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November 8, 2009                                 Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time Reading 1Responsorial PsalmReading 2Gospel Reading 11 Kgs 17:10-16 In those days, Elijah the prophet went to Zarephath.As he arrived at the entrance of the city,a widow was gathering sticks there; he called out to her,"Please bring me a small cupful of water to drink." She left to get it, and he called out after her,"Please bring along a bit of bread." She answered, "As the LORD, your God, lives,I have nothing baked; there is only a handful of flour in my jarand a little...

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November 7, 2009                                 Saturday of the Thirty-first Week                                 in Ordinary Time   Reading 1Responsorial PsalmGospel Reading 1Rom 16:3-9, 16, 22-27 Brothers and sisters:Greet Prisca and Aquila, my co-workers in Christ Jesus,who risked their necks for my life,to whom not only I am grateful but also all the churches of the Gentiles;greet also the Church at their house.Greet my beloved Epaenetus,who was the firstfruits in Asia for Christ.Greet Mary, who has worked hard for you.Greet Andronicus and Junia,my relatives and my fellow prisoners;they are prominent...

Unexpected Joy Icon of the Mother of God Unexpected Joy Temple of the Holy Trinity in Listy Unexpected Joy Icon of the Mother of God The icon is written in commemoration of the following event: one sinner, as he was on his way to commit a sin, said a prayer for his success to the Mother of God. In response she, in anger, pointed at the immediately opened wounds on the hands and feet of the Divine Child sitting on her lap, and explained to the sinner that every time when someone falls into sin, the wounds begin to torment...

Tell Belmont Abbey College: "I'm proud of you!" Help this faithful college resist the culture of death by signing an instant e-card:"I’m proud of you!" Notre Dame betrayed its Catholic identity, but Belmont Abbey College stayed faithful and now needs our urgent prayers and encouragement. Please let me explain:  This small liberal arts college in North Carolina with 1,600 students is holding firm to its Catholic identity by refusing to pay for abortion, contraception and sterilization in its healthcare plan. As a result, this brave college is now facing persecution.  In fact, the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)...

Excellent news today from my husband's 3-month check on his chronic lympocytic leukemia. His "bad" white blood cell count has increased only slightly in three months. This means two things: 1. the disease is in the early stages; and 2. it does not appear to be the more rapid form of CLL. Thank you ALL for your prayers, good wishes, and support since this ordeal began back in July. FReepers are great prayer warriors!

Dear prayer partners, Our dear marysecretary had a successful kidney transplant surgery early this morning. Her pastor reports: "From: Jerry S. Subject: Mary's Surgery Date: Friday, November 6, 2009, It is 4:45 am we just got home the hospital; Mary’s surgery went well, she now has a new kidney and the doctor seemed please with the results. Thank you very much for your prayers and please keep them up because there is a long road to recovery, also keep Richie in your prayers that he can get some rest. You prayer warriors are much appreciated, may God’s blessing be upon...

<p>PLEASE continue to pray for MarySecretary and her recovery from a successful kidney transplant operation.</p> <p>THANKS to everyone who has prayed. Please continue.</p> <p>From: April T. Subject: Mary Date: Friday, November 6, 2009, 8:41 AM I called the hospital this morning. They just brought Mary into her room a little before 8:00. Due to the out break of H1N1 in the Syracuse area visiting hours are restricted to 12:00 - 8:00 p.m.</p>

> Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labor of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The LORD God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds' feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places. (Habakkuk 3:17-19)

GANDEACTEUA (Gandeacteüa, Gandeaktena, Gandeaktewa, Gandiaktua, Ganneaktena), Catherine, an Erie belonging to the Cat nation, responsible for the founding of the Saint-François-Xavier mission at Prairie-de-la-Magdelaine (moved in 1717 to Caughnawaga); d. 1673 at the mission. In the autumn of 1654 the Mohawks completely razed Gentaienton, a Cat village, and before the end of the year they had annihilated this people of Iroquois stock, which had been established on the south shore of Lake Erie. Gandeacteua and her mother were carried off as slaves to the Oneida village of Ganouaroharé. The story is told that she soon won everyone’s heart. Towards 1656...

Russian Monasticism After Communism Interview With Orthodox Monk on Old and New Challenges By Antonio Gaspari ROME, NOV. 5, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Having survived Soviet Communism, Russian Orthodox monasticism now faces the new threat of secularization as it passes through a period of testing that only time can heal. Father Petr Mescerinov expressed these ideas as he discussed with ZENIT the new and enduring challenges of Russian monasticism. The hegumen (a title similar to abbot) of the St. Daniil Monastery of Moscow was in Italy for a conference on Eastern and Western monasticism. Father Mescerinov is vice-director of the Center for...

