secular Institute for the laity under religious vows

life of Blessed James Alberione, SSP
Life of Blessed James Alberione, SSP from a homily given by Pope John Paul II

Fr. James Alberione, Founder of the Pauline Family, was one of the most creative apostles of the 20th century. He was born in San Lorenzo di Fossano (Cuneo), Italy, on 4 April 1884 and baptized the following day. The profoundly Christian and hard-working Alberione family, made up of Michael and Teresa Allocco and their six children, were farmers.

Little James, the fourth child of the family, felt the call of God early in life. When questioned by his first-grade teacher as to what he wanted to be when he grew up, he replied, "I want to be a priest!". His childhood years were directed to this goal.

When the Alberione family moved to Cherasco, in the Alba diocese, the parish priest of St. Martin's Church, Fr. Montersino, helped young James to reflect on God's call and respond to it. At the age of 16, James entered the seminary of Alba and immediately met Canon Francesco Chiesa, who would be his father, guide, friend and advisor over the next 46 years.

At the end of the Holy Year of 1900, James, who had read and reflected deeply on Pope Leo XIII's encyclical, Tametsi Futura, underwent an experience that would give direction to the rest of his life. On the night of 31 December 1900, the night that divided the 19th and 20th centuries, he prayed for four hours before the Blessed Sacrament and contemplated the future in the light of God. A "particular light" seemed to come from the Host and roused in him a sense of obligation "to do something for the Lord and for the people of the new century": he felt "obliged to serve the Church" with the new instruments provided by human ingenuity.

James continued his intensive study of philosophy and theology and on 29 June 1907 he was ordained a priest. His time as assistant pastor in Narzole (Cuneo) was brief but decisive from the perspective of pastoral experience. In Narzole he met little Giuseppe Giaccardo, who would be to him as Timothy was to the Apostle Paul. It was also in Narzole that Fr. Alberione came to a clearer understanding of what women could do in the apostolate.

Fr. Alberione served as spiritual director to both the major and minor seminarians in the Seminary of Alba, where he also taught various subjects. He helped out with preaching, catechesis and giving conferences in the various parishes of the diocese. In addition to this, he devoted much time to studying the civil-ecclesial situation and the newly-emerging needs of society.

He came to understand that the Lord was guiding him toward a new mission: to preach the Gospel to all peoples, in the spirit of the Apostle Paul, using the modern instruments of communication. This is confirmed by two books he wrote: Notes on Pastoral Theology (1912) and Woman Associated to Priestly Zeal (1911-1915).

For the sake of charism and continuity, such a mission needed to be carried out by consecrated persons because "the works of God are performed by men and women of God." Thus, on 20 August 1914, while Pope Pius X lay dying in Rome, Fr. Alberione initiated the Pauline Family in Alba by founding the Pious Society of St. Paul. The Institute was born in utter poverty, according to the divine pedagogy: "always begin from Bethlehem."

The human family?-to which Fr. Alberione turned for inspiration?-is made up of brothers and sisters. The first woman to follow Fr. Alberione was 21-year-old Teresa Merlo from Castagnito (Cuneo). With her help, Fr. Alberione began a second Congregation in 1915: the Daughters of St. Paul. Slowly the "Family" grew, both masculine and feminine vocations increased, and the apostolate began to take shape.

In December 1918, his first "daughters" left for Susa, where the work they initiated forms part of the courageous story of faith and enterprise that gave rise to what came to be called the "Pauline" lifestyle. But progress came to an abrupt halt in 1923 when Fr. Alberione fell gravely ill and the doctors despaired of his recovery. However the Founder was able to miraculously resume his journey, later saying, "St. Paul healed me." During that period, the words Fr. Alberione had received in a dream or revelation from the Divine Master were first inscribed on the walls of the Family's chapels: "Do not be afraid. I am with you. From here I want to enlighten. Be sorry for sin."

The following year, a second feminine Congregation came into being: the Pious Disciples of the Divine Master, whose members would carry out the Eucharistic, priestly and liturgical apostolate. To guide this Institute, Fr. Alberione chose the young Sr. M. Scholastica Rivata, who died at the age of 90 in a state of holiness.

On the apostolic level, Fr. Alberione promoted the printing of popular editions of the Bible and used the swiftest instrument of the time?-periodicals?-to help the message of Christ reach even those furthest away. He had already begun the magazine Vita Pastorale (The Pastoral Life) in 1912 for parish priests. In 1931 he launched Famiglia Cristiana, (Christian Home) a weekly magazine to nourish the Christian life of families. Other periodicals followed: (Madre di Dio) Mother of God (1933), "to reveal the beauty and greatness of Mary to people"; Pastor Bonus (Good Shepherd) (1937), a monthly magazine in Latin; Via, Verità e Vita (Way, Truth, Life) (1952), a monthly dedicated to the teaching of Christian doctrine; (Vita in Cristo nella Chiesa) Life in Christ and in the Church (1952), to help people "get to know the treasures of the Liturgy, disseminate the things that serve it, and live it according to the mind of the Church." Turning his attention to young people, Fr. Alberione began the weekly children's magazine, Il Giornalino (The Little Newspaper).

The Founder also built the magnificent Church of St. Paul in Alba, followed by two Churches to the Divine Master (in Alba and Rome) and the Sanctuary of the Queen of Apostles (Rome). Above all, he strove to reach beyond local and national borders. In 1926, he established a branch house in Rome, followed over the years by many foundations in Italy and abroad.

Meanwhile, Fr. Alberione's spiritual "edifice" was growing. He inculcated in his followers a spirit of dedication by means of deeply apostolic devotions: to Jesus Master and Shepherd "Way, Truth and Life," to Mary Mother, Teacher and Queen of Apostles, and to St. Paul the Apostle. In fact, it was this reference to the Apostle that gave his new institutes their identity as the "Pauline Family." The goal that Fr. Alberione wanted his sons and daughters to pursue above all was complete conformation to Christ: to embrace the whole Christ Way, Truth and Life with one's entire being: mind, will, heart and physical energies. This orientation was codified in his small book, Donec Formetur Christus in Vobis (That Christ Be Formed in You) (1932).

In October 1938, Fr. Alberione founded a third feminine Congregation: the Sisters of Jesus the Good Shepherd or "Pastorelle Sisters," to assist parish priests in their work.

During the enforced "break" of World War II (1940-1945), Fr. Alberione did not suspend his spiritual itinerary but continued to embrace the light of God more and more, in a climate of adoration and contemplation. Witness to this can be found in the Founder's spiritual notebooks, in which he jotted down his inspirations and the means he adopted to correspond to the plan of God. This spiritual milieu nurtured the meditations he guided every morning for his sons and daughters, as well as his directives for the apostolate and the numerous retreats and courses of spiritual exercises he preached (the conferences of which were collected together into various volumes). Fr. Alberione's primary focus remained unswerving: to help everyone understand that "the first concern of the Pauline Family should be holiness of life; the second, holiness of doctrine." It is in this light that he forged ahead with his Project for an Encyclopedia on Jesus Master (1959).

