This is an interesting insight we thought we'd share with you. We must remember that kings and other political leaders were believed to be appointed by Divine Right and were therefore viewed as just authorities to be obeyed. Even the evil King Henry VIII was a Catholic king and, at one point, an apologist. Up until very recently there have been practically no Catholics in England. King Henry VIII, once a Catholic king, turned against true Church teaching and destroyed the Church in England, but not without the complicity of most of the bishops and priests.

This weekend, I have been renting and watching, "The Tudors", Season 3. In Episodes 2 to 4, it chronicles, "The Pilgrimage of Grace." King Henry VIII destroyed hundreds of abbeys and Catholic churches to steal their possessions and gain more power for himself. At one point, the common Catholics in northern England were so distressed to see their churches destroyed that they organized themselves into a pilgrimage to ask the king to stop plundering their churches. The king lied and tricked them. The king had thousands of people killed, including women and children.

It is so poignant and important for us to remember how so many people have died for their churches.

May all the English martyrs, especially St. John Fisher, solitary bishop of England to stand up to King Henry VIII, pray for us.

From the Editor:
We received this email back around Thanksgiving time and, though we had it ready to post, had neglected to post it! Quatholic Megachurches are coming to Peoria, IL against the will of Catholics there. The devil is hard at work. Evil is the only word for what is going on here, and the Diocese of Camden is not alone in its persecution. It is happening ACROSS THE COUNTRY. What will become of "Catholicism" in the United States?

Read this article about Diocese of Peoria

Dear Committee to Save St. Mary's Malaga,

I've read the very distressing story about the Archdiocese's destruction of your parish in New Jersey.  I sent this e-mail to you because of my fear that my home parish of St. Anthony of Padua [see photos below right, -ed.] in Streator, IL is about to be destroyed in an extremely misguided attempt at consolidation.  There are three functioning Catholic parishe in Streator: St. Mary, St. Anthony and St. Stephen.  All three were founded by European immigrant ethnic groups, and all three still had grade schools as late as 1999.  Today St. Anthony is the only church that has a grade school.

As early as 2005 I had heard rumors about a proposed consolidation of the three Catholic churches in Streator.  In September 2007 the parishioners of all three Catholic churches received a letter from the Diocese of Peoria in which the bishop told of his desire to close all three churches and build a new church.  In October 2007 the two head Streator priests, Msgrs. Ham and Prendergast,* conducted information sessions regarding the consolidation of the parishes.  (Since then it has been widely seen that Msgr. Prendergast is the main figure pushing for consolidation.)  After those information sessions, committees were formed to "study" the pros and cons of consolidation.  Whatever point those committees had is beyond me.

At the time of those sessions there were rumors that the planned church would be built on farmland east of Streator.  Shortly thereafter the local newspaper published a story about St. Patrick's Church in Ransom, a parish in a small town about 12 miles east of Streator.  The members of St. Patrick's were enraged to find out that their church was to be included in the proposed consolidation, considering that the church recently had completed a thorough renovation with the full knowledge of the bishop.  The fact that St. Pat's owns 40 acres of farmland quickly led the parishioners of that church to conclude that their church was being closed so that the Diocese could sell their farmland to buy land for the new consolidated church.  The next year saw the parishioners of St. Pat's fight a nasty battle to get out of the proposed consolidation.  During that time the parishioners of St. Pat's were told their church would reopen.  Two months after reopening (and after they had made up their Diocesan appeal money), Msgr. Prendergast informed the parishioners of St. Pat's that their church would close after all.  St. Pat's eventually was able to get completely out of the consolidation plan, but it is very unlikely the church ever will hold services again.

In mid-2008 the parishioners of the Streator churches learned that Msgr. Prendergast had purchased 40 acres of land east of Streator for what seemed to be the very inflated amount of $12,500 per acre.  Since that time rumors have abounded that the land Msgr. Prendergast purchased is above abandoned mine shafts and is unsuitable for the building of a new church.  Of course, Msgr. Prendergast has denied these rumors.    

In the year following the purchase of the land no more statements were made by the Diocese or Streator priests regarding the building of a new church.  That a new church ever will be built seems unlikely, as Streator is a fairly low-income town and the land the Diocese purchased for the church is regarded as unsuitable.  As time has gone by, there have been rumors that St. Stephen's Church will get an addition and become the consolidated church in town.

In June 2009 Msgr. Ham, the longtime popular priest of St. Anthony, retired.  Msgr. Prendergast took his role as pastor of St. Anthony's and, what he calls us now, the "Streator Catholic Community."  Since Msgr. Prendergast took control at St. Anthony, the parish has begun to fall apart.  Msgr. Prendergast seems almost to delight in being cruel to many parishioners.  The number of altar servers is declining.  Even adult servers report that he is a very difficult person with whom to work.  He so upset the retired choir director that the performance of Handel's Messiah (a St. Anthony tradition since 1998 or so) will be conducted at the Methodist church instead.  I've heard that he shows a particular animosity toward the choir in general.  Two weeks ago parishioners of St. Anthony learned that their popular 4:30 PM Mass on Saturday would be canceled, as would all confessions.  Msgr. Prendergast ordered these cancellations following the departure of a retired Slovak priest who helped at Masses as needed.  Since the departure of the Slovak priest to a parish about 35 miles from Streator, it widely has been alleged that he left Streator because of Msgr. Prendergast's treatment of him.

Meanwhile, St. Anthony's School is in free fall.  Although the Diocese claims to want to support Catholic education in Streator, St. Anthony's Church still covers about 90 percent of the expenses of the school.  Supporting the school is seriously draining the cash reserves of the parish.  I heard today that enrollment is declining even more next year.  It is difficult to see how school ever could survive without the support of the church.

Many parishioners believe Msgr. Prendergast is deliberately destroying St. Anthony's Parish so that attendance at both the church and school fall, giving the Diocese an excuse to close the parish for good.  Many believe Msgr. Prendergast has great personal animosity toward St. Anthony's Parish (Prendergast is actually a native of Streator).  Msgr. Prendergast also confirmed in a private meeting that the nearby hospital is interested in the land on which the school lies (and, I would imagine, the land where the church is, too).  I personally feel that Prendergast (and the Diocese, for that matter) are deliberately running St. Anthony's Parish to the ground so that the buildings can be demolished and the land sold to the local hospital.

At the same time, Msgr. Prendergast is moving all office operations for the Streator churches to the old convent at St. Stephen's.  The secretary of St. Anthony's recently learned that her job will be cut in June of next year, the same month, it is rumored, that St. Anthony's rectory will be demolished.  At the moment, Msgr. Prendergast has construction experts reviewing all the church buildings in Streator.  Although the reports will be finished by the end of this month, he has stated that he won't reveal them to the parishioners until after Christmas, because they could be "very upsetting" to many parishioners.  It seems nearly everyone at St. Anthony's (and the other churches too) believes that the reports will show St. Anthony's to be in the worst condition of all the churches.  Just this week I heard another rumor [Editor: this is not a rumor, by the way] that the Diocese plans on tearing down three church structures in Streator next year.  Considering that Msgr. Prendergast already has demolished most of the old buildings at the other churches, I fear that he plans on tearing down the rectory, church and convent at St. Anthony's.  A small group has met with Msgr. Prendergast, urging him to address the rumors in front of the congregation, but nothing has happened yet.      

