow ourselves to be forgiven. Christian families can truly do much for today's society, and also for the Church. … Let us pray that families may be increasingly able to live and build concrete roads to reconciliation, where no-one feels abandoned to the burden of his own trespasses”.
Finally the Pope, accompanied by the with the thousands of faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square, repeated the phrase from the Lord's Prayer: “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us”.
Knights of Columbus Donate 500th Ultrasound MachinePope Considers Lesson of Zacchaeus in Angelus Address By Kathleen Naab Baltimore, Md., Nov 8, 2014 / 09:27 am (EWTN News) - More pregnant women can see their unborn babies thanks to a five-year-old Knights of Columbus program that has provided 500 ultrasound machines to pro-life pregnancy centers.
“Not only has this program saved the lives of countless unborn children, but it has saved many mothers – and fathers – from a lifetime of regret,” Supreme Knight Carl Anderson said Nov. 4.
Anderson and Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore, the fraternal order’s supreme chaplain, presented the program’s 500th ultrasound machine to the Greater Baltimore Center for Pregnancy Concerns for use at its facility in Dundalk, Md.
The presentation took place at the Baltimore Hilton during an annual meeting of the order’s leaders from around the world.
Anderson credited the program’s success to “the generosity of brother knights from coast to coast.”
The Catholic fraternal order began the ultrasound program in 2009, encouraging state and local councils to fund half the cost of ultrasound machines for qualified pregnancy resource centers. The Knights of Columbus Supreme Council’s Culture of Life Fund then provided matching funds to buy the machines, which can cost over $20,000 each.
The organization has now purchased machines in all 50 U.S. states, Jamaica and Canada. The machines’ collective value is almost $26 million. The program has also begun to fund mobile ultrasound machines that can be used in multiple communities.
Knights of Columbus groups in Texas have funded the most ultrasound machine purchases of any state, totaling 40, followed by Missouri, Florida, California and Michigan.
The Knights of Columbus, a Catholic fraternal order, was founded in New Haven, Conn., in 1882 by Venerable Michael J. McGivney, a parish priest. It has 1.8 million members worldwide who perform volunteer service and works of charity and fraternity.
Code of Canon Law (Church Law)
Can. 1176 §1. Deceased members of the Christian faithful must be given ecclesiastical funerals according to the norm of law.
§2. Ecclesiastical funerals, by which the Church seeks spiritual support for the deceased, honors their bodies, and at the same time brings the solace of hope to the living, must be celebrated according to the norm of the liturgical laws.
§3. The Church earnestly recommends that the pious custom of burying the bodies of the deceased be observed; nevertheless, the Church does not prohibit cremation unless it was chosen for reasons contrary to Christian doctrine.
Can. 1176 §1. Deceased members of the Christian faithful must be given ecclesiastical funerals according to the norm of law.
§2. Ecclesiastical funerals, by which the Church seeks spiritual support for the deceased, honors their bodies, and at the same time brings the solace of hope to the living, must be celebrated according to the norm of the liturgical laws.
§3. The Church earnestly recommends that the pious custom of burying the bodies of the deceased be observed; nevertheless, the Church does not prohibit cremation unless it was chosen for reasons contrary to Christian doctrine.
A bit of humor…
-Little Johnny was sent back to bed for the tenth time that evening and his mommy is not amused. She says, “Johnny, if I hear one more time ‘Mommy, I want this, mommy, I want that’, you will be in big trouble! I don’t want to hear the word mommy again tonight. Now off to bed you go!” There’s a short pause, after which Johnny says hesitantly, “Mrs. Lambden, I want a glass of water, please.”
-Teacher: “If you had two dollars and you asked your daddy for another dollar, how many dollars would you have in the end?” Without hesitation, Johnny answers, “Two dollars.” Teacher isn’t happy, “Come on, Johnny, you don’t know how to count.” Johnny shrugs, “Maybe, but I do know my dad!”
SOME THOUGHTS:
-I intend to live forever. So far, so good.
-My opinions may have changed, but not the fact that I am right.
- Some cause happiness wherever they go. Others whenever they go.
- I got in a fight one time with a really big guy, and he said, “I’m going to mop the floor with your face.” I said, “You’ll be sorry.” He said, “Oh, yeah? Why?” I said, “Well, you won’t be able to get into the corners very well.”
