Happy Birthday U.S.M.C. SEMPER FI

Happy Birthday to the United States Marine Corps, founded this day in 1775 at Tun Tavern in Philadelphia.
U.S. Marines have been part of every military engagement in which the United States has been involved.

Happy Birthday to all Marines, especially those that have paid the ultimate sacrifice for American freedom and democracy. Happy Birthday to past, present and future Marines is somewhat redundant....after all one is ALWAYS a Marine. Thank you Leathernecks, and SEMPER FI! Below is a sketch of the Tun Tavern as it appeared in he 18th century. Unfortunately, I-95 now flows over the site of the tavern. There is a historical marker on Front Street to commemorate the Tavern's importance in American history.

The Commemoration of all the Faithful Departed (All Souls)

Aladar Korosfoi-Kriesch

All Souls' Day --1910 Oil on canvas, 51,5 x 72,5 cm

Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest

(It is a Hungarian tradition to go to cemeteries to honor the dead)

 
 
     Today we remember the faithful souls that have not attained their final eschatological state with God. Countless, nameless souls that need our prayers and spiritual remembrances. This commemoration of All Souls reminds us of our temporality and our own mortality. At the same time it also causes us as faithful Catholic Christians to contemplate the disposition of our souls in the afterlife after human death.
     We are strengthened and reaffirmed in our hope in God's love and mercy through the Paschal Mystery.
Souls in the state of purgatory are also engaged in the eschatological progression to life with God. Outside of out comprehension of chronological temporality, we do not understand or might not even be able to comprehend the notion of kairotic time, namely God's notion of time. Because of this incomprehensible notion on the part of human beings, we need to pray for all members of the People of God, those living, those departed and those still to come. One thing for certain is that we through prayer can assist all of these souls in transition on their journey towards oneness with God's Divine Being.
Please use this day to pray for all of the faithful departed especially those in the purgatorial state as they are refined like a fine metal towards the Presence of God. Please also, pray for those countless souls that have no one living to pray on their behalf. The forgotten souls are souls indeed most in need of our prayer and supplications for God's mercy and forgiveness.
     The Rosary, of course is a most powerful tool that invokes the intercession of Mary, the Mother of God.
If you get time, pray the rosary today, or even a few decades for the intentions of all of the faithul departed, especially those forgotten, unknown and without living faithful to intercede on their behalf.
 
May all of the souls of the faithfully departed rest in peace. Amen.

Just for fun....revisiting the NEW 7 Deadly Sins!

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William Bougereau Dante and Virgil in Hell 1850

The newly revised list of the seven deadly sins is indeed an announcement that makes everyone step back and consider our moral actions in terms of a much larger global perspective. The original deadly sins, embodied in the Divine Comedy, (lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy & pride) have received a long overdue modification. This modification updates the sins with a global perspective in mind as the world becomes increasingly more globalized in our thoughts and actions. The updated deadly sins include, genetic modification, human experimentations, polluting the environment, social injustice, causing poverty, financial gluttony and taking drugs.



While the new list does not abrogate the old list of seven deadly sins, it places them in a new context that permit the modern believer an opportunity to apply Catholic moral and social teachings to understand the communal effect that sin indeed presents to humanity. Especially important are the inclusion of the sinful potentials in genetic modification and the immoral use of human beings in scientific experimentation. Modern advances in life sciences make it especially critical to note that human experimentation and genetic modification in the pursuit of a greater common good are serious immoral occasions that degrade the sacredness and dignity of human life. In addition to making note of scientific dangers presented in the new deadly sins, social injustice and causing poverty are noted as acts of immorality as well. What is interesting to note is these two sins have a deeply global and universal sense of immorality that collectively unite all of the people of the world. Most appropriately then, in listing these two actions as deadly sins, the communal nature of immorality is called to mind as well.



As the world increases in its secular and materialistic affections financial, gluttony makes the top list of the seven deadly sins. That makes a lot of sense because the inability and unwillingness to share resources between all aspects of humankind does indeed create a larger chasm that divides all of humanity. Finally, taking drugs for illicit purposes finishes the list of the seven most deadly sins. Finally, a clear and concise modern listing of the most detrimental actions to the fulfillment of human happiness and sanctity.



The new list of course does not replace the deadly sins made famous by Dante in the Purgatorial sufferings of the Divine Comedy; it just places them in a modern 21st century perspective. Sin and its effects are always issues for the modern believer to worry about. Now, in addition to the subjective nature of sinful actions, modern Catholics and indeed all people can understand more fully that deadly sins affect each person individually and collectively as a global society.



