Tuesday, February 09, 2010
Monday, April 27, 2009
Mary Ann Glendon Declined Notre Dame Award!
April 27, 2009
The Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C.
President
University of Notre Dame
Dear Father Jenkins,
When you informed me in December 2008 that I had been selected to receive Notre Dame’s Laetare Medal, I was profoundly moved. I treasure the memory of receiving an honorary degree from Notre Dame in 1996, and I have always felt honored that the commencement speech I gave that year was included in the anthology of Notre Dame’s most memorable commencement speeches. So I immediately began working on an acceptance speech that I hoped would be worthy of the occasion, of the honor of the medal, and of your students and faculty.
Last month, when you called to tell me that the commencement speech was to be given by President Obama, I mentioned to you that I would have to rewrite my speech. Over the ensuing weeks, the task that once seemed so delightful has been complicated by a number of factors. Read more...
Visit Professor Glendon's webpage and I offer her contact information below for those who want to send her a thank you note! It might be nice to include a spiritual bouquet.
Mary Ann Glendon
Learned Hand Professor of Law
Harvard Law School
Cambridge, MA 02138
Secretary: Susan Norton (617)496-2609
Fax: (617)496-4913
Email: glendon@glendonbooks.com
A special "Thank you!" to:
http://lesfemmes-thetruth.blogspot.com
Friday, April 10, 2009
I Am A Sinner And Unworthy
Saint Francis of Assisi
St. Bonaventure, Major Life
Environmentalists: Lost In Slavery To A False god
Catherine of Siena
If through delight in the beauty of these things
men assumed them to be gods,
let them know how much better than these is the Lord,
for the author of beauty created them...
For from the greatness and beauty of created things
comes a corresponding perception of their Creator...
and they trust in what they see,
because the things that are seen are beautiful.
Yet again, not even they are to be excused;
for if they had the power to know so much
they could investigate the world,
how did they fail to find sooner the Lord of these things?
Wisdom 13:3, 5, 7b-9
What Wonderful Majesty!
What stupendous condescension!
O sublime humility!
That the Lord of the whole universe,
God and the Son of God,
should humble Himself like this
under the form of a little bread,
for our salvation"
"...In this world I cannot see
the Most High Son of God
with my own eyes, except
for His Most Holy Body and Blood."
St Francis of Assisi
Thursday, April 09, 2009
Congressman Mike Pence Calls On President To Withdraw Appointment For Faith-Based Advisory Council
WASHINGTON, DC-U.S. Congressman Mike Pence, released the following
statement today in response to President Obama's appointment of Harry
Knox to the Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood
Partnerships:
"For years the Office of Faith-Based Initiatives has made available
taxpayer resources to private faith-based organizations who offer
critical support to their local communities.
"Unfortunately, the President's recent appointment to his advisory
council makes a mockery out of the religious beliefs of countless
Americans. This selection furthers the divisive politics the American
people have rejected and the President promised to abandon. Appointing
a man who has publicly attacked the Pope and other religious leaders for
their support of traditional marriage is deeply offensive to millions of
Americans and the faith-based community he is appointed to serve.
"I call on the President to withdraw this appointment and select a
person who can serve the faith-based community with the respect and
dignity it deserves."
Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley Comments on New Franciscan Constitution
"Capitular fathers were grateful to the fine work of the Italian Friar Guiseppe Santorelli from the Province of Ancora who helped incorporate more of the original Capuchin constitutions into the new Constitutions. All in all the Chapters that worked on the Constitutions did a remarkable job. I was present for some of those Chapters as a lowly translator and witnessed firsthand the hard work of the Capitulars.
"The new Constitutions despite its many strengths does have some flaws in my opinion. It is my hope that the call to re-look at the Constitutions might address some of these concerns:
• The new Constitutions dropped too much of our life of penance and the contemplative side of our life.
• The new Constitutions fail to give a clear formula for living a life of poverty “with explanations.”
• The new Constitutions favor generalities to honor an ill-conceived notion of pluriformity that has robbed the Constitutions of its fire.
• The new Constitutions needed to say more about the friars’ love for the Church and the fidelity to her moral and dogmatic teaching. Francis was so devoted to the Church, despite all the defects and shortcomings of the clergy and leadership.
•Our Constitutions should not be a bland description of how we are living our vocation in the 3rd millennium, but rather a description of how we should be living our life in a concrete program of radical poverty, radical prayer, radical love. Constitutions should not be easily tempered with. Performance and stability are important to inspire people with a sense of awe and seriousness. In today’s world young people see how everything is expendable, “throw-away.” Technology has created a world where everything is experimental or obsolete.
"The Constitutions are our identity as Capuchins and need to be firmly grounded in our history. We do not need a document that is modern and trendy that will soon seem dated and passe.
