Can you share some of your good news with the readers?
And also give us some point from the Sunday sermon you heard.
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“This blog is like a fusion of the Baroque ‘salon’ with its well-tuned harpsichord around which polite society gathered for entertainment and edification and, on the other hand, a Wild West “saloon” with its out-of-tune piano and swinging doors, where everyone has a gun and something to say. Nevertheless, we try to point our discussions back to what it is to be Catholic in this increasingly difficult age, to love God, and how to get to heaven.” – Fr. Z
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YOUR RECENT COMMENTS
- on ROME 24/4– Day 28: bad news and good news: “Fr Z I agree with MaternalView above. The world situation is shaky and a trip to Poland… next to Ukraine…”
- on ROME 24/4– Day 28: bad news and good news: “I‘ll assume black goes „upward“ and down left is h8. 1. f5+ forcing gf6 (xf5 e. p.) 2. h5+ forcing…”
- on Faith practice declining far and wide…. except…: “Lori announced massive parish closings, along with the suppression of the Latin Mass in diocese. Sure suicide by cutting off…”
- on ROME 24/4– Day 28: bad news and good news: “I think people have lost confidence in all manner of things, airplane manufacturers, airlines, FAA, government agencies who are supposed…”
- on Wednesday after the 2nd Sunday after Easter – traditional Solemnity of ST. JOSEPH! – Terror of demons, Protector of Holy Church!: “Aw, dear St. Joseph. I love him so much. I was blessed to go to a mass of this feast…”
- on ROME 24/4– Day 28: bad news and good news: “1. . . . . .. . . . . . . h7-h5+ 2. g5-h6(×h5) . f7-f5+ 3. K-g5 .…”
- on Faith practice declining far and wide…. except…: “Dear Masked Chicken, thank you for pointing me to your post of 22 March, which which I largely agree. My…”
- on ROME 24/4– Day 28: bad news and good news: “Yes. Let all the poisons come out! After seeing it on TV many years ago and reading the two volumes,…”
- on ROME 24/4– Day 28: bad news and good news: “Perhaps world events are making some nervous international travelers. Personally, I would have loved to go to Poland on a…”
- on ROME 24/4– Day 28: bad news and good news: “The bit about Claudius thinking that a return to the republic was likely or even possible may take its inspiration…”
- on ROME 24/4– Day 28: bad news and good news: “Pray for Derek Jacobi! Such a talented actor, but sadly, an irregular life.”
- on 15 April 2019 – Notre-Dame de Paris: “I was wrong. It’s not a Cramnerian table. It’s a……. Ikea coffee table made to resemble a half Easter egg,…”
- on ROME 24/4– Day 28: bad news and good news: “The BBC “radio play” of I,Claudius is also rather good. https://share.libbyapp.com/title/505092”
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Priest finished his Homily with a quote from Newman’s Parochial Sermons:
“He who does one little deed of obedience, whether he denies himself some comfort to relieve the sick and needy, or curbs his temper, or forgives an enemy, or asks forgiveness for an offence committed by him, or resists the clamour or ridicule of the world—such an one (as far as we are given to judge) evinces more true faith than could be shown by the most fluent religious conversation, the most intimate knowledge of Scripture doctrine, or the most remarkable agitation and change of religious sentiments. Yet how many are there who sit still with folded hands, dreaming, doing nothing at all, thinking they have done every thing, or need do nothing, when they merely have had these good thoughts, which will save no one.”
Well worth the read.
http://www.newmanreader.org/works/parochial/volume1/sermon13.html
Good News: Tomorrow, I’m going to visit a religious community for about a week and a half (I am discerning a call to the religious life). I’m a excited and nervous!
Sermon today: Since the feast of our parish’s patron (St. Michael) is later this week, we celebrated it today. Father spoke about the reality of evil, how the more “civilized” a culture becomes the more it tends to deny that true evil exists and finally if you don’t fill yourself up with God, there is only one other option. It is good to be reminded of the truth of evil.
I have found out first hand, about the wonderful effects of Holy Water, in calming down the behaviour of my 24 year old daughter who suffers from autism. The effects seem to be miraculous. In fact a doctor who does not know of the Holy Water usage, referred to my daughter’s change of behaviour (for the better) without the use of medical drugs, as a miracle. This experience lead me to look up and down the internet for more information on the blessing of Holy Water, and I found wonderful testimonies of the healing of pain, of injuries and more, through the use of Holy Water, and also information on wording of the actual blessing.
I am organising a 54 day Rosary Novena for the healing of autism from this Saturday, October 1 to November 23. Our family ran one last year. Between that novena and this one, so far we have nine countries participating. Hopefully many more people will participate, and many more countries will be involved.