A woman brought a very limp duck into a veterinary surgeon. As she laid her pet on the table, the vet pulled out his stethoscope and listened to the bird's chest.
After a moment or two, the vet shook his head sadly and said; "I'm sorry, your duck (Cuddles) has passed away." The distressed woman wailed; "Are you sure?" "Yes, I am sure. The duck is dead." replied the vet. "How can you be so sure?" she protested. "I mean you haven't done any testing on him or anything. He might just be in a coma or something."
The vet rolled his eyes, turned around, and left the room. He returned a few minutes later with a black Labrador Retriever. As the duck's owner looked on in amazement, the dog stood on his hind legs, put his front paws on the examination table, and sniffed the duck from top to bottom.
He then looked up at the vet with sad eyes and shook his head. The vet patted the dog on the head and took it out of the room. A few minutes later he returned with a cat. The cat jumped on the table and also delicately sniffed the bird from head to foot.
The cat sat back on its haunches, shook its head, meowed softly, and strolled out of the room. The vet looked at the woman and said; "I'm sorry, but as I said, this is most definitely, 100% certifiably, a dead duck." The vet turned to his computer terminal, hit a few keys and produced a bill, which he handed to the woman.
The duck's owner, still in shock, took the bill. "$150!" she cried; "$150 just to tell me my duck is dead!?" The vet shrugged; "I'm sorry. If you had just taken my word for it, the bill would have been $20, but... with the Lab Report and the Cat Scan, it's now $150."
A little boy was overheard praying: 'Lord, if you can't make me a better boy, don't worry about it. I'm having a real good time like I am.'
A father as at the beach with his children when the four-year-old son ran up to him, grabbed his hand, and led him to the shore where a seagull lay dead in the sand. 'Daddy, what happened to him?' the son asked. 'He died and went to Heaven,' the Dad replied. The boy thought a moment and then said, 'Did God throw him back down?'
One particular four-year-old prayed, 'And forgive us our trash baskets as we forgive those who put trash in our baskets.'
-Little Johnny was sent back to bed for the tenth time that evening and his mommy is not amused. She says, “Johnny, if I hear one more time ‘Mommy, I want this, mommy, I want that’, you will be in big trouble! I don’t want to hear the word mommy again tonight. Now off to bed you go!” There’s a short pause, after which Johnny says hesitantly, “Mrs. Lambden, I want a glass of water, please.”
-Teacher: “If you had two dollars and you asked your daddy for another dollar, how many dollars would you have in the end?” Without hesitation, Johnny answers, “Two dollars.” Teacher isn’t happy, “Come on, Johnny, you don’t know how to count.” Johnny shrugs, “Maybe, but I do know my dad!”
SOME THOUGHTS:
-I intend to live forever. So far, so good.
-My opinions may have changed, but not the fact that I am right.
- Some cause happiness wherever they go. Others whenever they go.
- I got in a fight one time with a really big guy, and he said, “I’m going to mop the floor with your face.” I said, “You’ll be sorry.” He said, “Oh, yeah? Why?” I said, “Well, you won’t be able to get into the corners very well.”
A woman brought a very limp duck into a veterinary surgeon. As she laid her pet on the table, the vet pulled out his stethoscope and listened to the bird's chest.
After a moment or two, the vet shook his head sadly and said; "I'm sorry, your duck (Cuddles) has passed away." The distressed woman wailed; "Are you sure?" "Yes, I am sure. The duck is dead." replied the vet. "How can you be so sure?" she protested. "I mean you haven't done any testing on him or anything. He might just be in a coma or something."
The vet rolled his eyes, turned around, and left the room. He returned a few minutes later with a black Labrador Retriever. As the duck's owner looked on in amazement, the dog stood on his hind legs, put his front paws on the examination table, and sniffed the duck from top to bottom.
He then looked up at the vet with sad eyes and shook his head. The vet patted the dog on the head and took it out of the room. A few minutes later he returned with a cat. The cat jumped on the table and also delicately sniffed the bird from head to foot.
The cat sat back on its haunches, shook its head, meowed softly, and strolled out of the room. The vet looked at the woman and said; "I'm sorry, but as I said, this is most definitely, 100% certifiably, a dead duck." The vet turned to his computer terminal, hit a few keys and produced a bill, which he handed to the woman.
