Pope John Paul's favorite hymn, "Pescador de Hombres"

Seldom do I hear this hymn, whether in English or Spanish (and now Polish) without tears. I first heard it in a memorial Mass for the Colombian plane crash victims of 1995, but it's more than that; the intimacy of the Lord's call to us to leave our boats and come follow Him touches me deeply. Every time. Now that I know that it was Pope John Paul's favorite hymn, I love it even more.
Spanish Lyrics
1. Tú has venido a la orilla,
no has buscado ni a sabios ni a ricos;
tan sólo quieres que yo te siga.
Estribillo
Señor, me has mirado a los ojos,
sonriendo has dicho mi nombre,
en la arena he dejado mi barca,
junto a ti buscaré otro mar.
2. Tú sabes bien lo que tengo;
en mi barca no hay oro ni espadas,
Tan sólo redes y mi trabajo.

3. Tú necesitas mis manos,
mi cansancio que a otros descanse,
Amor que quiera seguir amando.

4. Tú, pescador de otros lagos,
ansia eterna de almas que esperan,
amigo bueno, que así me llamas.
Lord, You Have Come1. Lord, you have come to the seashore,
neither searching for the rich nor the wise,
desiring only that I should follow.
Refrain
O, Lord, with your eyes set upon me,
gently smiling, you have spoken my name;
all I longed for I have found by the water,
at your side, I will seek other shores.
2. Lord, see my goods, my possessions;
in my boat you find no power, no wealth.
Will you accept, then, my nets and labor?
3. Lord, take my hands and direct them.
Help me spend myself in seeking the lost,
returning love for the love you gave me.
4. Lord, as I drift on the waters,
be the resting place of my restless heart,
my life's companion, my friend and refuge.

Spanish text: Cesáreo Gabaráin. English text: OCP. Text and music © 1979, 1987, Cesáreo Gabaráin. Published by OCP. All rights reserved.

December 19, 2012 update,

Isabelle and Ward O'Conner from Quebec, Canada have just sent me a lovely recording of this hymn with lyrics dedicated to Our Lady of Guadalupe, entitled,“Hymne à Notre-Dame de Guadalupe” .
 Its lovely and they promised English and Spanish versions.

Bigger than the Royal Wedding

I don't mean to rain on the Royal Wedding celebration, I wish the couple every happiness in their wedded life, and hope the Brits have a wonderful celebration. I look back on my days living in Highbury, London with great affection. It was just this time of year when I reluctantly left Britain for the Continent. I've been back twice since, once taking a course at the University of London, and spending a delightful weekend at Oxford, city of dreaming spires. But I just can't help comparing as we Catholics have an even bigger event this weekend, and I am waiting with just as eager anticipation as I see on the news about the wedding.

Servant of God, Pope John Paul II will be beatified in Rome on Sunday. A human being has overcome tragedy and oppression, and reached extraordinary heights of holiness, touching the lives of millions, transforming the Culture of Death by planting seeds of the New Springtime of Evangelization. He has become the role model for millions of zealous young religious, and generously sized families often have a son bearing his name. Universities and schools are already named after him. His Theology of the Body is enthusiastically studied by scholars and the faithful alike.  John Paul rewrote the map of Europe, overcoming forty years of Communist dictatorship with prayer and encouragement of his people. His intercessory prayers healed a nun of Parkinson's Disease from which he heroically suffered.
Now he is to be raised to the altar with the feast day October 22. That's something to celebrate! The population of Rome has already doubled, swelling with pilgrims who are there for the occasion. I was just invited to join them but, alas, finances will not permit me. I will be there in spirit, however, celebrating with my family in a Beatification Party; Polish food while watching the big event on the TV. My portrait of John Paul will be festooned with bunting and spring flowers, and we will conclude our Divine Mercy Novena as we toast our new Blessed John Paul II.

Before I was a blogger, I used to write articles and poetry when I was inspired by something great. In 1979 I saw the young Pope John Paul in Madison Square Garden and wrote this poem, which won second place in the New York State Catholic Daughters' Poetry Contest. It helped me think that I might have a career in journalism.