"Conclusion:
"Capuchin Identity is safeguarded by the Constitutions only in as much as it inspires us to live the Rule and Testament in a radical way. Generalities will never do. The Gospel Life of the Capuchin Brotherhood is about radical love. It is a life that begins with contemplative prayer. This allows one to imitate the self-emptying of Christ’s kenosis and leads to a radical witness that invites people to renounce the extreme individualism and materialism of our age in order to follow Christ poor and crucified.
"Some people are advocating removing some of the concrete directives on prayer that are in the Constitutions and place them in the Ordinances. This would be a fatal mistake. The ordinances are unknown and irrelevant to most of the friars. The Rule and Constitutions will always be the documents that form us and teach us our identity. The Constitutions cannot be a weak exhortation to live a vague ideal of the most common denominator. Rather, the Constitutions should be a challenging document that incorporates concrete directives about the life of prayer, poverty, and austerity. We need more boldness in our Constitutions if we are going to inspire young men to join our ranks.
"If we embrace or institutionalize a comfortable, bourgeois life style, the Order will die out, no matter how much lip service we give to a liberal social agenda. Our way of life lived in all its radical renunciation is capable of producing men whose witness of prayer, poverty and love will help transform society by calling people back to God, calling them to come home to the Church, by helping people to have a sense of personal vocation and to be part of a communal mission.
"It is my conviction that the contemplative aspects of our life should be addressed first of all. The Capuchin charism begins with the eremitical emphasis of the first friars as reflected in the document of Albacena, the subsequent Constitutions elaborate more on ministry and mission. The point of departure however is the contemplative basis of our vocation. When the life of prayer is carefully delineated, then the other aspects of our life take shape. The centrality of the Eucharist and mental prayer needs to be very clear. Daily celebration of a communal Eucharist, two periods of meditation, and the communal praying of the entire liturgy of the hours needs to be enshrined in the Constitutions as a bare minimum. To leave that up to local communities to legislate is too risky. By leaving things out of the Constitutions we are sending a signal that they are not really important and we encourage a take it or leave it attitude.
"The subjective mood, weak exhortations and mild recommendations do not communicate the sense of urgency that Francis wants to communicate in the Rule. It is a matter of life and death. St. Paul says no one will follow an uncertain trumpet blast. Our legislation should not be an exercise in subtleties. The directives about prayer and poverty need to be concrete, airtight and unyielding."
Cardinal Sean
http://www.cardinalseansblog.org/
Consider How Inadequate And Meager Is Our Virtue
Lifting his eyes and hands to heaven, Francis prayed with the greatest devotion and fervor, saying, "My God and my all! My God and my all!" And he continued saying nothing but "My God and my all!" and weeping profusely until matins.
St. Francis said this prayer while contemplating in awe the excellence of the Divine Majesty which had bent down to this perishing world and was about to provide a saving remedy for Francis and others through the little poor man, Francis himself. For, enlightened by the Holy Spirit through a prophetic spirit, Francis saw the great things God was going to accomplish through him and his Order. But when he considered how inadequate he was and how meager was his virtue, he cried out in prayer to God that in his mercy, without which human frailty can do nothing, he would supply, help, and fill up what was lacking in Francis.
St. Francis of Assisi
Little Flowers of St. Francis
CHAPTER 2
Lesser Brothers Are To Become Models Of Humility
Saint Francis of Assisi
St. Bonaventure,Major Life
CHAPTER 6
Wednesday, April 08, 2009
Franciscans ready to celebrate 800th anniversary of order's founding
By Carol Glatz
Catholic News Service
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Some 1,800 Franciscan friars from all over the world were expected to converge on the Umbrian hill town of Assisi, Italy, to celebrate the 800th anniversary of papal approval of the Franciscan rule.
For the first time, representatives from the four main Franciscan branches were to meet in Assisi -- the birthplace of their founder, St. Francis -- to take part in an International Chapter of Mats April 15-18.
A Chapter of Mats gets its name from the time in 1221 St. Francis called more than 3,000 friars to the Portiuncula chapel in Assisi for a general meeting or chapter.
Because the small town could not accommodate the large number of visitors, the friars lived in huts made out of reeds and slept on mats, said Father Jose Rodriguez Carballo, minister general of the Order of Friars Minor.
The three other Franciscan groups participating are the Capuchins, the Conventual Franciscans and the Third Order Regular Franciscans.
The chapter falls on the 800th anniversary of the formal founding of the Franciscan order when St. Francis presented his rule to Pope Innocent III for approval in 1209.
During a press conference April 7 at Vatican Radio, Father Rodriguez underlined the spiritual nature of the gathering and said organizers hope it will be an occasion for "coming together as a family, offering the church and the world our witness of brotherhood and celebrating our beginnings."
With days dedicated to testimonials, penance, fasting, prayer and pilgrimage, the gathering will also be a call to conversion and to live the Gospel as St. Francis asked his disciples to, the minister general said.
Men and women religious will have an occasion to profess their continued fidelity to the pope when they meet with Pope Benedict XVI April 18 during a special audience at Castel Gandolfo, he said.
