Postscripts From The Catholic Spitfire Grill

Be joyful! You have met the risen Christ.

Enjoy your weekend!

If they are to achieve their full purpose, however, the policies and programs you have adopted need to be placed in a wider context. Children deserve to grow up with a healthy understanding of sexuality and its proper place in human relationships. They should be spared the degrading manifestations and the crude manipulation of sexuality so prevalent today. They have a right to be educated in authentic moral values rooted in the dignity of the human person. This brings us back to our consideration of the centrality of the family and the need to promote the Gospel of life. What does it mean to speak of child protection when pornography and violence can be viewed in so many homes through media widely available today? We need to reassess urgently the values underpinning society, so that a sound moral formation can be offered to young people and adults alike. All have a part to play in this task - not only parents, religious leaders, teachers and catechists, but the media and entertainment industries as well. Indeed, every member of society can contribute to this moral renewal and benefit from it. Truly caring about young people and the future of our civilization means recognizing our responsibility to promote and live by the authentic moral values which alone enable the human person to flourish. It falls to you, as pastors modelled upon Christ, the Good Shepherd, to proclaim this message loud and clear, and thus to address the sin of abuse within the wider context of sexual mores. Moreover, by acknowledging and confronting the problem when it occurs in an ecclesial setting, you can give a lead to others, since this scourge is found not only within your Dioceses, but in every sector of society. It calls for a determined, collective response.

Full Text

Indeed….what does it mean if we put out the fire in the trash bin but ignore the other fires and let the house burn down around our ears?

I love the Catholic Mass no matter what approved rite is used. Hoepfully, this Motu Proprio signals a serious, concerted effort to stomp out liturgical abuse like a scorpion at Jen’s house. Read about it here. And enjoy the video….I always did hate Kum-Bah-Ya.

I was looking this morning for some good websites that might give and overview of Holy Week for those who are new to it (and those who are not but had NO IDEA what a busy week this is in the Catholic Church) and I found this reflection from the Bishop of Limerick on last year’s Chrism Mass:

There can be no celebration of the Eucharist without a priest. That is not because of any particular merit on the part of priests. It is because we have received the sacrament of priestly Ordination. Some years before he became Pope, the present Holy Father said in this context: “Sacrament means: I give what I myself cannot give; I do something that is not my work; I am on a mission and have become the bearer of that which another has committed to my charge”. RATZINGER, J., Called to Communion, Ignatius Press, 1996, p. 115.

I found this article today and thought it might make an interesting postscript to “But What is the Catholic Church Doing?” Most non-Catholics don’t realize that in addition to being “Pope” the Holy Father is a pastor with ordinary pastoral duties in the Diocese of Rome. The mainstream media isn’t fond of reporting these ordinary things, but if you subscribe to the various Catholic news feeds you can learn a lot. He does baptisms, weddings, hears confessions, says masses in the various churches in his diocese, AND like all the other priests and bishops and lay people of the Catholic Church reaches out to the lost….

Papal solace for juvenile detention residents

Rome, Mar. 19, 2007 (CWNews.com) - Pope Benedict XVI (bio - news) celebrated Sunday Mass at a juvenile detention center in Rome on March 18, and used the day’s reading– the story of the Prodigal Son– to offer them a new perspective on their lives.

The Holy Father visited the Casal del Marmo, an institution that houses young people between the ages of 15 and 18, many of them assigned to the center after arrests for drug-related offenses.

During Mass in the institution’s chapel, the Pontiff remarked that the prodigal son in the famous parable initially had the impression that freedom meant doing whatever he wanted, rather than being “imprisoned by the discipline of life at home.” Eventually he learned that true freedom comes with an ordered life, the Pope noted. He told the young people that God’s laws are not arbitrary prohibitions, but guideposts to help people choose the correct path to true happiness.

The turning point for the prodigal son came when he threw himself on the mercy of his father, the Pope said. For Christians, he continued, the sacrament of Confession offers an even greater opportunity “constantly to begin again in life.” From that point, he said, the sinner can find his way, and realizing that “only by living for others– by giving of ourselves– do we find our own lives.”

After the Mass the Pope met in the center’s gymnasium with inmates, the families, and the staff of the institution.

The young people detained at Casal del Marmo are mostly immigrants: of the 32 boys and 14 girls currently living there, 26 are from Romania and 10 are from the lands that once constituted Yugoslavia. The center, established in 1980, allows youthful offenders to continue their education and learn a trade while living under close supervision.