July 25, 2008 marked the fortieth anniversary of the promulgation of the encyclical Humane Vitae which was written by Pope Paul VI. The encyclical addresses issues related to the sanctity of life, but it is best known for its clear enunciation of the Church's teaching against the use of any forms of artificial birth control.

Pope John Paul II, then Archbishop Karol Wojtyla, was involved in the work that was done prior to the writing of Humane Vitae. The following is an excerpt from Chapter 6, Successor to St Stanislaw, which is found in George Weigel's biography of Pope John Paul II, Witness to Hope.

First established by Pope John XXIII, the Papal Commission for the Study of Problems of the Family, Population, and Birth Rate was reappointed by Pope Paul VI to advise him on the tangle of issues indicated in its title. For much of the world, though, this was the "Papal Birth Control Commission" and the only issue at stake was whether Catholics could "use the pill." In the highly politicized atmosphere of the immediate post-Vatican 11 Church, "birth control" became the litmus-test issue between theological "progressives" and "conservatives," even as the issue got entangled in ongoing arguments about the nature and scope of papal teaching authority. When one adds to this volatile ecclesiastical mix the cultural circumstances of the sixties in the West, including the widespread challenge to all established authority and the breakout into mainstream culture of the sexual revolution, it becomes apparent that a thoughtful public moral discussion of conjugal morality was going to be very difficult at this point. In 1968, Paul VI, who thought himself obliged to give the Church an authoritative answer on such a highly charged question, issued Humanae Vitae, which instantly became the most controversial encyclical in history and the cause of even further disruption in the Church, particularly in North America and Western Europe. The controversy was inevitable, but it might not have been so debilitating had the Pope taken Cardinal Wojtyla's counsel more thoroughly.

According to the familiar telling of this complex tale, Pope Paul's Papal Commission was divided between a majority that argued for a change in the classic Catholic position that contraception was immoral, and a minority that wanted to affirm that teaching. A memorandum sent to the Pope in June 1966—and journalistically dubbed the "Majority Report"—argued that conjugal morality should be measured by "the totality of married life," rather than by the openness of each act of intercourse to conception. In this view, it was morally licit to use chemical or mechanical means to prevent conception as long as this was in the overall moral context of a couple's openness to children. Another memorandum, dubbed the "Minority Report," reiterated the classic Catholic position, that the rise of contraceptives violated the natural moral law by sundering the procreative and unitive dimensions of sexuality. In this view, and following the teaching of Pope Pius XII, the morally legitimate way to regulate conception was through the use of the natural rhythms of fertility, known as the rhythm method.

Pope Paul VI spent two years wrestling with these opposed positions and with the pressures that were being brought to bear on him to take a side. Proponents of the "Majority Report" (which was leaked to the press in 1967 to bring more pressure on the Pope) argued that the Church would lose all credibility with married couples and with the modern world if it did not change the teaching set forth by Pius XII. Some opponents argued that adopting the "Majority Report" position would destroy the Church's teaching authority, as it would involve a tacit admission of error on a question of serious moral consequence. Paul VI eventually rejected the conclusion and moral reasoning of the "Majority Report," and on July 25, 1968, issued the encyclical letter Humanae Vitae, section 14 of which began as follows: "Thus, relying on these first principles of human and Christian doctrine concerning marriage, we must again insist that the direct interruption of the generative process already begun must be totally rejected as a legitimate means of regulating the number of children." A maelstrom of criticism followed, as did the most widespread public Catholic dissent from papal teaching in centuries.

Archbishop Karol Wojtyla, well-known to the Pope as the author of Love and Responsibility, had been appointed by Paul VI to the Papal Commission, but had been unable to attend the June 1966 meeting at which the majority of the commission took the position later summarized in its memorandum. The Polish government had denied him a passport, on the excuse that he had waited too late to apply. Wojtyla played an important role in the controversy over contraception and in the development of Humanae Vitae, nonetheless. The encyclical, however, was not crafted precisely as Wojtyla proposed.

Next Week: Part 2 from the excerpt

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The month of July is dedicated to the Precious Blood of Jesus. This excerpt from the Catechism of the Catholic Church speaks about the our Lord's presence in the Holy Eucharist.

1376   The Council of Trent summarizes the Catholic faith by declaring: "Because Christ our Redeemer said that it was truly his body that he was offering under the species of bread, it has always been the conviction of the Church of God, and this holy Council now declares again, that by the consecration of the bread and wine there takes place a change of the whole substance of the bread into the substance of the body of Christ our Lord and of the whole substance of the wine into the substance of his blood. This change the holy Catholic Church has fittingly and properly called transubstantiation."

1377   The Eucharistic presence of Christ begins at the moment of the consecration and endures as long as the Eucharistic species subsist. Christ is present whole and entire in each of the species and whole and entire in each of their parts, in such a way that the breaking of the bread does not divide Christ.

1378   Worship of the Eucharist. In the liturgy of the Mass we express our faith in the real presence of Christ under the species of bread and wine by, among other ways, genuflecting or bowing deeply as a sign of adoration of the Lord. "The Catholic Church has always offered and still offers to the sacrament of the Eucharist the cult of adoration, not only during Mass, but also outside of it, reserving the consecrated hosts with the utmost care, exposing them to the solemn veneration of the faithful, and carrying them in procession."