There is more information about the novena here:
http://missionbell.homestead.com/54-Day-Rosary-Novena-for-the-healing-of-autism.html
After attending Holy Mass at Cathedral Square in Erfurt on Saturday we joined good friends of ours who live in Jena. We are the Godparents of their 1st son, Benedikt Johannes Paul, just turned 6. The mother sings with the Kammerchor from Jena that performed pre- and post-Mass.
Did you know that there is only 1 Catholic Church in all of Jena? St. Johann Baptist. Population is over 100,000. It is a very small building. Maybe 150 people could fit in the building. It is really the center of the lives of the faithful there. This is such a tremendous difference to our area of Germany. We live in the Muenster diocese. Our town has less than 40,000 inhabitants and we have 7 Church buildings! Alas, from Mass participation alone 1 would probably be enough.
Back to Jena… The newly ordained priest gave a wonderful homily on obedience. He suggested the idea of a “3rd” son . The 3rd son says yes to the Master and then does indeed go into the vineyard…
This Kaplan (new priest) spoke the Truth without fear, without watering anything down to appease.
If he is an example of the new priests coming out of Erfurt, then we can be full of hope.
My wife and I attended an OF Mass in Belfast where we got a sermon on the new translation of the liturgy! Simple, clear explanations and a progress report on how well the congregation were taking to the new texts. We brought home a leaflet (very well produced, too) which is the third in a series designed to explain the new texts and is actually very informative. We came away edified but the comparison with the remaining Old ICEL langauge that still remains shows how deficient it really is.
Since I’m terrible in recalling sermons even a few hours after Mass, I’m not really much able to tell what my priest said. But I do remember it was one that made me realise that I shouldn’t be so stubborn and just go to Confession..so I did, after Mass.
And if that in itself isn’t already good news, last couple of weeks was just full of good news: I graduated and am now a medical doctor. I have a job, and in May 2012 I can probably start my training to become a rehabilitation doctor.
My good news and sermon notes both come with links. :)
Good news: I’m officially going to be traveling to UNIV forum in Rome this Easter!
Sermon notes: All the priests across my diocese (Pittsburgh) were charged with the task of reading and explaining Bishop Zubik’s letter to the faithful of the Church in Pittsburgh which calls upon us to write to Kathleen Sebelius to ask her to rescind the “Preventative Services Mandate” which would have devastating consequences to Catholic hospitals, charities, universities, and more. Our priest (newly ordained in June) gave a wonderful, brief explanation on the Church’s teaching on artificial contraception. I’m so glad our Bishop is speaking out publicly about this, and that our young priest was so thorough and honest.
We started New Translation training…I’m under the impression it will be going on weekly now until Nov. 27th.
Good news: We’re moving back to the city this week and soon I will be able to attend a TLM for the first time!
After a long engagemend, we finally got married on saturday. Both wedding and nuptial high mass were celebrated in the EF. Pictures will be posted hopefully on NLM and on the Capitulum Laicorum Sancti Michaelis Archangeli blog.
Our young niece (28 yrs old, married, mother of two) who is battling thyroid cancer has managed to get an appointment with the thyroid cancer specialist at the Mayo Clinic. She is very eager to have him look at her case and get his opinion.
Our asst. pastor passionately defended the Holy Father against Sedevacantism in his sermon.
Attended Mass in the Extraordinary Form Sunday, the Gospel for the 15th Sunday after Pentecost was Jesus bringing back to life the young man of Naim. A powerful sermon about how this Gospel is an allegory about us. We are the young man dead in spirit due to original sin. Only Jesus can bring us back to life. The mother is a type of Mary who is our Mother, and Jesus having compassion for her, brings us back to life spiritually (and physically at the end of time). He also spoke about how we are spiritually dead due to our passions which we need to control and we can only do that through God’s help.
Fr. Jaime preached a simple, clear, and direct homily on the fact that a full response to God’s call means we will lead lives that are different from the lives led by worldly people. We do not hear that kind of clarity so much in our upper middle class parish, though it is happening more frequently. Each time our homilists depart from the “Jesus is my buddy” line of preaching to the “Jesus said ‘Pick up your cross and follow me'” line of preaching, my heart soars. Rich people and high achievers need the Word, too.
Woohoo! I love the good news. Congrats to you all. I love reading about the good marriages that are about to happen, people getting to attend the EF, and those considering a vocation etc. :o)
My good news is that tomorrow my infirm mother (in body–not in mind or spirit!) gets to go home from the hellish rehab. place where she has been since she broke her arm a month ago. She is working off her purgatory and offering up her suffering up for others, we both get to pray for our enemies (a very few of the caretakers are downright cruel) and I get to go stay with my parents for a fews days. All good.
