The Areopagus 11-5-09
posted by Phil Lawson
11-5-09
Pope Benedict XVI has continued JPII’s spirited efforts at Christian unity. (Remember Jesus never intended there to be thousands of different denominations—read John 17:20-23). Recently, this has been in the news with his Apostolic Constitution making it easier for Anglicans to come back into the fold.
Outside of Jesus’ exhortation toward unity, Inside the Vatican’s Robert Moynihan offers an interesting theory on the present ramped up speed at which these things seem to be happening:
“He is clearly reaching out to reunite with many Christian groups: the Lefebvrists, as these meetings show, but also Anglicans, the Orthodox, and others as well. He seems to be trying to make Catholic Rome a center of communion for all Christians. This activity, occurring at an accelerating speed over recent months, looks almost like a "rallying of the troops" before some final, decisive battle…..
In short, many eyes are now on Benedict, wondering what he really intends here.
The answer seems simple enough: Benedict is trying energetically to "get his house in order."
But which house?
On one level, it is the Christian Church -- a Christian Church under considerable pressure in the highly secualrized modern world.
In this "house," this "ecclesia Dei" ("church of God" or "community of God"), dogmas and doctrines, formulated into very precise verbal statements, are held as true. These verbal formulas are professed in creeds. Benedict is seeking to overcome divisions over the content of these creeds, these doctrinal formulas, in order to bring about formal, public unity among separated Christians.
He is trying to find unity not only with the Lefebvrists (and all Traditionalists within the Church) but also, as we have seen in recent days, with the Anglicans and the Orthodox Churches.
But … considering world events and the evolution of the world's economy and culture, something else is also at stake.
Benedict is rallying his troops. He is trying to reunite all those factions and denominations and groups in the West that share common beliefs in the eternal destiny of human beings, in the sacredness of human life (since human beings are "in the image and likeness of God"), in the existence of a moral standard which is true at all times and in all places (against the relativism of the modern secular culture), in the need for justice in human affairs, for the rule of right, not might.
And so he is doing his best, in what seems perhaps to be the "twilight of the West," to build an ark, centered in Rome, to which all those who share these beliefs about human dignity may repair.
And this means that what Benedict is doing in this dialogue which got underway today is also of importance to Jews, to Muslims, and to all men and women of goodwill. Mankind seems to be entering a new period, a period in which companies and governments may produce, even for profit, "designer humans," a period of resource wars, a period of the complete rejection of the traditional family unit.
Benedict, from his high room in the Apostolic Palace, seems to be trying to rally the West in the twilight of an age, so that what was best in the West may be preserved, and shine forth again after the struggles of our time are past.”
Given the pace of secularism and the enhanced criticism/dismissal of Christianity on the world stage—Moynihan’s thesis certainly seems plausible. Brings to mind the old adage, “divided with fall, united we stand.”
Phil’s Tidbits:
This is very interesting: The director of a Planned Parenthood facility in Texas quit after watching an ultrasound of an abortion. She indicated a “change of heart” after seeing the reality of the unborn baby. Planned Parenthood responded by requesting a restraining order against their former office director.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,571215,00.html?test=latestnews
Eucharistic Miracle: 2009?
Posted by Tim Drake
Thursday, October 15, 2009 9:28 PM
The Eucharistic Miracle from Lanciano, Italy (A.D. 750)
If reports from Poland are true, an alleged Eucharistic miracle that took place a year ago may have merit.
According to a Polish blog, the Metropolitan Curia of Bialystok has announced the results of the investigation of an Ecclesial Commission appointed by Archbishop Edward Ozorowski on March 30, 2009. The original post (in Polish) can be found here.
Father Andrzej Kakareko, Chancellor, writes that on Oct. 12, 2008, a consecrated host fell out of the hands of the priest distributing holy Communion. The priest picked it up and placed it in the vasculum in the tabernacle. After Mass, the vasculum and its contents were transferred to the safe in the sacristy.