This planned consolidation seems to be nothing more than a suppression of St. Anthony's Church.  During the information sessions in 2007 Msgr. Prendergast brought up the typical crap about ethnic parishes and declining numbers of priests and parishioners.  St. Anthony's, at least until Prendergast became pastor, had a good number of young people and high attendance at Masses.  What would you recommend that parishioners at St. Anthony do before the very likely event that the Diocese closes our church next year?

Sincerely,
(We have withheld his name.)

*Prendergrast is our McGrath or Odien. It's amazing just how people can become instruments of evil.

• It is not the work of God to tear down His Church or churches. (To do that would be to "tear the Church apart, to create factions, or create dissension in the ranks.")

Across the diocese the theme of the week directed towards all those opposed to the bishop's closure plans has been to accuse them of being "divisive." Word for word, in at least three different geographically disparate parishes now, the phrase has been "tear[ing] the church apart." Apparently these conveners must've all got the same memo. (This memo must've been close on the heels of the "if you want your church to remain open you aren't charitable" memo.)

• Is closing half the churches in the diocese "scandal?"

• Would erecting in their place quasi-catholic megachurches be "scandal?"

• Are corruption, greed, and lies from positions of authority within the Church "scandal?"

• Is needlessly causing one's church to be difficult to get to physically, logistically, or psychologically, "scandal?"

• Is closing a holy place "scandal?"

• Is seeking personal political gain by climbing the "corporate" ecclesiastical ladder at the expense of the faithful one is charged to protect, "scandal?"

• Is showing a complete indifference for the loss of souls, "scandal?"
  

• Is directly causing a decline in Catholic faith and practice, "scandal?"

• Is sending away priests by the dozen, discouraging seminarians, and then claiming priest shortage, "scandal?"

• Is saying nothing in the face of wrong, "scandal?"
  

• Most importantly, is watering down the Catholic Faith and claiming churches are "just buildings," just "bricks and mortar, wood and nails," "scandal?"

Here is what the Church says. From the Catechism #2285-2287:

Scandal takes on a particular gravity by reason of the authority of those who cause it or the weakness of those who are scandalized. It prompted our Lord to utter this curse: "Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened round his  neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea." Scandal is grave when given by those who by nature or office are obligated to teach and educate others. Jesus reproaches the scribes and Pharisees on this account: he likens them to wolves in sheep's clothing.

Therefore, they are guilty of scandal who establish laws or social structures leading to the decline of morals and the corruption of religious practice, or to "social conditions that, intentionally or not, make Christian conduct and obedience to the Commandments difficult and practically impossible."* This is also true of business leaders who make rules encouraging fraud, teachers who provoke their children to anger, or manipulators of public opinion who turn away from moral values.

Anyone who uses the power at his disposal in such a way that it leads others to do wrong becomes guilty of scandal and responsible for the evil that he has directly or indirectly encouraged. "Temptations to sin are sure to come; but woe to him by whom they come!"

*Pope Pius XII, 1941

• Because a church is a sacred, consecrated space. Churches are permanently consecrated. The one, holy, Catholic, and apostolic Church has always taught this, continues to teach this, and it has been a major point of difference and contention between protestants and Catholics. While mass can be held anywhere, ideally it should not be held just anywhere. That is why Catholics have churches. God deserves reverence and this is why a beautiful and lovingly created church is best suited to His worship in the highest form of prayer, the holy sacrifice of the mass.*

• Because we love our little community. For goodness sakes, that is reason enough! If "the Church is the people," as is the popular sentiment these days, then it does matter that when I look around the church, I know the people around me. It does matter that I can notice someone has been absent awhile and I can check on them to see if they are ok. If one has not been a member of a true and united community of Faith like this, it may be hard to understand why that community is such a treasure. This treasure should not be needlessly destroyed.

• Because small is wonderful!

• Because with the loss of churches come the loss of souls who are not as strong in the Faith or who are disillusioned by the corruption around them. These souls matter to Our Lord and should not be written off as unimportant. We need to try to help them and strengthen them in the Faith. We can only do that if our doors are open and if the churches they know, love, and are familiar with are still there. Because of this, when we close our church's doors, we often close off the last possibility that a soul will return to Holy Mother Church. Those who have already left the Church--and they are many--are no longer around to tell their stories.
  

• Because in struggling to hold on to our parish, we are hope and strength and justice to others who are not strong enough to speak up. We have been confirmed in this countless times.
  

• Because in the case of St. Mary's, we are truly an "intergenerational" community, which is something the Diocese sorely wants churches to try to be and is trying to implement in its "lifelong faith formation" program. We already are, so why destroy it only to try to rebuild something that approximates it?

• Because while we are happy to do things with others, a parish has a right to existence as stipulated by canon law. Wanting one's parish to remain as it is does not make one an "isolationist." It makes one content.

• Because our forefathers and mothers worked hard and sacrificed to give us the great gift of St. Mary's and we do not take this gift for granted.

• Because the church belongs to the people of the parish. They built and maintain it and it belongs to them.

• Because St. Mary's has been financially solvent and debt-free since 1922 and there is no reason it cannot continue to be. St. Mary's parishioners have always been very generous in donating, fundraising, and contributing their time and efforts to directly maintaining the parish. This is part of our culture.
  

• Because we are obligated, by virtue of our baptism and confirmation, to defend the church from error and attack, both from within and without. See Pope St. Pius X's encyclical against the modernists for more on this. It is not just St. Mary's and other churches that are under attack here, but the Faith itself. Purporting that our churches are "just buildings" is example enough. Look at the bishop's job positions, which include audio visual technicians whose job is to install and maintain screens and sound systems, as well as the inclusion of rock bands during mass. Visit any number of "modern" catholic churches which have had their tabernacles removed from a place of prominence on the altar. Look at how many times Bishop Galante has held up Gloucester County Community Church, an evangelical protestant church, as an example to be striven towards. We could go on. Which leads to the following point...

• Because we want to remain Catholic, and that includes holding on to our traditional churches.  

• Because St. Mary's has had and continues to have wonderful devotions available to all, including Eucharistic Adoration from Wed. morning through Friday evening every week. This is something not found at every parish.

• Because our CCD program is small, personal, affordable, our kids love it, and it is worth saving.

• Because we should not have to defend our right to exist, and no parish should.

• Because there has never been a saint who became holy by closing churches, only saints who became holy by erecting them.

• Because many priests, bishops, and even popes have been wrong in the history of the Church. We have an obligation to defend Her. Many saints have been redeemed in time. Saints Catherine of Siena, Joan of Arc, Teresa of Avila, Thomas More, and John Fisher (the only bishop to defend the Faith against evil Henry VIII), ora pro nobis!