1379   The tabernacle was first intended for the reservation of the Eucharist in a worthy place so that it could be brought to the sick and those absent outside of Mass. As faith in the real presence of Christ in his Eucharist deepened, the Church became conscious of the meaning of silent adoration of the Lord present under the Eucharistic species. It is for this reason that the tabernacle should be located in an especially worthy place in the church and should be constructed in such a way that it emphasizes and manifests the truth of the real presence of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament.

Catechism of the Catholic Church

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This week's Gospel reading continues our Lord's teaching about the Kingdom of God. He tells three parables in order to help us understand His Kingdom. The Kingdom of God is compared to treasure buried in a field, a pearl of great price, and a net which is cast into the sea to catch fish. The first two parables challenge us to consider how valuable is the gift of God's Kingdom which He has bestowed upon us. Many, even those who lived while Jesus was on earth, did not see the value in His life, death, and resurrection and the Kingdom He established. We must be like the disciples who valued the Kingdom to the point that they eventually gave their lives for Jesus. The third parable echoes last week's parable of the wheat and the tares. The net catches fish both good and bad. At the end, the good are separated from the bad, just like the wheat was separated from the tares after the harvest.

Readings:

1 Kings 3:5, 7-12
Psalm 119:57, 72, 76-77, 127-130
Romans 8:28-30
Matthew 13:44-52

Here are a few commentaries on these readings:

• St. Charles Borromeo Lectionary Site (PDF)


• Treasures of the Kingdom (Also available to be heard as an MP3) from St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology


• Liberal vs. Conservative - Old vs. New (Also available to be heard as an MP3) from The Crossroads Initiative

Father John Corapi is what has commonly been called a late vocation. In other words, he came to the priesthood other than a young man. He was 44 years old when he was ordained. His experiences prior to ordination have been termed simply astounding, but that is probably somewhat of an overstatement. They might be called extreme, however. From small town boy to the Vietnam era US Army, from millionaire businessman in Las Vegas and Hollywood to drug addicted and homeless, to religious life and ordination to the priesthood by Pope John Paul II, to a life as a preacher of the Gospel who has reached millions with the simple message that God's Name is Mercy!

Father Corapi's academic credentials are quite extensive. He received a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Pace University in the seventies. Then as an older man returned to the university classrooms in preparation for his life as a priest and preacher. He received all of his academic credentials for the Church with honors: a Masters degree in Sacred Scripture from Holy Apostles Seminary and Bachelor, Licentiate, and Doctorate degrees in dogmatic theology from the University of Navarre in Spain.

Father is a perpetually professed priest member of the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity.

The pillars of father's preaching are basically three:

• Love for and a relationship with the Blessed Virgin Mary which leads us into a vibrant and loving relationship with Jesus Christ.


• Great love and reverence for the Most Holy Eucharist--from Holy Mass to adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.


• An uncompromising love for and obedience to the Holy Father and the teaching of the Magisterium of the Church.

Father Corapi's audio and video series on the Catechism of the Catholic Church entitled The Teaching of Jesus Christ has been widely acclaimed and is used throughout the world as a course in religious education and catechesis.

The essence of Father's message is the essential message of Jesus Christ. It is Good News: a message of truth and goodness, love and mercy. It is above all else a message of hope. (From the Web site)

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Novena to St. Alphonsus Liguori
Novena Dates July 24 - August 1, Feast Day August 1

Glorious St. Alphonsus, Bishop and Doctor of the Church, devoted servant of our Lord and loving child of Mary, I invoke you as a Saint in heaven. I give myself to your protection that you may always be my father, my protector, and my guide in the ways of holiness and salvation. Aid me in observing the duties of my state of life. Obtain for me great purity of heart and a fervent love of the interior life after your own example.

Great lover of the Blessed Sacrament and the Passion of Jesus Christ, teach me to love Holy Mass and Holy Communion as the source of grace and holiness. Give me a tender devotion to the Passion of my redeemer.

Promoter of the truth of Christ in your preaching and writing, give me a greater knowledge and appreciation of the Divine Truths.

Gentle father of the poor and sinners, help me to imitate your charity toward others in word and deed.

Consoler of the suffering, help me to bear my daily cross patiently in imitation of your own patience in your long and painful illness and to resign myself to the Will of God.

Good shepherd of the flock of Christ, obtain for me the grace of being a true child of Holy Mother Church.

St. Alphonsus, I humbly implore your powerful intercession for obtaining from the Heart of Jesus all the graces necessary for my spiritual and temporal welfare. I recommend to you in particular this favor: (Mention your request).

I have great confidence in your prayers. I earnestly trust if it is God's holy Will, my petition will be granted through your intercession for me at the throne of God.

St. Alphonsus, pray for me and for those I love. I beg of you, by your love for Jesus and Mary, do not abandon us in our needs. May we experience the peace and joy of your holy death. Amen.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, You continually build up Your Church by the lives of Your Saints. Give us grace to follow St. Alphonsus in his loving concern for the salvation of people and so come to share his reward in heaven. Walking in the footsteps of this devoted servant of Yours, may we be consumed with zeal for souls and attain the reward he enjoys in Your Kingdom. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

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The month of July is dedicated to the Precious Blood of Jesus. This excerpt from the Catechism of the Catholic Church speaks about the our Lord's presence in the Holy Eucharist.

1373   "Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised from the dead, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us," is present in many ways to his Church: in his word, in his Church's prayer, "where two or three are gathered in my name," in the poor, the sick, and the imprisoned, in the sacraments of which he is the author, in the sacrifice of the Mass, and in the person of the minister. But "he is present . . . most especially in the Eucharistic species."