Yesterday, during father’s sermon he was speaking about some sin or another and I tried to look meaningfully at my one of my daughters to see if she was listening to him. (Ha ha. She couldn’t see me because of her veil.) When I looked back up I noticed that father was also saying that we need to concentrate on our own sins and not the sins of others. Gulp.
Good news: I received a positive email from a holy priest enduring a challenge with fortitude and resolve.
Sermon: By necessity had to attend an OF. The theme of the sermon was love your neighbour.
Confession this weekend, a solid homily on Ember Saturday about the importance of doing penance for our sins, and on Sunday (N.O. Mass) Father talked about how what we do on earth matters, and the relationship between the Church Militant, the Church Suffering, and the Church Triumphant. And I was privileged to receive our Lord kneeling at an altar rail at an N.O. Mass.
Good news: Got laid off from my job last Thursday
Why is this good news?
1) Severance Pay
2) The workplace has had a lot of problems for the past several months. Glad to be out of that environment.
Better news: Got a new job last Friday. Appears to be a better work environment than the last place. I start in a week.
Deo Gratias.
Sermon notes: visiting priest from neighboring High School. Liturgical abuses abounded throughout and the homily was utterly disconnected from the readings…unfortunately, a typical Mass for this particular celebrant. He needs our prayers.
The good news there: it just heightens my anticipation for the first Sunday in Advent.
The good news is the dead battery in my car was just that; the starter, etc are all in good shape.
The sermon was about how we must never give up trying to bring back those who have fallen away from God. Father reminded us it is never too late, as long as we live, to repent, and we must always remember not to fall into the trap of thinking something we may have done is too horrible to be forgiven.
Here at the Saint Paul Seminary, my first year continues to go well. The men here (both the seminarians and the priests who form us) have a real love for the Church and a particularly strong devotion to the Blessed Mother (I mean, we REALLY sing that Salve Regina after Night Prayer!). Our rector begins every homily or talk with “Mater mea” followed by the seminarians loudly and clearly responding, “Fiducia mea.”
The community life is strong. If we’re not studying or in prayer, we spend a lot of our down time playing Cribbage and Euchre (I never seem to win…), or enjoying a pipe while quizzing each other with Fr. Hardon’s Modern Catholic Dictionary.
The seminary has 100 men, the most since 1980, and I’d guess one of the highest in the country. The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, my home, has 69 seminarians, which is eight more than last year.
The Lord will provide!
so much good news!
have had temporarily relief from the crazy health symptoms i’ve been experiencing. have been on an intense elimination diet for the past couple of weeks and for the first time in a long time my symptoms have almost completely gone away. the only problem is that they arose again after receiving the Eucharist for the past two weeks… so i’m hoping that is a placebo and not an indication of gluten intolerance.
gave my first ever prolife talk last week! scary and challenging and super rewarding.
next week will be the first missa cantata at Our Lady of Lourdes in the Overbrook section of Phila. come if you can!
My husband is doing well and out of the hospital after having a heart attack.
The priest is getting us ready for the new translation. Yesterday, we heard the new musical setting of the Gloria which, while not perfect, is an improvement over the silly Peter Jones ditty and sounds more chant-like and less likely to be lent to stupid liturgical instruments like the guitar or djembe.
lux_perpetua: Congratulations on giving a talk – obviously you have a fear of public speaking!
A powerful and memorable fact I recently heard: A fertilized cell in the womb (assuming it is a boy) contains detailed instructions for every single whisker in an old man’s beard!
I came within 3 feet of your Cardinal, Fr. Z, this weekend at our Eucharistic Congress ~ what a treat!! One of my favorite lines from his talk on Friday night (about Sunday being the center of Christian life) was, “if you want to see dancing or musical entertainment…you should go to a theater.”
also, attendance was good for the morning procession through uptown Charlotte, despite the rain: “Charlotte-Mecklenburg police report that this is the largest crowd they’ve ever seen at the congress, especially so early in the morning and in inclement weather.”
oh & the on-duty police car that was parked at the entrance to the convention center had a rosary hanging from the rear view :o)
We have the Catholic New Media Conference this weekend in Kansas City with some great speakers and presenters, including Sean Patrick Lovett from Vatican Radio, Sr. Anne Flanagan from Pauline Books & Media, Lisa Hendey, Pat Gohn, Matt Warner, Jeff Geerling, Greg Willits and more. Can’t wait to see so many online friends! http://cnmc.sqpn.com/
Good news is that New Zealand beat France in our Rugby World Cup match.