Maybe this new listing of the seven “new” and improved deadly sins is indicative of the direction, which our Catholic faith is obviously developing. That is a clearer integration of our Catholic moral and ethical principles onto a larger and universal stage of global implications and effects. Sin indeed not only provides an individual with a hiatus from grace, but also collectively produces a division between people, nations and societies.

Our new list of deadly sins clearly indicates our global relationship with each other in not only actions of personal immorality, but also the interrelated aspects of global relationships that immoral actions cause for all of God’s children.



Hugh McNichol is a Catholic author that writes on Catholic religious subjects. He wites daily @ http://catholicsacredarts.blogspot.com & http://verbumcarofactumest.blogspot.com



Comments and feedback can be sent to hjmn4@trinetconsultantsinc.com

Our Lady of Fatima, Ora pro nobis!

Today, October 13 is the 94th anniversary of the apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary to the children at Fatima. Since the monumental event, the Church has celebrated Mary's providence and admonitions that direct the world to pray for peace and conversion of all peoples. Pope Pius XII, was frequently called, "the Pope of Fatima," because of his particular devotion to Her. In fulfillment of Mary's request, Pius XII consecrated the world to Mary, and in particular invoked her request for the conversion of Russia.
Pope Paul VI, renewed the consecration of the world to, "the heart of  Mary," and made a pilgrimage to the site to pray and reaffirm the Church's acknowledgement of Mary's apparitions and messages for the conversion of all mankind.
Pope John-Paul II, victim of an attempted assassination after his extended period of recovery maintained it was the, "hand of Our Lady of Fatima," that diverted the bullets and subsequently spared his life. In homage to Mary and her Divine intervention, Pope John-Paul II had one of the bullets extracted from his wounded body mounted into the crown adorning the statue of Our Lady of Fatima at the site of the apparitions in Portugal. John-Paul also declared two of the children Francisco and Jacinta both Blessed, the last stage before sainthood in the Catholic Church.
The last survivor of the apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima was Sister Lucia who recorded all of Mary's requests and prophecies for posterity and future release according to the time frame the Virgin Mary had requested. The prophecies  and visions included a vision of hell, Mary's instructions on how to save people from the flames of hell, and to pray for the world's conversion to Christ in order to enjoy world peace and harmony. The third secret was withheld until 2000 and when finally disclosed revealed a scene of conflagration and destruction which included the slaughter of , " a man dressed in white (presumed to be the Pope) and the slaughter of bishops, priests and faithful believers. When the secret was released, the Vatican maintained it referred to the attempt on John-Paul's life.
However, when visiting Fatima and celebrating the appearance of the Virgin Mary and her prophetic words, Pope Benedict XVI maintained the third revealed secret also implied " that the Church and the world are called to constant faith and conversion," and the third secret was relevant for all times.
During his last visit to Fatima, Pope Benedict XVI presented a "golden rose" to the statue of the Virgin Mary to express the great devotion and esteem the Church holds for Our Lady of Fatima and her providential guidance over the whole world as a direct intermediary to Her Son, Jesus Christ.
Perhaps the best way we can recall and celebrate this appearance of God's Divine Presence 94 years ago is in simply praying: Hail Mary, Full of Grace, the Lord is with Thee. Blessed are Thee among all women and blessed is the fruit of Thy womb Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen,
Our Lady of Fatima, pray for the conversion of the world to belief in Christ and pray for all of us. Amen.

In conclusion, take some time today to pray the Rosary, for all of the People of God, past, present and future, especially the souls in purgatory that have no one to pray for them.

Gaudet Mater Ecclesia...Mother Church rejoices!

Forty nine years ago, the Catholic Church entered into the age of “aggiornamento”, an opening up to the evolving modern world of the 1960’s. To place the state if the world in perspective, John F.Kennedy was President of the United States and Blessed John XXIII was Pope and the Catholic world used Latin as the primary language for liturgical celebrations and global communications. Pope John XXIII convened the Council in an earnest attempt to bring the Catholic Church into the modern age of the 20th century. Since this monumental day in the history of Catholicism, things have never been quite the same; however our foundations of Catholic faith remain the unchanged traditions and beliefs that have been handed down since the Apostolic Era.