The duck's owner, still in shock, took the bill. "$150!" she cried; "$150 just to tell me my duck is dead!?" The vet shrugged; "I'm sorry. If you had just taken my word for it, the bill would have been $20, but... with the Lab Report and the Cat Scan, it's now $150."
A little boy was overheard praying: 'Lord, if you can't make me a better boy, don't worry about it. I'm having a real good time like I am.'
A father as at the beach with his children when the four-year-old son ran up to him, grabbed his hand, and led him to the shore where a seagull lay dead in the sand. 'Daddy, what happened to him?' the son asked. 'He died and went to Heaven,' the Dad replied. The boy thought a moment and then said, 'Did God throw him back down?'
One particular four-year-old prayed, 'And forgive us our trash baskets as we forgive those who put trash in our baskets.'
O Jesus! meek and humble of heart, Hear me.
From the desire of being esteemed,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being loved...
From the desire of being extolled ...
From the desire of being honored ...
From the desire of being praised ...
From the desire of being preferred to others...
From the desire of being consulted ...
From the desire of being approved ...
From the fear of being humiliated ...
From the fear of being despised...
From the fear of suffering rebukes ...
From the fear of being calumniated ...
From the fear of being forgotten ...
From the fear of being ridiculed ...
From the fear of being wronged ...
From the fear of being suspected ...
That others may be loved more than I,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be esteemed more than I ...
That, in the opinion of the world,
others may increase and I may decrease ...
That others may be chosen and I set aside ...
That others may be praised and I unnoticed ...
That others may be preferred to me in everything...
That others may become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should…
From the desire of being esteemed,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being loved...
From the desire of being extolled ...
From the desire of being honored ...
From the desire of being praised ...
From the desire of being preferred to others...
From the desire of being consulted ...
From the desire of being approved ...
From the fear of being humiliated ...
From the fear of being despised...
From the fear of suffering rebukes ...
From the fear of being calumniated ...
From the fear of being forgotten ...
From the fear of being ridiculed ...
From the fear of being wronged ...
From the fear of being suspected ...
That others may be loved more than I,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be esteemed more than I ...
That, in the opinion of the world,
others may increase and I may decrease ...
That others may be chosen and I set aside ...
That others may be praised and I unnoticed ...
That others may be preferred to me in everything...
That others may become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should…
"God revealed the resurrection of the dead to his people progressively. Hope in the bodily resurrection of the dead established itself as a consequence intrinsic to faith in God as creator of the whole man, soul and body. The creator of heaven and earth is also the one who faithfully maintains his covenant with Abraham and his posterity. It was in this double perspective that faith in the resurrection came to be expressed. In their trials, the Maccabean martyrs confessed:
The King of the universe will raise us up to an everlasting renewal of life, because we have died for his laws. One cannot but choose to die at the hands of men and to cherish the hope that God gives of being raised again by him."
-Catechism of the Catholic Church #992
The King of the universe will raise us up to an everlasting renewal of life, because we have died for his laws. One cannot but choose to die at the hands of men and to cherish the hope that God gives of being raised again by him."
-Catechism of the Catholic Church #992
+JMJ+
SUNDAY BIBLICAL MASS READINGS AND QUESTIONS
for Self-Reflection, Couples or Family Discussion
31st Sunday of Ordinary Time – Sunday, November 5th, 2023
The First Reading - Mal 1:14b-2:2b, 8-10
A great King am I, says the LORD of hosts, and my name will be feared among the nations. And now, O priests, this commandment is for you: If you do not listen, if you do not lay it to heart, to give glory to my name, says the LORD of hosts, I will send a curse upon you and of your blessing I will make a curse. You have turned aside from the way, and have caused many to falter by your instruction; you have made void the covenant of Levi, says the LORD of hosts. I, therefore, have made you contemptible and base before all the people, since you do not keep my ways, but show partiality in your decisions. Have we not all the one father? Has not the one God created us? Why then do we break faith with one another, violating the covenant of our fathers?
