BIG C CATHOLICS

June's blog of note, Domine mihi hanc aquam! , has long been a fixture of the Catholic blogosphere. Since November, 2005, Fr. Philip Neri Powell, a Dominican seminary professor, formation advisor and parish priest, has preached and commented about Christ, the Church, popular culture and events of consequence. Featured are Fr. Powell's thought provoking homilies through which readers know and love the mind of Christ. The wide ranging scope of HA's subject matter is reflected in a quote from Pope Benedict XVI displayed on the blog's masthead: "A [preacher] who does not love art, poetry, music and nature can be dangerous. Blindness and deafness toward the beautiful are not incidental; they are necessarily reflected in his [preaching]." In addition to faithful homiletics, readers are just as likely to see advice for discerning a religious vocation , a presentation of original paintings or a polemic against the "Culture of Death." Domine mihi hanc...

Miguel Jose Serra was born November 24, 1713, on the island of Mallorca, Spain. He took the name Junipero when he entered the Franciscan Order in 1730. Ordained in 1737, he taught philosophy and theology at the University of Padua for twelve years. At age 37, he went to Mexico City where he spent the rest of his life working for the conversion of the peoples of the New World. Largely responsible for the spread of the Church on the West Coast of the United States, Junipero founded twenty-one missions and converted thousands of Native Americans. Imbued with a penitential spirit, he practiced austerity in all things. On August 28, 1784, exhausted by his labors, Father Serra was called to his eternal rest. Pope Francis canonized Junipero Serra during his visit to the United States on September 23, 2015. On that occasion the Holy Father remarked, "[Junípero Serra] was the embodiment of 'a Church which goes forth', a Church which sets out to bring everywhere the reconciling ...

June 30, 2016 Today we pray for chastity. It's something we are all called to practice, regardless of our vocation. The Catechism states that chastity allows us to imitate Jesus Christ in selfless love.  Day 4 - The St. Maria Goretti Novena O St. Maria Goretti, beautiful model of chastity, you guarded your virginity with such fervor. Even at the age of 11, you knew the value of the virtue of chastity. Please pray that I will become better at practicing chastity in my own life. Pray that I will learn to live a life in which desire is subservient to reason. Please pray that I will be able to love as Jesus does: selflessly. Please pray also for (mention your intentions here). Amen. O God, author of innocence and chastity, who bestowed the grace of martyrdom on your handmaid, the Virgin Saint Maria Goretti, in her youth, grant, we pray, through her intercession, that, as you gave her a crown for her steadfastness, so we, too, may be firm in obeying your command...

On June 30th, the Church honors the first nameless followers of Christ brutally murdered by the Emperor Nero as scapegoats for the Great Fire of Rome (July 18-23, 64 AD). These holy souls, also called the "Protomartyrs of Rome," were brutally attacked, put into animal skins and hunted, burned as living torches at evening banquets or to light the road for Nero's chariot. Some were crucified while others were fed to wild animals. Their systematic torture was documented by Tacitus and Pope Clement I, among others. Dying before Saints Peter and Paul, these martyrs are known as "Disciples of the Apostles". Despite widespread persecution, Christianity grew with tens of thousands converting to the faith. The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church. First Martyrs of the Church of Rome There were Christians in Rome within a dozen or so years after the death of Jesus, though they were not the converts of the "Apostle of the Gentiles" (see Romans 15...

Beginning this week, we will publish two Sunday homilies; one from Fr. Charles Irvin and another, when available, from Fr. René Butler. Fr. Irvin's will be posted on the preceding Sunday as usual. Fr. Butler's will be posted on Friday. May these homilists benefit you greatly.  In Christ, Matthew Coffin  

On June 29th the Church celebrates the feast day of Saint Peter and Saint Paul. Veneration of these great Apostles is rooted in the very foundations of the Church. These well-known figures are most responsible for spreading the Good News in the early days of Christianity. They share a common feast day because according to tradition, they were executed on the same day during persecution under the Emperor Nero. Historical records indicate Peter was martyred in c. 64-67 AD and Paul in 67 AD. St. Peter was crucified upside since he considered himself unworthy to be martyred in the same manner as Christ. He was buried on Vatican Hill where 20th century excavations revealed his tomb on the site of the Basilica of St. Peter's. By virtue of his Roman citizenship, St. Paul was beheaded in the Via Ostia on the spot where the basilica bearing his name now stands. A partial indulgence may be gained today by anyone who makes devout use of a religious article (crucifix, cross, rosary. scapu...

