Today's Mass Readings
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
No education needed for lying  

As you know, earlier this year the estranged husband of Terri Schiavo, Michael Schiavo, with the assistance of numerous people in various branches of state and federal government, was able to put Terri Schiavo to death by denying her food and water until she dehydrated to death. Of course, one would expect that as time went along, more and more details would surface to add to the already long list of serious problems that exist with this case.

Recently, it has been found that it appears that on his application form for guardianship, Michael Schiavo lied about his education. He indicated he had received an associates degree from Bucks County Community College, although the school has indicated that he did receive enough credits to earn the degree. In addition, his application indicated that he graduated from a one-year program at McDonald's Corporate School. According to the Empire Journal, this does not appear to be a program that exists as part of McDonald's management education program.

In addition, when his guardianship was being challenged, he lied in his 1993 testimony given in a deposition.
On his employment application filed with Pinellas County Sheriff's Department in July 2004, when he applied for the position of jail nurse when Everett Rice was still sheriff, Schiavo said under penalties of perjury that he had attended the college from August, 1992 to August, 1993 and obtained his EMT certificate in 1993.

According to the college's director of Institutional Advancement, Michael Schiavo was not awarded any college credit certificates and thus did not "graduate from EMT school" as he testified under oath. There is no "EMT School" at St. Petersburg. Source
Of course, it is perjury if he gave false information on the guardianship application and in the deposition. Being found guilty of perjury should have prevented him from remaining Terri Schiavo's guardian. Tragically, it did not. Neither has it prevented him from being awarded the Guardian of the Year award by the Florida State Guardianship Association.

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Today's Mass Readings
Friday, August 26, 2005
Meditating on Nothing (or Something for Nothing)  

At the beginning of St. Ignatius of Loyola's Spiritual Exercises, he encourages the reader to reflect on the purpose of God's having created us. As an article of faith, the Church teaches that God created everything ex nihilo, out of nothing. Consequently, we too, were created from nothing.

Through the late Fr. John Hardon's reflections on this teaching, I began to become aware of what this really means. He pointed out that apart from an all-loving God, we would have no existence. We would be where we were before creation--in nothingness. In other words everything that I am or can be is because in God's mind, He wanted to create me. He desired that I exist. Why?

Fr. Hardon went on to point out that we do not add anything to God. This is obvious because He was fully God before He created us. He cannot become "more God" through something He created. In fact, it is blasphemy to suggest that we can add to God in any way. However, there is a certain hubris within us that acts as if we do provide a benefit to God. Instead, Fr. Hardon points out that God lovingly created us in order that we might receive the benefit. He cannot, so it must be for us. His creation of us is for us.

Now back to nothing. It really is quite hard to conceive of nothing. It is even more difficult to grasp the idea that we were created from that nothing. God existed, as He had from all eternity. He conceptualizes creating. He decides to create. Then He creates using what? Nothing. Of course, only God can do that. We can only create from materials at hand.

This idea of creation ex nihilo is really quite something amazing. Through creation, God did not lose any part of Himself. Neither did He gain anything for Himself. He will not gain anything from His creation now or in the future. Instead, He pours out His love on His creation. As such, His creation is a pure act of love because it is completely for the benefit of the creatures.

As a result of His creation, God has given a great something from a complete nothing. In fact from nothing, there is something, which has the opportunity to gain everything. That is one over which the mathematicians can puzzle. I, on the other hand, can only wonder in awe at my very existence and this God who is able to create as He did, for the reason He did.

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Today's Mass Readings
Tuesday, August 23, 2005
Development in Prayer  

The most recent entry over on Disputations discussed refocusing our perception of God to view Him as our Father rather than an omnipotent provider of goods and services. I wrote a comment in response which here I have expanded into an entry. The topic led me to think about what it means to be a child of God in terms of our prayer life. In particular, I started to think about what it means that God is our Father and we are called to come to Him like little children.

Now, little children, come to their father with complete and total trust. He is the mighty man who can do all things. If you have a problem, daddy can fix it. Truly, we are called to view God as such a Father because indeed He is all powerful, and He can fix anything.

However, we are also called to mature in our relationship with God. Although we are called to come to Him as little children, perhaps we are not to remains simply such, but instead, we are to mature in to older children. Older children still turn to their father as the one who can take care of a mess or repair the broken toy. However, a wise father encourages his children to be part of the effort to fix a problem. Perhaps, the father will ask his son or daughter to hand him a tool which he needs when he is fixing the broken swing. Through this participation the children are learning valuable lessons such as how to fix things, how to help, and how to think about solving a problem.

As the children grow older, they become young people who are able to fix things on their own. The son or daughter can now fix the flat tire on the bicycle because dad showed them how to do it. However, they also can rest assured that if they run into a problem fixing the tire, they can ask dad for his help.

In our petitionary prayer life, it seems that God desires for us to mature in much the same way. We are, of course, always completely dependent upon Him for all things. Yet He desires for us to have a greater participation in our prayers and in the answers to our prayers. For instance, we might pray to be able to handle a certain situation. Our prayer is for His grace. We still must be in the situation. We cannot simply hand it all over to Him. However, our greater participation in the answer might be spending time preparing for the situation. Our prayer, rather than simply expecting God to take care of it, might help us to see solutions which we can implement. His grace acts in our hearts, even as it acts in the hearts of others.

