By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Writer
On the great Feast of Corpus Christi, Pope Benedict XVI warned the faithful to avoid “empty Eucharistic worship” and to look to Mary as an example of the kind of faith and love with which we should adore the Eucharist from our hearts.
By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Writer
During a recent interview, Archbishop Raymond Burke, Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura, said the recent Notre Dame scandal of inviting pro-abortion President Barack Obama to speak at its 2009 commencement has served to sensitize people to the shame of abortion and to realize how dangerous it is for Catholic institutions to pursue prestige in the secular world at the expense of fidelity to Christ.
By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Writer
For unknown reasons, the White House has purged its website of any mention of the president’s campaign promise to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), and filed a Supreme Court brief yesterday where they defended DOMA as being a valid exercise of Congress’ power.
Today is the Feast of Corpus Christi. This celebration, which commemorates the Body of Christ given to us in Holy Eucharist, is celebrated following Trinity Sunday and was formally established in the 13th Century.
St. Juliana of Mont Conillon, also known as St. Juliana of Liege, was the champion of the feast. From her early youth, she had a great love of the Blessed Sacrament and longed to have a feast day set aside to honor Our Lord’s presence in the Eucharist.
The saint’s desire grew after a vision she reportedly had of the Church represented by the full moon. In this vision, the moon had one dark spot, supposedly representing the absence of such a feast day.
Juliana expressed her desires to the Bishop of Liege, Robert de Thorete, to the Dominican Hugh who later became the Cardinal Legate in the Netherlands, and to Jacques Pantaleon, at that time Archbishop of Liege who was to become Pope Urban IV.
Favorably impressed, Bishop Robert Thorete instituted the feast day in his own diocese in 1247 as bishops were permitted to do at that time, and Pope Urban IV ordered the annual celebration of Corpus Christi on the Thursday following Trinity Sunday in 1264. Though the celebration remains on this day in Rome, here in the United States it is now celebrated the Sunday following Trinity Sunday.
The feast offers all of us an opportunity to appreciate more deeply the rich treasure of grace offered to us through the Holy Eucharist. It is a day that begs us to enter into the Sacred Mystery of the Body and Blood, Soul and Divintiy of Our Lord Jesus Christ given to us and for us in every Eucharistic celebration. It reminds us of the divine sacrifice made on our behalf while beckoning us to be infused ever more completely by the Author of Life Himself.
Following are five ways we can enhance our appreciation of the Blessed Sacrament and mine the rich treasure that is ours. It is taken from my book, Full of Grace: Women and the Abundant Life.
David Letterman’s recent outrageous display of poor taste and insensitivity regarding Sarah Palin’s daughter, Willow, and the liberal press’ defense of it, points to a larger cultural issue — our nation has grown hard of heart.
Civility has been bartered for crudeness, courtesy for contempt, and politeness for self-aggrandisement. In the end, hardness of heart leads to a complete disregard for the human person and reduces him to nothing more than a joke’s punchline — or much worse.
Consider the incident involving the teens who attacked another teen this week, beat her up, and cut and torched her hair. Or the unconscionable murder of the Holocaust museum security guard, Stephen Johns, by James von Brunn. Read the rest…
Some years ago I overheard a father talking to his child. It seems the little tyke had done something he shouldn’t have done and the father was reprimanding him for his disobedient choice. What struck me about the conversation was the dad’s choice of words, his gentle tone of voice and his loving disposition. It was clear that in the midst of the admonition this father was communicating to his son love, encouragement, faith, and hope. Read the rest…
By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Writer
The American Medical Association (AMA), the nation’s largest physician organization, has announced that it will not support President Obama’s government-sponsored insurance plan, a position that is considered to be a setback for advocates of a public insurance plan.
By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Writer
The state of Massachusetts sponsored another “transgender prom” in Boston City Hall for middle and high school age youth. Eyewitnesses said the event was heavily infiltrated by older homosexuals who openly courted young people attending the event.
By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Writer
The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared a global flu pandemic for Swine Flu after documenting the spread of the A/H1N1 virus to 74 nations where more than 300,000 people have been infected and 141 have died.
By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Writer
During a meeting with a member of the Senate Steering Committee, Supreme Court Justice nominee Sonia Sotomayor said she does not share the Catholic Church’s position on abortion and has never given much thought to whether or not the unborn have rights.