• Because keeping open or closing a parish is not a "managerial" decision. Our Church is not a corporation and should not be run like one.
  

• Because we must obey Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and the teachings of His Church first and foremost, not men.
  

* We have written extensively on this in the past so we will not include references and links here. If you would like them, search our site or the Catholic Encyclopedia online (newadvent.com). You may also refer to the Catechism of John Paul II, the Catechism of Pope St. Pius X, the Baltimore Catechism, canon law, the writings of the Fathers of the Church, countless papal encyclicals, and on and on. That the church is "just a building" is a protestant view, not a Catholic one. Now this heterodox view is expediently and shamefully used by the very men charged with defending our Faith and our churches and because they are in positions of authority, people trust them, listen, and believe them.

This was sent from an anonymous reader. We get lots of email since we are so prominent in the struggle to save our church.

Do not be misled: These mergers (closures) are not going well and people are not happy about them. Even at Diocesan sponsored events, we have heard widespread discontent, and this is among those who are sticking with "the program"...for now.

People are leaving their churches in droves, and in some case they are so disgusted they are leaving The Church. Why? They are appalled. They are disillusioned. Their Faith as been shaken, and who can blame them? If your answer is, "who cares?" let us enlighten you. You should care if for no other reason than that they are taking their wallets with them.

But money or no money, downsizing the Church does not strengthen the Church. Among Christ's words were not, "Go, therefore, and consolidate." No, he said this: Going therefore, teach ye all nations; baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Matthew 28:19

We ought to care of souls are being led astray! As this reader and so many others have expressed, what is happening is evil. If we are children of God by our Baptism and soldiers of Christ by our Confirmation, we cannot support that which is evil. We are called to resist it.

Email follows:

As of today, 1/13/10, St. John Vianney has ceased to exist as a Catholic parish. It feels as if there's been a death, it's heart rending and gut wrenching. I can hardly believe any of this has happened, the destruction of the Catholic Church in the Camden Diocese.

The wonderful ex-pastor of St. John Vianney will now be doing non-pastoral work, along with many other good priests from the diocese. If there's a priest shortage, why on earth have there been so many assignments to work other than pastoral work?

I cannot understand how people do not see this is evil work being done? Is this diocese blind? Is Rome blind? It seems there is a systematic destruction of the Catholic churches schools, orchestrated by the current leadership--the thing is, I cannot figure out why? It has to be more than power. It has to be more than believing their left-of-center ways are "best"? It is nothing but pure, unadulterated evil.
.....
...this bishop has no mercy and no compassion, and I think he'll do anything he can
to close every single remotely-traditional parish in this diocese.

St. John Vianney parishioners, our prayers are with you. It is time to again stand up and voice your opposition to this evil act. Do what is necessary to make your position clear.

Here is the [poor] Courier Post article in which they mislead the reader by making it appear that St. John Vianney* is much younger than it is. Also, notice how idiotic and deceptive the reasoning is. The CP only speaks to core team members, not to those unhappy with the loss of their parish. Anyone who thinks that people in the diocese, much less SJV parisihoners, are "accepting" and in favor of this merger plan is deluding themselves.

In case you haven't already guessed, St. John Vianney is a beautiful little country parish. It is small, old, and traditional. No wonder the bishop wants it gone.

It is sad that its pastor, a priest we happen to like very much, has not supported his parishioners and the rights of the parish to its existance as stipulated by canon law and Church history. This has been the case throughout the diocese. Some care too much for the stability of their status and their standing with the bishop and not enough for the tending of their flock and standing in opposition to that which is overtly wrong.

They hope to "get people back" by closing their parish??? What kind of reasoning is that? The only people who buy this line of reasoning are some on the core teams. By doing this, they are effectively slamming the door in the face to those who ever thought of returning to the Church, but that's just as well to Galante, who has a "new church" in mind that bears little resemblance to the Church we know. Scroll down to the comments.

Snip:

The parishes -- St. Margaret in Woodbury Heights and St. John Vianney in Deptford -- are to merge Jan. 13, Galante said. The new parish will be called Infant Jesus....

The merged parish, with its seat in Woodbury Heights, will serve 3,300 families. It will be led by the Rev. Joseph T. Szolack, the current pastor of St. Margaret's.

St. John Vianney Church will serve as a worship site "as needed by the new parish," the diocese said in a statement.

St. Margaret's Parish was founded in 1961 during a period of suburban growth in Woodbury Heights. St. John Vianney became a parish in 1971.

Merger preparations began in November 2008 when a "core team," with members from each parish, held an initial meeting with Szolack. Parish members since that time have worshipped together and shared social activities, such as a carnival and pancake breakfasts, the diocese said.

"Initially there was some uncertainty as to how this would all work," said Mark Cipolone, a core team member from St. Margaret's. "Now, parishioners are accepting and looking to moving forward."

Cipolone acknowledged a desire to see the survival of St. Margaret's, which was founded in 1961, and St. John Vianney, a parish since 1971.

"Given the realities, we have to do it," he said. "We have to get people to come back."

Galante's announcement came two days after the merger of three parishes in Camden County. Those parishes -- St. Luke in Stratford, St. Lawrence in Lindenwold and Our Lady of Grace in Somerdale -- are now Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish.

The next merger is to take effect Dec. 23, when two Cherry Hill parishes -- St. Pius X and Holy Rosary -- are to become Holy Eucharist Parish.

So far, 17 parishes have merged since late July, reducing the diocesan total by nine.

Comments:

Replying to armageddon:

Bishop Galante is in the wrong pew....
He should be our next Governor......

Yes, he should merge public school districts but leave our churches and parishes alone.
12/12/2009 8:12:25 AM

Maybe the parishioners at St. Margaret are coming to "accept" it but I can assure you those at St. John Vianney, which incidentally has been there long before 1971 (as St. Agnes), are not "accepting" it. And before anyone says anything, St. John Vianney is a full parish on Sundays and in the black.
12/12/2009 12:39:37 PM

Replying to watertoo:

Maybe the parishioners at St. Margaret are coming to "accept" it but I can assure you those at St. John Vianney, which incidentally has been there long before 1971 (as St. Agnes), are not "accepting" it. And before anyone says anything, St. John Vianney is a full parish on Sundays and in the black.

It is not fair that they are closing a fully self-sufficient church like St. John Vianney. I wish that the Courier Post would interview other church goers besides core team members.
12/12/2009 1:28:02 PM

Geographically, how do they justify elderly parish members that live in Deptford traveling to Woodbury Heights? It is not around the corner!! This is one of many reasons I have left my catholic background. There is no thought to the people just to the politics!!
12/12/2009 6:16:53 PM

The obese bishop must be removed. He is uneducated and stupid. Anyone who puts money in the plate is a fool. Remember the house of charity is the bishp's home.
12/12/2009 8:06:04 PM

* The SJV website has been significantly downsized from what it once was. It was once one of the best church websites in the diocese. Guess they were told to downsize it to only the absolutely essential information. Are the parishioners being told it's time to roll over and die?