In 1954, to celebrate the 40 anniversary of foundation of the Pauline Family, Fr. Alberione for the first time allowed something about himself to be written down (the material appears in the book Mi protendo in avanti - "I Strain Ahead"), and he also complied with the request to jot down some thoughts concerning the beginnings of his foundations. Thus came into being the small book, Abundantes divitiae gratiae suae, "a charismatic history of the Pauline Family." This Family was completed between 1957-1960 with the foundation of a fourth feminine Congregation, the Queen of Apostles Institute for vocations (Apostoline Sisters), and several secular institutes for the consecrated life: St. Gabriel the Archangel, Our Lady of the Annunciation, Jesus Priest, and the Holy Family. Ten institutes (including the Pauline Cooperators), united by the same ideal of holiness and apostolate: to bring Jesus Christ Way, Truth and Life to the world through the instruments of social communication.

From 1962-1965, Fr. Alberione was a silent but attentive protagonist in Vatican Council II, attending its sessions daily. But at the same time troubles and sufferings were not lacking: the premature deaths of his first collaborators, Timothy Giaccardo and Thecla Merlo; worry for the Pauline communities abroad that were going through difficulties and, on the personal level, an excruciatingly painful condition of scoliosis that tormented him day and night.

Fr. Alberione lived to the age of 87. Having completed the work God had entrusted to him, he left this earth on 26 November 1971 to take his place in the house of the Father. In his last hours, he was comforted by the visit and blessing of Pope Paul VI, who had never hidden his admiration and veneration for the Founder. In fact, in an audience with the Pauline Family on 28 June 1969, the Pope spoke these moving words about Fr. Alberione, who was then 85 years old:

"There he is: humble, silent, tireless, always vigilant, recollected in his thoughts, which run from prayer to action; always intent on scrutinizing the ?'signs of the times,' that is, the most creative ways to reach souls. Our Fr. Alberione has given the Church new instruments with which to express herself, new means to give vigor and breadth to her apostolate, new capacities and a new awareness of the validity and possibilities of his mission in the modern world with modern means. Dear Fr. Alberione, allow the Pope to rejoice in your long, faithful and tireless work and in the fruits it has produced for the glory of God and the good of the Church."

On 25 June 1996, Pope John Paul II signed the decree recognizing the heroic virtues of the future Blessed.

Homily of John Paul II

(1) El Periodiquillo

(2) Me lanzo adelante

Pauline priestsP
Taken from the albahouse website!

Pauline priests


What Is the Role of the Pauline Priest?

The priest in the Society of St. Paul serves the congregation by being steeped in God's word and preaching it tirelessly. He is to be immersed in the Eucharist himself and to nourish the congregation, the entire Pauline Family and the Church as a whole in his willingness to proclaim God's truth while living a vowed life of poverty, chastity, obedience and fidelity to the Holy Father.

The priest lives and works within the community and generously makes himself available to the local Church for sacramental ministry where needed. The main focus of his apostolic life, however, always remains within the field of mass media and social communications which extends his preaching into the world.

Pauline priests incorporate into their spiritual lives the Way, Truth and Life approach of Blessed James Alberione. This distinctive spirituality is Christ-centered and focused on the Word of God and the Eucharist. It is enhanced by devotion to Mary, under the title of Queen of Apostles, and to St. Paul the patron of the congregation.

As a member of an international congregation the Pauline priest must be willing to serve anywhere in the world. This is in keeping with the spirit of St. Paul. Through his media work, however, the Pauline priest is able to touch the whole world while remaining in one place. For the Pauline priest, "the whole world is his parish."

Pauline Brother
A Pauline Brother.


What Is the Role of the Pauline Brother?

The Pauline Brother participates in every aspect of the Society's spiritual and apostolic life. He consecrates himself to God by taking the vows of poverty, chastity, obedience and fidelity to the Pope. He gives his time, his talent, his life to spreading the Gospel through the media apostolate while sustaining and being sustained by his fellow religious in a vibrant community life. His work takes the priests' preaching of the Gospel and multiplies it thousands of times over. The brothers of the congregation participate in every aspect of the media ministry. As bookstore directors, editors, artists, writers, TV directors etc. the brothers spread the Gospel of Christ by making it attractive and intelligible to a world that needs the Good News like never before.
Home


The spiritual life of the Brother is nourished by the Way, Truth and Life methodology of Blessed James Alberione the founder of the Society of St. Paul. The Brother nurtures his soul with the Eucharist and the scriptures in order to lead a Christ centered-life. This Christ-centered life was exemplified by Mary, whom the members of the Society honor with the title Queen of Apostles , and by St. Joseph the special patron of the Brothers in the congregation. The Brothers make Christ relevant to the diverse cultures of the world in the twenty-first century just as St. Paul did in the first century. They especially try to master an understanding of the universal "culture of communications" and they strive to be "St. Paul alive today."

Saint of the Day
Each day in the Catholic Church, The Church celebrate a life of a saint or saints, today's saint is...

December 30, 2005
St. Egwin
(d. 717)



You say you're not familiar with today's saint? Chances are you aren't?-unless you're especially informed about Benedictine bishops who established monasteries in medieval England.

Born of royal blood in the 7th century, Egwin entered a monastery and was enthusiastically received by royalty, clergy and the people as the bishop of Worcester, England. As a bishop he was known as a protector of orphans and the widowed and a fair judge. Who could argue with that?

His popularity didn't hold up among members of the clergy, however. They saw him as overly strict, while he felt he was simply trying to correct abuses and impose appropriate disciplines. Bitter resentments arose, and Egwin made his way to Rome to present his case to Pope Constantine. The case against Egwin was examined and annulled.

Upon his return to England, he founded Evesham Abbey, which became one of the great Benedictine houses of medieval England. It was dedicated to Mary, who had reportedly made it known to Egwin just where a church should be built in her honor.

He died at the abbey on December 30, in the year 717. Following his burial many miracles were attributed to him: The blind could see, the deaf could hear, the sick were healed.

Check out these daily saint resources in print:
Saint of the Day
Day by Day With Followers of Francis and Clare

Pauline Coorperators
Our founder starter another group in our Congregation called the Cooperaters! They are men and women who have our spirit who live and work in the world but do not necessarily have vows!

Hwere is some information about them! Ther is a process of admissions for them also!

Pauline Cooperators: Bring the Gospel to Everyone Through the Media

"We are sharers in the same promise in Jesus Christ through the gospel so that through the church the wisdom of God may be made known." Eph. 3:6-1

Taken from the Daughters of St Paul website!

New Year's Eve Posting
The Saint for New Year's Eve is Pope Sylvester I

Pope Silvester I
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Silvester I
Birth name Silvester
Papacy began January 314
Papacy ended December 31, 335
Predecessor Saint Miltiades
Successor Saint Marcus
Born
Died December 31, 335

Silvester I (or Sylvester) was pope from January 314 to December 31, 335, succeeding Pope Miltiades. The accounts of his Papacy preserved in the Liber Pontificalis (7th or 8th century) and in Anastasius are little else than a record of the gifts said to have been conferred on the Roman Church by Constantine the Great.