The Pilgrim Pope
From Ireland's Emerald Hills,
To American's Freedom Shore,
Another humble pilgrim,
Comes 'cross the sea once more.

But this traveler is diff'rent,
Though, in looks, like all the rest,
His path is set by Christ,
Which makes his coming blest.

He comes in peace to spread,
The gentle Gospel Word,
So, open wide your hearts,
And let his voice be heard.

And then, in 1995 as a young mother I wrote this piece after attending the Mass at Aqueduct Racetrack in New York City with my two year old daughter. It aws published in Queen of All Hearts, a Monfort publication. Today is the feast day of St Louis de Monfort, whose Marian Consecration both Pope John Paul and I have made.

When John Paul died, I was so moved I wrote this piece which was published in the National Catholic Reporter and Faith and Family magazine simultaneously.
Soon, I began to get the idea that I was being called to write as my small part of the New Evangelization, and in 2006, this blog became the vehicle to launch a writing career. Next month, I will be publishing my first book, "A Special Mother is Born".  We've both come a long way, Karol Wojtyla and I .
Blessed Pope John Paul, thank you for the hope you gave me, and for inspiring me to become a part of the New Springtime of Evangelization.

The reason for our hope

The Easter season is a time of renewal and hope. It had been a long winter, the dry and confused season in the Church during which I came of age. But the times, they were a changin'. Hope was on the rise, thanks to Pope John Paul II. We saw it on TV and we felt it at his huge rallies. We were inspired to change the world.

Colleen Carroll Campbell's book "The New Faithful" which she describes in her piece  in the National Catholic Register was one of the reasons for my hope when in the middle of the last decade, I was contemplating my role in what Pope John Paul II called the New Springtime of Evangelization. Reading her true life stories of young people doing extraordinary things due to the inspiration of a aging pontiff. resonated so closely with my own experience, that I decided that it was time to finally put that writing gift to use.

Here Colleen summarizes the impact of Pope John Paul on a generation of Catholics living in the ravaged of what he termed the 'Culture of Death':

Still, the soon-to-be Blessed John Paul planted seeds of faith, hope and love that have borne lasting fruit in this generation, fruit that will continue to ripen in the decades to come. As one young woman told a reporter at his funeral, “The Pope loved us enough to tell us the truth.” That truth is one that JP2 Catholics now want to proclaim to the world.

 I began to blog in 2006 and sound found that my voice found a home amongst like minded Catholics in the blogosphere, in fact, most Catholic bloggers would agree that they are the JPII generation. Thank you Colleen, for summing up in vivid description what so many of us felt in our hearts, but were hesitant to share. You, like Pope John Paul II have encouraged us to "be not afraid".

Santo Subito

According to Rocco Palmo over at Whispers in the Loggia, the way is clear for Pope John Paul II to be beatified. The miraculous cure of a French nun from Parkinson's disease has been proven inexplicable from a medical standpoint and thus miraculous. I find it particularly poignant that it was Parkinson's Disease which was cured, since the Holy Father suffered much from the same disease himself, yet God chose not to cure him. His death. coming on the heels of the dehydration death of Terri Schiavo was a lesson on how to treat the disabled in their vulnterability.
All that remains for the beatification process to continue is for Pope Benedict to approve it on Friday.
Does anyone out there see an obstacle there?
Santo Subito!

Now it's my turn to brag; I've seen two Blesseds in person: Pope John Paul II and Mother Teresa,  and my family are distant relatives to Padre Pio (his great grandmother was Maddalena Crafa, from Pietrelcina where my grandfather,  Vincenzo Crafa immigrated at the turn of the 19th century, since its a tiny town its safe to assume we have family in common). This will not get me to heaven, I know, however, in the realm of Catholicism, its hero worship.I also had the honor of visiting St Frances Cabrini's tomb in NYC and hearing a talk from the daughter of St Gianna Berretta Molla. Whatever you say about the evil of the 20th century which was given to be tested by Satan, according to Pope Leo XIII, it certainly produced a bumper crop of saints.Where evil abounds, goodness abounds more so.
Aren't we fortunate to have been born at a time so greatly in need of saints? God must have great confidence in us! With Him, we can be the next saints the world so desperately needs.
Speaking of saints, another Servant of God, Dr Jerome Lejeune's cause for beatification was opened on June 28, 2007 and his daughter Clara Lejeune-Gaymard will be speaking on the intersection of his farith and science this Saturday at the New York Encounter in . I wlll try to record her talk and share it here, and have tried to ask EWTN to cover it.
We are surrounded by saints!