1374   The mode of Christ's presence under the Eucharistic species is unique. It raises the Eucharist above all the sacraments as "the perfection of the spiritual life and the end to which all the sacraments tend." In the most blessed sacrament of the Eucharist "the body and blood, together with the soul and divinity, of our Lord Jesus Christ and, therefore, the whole Christ is truly, really, and substantially contained." "This presence is called 'real' - by which is not intended to exclude the other types of presence as if they could not be 'real' too, but because it is presence in the fullest sense: that is to say, it is a substantial presence by which Christ, God and man, makes himself wholly and entirely present."

1375   It is by the conversion of the bread and wine into Christ's body and blood that Christ becomes present in this sacrament. the Church Fathers strongly affirmed the faith of the Church in the efficacy of the Word of Christ and of the action of the Holy Spirit to bring about this conversion. Thus St. John Chrysostom declares:

It is not man that causes the things offered to become the Body and Blood of Christ, but he who was crucified for us, Christ himself. the priest, in the role of Christ, pronounces these words, but their power and grace are God's. This is my body, he says. This word transforms the things offered.

and St. Ambrose says about this conversion:

Be convinced that this is not what nature has formed, but what the blessing has consecrated. the power of the blessing prevails over that of nature, because by the blessing nature itself is changed.... Could not Christ's word, which can make from nothing what did not exist, change existing things into what they were not before? It is no less a feat to give things their original nature than to change their nature.

Catechism of the Catholic Church

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The Precious Blood of Jesus

The month of July is dedicated to the Precious Blood of Jesus.

Veneration of the Precious Blood of Christ, shed for our salvation, and a realization of its immense significance have produced many iconographical representations which have been approved by the Church. Among these two types can be identified: those representing the Eucharistic cup, containing the Blood of the New Covenant, and those representing the crucified Christ, from whose hands, feet and side flows the Blood of our Salvation. Sometimes, the Blood flows down copiously over the earth, representing a torrent of grace cleansing it of sin; such representations sometimes feature five Angels, each holding a chalice to collect the Blood flowing from the five wounds of Christ; this task is sometimes given to a female figure representing the Church, the spouse of the Lamb.

Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy (179)

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In this week's Gospel reading, Jesus tells three parables about the Kingdom of Heaven. In all of them, something small grows into something much bigger. Seeds grow in to wheat and a mustard tree, and a small amount of yeast spreads throughout the entire dough. Our Lord also addresses the question of His permitting evil to remain along with good in the parable of the wheat and the tares. He does so, as the responsorial psalm says because the Lord is, "merciful and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in kindness and fidelity." He gives us all every opportunity to turn from evil and toward Him. However, Jesus' explanation of the parable also teaches us that there is a culmination to the Kingdom of Heaven when evil and all evildoers are finally put away and the righteous will shine like the sun.

Readings:

Wisdom 12:13,16-19
Psalm 86:5-6, 9-10, 15-16
Romans 8:26-27
Matthew 13:24-43

Here are a few commentaries on these readings:

• St. Charles Borromeo Lectionary Site (PDF)


• Of Wheat and Weeds (Also available to be heard as an MP3) from St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology


• Parable of the Wheat and the Tares: "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" (Also available to be heard as an MP3) from The Crossroads Initiative

The Church celebrates the feast day of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel on July 16.

This feast was instituted by the Carmelites between 1376 and 1386 under the title "Commemoratio B. Marif Virg. duplex" to celebrate the victory of their order over its enemies on obtaining the approbation of its name and constitution from Honorius III on 30 January, 1226. The feast was assigned to 16 July, because on that date in 1251, according to Carmelite traditions, the scapular was given by the Blessed Virgin to St. Simon Stock; it was first approved by Sixtus V in 1587. After Cardinal Bellarmine had examined the Carmelite traditions in 1609, it was declared the patronal feast of the order, and is now celebrated in the Carmelite calendar as a major double of the first class with a vigil and a privileged octave (like the octave of Epiphany, admitting only a double of the first class) under the title "Commemoratio solemnis B.V.M. de Monte Carmelo". By a privilege given by Clement X in 1672, some Carmelite monasteries keep the feast on the Sunday after 16 July, or on some other Sunday in July. In the seventeenth century the feast was adopted by several dioceses in the south of Italy, although its celebration, outside of Carmelite churches, was prohibited in 1628 by a decree contra abusus. On 21 November, 1674, however, it was first granted by Clement X to Spain and its colonies, in 1675 to Austria, in 1679 to Portugal and its colonies, and in 1725 to the Papal States of the Church, on 24 September, 1726, it was extended to the entire Latin Church by Benedict XIII. The lessons contain the legend of the scapular; the promise of the Sabbatine privilege was inserted into the lessons by Paul V about 1614. The Greeks of southern Italy and the Catholic Chaldeans have adopted this feast of the "Vestment of the Blessed Virgin Mary". The object of the feast is the special predilection of Mary for those who profess themselves her servants by wearing her scapular.

From the Catholic Encyclopedia

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The month of July is dedicated to the Precious Blood of Jesus. This excerpt from the Catechism of the Catholic Church speaks about the our Lord's institution of the Eucharist

1337   The Lord, having loved those who were his own, loved them to the end. Knowing that the hour had come to leave this world and return to the Father, in the course of a meal he washed their feet and gave them the commandment of love. In order to leave them a pledge of this love, in order never to depart from his own and to make them sharers in his Passover, he instituted the Eucharist as the memorial of his death and Resurrection, and commanded his apostles to celebrate it until his return; "thereby he constituted them priests of the New Testament."