Once again, Jim Walsh ought to be ashamed of this poor excuse for balanced journalism. Link here.

"We are grateful that the Congregation, after a thorough examination of this matter, has affirmed Bishop Galante's intention in both process and substance to strengthen parish life in this area of the diocese," the Rev. David Klein, the diocesan chancellor, said in a statement.

Cute. This Fr. Klein sounds like a regular charmer.

We seriously doubt that it is even Bishop Galante's intention is to "strengthen parish life." How could it be? He is destroying long-established communities of faith. To the Catholics we know, the clear opinion is that he and his small group of supporters on the inside are intentionally killing "parish life" in the service of their own warped agenda.

It seems to us that any Catholics who disagree with the bishop's unholy agenda he'd be just as happy to see leave the Church altogether, because that's precisely what's already beginning to happen. For shame! Churches and parishes are not disposable, and Rome ought to be defending the lay faithful from continued abuses from corrupt American bishops on high. In the cases of many dioceses, (and our own diocese remains to be proven since we do not have access to the evidence), first the bishops allow the stealing of the innocence of our youth and now they perpetrate the stealing of our churches to pay for their evil acts. No matter the reason given for this horrendous injustice, it still reeks.

One should never make haste to do a thing which is evil.

"For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood." -Proverbs 1:16

For we must remember that our allegiance is first and foremost to God and not to erring man, no matter who that man may be. Blindly following man can lead us hastily to the abyss of hell.

"Had I but served my God with half the zeal had served my king, he would not in mine age Have left me naked to mine enemies." -William Shakespeare, Henry VIII

"We cannot all be masters, nor all masters can be truly followed." -William Shakespeare, Othello

"And call none your father upon earth; for one is your father, who is in heaven. Neither be ye called masters; for one is your master, Christ." -Matthew 23:9-10 (Douay-Rheims commentary: The meaning is that our Father in heaven is incomparably more to be regarded, than any father upon earth: and no master to be followed, who would lead us away from Christ.)

"No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or he will hold to the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon." -Luke 16:13, Matthew 6:24

In rushing to do what is wrong, we delude ourselves.

"With devotion's visage and pious action we do sugar o'er the devil himself." -William Shakespeare, Hamlet

In serving false masters, we run the risk of losing our very soul.

"What's done cannot be undone." -William Shakespeare, Macbeth

Justice is the treasure of those who serve God. Justice is never the treasure of liars.

"And in the midst of the church she shall open his mouth, and shall fill him with the spirit of wisdom and understanding, and shall clothe him with a robe of glory. She shall heap upon him a treasure of joy and gladness, and shall cause him to inherit an everlasting name. But foolish men shall not obtain her, and wise men shall meet her, foolish men shall not see her: for she is far from pride and deceit. Lying men shall not be mindful of her: but men that speak truth shall be found with her, and shall advance, even till they come to the sight of God."  -Ecclesiasticus 15:5-8

Therefore the Lord tells us to "fear not" for He is with us 236 times throughout the Bible. In choosing to do right and resisting evil, He gives us strength against all enemies. No, fear not evil man,

"but I will shew you whom you shall fear: fear ye him, who after he hath killed, hath power to cast into hell. Yea, I say to you, fear him." -Luke 12:5

We should fear only God himself, our just judge. He will separate the sheep from the goats. Which side do you choose? Good or evil? There is no middle ground.

So many today, St. Mary's included, are sheep without a shepherd but Jesus the Good Shepherd Himself. We have been left to the wolves, to fend for ourselves.

"Behold I send you as sheep in the midst of wolves. Be ye therefore wise as serpents and simple as doves." -Matthew 10:16

Yet if we follow in His ways, we will not be led into error.

"The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the protector of my life: of whom shall I be afraid?" -Psalm 26:1

I admit that watching the show, "Little House on the Prairie" is one of my guilty pleasures. I've liked this show ever since I was a small child. While traveling across the country once, I accidentally (but happily) found myself following the same trail that the real Ingalls family once followed and visited one of the museums associated with the famous pioneer family. Now my husband and I are reading the book series aloud to our children, and this nicely coincides with a homeschooler class my son is taking entitled, "Westward Ho."

In any case, I think that one of the central attractive qualities of this series is the real life struggle between good and evil. While members of the Ingalls family do not always make the right choices initially, with the help of God and by strengthening each other, in the end they always chooses the side of right.

I was reading a quote from one of the writers of the show the other day. He was commenting on the episode, "The Bully Boys" (see last few minutes of episode and transcription below). In this episode a group of thugs threaten the way of life of the entire town. By the end of the episode, virtually the entire town has been abused in some way. The writer states that what makes this episode different from many is the fact that it is acknowledged that some people are essentially bad. The soft-spoken and Christ-like Reverend Alden sums up the sentiments of the writer in his sermon, which precipitates the driving of the thugs from the community.

The reason why I am bothering to share this with you is that I think we face a similar situation on a much broader scale here in our diocese. While some bullies stand outside a church or community, some appear to be a part of it. They wield their membership and, in some cases, their authority in abusive ways. They lie, threaten others, and may even steal what does not belong to them.

Unlike the villains in this Little House episode, there are some in leadership positions in our diocese and throughout the Church who are basically just thugs and bullies. Like the tv show bullies, they think nothing of pushing people and communities around. The common street criminals, the thieving corporate CEOs, the scheming Washington politicians, and certain corrupt Church officials have one thing in common: they are out for only themselves and do not consider the wellbeing and rights of others, much less the propagation of the Faith and the Gospel. They are career-oriented opportunists. Therefore it is imperative that we pray daily not only for ourselves and our parishes, but for the conversion of all Church leaders to Christ and His Church.

In a simple and straightforward way, this episode manages to relay a few very important truths:

1. Contrary to the modern world's popular opinion, good and evil exist. Good and evil are not subjectively determined. They are not matters of perception, but are objectively true.

2. In all of our lives, we have a choice to make. We must daily choose between good and evil, right and wrong, Jesus Christ and The Deceiver. Every day when we wake up in the morning, this is the choice that is before us. We must choose our side. This is called free will. However, we cannot be on the side of both Christ and The Evil One simultaneously. When we fall, when we have made a wrong decision and sinned, we confess it, we disown it, and we choose Christ's side again.

3. "Turning the other cheek" is indeed noble, but as demonstrated by Our Lord, does not automatically exclude the necessity of resisting the devil and "those who do his bidding."