Reflection
This reading, especially in its historical context, is shocking. God is accusing His own priests, who are called to live lives of holiness, of doing exactly the opposite – not bringing blessing, but curse. He points out that they have erred, and passed those errors onto others in their teaching, and that they have not lived the covenant, but have broken it, between themselves and God, and themselves and others. The way they have lived and taught has caused not blessing, but scandal. It is easy to brush this reading off as applying only to priests, but by virtue of our baptism we are all baptismal priests, prophets, and kings, called to mediate God’s grace to the world and to each other. This reading should be a catalyst to take some time to examine our lives, and ponder what we are teaching by the way we live.
Adults - Do you do a nightly examination of conscience? Now is a great time to start!
Teens – Do your actions, choices, and words draw people to Jesus, and does His love show through you?
Kids - What are some of the ways you can show the love of God to others?
Responsorial- Psalm Ps 131:1, 2, 3
R. In you, Lord, I have found my peace.
O LORD, my heart is not proud,
nor are my eyes haughty;
I busy not myself with great things,
nor with things too sublime for me.
R. In you, Lord, I have found my peace.
Nay rather, I have stilled and quieted
my soul like a weaned child.
Like a weaned child on its mother's lap,
so is my soul within me.
R. In you, Lord, I have found my peace.
O Israel, hope in the LORD,
both now and forever.
R. In you, Lord, I have found my peace.
Reflection
Psalm 131 is a Psalm of humility – of knowing the truth about oneself, both the good and the not so good. Humility is acknowledgment of the truth. Are you familiar with this definition of humility?
The Second Reading- 1 Thes 2:7b-9, 13
Brothers and sisters: We were gentle among you, as a nursing mother cares for her children. With such affection for you, we were determined to share with you not only the gospel of God, but our very selves as well, so dearly beloved had you become to us. You recall, brothers and sisters, our toil and drudgery. Working night and day in order not to burden any of you, we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. And for this reason we too give thanks to God unceasingly, that, in receiving the word of God from hearing us, you received not a human word but, as it truly is, the word of God, which is now at work in you who believe.
Reflection - Saint Paul did not see teaching the Gospel as an option, an ideal, or a value, but as a necessity. When he speaks of his work here he is not boasting – he is working to impart the absolute necessity of knowing and spreading the Gospel. Not everyone will read Paul or the rest of the Bible in their life, but most every single human will meeting a Christian in their lifetime. What will they read from your life?
-When people interact with you, does that interaction show them Jesus?
The Holy Gospel according to Mt 23:1-12
Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, saying, "The scribes and the Pharisees have taken their seat on the chair of Moses. Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you, but do not follow their example. For they preach but they do not practice. They tie up heavy burdens hard to carry and lay them on people's shoulders, but they will not lift a finger to move them. All their works are performed to be seen. They widen their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels. They love places of honor at banquets, seats of honor in synagogues, greetings in marketplaces, and the salutation 'Rabbi.' As for you, do not be called 'Rabbi.' You have but one teacher, and you are all brothers. Call no one on earth your father; you have but one Father in heaven. Do not be called 'Master'; you have but one master, the Christ. The greatest among you must be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted."
Reflection The Gospel reading today deals with the same issue we saw in the First Reading. But it also shows us something else – those who sit in the seat of authority are sinners just like we are. The Church is both weeds and wheat – saints and sinners. Just because our leaders – Pope, Bishops, Priests, Deacons, and Lay Leaders, are sinners just like we are does not mean that the Church is not divinely guided and protected. Jesus is the ultimate leader of the Church, and He will never fail us.
Adults – If you are unfamiliar with Catholic Apostolic Succession, do some research into this amazing teaching!
Teens – Why do we say the Catholic Church is the Church founded by Christ?
Kids – Be sure to include the whole universal Church in your daily prayers!
LIVING THE WORD OF GOD THIS WEEK! - Where Christians can, and too often do fail, is in their true love of neighbor. Yet Christ says that this commandment is like the first. Love of neighbor is an essential part of our obligations toward God. If we fail in this we fail in our love for God, for we refuse to carry out this sacred duty. If we do not recognize our neighbor as our brother, we do not recognize God as our Father and we do not love him. As St. John puts it: "Anyone who says 'I love God' and hates (does not love) his neighbor is a liar" (1 Jn.3: 20).
