In the Apostolic Letter Novo Millennio Ineunte, Pope John Paul II lists some priorities for pastoral care in the new millennium. Above all he recalls the vocation of all Christians to holiness. “First of all, I have no hesitation in saying that all pastoral initiatives must be set in relation to holiness”. A modern guide to holiness is John Henry Newman.
Sr. Kathleen Dietz, FSO
“Such were the thoughts concerning the ‘Blessed Vision of Peace,’ of one whose long-continued petition had been that the Most Merciful would not despise the work of His own Hands, nor leave him to himself;-while yet his eyes were dim, and his breast laden, and he could but employ Reason in the things of Faith” (Dev., 445).
I. Introduction
It’s no secret that the Catholic Church has been rocked with scandals over the past several years. Nor is it a secret that the media has enjoyed a heyday of scandal-mongering and Pope-bashing. Nonetheless, a recent
Stay with me, and then I shall begin to shine as you shine:
so to shine as to be a light to others.
The light, O Jesus, will be all from you.
Our tongues must preach Him, and our voices sing of Him, and our knees adore Him, and our hands supplicate Him, and our heads bow before Him, and our countenances beam of Him, and our gait herald Him. And hence arise joint worship, forms of prayer, ceremonies of devotion, the course of services, orders of ministers, holy vestments, solemn music, and other things of a like nature ; all which are, as it…
Those who are drawn by curiosity or a better motive to inquire into the Catholic Religion, sometimes put to us a strange question,—whether, if they took up the profession of it, they would be at liberty, when they felt inclined, to reconsider the question of its Divine authority; meaning, by “reconsideration,” an inquiry springing from doubt of it, and possibly ending in a denial. The same question, in the form of an objection, is often asked by those who have no thoughts at all of becoming Catholics, and who enlarge upon it, as something terrible, that whoever once enters the pale of the Church, on him the door of egress is shut for ever; that, once a Catholic, he never, never can doubt again;…
While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” 2 Cor. 4: 18.
There are two worlds, “the visible, and the invisible,” as the Creed speaks,-the world we see, and the world we do not see; and the world we do not see as really exists as the world we do see. It really exists, though we see it not. The world we see we know to exist, because we see it. We have but to lift up our eyes and look around us,
Why is May chosen as the month in which we exercise a special devotion to the Blessed Virgin?
The first reason is because it is the time when the earth bursts forth into its fresh foliage and its green grass after the stern frost and snow of winter, and the raw atmosphere and the wild wind and rain of the early spring. It is because the blossoms are upon the trees and the flowers are in the gardens. It is because
Newman is to be Beatified!
On the 19th September 2010 John Henry Newman will be raised to the honour of the altars by Pope Benedict XVI in a Solemn Mass at Coventry.
Dear Newman Friends,
After many years of expectation and prayer it is a great joy for us to share this news with you. Indeed, we had decided not to send our newsletter until the venue and date of the beatification was confirmed and made public.
…Father Dominic, the Passionist, is coming here to-night on his way to Belgium – He does not know of my intentions, but I shall ask of him the charitable work of admitting me to what I
“Who can understand his errors? Cleanse Thou me from secret faults.” Psalm 19: 12.
Strange as it may seem, multitudes called Christians go through life with no effort to obtain a correct knowledge of themselves. They are contented with general and vague impressions concerning their real state; and, if they have more than this, it is merely such accidental information about themselves as the events of life force upon them. But exact systematic knowledge they have none, and do not aim at it.