4. A real community does not "stand alone against those who do the devil's work," but is unified by God in its insistence that evil be thwarted and right defended.*

Though the show depicts a protestant congregation, I think a valid fifth point may also be taken:

5. A pastor has an obligation to defend his flock from those who mean to harm it, from the attacks of the devil.

Transcription:

Rev. Alden: With your indulgence I would like to dispense with the hymn and go directly to my subject this morning: Heaven and hell. Sometimes we forget, in our contemplation of our reward in Heaven, that there even is a hell. But we might do well this morning to remember that hell has a purpose too. And the devil doesn't sit down there all by himself. Now I've told you that there's good in all people. But that doesn't mean that all people lead good lives. There are those who lie, who steal, who abuse those around them. Last week I told you that it was noble and courageous to turn the other cheek. Well, that's true, but this week one of you reminded me that there are times that the devil is in our midst; that no endurance, no nobility, will defend us against those who do his bidding.

Thug #1: Reverend, all that talk about the devil, you wouldn't be slurring me and my brothers, would ya?

Rev. Alden: More than that. It's strange that it took the children in this town to teach us the lesson: that we are a town, we're a community, we're a congregation. And no man should stand alone against those who do the devil's work.

Thug #2: What are you planning to do, preacher?

Rev. Alden: I intend to see you out of this church and out of this community.

Thug #2: Well that's pretty hard words but it looks like you're still standing pretty much alone.

[Reverend Alden and Isaiah Edwards slam the thugs against the wall.]

Rev. Alden: Am I?!

Thug #2: All right, all right, we'll be out of here by nightfall.

Rev. Alden: You'll go NOW. And you'll take only those things you brought with you. And maybe next time you'll think twice about taking advantage of good, decent people.

Thug #1: Tell him we'll do it, Sam, we'll do it.

Rev. Alden: [to Isaiah Edwards] Isaiah, your men can handle this?

Isaiah Edwards: Amen, Reverend!

Rev. Alden: [to Caroline Ingalls] Caroline, if you'll lead the ladies in a hymn, we'll be right back.

[Rev. Alden, Isaiah Edwards, and the men of the community march the thugs out of town. The congregation sings, "Onward Christian soldiers..."]


* St. John Chrysostom, On the Priesthood, Book II:

(Regarding pastors): ...but he who has human beings entrusted to him, the rational flock of Christ, incurs a penalty in the first place for the loss of the sheep, which goes beyond material things and touches his own life: and in the second place he has to carry on a far greater and more difficult contest. For he has not to contend with wolves, nor to dread robbers, nor to consider how he may avert pestilence from the flock. With whom then has he to fight? With whom has he to wrestle? Listen to the words of St. Paul: We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

(Regarding wolves in sheep's clothing): ....even should they capture the whole flock, they do not leave the shepherd unmolested, but attack him all the more, and wax bolder, ceasing not until they have either overthrown him, or have themselves been vanquished. Again, the afflictions of sheep are manifest...

Courtesy of our former bishop. Yikes. This fake priest's quite the pretty boy. If they think this is going to get people to church or confession, they're even more out of touch than we thought.

Commentary (not written by savestmary's):

Yes, this is a real pitch by the Diocese of Brooklyn. Does Bishop DiMarzio really think this will bring the youngsters into the Catholic Church? This is brought to you by the same Los Angeles ad agency that uses the devil to promote Catholic television:

The campaign [for NET, the Diocese's cable TV channel], by Cesario Migliozzi in Los Angeles, features an unusual spokesman for religious television: the Devil. "We could have easily said, 'Net is the network you've been praying for,' but we need to get eyeballs," said Michael Migliozzi, partner and creative director at Cesario Migliozzi. "The idea of having a little devil telling you not to do it would be a lot of fun."

The Times reports that the"fun" devil ad cost the Diocese of Brooklyn about $200,000. "Father Vic," who we'd guess is an under-employed L.A. actor, must have lightened the collection plates of a few more hundred thousand dollars.

In totally unrelated news, the Diocese of Brooklyn recently announced the closings of over a dozen schools as part of it's "Preserving the Vision" campaign (where do they come up with these names?), citing budget deficits that approached a million dollars a year. Getting out the calculator, the average shuttered school would be responsible for $70,000 in annual deficit. Two $200,000 ads represents 5.7 closed schools and thousands of students.

Ah, but "Father Vic" is pretty darn cute, don't you agree? I bet he got a lot of "View Again" clicks in the Rectory offices.

This was originally posted January 31, 2009. We thought it was worth republishing.

Catholic theology and Church teaching are not accidental. Holy Mother Church teaches unchanging, eternal Truths. Moreover, these Truths are all connected and interconnected. Like all systems, each Truth depends upon the other; they are the structures that support the building. We do not, after all, have an atomistic system wherein one truth may stand up as a pillar without the others. Generally speaking, it is not possible, nor is it logical, to accept one teaching of the Catholic Church and dispense with the others, as if one was unrelated to the next. Once we begin to do this, the structure loses its supports and comes tumbling down.

Take, for example, our church buildings and chapels. They are designed for the worship of Christ, the King of the Universe. They are supposed to give us a glimpse of heaven. They are to surround us with examples of how we should live (depictions of the lives of Christ and the saints), who we are and were designed to be (holy sons and daughters of Our Lord), and the physical and spiritual means of getting there.


As Catholics, we believe that Christ is truly and physically present in the Holy Sacrifice of the Altar and that his Eucharistic Presence resides in the Tabernacle. If the King of the Universe resides in the Tabernacle, it only makes sense that that Tabernacle be located in a prominent place, front and center.


If the King of the Universe in the Tabernacle is located front and center in our churches, it only makes sense that we reverently face Him. If the King of the Universe is located in the Tabernacle, front and center, and we are all facing His Majesty, it only makes sense that we be able to kneel before Him in humility and out of love and devotion to Him.


If we truly believe that Jesus Christ, King and Redeemer of our fallen race has come to be with us sacramentally in the Holy Eucharist and that He resides in our Catholic churches, then our souls and minds ought to be elevated, our whole selves reminded of Him while we are in church, whether mass is going on or not. Throughout most of human history, people have not been literate, and even today we need reminders of what it means to live the Christian life. God allows us to use our senses to know Him. To glorify God and for the help of our souls, we are given works of art in the form of paintings, stained glass windows, statues, and other things within our churches.


Consider this. When you have a guest coming to your house, you clean up. You make ready. You prepare. If you were to have an "important" guest come to your house, you would want it to look good. In this case we have an important guest--the most important Guest possible, our Creator--coming to be with us, so great is His love for us. We should want all around us to remind us of His loving and sacrificial Presence.

Says the Catholic Church of England and Wales:

A Church for us is more than a building - it is a Sacred Space, filled with God's presence. Everything within that space - the paintings, the statues, the stained glass - exists for a spiritual purpose.

This is to provide people with a focus for prayer and an insight into God: literally a 'glimpse of heaven'. The word 'Patrimony' describes the Church's cultural inheritance in terms of architecture, art and artefacts. All witness to our Catholic past: a history of persecution, struggle and ultimately, revival. We are just custodians, with a duty to preserve these sacred treasures for the future. Today we also create the Patrimony of tomorrow by commissioning high quality Sacred art.