The Holy Father called, we responded

In the diocese of Norwich, CT, Bishop Michael Cote held a Holy Hour and Benediction for Nascent Human Life. It was well attended, and the Benediction hymns were enthusiastically sung in Latin. Some of the petitions were particularly touching, especially,
"You love those who are afflicted,
Help parents of unborn children with disabilities to cherish the baby you have entrusted to their care".
Your Son, Jesus, healed the sick,
Guide all doctors to be guardians of life, especially the lives of unborn children with serious health conditions."
I don't know whether those petitions were written by the bishop or sent from the Vatican, but I appreciated them and they gave me great comfort that the Church Militant was praying as one with the Church Suffering and the Church Triumphant for the people closest to my heart.Imagine the power we unleashed last night! These are the people for whom we prayed are those I have dedicated my work on this blog and elsewhere.
Here is the prayer from Pope John Paul's  encyclical Evangelium Vitae which we prayed.

O Mary, bright dawn of the new world, Mother of the living,
To yo do we entrust the cause of life. Look down, O Mother, upon the vast numbers of babies not allowed to be born, of the poor whose lives are made difficult, of men and women who are victims of brutal violence, of the elderly and the sick killed by indifference or out of misguided mercy.
Grant that all who believe in your Son may proclaim the Gospel as a gift ever new, the joy of celebrating it with gratitude throughout their lives and the courage to bear witness to it resolutely, in order to build, with all people of good will, the civilization of truth and love, to the praise and glory of God, the Creator and lover of life.
Read the entire article at CNS.

Cardinal Arinze tells Church to defend the dignity of human life

Cardinal Arinze lecture at Holy Apostles Seminary, October 12, 2010

It was an important event in the Catholic community of Connecticut. Bishop Michael Cote, the Seminary Rector, Monsignor, Lynn and Tom Wehner, editors of the Faith and Family and National Catholic Register, EWTN host Rhonda Chervin, Sean and Julie Forrest, President of the Family Institute of Connecticut, Peter Wolfgang and his wife, Leslie, President of the National Catholic Bioethics Center Dr David Haas, dozens of seminary students, faculty members, religious sisters and friars in habit, and faithful Catholics came to hear Cardinal Arinze speak on the long history of the defense of the dignity of human life in the Church.

Dr John Haas, President of the National Catholic Bioethics Center,  iintroduced the Cardinal by reminding us of the urgency of keeping up with bioethics by pointing out that Nobel Prizes are being given to scientists who made human embryos subjects for destruction. The Church has always embraced science; said Dr Hass, and established the first Catholic Bioethics Center in 1972, a year before Roe v Wade, before AIDS, or stem cells. The Church has always been at the forefront of defending the dignity of human life from the threat of abortion, euthanasia or suicide, and opposes society’s efforts to decorate these crimes with the title of “rights”.

Cardinal Arinze’s address

(This is not a transcription, but a reconstruction of my notes. Any inaccuracies or inelegant language are, therefore, mine. )

      Humanity is the crown of creation; men were the last to be created in Genesis and placed in the Garden of Eden. Pope John Paul II said that man is the summit of creation, and all is subject to him. Man was created in the image of God with an immortal soul and free will. Man alone can participate in the Divine Life of eternal happiness; it is breathtaking proof that human life is precious.  As the Baltimore Catechism reminds us; why did God make us? “God made us to know Him, love Him and serve Him in this life, and be happy forever with Him in heaven.”

      St John the Evangelist said that human beings are gifted with intelligence, will and an immortal soul. Only the angels were created superior to mankind. By grace we recognize the sacred value of life beginning at conception through death. This is not romantic; it is reality that human life is sacred. There can be no civilization without recognition of the dignity of human life.
      The Passion of Jesus is proof that humans are precious to God. “For God so loved the world, that He sent His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). In Genesis, God said, “let Us make man in Our Own Image, giving him dominion over all creation. Men have intellence and will; God filled our hearts full of understanding. Vatican II stated that we alone know and love the Creator. Only when Cain slew Abel did the conflict of man vs. man begin.