November 6, 2009                                     Friday of the Thirty-first Week                                 in Ordinary Time   Reading 1Responsorial PsalmGospel Reading 1Rom 15:14-21 I myself am convinced about you, my brothers and sisters,that you yourselves are full of goodness,filled with all knowledge, and able to admonish one another.But I have written to you rather boldly in some respects to remind you,because of the grace given me by Godto be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentilesin performing the priestly service of the Gospel of God,so that the...

Join me in prayer for the fallen soldiers at Fort Hood. Lord be with the injured and heal them, receive into Your loving arms those that perished, comfort the loved ones of all the victims, and give Your justice to the murderers who perpetrated this horrific crime today. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

GUEST LIST November 5 Fr. Thomas Euteneuer Exorcism Ask Fr. Thomas Euteneuer a question Fr. Thomas Euteneuer BIOGRAPHY: Rev. Thomas J. Euteneuer became president of Human Life International in December of 2000. Human Life International is the worldÂ’s largest pro-life organization with affiliate offices and associates in seventy-five countries around the world. In five years of service to this unique mission Fr. Euteneuer has traveled more than 500,000 miles as a pro-life missionary and visited more than forty countries. Fr. Euteneuer was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1962, the fourth of seven children born to Joseph and Marian Euteneuer....

Please keep my son Gabriel and I in your prayers as we work here in China. Here are some updates. Denny China Diary Entry #4 November 03, 2009 "Don't you hate it when you go to wash some clothes in the bathroom sink and the sink falls off of the wall and shatters on the floor at your feet? Only in China. I think I should forget the room deposit!" Posted: 04:58 AM China Diary entry #3 November 03, 2009 (Nov.1)The children are very curious around us in these areas. The roads to get here were mostly dirt and rough....

November 5, 2009                                    Thursday of the Thirty-first Week                                in Ordinary Time Reading 1Responsorial PsalmGospel Reading 1Rom 14:7-12 Brothers and sisters:None of us lives for oneself, and no one dies for oneself.For if we live, we live for the Lord,and if we die, we die for the Lord;so then, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.For this is why Christ died and came to life,that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.Why then do you judge your brother or sister?Or you, why do you look down on...

Five Hard Truths That Will Set You FreeBy: Msgr. Charles Pope Some years ago I read an essay by the Franciscan Theologian Richard Rohr. I will say that I do not share a lot of agreement with Richard Rohr (no need to detail that here) but I found this particular essay compelling. I do not recall the exact title of that essay but in my mind the title “Five Hard Truths that Will Set You Free� seems the best title. The following five truths from that essay are indeed hard truths. They tend to rock our world and stab...

The sons of Reuben, the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh had forty-four thousand seven hundred and sixty valiant men, men able to bear shield and sword, to shoot with the bow, and skillful in war, who went to war. They made war… And they were helped against them, and the Hagrites were delivered into their hand, and all who were with them, for they cried out to God in the battle. He heeded their prayer, because they put their trust in Him. Then they took away their livestock—fifty thousand of their camels, two hundred and fifty thousand...

November 4, 2009                                 Wednesday of the Thirty-first Week                                 in Ordinary Time Reading 1Responsorial PsalmGospel Reading 1Rom 13:8-10 Brothers and sisters:Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another;for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.The commandments, You shall not commit adultery;you shall not kill;you shall not steal;you shall not covet,and whatever other commandment there may be,are summed up in this saying, namely,You shall love your neighbor as yourself.Love does no evil to the neighbor;hence, love is the fulfillment of the law. Responsorial...

Prayers/Scriptures for Election Presidential Prayer Team website ^ | 2004 | Presidential Prayer Team Posted on Friday, February 01, 2008 10:00:17 PM by Joann37 I found some Scripture references pertaining to the 2004 Presidential Election at the Presidential Prayer Team website. But the actual Scriptures were left out; only the references and the way in which we could apply them were listed. So I added the Scriptures (all are from the NIV). Many of us here are so concerned about the outcome of Tuesday's election. So PLEASE consider taking these Scriptures (and distributing to others, if you feel so compelled)...

