BIG C CATHOLICS

Pope Benedict XVI warned in a speech to more than one million pilgrims in Madrid that marriage is between a man and a woman and cannot be dissolved.... "The Lord calls many people to marriage, in which a man and a woman, in becoming one flesh, find fulfilment in a profound life of communion," he told the young pilgrims.      A Vatican spokesman said on Sunday as many as 1.5 million pilgrims had gathered to hear the pope. Marriage was a project for true love, deepened by sharing joys and sorrows, and marked by "complete self-giving", said the pope.    "For this reason, to acknowledge the beauty and goodness of marriage is to realize that only a setting of fidelity and indissolubility, along with an openness to God's gift of live, is adequate to the grandeur and dignity of marital love."

We are Catholic because our religion is one of love, the one, true Church that Christ established, whose joy and strength is manifest in her youth, as in all her members.

(From Priests For Life) Mother Teresa was called from this world on September 5, 1997. As we approach the anniversary of her death, I invite you to say this special prayer each day: Father of Life, You always defend the poor and oppressed. In Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, You raised up a voice for the voiceless and a friend to the poorest of the poor, the unborn child. She brought women away from the despair of abortion clinics to the hope of a loving community that cared for her and her child. She spoke the truth to men and women of power, asking them how we could tell people not to kill one another while allowing a mother to kill her own child. Father, as we honor this humble and faithful woman, we ask you to give us the grace to follow her example. May we be bold in word and generous in action to love and serve the unborn and to awaken our world to know, as Mother Teresa said, that the greatest destroyer of love and peace is abortion. Fill us with love, bring us peace, and let u...

World Youth Day 2011 runs from August 16 through August 21 in Madrid, Spain. Pope Benedict XVI will arrive on Thursday, August 18, and will celebrate a special public Mass on August 21. While tens of thousands of young people from around the world are expected to converge on Madrid, many, many more are not able to attend. But now they, and indeed all Catholics, can participate spiritually in World Youth Day, and receive an indulgence for doing so. On August 11, the Vatican announced that Pope Benedict has authorized two indulgences, one plenary and one partial, for those who take part in World Youth Day (WYD). According to the official WYD site, •The plenary indulgence is granted to the faithful who devotedly participate at some sacred function or pious exercise taking place during the XXVI World Youth Day in Madrid, including its solemn conclusion, so that, having received the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and being truly repentant, they receive Holy Communion, and devou...

Pope Benedict urged 1.5 million young Catholics at a Sunday mass in an aerodrome near Madrid to spread the gospel to others seeking better values than modern society offers. "We cannot encounter Christ and not want to make him know to others. So do not keep Christ to yourselves! Share with others the joy of your faith," he said in a sermon as part of the activities of the Roman Catholic Church's World Youth Day. The pope, closing a four-day trip to Spain which has been marked by protests, told pilgrims from around 190 countries that they have been given "the extraordinary task" of being missionaries of Christ in other countries filled with young people looking for better values. "And, because their heart tells them that more authentic values do exist, they do not let themselves be seduced by the empty promises of a lifestyle which has no room for God." Hundreds of thousands of young people, bearing flags from their countries and wearin...

The sound of a gentle breeze’ Elijah had gone to the cave trusting and waiting for the Lord to reveal himself to His prophet. He prayed that he would be given the wisdom to be able to hear the call and to recognise what it was that the Lord was asking of him. The conventional wisdom of the Old Testament and for us is that God always shows Himself in a material and physical manner. He is the Almighty, He has created the world and He works miracles and shows His powerful arm therefore it would have been very proper for them to have recognised the Lord in the mighty wind, the earthquake and fire - all of which Elijah witnessed. However it was in the gentle breeze that Elijah knew the Lord was present. He covered his face with his cloak and went out to be with the Lord. Somehow we always want God to come to us and to speak on our own terms, in our own language and for us to be in control. In our pride we want to have confidence that our exchange of conversation and information with God m...

By the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, of the Blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, and by our own authority, we pronounce, declare, and define it to be a divinely revealed dogma: that the Immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory

Matthew Balan NPR pretended that there wasn't a single supporter of Pope Benedict XVI in Spain on Friday's Morning Edition, choosing to devote an entire report on the "many people are grumbling at the cost" of the upcoming papal visit to the country. Correspondent Lauren Frayer not only failed to mention the 428,000 people from around the world who are registered for the World Youth Day event with the Pope, but also omitted the leftist bent of the protesters who are organizing a boycott. Host Steve Inskeep, after delivering the "grumbling" line, highlighted how "local priests, though, have issued a rare complaint. The Pope's visit will cost Spain millions, at a time when the government is also slashing public salaries and public services." Frayer then explained at the beginning of her report that "more than 100 priests from Madrid's poorest barrios posted a letter online, saying they disagree with the cost and style of Pope Benedic...

O Blessed Trinity, we thank You for having graced the Church with Pope John Paul II and for allowing the tenderness of Your Fatherly care, the glory of the cross of Christ, and the splendor of the Holy Spirit, to Shine through him. Trusting fully in Your infinite mercy and in the maternal intercession of Mary, he has given us a living image of Jesus the Good Shepherd, and has shown us that holiness is the necessary measure of ordinary Christian life and is the way of achieving eternal communion with You. Grant us, by his intercession, and according to Your will, the graces we implore..., hoping that he will soon be numbered among Your saints. Amen.

WASHINGTON, D.C., July 20, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) - After the Institute of Medicine (IOM) this week publicly backed government-mandated birth control coverage, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is standing in the breach against what would prove a massive victory for abortion giant Planned Parenthood. The birth control question has sparked a rare spectacle as the two most influential lobbies on sexual health forcefully butt heads over an issue many other interest groups consider secondary. Planned Parenthood immediately cheered the IOM report Tuesday, the result of a study commissioned by U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) and a critical leg-up for the abortion giant’s campaign. “We’re so close to a monumental victory that will change the lives of millions of women,” wrote Planned Parenthood on Facebook, where the group simultaneously posted a new video of “Pillamina,” the foam-flanked mascot of the free birth control campaign. The report recommended that artif...

From August 7 to August 15, Priests for Life invites believers to pray the Novena in honor of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Lord Jesus Christ, You have conquered the power of death And opened for humanity The hope of eternal life in body and soul. You granted your Mother A share in heavenly glory, And did not allow decay to touch her body. As we prepare for the Feast of the Assumption, Grant us new confidence in the victory of life over death, And renewed reverence for the human body. As we honor Mary, Assumed into Heaven, May we proclaim the hope of Your Gospel: That you want every human life seated on your throne. May that hope strengthen us to protect every life here on earth. You live and reign forever and ever. Amen.