      Evangelium Vitae said those who kill the unborn, the sick and the elderly violate “thou shalt not kill”. The law from Mt Sinai forbids the slaying of the innocent. Jesus, on the Sermon on the Mount, said that the value of human life is not absolute, “he who finds his life will lose it, he who loses his life for My sake, will find it” in praise of martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the Faith., like St Stephen. Church Tradition respects human life at all stages, Church Father Tertullian calls abortion ‘an abominable crime’ and forbids killing a child before or after birth which was common at that time. The encyclicals Casti Connubi, Humane Vitae, Evangelium Vitae, and Caritas en Veritate of Pope Benedict all reaffirm the sacredness of human life. Pope Benedict sated in Caritas en Veritate that “openness to life is at the center of true development”. Evangelium Vitae states the inviolability of human life, Gaudium et Spes condemns murder, abortion, euthanasia, slavery, prostitution, human trafficking, and unjust working conditions. Vatican II says that life must be protected from the moment of conception, and thus abortion and euthanasia are unspeakable crimes which incur automatic excommunication.

      Threats to human life include not only those inherent in nature; natural disasters, but attacks on human life include scientific and technology, contraception, abortions, and the conditioning of society to present these crimes as rights. The slippery slope is conspiring against the ethical dimension of the medical profession as defined in the Hippocratic Oath, taken 2,500 years ago by doctors, in which physicians promised to do no harm, refrain from administering deadly drugs, or abortifacients to women, refrain from sexual involvement with patients, or revealing their confidential information.  This reflects the gift of God to see the truth; the Natural Laws, which proves that the 10 commandments are within the grasp of reason. In1964 Luis Lasagna revoked parts of the Hippocratic Oath, dealing with abortion and physician assisted suicide. Most doctors don’t take it now. Vatican II says that abortion is an unspeakable crime, an epidemic of worldwide proportions, In Europe, in 2008, there were 2.8 million abortions, or one every 11 seconds.

What are the excuses used to justify abortion?

 Pluralism, laws should not favor one religion over another. This fallacious, as abortion is against reason, it’s not Church law, like not eating meat on Fridays, its part of the Natural Law. It is not imposing religious views on others, others are imposing secular views on us. We are under what Pope Benedict called the Dictatorship of Relativism. If the right to life doesn’t exist, neither do any rights.

Freedom is often used to justify abortion; however, the use of my freedom cannot lead to the death of others. If I want the freedom to drive my car all over the road, and I kill you as a pedestrian, my freedom must be curtailed to protect your life.  Preservation of human life takes precedence over my freedom.

“It’s my body.” The baby is NOT part of the mother’s body. She has no right to turn her womb into a tomb.

“I am ‘personally opposed’ to abortion, but I don’t want to impose my views on others.” How about this’ “I am personally opposed to shooting you, but this man here wants to shoot you and I don’t want to impose my views on him, so I’m going to let him shoot you.” Objective norms of right and wrong DO exist!

Population Control Committees decide abortion is necessary. How about the members of the committee offer to die instead of the unborn? After all, they are usually 60-70 years old, and the baby is young, and has not had a chance to live yet.

Food shortage; the world could fee many more people than it does now. It is not true that the lower the population, the higher the level of civilization, look at the USA, it is densely populated and highly civilized. The population explosion is a myth, countries are unwilling to share with the poor. Pope Paul VI said, ‘If there is not enough bread, don’t kill the guests, make more bread!”

      Evangelium Vitae says that we are obligated to disobey unjust laws, the bishops under St Peter’s authority, have always said that direct abortion always constitutes a grave moral disorder. Common sense is not very common.

      These are situations which provide temptation to abortion; unmarried mothers, poverty, wish to continue one’s studies, feeling like you have too large a family, however they can’t change the illicit nature of abortion.