June 29, 2016 Today we pray that St. Maria Goretti will intercede for us to forgive those who sin against us. When Maria lay dying in the hospital, these were her last words: "I forgive Alessandro Serenelli (her attacker) and I want him with me in heaven forever." St. Maria forgave the man who killed her. May we, likewise, forgive those who have wronged us. Day 3 - The St. Maria Goretti Novena O St. Maria Goretti, beautiful model of forgiveness, pray for me. Even at the age of 11, you did not withhold forgiveness from your attacker. You didn’t wish him unwell. On the contrary, you wanted Heaven for him. You loved him in that way. Pray for me that I, too, will be able to love my enemies like you did. Pray that I will want Heaven for them. Please pray that it will become easier and easier to forgive those who have hurt me and those who will hurt me. Please pray for my own healing from these past hurts so that I can move forward and offer forgiveness. Please...

Simply proclaim the Lord Christ holy in your hearts, and always have your answer ready for people who ask you the reason for the hope that you have. But give it with courtesy and respect and with a clear conscience, so that those who slander your good behaviour in Christ may be ashamed of their accusations. — St. Peter from 1 Peter 3:15-16 I remind you to stir into flame the gift of God that you have through the imposition of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of power and love and self-control. So do not be ashamed of your testimony to our Lord, nor of me, a prisoner for his sake; but bear your share of the hardship for the gospel with the strength that comes from God.  — St. Paul from 2 Timothy 1:6-8

June 28, 2016 Today we pray that St. Maria Goretti will intercede for us to grow in our love of the Lord, our neighbor, and even our enemies. Maria's neighbor attacked her when she was only 11 years old. It was he who tried to rape her, and who ended up killing her. Yet, because she loved the Lord so greatly, Maria forgave him.  Read about the Life of  St. Maria Goretti .  Day 2 - The St. Maria Goretti Novena O St. Maria Goretti, beautiful model of love, your love for God was so clear in how you cared for your family during such hardships and in how you loved your enemies — even unto death. Even at the age of 11, you understood what it meant to love the Lord and to love your neighbor as yourself. Pray for me that I may be able to do the same. Please pray that I will truly be able to serve my family joyfully, and others who need my help and love. And most of all, pray that our Lord will come first in my heart. Please pray also for (mention your intenti...

June 28th is the Feast of Saint Irenaeus. He was born in Smyrna, Asia Minor around the year 120. It is unknown when he came to Gaul. It is thought that as a resident of Smyrna, he listened to the preaching of Saint Polycarp. Irenaeus was a priest in the Church of Lyons during the persecution of 177 when Saint Pothinus, the first bishop of the city was martyred. Irenaeus succeeded him as bishop. Twenty-five years later, Irenaeus himself would be martyred. The writings of St. Irenaeus give him an honored place among the Fathers of the Church. Irenaeus' best-known book, Adversus Haereses , (Against Heresies) is a detailed attack on Gnosticism. At a time when Gnostic sects threatened to undermine Christianity, he vigorously defended all heresies, safeguarding unity of belief. He was instrumental in laying down the foundations for the doctrinal tradition of the Church. According to popular piety, Irenaeus received the crown of martyrdom during a wave of persecution under the Emperor...

Only if it is one and the same Christ who is consubstantial with the Father and with men can he save us, for the meeting ground between God and man is the flesh of Christ. Only if this is God's own flesh can man come into contact with Christ's divinity through his humanity. Because of our kinship with the Word made flesh we are sons of God. The Eucharist consummates our kinship with the word, our communion with the Father, our sharing in the divine nature—there is very real contact between our body and that of the Word. — St. Cyril of Alexandria

June 27, 2016 "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." Today, we pray for purity. The Catechism states that purity of heart enables one to see according to God and to accept others as our brothers & sisters in Christ. Read about the Life of  St. Maria Goretti .  Day 1 - The St. Maria Goretti Novena O St. Maria Goretti, beautiful model of purity, you defended your virginity unto your death. Even at the age of 11, you held dear to your heart what is dear to our Lord's: your purity. Pray for me that I may do the same, especially when I am tempted. Please pray that God will give me the strength to avoid sin and yes to a life which will lead to eternity in Heaven with you and our Lord. Please pray also for (mention your intentions here). Amen. O God, author of innocence and chastity, who bestowed the grace of martyrdom on your handmaid, the Virgin Saint Maria Goretti, in her youth, grant, we pray, through her intercession, that, as y...

