Anamchara

BELGIUM AND THE POPE: A GROWING PERSECUTION OF PRIESTHOOD BY MODERN DAY GESTAPO

 

(Above: This cartoon ran in the Nazi newspaper Das Schwarze Korps, on July 22, 1937.  Notice the Catholic priest being trampled by the Hitler Youth.  The caption reads: "If also our singing and revelry does not please the prigs and humbugs..."  Another popular ditty sung by the Hitler Youth and even passed out officially at the Hochland camp for the Hitler Youth at Lenggries in 1935 went as follows:

Autumn's storm blows o'er the stubble

And rages o'er fallow and mead;

A new thousand years begins for the world,

Oh, Deutschland creative, take heed.

 

The Pope sits in Rome on his silk-covered throne

And settled on us are his parsons.

And what, pray, has any man-jack of us all

To do with the Pope and his parsons?

 

Our sires were as heretics burnt at the stake

To crown the Church mil'tant with glory

etc., etc.)

 

 

OUTRAGEOUS PERSECUTION OF CHURCH BY BELGIAN AUTHORITIES

 

Last weekend, Belgian police detained a cardinal and bishops and seized their phones, the cardinal's computer, and forced them all to stay in one place for eight hours as they searched supposedly for some kind of implicating evidence.  They also desecrated bishops' tombs in an attempt to expose the Church as hiding evidence on sexual abuse of minors.  The Vatican Secretary of State said nothing had been seen like this except under communism, but actually, the event hearkens back to the Nazi's deliberate attempt to harm the Church in exactly the same way.  They took real accounts of sexual abuse by some priests and tried to smear the entire Church--the Nazis failed.  It remains to be seen whether the Flemish firebrands will or not.  None the less, a cold chill should run down the spine of any Catholic.  This smacks of persecution run amok.  More to come, I fear.

 

 

HOMILY FOR 13TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME--6/27/10--SEIZE THE MOMENT

 

13TH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME–6/27/10

     By Msgr. Eric R. Barr, STL

READINGS: GAL 1: 13-18; LUKE 9: 51-62

　

I. Carpe Diem: Seize The Day

A. When Jesus says these ominous words: "Whoever puts their hand to the plow and looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God", we think, the Lord is just having a bad day. Because we just can’t believe he means this seriously.

B. Problem is this: Jesus has just been approached by people who want to follow him but have excuses why they cannot do that at this time. This Gospel today is a continuation of last week. And remember what the message was last week: Jesus wants all our dedication, love and commitment. He does not want half a loaf. Christianity with compromise, faith with exceptions, Catholicism with a but, is not what Jesus is looking for and that is why he says what he says.

C. Back in the day when one used animals to plow, taking your eye off your oxen meant the animals could go anywhere–if that happened, plowing would be chaos. Jesus uses that image to show what happens if we do not embrace his call wholeheartedly.

D. Chances are, these people who talked to him, went away disappointed–perhaps salvation never came knocking on their door again.

E. That’s why today’s message is this: Keep your eyes on the prize–that would be salvation. Another way of saying this is Carpe Diem–seize the day. Christ has offered us this opportunity, let’s take it.

II. Consequences

A. Otherwise, by compromising or hesitating, we will spend useless time dithering and wasting opportunities to be all that we are called to be.

B. Summertime is a great time for a little rest and relaxation–nothing wrong with that at all. Perhaps, in our prayer this summer, we could spend a little time thinking about whether we are giving Christ everything, or do we look back wondering if we made the right decision to be for Christ. Jesus’ task for us is never easy, and it might sometimes seem that we could have walked other, more easy roads, but if we take our eyes off the prize, the salvation Jesus offers, we may lose it, not because we are inherently evil or malicious, but because we are careless and not committed enough. Let’s ask Christ for the strength to be the Catholic Christians he has called us to be. If we do that, we will be seizing the day, keeping our eyes on the prize, walking straight to heavenly glory.

CHECK OUT THE DAWN TREADER TRAILER!!

via www.youtube.com

Makes you wish it was Christmas already.  Should be a great film!

HOMILY FOR 12TH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR--6/20/10--TAKE UP YOUR CROSS

 

12TH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME–6/20/10

by Msgr. Eric R. Barr, STL

READINGS: GAL 1: 13-18; LUKE 9:18-24

THE STORY OF ST. MARTIN

St. Martin lived a long time ago when the Roman Empire was still strong. But even though he lived long ago, in a time that is really lost to us, you would have liked him. He was a friendly, kind, generous and compassionate man who was a Roman soldier. When he was twelve, he became a catechumen--that's the first step on the road to being a Christian. Unfortunately, he just couldn't bring himself over the years to take the final step and be baptized.

One day, in the bitter, biting winter, he met a poor man who was dressed in rags. He was filled with compassion but he also knew it was very cold. So he dismounted, took off his cloak, took out his sword, and slashed the cloak in half. He gave half to the beggar and clothed himself with the other half, because it was a bitterly cold day.

When he got back to his post, his fellow soldiers laughed at him, for he looked rather silly dressed in half a cloak. That night, Martin had a dream. He dreamed he saw the poor man walking toward him, wearing half his cloak, but when the poor man got close to him, he could see it was Jesus Christ. And Christ said, "Martin, who is still just a catechumen, has done this for me."

Now, I know you've head this story before and we always have thought Jesus was complimenting Martin on his charity to the beggar, but Martin didn't see it that way. Oh, he knew Jesus was pleased that he had helped the beggar, but Martin also knew what else Jesus was saying: "Martin, you only gave half your cloak, and you've only come halfway the distance to Christianity--you are still only a catechumen. The beggar should have had your whole cloak and I should have all your dedication, love and commitment."

That's what the vision of Christ was really saying. And the next morning, Martin ran--he didn't walk-he ran to be baptized. And he became one of the greatest Christians who ever lived.

I. Jesus says, "Whoever wishes to be my follower must deny his very self, take up his cross each day, and follow in my steps. Whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will save it."

A. What in the world are we to do with that statement? Is Jesus serious? In the Gospel today, Jesus tells us clearly that he wants our whole dedication, our whole commitment, our whole love. Not half a cloak--a whole one. Not half our love--all our love.

B. And I think we would agree with that. I think we even want to do that. After all, we try to do good, we come to Mass, we worship God. And yet, most of us really only give Christ half our love. That's pretty good; after all, Jesus was happy that Martin at least partially clothed the beggar. But Jesus wants more. He doesn’t want half a Christian; he wants a whole one.

C. He wants people who are willing to speak his message. He wants people who will belong wholeheartedly to his Church. He wants people who are willing to die for him. That’s what picking up our cross every day means. Being so committed to Christ that we would do anything for him–even die for him. And here’s where the difficulty comes in. Many of us find it hard to do just that.