In the case of a prayer for some physical healing, we entrust the healing to God's care. Again, the answer to our prayer might include our efforts to relieve the person's pain by reaching out to the person through a phone call or a note. The idea is that as we grow in our relationship with God, we grow in our ability to participate in His answers to our prayers.

Perhaps what I have written is extremely obvious. I simply was struck by the idea that although we are to be like little children in our complete trust in God the Father, we are also called to grow in our prayer life in such a way that seems to mirror our own development from childhood to adulthood. My own experience has illustrated this phenomena of God's desire for my greater participation in His fixing problems. It reminds me of the exhortation which I believe is attributed to St. Ignatius of Loyola, "Pray as if everything depended on God, and work as if everything depended on you." When we fail to have this type of attitude, we might experience the frustration of God's answers to our prayers. The problem is not God's, it is ours. Indeed the problem might be that we often remain in the very early childhood phase in which we expect God to do it all when He wants us to do more.

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Today's Mass Readings
Monday, August 22, 2005
Appealing to the Youth  

Before World Youth Day, many were wondering whether Benedict XVI could have the same appeal to today's youth as did John Paul the Great. Journalists who were trying to find a story, would interview young people to get their take on the new pope compared to his predecessor. A number of the responses focused on Benedict XVI based on his work as head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Consequently, he was described as being too conservative. Or, it was noted that he had too much of a reputation of being a vicious guard dog. As a result, some of the consensus was that this 78-year-old pope would not have the ability to appeal to young people.

Exactly. I think Benedict XVI would be the first to admit that he certainly does not have the ability to appeal to young people. I think John Paul the Great would admit the same deficiency. In fact, he said almost as much when he was asked what was the reason that he, an older man, had such a rapport with young people. Pope John Paul II did not reply in the way that might make sense to some folks who are only looking for the angle on what is happening. Instead, he simply answered that it really was all due to the Holy Spirit.

That is why Benedict XVI has also been able to reach the youth, which was demonstrated by this World Youth Day 2005. The Holy Spirit has worked through him, even as He worked through John Paul the Great. He simply works through the very gifts that He has given these two pontiffs. They are different sets of gifts because each man is different. But it is the same Holy Spirit who is able to make the connection between the Successor of Peter and the young people. Both men have made themselves available to God, and God has used that obedience to share Himself with young and old alike.

This work of the Holy Spirit really is a beautiful thing to witness. It is also a tremendous thing to reflect upon because we too, are called to share Christ. The Lord knows that I cannot do it; and I would be foolish if I did not admit that I cannot do it. However, all He asks is that I make myself and the talents which He gave me available for Him to work through. The rest is up to the Holy Spirit.

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Today's Mass Readings
Friday, August 19, 2005
John Paul the Great and the birthplace of the World Youth Day  

In an interesting article from Zenit, Catherine Smibert reports on the birthplace of the World Youth Day. Of course, we know that John Paul the Great had a hand in starting these festivals of faith for the youth, and in her article, Ms. Smibert gives us some insights into why he was so keen on reaching the youth and how he sought to accomplish that goal.
As his pontificate started, he was concerned about the dwindling numbers of young people active in the Church.

That's when he went on a search to give youth a place -- it could become the Vatican Youth Center -- and he managed to find one practically in front of St. Peter's Square.

It was the old Church of St. Lawrence "in Piscibus" (at the Fish Market) that had been forgotten due to the modern palazzi blocks which had been built around it...

Yet, the Pope saw potential in this lovely building that had almost been left to ruin, just as he saw potential in the youth of the day. He reconsecrated it in a special youth Mass in March 1983.

During this Mass -- photos of which still hang on the walls of the church -- John Paul II expressed his desire that the church, its basement and courtyard become "a hothouse of faith-filled evangelization … a breeding ground for mission."

During this time there was a rise in the newer communities, many of them based on the Charismatic Renewal. They were attracted to the Pope's enthusiasm and decided to respond to his invitation by pooling their resources.

Ever since then, the Centro, as its affectionately known, has offered the youth of the world a place to come and ask questions when visiting the Eternal City. They then have an opportunity to partake in daily sacraments -- reconciliation, Mass, etc. -- in a variety of languages, and a holy hour at 5 p.m. every weekday.

Over the years many youth have also taken the chance to kneel at the foot of the original cross, given to young people by the Pope in 1984, which stays here when not traveling around the world.
Read the entire article.

This is a beautiful recounting of the way in which the Holy Father expressed his love for people. He wanted the youth to be who Christ had called them to be. He saw it within them because God had put it there, and he answered the call to help the youth let God change them by providing a means for the transformation to take place. Just another reason that he is indeed John Paul the Great.