1338   The three synoptic Gospels and St. Paul have handed on to us the account of the institution of the Eucharist; St. John, for his part, reports the words of Jesus in the synagogue of Capernaum that prepare for the institution of the Eucharist: Christ calls himself the bread of life, come down from heaven.
1339   Jesus chose the time of Passover to fulfill what he had announced at Capernaum: giving his disciples his Body and his Blood:

Then came the day of Unleavened Bread, on which the passover lamb had to be sacrificed. So Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, "Go and prepare the passover meal for us, that we may eat it...." They went ... and prepared the passover. and when the hour came, he sat at table, and the apostles with him. and he said to them, "I have earnestly desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer; for I tell you I shall not eat it again until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.".... and he took bread, and when he had given thanks he broke it and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me." and likewise the cup after supper, saying, "This cup which is poured out for you is the New Covenant in my blood."

1340   By celebrating the Last Supper with his apostles in the course of the Passover meal, Jesus gave the Jewish Passover its definitive meaning. Jesus' passing over to his father by his death and Resurrection, the new Passover, is anticipated in the Supper and celebrated in the Eucharist, which fulfills the Jewish Passover and anticipates the final Passover of the Church in the glory of the kingdom.

Catechism of the Catholic Church

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The month of July is dedicated to the Precious Blood of Jesus.

The veneration of the Blood of Christ has passed from the Liturgy into popular piety where it has been widely diffused in numerous forms of devotional practices. Among these mention can be made of the following:

• the Chaplet of the Most Precious Blood, in which the seven "effusions of the Blood of Christ", implicitly or explicitly mentioned in the Gospels, are recalled in a series of biblical meditations and devotional prayers: the Blood of the Circumcision, the Blood of the Garden of Gethsemane, the Blood of the Flagellation, the Blood of the Crowning of Thorns, the Blood of the Ascent to Calvary, the Blood flowing from Christ's side pierced by the lance;


• the Litany of the Blood of Christ, which clearly traces the line of salvation history through a series of biblical references and passages. In its present form it was approved by the Blessed John XXIII on 24 February 1960(195);


• Adoration of the Most Precious Blood of Christ takes a great variety of forms, all of which have a common end: adoration and praise of the Precious Blood of Christ in the Eucharist, thanksgiving for the gift of Redemption, intercession for mercy and pardon; and offering of the Precious Blood of Christ for the good of the Church;


• the Via Sanguinis: a recently instituted pious devotion, practiced in many Christian communities, whose anthropological and cultural roots are African. In this devotion, the faithful move from place to place, as in the Via Crucis, reliving the various moments in which Christ shed his blood for our salvation.

Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy (176-7)

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World Youth Day (WYD) this year is being held from July 15 through 20 in Sydney, Australia. The Holy Father will preside over the week-long event that culminates in a Papal mass on the last day July 20th.

The following links are provided as resources and sites of interest for WYD:

• The Official WYD Web site


• The Vatican's WYD Web site


• EWTN's WYD Web site


• eBenedict - A WYD Web site hosted by the Archdiocese of Sydney’s newspaper


• The National Catholic Register's Pope Blog


• Britain's Catholic Herald WYD Portal


• The Archdiocese of San Antonio Blog on WYD


• The Archdiocese of Indianapolis Blog on WYD

Hat Tip to Charlotte was Both

World Youth Day (WYD) is the largest youth event in the world and will be held in Sydney from Tuesday 15 to Sunday 20 July 2008.

WYD is a week-long series of events attended by the Pope and hundreds of thousands of young people from all over the globe. It has become the largest single mobilization of young people in the world.

The week culminates in a Final Mass celebrated by the Pope on the last day (the actual World Youth Day). Typically, it is the largest event of the week and, overseas, has drawn millions of people. (From the Web site)

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The bulletin for July 13, 2008 is available by clicking here to view it.

Listed below are a few of the items from this week's bulletin. See the bulletin for more details and to read all of the announcements.

TWO UPCOMING HAITI IMMERSION TRIPS: (1) The Haitian Health Care Foundation (HHCF) is planning a Haiti Medical Professionals trip October 17-25, 2008. It will be an immersion experience for medical professionals designed to expose the participants to current HHCF programs and the Haitian medical system. Participants will visit multiple sites including the Zanmi Lasanté Sociomedical Complex in Cange, Haiti (www.pih.org). The deadline to register for this trip is August 15th. For information, contact Susan Pleasants at vabatt@aol.com. (2) Diocesan Haiti Immersion Retreat Applications are now being taken for the immersion retreat to Haiti, November 29 through December 6, 2008. This trip is designed to give individuals an opportunity to learn about Haiti's history, culture, economics, politics, and religion. This is not a tourist visit, but rather a pilgrimage and time to be open to the gifts of Haiti and God's transformation. For information, contact Patrice Schwermer at pschwermer@richmonddioces.org or at (804) 622-5129.

KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS: The next meeting of the Fr. Louis A. Rowen Council is Monday, July 21st at the Stone Chapel. Rosary is at 7:15 p.m., and the meeting will begin at 7:30 p.m. Future planning date of Monday, August 18th will be the installation of 2008-2009 Council officers, followed by a covered dish supper. Details to follow.

