BIG C CATHOLICS

Venerable Fulton J. Sheen discusses the Devil's incessant attempts to turn our heats away from God. May we never forget that Satan, the father of lies, is a cruel deceiver of men whose only desire is our destruction. Below is a partial transcript of Venerable Sheen's remarks. Starting at 4:43: I thought perhaps you might be interested in hearing about the Devil from a sound philosophical and theological point of view. I'm going to describe to you the Devil, first from the psychiatric point of view, and secondly from the biblical. First the psychiatric. It is interesting that as we drop things in the Church the world begins to pick them up and distorts them. Now we, for example, the nuns drop the long habits, the girls put on maxi coats. We stop saying the beads, hippies put the beads around their neck. And, as theologians dropped the demonic, the psychiatrists picked it up. [Dr.] Rollo May of Rockefeller Institute has several chapters in his work on psychia

On July 20th, the Church celebrates the feast of one of her first bishop/martyrs. Saint Apollinaris was a revered bishop in his day. Popular piety attests that St. Apollinaris was ordained a Bishop by Saint Peter before serving as a missionary in Ravenna during the reign of the Emperor Claudius. Renowned for his powers to heal in Christ's name, he was tortured and imprisoned numerous times for the faith. On July 23, 79, Apollinaris died in prison after being mercilessly beaten for preaching the Good News. Below is Msgr. Paul Guérin's account of Apollinaris' first miraculous healing. "His first miracle was on behalf of the blind son of a soldier who gave him hospitality when he first arrived in the city of Ravenna. When the apostle told him of the God he had come to preach and invited him to abandon the cult of idols, the soldier replied: Stranger, if the God you preach is as powerful as you say, beg Him to give sight to my son, and I will believe in Him. The Saint

July 19, 2016 Day 3 - St. Anne Novena Beloved of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, mother of the Queen of Heaven, take us and all who are dear to us under your special care. Obtain for us the virtues you instilled in the heart of her who was destined to become Mother of God, and the graces with which you were endowed. O model of Christian womanhood, pray that we may imitate your example in our homes and families, listen to our petitions, (State your intention here.) Guardian of the infancy and childhood of the most Blessed Virgin Mary, obtain the graces necessary for all who enter the marriage state, that imitating your virtues they may sanctify their homes and lead the souls entrusted to their care to eternal glory. Amen. Pray for us, Saint Anne, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. O Lord, God of our Fathers, who bestowed on Saints Joachim and Anne this grace, that of them should be born the Mother of your incarnate Son, grant, through the prayers of both, tha

July is dedicated to the Precious Blood of Christ. Devotion to the Precious Blood is as old as Christianity. The veneration of Our Lord's Precious Blood is a spiritual obligation for every follower of Christ, not just priests and religious. In 96 AD, Pope St. Clement I said: "Let us fix our gaze on the Blood of Christ and realize how truly precious it is, seeing that it was poured out for our salvation and brought the grace of conversion to the whole world." Devotion to the Precious Blood of Christ, the Lamb of God who was slain, is first of all to be veneration on our part — a combination of knowledge, love and adoration. Through study and reflection we can achieve a deeper understanding of what the words, Precious Blood, really mean. In so doing, we come to fully appreciate the depth of God's love and the indispensable nature of Christ's redeeming sacrifice. To that end, Father John Hardon's observation is profound: To understand the meaning of the

July 18, 2016 Day 2 - St. Anne Novena Glorious Saint Anne, how can you be otherwise than overflowing with tenderness toward sinners like myself, since you are the grandmother of Him who shed His blood for us, and the mother of her whom the saints call advocate of sinners? To you, therefore, I address my prayers with confidence. Vouchsafe to commend me to Jesus and Mary so that, at your request, I may be granted remission of my sins, perseverance, the love of God, charity for all mankind, and the special grace of… (State your intention here.) for which I stand in need at the present time. O most powerful protectress, let me not lose my soul, but pray for me that through the merits of Jesus Christ and the intercession of Mary, I may have the great happiness of seeing them, of loving and praising them with you through all eternity. Amen. Pray for us, Saint Anne, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. Amen. O Lord, God of our Fathers, who bestowed on Saint

July 18th, the Church celebrates the Feast of Saint Camillus de Lellis  (1550-1614). He was born in Bocchianico, Italy to parents from noble families. His father, a mercenary soldier who served in the armies of various monarchs, ignored him. His mother was no match for Camillus' strong will and vitriolic temperament. For a time, he followed in his father's footsteps. Camillus fought for the Venetians against the Turks as a soldier of fortune, and began gambling recklessly. Dismissed by the Venetians for his quarrelsome ways, Camillus briefly joined a band of Spanish adventurers. By the age of 24. he was broken in mind and spirit and completely destitute. Accounts vary as to how and when Camillus acquired a diseased leg. As a Capuchin novice, he could not profess because of it. He immersed himself in caring for the sick, eventually serving as director of St. Giacomo Hospital in Rome. From his confessor St. Philip Neri, Camillus received permission to be ordained after which

Fr. Charles Irvin Senior Priest Diocese of Lansing ( Click here for today’s readings ) For those of you who have traveled abroad, particularly to the Middle East and perhaps even to the Holy Land, the account of Abraham bargaining with God will not appear to be strange. Haggling is an art form, particularly in a Middle Eastern market. Abraham’s intercessory bargaining reveals the value of only one just man’s prayers along with the value God places on the life of just one righteous man. The Jews, you see, have always known that the prayer of just one righteous man holds a lot of value with God and that the life of such a man is “worth his weight in gold” as the market place phrase goes. Abraham knows exactly how to bargain with God so that God will spare the people of Sodom for the sake of just one man living there. Furthermore, the story reveals that Abraham is on good terms with God. One not on good terms with God would ever dare to approach God in this manner. Abraham, howeve