"I will praise thee, O Lord." - Psalm 9:1 DEAR LORD, WE THANK YOU FOR THIS DAY, THIS HOUR AND THIS SECOND. LORD, WE THANK YOU FOR THIS TIME YOUR SAINTS CAN GATHER BEFORE YOUR THRONE OF GRACE WITH PRAYER AND SUPPLICATION. LORD, WE PRAY FOR ALL OF YOUR SAINTS NO MATTER WHERE THEY MAY BE OR WHATEVER THEIR NEED. LORD, WE PRAY ESPECIALLY FOR OUR TROOPS AND PATRIOTS WHO FAITHFULLY PLACE THERE PRAYERS FOR OUR HEROES AT THE FOOT OF THE THRONE,AND TO ALL MEMBERS OF GOVERNMENT WHO HOLD YOUR TRUTHS CLOSE TO THEIR HEARTS. LORD, WE PRAY...

November 3, 2009                                     Tuesday of the Thirty-first Week                             in Ordinary Time   Reading 1Responsorial PsalmGospel Reading 1Rom 12:5-16ab Brothers and sisters:We, though many, are one Body in Christand individually parts of one another.Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us,let us exercise them:if prophecy, in proportion to the faith;if ministry, in ministering;if one is a teacher, in teaching;if one exhorts, in exhortation;if one contributes, in generosity;if one is over others, with diligence;if one does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness....

Psalm 72:12-14 He will Take Care of the Helpless and Poor when they Cry to Him; For they have No One Else to Defend them. He Feels Pity for the Weak and Needy, and will Rescue them. He will Save them from Oppression and from Violence, For their Lives are Precious to Him.

November 2, 2009                                        The Commemoration of                                         All the Faithful Departed                                         (All Souls)                                                        (The following readings are selected                                                             from the options for this day.)             Reading 1Responsorial PsalmReading 2Gospel Reading 1Wis 3:1-9 The souls of the just are in the hand of God,and no torment shall touch them.They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead;and...

Psalm 94 1O Lord God, to whom vengeance belongeth; O God, to whom vengeance belongeth, shew thyself. 2Lift up thyself, thou judge of the earth: render a reward to the proud. 3LORD, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked triumph? 4How long shall they utter and speak hard things? and all the workers of iniquity boast themselves? 5They break in pieces thy people, O LORD, and afflict thine heritage. 6They slay the widow and the stranger, and murder the fatherless. 7Yet they say, The LORD shall not see, neither shall the God of Jacob regard it. 8Understand,...

Yesterday, a squad of Navy SEALs engaged in combat operations in Afghanstan had several men badly wounded by RPG explosions. Freeper "Wardaddy" is related to one of them. Navy SEAL Bryan Stuart is Wardaddy's close cousin's son. He has been medevaced to Germany for surgery. Other details are sketchy as of yet.

I. A seminary in Ireland, now closed, was dedicated to the training of priests for foreign missions, for strange places such as California. It was called "All Hallows", that is, All Saints, November 1. Oxford University in England has a college called "All Souls," November 2. Taken together, all saints and all souls are designed to cover all of the final combinations of the human race except all the still living, who are waiting to join one or the other of the previous categories. Come to think of it, all "all saints" all have souls. What are left are...

Pope Benedict prays the Angelus from the window of his study overlooking St. Peter's Square Vatican City, Nov 1, 2009 / 09:58 am (CNA).- To the faithful gathered on Sunday in St. Peter’s Square for the Angelus, Pope Benedict XVI presented the communion of saints, a “beautiful and comforting” reality that says “we are never alone.”  In particular he held up the ancient cult of martyrs in the early Church, and in this Year for Priests, “the saintly priests, both those canonized…and those many more that are known to the Lord.” Pope Benedict also spoke of Monday’s commemoration of the...

Psalm 48:1,2 How Great is the Lord! How Much we should Praise Him. He Lives upon Mt. Zion in Jerusalem. What a Glorious Sight! See Mt. Zion Rising North of the City, High Above the Plains for All to See; Mt. Zion, Joy of All the Earth, the Residence of the Great King.

Saturday, October 31, 2009 Striving for Perfection A reflection by Mother Maria-Michael Newe, OSB. Sometimes we're so impatient to be perfect even with our own selves. We want it done yesterday. Part of our own stability and perseverance has to do with the fact that we have to be stable in our perseverance. We have to go through it and not expect perfection so quickly. It's humiliating to be humble. It's in our nature to be want to be done with it so quickly that we don't have to deal with it anymore. And yet don't we find that when...