IMPACT: Before the Holy Comforter listening sessions can take place in August and September, we need a few people who are willing to facilitate one of the sessions. If you are interested, please call the parish office or email mcc310@embarqmail.com.

PANTRY: It's Reverse Collection time again. Since we will have NO government food to distribute until the middle of August, your support is critical. Please be as generous as possible.

CATHOLICISM 101: A study group on the Catechism of the Catholic Church with video presentations by Fr. John Corapi meets selected Saturdays at 10:00 a.m. in the Community Room of St. Thomas Aquinas Church. The next session is on 19 July "Christian Prayer II". Contact sackandpam@comcast.net.

CATECHISTS NEEDED: Christian Formation needs catechists for all programs--Child, Youth, and Adult. Catechists are needed to teach Kindergarten through RCIA level classes. Please contact Teresa Ritzert for more information. Classes will begin in August.

THE LORD NEEDS YOU: How can you do this? Become a Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion. As individuals have left this ministry, the need for new ministers at all masses has become urgent. Training will be provided. PLEASE contact Margaret McElroy at 973-6429 or mdm1909@embarqmail.com.

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In this week's Gospel reading, we hear the familiar parable of the sower. Our Lord is the sower who sows the seeds, and we are the ground which receives the seed. The parable teaches us that our response to the Word of God is our responsibility because we can either reject or receive His Word. We might find many reasons for not receiving His Word, but it is the same result--the seed does not grow unless the ground is fertile. However, if we receive the Word of God with joy, the seed will grow and we will produce abundant fruit.

Readings:

Isaiah 55:10-11
Psalm 65:10-14
Romans 8:18-23
Matthew 13:1-23

Here are a few commentaries on these readings:

• St. Charles Borromeo Lectionary Site (PDF)


• The Word's Return (Also available to be heard as an MP3) from St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology


• Parable of the Sower-Farming the Seeds of Faith (Also available to be heard as an MP3) from The Crossroads Initiative

The Church celebrates the feast day of St. Benedict on July 11.

Benedict was the son of a Roman noble of Nursia, a small town near Spoleto, and a tradition, which St. Bede accepts, makes him a twin with his sister Scholastica. His boyhood was spent in Rome, where he lived with his parents and attended the schools until he had reached his higher studies. Then "giving over his books, and forsaking his father's house and wealth, with a mind only to serve God, he sought for some place where he might attain to the desire of his holy purpose; and in this sort he departed [from Rome], instructed with learned ignorance and furnished with unlearned wisdom" (Dial. St. Greg., II, Introd. in Migne, P.L. LXVI).

Benedict does not seem to have left Rome for the purpose of becoming a hermit, but only to find some place away from the life of the great city; moreover, he took his old nurse with him as a servant and they settled down to live in Enfide, near a church dedicated to St. Peter, in some kind of association with "a company of virtuous men" who were in sympathy with his feelings and his views of life. Enfide, which the tradition of Subiaco identifies with the modern Affile, is in the Simbrucini mountains, about forty miles from Rome and two from Subiaco. It stands on the crest of a ridge which rises rapidly from the valley to the higher range of mountains, and seen from the lower ground the village has the appearance of a fortress. As St. Gregory's account indicates, and as is confirmed by the remains of the old town and by the inscriptions found in the neighborhood, Enfide was a place of greater importance than is the present town. At Enfide Benedict worked his first miracle by restoring to perfect condition an earthenware wheat-sifter (capisterium) which his old servant had accidentally broken. The notoriety which this miracle brought upon Benedict drove him to escape still farther from social life, and "he fled secretly from his nurse and sought the more retired district of Subiaco". His purpose of life had also been modified. He had fled Rome to escape the evils of a great city; he now determined to be poor and to live by his own work. "For God's sake he deliberately chose the hardships of life and the weariness of labor".

A short distance from Enfide is the entrance to a narrow, gloomy valley, penetrating the mountains and leading directly to Subiaco. Crossing the Anio and turning to the right, the path rises along the left face oft the ravine and soon reaches the site of Nero's villa and of the huge mole which formed the lower end of the middle lake; across the valley were ruins of the Roman baths, of which a few great arches and detached masses of wall still stand. Rising from the mole upon twenty five low arches, the foundations of which can even yet be traced, was the bridge from the villa to the baths, under which the waters of the middle lake poured in a wide fall into the lake below. The ruins of these vast buildings and the wide sheet of falling water closed up the entrance of the valley to St. Benedict as he came from Enfide; today the narrow valley lies open before us, closed only by the far off mountains. The path continues to ascend, and the side of the ravine, on which it runs, becomes steeper, until we reach a cave above which the mountain now rises almost perpendicularly; while on the right hand it strikes in a rapid descent down to where, in St. Benedict's day, five hundred feet below, lay the blue waters of the lake. The cave has a large triangular-shaped opening and is about ten feet deep. On his way from Enfide, Benedict met a monk, Romanus, whose monastery was on the mountain above the cliff overhanging the cave. Romanus had discussed with Benedict the purpose which had brought him to Subiaco, and had given him the monk's habit. By his advice Benedict became a hermit and for three years, unknown to men, lived in this cave above the lake. St. Gregory tells us little of these years, He now speaks of Benedict no longer as a youth (puer), but as a man (vir) of God. Romanus, he twice tells us, served the saint in every way he could. The monk apparently visited him frequently, and on fixed days brought him food.

