Pope decries growing 'aversion' to Christianity

Pope Benedict XVI is condemning what he called "growing aversion" to the Christian faith in the world.

Benedict urged Christians to invigorate efforts to spread their faith's message despite what he described as the unfriendly climate to Christianity in parts of the world. He did not specify any particular region.

"In a world marked by religious indifference and even by a growing aversion toward the Christian faith, a new, intense activity of evangelization is necessary," the pope said.

He urged Christians to overcome their differences through dialogue so that they can unite their efforts to influence debates in society on ethical issues like abortion, euthanasia and the limits of science and technology.

Benedict was leading a Vespers service in the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls to mark the end of a week that the Vatican each year dedicates to prayers for Christian unity.

The pontiff has made better relations among Christians an important aim of his papacy.

Despite that goal, relations with Anglicans were strained last year when Benedict made it easier for the conversion to Roman Catholicism by traditionalist Anglicans who are disillusioned by their own church's embrace of gay priests, blessing of same-sex marriages and women clergy.

SINGING sensation Susan Boyle wants to perform for the Pope when he visits Scotland.

The Britain's Got Talent winner, a devout Catholic, hopes organisers can make her dream come true when Benedict XVI arrives in September.

Simon Cowell's brother and confidante Tony revealed her dream last night.

Tony, 59, who has worked closely with SuBo on the Everybody Hurts charity single for Haiti, said: "As Scotland's first lady, she is the obvious first choice.

"It would be a dream come true for her and I know she would drop everything if she was asked to perform for the Pope."

Susan, 48, has worshipped at Our Lady of Lourdes in Blackburn, West Lothian, since she was a child.

She still attends Mass at the church when her busy schedule allows. Parish priest Father Ryszard Holuka said it would be a great honour for the chart topper.

He said: "She is so busy but I'm sure she would love to sing for the Pope."

The Record yesterday broke the news of the first papal visit to Scotland since Pope John Paul II's historic Mass at Glasgow's Bellahouston Park in 1982.

Benedict XVI is expected to address thousands of worshippers at an open-air event at Glasgow Green, during his trip on September 16 and 17.

The Vatican have not yet confirmed the visit, though an announcement is due at the end of next month or early March.

It is hoped the prospect of singing for the pontiff will take SuBo's mind off a burglary bid on her Blackburn home.

SuBo is said to have been "terrified and hysterical" after a prowler broke in on Tuesday night just weeks after a similar disturbance.

Tony said the star was being well looked after by Simon's team to help her feel more secure.

He added: "She is being cossetted at the moment and we are all delighted to be able to help her out."

January Full Wolf Moon ...JAN 29,2010

This full Moon appeared when wolves howled in hunger outside the villages. It is also known as the Old Moon. To some Native American tribes, this was the Snow Moon, but most applied that name to the next full Moon, in February.

The Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul is a feast celebrated during the liturgical year on January 25, recounting the Conversion of Saul of Tarsus, who after a record of brutalizing and persecuting Christians, converted to Christianity and became the apostle Paul.


An illumination depicting the Conversion of Saint Paul from Livre d'Heures d'Étienne Chevalier (c. 1450–1460) by Jean Fouquet.




Caravaggio, Michelangelo Merisi da The Conversion of Saint Paul 1600-1601 Oil on canvas 90 1/2 x 70 in Cerasi Chapel, Santa Maria del Popolo, Rome

Da Mihi Animas: March for Life 2010#links

Da Mihi Animas: March for Life 2010#links

Angels do heal; we recall Raphael. God always hears prayers. But sometimes the healing is not physical; it is emotional; it is spiritual. It is available to us all. So are angels.

"prayer of thy healing angels."

"Pour out, thy healing angels, thy heavenly Host upon me, and upon those I love. Let me feel the beam of thy healing angels upon me, the light of your healing hands. I will let thy healing begin, whatever way God grants it, Amen."

St. Agnes - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online

St. Agnes - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online

EWTN.com - Relics, Icons and Crosses Aboard International Space Station

EWTN.com - Relics, Icons and Crosses Aboard International Space Station

Spread The News, The Tide Is Turning. Many In The Media Are Full Of Doom & Gloom. Don't Believe Their Hype. The Facts Are In The Book & Outlined Below. This Book Is Simply Not Wishful Thinking.
Below Are The Reasons Why The Tide Is Turning

Did you know:
•Vocations Are Increasing!
•The Laity Is Defending The Church In Many Ways
•The Youth's Faithfullness To The Church, Her Traditions & The Holy Father Has Undergone A Profound Resurgence
•Catholic Communications Such As Catholic Radio & Catholic Web Sites & Blogs Have Increased Profoundly
•A Deep Interest In Mary Is Being Witnessed Across The World
•Interest In The Eucharist & Eucharistic Adoration Is On The Rise
•Catholics Are Defending Their History & Teachings That Some In Secular Society Mock Or Don't Understand

REST IN PEACE MOM...I WILL NEVER CEASE PRAYING FOR YOU...I PROMISE...EVERY DAY.
I have fought the good fight, I have accomplished the course, I have kept the faith.
(II Timothy iv, 7)

IF YOU DO NOT DENY THAT YOU EXIST,WHY DO YOU DENY THAT GOD EXISTS?