The Feast of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, also known as Our Lady of Perpetual Succour, is celebrated on June 27th by the universal Church. The devotion to this Marian icon centers around the picture of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, written on wood, with a background of gold. It is Byzantine in style and is purported to have been written in the thirteenth century. It represents the Mother of God holding the Divine Child with the Archangels Michael (left) and Gabriel (right) presenting Him the instruments of His Passion. Over the figures in the picture are some Greek letters which form the abbreviated words Mother of God, Jesus Christ, Archangel Michael, and Archangel Gabriel respectively. Symbolism of the Icon the face of Our Lady appears full of sorrow, yet supremely dignified in her contemplation of the sufferings of her Son. His passion is represented by angels holding instruments of His passion, most often the cross, the lance, the sponge, and the nails. The Our Mother of Pe...

He Sent them out Two by Two ( Il les envoya deux à deux ), James Tissot, 1886-1896 Fr. Charles Irvin Senior Priest Diocese of Lansing ( Click here for today’s readings ) I want to begin today by going all the way back to our beginnings, back to the Book of Genesis and the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden to Eden. There we find Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and God walking in it to seek them out and be with us, their descendants. There we also find Adam and Eve just after they, sadly, had broken the bond between themselves and God by yielding to the temptation of the Serpent. In Genesis we hear: Then the eyes of both of them were opened and they realized that they were naked. So they sewed fig-leaves together to make themselves loin-cloths. The mam and his wife heard the sound of God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from God among the trees of the garden. But God called to the man. ‘Where are you?’ he asked. ‘I heard the sound of you i...

June 27th is the Optional Memorial of Saint Cyril, Patriarch of Alexandria, one of the metropolitan sees of the Christian Church in the east. Cyril defended the faith against the heresy of Nestorius who taught that in Christ there were two persons, one human and one divine. In 431, Cyril presided over the Council of Ephesus as the pope’s representative. He condemned Nestorianism and proclaimed Mary truly the "God-bearer". The council decreed that Christ, the Son of God, is at once God and man, and that the Blessed Virgin Mary, His mother, is truly the Mother of God. During Cyril's patriarchy, his policy of moderation kept the extreme partisans of the Alexandria see under control. He died in 444. On his deathbed, despite pressure, he refused to censure Nestorius' teacher. The Church, both east and west, venerates Cyril as one of her great doctors. His commentary on the Gospel of St. John is one of the finest examples of scriptural exegesis left to us by the Father...

Saint Maria Goretti is the Church's youngest canonized saint. She was born near Ancona, Italy into a poor peasant family. Known for her cheerfulness and piety, Maria attended Mass often and loved God completely. She was also beautiful. At age 11, she was assaulted by her neighbor's son. Marie chose to die rather than lose her virginity. Enraged by her refusal, Maria's attacker stabbed her nine times. Before dying, she forgave her assailant. Her mother was present at her canonization in 1950, the first time a parent witnessed their child's canonization. Over one half million souls attended St. Maria's canonization Mass, the largest of any canonization up to that time. St. Maria Goretti is patron: Against impoverishment; against poverty; children; children of Mary; girls; loss of parents; martyrs; rape victims; young people in general. Novena  to St. Maria Goretti, Virgin and Martyr The Novena to St. Maria Goretti Begins June 27th in anticipation of her feas...

A partial indulgence may be obtained on the Feast of the Holy Apostles, Peter and Paul by the faithful, who devoutly use an article of devotion (crucifix, cross, rosary. scapular or medal) properly blessed by a priest. But if the article of devotion has been blessed by the Sovereign Pontiff or by any Bishop, the faithful, using it, can also gain a plenary indulgence on the Feast of the Holy Apostles, Peter and Paul, provided they also make a profession of faith according to any legitimate formula. A plenary indulgence remits all temporal punishment due to personal sins. From Norm 17 of the [1967] Apostolic Constitution The Doctrine of Indulgences. Also Norm 19 of the Enchiridion [1968]. Requirements for a Plenary Indulgence on the Feast of the Holy Apostles ◗ devoutly use an article of devotion (crucifix or cross, rosary. scapular or medal) properly blessed by the Sovereign Pontiff or by any Bishop. ◗ Say one "Our Father" and the "Apostles Creed". ◗ S...