Let each one of us ask himself today how seriously he takes this law of fraternal charity and how faithfully he carries it out. Not all of us may be able to give material help to a neighbor in need but the poorest of us can spare a kindly word, an encouraging word, for a neighbor weighed down with cares and troubles. All of us can pray for a neighbor who needs spiritual and temporal help. Most of us can deny ourselves some unnecessary luxuries in order to give a needed loaf of bread to a hungry fellowman, while those who have an abundance of this world's goods need not look far afield to find cases and causes worthy of their Christian charity.
Remember that whatever spiritual or material help is given out of true charity to a neighbor in need, is given to God, and whatever is given to God is soundly invested in heaven, and heaven pays handsome dividends.
-Excerpted from The Sunday Readings by Fr. Kevin O'Sullivan, O.F.M.
592. What is the sense of the petition “Give us this day our daily bread”? c) it is the daily nourishment that helps us recognize how good God is
Asking God with the filial trust of children for the daily nourishment which is necessary for us all we recognize how good God is, beyond all goodness. We ask also for the grace to know how to act so that justice and solidarity may allow the abundance of some to remedy the needs of others.
593. What is the specifically Christian sense of this petition? d) all of the above
Since “man does not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4), this petition equally applies to hunger for the Word of God and for the Body of Christ received in the Eucharist as well as hunger for the Holy Spirit. We ask this with complete confidence for this day – God’s “today” – and this is given to us above all in the Eucharist which anticipates the banquet of the Kingdom to come.
594. Why do we say “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us”? c) we acknowledge that we are sinners and yet proclaim his mercy By asking God the Father to pardon us, we acknowledge before him that we are sinners. At the same time we proclaim his mercy because in his Son and through the sacraments “we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:14). Still our petition will be answered only if we for our part have forgiven first.
SUNDAY BIBLICAL MASS READINGS AND QUESTIONS
for Self-Reflection, Couples or Family Discussion
31st Sunday of Ordinary Time – Sunday, November 5th, 2023
The First Reading - Mal 1:14b-2:2b, 8-10
A great King am I, says the LORD of hosts, and my name will be feared among the nations. And now, O priests, this commandment is for you: If you do not listen, if you do not lay it to heart, to give glory to my name, says the LORD of hosts, I will send a curse upon you and of your blessing I will make a curse. You have turned aside from the way, and have caused many to falter by your instruction; you have made void the covenant of Levi, says the LORD of hosts. I, therefore, have made you contemptible and base before all the people, since you do not keep my ways, but show partiality in your decisions. Have we not all the one father? Has not the one God created us? Why then do we break faith with one another, violating the covenant of our fathers?
Reflection
This reading, especially in its historical context, is shocking. God is accusing His own priests, who are called to live lives of holiness, of doing exactly the opposite – not bringing blessing, but curse. He points out that they have erred, and passed those errors onto others in their teaching, and that they have not lived the covenant, but have broken it, between themselves and God, and themselves and others. The way they have lived and taught has caused not blessing, but scandal. It is easy to brush this reading off as applying only to priests, but by virtue of our baptism we are all baptismal priests, prophets, and kings, called to mediate God’s grace to the world and to each other. This reading should be a catalyst to take some time to examine our lives, and ponder what we are teaching by the way we live.
Adults - Do you do a nightly examination of conscience? Now is a great time to start!
Teens – Do your actions, choices, and words draw people to Jesus, and does His love show through you?
Kids - What are some of the ways you can show the love of God to others?
Responsorial- Psalm Ps 131:1, 2, 3
R. In you, Lord, I have found my peace.
O LORD, my heart is not proud,
nor are my eyes haughty;
I busy not myself with great things,
nor with things too sublime for me.
R. In you, Lord, I have found my peace.
Nay rather, I have stilled and quieted
my soul like a weaned child.
Like a weaned child on its mother's lap,
so is my soul within me.
R. In you, Lord, I have found my peace.
O Israel, hope in the LORD,
both now and forever.
R. In you, Lord, I have found my peace.
Reflection
Psalm 131 is a Psalm of humility – of knowing the truth about oneself, both the good and the not so good. Humility is acknowledgment of the truth. Are you familiar with this definition of humility?
The Second Reading- 1 Thes 2:7b-9, 13
Brothers and sisters: We were gentle among you, as a nursing mother cares for her children. With such affection for you, we were determined to share with you not only the gospel of God, but our very selves as well, so dearly beloved had you become to us. You recall, brothers and sisters, our toil and drudgery. Working night and day in order not to burden any of you, we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. And for this reason we too give thanks to God unceasingly, that, in receiving the word of God from hearing us, you received not a human word but, as it truly is, the word of God, which is now at work in you who believe.