      In Evangelium Vitae, Pope John Paul II states that the following are responsible for abortion; the mother, the father, friends, doctors, nurses, politicians, those who encourage sexual permissiveness, lack of respect for mothers, and national and international organizations which promote abortions. Contraception promotes abortion; they are fruits of the same tree. Pharmaceuticals to abort without doctors and use of embryonic stem cells are also unacceptable.

      Euthanasia is unacceptable, here are the reasons used to justify it; prolonged suffering,  a fragile person who wants to die, false compassion of relatives, a desire to have control over life and death, to transplant organs, a desire to decrease costs of caring for the sick, and a desire to kill handicapped children. Euthanasia is the result of a culture which takes no notice of Good Friday, an absence of religious inspiration.

Other types of death are suicide, which is wrong, but the person may fall prey to mitigating factors. Murder which is always sinful, and terrorism which cries to heaven for justice. The Church has no traditional objection to the death penalty, since the person is not innocent, however modern times it is no longer necessary to protect society.

It is a sinister tendency to claim euthanasia and abortion as rights Pope John Paul II said. Therefore, government funding to subsidize abortion, forcing families to promote abortion is wrong. Human beings are seen as objects, to be used, the sick, weak, or unborn cannot defend themselves, and it is an abuse of their freedom to extinguish their destiny. The life of people should never depend on majority vote, human freedom should never grant one person absolute power over another. That is the death of true freedom.

      Vatican II states that when God is forgotten, human creature is unintelligible, a fascination with technology and an overemphasis on preventing cruelty to animals are examples. For example, you cannot kill a dog, but you can kill an unborn child.. This type of practical materialism is an example of the Culture of Death.

     As we say at Mass, Dying you destroyed our death, raising you restored our life. The Church has received the mission to preach the Gospel of Life, via priests, teachers, catechists, and journalists. The Church extols the vocation of matrimony and sexuality. Jesus told us to expect opposition to this mission. In Rerum Novarum the Church defended the rights of workers, in Evangelium Vitae, the Church defends the unborn, and whose lives are snuffed out by abortion. In 1991, Pope John Paul II asked the bishops what they wanted, in 1995, he wrote Evangelium Vitae. Catholics have serious duties to insist on the sanctity of life, yet this shouldn’t bar them from prestigious positions. We shouldn’t say, “I am a Catholic, but. . . .” we should say, “I am a Catholic therefore. “    The right to life is from God not the state, and there will be accountability for this.

The state is not the only part of a civil society; it consists of families, churches, organizations, who all have duties toward the state. Pope Pius XI taught the right to private property and the principle of subsidiarty.

      Openness to life is at the center of true development. Some praiseworthy initiatives are; Natural Family Planning, hospitals, convalescent homes, religious and laypeople who serve sick, films like “The Silent Scream” and married couples who are open to life, especially that of the handicapped. The government should offer them assistance if they need it. Don’t just condemn abortion; offer women alternative homes to give birth.

Social and political action are needed, efforts to form consciences, mass media to promote the Culture of Life and send the Culture of Death packing.

The Cardinal’s remarks were met with a standing ovation and prolonged, thunderous applause. It seems his clear call to building a Culture of Life has struck a chord in the Catholic community of Connecticut. May we live up to the challenge he gave us to send the Culture of Death packing!

Venerable Pope John Paul II

Faithful Catholics needed some good news this year. The Solidarity leader, the man who saved Eastern Europe from Atheistic Communism is now declared Venerable. And the holy Fr Jerzy Popieluxzko, who died as a martyr during the Solidarity protests. Good thing, the way this nation is heading, we may need their intercession to save America from Communism soon. And the holy Fr Jerzy Popieluxzko, who died as a martyr during the Solidarity protests, pray for us.

John Paul's cause has moved ahead at record speed and his beatification could be the fastest in modern time, if the miracle is approved soon. The Vatican had only waived the five-year waiting period once before, for Mother Teresa, who died in 1997, and was beatified by John Paul in 2003.


In addition to John Paul and Pius, the pope also declared that a young Polish priest, Rev. Jerzy Popieluszko, was a martyr for the faith after he was kidnapped and killed in 1984 by Poland's communist-era secret police. The martyr designation means he can be beatified without a miracle.