Sermon notes and good news:
priest on Sunday mentioned hell. Must recheck notes as this is not first time he has done this. Something must be up…..yes, he mentioned it about 2 months ago in another sermon. Said it does not have same zip code as heaven and recounted tale of exorcist stating demon saying “we created it for ourselves”.
Also mentioned that bad people can be saved right until the very last minute, so long as we are sincere and take appropriate action. Also mentioned that good people can fall at the last minute, it all depends on our final decision: are we for or against Christ? Made joke concerning people reading or thinking about Bible as they get older – trying to cram for final exam. This is a positive though, concerning our deepest core beliefs.
When rugby and spiritual perfection collide on the same weekend – perfection indeed!
We had a laywoman give the homily at the Mass I went to yesterday. I was so disappointed and so angry that I did not listen to a word she said. By the time Mass was over my rage had reached the point where I needed to go to Confession. I am very thankful that the priest was willing to hear my confession upon request after Mass.
We heard a very interesting sermon concerning to the two workers’ actions. While the one who changed his mind and still went later was more laudable than the one who quickly replied yes but never went, we were able to reflect with the sermon we heard that still another way, in which one goes out in reply to the call with great haste, is the best way, and this, we were told was something of a “no hitter” for Christ.
digdigby,
thanks. no, not a fear of public speaking–i quite enjoy that. rather, a fear of speaking about Jesus Christ and his power to save. Residual trust issues from back when I was still losing friends over the Man. Hence why it was such a good experience for me to actually practice what i preach and trust Him to stick by me in my hour of need.
Good news?
I acquired my own office today, so I don’t have to share a computer or do interviews with my supervisor hovering over me waiting for me to make a mistake. The new cathedral back home is on schedule, so when I go home for Christmas, we’ll be out of our small parish that gets really cramped when everyone shows up for Christmas Eve Mass. This means (assuming they can afford pews) I won’t have to give up kneeling due to lack of space in the over-flow.
Sermon?
It was on contrition, getting into the habit of saying an act of contrition daily, and before engaging in anything dangerous. It came with a reminder that we could at any moment when we least expect it. He also discussed Confession, and gave a refresher on how to confess sins, and then finished off with sacrilegious communion reception, and that one must never assume that the reason someone doesn’t go up to receive communion is because they’re in the state of mortal sin because they could have easily just not have fasted, or just wish not to receive.
Good news: recovery from gallbladder surgery continues apace. Still some pain when walking, standing or sitting in one place for long periods but getting better. Occasionally get pain or stiffness at night and can’t sleep, in which case I make use of the time praying the Rosary.
Regret I was not up to attending Mass yesterday, but did pore over the readings and Gospel, and reading other people’s accounts of their sermons/homilies on this site is a great supplement to that!
The pastor for Cincinnati’s St. Rose parish on the East side of town, long known for its liturgical fidelity, was recently given additional responsibility over the cathedral. As a consequence he has recruited priestly faculty members from Mount St. Mary of the West seminary to assist with Sunday Mass. The result is some of the finest preaching you’ll find in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. (Pace the Order of Preachers at St. Gertrude parish, home of the Dominican priory.) As one friend put it, “It’s like getting a catechism lesson every Sunday.” You can read about it here:
http://richleonardi.blogspot.com/2011/09/its-like-getting-catechism-lesson-every.html
We are healthy and happy, the 3 kids are getting good grades and behaving well, life is good.
Great news about our Sunday homily! Our pastor spoke to the real-life applications of the parable of the two sons, succinctly stating many “You may say you are Catholic but don’t do. . .” He led into it with the example of a parent telling their child to clean their room, and Oldest Daughter squirmed in the pew. Altogether a wonderful homily.
EF Dominican rite. The widow of Naim (15th after Pent, or 13th after the Oct of Trinity). Naim means “Beautiful” in its origin. Two crowds who meet: one following Jesus, the other the World. How the souls in heaven pray for us, but their bliss in heaven is not lessened by the evil on earth even though they pray for its redemption. Christ is moved by the widow’s loss – the lapsed, the sinful – and touches the bier – as it were the wood of the Cross through which comes all salvation. Death an allegory for sin, the young man raised to life. His public action has a marked effect.
Dom Gueranger explains the gospel in a slightly different way: the young man is dead through sin, and the widow is the Church who grieves for her lost son. In compassion, Our Lord (through the sacraments) returns him to his Mother and he comes back to life.
I think this is one of the most beautiful gospels in the missal. The day’s epistle (Gal 5): “Therefore while we have time, let us work good to all men but especially to those of the household of the faith.” is complementary.