Photo by mcsixth

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Today's Mass Readings
Thursday, August 18, 2005
Woman stops her suicide by starvation  

In the sad, but true category, a woman has attempted to starve herself to death. For nineteen days, the 28-year-old English woman, Kelly Taylor, denied herself food in order to put herself to death. However, her hunger strike ended when she decided to eat some apple-puree baby food. She stopped starving herself to death because it was, as you would expect, very painful.
"It has become too uncomfortable and I would not wish what I have been going through on my worst enemy. I feel disappointed in myself. I really wanted to die and that seemed to be my only option. I regret that I have to stop what I am doing because I still want to die. But starvation, as it turns out, is very undignified."
Ms. Taylor suffers from a congenital heart condition known as Eisenmenger Syndrome. It is not a terminal illness, but as a person with the disease ages, the symptoms can worsen and affect the person's mobility.

For ten years, Ms. Taylor has waited for a heart and lung transplant. However, recently doctors removed her name from the list of possible recipients because, they deemed a transplant as too high of a risk for her. Her condition requires that she receive pure oxygen. She is also only able to walk a few steps before she collapses.

Given these circumstances, Ms. Taylor concluded that here restricted life was no longer worth living because she could not contribute anything meaningful to society. Because she did not want to cause her husband any legal problems, she chose to attempt to take her life by starving herself to death. Now that she has failed, she is channeling her efforts to have the law changed which makes assisted suicide illegal.

I am very sorry for this poor woman. She is obviously in a bad way, but she does not understand that her life has meaning simply because she is a human being. She does not need to "contribute" to society in the way that she thinks. In fact, her contribution might be a life lived with great dignity under her tremendously difficult circumstances. It is easy for me to say because I am not in her shoes. However, I know that the answer is not her taking her own life.

Of course, she has contributed to society by exposing the lie which euthanasia advocates promote that being denied food and water is not a painful way to die. Ms. Schiavo did not die a "good death". As this woman experienced, and common sense would tell you, dying due to the denial of basic nutrition is a horrible experience. For example, when people go on hunger strikes, it is to gain sympathy for their cause. If it were not a painful thing to stop eating, there would not be very much sympathy based on a concern for the person's welfare. Perhaps this woman's story will change some minds about this ridiculous notion. In the meantime, say a prayer for Ms. Taylor.

H/T: BlogsforTerri

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World Youth Day 2005 Information  


Amy Welborn at Open Book has compiled a nice list of media sites, blogs and other sites related to World Youth Day 2005. Of note are Tim Drake's Young and Catholic site where he has been providing insightful posts since early in the week. I will also highlight Fr. Roderick Vonhögen's Catholic Insider podcast which is a favorite of this blog. He has been producing interesting podcasts chronicling his group's pilgrimage from the Netherlands to Köln.

Of course, Köln is the home of the famous twin-spired Dom where relics of the Magi are kept for veneration by the faithful. (Click here for a virtual tour of the Dom.) The WYD theme was appropriately taken from the words of the Magi which are record in St. Matthew's Gospel: "We have come to worship Him" (2:2).

Even the WYD logo reflects this theme of journeying to worship Christ. The red cross represents Christ Whose presence dominates the WYD. The Church is seeking to foster each person's encounter with Christ through WYD. The yellow star represents God's divine guidance which will lead the young people to Christ even as the star led the Magi to the Christ child. The yellow comet tail which comes from above shows that the star is from God. He is the one Who provides the way to follow. Also, the comet tail is a symbol of the Nativity and the Epiphany. The blue C shape represents Christ, the communion of the Church, and God's protective embrace. The red spires of the Dom denote that the youth are being gathered in Köln, but also in the Church. The red color of the spires links the Church to Christ. The Church presents Christ; it is through His Church that He has chosen to call the youth, indeed all persons, to salvation. Finally, the blue arc which opens upward symbolizes the boat of the Church which provides salvation even as Noah's ark saved those who were sheltered within the ship. Also, the ship of the Church is guided by the bishop of Rome. As the captain of the ship, Benedict XVI is leading by serving. In his participation at WYD, he is making himself available for the youth of the world to teach in word and deed. This is concretely demonstrated by his scheduled visit to the synagogue, meeting with seminarians, and celebrating mass at the vigil and closing mass.

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Today's Mass Readings
Wednesday, August 17, 2005
Being Lead  


World Youth Day in Köln, Deutschland has begun. Benedict XVI is continuing the work of his predecessor who started these wonderful occasions of bringing together young people in order that they might be drawn closer to Christ. The theme is taken from the words of the magi, "We have come to worship Him."

In a radio interview with the German portion of Vatican Radio prior to the World Youth Day, Benedict XVI had this to say regarding the work of encouraging young people to consider the claims of the Gospel:
“Holy Father, especially in our Nordic and rich countries, not only are more people turning away from the Church and the Faith, but it is especially the young people. What can one do to counter this and above all: how can one perhaps answer the fundamental question – What sense does my life have? – so that the youth will say: The Church is ‘the thing’ it is ‘our thing’!”