But now, after roughly two thousand years of Holy Mother Church teaching us

• about the sacredness the church building,
• about how we must be ever vigilant of the possibility of sacrilege not only personally but also in our churches and shrines,
• about how Our Lord would be with us even until the end of time both spiritually and in the Holy Eucharist in our churches and sacred places,
• about Christians sacrificing all they had materially and even their own lives for the sake of their holy churches erection and continuation,
  
• to fall on our knees before God in our beloved churches,

now, in late twentieth and early twenty-first century America we are told to believe that our churches are "just buildings" and we ought not be attached to them. I don't know about you, but my mother taught me when I was just a child that this is one of the most important things that distinguishes us as Catholics from the protestants: our churches are open because we believe that they are holy places, that Our Lord is there, and that they are not just buildings. My mother was no liar.

Places where Our Lord has come to us sacramentally in His unbloody sacrifice, day after day after day, we are now told to believe are buildings like any other. That isn't Catholicism. That is materialism. And that, my friends, is precisely what the devil himself would have us believe. To believe our churches are only buildings would be to deny Our Lord's Eucharistic Presence, our ultimate and eternal destiny, and that for which we were created--the worship of God. In fact, to claim that our churches are just buildings would be to deny our spiritual nature, the indwelling of the Holy Ghost, and even our sacred baptisms and confirmations. To claim that our churches are just buildings is to deny the validity of their consecrations and blessings. To claim that our churches are just buildings is an insidious lie. And a lie is a lie no matter who says it.

By a decree of the Council of Trent (Sess. XXII), Mass should not be celebrated in any place except a consecrated or blessed church. Hence it is the wish of the Church that at least cathedrals and parish churches be solemnly consecrated, and that smaller churches be blessed (Cong. Sac. Rit., 7 Aug., 1875), but any church and public or semi-public oratory may be consecrated (Cong. Sac. Rit., 5 June, 1899). Both by consecration and by blessing a church is dedicated to Divine worship, which forbids its use for common or profane purposes. Consecration is a rite reserved to a bishop, who by the solemn anointing with holy chrism, and in the prescribed form, dedicates a building to the service of God, thereby raising it in perpetuum to a higher order, removing it from the malign influence of Satan, and rendering it a place in which favours are more graciously granted by God (Pontificale Romanum).  (From New Advent, the Catholic Encyclopedia.)

In the past, Catholics and Catholic buildings alike have been the targets of hatred and persecution. I need not list the litany of specific examples, but priests have been tarred and feathered, buildings blown up, altars desecrated, the Sacred Body of Our Lord maligned, churches vandalized. The history of anti-Catholicism in this country is well-documented and is, in fact, alive and well today. Of course in this country Catholics not even permitted to run for public office (and even when they were, there was serious doubt about their "patriotism"). Catholics have experienced horrible persecution in this and other countries, and by extension our houses of worship desecrated in the worst possible ways. Suffice it to say that many of you have likely heard the stories of your own ancestors and what they went through to preserve the faith, or even just to get to mass. I know I grew up hearing these stories of perseverance in the Faith, and my own family sacrificed much and for that I am so proud and so grateful. It is a great privilege to be born into a good Catholic family and to receive the benefits of our patrimony. The fruit of all that sacrifice is made real to us by virtue of worshiping in the places bequeathed to us by our ancestors and by the grace of God.


It is amazing that at this point in American Catholic history, instead of the Catholic Church being the object of hostile attacks from without, our church buildings and even the Church itself is being attacked from within. Sadly, our shepherds are leading their sheep astray, and many souls will be lost. Instead of protecting our churches, our patrimony, they are being closed (and often the contents sold on ebay) and when faithful Catholics hold tight to the timeless teachings of their Faith, they are called all manner of things from "disobedient" to "unchristian" and worse. Sometimes these attacks are leveled, shamefully, by their own priests and bishops. Yes, many of the very bishops who

• harbored child abusers, shuffling them from one parish to the next
• affiliate themselves and do business with the likes of criminals who would steal churches and schools right out from under unsuspecting Catholics
• allow the rampant sexual impropriety of priests in their diocese
• advocate such unorthodox doctrine as married, gay, and "womyn" priests; as well as downplay of the sacrificial nature of the mass and many other things
• repeatedly lie to the faithful in matters ranging from real estate transactions to canon law to theological Truth
  
• justify closing churches by claiming there's a "priest shortage" and then persecuting and sending away priests by the dozen...
  

...yes, some of the very same bishops would be so blind and arrogant as to criticize the faithful Catholics who merely want to worship their Lord and Savior in the manner they always have: in their own churches. This is an outrage, and it should not be tolerated by any thinking Catholic.

We read this article from the Regina Angelorum newsletter of the nuns of Our Lady of the Angels Poor Clare Monastery in Hanceville, Alabama (EWTN) awhile back and thought it was relevant to our current situation here in the Diocese of Camden. The [anonymous] sister who wrote the article seeks to address empty, worldly, directionless "values." Here in the Diocese of Camden have heard countless arguments from the Galante Administration regarding change. They have spewed psychobabble pertaining to the alleged difficulty that we, the laity have coping with change. This kind of patronizing dribble is without merit because it fails to address the purpose of the change and merely holds up "change" as having inherent value. This type of rhetoric attempts to put the Catholic faithful on the defensive, as if they had to prove their ability to healthily cope with change by accepting the destruction of their parishes. The question remains, is the change we are expected to embrace a change toward the Good, toward God's Will, toward God Himself? What are we supposed to be changing to?

Here is the article:

We live in a culture where it has become popular to promote incomplete ideas. Choice, change and even love are raised high as banners harkening to more elevated paths. But without truth these are paths most notable for their lack of destination. Such emotionally-charged words certainly do refererence authentic aspirations in human nature, but when raised as an empty battle cry they are most unhelpful in indicating the direction of the charge.

The value of a choice is determined by what is chosen. Change is only good when what something is changed to is preferable to what it is changed from. And even love derives its beauty from what is loved. When St. Bernadette was asked what a sinner is, she replied that a sinner is someone who loves evil. It is possible to love evil, just as it is possible to choose evil and possible to change into an evil person.

Many years ago I awoke one morning, shaken by a very vivid dream. It was a dream about two Kingdoms, ruled by two very different Masters. What I remember most clearly about this dream was the conviction that I had upon waking that it would be infinitely better to be a dog in Heaven than to be the highest underling of the devil inhell. These are very different Masters.

As Catholics we do not believe that good and evil are equal forces. We do not believe that God has a real rival in the devil. God is sovereign and even the evil He permits will serve His goodness in the end. Yet, for each of us the choice between good and evil is a real one, and which we choose to love will determine not only where we will go at the end of our life but what we weill BE. Those choices are determining us even now.

We tend to view the consequences of our choices as something external to ourselves, reward or punishment, praise or blame, success or failure. It is true that our choices do have ramifications in the world around us, but we too easily forget that they also have an effect on the world within us. Our choices change us. They cooperate in making us who we are.