He was represented at the First Council of Nicaea, and is said to have held a council at Rome to condemn the heresies of Arius and others. The story of his having baptized Constantine is pure fiction, as contemporary evidence shows the emperor to have received this rite near Nicomedia at the hands of Eusebius, bishop of that city. According to the 19th century historian Döllinger, the entire legend of Silvester and Constantine, with all its details of Constantine's leprosy and the proposed bath of blood, cannot have been composed later than the close of the 5th century, while it is certainly alluded to by Gregory of Tours and Bede. The so-called Donation of Constantine was long ago shown to be spurious, but the document is of very considerable antiquity, and in Döllinger's opinion, was forged in Rome between 752 and 777. It was certainly known to Pope Adrian I in 778, and was inserted in the false decretals towards the middle of the next century. Silvester's legendary relationship to Constantine was important in the Middle Ages. Pope Silvester II (999-1003) chose the name Silvester in imitation of Silvester I; Silvester II was a close associate of emperor Otto III.

According to Jewish tradition, January 1st, the day of the secular new year is known in Hebrew as Sylvester [Day] (by which it is also known in German), named for Silvester I, who convinced the emperor Constantine to prohibit Jews from living in Jerusalem, and who arranged for the passage of anti-Semitic laws more than 1,700 years ago.
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References

* This article incorporates text from the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica, which is in the public domain.

Mary, the Mother of God
There are several Saints for the New Year but I thought this would be nice for you to read and have something on which to meditate.


Blessed Virgin Mary
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Blessed Virgin Mary

A traditional Catholic picture sometimes displayed in homes. It may be
The Blessed Virgin Mary, sometimes shortened to The Blessed Virgin is a traditional title specifically used by Roman Catholics, Anglo-Catholics and others to describe Mary, the mother of Jesus. It carries with it a belief not merely in the virginity of Mary, but of her continuing role within the church and in the life of ordinary Catholics, for which Roman Catholicism in the Dogmatic Constitution of the Church (21 November 1964), passed during the Second Vatican Council, granted her the title Advocate, Auxiliatrix, Adjutrix, and Mediatrix. Colloquially she is often referred to as Our Lady.

Catholicism and Orthodoxy focus on Mary as a living person who can intercede with her Son, Jesus Christ, on behalf of humanity. From the beginning of the Church, Catholic theology has believed that Christ is the sole Mediator between God and Man (1 Tim 2:5). Yet as Ludwig Ott observes, "there is nothing to prevent others in a certain way (secundum quid) from being called mediators between God and man, in so far as they, by preparing or serving, cooperate in uniting men to God" (Bk III, Pt. 3, Ch. 3, §7) (emphasis added). Catholic theology proposes that Mary's willed obedience (Lk 1:38) is contrasted with Eve's disobedience (Gn 3:6), an idea with roots in the writings of the Church Fathers. Mary herself required redemption and is not equal to Christ in Catholic theology. Nonetheless her role was pivotal, as emphasized by St. Jerome, St. Irenaeus inter A.D. 180-199 (see Jurgens §224), Tertullian c. A.D. 212 (see Jurgens §358) and others including herself in Scripture: "behold the handmaid of the Lord" (emphasis added). Mary is also described by St. Ambrose as "the prototype of the Church"[1].

Marian devotions play a key part in the ritual and liturgy of Western Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy. However, many of the traits attributed to her and devotions given her by those Christians who adhere to the Pope of Rome are not found among the Eastern Orthodox. The remainder of this article ought not to be taken as normative of Eastern Orthodox Christian doctrine regarding the Theotokos.

Marian prayers

The most famous Marian prayer is the Rosary, a form of prayer in which an Our Father, ten Hail Marys and a Glory Be to the Father (together forming a "decade of the Rosary") are recited five times while meditating on the mysteries of the life of Jesus and Mary (Joyful, Luminous, Sorrowful and Glorious) to be followed by a prayer called the "Hail Holy Queen" and perhaps the "Litany of Loreto".

Other famous Marian prayers include the "Magnificat" and the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Marian hymns include O Mary, we Crown Thee With Blossoms Today, O Purest of Creatures, the Regina Coeli, and the Ave Maria. May and October are usually seen within traditional Roman Catholicism as Marian months.

The Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a weekly cycle of prayers said throughout the day, based on the Liturgy of the Hours, and consists of hymns, psalms, scripture, and patristic readings.
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Apparitions

The central role of Mary in the belief and practice of Catholicism is reflected in the fact that many Catholic churches contain side altars dedicated to the Virgin Mary. She is also celebrated through major religious sites where it is claimed apparitions or appearances of the Virgin have occurred, often with claims by witnesses that messages to humanity were delivered.

The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven
Catholic dogma proclaimed under papal infallibility by Pope Pius XII in 1950

The Immaculate Conception

Since the Middle Ages, Catholic theologians had argued the question of whether or not Mary had been subject to original sin. In general, the Franciscans argued in favor of her "immaculate conception", the doctrine that she, from the moment of her conception, had been preserved by God from all sin and all tendency to sin; the Dominicans, on the other hand, including most notably St. Thomas Aquinas, argued that Mary's sinlessness is a grace granted to her at some time after her conception. In 1854, Pope Pius IX effectively ended the debate for Roman Catholics by proclaiming the dogma of the "Immaculate Conception", stating that "the Blessed Virgin Mary in the first instant of her conception was preserved exempt from all stain of original sin by a singular privilege and grace granted by God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the human race." (Ineffabilis Deus, issued on 8 December 1854). It was subsequently claimed that the Blessed Virgin Mary during her sixteenth appearance in Lourdes on March 25, 1858 announced to Bernadette Soubirous "I am the Immaculate Conception". The term Immaculate Conception is also widely used within Catholicism to refer to the Virgin Mary.
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Dogma of the Assumption

In 1950, speaking ex cathedra (that is, for the whole Church), in his encyclical Munificentissimus Deus Pope Pius XII proclaimed the Dogma of the Assumption, in which he stated that "at the end of her earthly course, Mary was assumed into heavenly glory, body and soul". He stated that "holy writers who ... employed statements and various images and analogies of Sacred Scripture to illustrate and to confirm the doctrine of the Assumption..." He also stated that he was relying both on scripture and on "apostolic tradition". As an infallible pronouncement, the Dogma of the Assumption is thus a mandatory belief for Roman Catholics. No pope since has issued an infallible dogma.


Mary as "Co-Redemptrix"

Some Catholics in the late twentieth century urged Pope John Paul II to infallibly declare Mary Co-Redemptrix, not meaning by this title that Mary herself redeems mankind, but that she cooperates with Jesus in His redemption of the world; as a co-pilot is not equal to the pilot of an airplane, so is the case with Jesus and His Mother.

Professor Mark Miravalle of the Franciscan University in Steubenville in the United States launched a petition to urge Pope John Paul to make such a move, by defining the teaching of the Church that Mary is Co-Redemptrix, Mediatrix of All Graces, and Advocate for the People of God. More than six million signatures were gathered from 148 countries. Signatories included Mother Teresa of Calcutta, Cardinal John O'Connor of New York, 41 other cardinals and 550 bishops. However, such a proposal was also heavily criticised by many Catholics who suggested that only Christ could be a Redeemer and that such an act would drive a wedge in relationships with other apostolic tradition Christian faiths, notably the Orthodox Church and Anglicanism, neither of whom would accept such a designation. Though both Pope Pius XI in 1935 and Pope John Paul II himself in 1985 did use the word co-redemptrix to refer to Mary, no formal infallible dogma supporting such a designation has been issued, notwithstanding the petition.