(laughs) Yes – we all try to bring the Gospel to young people, because this is the answer we have been waiting for. It is evident that many heavy burdens exist in out modern western society, driving us away from Christianity. Faith and God appear to be far away. Life itself is full of possibilities and tasks. First, one wants to grasp life on one’s own, to live it as fully as possible. I think of the “Prodigal Son” who thought his father’s house was boring, who thought he needed to take life on by the full, to seize hold of it and to enjoy it - until he noticed that it is really empty, and that he was free and great when he lived in his father’s house. So I think that, in any case, among young people the sentiment is spreading that all these diversions we are being offered and the entire leisure industry, in spite of everything that one does and can do, buy and can sell: This cannot be everything, that there must be something more about it. In this regard I believe that there is also a big question which could also be the essential one. It cannot be all, what we have or what we can buy. That is the reason why the so-called “market of religions” exists, which offers religion as a product and, hence, degrades it. But it is a sign that this question exists. To really understand this question and not just talk around it - not to put aside Christianity as something out of date or sufficiently exhausted, but precisely to let it be recognized as a possibility, because it came from God himself and is hence always a fresh possibility, it always carries and brings about new dimensions. The Lord says: He will lead you into things which He cannot tell you now. Christianity is full of undiscovered dimensions and it shows itself fresh and anew if one poses his questions again fundamentally. In other words: It is the meeting point of the question which is there and the answer which we are living, and through the question we receive it anew. This should be the event of the encounter between the proclamation of the Gospel and young people. “At the moment, I’m living with the feeling that Europe is more and more giving up, and that its human values founded in Christianity are counting less and less. Source
I zeroed in on his words, "The Lord says: He will lead you into things which He cannot tell you now. Christianity is full of undiscovered dimensions and it shows itself fresh and anew if one poses his questions again fundamentally." This reminds me of words that I heard some time ago in my college chapel. The speaker, whose name I cannot remember, made the point that you will be called by God to live out a life that is completely different than the lives of the people sitting around you. This is an obvious point, but one worth thinking about with regard to understanding the meaning of life and living out one's daily existence.

God has a special calling for each person that is unique to that person. It is not fair for me to compare my life to another's because my calling is unique and it is given within a unique set of circumstances. To compare, or worse to rashly judge someone, without considering this idea is lazy and arrogant. Jesus is leading us into a life that is nothing like what we consider life to be like. It is not full of the material trappings of Western culture. It is really a life filled with crosses and the joy that comes from carrying those crosses for Christ. My crosses will not be the same as anyone else's. He has "hand picked" the crosses I need to bear in order that I might become the very person He has called me to be.

Young people recognize that life is filled with these crosses because they are living in the midst of many difficulties in their own lives. They do not want cheap answers to their questions. Instead they hunger for the Truth Who is Jesus Christ. The Church through the World Youth Day is providing an opportunity for the Holy Spirit to touch the lives of many young men and women. It is this Holy Spirit that provided the connection between John Paul the Great and young people. It is this same Person of the Trinity Who will connect our present Holy Father with the youth gathered in Köln.

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Today's Mass Readings
Tuesday, August 16, 2005
Does anyone feel their pain?  

The longer you simply think about the realities of abortion, the easier it becomes to separate truth from fiction. If you stop actually thinking about what is touted in the name of supporting abortion, you may believe things that simply cannot be so. For instance, the idea that during an abortion, the unborn child does not experience pain is an idea that really makes no sense unless you simply want to believe it is so despite even the most basic of common sense.

Even if one has no idea about the development of a baby in the womb, you know that at some point during the 40 weeks of gestation, the child must have developed the ability to be sensitive to pain. Why? Because the child is born with the ability to experience pain. Consequently, because an abortion can be performed up to the moment of birth, there is some time when an abortion can be performed on a baby who is able to experience pain. Add to this the actual details of a so-called partial-birth abortion which are grisly indeed, and you realize that any child who can sense pain who undergoes this evil procedure will know great amounts of pain.

Simple logic brings us to the point that it is a given that a late term abortion will cause a child to experience unbelievable pain. Scientific evidence which has investigated the unborn child's ability to experience pain, takes the matter to another level. As Fr. Pavone's recent column points out, there is much evidence that abortion is extremely painful for unborn children.
On April 6, 2004, the following testimony was given in U.S. District Court (District of Nebraska) by Dr. Kanwaljeet Anand before Judge Richard G. Kopf in the case of Leroy Carhart, M.D., et. al. v. Ashcroft

"Q. So, Doctor, do you have an opinion as to whether the partial-birth abortion procedure causes pain to the fetus?

A. If the fetus is beyond 20 weeks of gestation, I would assume that there will be pain caused to the fetus. And I believe it will be severe and excruciating pain caused to the fetus.

Q. What do you mean by severe and excruciating pain?

A. You see, the threshold for pain is very low. The fetus is very likely extremely sensitive to pain during the gestation of 20 to 30 weeks. And so the procedures associated with the partial-birth abortion that I just described would be likely to cause severe pain, right from the time the fetus is being manipulated and being handled to the time that the incision is made, and the brain or the contents, intracranial contents, are sucked out."

In 1994, an article in the prestigious British medical journal, the Lancet, revealed hormonal stress reactions in the fetus. The article concluded with the recommendation that painkillers be used when surgery is done on the fetus. The authors wrote, "This applies not just to diagnostic and therapeutic procedures on the fetus, but possibly also to termination of pregnancy, especially by surgical techniques involving dismemberment." In 1991, scientific advisors to the Federal Medical Council in Germany had made a similar recommendation.

