If I were the devil
I came across this 1993 broadcast of something Paul Harvey wrote in the 60’s:
Thanks to Mommy Life for the link.
"We are travellers…not yet in our native land" – St. Augustine
I came across this 1993 broadcast of something Paul Harvey wrote in the 60’s:
Thanks to Mommy Life for the link.
Today I spent my lunch break with Jews and Christians at the Stand Up for Religious Freedom rally:
Oh, stuff like this makes me so happy…
“Be yourself sanctified and you will sanctify the world” – Saint Francis of Assisi
The Catholic Church teaches a high standard of morality and when some of its members violate that standard, the media pounces and calls it hypocrisy, and rightly so. To be clear, this post in no way condones any of the abuses which have occurred over the years. They were all terrible, sinful tragedies.
However, over the past few years the media feeding frenzy has been such that I think it might be time to regain a little bit of perspective. The following facts came from an article at TheMediaReport.com.
1. IT’S NOT ABOUT CATHOLIC PRIESTS
FACT: Catholic priests do not offend at a higher rate than clergy of other religious denominations or employees of other institutions that deal with youth.
2. STRANGE DAYS INDEED
FACT: The media’s frenzied Catholic priest sex abuse storyline stems only from a historical anomaly, as the vast majority of allegations occurred during a narrow band of time from the 1960s to the early 1980s. During this period the Church sent abusive priests to treatment, conforming to the then-prevailing societal view that offenders could be successfully rehabilitated but resulting in a high rate of recidivism.
3. YESTERDAY’S NEWS
FACT: Almost all accusations against Catholic priests date from decades ago, and indeed nearly half of all abuse accusations concern priests who are already dead. In an institution of 77 million people, contemporaneous accusations of abuse against Catholic clergy in the United States are very rare, recently averaging only 8.5 “credible” allegations per year.
4. THE STORY THE MEDIA WON’T REPORT
FACT: The incidence of sexual abuse by teachers in public schools today has been estimated to be “more than 100 times” that by Catholic priests, and there is alarming evidence of school officials covering up abuse and failing to report suspected cases to authorities. Yet the mainstream media has largely ignored this shocking story while still rehashing decades-old allegations of abuse by Catholic priests.
5. A MODEL FOR THE PROTECTION OF CHILDREN
FACT: The Catholic Church is likely the safest environment for children today.
I would invite you to pray a rosary today for the holiness of Catholic priests around the world
San Diego County Administration Building
1600 Pacific Highway San Diego
As this Lenten season reaches its climax, our Sunday Mass Readings are filled with anticipation.
In the First Reading, the Prophet Jeremiah speaks of a time to come when God would make a new kind of covenant with His people, one dramatically different from the ones made before. Under this new covenant the exiled tribes would be gathered together. It would signal a new era and a new level of intimacy with the Lord. After hearing these words of Jeremiah, God’s people waited in eager anticipation of this promised future.
In our Gospel Reading, Jesus is approached by some Greeks. At their arrival Jesus declares that “The hour has come…”. The “hour” of which Jesus speaks refers to His Passion, Death, Resurrection and Ascension. With the coming of this “hour”, what was promised through the Prophet Jeremiah will finally reach fulfillment through Christ. Not only will the Children of Israel be gathered together, but so too will all people, “wash[ed]…and cleanse[d]” as we sing in today’s psalm.
Jesus says that He must die in order to bring eternal life. If Jesus is the Head of the Church, then His Body must do likewise:
Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. – John 12:25
I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead – Philippians 3:10
The new life which Jesus brought to mankind is made present to us at every Mass in the Blessed Sacrament. Sometime this week, in preparation for Easter, why not spend an additional Holy Hour asking for the grace to live a life in imitation of our Lord?