Seven days later, after opening the safe, a red stain was seen on the host. Ten days afer that, the vessel with the host was transferred to the tabernacle in the chapel of the rectory. The next day, the host was removed from the water and placed on the corporal in the tabernacle.
On Jan. 7, 2009, a sample from the host was sent to the University in Bialystok for analysis. According to two medical professionals, professor Maria Sobaniec-Lotowska and professor Stanislaw Sulkowski, the sample, in their opinion, most resembled the myocardial (heart) tissue of a living organism.
As part of its investigation, the commission interviewed witnesses and pathomorphology experts. The commission determined that there was no third-party intervention. The case has been forwarded to the Apostolic Nunciature in Warsaw.
While unusual in this day and age, the Church has a long history of Eucharistic miracles. The Vatican International Exhibition’s “Eucharistic Miracles of the World” documents more than 130 worldwide miracles of the Eucharist, demonstrating that Jesus Christ in the Eucharist — body, blood, soul and divinity — continues to make his presence manifest at unique times and places in history.
Perhaps the most famous and well-known, is the Miracle of Lanciano, which occurred about A.D. 750. It bears repeating, as it closely resembles the alleged Polish miracle. During Mass, the celebrant doubted the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. During the consecration, the host transformed into flesh and blood. Subsequent investigations confirmed the authenticity of the human tissue. An investigation, as late as 1970, found the flesh to be cardiac tissue and the blood to be type AB.
I recently received the newsletter for the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist, based in Ann Arbor, MI. They are celebrating their 12th year as a religious community. Talk about “new life”—this community (of which my sister-in-law is a part) now has 83 members with an average age of 26. Unlike what you often hear, there are religious orders that are growing! www.sistersofmary.org
God Bless you! Phil Lawson For the latest info on St. Peter’s, check out the parish website: www.saintpetercatholic.com (You can also find old editions of the Areopagus here)
The Areopagus is a regular email for adults that includes various reflections, tidbits, news and events. Hope you find it fruitful!
If you would like to be added to this list, send an email to lawsphil@gmail.com
On the other hand, if you would like to be removed, send an email to the same address indicating that.
Pope Benedict XVI has continued JPII’s spirited efforts at Christian unity. (Remember Jesus never intended there to be thousands of different denominations—read John 17:20-23). Recently, this has been in the news with his Apostolic Constitution making it easier for Anglicans to come back into the fold.
Outside of Jesus’ exhortation toward unity, Inside the Vatican’s Robert Moynihan offers an interesting theory on the present ramped up speed at which these things seem to be happening:
“He is clearly reaching out to reunite with many Christian groups: the Lefebvrists, as these meetings show, but also Anglicans, the Orthodox, and others as well. He seems to be trying to make Catholic Rome a center of communion for all Christians. This activity, occurring at an accelerating speed over recent months, looks almost like a "rallying of the troops" before some final, decisive battle…..
In short, many eyes are now on Benedict, wondering what he really intends here.
The answer seems simple enough: Benedict is trying energetically to "get his house in order."
But which house?
On one level, it is the Christian Church -- a Christian Church under considerable pressure in the highly secualrized modern world.
In this "house," this "ecclesia Dei" ("church of God" or "community of God"), dogmas and doctrines, formulated into very precise verbal statements, are held as true. These verbal formulas are professed in creeds. Benedict is seeking to overcome divisions over the content of these creeds, these doctrinal formulas, in order to bring about formal, public unity among separated Christians.
He is trying to find unity not only with the Lefebvrists (and all Traditionalists within the Church) but also, as we have seen in recent days, with the Anglicans and the Orthodox Churches.
But … considering world events and the evolution of the world's economy and culture, something else is also at stake.
Benedict is rallying his troops. He is trying to reunite all those factions and denominations and groups in the West that share common beliefs in the eternal destiny of human beings, in the sacredness of human life (since human beings are "in the image and likeness of God"), in the existence of a moral standard which is true at all times and in all places (against the relativism of the modern secular culture), in the need for justice in human affairs, for the rule of right, not might.
