BIG C CATHOLICS

Fr. René J. Butler, M.S. Director, La Salette Shrine Enfield, NH The angel visits Joseph ( Click here for today’s readings )  In the famous balcony scene of Romeo and Juliet , Juliet asks, “What’s in a name?” It is true enough that the name is not the same as the reality. And yet some names do matter. There are many names in today’s readings: Ahaz, Isaiah, Paul, Mary, Joseph. Two others really stand out: Emmanuel, and Jesus. About the name Jesus, St. Peter says in chapter 4 of Acts: “There is no salvation through anyone else, nor is there any other name under heaven given to the human race by which we are to be saved.” Jesus means God Saves, or God is salvation. This is why the angel tells Joseph, “You are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” Then, of course, there is the magnificent prophetic name Emmanuel: God with us. Another name for Jesus also appears in today’s Gospel: Christ, which means Anointed, which translates the...

If you need a break from all the holiday cheer, take the US Religious Knowledge Quiz , sponsored by Pew. Afterwards, you can look up the results of the actual survey and see how you compare with the American public. (H/T: Perry Dane.)

This list is by no means definitive. It is impossible to give an exact number of saints. The majority are known only to God. The Virgin Mary has been omitted out of respect. The Mother of the Savior has a significant place in the divine economy of salvation. Contrary to popular imagination, the saints lived lives remarkably similar to our own. Living ordinary lives in extraordinary ways they were able to achieve heroic virtue. Such a life is possible for us today, with grace, unrelenting prayer, the sacraments and the saints as our guides. The number next to some saints is not intended as a rank. We have tried to include individuals who reflect the depth and scope of a universal Church that spans two millennia. 1. St. Peter - first pope, apostle, martyr 2. St. Paul of Tarsus -  missionary, author of scripture, martyr 3. St. John - apostle, evangelist, bishop 4. St. Thomas - apostle, missionary, martyr 5. St. Andrew - apostle, missionary, martyr 6. St. James...

Fr. René J. Butler, M.S. Director, La Salette Shrine Enfield, NH ( Click here for today’s readings )  We are in Cycle A of the Sunday readings, in which the majority of the Gospel readings are from Matthew. In a few weeks we will be reading his account of Jesus’ Baptism. “Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. John tried to prevent him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and yet you are coming to me?” That was chapter 3 of Matthew. Today’s Gospel is from chapter 11. John needs to know: “Are you the one?” Strange, isn’t it? He knew him then. How can he now have doubts? What has changed is that John is now in prison! It would appear that this was not what he expected. Jesus’ answer is in two parts: Look around you. Everything prophesied in Isaiah 35 is being fulfilled—and more besides! Blessed is the one who takes no offense at me. What we have here is a beatitude! (There are many beatitudes in the Bible besides the...

Andrea Tornielli of Vatican Insider shows us what a day in the life of Pope Francis is like.  It begins early at quarter to five in the morning.  Not many details but interesting nonetheless.  Go here for her article.

By Fr. Tommy Lane John the Baptist is a powerful image placed before us every Advent. We might want to say John the Baptist preparing for Christ is our model during Advent. In the Gospel today John announces judgment, and next Sunday’s Gospel tells us of Jesus bringing salvation. John’s first word announces his theme, “Repent.” In other words, John asks his listeners to turn their minds and hearts away from whatever they had as their goal and look only to God. The reason is because “the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” In other words, Jesus the Messiah has already arrived. Everything about John shows that he himself has repented and turned away from everything to look only to God. He has nothing in the desert; he only has a garment of camel hair and whatever food he could find in the desert. John is living the very message he proclaims, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” Because John is obviously radiating God’s word, we heard that Jerusalem, all Judea and th...

Description: Feast of the Immaculate Conception is December 8. Pray this once a day from November 30 to December 8.  Prayer: Immaculate Virgin! Mary, conceived without sin! Remember, you were miraculously preserved from even the shadow of sin, because you were destined to become not only the Mother of God, but also the mother, the refuge, and the advocate of man; penetrated therefore, with the most lively confidence in your never-failing intercession, we most humbly implore you to look with favor upon the intentions of this novena, and to obtain for us the graces and the favors we request.     You know, O Mary, how often our hearts are the sanctuaries of God, Who abhors iniquity. Obtain for us, then, than angelic purity which was your favorite virtue, that purity of heart which will attach us to God alone, and that purity of intention which will consecrate every thought, word, and action to His greater glory. Obtain also for us a constant spirit...