St. Francis, who was born to a wealthy family in Assisi sometime around 1181, dedicated himself to the poor and preached living a way of peace. He founded three religious orders -- the Friars Minor, the Poor Clares, and the Brothers and Sisters of Penance -- giving each one a special rule.
The orders evolved over time and today include:
-- The first order, which is made up of three separate bodies -- the Friars Minor, the Conventual Franciscans and the Capuchins.
-- The second order, the Poor Clares, which includes all monasteries of cloistered nuns professing the Rule of St. Clare as well as the Sisters of the Annunciation and the Conceptionists.
-- The third order, which is made up of the Third Order Regular Franciscans, a secular order and new foundations.
Father Rodriguez said while the Franciscan branches are juridically separate from one another they are united spiritually and collaborate on a number of projects around the world.
Instead of considering the orders as divided, he said they represent the diversity and plurality in the world.
"The Franciscan order flows from a very rich charism" that can find expression in many people and places, he said.
There are also countless groups, including Anglicans, Lutherans and Presbyterians, who find inspiration in St. Francis and live according to his rule, he said.
Even some Buddhists and Muslims have a special devotion to the Franciscan St. Anthony of Padua, Capuchin Father Mariano Steffan said at the April 7 press conference.
The Franciscan charism "is very open; it doesn't make distinctions, create barriers or segregate," he said.
However, this causes some difficulty in discernment "because when there is such a diversity of expression it's hard to tell when you have the right balance and when you've gone too far," he said.
Our Governing Must Be Spiritual
Saint Francis of Assisi
Legend of the Three Companions - 23
On Judging Others
When Francis, the Father of the Poor, heard this, he was deeply saddened. He severely rebuked the brother who had dared utter such words and ordered him to strip before the beggar and beg his pardon, kissing his feet.
Saint Francis of Assisi
Celano, First Life
CHAPTER XXVIII
Tuesday, April 07, 2009
Seven More U.S. Bishops Make 24 Against Notre Dame Scandal
By Kathleen Gilbert
NOTRE DAME, Indiana, April 7, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Seven more bishops have publicly spoken out against the University of Notre Dame's invitation to President Barack Obama to give the commencement address and receive an honorary law degree on May 17. In total 24 U.S. bishops have condemned the scandal (see list at bottom).
LifeSiteNews.com (LSN) today obtained Bishop William Higi's statement in Sunday's print edition of The Catholic Moment, the weekly newspaper of the Diocese of Lafayette, IN.
"Many people, including myself, who consider the University of Notre Dame the prestigious Catholic university in the United States, are most upset that the university has extended an invitation to President Obama to give its commencement address and receive an honorary degree," wrote Bishop Higi.
"Others have explained why so many object to this action. It need not be repeated here. In simple fact, the Catholic community and Catholic institutions should not honor those who stand in defiance of our fundamental moral principles. They should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions. The sanctity of life from conception to natural death heads that list of fundamental principles."
The bishop encouraged readers to file their protest at http://www.notredamescandal.com, where a petition launched by the Cardinal Newman Society has reached over 248,000 signatures.
Read entire article:
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/apr/09040704.htmlThe Wedding Ring
Saint Francis of Assisi
Celano, Second Life
CHAPTER LXXXIII
Holy Bread
Saint Francis of Assisi
Legend of Perugia - 61
Monday, April 06, 2009
Become Hidden In The Wounds Of The Savior
With joy-filled devotion Francis dwelt in the heavenly mansions and in complete self-emptying he remained for long periods hidden, as it were, in the wounds of the Savior. He therefore sought out solitary places where he could cast his soul entirely upon God.
Saint Francis of Assisi
Celano, First Life
CHAPTER XXVII
Singing The Praises Of The Lord
When the sweetest melody of spirit would flame up in his heart, St. Francis would release it by singing in French, and the trickle of divine inspiration which his inner ear had caught would begin to overflow like a minstrel's song.
At times, as I have seen with my own eyes, he would pick up a stick from the ground and, holding it in his left arm, would draw across it another stick bent by means of a string, as if he were playing a violin. Then pretending to play, he would sing in French the praises of the Lord.
Saint Francis of Assisi
Celano, Second Life
CHAPTER XC
Sunday, April 05, 2009
Faithful Observers Of The Holy Gospel
Saint Francis of Assisi
Legend of Perugia - 68
The Virtues Of One Saint
Saint Francis of Assisi
Celano, Second Life
CHAPTER CXII
Saturday, April 04, 2009
Seek Out Lonely Places
Francis learned in his prayer that the presence of the Holy Spirit for which he longed was granted more intimately when he was far from the rush of worldly affairs. Therefore, he used to seek out lonely places in the wilderness and go into abandoned churches to pray at night.
Saint Francis of Assisi
Bonaventure, Major Life
CHAPTER X