And so he is doing his best, in what seems perhaps to be the "twilight of the West," to build an ark, centered in Rome, to which all those who share these beliefs about human dignity may repair.
And this means that what Benedict is doing in this dialogue which got underway today is also of importance to Jews, to Muslims, and to all men and women of goodwill. Mankind seems to be entering a new period, a period in which companies and governments may produce, even for profit, "designer humans," a period of resource wars, a period of the complete rejection of the traditional family unit.
Benedict, from his high room in the Apostolic Palace, seems to be trying to rally the West in the twilight of an age, so that what was best in the West may be preserved, and shine forth again after the struggles of our time are past.”
Given the pace of secularism and the enhanced criticism/dismissal of Christianity on the world stage—Moynihan’s thesis certainly seems plausible. Brings to mind the old adage, “divided with fall, united we stand.”
Phil’s Tidbits:
This is very interesting: The director of a Planned Parenthood facility in Texas quit after watching an ultrasound of an abortion. She indicated a “change of heart” after seeing the reality of the unborn baby. Planned Parenthood responded by requesting a restraining order against their former office director.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,571215,00.html?test=latestnews
Eucharistic Miracle: 2009?
Posted by Tim Drake
Thursday, October 15, 2009 9:28 PM
The Eucharistic Miracle from Lanciano, Italy (A.D. 750)
If reports from Poland are true, an alleged Eucharistic miracle that took place a year ago may have merit.
According to a Polish blog, the Metropolitan Curia of Bialystok has announced the results of the investigation of an Ecclesial Commission appointed by Archbishop Edward Ozorowski on March 30, 2009. The original post (in Polish) can be found here.
Father Andrzej Kakareko, Chancellor, writes that on Oct. 12, 2008, a consecrated host fell out of the hands of the priest distributing holy Communion. The priest picked it up and placed it in the vasculum in the tabernacle. After Mass, the vasculum and its contents were transferred to the safe in the sacristy.
Seven days later, after opening the safe, a red stain was seen on the host. Ten days afer that, the vessel with the host was transferred to the tabernacle in the chapel of the rectory. The next day, the host was removed from the water and placed on the corporal in the tabernacle.
On Jan. 7, 2009, a sample from the host was sent to the University in Bialystok for analysis. According to two medical professionals, professor Maria Sobaniec-Lotowska and professor Stanislaw Sulkowski, the sample, in their opinion, most resembled the myocardial (heart) tissue of a living organism.
As part of its investigation, the commission interviewed witnesses and pathomorphology experts. The commission determined that there was no third-party intervention. The case has been forwarded to the Apostolic Nunciature in Warsaw.
While unusual in this day and age, the Church has a long history of Eucharistic miracles. The Vatican International Exhibition’s “Eucharistic Miracles of the World” documents more than 130 worldwide miracles of the Eucharist, demonstrating that Jesus Christ in the Eucharist — body, blood, soul and divinity — continues to make his presence manifest at unique times and places in history.
Perhaps the most famous and well-known, is the Miracle of Lanciano, which occurred about A.D. 750. It bears repeating, as it closely resembles the alleged Polish miracle. During Mass, the celebrant doubted the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. During the consecration, the host transformed into flesh and blood. Subsequent investigations confirmed the authenticity of the human tissue. An investigation, as late as 1970, found the flesh to be cardiac tissue and the blood to be type AB.
I recently received the newsletter for the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist, based in Ann Arbor, MI. They are celebrating their 12th year as a religious community. Talk about “new life”—this community (of which my sister-in-law is a part) now has 83 members with an average age of 26. Unlike what you often hear, there are religious orders that are growing! www.sistersofmary.org
God Bless you! Phil Lawson For the latest info on St. Peter’s, check out the parish website: www.saintpetercatholic.com (You can also find old editions of the Areopagus here)
The Areopagus is a regular email for adults that includes various reflections, tidbits, news and events. Hope you find it fruitful!
If you would like to be added to this list, send an email to lawsphil@gmail.com
On the other hand, if you would like to be removed, send an email to the same address indicating that.
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