John XXIII wanted the Church to integrate itself more intimately with the roots of the ancient Church, restore clarity to the manner in which the Church prayed and develop an ecumenical movement that would attempt to end the Counter Reformation declarations and anathemas enacted by the Council of Trent, placing the Catholic Church in the forefront of global pursuits of human rights and freedoms. The opening date of the Council was not chosen in an arbitrary manner either. In the Roman Calendar that was in use at the time, the date was a Marian feast day, The Maternity of Mary, the Mother of God, which tied the II Vatican Council to the date the Council of Ephesus declared Mary, as Theotokos ,God Bearer and dedicated the Council’s deliberations and actions to Her for guidance and inspiration.

October 11, 1962 was marked with great pageantry and splendor, all of the Council Fathers wearing copes and miters processed into Saint Peter’s Basilica with hopeful expectations that would change the Church in a positive direction in relationship to a world still recovering from the effects of the carnage of the Second World War, the tragedy of the Holocaust and the daily political and military tensions between the United States in the ongoing Cold War. In an ironic twist of history, the Cuban Missile Crisis would start on October 14 and peacefully end on October 28th, while the Catholic Church’s hierarchy was sequestered in prayer and deliberations that included the topic of global peace and harmony among nations.

The initial purpose of the Council as envisioned by Pope John XXIII was one that modernized the Catholic Church’s celebration of its sacred rites and rituals and open an opportunity to meet in ecumenical dialogue with separated brethren faiths, the Orthodox Church, the various branches of Protestantism which emerged during the Reformation and a reexamination of the intimate relationship the Catholic Church shared with the Jewish people, the recipients of the first covenant with Abraham and Catholic ancestors in the history of salvation. One of these tasks would be a monumental understanding, the deliberations evolved and produced changes in not only sacramental practices, but a radical change in the Catholic Church’s perspective of how it viewed not only itself, but also how the Catholic Church viewed its relationship with the world and the emerging global identities beginning to emerge in the modern world. Later in the Council, the document, Gaudium et Spes, The Constitution on the Church in the Modern World would elaborate on that relationship.

Most Catholics remember the Second Vatican Council primarily because of the radical changes in the Liturgy of the Eucharist, and the transition from Latin as the Church’s language of celebration to the usage of the local vernacular language (English in the United States); however the Council in hindsight was more prophetic and insightful during deliberations and set the platform for the Catholic Church to emerge transformed and refortified in the late 20th century and now the early 21st century.

Since the end of the Council the Church has become a dynamic presence and influence in global politics. Individuals that during the council then considered periti or theological advisors have become household figures universally recognized for their expertise and direction of the Church’s theological development into the notion of the People of God. Theologians, Rahner, Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI), Wojtyla (now Blessed John-Paul II) and Schillebeeckx were the architects of change and development propelling the Catholic Church into the modern world.

In the United States, hundreds of American Bishops attended the Second Vatican Council. They brought the liturgical reforms back to their respective dioceses and archdioceses and faithfully implemented the precepts of the Council in fulfillment of the axiom, “lex orandi, lex credendi,” the Church prays as the Church believes. The last forty-nine years for the Catholic Church has been a period of great loyalty and faithfulness of our American Bishops that were present for the entire Second Vatican Council. We are still blessed with Archbishop Phillip Hannan; Archbishop Emeritus of New Orleans was the last Father of the Second Vatican Council to witness the great manifestation and transformations of the Holy Spirit since the conclusion of the Second Vatican Council. Keep him in your constant prayers, Archbishop Hannan died on September 29, 2011 and was the last American to hold the esteemed title of Council Father in regards to the Second Vatican Council, a few weeks short of the 49th anniversary of the Council’s inception.

With the beginning of the Church’s new liturgical year on the first Sunday of Advent, the ongoing developments of the Second Vatican Council will again be apparent with a new edition of the Roman Missal, that returns to translations more consistent with the Latin texts developed by the Council Fathers. Pope Benedict XVI, a theological consultant during the Council, is now the Church’s leader. Ironically, during his papacy, permission has been universally granted to celebrate the Latin liturgy that was in place when the Second Vatican Council convened. Most commonly and erroneously called the Mass of the Council of Trent, it is now called The Mass of Blessed John XXIII and illustrates how the Church grows and develops in Her understanding of liturgy, theology and human progression towards a final eschatology with God and eternal life.

As we approach the Golden Anniversary of the Second Vatican Council in 2012, we should celebrate and reflect on the positive and transformative events of the past 49 years , identifying ourselves as a Church as a pilgrim people, ever growing and intensifying our identity of Catholic faith as future hope for a renewed and invigorated Church poised to prosper in the 21st century.

Duty, Honor, Country! Memorial Day.

Rejoice Hoy Mother Church!