If I lie, I become a liar. If I steal, I become a thief. If I rejoice in ean-spirited actions, I become a mean-spirited person. To be sure, it is possible to free ourselves from sinful choices, precisely by repenting of them, but unti we do that they are a force in deterining who we are. We can deform our own characters by embracing evil and neglecting to seek the good. The potential that we have for being beautiful, shining reflections of the God Who created us can go eternally unfulfilled.

This reality is not dependent on anyone's opinion or perception. We aren't good because we are praised. we aren't good because we can convince people that we are good. We are only good to the degree that we love the good, serve the good, choose the good. Whether these choices are hidden or manifest, they make us what we are.

"The issue now is clear. It is between light and darkness and everyone must choose his side." (the last words of G.K. Chesterton)

Today I was in Eucharistic Adoration with my two kids. No, it was not the most meditative or peaceful time I've ever had in church, and frankly I was grateful that there wasn't anyone else there during my hour as there usually are, since they might have been disturbed by the kids. In any case, I picked up a brochure someone had dropped off on the table near the door. The brochure is entitled, "Terri Schiavo's Final Hours: An Eyewitness Account," by the well known Fr. Frank Pavone of Priests For Life.

I found his account of the ordeal intriguing and disturbing to say the least. Let me share with you a few quotes from the pamphlet:

After I said these things [namely that Michael Schiavo, his attorney Mr. Felos, and Judge Greer were murderers], Mr. Felos and others in sympathy with him began attacking me in the press and before the cameras. Some news outlets began making a story out of their attacks and said I was "fanning the flames" of enmity and hatred.

Hmmm, I thought. Something about this sounds very familiar to me. Someone speaks out with God's honest truth and he is made out as, well, the worst possible thing he could be today: Not Nice! The implication, of course, is that Fr. Pavone is just another wacky fundy Fundamentalist who wishes to impose his inflexible moral rules on others, disrespecting Terri's supposed right to die, thus making him a hateful person. (Basically anyone with moral or religious backbone these days is pegged a "fundamentalist," hate-filled, or just a big meanie.) Fr. Pavone continues:

Actually, there's a simple reason why they are so angry with me. They had hoped that they could present Terri's death as a merciful and gentle act. My words took the veil of euphemism away, calling this a killing, and giving eyewitness testimony to the fact that it was anything but gentle. Mr. Felos is a euthanasia advocate, and like all such advocates, he needs to manipulate the language, to sell death in an attractive package...

Wow, this sounds even more familiar. How many times in the course of human history have politicians and others had to pretty up something so overtly evil, so immoral? Something they know to be just plain wrong? "Gathering God's Gifts," anyone? Are our churches being "euthenized?"

One of the attacks they made was that a "spiritual person" like a priest should be speaking words of compassion and understanding, instead of venom.

Ahhh, the old "be Christian" routine. The "you hypocrite who claims to be a Christian but doesn't act like one" head trip. As if "being Christian" is equivalent with being a spineless nicy nice, simply a person with very good manners. What a load of horse manure.

But compassion demands truth. A priest is also a prophet, and if he cannot cry out against evil, then he cannot bring about reconciliation. If there is going to be any healing...it must start with repentance on the part of those who murdered Terri and now try to cover it up with flowery language.

Part of the Christian life, as taught best to us by the Church's many martyrs for the Faith, is the necessity of calling a spade a spade and defending the Truth. What a shame so many fall prey to evil dressed up as good, wolves in sheep's clothing, and church closure programs portrayed as promotion rather than a demotion of the Faith.

Another aspect of the Terri Schiavo tragedy is that many people misunderstand its cause and therefore its solution. They think the problem was that Terri did not leave any written instructions... Terri's case is not about the withdrawal of life-saving medical treatment, but rather about the killing of a healthy person whose life some regarded as worthless. Terri was not dying, was not on life support, and did not have any terminal illness. Because some thought she would not want to live with her disability, they insisted on introducing the cause of death, namely, dehydration.

At this point the parallels being drawn were simply unbelievable. The Diocese of Camden's Administration has presented a list of supposed problems within the Diocese (although they have presented contradictory statements numerous times)--its symptoms of terminal illness--and expected the veracity of these supposed problems to go unchallenged, the Administration's chosen responses received without question. Even if we the Christian faithful were to accept their diagnoses, then must we accept their solution? Not necessarily. But misunderstanding supposed causes of our problems in the Diocese is half the problem.

In so many cases, churches threatened with closure (death) are not dying, not on life support, and without "terminal illnesses." But their causes of death were about to be handily introduced from on high. Our "Speak Up Sessions," our "living wills" so to speak, were the venues at which so many allegedly clamored to have their churches merged and closed. As Fr. Pavone says, "what good is a living will supposed to accomplish, aside from saying, 'Please don't argue about killing me, just kill me?'"

If we had enough priests to go around when we began (and we did), the bishop would make sure that we had an inadequate number by the time he was through, creating the priest shortage "terminal illness" he so desired. He and McGrath were careful to disallow various orders of priests from offering their services within the Diocese, and, we have been told by inside sources, actively discouraged vocations to the diocesan priesthood through emotional intimidation and screening processes, neither of which are unique to our Diocese. (For more on such screening processes we recommend you read Michael Rose's excellently researched book, Goodbye Good Men.)

In any case, what we're talking about is the killing of healthy churches whose life some in positions of power regard as worthless. They insist on introducing the cause of death. Fr. Pavone continues:

What we run the risk of losing is the right to receive the most basic humane care--like food and water--in the event we have a disability.

Human beings, of course, have a right to life! And according to Canon Law, parishes also have a right to existence as juridic persons. The good ol' Baltimore Catechism (#132) states that "when these buildings we call churches are blessed or consecrated, they become holy." And the Church Herself said in the Council of Trent that all parish churches should be consecrated and they "may never be transferred to common or profane uses." Why then are all of our churches, our juridic persons, suddenly disposable?

It occurred to me that what is currently happening throughout the United States is this. Certain bishops have decided that our churches--which have rights as juridic persons under Canon Law and Church law generally--and by extension we the Catholic faithful who have built and maintained and worshiped in these churches, no longer deserve the dignity God Himself accords us. We no longer have the right to receive the most basic spiritual care--like the Bread of Life and the Blood of Christ--in our own churches. (It is unlikely any great accident that many of the targeted churches are among the most architecturally traditional). Similarly our consecrated parishes are no longer deserving of the most basic dignity by virtue of their holy usage as having the "Gospel preached in them, the Sacraments administered in them, and the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass offered in them" (Baltimore Catechism #132).

In a model where human beings are considered bodies without souls, our churches are considered mere brick-and-mortar buildings lacking the animating Spirit of God. Therefore they are being dispensed with as if they had no meaning or importance whatsoever, as if they were "just buildings" (a phrase the Diocesan Administration has used time and again). In our current materialist culture, this sentiment is no great surprise. Fr. Pavone continues:

But we have a basic obligation to preserve our own life. A person who leaves clear instructions that they don't want to be fed is breaking the moral law by requesting suicide.