Accusations of idolatry

Some Protestants have accused Catholics and Orthodox of mariolatry, suggesting that Catholics adore the Virgin Mary in breach of the Ten Commandments which condemn keeping "false gods". This point was offered especially by Calvin. In Catholic theology there is a clear distinction drawn between the worship of latria (adoration, which may be offered only to God), and veneration and praise, or dulia. Catholicism has traditionally accorded to the Virgin Mary the veneration of hyperdulia which rests in part upon the angelic salutation, "Hail, full of grace" (Lk 1:28), a phrase with momentous theological impact. Over the centuries, according to the Roman Catholics, the nature of Mary within theology became clearer. By A.D. 403 we find St. Epiphanius refuting a sect called the Collyridians who adored Mary, telling them: "Mary should be honoured, but the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost should be adored. Nobody should adore Mary" (in Ott, Bk. III, Pt. 3 Ch. 3, §8). Thus we find, from the third century Church, veneration of Mary. Later, the belief that Mary intercedes for us with her Divine Son, and a clear distinction between latria and dulia together with a rejection of the notion of giving latria to Mary. The Saints, for their part, receive dulia. This distinction between latria, hyperdulia, and dulia, is key to understanding Catholic Tradition (the Orthodox do not distinguish hyperdulia from dulia).

These proclamations by the Roman Catholic Church, in addition to calling Mary the mother of God, which echoes the term Theotokos, instituted by an Ecumenical Council (instead of the mother of the human body of Jesus Christ, which may echo the term Christokos, specifically condemned as Nestorian by an Ecumenical Council), the Queen of Heaven, and the Queen of the World has led to such accusations. It should be noted however, that Catholics and Orthodox Christians believe that Mary is the Mother of Jesus, and that He is both God and man. Catholics counter the attack lead by Protestants by stating that many Protestants have fallen into the Nestorian heresy which claimed that the "man Jesus" is not both fully divine and fully human, two natures (ousia) united inextricably in one person (hypostasis). Instead, Nestorianism claims that the "man Jesus" had Divine nature bestowed upon him at some time later than His conception and, therefore, Mary could not have been the Mother of God. Instead, the Nestorian doctrine was that she was merely the "mother of his humanity". Catholics do not believe Mary is the source of Jesus' Divine nature, but the source of his human nature. Yet as a person he is truly God and truly man, thus making her His mother as a person, if not the source of all traits. This has led to disagreement between Catholics and Protestants.

Marianism describes the excessive veneration of Mary, as opposed to Christ. The term was first used in the 19th century to condemn the "perversion of Christianity into Marianism."






* January 1 Mary, Mother of God
* February 2 Purification of Mary
* February 11 Our Lady of Lourdes
* March 25 Annunciation by Archangel Gabriel
* May 13 Our Lady of Fatima
* May 31 Mary, Mediatrix of all Graces
* June 27 Our Lady of Perpetual Help
* August 15 Assumption into Heaven
* August 21 Our Lady of Knock
* September 8 Our Lady of Good Health
* September 15 Our Lady of Sorrows
* October 7 Feast of the Most Holy Rosary
* December 8 Feast of the Immaculate Conception
* December 12 Our Lady of Guadalupe
* December 25 Mary's Son Birthday Jesus Christ

Just curious, nancyann, - are you familiar with
?


And just a personal observation, if you don't mind - often its better to synopsize lengthy articles, offer your comment pertinent thereunto, if any, and provide a link to the parent work where practical as opposed to simply cut&paste - your call, of course, but IMO, if you wanna engage the typical internet viewer, you wanna do whatchya can to avoid the MEGO (My Eyes Glaze Over) effect - not that I'm one to avoid glazing over the typical observer's eyes in some of my posts from time to time, copy&paste or otherwise :wink:

Still reading. Er, scanning.

Yes, I bought lots of John Michael Talbot's music and like it lots! I read his life, very interesting!

Thanks for the help. I don't know how to do what you said though yet. I will try and learn.

n

Timber and Neo Thanks for posting!

n

Stay cool nanny.

I had a nanny actually.She taught me everything I needed to know.It's amazing really.She was only 21 and had had no training.

Sorta knew, and pretty much worked alongside the Talbot brothers back in the early '70s. John always seemed the more "spiritual" of the 2, Terry, though, was the frontman and main lyricist for their band Mason Proffit - I worked soundsystem at a lotta concerts and festivals they played. Didn't really hang out with 'em or anything, John in particular wasn't in evidence during the just-about-nightly episodes of "extracurricular debauchery" that was part of the rock'n'roll-on-the-road life back then. Bandmembers often showed up, and older brother Terry once in a while, but John, just in his mid teens at the time, didn't go much for the customary, traditional entertainments :wink:

Thanks so much for that Timber! That was so nice to say to us! He is a spiritual man of God and his music is great!

Thanks again

n

And Spendius Thanks for your vote of confidence and posting! I appreciaiated it so much! I think about the forum very much and work hard on it for all 'cause I like to!

n

I will be away from the computer friends until January 2nd and hope that all of you carry the forum by posting please, please, please and thank you! I will be with my family. My brother is home from Iraq! I will tell you about it on the 2nd!

Happy New Year!

Nancyann

Please Post!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

See ya, nancyann.

Roman Catholic Church and Faith
Roman Catholic Church
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
(Redirected from Roman Catholic)


The Roman Catholic Church, (also known as the Catholic Church), is the Christian Church led by the Bishop of Rome (Pope), currently Benedict XVI, and whose adherents constitute almost half of all Christians worldwide.

The Roman Catholic Church teaches that it is the "one holy catholic and apostolic Church founded by Jesus Christ," and that "the sole Church of Christ which in the Creed we profess to be one, holy, catholic and apostolic" subsists "in the Catholic Church, which is governed by the successor of Peter and by the bishops in communion with him" (The Second Vatican Council's Decree on the Church, Lumen Gentium, 8).[1] The term "successor of Peter" refers to the Bishop of Rome, the Pope. The phrase "governed by the successor of Peter and by the bishops in communion with him" thus defines the Catholic Church's visible identity.

It has a membership of over one billion people, about half of the estimated 2.1 billion Christians worldwide. The figure for Catholics in the 2003 Statistical Yearbook of the Church, based on the written statistical reports on the situation on 31 December of that year that Catholic dioceses throughout the world submitted during the following year, is 1,085,557,000; because of obstacles to regular contacts, this figure does not include Catholics in mainland China and a few other places. According to canon law, members are those who have been baptized in or who, after being baptized in another Church, have been received into the Catholic Church on making a profession of faith, and who have not formally renounced membership.

Worldwide, the Church is divided into jurisdictional areas, most commonly on a territorial basis. The typical form of these is called, in the Latin Rite, a diocese, in the Eastern Rites, an eparchy, and is headed by a bishop or an eparch. For other forms, see below under "The episcopate". At the end of 2004, the total number of all these jurisdictional areas or sees was 2755 (Annuario Pontificio 2005).