Reflection - Saint Paul did not see teaching the Gospel as an option, an ideal, or a value, but as a necessity. When he speaks of his work here he is not boasting – he is working to impart the absolute necessity of knowing and spreading the Gospel. Not everyone will read Paul or the rest of the Bible in their life, but most every single human will meeting a Christian in their lifetime. What will they read from your life?
-When people interact with you, does that interaction show them Jesus?
The Holy Gospel according to Mt 23:1-12
Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, saying, "The scribes and the Pharisees have taken their seat on the chair of Moses. Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you, but do not follow their example. For they preach but they do not practice. They tie up heavy burdens hard to carry and lay them on people's shoulders, but they will not lift a finger to move them. All their works are performed to be seen. They widen their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels. They love places of honor at banquets, seats of honor in synagogues, greetings in marketplaces, and the salutation 'Rabbi.' As for you, do not be called 'Rabbi.' You have but one teacher, and you are all brothers. Call no one on earth your father; you have but one Father in heaven. Do not be called 'Master'; you have but one master, the Christ. The greatest among you must be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted."
Reflection The Gospel reading today deals with the same issue we saw in the First Reading. But it also shows us something else – those who sit in the seat of authority are sinners just like we are. The Church is both weeds and wheat – saints and sinners. Just because our leaders – Pope, Bishops, Priests, Deacons, and Lay Leaders, are sinners just like we are does not mean that the Church is not divinely guided and protected. Jesus is the ultimate leader of the Church, and He will never fail us.
Adults – If you are unfamiliar with Catholic Apostolic Succession, do some research into this amazing teaching!
Teens – Why do we say the Catholic Church is the Church founded by Christ?
Kids – Be sure to include the whole universal Church in your daily prayers!
LIVING THE WORD OF GOD THIS WEEK! - Where Christians can, and too often do fail, is in their true love of neighbor. Yet Christ says that this commandment is like the first. Love of neighbor is an essential part of our obligations toward God. If we fail in this we fail in our love for God, for we refuse to carry out this sacred duty. If we do not recognize our neighbor as our brother, we do not recognize God as our Father and we do not love him. As St. John puts it: "Anyone who says 'I love God' and hates (does not love) his neighbor is a liar" (1 Jn.3: 20).
Let each one of us ask himself today how seriously he takes this law of fraternal charity and how faithfully he carries it out. Not all of us may be able to give material help to a neighbor in need but the poorest of us can spare a kindly word, an encouraging word, for a neighbor weighed down with cares and troubles. All of us can pray for a neighbor who needs spiritual and temporal help. Most of us can deny ourselves some unnecessary luxuries in order to give a needed loaf of bread to a hungry fellowman, while those who have an abundance of this world's goods need not look far afield to find cases and causes worthy of their Christian charity.
Remember that whatever spiritual or material help is given out of true charity to a neighbor in need, is given to God, and whatever is given to God is soundly invested in heaven, and heaven pays handsome dividends.
-Excerpted from The Sunday Readings by Fr. Kevin O'Sullivan, O.F.M.
592. What is the sense of the petition “Give us this day our daily bread”? c) it is the daily nourishment that helps us recognize how good God is
Asking God with the filial trust of children for the daily nourishment which is necessary for us all we recognize how good God is, beyond all goodness. We ask also for the grace to know how to act so that justice and solidarity may allow the abundance of some to remedy the needs of others.
593. What is the specifically Christian sense of this petition? d) all of the above
Since “man does not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4), this petition equally applies to hunger for the Word of God and for the Body of Christ received in the Eucharist as well as hunger for the Holy Spirit. We ask this with complete confidence for this day – God’s “today” – and this is given to us above all in the Eucharist which anticipates the banquet of the Kingdom to come.
594. Why do we say “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us”? c) we acknowledge that we are sinners and yet proclaim his mercy By asking God the Father to pardon us, we acknowledge before him that we are sinners. At the same time we proclaim his mercy because in his Son and through the sacraments “we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:14). Still our petition will be answered only if we for our part have forgiven first.
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