November 1, 2009                                        Solemnity of All Saints       Reading 1Responsorial PsalmReading 2Gospel Reading 1Rv 7:2-4, 9-14 I, John, saw another angel come up from the East,holding the seal of the living God.He cried out in a loud voice to the four angelswho were given power to damage the land and the sea,“Do not damage the land or the sea or the treesuntil we put the seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.”I heard the number of those who had been marked with the seal,one hundred and forty-four thousand markedfrom every tribe of the children of...

The Healing Power of Exorcism Oct 30th 2009 An Interview with Father Gary Thomas by Paul CiarciaThe day before I spoke with Father Gary Thomas was probably a typical weekday for most priests. For Father Thomas it was a typical weekday as well, except it involved a two hour-long, emotionally and physically draining battle with a horde of demons seeking to claim another person’s soul.“(The demons) operate in packs,” said Father Thomas. “The more powerful ones are over the less powerful ones.”“These demons have put up big fights,” Father Thomas said, recollecting the episode. “I think now we are...

October 31, 2009                                 Saturday of the Thirtieth Week                                 in Ordinary Time   Reading 1Responsorial PsalmGospel Reading 1Rom 11:1-2a, 11-12, 25-29 Brothers and sisters:I ask, then, has God rejected his people?  Of course not!For I too am a child of Israel, a descendant of Abraham,of the tribe of Benjamin.God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew.Do you not know what the Scripture says about Elijah,how he pleads with God against Israel? Hence I ask, did they stumble so as to fall? Of course not!But...

Following their exchange in July, author Moyra Doorly and Aidan Nichols discuss the merits of post-Vatican II liturgical reform Dear Fr Aidan, In your kind reply to my first letter you made the point that I was drawing "unnecessarily sharp" contrasts between a theology of "propitiation and supplication" on one hand, and teachings on the "fruits of Communion" on the other. But what I was trying to demonstrate is that the pre-Conciliar sources give ample teaching on both, whereas the documents of Vatican II ignore the theology of propitiation and supplication. Now, to me this represents a doctrinal discontinuity of...

ELCA NEWS SERVICE October 30, 2009 Paul Manz, Distinguished Lutheran Organist, Composer and Teacher, Dies 09-244-JB/FI* CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Paul O. Manz, a well-known Lutheran organist, composer, church musician and teacher, died Oct. 28 after several weeks of hospice care in St. Paul, Minn. Manz, 90, was surrounded by family at his death as they sang "E'en So, Lord Jesus, Quickly Come," his most famous choral work. A memorial service is planned for Nov. 8 at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, St. Paul, said Manz's son, the Rev. John C. Manz, a pastor at Gloria Dei, where the elder Manz attended....

The LORD will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you. They will come at you from one direction but flee from you in seven. (Deuteronomy 28: 7)

October 30, 2009                                     Friday of the Thirtieth Week                                    in Ordinary Time Reading 1Responsorial PsalmGospel Reading 1Rom 9:1-5 Brothers and sisters:I speak the truth in Christ, I do not lie;my conscience joins with the Holy Spirit in bearing me witnessthat I have great sorrow and constant anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christfor the sake of my own people,my kindred according to the flesh. They are children of Israel;theirs the adoption, the glory,...

Beloved: See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God. Yet so we are. It's easy to forget sometimes that being a child of God, having the privilege of calling God our Father is itself a gift -- that you and I have no personal claims, no right to be called a "child of God" apart from the grace that comes to us in our Lord Jesus Christ.  The fact that you and I have been made sons and daughters of our heavenly Father is pure gift.  As it says in...

GUEST LIST October 29 Fr. AntoineThe Eucharist Expedition: To the Summit! Ask Fr. Antoine a question Father Antoine Thomas, CSJ Fr. Antoine Thomas is a native of France. Before joining the Brothers of St. John in 1985, he was a member of the French Army in the Alpine Troops, pursued a degree in marketing both in France and the US, and enjoyed many active sports such as hang gliding, windsurfing, and mountain climbing in the Alps. The Congregation of St. John is one of the fastest growing religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1975 by Father Marie-Dominique...

October 29, 2009                                 Thursday of the Thirtieth Week                                     in Ordinary Time Reading 1Responsorial PsalmGospel Reading 1Rom 8:31b-39 Brothers and sisters:If God is for us, who can be against us?He did not spare his own Sonbut handed him over for us all,how will he not also give us everything else along with him?Who will bring a charge against God’s chosen ones?It is God who acquits us.Who will condemn?It is Christ Jesus who died, rather, was raised,who also is at the right hand of God,who...