During these three years of solitude, broken only by occasional communications with the outer world and by the visits of Romanus, he matured both in mind and character, in knowledge of himself and of his fellow-man, and at the same time he became not merely known to, but secured the respect of, those about him; so much so that on the death of the abbot of a monastery in the neighborhood (identified by some with Vicovaro), the community came to him and begged him to become its abbot. Benedict was acquainted with the life and discipline of the monastery, and knew that "their manners were diverse from his and therefore that they would never agree together: yet, at length, overcome with their entreaty, he gave his consent". The experiment failed; the monks tried to poison him, and he returned to his cave. From this time his miracles seen to have become frequent, and many people, attracted by his sanctity and character, came to Subiaco to be under his guidance. For them he built in the valley twelve monasteries, in each of which he placed a superior with twelve monks. In a thirteenth he lived with "a few, such as he thought would more profit and be better instructed by his own presence". He remained, however, the father or abbot of all. With the establishment of these monasteries began the schools for children; and amongst the first to be brought were Maurus and Placid.

The remainder of St. Benedict's life was spent in realizing the ideal of monasticism which he has left us drawn out in his Rule, and before we follow the slight chronological story given by St. Gregory, it will be better to examine the ideal, which, as St. Gregory says, is St. Benedict's real biography (ibid., 36). We will deal here with the Rule only so far as it is an element in St. Benedict's life.

From the Catholic Encyclopedia

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This site otherwise known as "Fr. Paul Ward's Personal Areopagus" belongs to a priest who by his writings and actions is a strong defender of the Church. Fr. Paul was ordained in 2004 and is now assigned to Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (or Assumption Grotto) Parish in Detroit, MI as an Associate Pastor.

These pages contain his homilies and commentaries, as well as other writings. We are sure that you will be inspired to encounter such a courageous priest and will profit from his work.

From Catholic Culture

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The month of July is dedicated to the Precious Blood of Jesus. This excerpt from the Catechism of the Catholic Church discusses the symbolism of the bread and wine which are transfigured into the Body and Blood of Christ during the Eucharist.

1333   At the heart of the Eucharistic celebration are the bread and wine that, by the words of Christ and the invocation of the Holy Spirit, become Christ's Body and Blood. Faithful to the Lord's command the Church continues to do, in his memory and until his glorious return, what he did on the eve of his Passion: "He took bread...." "He took the cup filled with wine...." the signs of bread and wine become, in a way surpassing understanding, the Body and Blood of Christ; they continue also to signify the goodness of creation. Thus in the Offertory we give thanks to the Creator for bread and wine, fruit of the "work of human hands," but above all as "fruit of the earth" and "of the vine" - gifts of the Creator. the Church sees in the gesture of the king-priest Melchizedek, who "brought out bread and wine," a prefiguring of her own offering.

1334   In the Old Covenant bread and wine were offered in sacrifice among the first fruits of the earth as a sign of grateful acknowledgment to the Creator. But they also received a new significance in the context of the Exodus: the unleavened bread that Israel eats every year at Passover commemorates the haste of the departure that liberated them from Egypt; the remembrance of the manna in the desert will always recall to Israel that it lives by the bread of the Word of God; their daily bread is the fruit of the promised land, the pledge of God's faithfulness to his promises. The "cup of blessing" at the end of the Jewish Passover meal adds to the festive joy of wine an eschatological dimension: the messianic expectation of the rebuilding of Jerusalem. When Jesus instituted the Eucharist, he gave a new and definitive meaning to the blessing of the bread and the cup.

1335   The miracles of the multiplication of the loaves, when the Lord says the blessing, breaks and distributes the loaves through his disciples to feed the multitude, prefigure the superabundance of this unique bread of his Eucharist. The sign of water turned into wine at Cana already announces the Hour of Jesus' glorification. It makes manifest the fulfillment of the wedding feast in the Father's kingdom, where the faithful will drink the new wine that has become the Blood of Christ.

1336   The first announcement of the Eucharist divided the disciples, just as the announcement of the Passion scandalized them: "This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?" The Eucharist and the Cross are stumbling blocks. It is the same mystery and it never ceases to be an occasion of division. "Will you also go away?": The Lord's question echoes through the ages, as a loving invitation to discover that only he has "the words of eternal life" and that to receive in faith the gift of his Eucharist is to receive the Lord himself.

Catechism of the Catholic Church

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The month of July is dedicated to the Precious Blood of Jesus.

The Christological titles associated with the Redeemer are particularly associated with the mystery of the Blood of Christ: Christ has redeemed us from an ancient slavery by his most precious and innocent Blood (cf. 1 Pt 1, 19) and "purifies us of sin" (1 John 1, 17); High Priest "of all blessings to come" since Christ "has entered the sanctuary once and for all, taking with him not the blood of goats and bull calves, but his own blood, having won an eternal redemption for us"; faithful Witness vindicating the blood of the martyrs (cf Ap 6, 10) "who were slain on account of the word of God, for witnessing to it" (cf. Aps 6, 9); of King, who as God, "reigns from the wood of the Cross", which is adorned with the purple of his own Blood; Spouse and Lamb of God in whose Blood the members of the Church -the Bride- have washed their garments (cf. Ap 7, 14; Eph 5, 25-27).