The see of Rome is seen as central, and its bishop, the Pope, is considered to be the (sole) successor of Saint Peter, the chief of the Apostles, sometimes called the "prince" (from Latin princeps, meaning "foremost", "leader") of the Apostles.

A description of the Roman Catholic Church necessarily deals chiefly with its teaching and its internal organization. It is obvious that its own doctrinal and legislative documents are the best sources for these matters. What follows is therefore based principally on its Catechism of the Catholic Church, on its two codes of law, namely the Code of Canon Law (for the Latin Rite) and the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, and on its yearbook, the Annuario Pontificio.


Pope Benedict XVI, like his predecessors, is considered by Catholics as the Vicar of Christ and therefore leader of all Christians.The Roman Catholic Church traces its origins to Saint Peter, apostle to Rome. It rose to prominence with the Constantinian shift in the late Roman Empire (4th century), under Constantine I. Christianity was the Roman state religion from 380. See History of the Roman Catholic Church for details.

The Roman Catholic Church teaches that it was instituted by Jesus Christ for the salvation of all people, and that this is accomplished through teaching and administering the seven sacraments - Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist, Reconciliation (forgiveness of sins), Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders (becoming a member of the clergy), and Marriage - means by which God grants grace. It bases its teachings on both Scripture and Apostolic Tradition. It is a hierarchical organization headed by the Pope, with ordained clergy divided into the orders of bishops, priests, and deacons. The Church also encourages monasticism, and has many religious institutes of monks, friars, nuns, and others who live in celibacy and devote their lives entirely to God. Other religious practices for clergy, religious and laity alike include almsgiving, fasting, prayer, penance, pilgrimage and meditation.

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, "the Church's first purpose is to be the sacrament of the inner union of men with God." Thus the Church's "structure is totally ordered to the holiness of Christ's members" (Catechism of the Catholic Church 775, 773).

Terminology
Roman Catholic Church is a term that other Christian Churches often, though by no means exclusively, use for this Church. The Church itself too accepts this description in its relations with other Churches, but normally calls itself the Catholic Church. It has also sometimes, because of the centrality for it of the see of Rome, sometimes applied the adjective "Roman" to itself in its entirety even in internal documents, as when, at the start of chapter 1 of the First Vatican Council's Dogmatic Constitution on the Catholic Faith,[2] it described itself as the "Holy, Catholic, Apostolic and Roman Church". (This is only one of many self-descriptions that the Catholic Church has used. Others include "Mystical Body of Christ", "People of God", "universal sacrament of salvation" (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 748-810).

Divergent usages attach a certain ambiguity to each of these terms. For some, the term "Roman Catholic Church" refers only to the Western or Latin Church, excluding the Eastern-Rite particular Churches in full communion with the Pope, which therefore are part of the same Church taken as a whole. Different Christian groups also attach different meanings to the term 'Catholic'; see Catholicism.

Although most other Christian denominations prefer to employ the term "Roman Catholic Church", some occasionally use "Catholic Church" even in formal discourse. Examples are found in the documents drawn up in common between "the Catholic Church and the World Lutheran Federation",[3] and signed by both sides,[4] and in the "Common Christological Declaration between the Catholic Church and the Assyrian Church of the East", again agreed on and signed by both parties.[5]

In colloquial use, "Catholic" (lit., universal) is often used to refer to the Roman Catholic Church even by members of Christian groups that formally dispute the Church's right to that title. St Augustine (354-430) wrote about the same phenomenon in 397, when he considered it evidence of the heresy of other churches:

...the name itself of Catholic, which, not without reason, amid so many heresies, the Church has thus retained; so that, though all heretics wish to be called Catholics, yet when a stranger asks where the Catholic Church meets, no heretic will venture to point to his own chapel or house.
?- Against the Epistle of Manichaeus called Fundamental, chapter 4: Proofs of the Catholic Faith[6]
Of course, Oriental Orthodox, Eastern Orthodox, Lutheran, Anglican, Old-Catholic, and other Christians do, in fact, claim to be, or to be part of, the Catholic Church, and do tell people that the Catholic Church meets in their places of worship.

Without intending to make any judgement on which is the correct term, "Catholic Church" and "Roman Catholic Church" will be treated within this article as alternative names for the entire Church "which is governed by the successor of Peter and by the bishops in communion with him" (cf. above).

Beliefs

The Crucifix, bearing the image of Jesus suffering on a cross, often serves as a symbol of the Roman Catholic Church.The Catholic Church is a Christian church, and therefore shares core beliefs with the majority of other trinitarian groups generally considered to be Christian.

The Nicene Creed and the Apostles' Creed, which are accepted by all major Christian denominations, can be considered a fundamental core of the Catholic Church's beliefs. However some Christian denominations have developed a different understanding of many central issues concerning Christ's role in the Church and of the salvation of believers that vary greatly from the Church's historic teachings. The Catholic Church has published a detailed exposition of its beliefs in the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

The nature of God
Catholicism is a monotheistic religion. Together with Judaism and Islam and some interpretations of Hinduism, it believes that God is one, eternal, all-powerful, all-knowing and omnipresent. God exists as distinct from and prior to his creation, that is, everything which is not God, and which depends directly on him for existence, and yet is still present intimately in his creation. Faith in God's existence is the most fundamental Catholic belief, and in the First Vatican Council the Church has taught that, while by the natural light of human reason God can be known in his works as origin and end of all created things (cf. Romans 1:20), God has also chosen to reveal himself and his will supernaturally in the ways indicated in the Letter to the Hebrews 1:1-2.

Catholicism is also a Trinitarian religion. As opposed to other monotheistic religions, it believes that while God is one in nature, essence, and being, this one God exists in three divine persons, each identical with the one essence, whose only distinctions are in their relations to one another: The Father's relationship to the Son, the Son's relationship to the Father, and the relations of both to the Holy Spirit, constitute the one God as a Trinity.

A Catholic Christian is baptized in the name (singular) of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit - not three gods, but One God subsisting in three Persons. The faith of the Church and of the individual Christian is based on a relationship with these three Persons of the one God.

The Catholic Church believes that God has revealed himself to humanity as Father to his only-begotten Son, who is in an eternal relationship with the Father: "No one knows the Son except the Father, just as no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him" (Matthew 11:27).

Catholics believe that God the Son, the second of the three Persons of God, became incarnate as Jesus Christ, a human being, born of the Virgin Mary. He remained truly divine and was at the same time truly human. In what he said, and by how he lived, he taught us how to live, and revealed God as Love, the giver of unmerited favours or Graces.

After Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection, his followers, foremost among them the Apostles, spread more and more extensively their faith in Jesus Christ with a vigour that they attributed to the Holy Spirit, the third of the three Persons of God, sent upon them by Jesus.

Humanity's separation from God
Human beings, in Catholic belief, were originally created to live in union with God. Through the disobedience of the first humans, that relationship was broken and sin and death came into the world (cf. Romans 5:12). Man's fall left him separated from his original state of intimacy with God which carried into death through the idea of the individual human soul being immortal. But when Jesus came into the world, being both God and man, he was able through his sacrifice to pay the penalty for all human sin and to reconcile humanity with God. By becoming one in Christ, through the Church, humanity was once again capable of intimacy with God but also offered a much more amazing gift: participation in the Divine Life, also called the Beatific Vision.