And we know that all things work together for the good of those who love God and who have been called according to his purpose . Romans 8:28 and Jesus has said to us: But I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy. On that day you will have no more questions to ask me . (Jn 16:22-23)

Pope Francis said Tuesday in his first apostolic exhortation that no matter how progressive-minded the world turns, the Catholic Church can never compromise on its “no abortion” rule — it’s a matter of human dignity. “I want to be completely honest in this regard,” he said, Catholic News Service reported. “This is not something subject to alleged reforms or ‘modernizations.’ It is not ‘progressive’ to try to resolve problems by eliminating a human life.” The statement comes in sharp contrast to some in the political world, of mostly liberal and left-of-center progressive mind, who claim loyalty to the Catholic faith, yet refuse to denounce abortion as a matter of policy. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, one of the most visible examples of such politicos, has advocated for years for the rights of women to abort — to the point of even raising the hackles of one Catholic cardinal in September, who said the Democrat should quit taking Communion Then, in an...

The Obama administration, in what’s been called an egregious slap in the face to the Vatican, has moved to shut down the U.S. Embassy to the Holy See — a free-standing facility — and relocate offices onto the grounds of the larger American Embassy in Italy. The new offices will be in a separate building on the property, Breitbart reported. The Washington Times has all the details .

Fr. René J. Butler, M.S. Director, La Salette Shrine Enfield, NH ( Click here for today’s readings )  I once met a woman who was descended from the first man executed in the American colonies. It was a curious fact, but it did not reflect negatively on herself. There are people, however, who live with inherited guilt. The descendants of famous Nazis such as Himmler, Goering and others have distanced themselves as much as possible from their cruel history. Descendants of Hitler’s nephews have changed their name and live a secluded life. There is also guilt by association, as expressed by sayings about “birds of a feather” or “you are the company you keep.” Even the British royal family, in 1917, because of strong anti-German sentiment during World War I, changed its name from the German “ Saxe-Coburg and Gotha ” to “The House of Windsor.” And yet, Matthew in the very first chapter of his Gospel seems to go out of his way to remind us that Jesus’ ancestry ...

SPRINGFIELD, IL, November 15, 2013 ( LifeSiteNews.com ) – The bishop of Springfield, Illinois will lead prayers of exorcism “in reparation for the sin of same-sex marriage” at his cathedral on November 20 as Governor Pat Quinn signs a state law redefining marriage. Bishop Thomas Paprocki says he was inspired by Pope Francis, who had condemned same-sex “marriage” as a “machination of the Father of Lies” in 2010 when Argentina was preparing to redefine marriage. Go here for more.

Fr. René J. Butler, M.S. Director, La Salette Shrine Enfield, NH ( Click here for today’s readings )  There’s an old joke about a little boy who noticed that his great-grandmother read the Bible constantly. One day he asked her why. She answered, “I’m cramming for finals!” There is plenty to make us anxious in today’s readings. Malachi prophesies doom for evildoers. Jesus says his followers will be. And why? “Because of my name.” Even family and friends will hand you over, everyone will hate you. And why? Again, “Because of my name.” But then Jesus says two strange things. 1. In a time of persecution, don’t prepare your defense. Now any self-respecting “Law & Order” addict can tell you that you never go into a courtroom unprepared. Witnesses have to be prepped. 2. Don’t worry. Jesus doesn’t say this in so many words, but he assures us that not a hair of our head will be destroyed. How can he make such a claim? If we look back at the reading from Malachi, w...

Ye souls of the faithful! who sleep in the Lord; But as yet are shut out, from your final reward! Oh! would I could lend you, assistance to fly; From your prison below, to your palace on high. O Father of mercies! Thine anger withhold; These works of Thy hand in Thy mercy behold; Too oft from Thy path, they have wandered aside: But Thee, their Creator, they never denied. O tender Redeemer! Their misery see; Deliver those souls that were ransomed by Thee; Behold how they love Thee, despite of their pain: Restore them, restore them to favour again. O Spirit of grace! O Consoler divine! See how for Thy presence they longingly pine; Ah, then, to enliven their sadness, descend; And fill them with peace, and with joy in the end. O Mother of mercy! Dear soother in grief! Lend thou to their torments a balmy relief; And temper the rigour of justice severe; And soften their flames with a pitying tear. All ye who would honour the Saints and their Head, Remember, remembe...