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If you have Faith  

Faith, which is essential to living the Christian life, is never a destination. Because if you have faith, God will want to grow what you have in to greater faith. It will never be good enough for the moment. He wants it to deepen at the next opportunity which He gives you.

Consider the faith of the Caananite woman of last Sunday's Gospel reading (Matthew 15:21-28).
Then Jesus went from that place and withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman of that district came and called out, "Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is tormented by a demon." But he did not say a word in answer to her. His disciples came and asked him, "Send her away, for she keeps calling out after us." He said in reply, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." But the woman came and did him homage, saying, "Lord, help me." He said in reply, "It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs." She said, "Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters." Then Jesus said to her in reply, "O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish." And her daughter was healed from that hour.
This woman has tremendous faith. She has been following Christ to get His help. She approaches him acknowledging that Jesus is the Lord, the Son of David which is far more than many of His followers even began to grasp. When she makes her request to our Lord, His initial response is silence. How many of us when we make a request of Jesus and hear no response simply give up? Not so, this woman. She stays right there in front of Jesus.

The disciples, recognize the woman's tenacity, but are too weak in their faith to assist her. Think about what she has said. She is asking Jesus to cast a demon out of her daughter. They know that Jesus has cast out many demons. It is no problem for Him to do so. But the disciples are not moved by the woman's plea or her faith. Instead, of asking Jesus to do for the woman as she requested, they implore our Lord to cast the woman from their presence because she is really beginning to grate on them.

Jesus replies to the disciples' request by stating that He was only sent to the lost sheep of Israel. Of course, Jesus has come to save all, but because salvation is from the Jews, He has come to the lost sheep of Israel, and He also says this to strengthen the woman's faith. How difficult is this for us! Finally, Jesus responds to our request, but it is not simply the granting of our desires. Instead, it is an opportunity to grow. It is a challenge to love Him more, to trust Him more, and to grow in our faith.

In reply to our Lord's words, the woman gives proper homage to Him. Again, she sees who He is when others who have spent so much more time with Him have no idea who He is. She simply requests, "Lord, help me." Jesus, once again, does not grant her desire, but gives a response that challenges her to grow in her faith, "It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs." The Jews referred with contempt to the Gentiles as dogs. Jesus uses this term only to make clear that the food designated for the children of Israel should not be given to the Gentiles. Consequently, she being a Gentile cannot claim that which God has ordained for the lost sheep of Israel.

In probably the most humble and wisest response to our Lord recorded in any of the Gospels, the woman replies, "Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters." The woman takes the word "dogs" that our Lord used, and owns it. She acknowledges that she is a Gentile, merely a dog running around underneath the table of the children. However, even as a dog she asks that she might be allowed to eat the scraps of food which have been discarded by the children of Israel.

Jesus recognizes this woman's amazing faith, and then He grants her request. St. Matthew simply records that her daughter was immediately healed.

This woman's experience is our experience in prayer. Jesus never seems to simply grant a request like this. He always wants to take our faith to a higher level. It is painful to go through this because you simply want Him to say, "Yes" to your prayer. From His perspective, He wants us to simply say, "Yes" to Him and His will. By doing so, we allow Him to grow our faith. If we just complain that He is not answering our prayer, we cannot grow in faith. In fact, we will lose ground because our faith will weaken. But by saying, "Yes" to His way of answering our prayer, we will be at peace because our hearts will not be troubled with the answer to our prayers. Our hearts will be filled with faith and peace from the One whom we know loves us.

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Today's Mass Readings
Wednesday, August 10, 2005
Awarding the Guilty  

In an absolutely amazing bit of irony, Michael Schiavo has been given the award of Guardian of the Year by the Florida State Guardianship Association. He is being celebrated for sticking by his ward despite the pressure to do otherwise. The problem is that his sticking by Ms. Terri Schiavo resulted in her slowly and painfully dying due to dehydration at his insistence. However, in order that no grossly inhumane and cruel action go unrewarded, not to mention celebrated, Michael Schiavo was presented with this award for his "embod[ying] professionalism and compassion".
In a rare public appearance, Schiavo, 42, modestly accepted the award at the association's 18th annual conference at the Doral Golf Resort & Spa west of Miami.

"As you know," he said, "I'm not much of a speechmaker. I don't talk much. But on behalf of my wife Theresa, I thank you."

Association members, most of whom are appointed by judges to represent people who have been declared incapacitated, acknowledged Schiavo was a controversial choice and they anticipate a backlash.

But, group members said, Michael Schiavo's unwavering commitment to honoring his wife's wishes in the face of public scrutiny and enmity embodied the professionalism and compassion with which court-appointed guardians quietly carry out their duties every day.

"We see a lot of situations where family steps away," said association president-elect Michelle Kenney, a care manager and professional guardian in Broward County.

"He stuck by. He didn't walk away."

News of the award brought the same swift reaction - surprise - from both sides of the right-to-die case that divided a family and a nation, but for wildly divergent reasons.

"Yikes! That took a lot of courage," said Bill Allen, director of the bioethics program at the University of Florida.

"It would have been easier for them to whisper, 'Atta boy!' privately and not take such a public stand."

"Oh, my God, that's offensive," said Brother Paul O'Donnell, a Franciscan friar who serves as the Schindler family spokesman.