The role of the Church
Catholics believe that Jesus established only one Church, not many, and that that Church is truly, though of course not physically, the Body of Christ, made up of members both on earth and in heaven. They believe that Jesus chose the Apostle Peter to lead the Church, that Peter went to Rome and became bishop of the Church there, and that Peter's authority was subsequently passed on to successive bishops of Rome. The one true Church therefore subsists in those who follow Jesus and who recognize the religious authority of Peter in his current successor, popularly called the Pope (from the Latin 'Papa' - Father).

Catholics believe that Jesus promised that the Church on earth will always be guided and maintained in truth by the Holy Spirit, meaning that infalliblility resides in the Church on earth and is expressed in various in doctrines and dogmas. Many Christian churches consider the written Scriptures (the Bible) to contain infallible truth, but Catholic Christians believe that infallible truth is also contained in the oral traditions passed down through the Church; and also that, as the written Scriptures arose within a Church that handed on true doctrine orally, they can be properly understood only in the light of the Church's living tradition. This position is a marked contrast from the sola scriptura ('by Scripture alone') position espoused by the Protestant Reformation. The Catholic Church teaches that the two forms of the "deposit of faith" (from Latin depositum, something entrusted, cf. 1 Timothy 6:20) hold equal status and are equally infallible, meaning that no Catholic belief or practice can contradict the Sacred Scriptures.

Magisterium
The Catechism of the Catholic Church, 85 states that authentic interpretation of the Word of God is entrusted to the living Magisterium of the Church, namely the bishops in communion with the successor of Peter. Catholic theology places the authoritative interpretation of scripture in the hands of the judgment of the Church rather than the private judgment of the individual. The church does, however, encourage its flock to read Sacred Scripture.

Salvation
The Church teaches that salvation to eternal life is God's will for all people, and that God grants it to sinners as a free gift, a grace, through the sacrifice of Christ. Man cannot, in the strict sense, merit anything from God (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2007). It is God who justifies, that is, who frees from sin by a free gift of holiness (sanctifying grace, also known as habitual or deifying grace). Man can accept the gift God gives through faith in Jesus Christ (Romans 3:22) and through baptism (Romans 6:3-4). Man can also refuse the gift. Human cooperation is needed, in line with a new capacity to adhere to the divine will that God provides (cf. Response of the Catholic Church to the Joint Declaration of the Catholic Church and the Lutheran World Federation on the Doctrine of Justification, 2-3).[7] The faith of a Christian is not without works, otherwise it would be dead (cf. James 2:26). In this sense, "by works a man is justified, and not only by faith" (James 2:24), and eternal life is, at one and the same time, grace and the reward given by God for good works and merits. See Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1987-2016.

The Christian Path
Following baptism, the Catholic Christian must endeavour to be a true disciple of Jesus. The believer must seek forgiveness of subsequent sins, and try to follow the example and teaching of Jesus. To help Christians, Jesus has provided seven sacraments which give Grace from God to the believer. These are, Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist, Reconciliation/Confession, Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders, and Matrimony.

Catholics believe that God works actively in the world. Christians may grow in grace through prayer, good works, and spiritual disciplines such as fasting and pilgrimage. Prayer takes the form of praise, thanksgiving and supplication. Christians can and should pray for others, even for enemies and persecutors (Matthew 5:44). They may address their requests for the intercession of others not only to people still in earthly life, but also to those in heaven, in particular the Virgin Mary and the other Saints. As Mother of Jesus, the Virgin Mary is also considered to be the spiritual mother of all Christians. Unless a Christian dies in unrepented mortal sin, which is normally remitted in Penance, that person has God's promise of inheriting eternal life. Before entering heaven, some undergo a purification, known as Purgatory. Catholic teachings include a stress on forgiveness, doing good to others, and on the sanctity of life, opposing euthanasia, eugenics, contraception and abortion, which can destroy divinely created life.

The Catholic Church maintains that, through the graces Jesus won for humanity by sacrificing himself on the cross, salvation is possible even for those outside the visible boundaries of the Church, whether non-Catholic Christians or non-Christians, if in life they respond positively to the grace and truth that God reveals to them. This may sometimes include awareness of an obligation to become part of the Catholic Church. In such cases, "they could not be saved who, knowing that the Catholic Church was founded as necessary by God through Christ, would refuse either to enter it, or to remain in it" (Second Vatican Council: Dogmatic Constitution Lumen gentium, 14).

Social teaching
Main article: Catholic social teaching
The Church holds that the teachings of Jesus call on its members to act in a particular way in their dealings with the rest of humanity. While not endorsing any particular political agenda, the Church holds that this teaching applies in the public (political) realm, not only the private. Among these teachings, as they have been elaborated in recent decades by Catholic thinkers, Bishops' statements and Papal encyclicals, are that every person has a right to life and to a decent minimum standard of living, that humanity's use of God's creation implies a responsibility to protect the environment, and that the range of circumstances under which military force or capital punishment is permissible is extremely limited.

Liturgy

Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome. The statue in the foreground is of Saint Peter, held by the Catholic Church to be the first Pope.The Catholic Church sees the eucharistic liturgy, the celebration of the Mystery of Christ, in particular the Paschal Mystery of his death and resurrection, as the high point of its activity and the source of its life and strength.

As explained in greater detail in the Catechism of the Catholic Church and its shorter Compendium, the liturgy is something that "the whole Christ", Head and Body, celebrates - Christ, the one High Priest, together with his Body, the Church in heaven and on earth. Involved in the heavenly liturgy are the angels and the saints of the Old Covenant and the New, in particular Mary, the Mother of God, the Apostles, the Martyrs and "a great multitude, which no man could number, out of every nation and of all tribes and peoples and tongues" (Revelation 7:9). The Church on earth, "a royal priesthood" (1 Peter 2:9), celebrates the liturgy in union with these: the baptized offering themselves as a spiritual sacrifice, the ordained ministers celebrating at the service of all the members of the Church in accordance with the order received, and bishops and priests acting in the person of Christ.

The Christian liturgy uses signs and symbols whose significance, based on nature or culture, has been made more precise through Old Testament events and has been fully revealed in the person and life of Christ. Some of these signs and symbols come from the world of creation (light, water, fire, bread, wine, oil), others from life in society (washing, anointing, breaking bread), others from Old Testament sacred history (the Passover rite, sacrifices, laying on of hands, consecrating persons and objects).

In the Christian liturgy these signs are closely linked with words. Though in a sense the signs speak for themselves, they need to be accompanied and vivified by the spoken word. Taken together, word and action indicate what the rite signifies and effects.

Singing and music are associated with the liturgy. So also are sacred images, which proclaim the same message as do the words of Sacred Scripture and which help to awaken and nourish faith.

The most important parts of the liturgy are the sacraments, instituted by Christ (see below).

In addition there are many sacramentals, sacred signs (rituals or objects) that derive their power from the prayer of the Church. They involve prayer accompanied by the sign of the cross or other signs. Important examples are blessings (by which praise is given to God and his gifts are prayed for), consecrations of persons, and dedications of objects to the worship of God.

Popular devotions are not strictly part of the liturgy, but if they are judged to be authentic, the Church encourages them. They include veneration of relics of saints, visits to sacred shrines, pilgrimages, processions, the Stations of the Cross (also known as the Way of the Cross), and the Rosary.