On Theology in the 12th Century "Knowledge Grows Only if It Loves Truth" VATICAN CITY, OCT. 28, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of Benedict XVI's address today during the general audience in St. Peter's Square. * * * Dear brothers and sisters, Today I pause to reflect on an interesting page of history, regarding the flowering of Latin theology in the 12th century, which came about by a providential series of coincidences. In the countries of Western Europe there reigned then a relative peace, which assured society of economic development and the consolidation of political structures, and fostered a...

www.catholicnewsagency.com Pope calls Catholics to daily meditation on the Bible Pope Benedict XVI Vatican City, Oct 28, 2009 / 10:37 am (CNA).- At today's General Audience in St. Peter's Square, Pope Benedict provided a lesson on the theological renaissance of the 12th century, advising Christians to learn from the monks and set aside time every day to meditate on the Bible, “so that the Word of God will be the lamp that illuminates our daily path on earth."Benedict XVI began his address to the 15,000 faithful by recalling how the 12th century was a time of a spiritual, cultural...

Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible be delivered; For I will contend with him who contends with you, and I will save your children. I will feed those who oppress you with their own flesh, and they shall be drunk with their own blood as with sweet wine. All flesh shall know that I, the Lord, am your Savior, And your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob. (Is. 49:25-26)

The devil, so the saying goes, is the ape of God. And so one of his standard methods for deceiving is to create parodies of good things and send them into the world in pairs.Why parodies? Because he cannot make, he can only mock. So instead of love, he offers lust. Instead of justice he offers merciless vengeance. Instead of dignity, he offers pride. Instead of contentment with the world’s goods he offers greed.Why does he send errors into the world in pairs? So that, in fleeing one lie, you will embrace the opposite lie. And so, for instance, he...

October 28, 2009                                 Feast of Saints Simon and Jude, Apostles   Reading 1Responsorial PsalmGospel Reading 1Eph 2:19-22 Brothers and sisters:You are no longer strangers and sojourners,but you are fellow citizens with the holy onesand members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the Apostles and prophets,with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone.Through him the whole structure is held togetherand grows into a temple sacred in the Lord;in him you also are being built togetherinto a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. Responsorial PsalmPs 19:2-3, 4-5 R. (5a) Their message goes...

Austrian Cardinal Christoph Schonborn celebrates Mass at St. John the Baptist Cathedral in Turin in 2000, the last time the Shroud of Turin was on public display. (CNS/Nancy Wiechec) By Cindy WoodenCatholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI will join hundreds of thousands of pilgrims traveling to northern Italy in 2010 to see the Shroud of Turin, which many believe is the burial cloth of Christ. The Vatican and the Archdiocese of Turin announced Oct. 27 that Pope Benedict will visit the city May 2. "As the first act of his visit, the Holy Father will...

October 27, 2009                                     Tuesday of the Thirtieth Week                                in Ordinary Time Reading 1Responsorial PsalmGospel Reading 1Rom 8:18-25 Brothers and sisters:I consider that the sufferings of this present time are as nothingcompared with the glory to be revealed for us.For creation awaits with eager expectationthe revelation of the children of God;for creation was made subject to futility,not of its own accord but because of the one who subjected it,in hope that creation itselfwould be set free from slavery to corruptionand share in the glorious freedom...

October 26, 2009                                     Monday of the Thirtieth Week                                       in Ordinary Time Reading 1Responsorial PsalmGospel Reading 1Rom 8:12-17 Brothers and sisters,we are not debtors to the flesh,to live according to the flesh.For if you live according to the flesh, you will die,but if by the spirit you put to death the deeds of the body,you will live. For those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear,but you received a spirit of adoption,through which...

The Experience of ‘The Call’ October 26th, 2009 by Fr. Kyle Schnippel Known for the way he developed the interplay between light and darkness in his paintings, the Italian master Caravaggio has had a lasting impact in the world of art since his troubled life ended nearly 400 years ago.  His distinctive paintings, especially his religious scenes, continue to have an impact even on today’s viewers.For me, his ‘Calling of St. Matthew’ resonates.  Commissioned by Cardinal Matteu Contreil to hang in the French National Church of San Luigi dei Francesi in Rome, the scene draws you in as a nearly...

For the servant (slave) of Christ (His soldier); all that he/she possesses is at the total disposal of Almighty God, to be used for His honor and glory here in time (Romans 12:1-5). Be not offended in what God wills, allows or uses in your life to further the Gospel message to a lost and dying world (Matt 11:6, Rom 8:28). Endure hardness as a good soldier (2 Tim 2:3-4). Some times the very thing in which we are seeking to preserve or save is to be on the chopping block and removed. Fret not my beloved, Almighty God is...