"Michael Schiavo... basically let her rot."

As wellwishers lined up Friday night to congratulate Schiavo, he said the diamond-cut crystal award was the first public recognition of his actions, and he was deeply gratified by what it represented.

"These people are part of the silent majority," he said. "When Terri's wish was finally carried out, I had thousands and thousands of letters saying, 'We are with you. We believe in you. You did the right thing.' Thousands."

Source
Very disgusting, and yes, very scary, too.

H/T: BlogsforTerri

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Today's Mass Readings
Tuesday, August 09, 2005
One of the Problems about not having a Pope  

The Washington Post reports on a man who was forced to resign from his position as a library clerk at a Patrick Henry College in Purcellville, Virginia because he held a doctrinal position at odds with the college's viewpoint. Jeremy Hunley, as a member of the Church of Christ believes (interestingly enough as the Catholic Church teaches) that baptism is necessary for salvation. The college maintains a doctrinal position that baptism is not necessary for salvation. When the school found that Mr. Hunley was distributing flyers regarding his church which included its position on baptism, school officials asked him to resign or risk being fired.

Of course, this private college is free to determine a statement of faith to which it expects its employee to subscribe. However, the incident points to the problem that faces our Protestant brothers and sisters. Without a Pope, there is no one to decide what is the actual teaching of Christ on a particular issue. The doctrinal issue at hand is not some obscure theological point. The question is a very practical and important one: is baptism necessary for salvation? One obvious reason that this is an important issue is simply the fact that either baptism is or it is not necessary for salvation. There is not much middle ground which would allow for the inclusion of both positions. Consequently, the college should be given credit for recognizing that this is not some minor, inconsequential issue. The Christian organizations, including schools, which simply avoid these types of issues by allowing various viewpoints on such a significant point might simply be delaying the problems that seemingly eventually come when doctrinal points like this one become a point of contention.

That is the problem with these statements of faith which are based on a particular interpretation of Scripture. The lack of the solid authority of the Magisterium means that ultimately these statements of faith are subject to change. I know this first-hand because before I became a Catholic, I attended just such an evangelical, Protestant liberal arts college. Not too long ago, the school had to make a modification to the statement of a faith to which both students and faculty are supposed to adhere. The modification was not even based on theological discussion. In fact, the change was based on the fact that the state legislature of the state in which the school resides had passed a law which had an impact on the school's statement of responsibilities. In order to not open itself up to possible legal problems, the school changed its policy on the use of alcohol and tobacco. Only students would have to agree to not use these substances. Faculty and staff, based on the law, could not be asked to agree to not use these products.

Perhaps today this seems like a minor point. Even from a Catholic perspective this might be considered a change in a discipline which is a far cry from a doctrine. However, when the statement which prevented the use of tobacco and alcohol was originally added, I am sure that there were very strong theological reasons cited for the insertion of these prohibitions in the school's statement of responsibilities. How much more so in the case of Patrick Henry college where the issue is the means of salvation?

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Today's Mass Readings
Sunday, August 07, 2005
Burying Statues  

Over at Open Book, one of the discussions veered on to some of the practices of Catholics which are done in the name of devotion to the saints. One practice in particular was brought up that really got me thinking. That act is the burial of a statue of St. Joseph, upside-down in the backyard of your house in order to help your house to sell.

On its face, this practice seems to be pure and simple superstition. This is like any of the weird actions someone might take to get some other thing to happen. For example, it seem like rubbing a lucky rabbit's foot, performing daily activities in a certain order, or insisting on wearing a lucky tie to an interview. Or is burying the statue different?

In order to think about this, I put together a sort of thought experiment. Let's suppose there are two Catholics who live on the same street, and they both are trying to sell their houses. The first one gets a blessed statue of St. Joseph, buries it in the backyard upside-down, ask for St. Joseph's intercession, and then goes about the usual business of selling the house. The other guy talks to his friends, gets their recommendation for a really good real estate agent, contacts the agent and starts the process of selling his house.

The difference between the two is that the former opened himself up to God, whereas the latter simply went about selling the house, as if it was of little or no consequence to God how he sold his house. God is interested in every detail of our lives. He is not distant and cold and only concerned about certain moral areas of our life. The former person might have used a somewhat odd way to ask for God's help, but it is clear that although quirky, the practice exhibits a degree of trust in God.

The point behind even the worst form of superstition is that you recognize that you are not completely in control. There is someone or something that has control over events in your life and in the lives of others. In order to ask for assistance from this entity, you perform some certain action.

The problem with superstition is when it is assumed that if you perform some action or same some certain wording, a particular event is "guaranteed" to occur, or at least it is more likely to happen. In other words, you are trying to gain control over this entity by binding it with your actions. Somewhere it is written that if you do X, the powerful entity in the universe must do Y.

The fact is that I do not believe that most people who bury statues think this way. Sure they want results, but they are also sure that it is not completely up to them. They have asked for the prayers of St. Joseph in a rather simple way. By burying the statue they have added a physicality to their prayers. There is a reminder that they invoked the intercession of St. Joseph. Perhaps this memory will remind them when the house sells that it was God who was in charge, not them, and they will thank God for the sale of their house. In other words, they have put their house selling in the hands of God, by asking one of his saints to intercede to God on behalf of the house seller.