Sunday, which commemorates the resurrection of Christ and has been celebrated by Christians from the earliest times (1 Corinthians 16:2; Revelation 1:10; Ignatius of Antioch: Magn.9:1; Justin Martyr: I Apology 67:5), is the outstanding occasion for the liturgy; but no day, not even any hour, is excluded from celebrating the liturgy.

The Liturgy of the Hours consecrates to God the whole course of day and night. Lauds and Vespers (morning and evening prayer) are the principal hours. To these are added one or three intermediate prayer periods (traditionally called Terce, Sext and None), another prayer period to end the day (Compline), and a special prayer period called the Office of Readings (formerly known as Matins) at no fixed time, devoted chiefly to readings from the Scriptures and ecclesiastical writers. The Second Vatican Council suppressed an additional 'hour' called Prime. The prayers of the Liturgy of the Hours consist principally of the Psalter or Book of Psalms. Like the Mass, the Liturgy of the Hours has inspired great musical compositions. An earlier name for the Liturgy of the Hours and for the books that contained the texts was the Divine Office (a name still used as the title of one English translation), the Book of Hours, and the Breviary. Bishops, priests, deacons and members of religious institutes are obliged to pray at least some parts of the Liturgy of the Hours daily, an obligation that applied also to subdeacons.

New Testament worship "in spirit and in truth" (John 4:24) is not linked exclusively with any particular place or places, since Christ is seen as the true temple of God, and through him Christians too and the whole Church become, under the influence of the Holy Spirit, a temple of God (1 Corinthians 3:16). Nevertheless the earthly condition of the Church on earth makes it necessary to have certain places in which to celebrate the liturgy. Within these churches, chapels and oratories, Catholics put particular emphasis on the altar, the tabernacle, the place in which chrism and other holy oils are kept ('ambry'), the seat of the bishop ('cathedra') or priest, and the baptismal font.

The richness of the Mystery of Christ cannot be exhausted by any one liturgical tradition and has from the beginning found varied complementary expressions characteristic of different peoples and cultures. As catholic or universal, the Church believes it can and should hold within its unity the true riches of these peoples and cultures.

There are in the liturgy, specifically in the sacraments, elements that cannot be changed, because they are of divine institution. These the Church must guard carefully. Other elements may be changed, and the Church has the power, and sometimes the duty, to adapt them to the different cultures of peoples and times. Also, individual Catholics may privately pray in many different ways because of the great variety of Catholic Spirituality.

St Joseph
ANGELUS, FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT: 18 DECEMBER

St Joseph: the "just', "silent' model for us all


On 18 December, the Fourth and last Sunday in Advent, the Holy Father introduced the Angelus for the faithful gathered in St Peter's Square with comments on St Joseph, "the Guardian of the Redeemer" who, "in perfect harmony with his wife, welcomed the Son of God made man and watched over his human growth". The Pope focused above all on the silence of this man of faith and presented it as an example for all the faithful in the period of preparation for Holy Christmas. The following is a translation of the Holy Father's Reflection for the occasion, which was given in Italian.


Dear Brothers and Sisters,
In these last days of Advent the liturgy invites us to contemplate in a special way the Virgin Mary and St Joseph, who lived with unique intensity the period of expectation and preparation for Jesus' birth.



St Joseph: the "just' man

Today, I would like to turn my gaze to the figure of St Joseph. In today's Gospel St Luke presents the Virgin Mary as "a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David" (cf. Lk 1: 27). The Evangelist Matthew, however, places a greater emphasis on the putative father of Jesus, stressing that through him the Child belonged legally to the lineage of David and thus fulfilled the Scriptural prophecy that the Messiah would be a "son of David".
But Joseph's role cannot be reduced to this legal aspect. He was the model of a "just" man (Mt 1: 19) who, in perfect harmony with his wife, welcomed the Son of God made man and watched over his human growth.
It is therefore particularly appropriate in the days that precede Christmas to establish a sort of spiritual conversation with St Joseph, so that he may help us live to the full this great mystery of faith.


The silence of St Joseph

Beloved Pope John Paul II, who was very devoted to St Joseph, left us a wonderful meditation dedicated to him in the Apostolic Exhortation Redemptoris Custos, "The Guardian of the Redeemer".
Among the many aspects on which this Document sheds light, the silence of St Joseph is given a special emphasis. His silence is steeped in contemplation of the mystery of God in an attitude of total availability to the divine desires.
In other words, St Joseph's silence does not express an inner emptiness but, on the contrary, the fullness of the faith he bears in his heart and which guides his every thought and action.
It is a silence thanks to which Joseph, in unison with Mary, watches over the Word of God, known through the Sacred Scriptures, continuously comparing it with the events of the life of Jesus; a silence woven of constant prayer, a prayer of blessing of the Lord, of the adoration of his holy will and of unreserved entrustment to his providence.
It is no exaggeration to think that it was precisely from his "father" Joseph that Jesus learned - at the human level - that steadfast interiority which is a presupposition of authentic justice, the "superior justice" which he was one day to teach his disciples (cf. Mt 5: 20).


An Advent of silent recollection

Let us allow ourselves to be "filled" with St Joseph's silence! In a world that is often too noisy, that encourages neither recollection nor listening to God's voice, we are in such deep need of it. During this season of preparation for Christmas, let us cultivate inner recollection in order to welcome and cherish Jesus in our own lives.
After the Angelus the Pope said:
On this Fourth Sunday of Advent I welcome all the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors present for the Angelus. As the celebration of Our Lord's birth draws near let us join with Mary in prayerful trust, ready to embrace God's will as a sign of hope for our world. During these last days of the holy season of Advent, I invoke upon you and your families God's abundant Blessings of joy and peace.
Thank you all for this pleasant visit. Have a good Sunday!

(©L'Osservatore Romano - 21/28 December 2005)

1/2/2006




Archives
Sept. 18-24, 2005

Faith vs. The Storm
JUDY ROBERTS National Catholic Register


NEW ORLEANS ?- Blessed Sacrament Sister Grace Mary Flickinger says the acts of kindness she witnessed during Hurricane Katrina aren't likely to make CNN.

But she and other survivors of the historic storm are beginning to tell their stories as recovery efforts get under way and flood waters recede. What is emerging is a tale of faith and heroism by priests, religious and ordinary laypeople who prayed and sheltered others as Katrina battered the Gulf Coast.

Sister Flickinger, a professor of biology at Xavier University in New Orleans, was among more than 250 Xavier faculty, administrators, sisters, students and others who hunkered down during and after the storm on the campus founded by St. Katharine Drexel.

Because the school's original thick-walled, limestone buildings have withstood previous hurricanes, Sister Flickinger said, "We decided it was safer to stay." Everyone in the group, except Arthur Simmons, an elderly man who was a friend of the college, survived.

Simmons died peacefully while the storm raged outside, Sister Juliana Haynes, public affairs coordinator for the Blessed Sacrament Sisters in Bensalem, Pa., said. His body was covered with a blanket and left in the music building, where he and his wife, Eloise, had been staying. A funeral home later removed the body, but services and burial have yet to be held.