REST IN PEACE MOM.

What is Death?
Death is nothing at all.
I have only slipped away into the next room.
I am I and you are you.
Whatever we were to each other,
that we still are.

Call me by my old familiar name.
Speak to me in the easy way
which you always used.
Put no difference in your tone.
Wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow.

Laugh as we always laughed
at the little jokes we enjoyed together.
Play, smile, think of me, pray for me.
Let my name be ever the household word
that it always was.
Let it be spoken without affect,
without the trace of a shadow on it.

Life means all that it ever meant.
It is the same that it ever was.
There is absolutely unbroken continuity.
Why should I be out of mind
because I am out of sight?

I am waiting for you,
for an interval,
somewhere very near,
just around the corner.

All is well.
~ Henry Scott Holland

Remembrance

Joan of Arc - Maid of Heaven - Saint Joan of Arc's Birthday

TODAY ON OLDE CHRISTMAS...MY MOTHER LIES CLOSE TO DEATH...PRAY FOR HER.
BEING OF EASTERN EUROPEAN HERITAGE...SHE ALWAYS CELEBRATED CHRISTMAS ON JAN. 6...I PRAY THAT HER CHRISTMAS GIFT TODAY WILL BE ETERNITY WITH THE BEATIFIC VISION.
CATIA...JOURNEY ON,GOOD CHRISTIAN SOUL...ALL YOUR SUFFERING WILL SOON BE AT AN END.

History of Old Christmas Day

Until the time of Julius Caesar the Roman year was organized round the phases of the moon. For many reasons this was hopelessly inaccurate so, on the advice of his astronomers, Julius instituted a calendar centered round the sun. It was decreed that one year was to consist of three hundred and sixty-five and a quarter days, divided into twelve months; the month of Quirinus was renamed 'July' to commemorate the Julian reform. Unfortunately, despite the introduction of leap years, the Julian calendar overestimated the length of the year by eleven minutes fifteen seconds, which comes to one day every on hundred and twenty-eight years. By the sixteenth century the calendar was ten days out. In 1582 reforms instituted by Pope Gregory XIII lopped the eleven minutes fifteen seconds off the length of a year and deleted the spare ten days. This new Gregorian calendar was adopted throughout Catholic Europe.

Protestant Europe was not going to be told what day it was by the Pope, so it kept to the old Julian calendar. This meant that London was a full ten days ahead of Paris. The English also kept the 25th of March as New Year's Day rather than the 1st of January. By the time England came round to adopting the Gregorian calendar, in the middle of the eighteenth century, England was eleven days ahead of the Continent.

A Calendar Act was passed in 1751 which stated that in order to bring England into line, the day following the 2nd of September 1752 was to be called the 14th, rather than the 3rd of September. Unfortunately, many people were not able to understand this simple manoeuvre and thought that the government had stolen eleven days of their lives. In some parts there were riots and shouts of 'give us back our eleven days!'

Before the calendar was reformed, England celebrated Christmas on the equivalent of the 6th of January by our modern, Gregorian reckoning. That is why in some parts of Great Britain people still call the 6th of January, Old Christmas Day.

Breaking Medjugorje News

Cardinal Schönborn speaks in Medjugorje

On December 30, 2009, Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, Archbishop of Vienna and a member of the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, gave a powerful, lengthy talk at St. James Church in Medjugorje.

Schönborn's talk revolved around the theme of God's mercy, and he did not hesitate to praise Medjugorje.

His first words as he stepped to the podium were "Hvaljen Isus i Marija," a Croatian phrase that means "Praised be Jesus and Mary." This is a common greeting among the visionaries and Medjugorje villagers. The Cardinal repeated it several times and urged the crowd to repeat it with him.

He went on to say "When you look at a place like Medjugorje, you can see a superpower of mercy. Many merciful deeds were born here or they were supported here."

During one poignant moment of his talk, Cardinal Schonborn urged the crowd to stand and join him in singing the well-known Medjugorje song Gospa Majka Moja. He smiled warmly as he sang along.

While concluding his talk in Medjugorje, Cardinal Schönborn said, "I believe that many experiences in the Church demonstrate something that is impossible from a human point of view."

Cardinal Schönborn has been in Medjugorje since December 28. He will celebrate New Year's Eve Mass at St. James Church. The visit and implied endorsement from such a prominent Vatican cardinal is seen by many as a very positive indication of the Church's stance on the apparitions.

While some had expected Cardinal Schönborn's visit to Medjugorje to be private, he has instead surprised the town by being very visible. He has spent his time concelebrating Mass at St. James Church, climbing Apparition Hill with visionary Marija Lunetti, hearing confessions, praying in silence at Adoration, and, perhaps most notably, giving his talk today in the parish church with the Franciscan friars at his side.

You Are a Haiku

Like a tree swaying You are simple yet changing Living in the now

What Type of Poem Are You?

Blogthings: Waste Time at Work!