Considering the second house seller, I might conclude that he has perhaps shut himself off from God's working in and through his house selling. Perhaps God does not want him to work with the most successful real estate agent in town. Maybe God wants him to work with another real estate agent who needs help which the house seller can give.

By praying to God, whether a simple mental prayer or burying a statue, he would have opened himself up to the Lord leading him to sell the house as God wanted. It is not just about the goal of selling the home, it is about the process of selling a house, or any other activity in which we engage.

Similarly, the goal of the Christian life is not simply to get to heaven, the process of getting there by God's grace is the important matter. This is our sanctification and the offering we present to God--our lives including the nitty-gritty daily tasks, activities, and decisions. The goal cannot be separated from the process because without the process there will be no reaching the goal. The key is to submit the process to God in order that He can help us in that process and ultimately to reach the goal.


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Today's Mass Readings
Saturday, August 06, 2005
The Executioner's Consoling Words  

On August 5th, ten days after she stopped receiving nutrition and hydration by order of her legal guardian, Maria Korp has died. She is the Australian woman who was attacked by her husbands' lover and left to die in the trunk of her car last February. Her injuries left her severely impaired. Ten days ago, in the judgment of her legal guardian, Mr. Julian Gardner, it was time for her to die. Accordingly, similar to Ms. Terri Schiavo, the basics of care--food and water--were denied her in order that she would be forced to die due to dehydration.

Mr. Gardner had this to say,
This is a very sad time, and I think it's a time when the family and friends of Mrs Korp are grieving, understandably, and I'm simply trying here to do the best that I can to assist in that process so that they can be respected and have some privacy.

Source
It always an evil irony that the person who has committed the crime comes out to show how he is really just trying to be helpful. It is obvious that if Mr. Gardner had not ordered Ms. Korp's death, there would be no grieving taking place for which he is attempting to assist.

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The Shrinking Russian Orthodox Church  

David Holford presents an interesting post entitled "Dying Breed" in which he discusses how the Russian Orthodox are declining in numbers vis-à-vis the Muslim population simply because the Muslim population is living longer and giving birth to more children.

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Today's Mass Readings
Friday, August 05, 2005
Dedication of the Church of Our Lady of the Snow  

Today marks the optional memorial of the dedication of the Church of Our Lady of the Snow. The Roman church, which is better known as the basilica of St. Mary Major, traces its history back to the year 358 when on August 4-5 a miraculous snowfall occurred on the spot where the church now stands. The tradition is that our Lady appeared to the current pope who was Pope Liberius and the patrician John and his wife prior to the night of August 4-5. In the dreams in which she appeared to the three, she indicated that a church should be built in her honor where the snow would fall. After the miraculous snowfall, John informed the pope of his dream, and Pope Liberius recounted his similar dream. After proceeding in a solemn procession to the Esquiline in Rome where the snow fell, the pope traced in the snow an outline for the future church. A little less than a century later, Pope Sixtus II dedicated the church in 432, which was one year after the conclusion of the Council of Ephesus in which our Lady had been proclaimed Theotokos or the Mother of God.

The Mother of God is the most honorable title which has been attributed to our Lady. How is it that Catholics and Orthodox can speak of Mary as the Mother of God? Did she precede God in time? Did she exist before God did?

Of course, God has no beginning or end. He simply is. He has always been, and He will always be. The Blessed Virgin Mary, although the most exalted of all creatures, is still a creature. She was created by God. She owes her existence to God.

In God's providence, He gave her a most blessed role. She was given the unique privilege of bearing the Word made flesh in her womb for nine months. At the end of her pregnancy, she gave birth to Jesus who is both fully God and fully man. He is not half god and half man. Neither is He two persons one divine and one human. Instead He is God who took upon Himself flesh. He is one Person.

Every mother, when she gives birth to a child, gives birth to a person. When our Lady gave birth to Jesus, she too, gave birth to a person. However, because Jesus is God, the Blessed Virgin Mary gave birth to a Divine Person.

Before the Council of Ephesus, Nestorious was spreading the heresy that Jesus was two persons. St. Cyril of Alexandria opposed this teaching by proclaiming the Jesus was one Divine Person. At the Council in 431, Nestorius' teaching was condemned, and St. Cyril's teaching was upheld as the true doctrine of the Church. Consequently, at the Council of Ephesus to emphasize that Jesus is one Divine Person who is both fully God and fully man, the bishops declared that Theotokos, which is often rendered as the Mother of God, was an appropriate title for Mary. Since that time, by honoring our Lady as the Mother of God, Christians have upheld the teaching of the Church that Jesus Christ is one Divine Person.


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Today's Mass Readings
Thursday, August 04, 2005
Never Give Up  

The recently redesigned BlogsforTerri reports on a young man who emerged from a diagnosed "persistent vegetative state". The quality of his life is such that
Renzo Viscardi, 21, plays a guitar, writes poetry, attends classes at a community college, and works part-time.

And it looks like he will soon be achieving his goal of living independently in a home -- which he will own.