The Xavier group fared well until a nearby levee broke, spilling flood waters onto the campus.

College administrators and campus police found and used a rowboat to travel between buildings where various groups had taken shelter. They used the boat also to retrieve food from storage so meals could be cooked. On Aug. 31, the vice president for fiscal affairs rowed the boat to the Louisiana Superdome to notify authorities that survivors were on the campus. They were rescued the next day.

In the meantime, the group dined on red beans, rice and sausage, and hot dogs and baked beans. The day of their rescue, Sister Flickinger said, they had a turkey in the oven, but when they were told they had only 15 minutes to get ready for departure, they left the food for their rescuers.

Once they were evacuated by boat, the group's ordeal wasn't over. They were relocated to a section of Interstate 10, where they remained with other evacuees for about eight hours.




St. Katharine Drexel


As sunset approached, Sister Flickinger said, "I kept saying over and over, ?'Mother Katharine, you've got to get us out of here before dark because our students could get hurt.' You didn't know what would happen after dark. All of a sudden, the army trucks came."

The Xavier evacuees were taken to buses that transported them to Baton Rouge, where Xavier alumni and others were waiting to greet and house them.

The Sacred Heart Brothers, who operate St. Stanislaus College School, a boarding and day school for boys in grades 6-12 in Bay St. Louis, Miss., also remained on their campus during Katrina to be with about 50 of their foreign students.

Faculty members, their families and neighbors of the school joined the group in a building that was thought to be the most secure because it had been constructed after Hurricane Camille. Brother Ivy LeBlanc, Sacred Heart provincial, said the building is on what used to be Beach Boulevard. "There's nothing there now," he said. "We're still there, but we're about it."

Eventually, the group was rescued by a group of brothers from Baton Rouge who drove to Bay St. Louis to get the students and 20 brothers from an assisted-living unit.

Brother LeBlanc said the experience of staying on campus during the hurricane was harrowing.

"Everybody was scared," he said. "It was a very dangerous thing. They could look out and see the water and what it was doing. It was very frightening. We're men of deep belief, but also very practical men. We build practical buildings, we take steps to protect our kids and we pray. It's a holistic approach to integrating our faith and our life. Did God protect us? Unquestionably. It's only by the grace of God that some of our men are here."


St. Benedict


Mike Dorner of New Orleans, known as the "Catholic Radio Answer Man" for his Catholic Radio Directory, also credited prayer, specifically the intercession of St. Benedict, with saving his home. "There was no damage, either from water or, surprisingly, wind," he said. "A large pine snapped in half and just missed our eaves."

Dorner, who was staying with relatives in Lafayette, La., said an elderly woman who has lived much of her life near the Benedictine Monastery north of Covington, La., told him some years ago that a house and a person carrying a St. Benedict's medal receive many blessings.

"She gave me a medal back then and told me to put it over my front door," Dorner recalled, adding "that St. Benedict would bless the house and protect it. She said that despite decades of hurricanes passing over and nearby, her house, built in the mid-1800s, has never had significant damage from a hurricane, which she attributed to St. Benedict."

Although the woman's suggestion initially struck him as a bit like superstition, he put the medal over his front door. "One of the last things I did before leaving at 5:45 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 29, was check to see that the medal was still there. It was," he said.

Many other homes in Dorner's neighborhood escaped damage from falling trees as well, he said.

Dorner said he wouldn't want to conclude that all the houses that were spared had St. Benedict medals. "What I do think and emphasize is God does reward faith, in one way or another, for his own reasons and in his own way," he said.




Knights to the Rescue


Members of the Knights of Columbus, a group known for its charitable work, also responded during the emergency.

Bryant Collins of Birmingham, Ala., state deputy of the Knights' Alabama State Council, said a Knight helped rescue a little girl from a flooded home in Bayou La Batre, outside Mobile. Collins said, "There was a family trying to get out of a house and the mother said, ?'I can't find my daughter.' [A Knight] in the crowd took off running back inside the house. The water was coming in, and he brought her out. She was looking for her stuffed animal."

Collins said the Knight belongs to a council at St. Margaret's Church that had been reinstituted June 30 after being dormant more than 30 years. The council's 30 members had banded together to rescue people from flooded homes.

Collins also told how Maurice Dupont of Mobile, the Knights' Alabama state treasurer, was housing employees of his construction firm in Pascagoula, Miss., in his home and helping them clean out their houses before dealing with his flooded office.

"He felt like it was his job to take care of his workers," Collins said. "He said he had to get them settled first."




Judy Roberts is based
in Graytown, Ohio.



Sisters Stared Down the Storm


NEW ORLEANS ?- Last week, we reported about the sisters who evacuated themselves, those they care for, and their employees' families.

But some of the sisters in the many convents of New Orleans stayed put.

Take the two Sisters of the Holy Family who remained in their New Orleans motherhouse to care for Precious, their dog, and Juana, their parrot.

Sisters Canice and Canisius La-strapes, 83-year-old twins, were eventually rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard, along with their pets, and flown to El Paso, Texas, where they are staying with the Loretto Sisters.

Asked if she was afraid during the two nights before rescuers came, Sister Canice said, "Not at all."

Sister Canice said she and her sister were taken to the Sisters of Loretto after a chance encounter with a bishop as they were getting off a bus in El Paso. "He said, ?'Oh no, sisters, wait. I know some sisters who will take you in,'" Sister Canice said.

Carmelite Sister Cheryl Scheaffer, a nursing assistant at University Hospital in New Orleans, also stayed in the city during and after the hurricane as she was part of the hospital's activation team, which remains at the facility during storm threats.

By the afternoon of Aug. 29, she said, "We thought everything was okay." Then, with the levees breached and the flood waters moving in, the hospital lost all power. Worse yet, efforts to evacuate the most seriously ill patients were hampered by snipers shooting at rescuers. By Sept. 2, however, most of the 160 patients and staff had been moved to safety.

"I'm glad I was there to be able to help out," Sister Scheaffer said. "There were times when it was frightening. ... From day to day, I wondered if they were going to get us out."

Elsewhere, many religious communities opened their buildings to evacuees even as they were dealing with the effects of the storm themselves.

The School Sisters of Notre Dame in Chatawa, Miss., for example, sheltered 180 people at their St. Mary of the Pines retirement home and retreat center about 90 miles east of New Orleans. A week after the hurricane, 100 people were still with them.

The Divine Word Missionaries in Bay St. Louis, Miss., housed 23 local people in their former novitiate even though their campus sustained severe damage.

"We share our food and water and some help us out by cooking," Divine Word Father Augustine Wall wrote in a memo. "I was quite happy to see we had opened our doors to as many people as we were capable of helping."

In New Orleans, the Little Sisters of the Poor opened their damaged Mary-Joseph Residence for the Elderly to firefighters and several police precincts for use as a command post. The home was evacuated before the storm and the residents moved to a nursing home in Baton Rouge. Although most of the roof was blown off the New Orleans building, some floors were habitable, and the sisters were pleased that the food they had stored was being used.

"We're happy about that because we had a lot of food in the freezer, and now they'll eat it," Mother Paul Mary Wilson said. "It won't rot!"


?- Judy Roberts




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Trying to keep up; but so many words and my brain so small.