The extraordinary importance of the saving Blood of Christ has ensured a central place for its memorial in the celebration of this cultic mystery: At the center of the Eucharistic assembly, in which the Church raises up to God in thanksgiving "the cup of blessing" (1 Cor 10, 16; cf 115-116, 13) and offers it to the faithful as a "real communion with the Blood of Christ" (1 Cor 10, 16); and throughout the Liturgical Year. The Church celebrates the saving Blood of Christ not only on the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ, but also on many other occasions, such that the cultic remembrance of the Blood of our redemption (cf. 1 Pt 1, 18) pervades the entire Liturgical Year. Hence, at Vespers during Christmastide, the Church, addressing Christ, sings: "Nos quoque, qui sancto tuo redempti sumus sanguine, ob diem natalis tui hymnum novum concinimus". In the Paschal Triduum, the redemptive significance and efficacy of the Blood of Christ is continuously recalled in adoration. During the adoration of the Cross on Good Friday the Church sings the hymn: "Mite corpus perforatur, sanguis unde profluit; terra, pontus, astra, mundus quo lavantur flumine", and again on Easter Sunday, "Cuius corpus sanctissimum in ara crucis torridum, sed et cruorem roesum gustando, Deo vivimus".

In Some places and in certain particular calendars, the feast of the Most Precious Blood of Christ is still observed on 1 July. This feast recalls the various titles of the Redeemer.

Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy (176-7)

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The bulletin for July 6, 2008 is available by clicking here to view it.

Listed below are a few of the items from this week's bulletin. See the bulletin for more details and to read all of the announcements.

LOOKING FOR SOMETHING TO DO: Want to learn more about our Lord's Sacramental love for you? Join us for a small group on Tuesday afternoons at 4:00 p.m. from June 24th to August 26th at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Staunton, Virginia at Assisi Hall. Form more information, contact Heather Orwig at (540) 886-2262. Want more? Join us on Thursday afternoons also at Assisi Hall from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m., and we may make rosaries or write to soldiers or maybe we will cook for families in need. We look forward to seeing you.

KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS: The next meeting of the Fr. Louis A. Rowen Council is Monday, July 21st at the Stone Chapel. Rosary is at 7:15 p.m., and the meeting will begin at 7:30 p.m. Future planning date of Monday, August 18th will be the installation of 2008-2009 Council officers, followed by a covered dish supper. Details to follow.

IMPACT: When the IMPACT listening sessions begin later this summer, you will be asked two things: your ideas about the problems in this area and your intention to attend IMPACT's three major meetings--especially the Nehemiah Action next spring.

PANTRY: The July Reverse Collection will take place next weekend. There will be no government food available until the middle of August. Therefore, the generous support of the parish is critical.

CATECHISTS NEEDED: Christian Formation needs catechists for all programs--Child, Youth, and Adult. Catechists are needed to teach Kindergarten through RCIA level classes. Please contact Teresa Ritzert for more information. Classes will begin in August.

THE LORD NEEDS YOU: How can you do this? Become a Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion. As individuals have left this ministry, the need for new ministers at all masses has become urgent. Training will be provided. PLEASE contact Margaret McElroy at 973-6429 or mdm1909@embarqmail.com.

PHILOSOPHY CLUB: The next meeting will be Sunday, July 13th from 6:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. in the lower level. Please read in preparation pages 42-75 of The Inward Morning by Henry Bugbee. For additional information contact Matt Starnowski at matt.starnowsi@gmail.com.

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In this week's Gospel reading, our Lord invites us to come to Him, all of us who labor and are heavy burdened, and He will give us rest. Who does that not describe? Jesus is inviting us all to come to Him because all of us are laboring and carrying heavy burdens. He will give us His yoke. It is still a yoke which we must carry, but it is light and easy to carry.

Readings:

Zechariah 9:9-10
Psalm 145:1-2, 8-11, 13-14
Romans 8:9, 11-13
Matthew 11:25-30

Here are a few commentaries on these readings:

• St. Charles Borromeo Lectionary Site (PDF)


• A Yoke for the Childlike (Also available to be heard as an MP3) from St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology


• Yoke of Faith (Also available to be heard as an MP3) from The Crossroads Initiative

The Padre Pio Devotions website is dedicated to the life and spirituality of St. Pio of Pietrelcina. Padre Pio used to say, "Unite yourself to my prayers." Here you will find the prayers of Padre Pio, including the Novena to the Sacred Heart of Jesus which he prayed every day.

Be sure to read Pray, Hope, and Don't Worry, the Padre Pio newsletter filled with inspirational stories about St. Pio and those whose lives he touched. You may also subscribe to the newsletter and receive an email notification each time a new issue becomes available on the web.

From Catholic Culture

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In observance of Independence Day, the parish office will be closed on Friday, July 4th. The parish office will again be open on Monday, July 7th.

Novena to St. Benedict
Novena Dates July 3-11, Feast Day July 11

Glorious Saint Benedict, sublime model of virtue, pure vessel of God's grace! Behold me humbly kneeling at your feet. I implore you in your loving kindness to pray for me before the throne of God. To you I have recourse in the dangers that daily surround me. Shield me against my selfishness and my indifference to God and to my neighbor.

Inspire me to imitate you in all things. May your blessing be with me always, so that I may see and serve Christ in others and work for His kingdom.

Graciously obtain for me from God those favors and graces which I need so much in the trials, miseries and afflictions of life. Your heart was always full of love, compassion and mercy toward those who were afflicted or troubled in any way. You never dismissed without consolation and assistance anyone who had recourse to you. I therefore invoke your powerful intercession, confident in the hope that you will hear my prayers and obtain for me the special grace and favor I earnestly implore.