Not bad for a fellow who seven years ago was diagnosed by doctors as being in a "persistent vegetative state", with no brain activity.

Source
This young man's life is a tremendous testimony to the sanctity of life. The story also points to the fact that one should be very careful about simply accepting an unfavorable diagnosis. I can only imagine the struggles that his parents must have had to get him assistance. Thank God they persevered for him, and also for us.

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Today's Mass Readings
Wednesday, August 03, 2005
All the Saints  


According to the former Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, the ecclesiology of Vatican II includes the idea of the Church becoming "holiness":
To understand the ecclesiology of Vatican II one cannot ignore chapters 4 to 7 of the Constitution Lumen Gentium. These chapters discuss the laity, the universal call to holiness, the religious and the eschatological orientation of the Church. In these chapters the inner goal of the Church, the most essential part of its being, comes once again to the fore: holiness, conformity to God. There must exist in the world space for God, where he can dwell freely so that the world becomes His "Kingdom". Holiness is something greater than a moral quality. It is the presence of God with men, of men with God; it is God's "tent" pitched amongst men in our midst (cf. Jn 1,14). It is a new birth—not from flesh and blood but from God (Jn 1,13). Orientation towards holiness is one and the same as eschatological orientation. Beginning with Jesus' message it is fundamental for the Church. The Church exists to become God's dwelling place in the world, to become "holiness". This is the only reason there should be any struggle in the Church—and not for precedence or for the first place. All of this is repeated and synthesized in the last chapter of the Constitution on the Church that is dedicated to the Mother of the Lord.
As members of the Church we are to respond to the universal call to holiness. Those who respond and correspond to the grace given by our Lord are called saints. Some saints we know because they have been canonized by the Church. There are, of course, to be certain other saints who will only be known in heaven. One Web site is attempting to make such lesser known holy men and women of modern times more widely known. The Hagiographic Circle
is a body of young scholars bound by a common interest in "re-telling" the lives of contemporary models of holiness who, within the past seven years, have dedicated some of their time to reading, translating, and reflecting on biographies sent to us by promoters of beatification and canonization causes.

This website is the result of years of research and collaboration between the members of the Hagiography Circle with the Congregation of the Causes of Saints and the promoters of beatification and canonization processes. In establishing this website, we would like to share with our visitors the fruits of our labor and contemplation.
This is an interesting Web site. Although much of the site is under construction, it holds quite a bit of promise. The few lengthy biographies which are available are quite interesting One area that is complete and which might be interesting to many is the information on the process which must occur before a person is declared a saint.

Ever since I began to understand who the saints are, I have been fascinated by them. I am always amazed by the lives of the saints. Not because they were so good, but because God worked through them and all of their problems, defects, and sometimes very serious faults. It really does give me hope. I see that God was really tough with these men and women. He wanted them to be holy, and that means that they had to work really hard, pray really hard, and trust in God like you cannot believe. At first, that seems absolutely unattainable. And naturally speaking, it is out of reach. But then when I consider the number of saints and the variety of saints, I begin to realize, that yes, He really wants me to be one of them. He is extending that universal call of holiness to me, and I must seriously consider what I have been about and what I will be about if I am to respond to this call.

H/T: Moniales OP

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Torres Update  

An update posted by the Torres family:
The Torres and Rollin families are proud to announce that Mrs. Susan Torres gave birth at 8:18 am on Tuesday, August 2, 2005 to Susan Anne Catherine Torres. The baby weighs 1 pound 13 ounces and measures 13 ½ inches long.

There were no complications during delivery. The baby is doing well and is being monitored in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of Virginia Hospital Center.

The Torres family will hold a press conference tomorrow, August 3, 2005, at 1:00 p.m. eastern time at Virginia Hospital Center. Further details will be available at that time.

Thank you all for your care and support which has helped both families reach this wonderful day.
We continue to pray for this family and especially for the health of this precious little girl.

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Today's Mass Readings
Monday, August 01, 2005
Papal Prayer Intentions for August  

General - That World Youth Day may inspire or reawaken in young people the desire to meet Christ and find in Him the guide of their own lives.

Missionary - That the priests, religious men and women, seminarians and laity from mission countries who are completing their formation in Rome, may find their stay in the 'Eternal City' a time of spiritual enrichment.

Speaking from first hand experience, the World Youth Day is a tremendous event. My wife and I had the opportunity to attend the last one in Toronto back in 2002. (Perhaps I would not pass for a youth per se, but it was an opportunity to see John Paul the Great which we did not want to miss.) In the first place, we really enjoyed Toronto. I had no idea that it was such a cosmopolitan city. Also, we found a great B&B for our lodging. It was near a number of the events, and we enjoyed the company of the other guests who were from far and wide. The conversation at breakfast was always lively, and I remember that the food was also very good.

Of course the events of World Youth Day were wonderful. The Stations of the Cross was an extremely powerful presentation. Very well done to move the heart. The final mass was also a moving experience. I remember that prior to the mass beginning it was absolutely pouring buckets for quite some time on the old air field where everyone was waiting for the Holy Father's arrival. As his helicopter approached the area, the sky began to clear. By the time mass was to start, the skies were clear. Quite an entrance, and undoubtedly an answer to prayer.


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