"FOLLOW ME." Fr. Charles Irvin Senior Priest Diocese of Lansing ( Click here for today’s readings ) At the time of Jesus officials wrote on very fragile materials like papyrus and vellum. Poor people among whom Jesus moved and who were His disciples didn’t have access to those materials. This caused Jesus to teach using very hard and cutting-edge images, images that His listeners would never forget. And so we hear Jesus saying: “If your eye is a source of sin, pluck it out” and “if your hand is a source of sin, cut if off!” People would never forget those words, words used in His teachings, teachings that everyone would remember. With that in mind let me repeat a key part of today’s Gospel account: And to another he said, “Follow me.” But he replied, “Lord, let me go first and bury my father.” But he answered him, “Let the dead bury their dead. But you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God. “And another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but first let me say farewell...

Each generation is converted by the saint who contradicts it most. — G.K. Chersteron Thirty-five years after Chesterton wrote these words, Pope Paul VI in the encyclical Humanae Vitae said the following:  It is to be anticipated that perhaps not everyone will easily accept this particular teaching. There is too much clamorous outcry against the voice of the Church, and this is intensified by modern means of communication. But it comes as no surprise to the Church that she, no less than her divine Founder, is destined to be a "sign of contradiction." She does not, because of this, evade the duty imposed on her of proclaiming humbly but firmly the entire moral law, both natural and evangelical. Just as our divine Founder, Jesus Christ is a "sign of contradiction" to mankind, His Church, in proclaiming the Good News to every generation, finds herself contradicting the prevailing view of the age. May we, as members of Christ's mystical Body, convert by...

George Weigel, Distinguished Senior Fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center , discusses the abysmal state of our politics in " Confessions of an 'Elitist' " wherein he laments the systematic rhetorical degradation of opponents. Political correctness has wholly eviscerated traditional notions of civility in the conduct of public discourse. Weigel writes: The term "elitist" has been bandied about so promiscuously in this election cycle that it’s become virtually content-free. Yet "elitist" is also being weaponized as a scare-word to prevent legitimate criticism of ideas, attitudes, and behaviors once thought beyond the pale, even in the rough-and-tumble of politics (which, as Mr. Dooley reminds us, "ain’t beanbag"). That kind of bullying is bad news for an already degraded political culture. So let me offer these Confessions of an Elitist in the hope that they might encourage others to push back against the “anti-elitist” though...

Every person born has been stained with original sin, except for Mary, the Mother of God, and John the Baptist, the cousin and Forerunner of Christ. From the first moment of her existence, Our Lady was free from original sin by virtue of her Immaculate Conception. John was cleansed of original sin in the womb of his mother, Elizabeth, at the Visitation as recorded in the Gospel of Luke. The Solemnities of the Immaculate Conception and the birth of John the Baptist are the only occasions in the Church calendar where a saint's feast is his nativity. Usually, the date of a saint's death is observed as his feast since that is the day he is born into eternal life. The justification for today's feast is explained by St. Augustine in the Divine Office: Apart from the most holy solemnity commemorating our Savior's birth, the Church keeps the birthday of no other person except that of John the Baptist. (The feasts of the Immaculate Conception and of the Nativity of the Ble...

St. Thomas More Defending the Liberty of the House of Commons, Vivian Forbes, 1927, St. Stephen's Hall, Parliament, London. St. John Paul II' s 1995 encyclical,  Evangelium vitae , reiterated the Catholic Church's age-old teaching: that "lawmakers have a grave and clear obligation to oppose any law that contradicts humanity's fundamental right to life." Among the most ardent abortion proponents are Catholic politicians. To change their minds we must convert their hearts. Pray the Litany of St. Thomas More for the conversion of pro-choice politicians. Litany of St. Thomas More Martyr and Patron Saint of Statesmen, Politicians and Lawyers V. Lord, have mercy R. Lord have mercy V. Christ, have mercy R. Christ have mercy V. Lord, have mercy R. Lord have mercy V. Christ hear us R. Christ, graciously hear us V. St. Thomas More, Saint and Martyr, R. Pray for us (Repeat after each invocation) St. Thomas More, Patron of Statesmen, Politicians an...

A faint faith is better than a strong heresy. *** The ordinary acts we practice every day at home are of more importance to the soul than their simplicity might suggest. *** An absolutely new idea is one of the rarest things known to man. *** If honor were profitable, everybody would be honorable.  *** I would have people in time of silence take good heed that their minds be occupied with good thoughts, for unoccupied they will never be. *** Every tribulation which ever comes our way either is sent to be medicinal, if we will take it as such, or may become medicinal, if we will make it such, or is better than medicinal, unless we forsake it. *** But no matter how high in the clouds this arrow of pride may fly, and no matter how exuberant one may feel while being carried up so high, let us remember that the lightest of these arrows still has a heavy iron head. High as it may fly, therefore, it inevitably has to come down and hit the ground. And sometime...