(mention your petition)

Help me, great Saint Benedict, to live and die as a faithful child of God, to run in the sweetness of His loving will, and to attain the eternal happiness of heaven. Amen.

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June is one of the most popular months for couples to get married. The excerpts from the Catechism in June focused on the Sacrament of Matrimony. Although June is now over, I thought that I would be good to add one more excerpt related to marriage. These paragraphs speak about what is called the Domestic Church which is built on the Sacrament of Matrimony.

1655   Christ chose to be born and grow up in the bosom of the holy family of Joseph and Mary. the Church is nothing other than "the family of God." From the beginning, the core of the Church was often constituted by those who had become believers "together with all [their] household." When they were converted, they desired that "their whole household" should also be saved. These families who became believers were islands of Christian life in an unbelieving world.

1656   In our own time, in a world often alien and even hostile to faith, believing families are of primary importance as centers of living, radiant faith. For this reason the Second Vatican Council, using an ancient expression, calls the family the Ecclesia domestica. It is in the bosom of the family that parents are "by word and example . . . the first heralds of the faith with regard to their children. They should encourage them in the vocation which is proper to each child, fostering with special care any religious vocation."

1657   It is here that the father of the family, the mother, children, and all members of the family exercise the priesthood of the baptized in a privileged way "by the reception of the sacraments, prayer and thanksgiving, the witness of a holy life, and self-denial and active charity." Thus the home is the first school of Christian life and "a school for human enrichment." Here one learns endurance and the joy of work, fraternal love, generous - even repeated - forgiveness, and above all divine worship in prayer and the offering of one's life.

Catechism of the Catholic Church

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In the United States, the Church celebrates the feast day of Blessed Junípero Serra on July 1.

When Father Junípero Serra founded California's first mission in 1769, he was 56 years old and asthmatic, with a chronic sore on his leg that troubled him for the rest of his life, and he suffered frequently from other illnesses, as well. He stood just 5 feet, 2 inches, and, as a journalist later wrote, "He certainly didn't look like the man who would one day be known as the Apostle of California." Yet he endured the hardships of the frontier and pressed forward with remarkable determination to fulfill his purpose: to convert the Native Americans of California to Christianity.

In pursuit of that goal, Father Serra walked thousands of miles between San Diego and Monterey and even Mexico City. He traveled the seas, also; and by the time he died August 28, 1784, in Carmel he had founded nine missions, introduced agriculture and irrigation techniques, and the Spanish language. He had battled governors, bureaucrats and military commanders to secure a system of laws to protect the California Indians from at least some of the injustices inflicted by the Spanish soldiers whose practices often were in conflict with Father Serra's.

Father Serra had been a philosophy professor and distinguished preacher at the Convent of San Francisco in Mallorca, the Spanish island where he was born in 1713. He was 36 years old when he reached the port of Vera Cruz, Mexico, on December 8, 1749, and walked to Mexico City. ( It was during that journey of 24 days that an insect bite caused the sore on his leg that sometimes became so painful he had difficulty walking. ) He spent 17 years in missionary work in the Sierra Gorda in the present area of North-Central Mexico. In 1767 he became president of the 14 missions in Baja California, originally founded by the Jesuits, then turned over to the Franciscans.

At that time, faced with the threat of Russian colonization from the north, Spain had committed itself to pushing northward into what is now the American state of California. Russian America (Alaska) was only 800 miles away. Spain feared that Russia would push south and gain a firm foothold in Alta California. The Spanish military launched an expedition into California in 1769 under the leadership of Gaspar de Portola. Father Serra set out with them to establish missions.

Serra's blessing of the site of Mission San Diego de Alcala on July 16, 1769, marked the beginning of the European settlement of California.

Between the years of 1796 and 1784, Father Serra made six voyages by sea totaling 5,400 miles. He traveled by land the distance between Monterey and San Francisco eight times, Monterey and San Antonio 11 times, His longest journey by land was from Monterey to Mexico City. In total, he traveled well over 5,500 miles by land.

Father Serra arrived at Monterey aboard the sailing ship San Antonio on June 1, 1770. He celebrated the first Mass on June 3, 1770, on the shore of Monterey Bay, where we now find the city of Monterey.

He returned to San Diego to work on the mission there, then founded Mission San Juan Capistrano in 1776, the year of the American Declaration of Independence.

When Father Serra died in 1784 he had established nine California missions and baptized 6,000 Indians, about 10 percent of the California Native American population. Those nine missions grew to 21. Today, more than 60 percent of the state's nearly 26 million people live in areas surrounding the missions, and El Camino Real, the road that Father Serra traveled on a tour of the missions shortly before this death, established a major artery running much of the length of the state.

From the Serra Club of Bethlehem Pennsylvania

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For me, prayer is a surge of the heart; it is a simple look turned toward heaven, it is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy. - St. Thérèrse of Liseaux

The Holy Father's prayer intentions for July are:

General: That there may be an increase in the number of those who volunteer to serve the Christian community with generous and prompt availability.

Mission: That World Youth Day in Sydney, Australia, may kindle the fire of divine love in numerous young people and render them sowers of hope for a new humanity.

Pro-Life Prayer Intention

For those who suffer persecution and discrimination for speaking up for the unborn.