Every word Fr. Pavone speaks in this pamphlet is so very true, I thought. Certainly every person is deserving of his God given right to both physical and spiritual sustenance. In turn, we have an obligation to preserve and promote the Faith, which is our very Life. This one, holy, Catholic, and apostolic Faith is the very essence of our churches and our parish communities, and these churches and communities are being attacked without cause. We must stand for Truth at all costs and never allow ourselves to be deprived of our own basic dignity. To stand idly by and watch our communities, our dignity, our spiritual welfare, our very FAITH be torn to shreds would be to deny it, and therefore to commit spiritual suicide. This is the culture of death.*

So by the time I was done reading this pamphlet, I wondered, is even the Church not immune from the culture of death? It seemed to me that the same heterodox and secular model Fr. Pavone spoke of, the culture of death which is so prevalent in our culture today, is now being applied to our churches and in a general sense, to the Faith as we know it. This time, the model has infested the highest levels of our Diocese.


* The "culture of death" is a phrase coined by the late Pope John Paul II and is described in his 1995 encyclical Evangelium Vitae

They're just getting the site up and running, it looks like. They also have an e-newsletter that you can receive. Though their church was suppressed (closed) without cause, they continue to meet on Sundays on the church steps and have regular rosary services Wednesdays. They are a community to reckon with! We must support our brothers and sisters in Christ in this horrendous struggle, the onslaught that is now occurring from within the Church. It is certainly not the first time in the Catholic Church's history that the devil has tried to attack the Bride of Christ so directly.

The people of New Orleans have lost enough. They do not deserve to lose their churches, too. May God have mercy on the soul of the former bishop of New Orleans. He will have a lot to answer to.

Check out the Save St. Henry's website by clickiing here!

Below you'll see a picture slideshow from the procession, hay ride, talent show, bands, inflatables, food and games booths, and more.

Thank yous
(focusing on Day 2)

• A special thank you is in order for Joe Posiadlo for his construction of an amazing and beautiful bier for Our Lady (see photo below). We're sure it will be used for many years to come.

• While we're at it with the thank yous, we should make sure we thank both of Sunday's bands, Mr. Tujays (right and above) and Jukebox Review. Both were excellent and so much fun, too. Thanks to Mr. Tujays for donating your time and talent to the church. We were so impressed with both bands--please make sure you catch them if you can! Both of these great classic rock/oldies bands are those of members of our parish, Jim Wilson and Kevin Kelton.

• A big, gigantic thank you to Ollie and Corie from Plagido's Winery, Hammonton (right). We cannot begin to express all the complimentary feedback we received about your wines and sangria. In the words of one of our parishioners, "Now I know where I'm going to get my Christmas wine." Me too! (And Halloween wine, and Thanksgiving wine, and Easter wine, etc.) Please be sure and patronize this wonderful winery, open 7 days a week and owned by two of the very nicest people you'd ever want to meet. (Be sure to try the "Plagido's Choice.")
  

• We would be remiss if we neglected to mention all the many people who gave of their time and talents to make this weekend possible, from planning to making phone calls to soliciting donations to stapling adbooks to setting up tables to answering the phones during and leading up to the feast to manning the booths to dressing up as a clown (???)...you name it. We are sure we'll forget someone in this list, but thank you to Dee Posiadlo, Kathie Ramos, JV (right), Tim Trace, Diane Trace, Bill DiMatteo, Mike and Danny Vassallo, Nancy Pantaleo, and most of all to the wonderful, talented, and unassuming Leah Vassallo. Leah, you are awesome. (Leah you can stop blushing and look at the pictures now.) Thank you to EVERYONE who worked so hard for Our Lady and for our parish. Please forgive me if I have forgotten you, my mind is like a sieve sometimes.

Finally, thank you to Our Lady under whose constant protection we find ourselves. We give ourselves totally to you. Please pray to your Divine Son for us and for our parish's continued protection from the onslaughts of the devil.

By the way, I have not yet had time to touch up any of the photos so if there are any blurry or sideways ones, I apologize! Hopefully I will have some videos for you soon. If any of you have photos you'd like to submit, please feel free to send them to us. The same goes for anyone who'd like to make any comments about their experiences at this year's feast. It was a great success.


Created with flickr slideshow.

Prayer to St. Irenaeus

St. Irenaeus, Second Century Bishop of Lyon, missionary, and unapologetic apologist for the One True Church, pray for us who struggle to defend and preserve the Church and God's churches here below! Let the Son of God be praised in each and every church in the Diocese of Camden! St. Irenaeus, help us to always see the Light that shineth in the darkness, and let us not be deceived by the darkness of the world.

• "But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into the exterior darkness..." Matthew 8:12

• "And seeing the multitudes, he had compassion on them: because they were distressed, and lying like sheep that have no shepherd." Matthew 9:36

Dear St. Irenaeus, please pray for all those who are lost and in need of the guidance only the Good Shepherd may provide. Pray that we will never put ourselves in the place of God, the grave sin of Adam and Eve which caused us to be born in sin. Similarly, oh holy saint, please pray for our priests and bishops and their growth in holiness and subjection to God's will. Pray that all lukewarmness be banished from our hearts! Help us all to know and grow in our Faith, separate Truth from error, and remain on the narrow path of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.


Here are a few interesting snippets from the great saint's most important work. We recommend reading St. Irenaeus as well as the other Fathers. In this way we may be affirmed that the Church has its foundation from the earliest of times. In fact She has survived countless storms, as promised by Our Lord to St. Peter, but not without constant defense and even the shedding of blood.

From Against Heresies, Book IV:

The skill of God,  therefore, is not defective, for He has power of the stones to raise up children to Abraham, but the man who does not obtain it is the cause to himself of his own imperfection. Nor, [in like manner], does the light fail because of those who have blinded themselves; but while it remains the same as ever, those who are [thus] blinded are involved in darkness through their own fault. The light does never enslave any one by necessity; nor, again, does God exercise compulsion upon any one unwilling to accept the exercise of His skill. Those persons, therefore, who have apostatized from the light given by the Father, and transgressed the law of liberty, have done so through their own fault, since they have been created free agents, and possessed of power over themselves.

From Book V:

The devil, however, as he is the apostate angel, can only go to this length, as he did at the beginning, [namely] to deceive and lead astray the mind of man into disobeying the commandments of God, and gradually to darken the hearts of those who would endeavor to serve him, to the forgetting of the true God, but to the adoration of himself as God.

I stumbled on this collection of beautiful pictures of the "Via Crucis Procession" in Washington DC. Quote:

Men carry a statue of the Jesus as they walk the Via Crusis, or "Way of the Cross," leading about 200 other Catholics through the Dupont Circle neighborhood to mark Good Friday April 10, 2009 in Washington, DC. The faithful "walked in the footsteps of Christ" and carried wooden crosses and statues from Our Lady, Queen of the Americas Catholic Church to the Cathedral of St. Matthew. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images North America)