By Saint Alphonsus Maria de Liguori The practice of recommending to God the souls in Purgatory, that He might mitigate the great pains which they suffer, and that He may soon bring them to His glory, is most pleasing to the Lord and most profitable to us. For these blessed souls are His eternal spouses, and most grateful are they to those who obtain their deliverance from prison, or even a mitigation of their torments. When, therefore, they arrive in Heaven, they will be sure to remember all who have prayed for them. It is a pious belief that God manifests to them our prayers in their behalf, that they may also pray for us. It is true that these blessed souls are not in a state to pray for themselves, because they are atoning for their faults. However, because they are very dear to God, they can pray for us, and obtain for us the divine graces. Saint Catherine of Bologna, when she wished to obtain any grace, had recourse to the souls in Purgatory, and her prayers were heard imm...

Townhall has all the details.

There are several plenary indulgences available for the first week in November. They are the following: For the faithful departed § 1. A plenary indulgence, applied exclusively to the souls in Purgatory, is granted to the Christian faithful who: 1° on each single day, from the first to the eighth day in November, devoutly visit a cemetery and, even if only mentally, pray for the faithful departed; [Note: one plenary indulgence for each day, if the usual conditions are met] 2° on the day of Commemoration of All Faithful Departed [November 2] (or, according to the Ordinary, on the preceding or subsequent Sunday, or on the day of the solemnity of All Saints) piously visit a church or oratory and there recite the  Pater  and the  Credo .

The Vatican on Tuesday reiterated one of its longstanding rules about the indissolubility of marriage, making clear that a recent German initiative on the matter was contrary to church teaching. The Vatican's chief doctrine official, German Archbishop Gerhard Mueller, wrote Tuesday that there is no way for Catholics who divorce and remarry to receive Communion unless they get an annulment, a church ruling that their first marriage never existed. "God's mercy does not dispense us from following his commandments or the rules of the church," he wrote in the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano. Church teaching holds that Catholics who don't have their first marriage annulled before remarrying cannot participate fully in the church's sacraments because they are living in sin and committing adultery. 

The coat of arms   of Pope Francis was revealed on 18 March 2013. Francis decided to keep both the arms and motto he used since his episcopal consecration in 1991, however altered to reflect his position as Roman Pontiff. Charges and field The coat of arms has three charges on a blue field. In reference to Francis being a Jesuit, the uppermost charge is the emblem of the Society of Jesus. The emblem is composed of a radiating sun, within which is the IHS christogram (a monogram of the Holy Name of Jesus) in red, with a red cross surmounting the H and three black nails below the H. Below the Jesuit emblem is an eight-pointed star, which is a long-standing symbol of the Virgin Mary, and a spikenard (or nard flower) representing Saint Joseph. In hispanic iconographic tradition Saint Joseph is often depicted with a branch of spikenard in his hand. The charges appeared on Bergoglio's previous coat of arms, used when he was Archbishop of Buenos Aires, but as pope he...

Fr. René J. Butler, M.S.  Director, La Salette Shrine Enfield, NH ( Click here for today’s readings )  It is natural to focus on gratitude in today’s readings. I’ll get to that later. You probably never read the 1952 book, Prisoners are People by Kenyon J. Scudder. And you probably never saw the 1955 movie Unchained, based on that book. But you have definitely heard the theme song of that film, one of the most famous love songs of all time, covered by dozens of artists. I have been humming “Unchained Melody” all week, ever since I first looked at this Sunday’s readings. What made me think of this song is the phrase in today’s second reading: “The Word of God is not chained.” Although the Apostle Paul is in prison, the Gospel continues to spread. It is unrestricted. It doesn’t depend on him. Another melody comes to mind, from Leonard Bernstein’s opera, Mass. There is a sung reflection, a homily of sorts, on the same passage from 2 Timothy. “You can lock up...