Also declared Venerable was Pope Pius XII, who battled the Nazis by saving thousands of Jews from certain death, hiding some in the Vatican itself. Chief Rabbi of Rome converted to Catholicism and took the name Eugenio (Pope Pius' former name)  at his Baptism in honor of the Popes courageous example.

These strong men knew what it meant to suffer for their convictions and have much to teach us in these troubled times.

Read the entire story on Fox News.

The Fall of the Berlin Wall

It seems that our president was not interested in praising President Ronald Reagan, PM Margaret Thatcher or Pope John Paul II for their historic work to "tear down that wall" freeing thousands from communism. The National Catholic Register blog says this about it, "

There’s no question about the role that Pope John Paul II played in the collapse of the wall and communism in general. President Ronald Reagan talked about it. George Weigel wrote about it. Professor Nick Hayes has written about it. And Lech Walesa said something on it.

“The truth is that 50% of the fall of the wall belongs to John Paul II, 30% to Solidarity and Lech Walesa and only 20% to the rest of the world. That was the truth then and is the truth now,” said Walesa."

He was only interested in using the Brandenburg Gate as a symbol for his presidential campagin. In his videotaped remarks for the celebration, he lauded himself as part of the dream of twenty years ago. Having a president who doesn't get excited about the biggest advance of the freedom of thousands in the past twenty years, yet who wants to apologize for Nagasaki and Hiroshima, this is an advance?
I did a paper in high school about the A bomb drop durnig WWII and  concluded that tens of thousands of lives both American and Japanese were saved by dropping not one, but two bombs. If the Japanese emperor weren't a hard headed fanatic, it would only have taken one bomb. That proves that the Japanese would have fought to the last man if Americans invaded Japan. As soon as we conquered them, we rebuilt them, and have been their allies ever since.
America is the beacon of freedom for the world, yet Obama can't stop apologizing for imagined sins. He needs a history lesson.
Read the entire story at the NC Register blog.

From Fr Markey of the Gospel of Life Society

From Fr Markey of the Norwalk CT Chapter of the Gospel of Life Society
There is a heated discussion going on in our country right now about President Obama’s proposed health care reform, H.R. 3200. From what I see in the media, much of the discussion revolves around the philosophical question of how large of a role do we want the government to have in our nation’s health care system.
How does the Catholic Church weigh in on this proposed reform? The United States Catholic Conference of Bishops has been advocating for comprehensive health care reform in our country for decades. Rather than the question of how much government involvement there should be in health care, the bishops recommend four principles:
respect for human life,
universal access for all,
pluralism and
equitable costs.
Considering the long history of the Catholic hospitals, and that today nearly one out of every five patients in the United States who is in a hospital is in a Catholic health care network, the Catholic Church’s opinion carries a great deal of weight in this discussion.
This past week Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York was asked how the bishops approach the health care reform question. He was quoted as answering: “Health care reform is a good thing. (However, if it) leads to the destruction of life, then we say it’s no longer health care at all - it’s unhealthy care and we can’t be part of that.”
According to the bishops, the current bill is seriously deficient with regards to the conscience rights of health-care providers, whether there is a mandate to finance and provide abortion, and whether seniors will be forced to forgo treatment, leading to euthanasia. Archbishop Dolan explained that the first thing that needs to be said is that “every health care system exists only to serve human life, not the other way around.”
“Human life is not some commodity, some customer, some cog that is at the service of a bigger system or some bureaucratic network,” but rather, it is “the end in itself and health care is how it is protected." If health care begins to lead to the “destruction of human life” through avenues such as abortion, end of life care, or the discarding human embryos, then “we say it’s no longer health care at all.”
Considering the fact that our current president is the strongest advocate for abortion rights of any president that we have ever had in our nation’s history, the philosophical discussion of how large a role we want the government to have in our nation’s health care system will have to wait until we can insure that human life, from the moment of conception to natural death, is truly protected in this new reform.
Sincerely in Christ,Fr. Greg J. Markeym Pastor
frmarkey@hisnet.org
St. Mary Church
669 West Avenue
Norwalk, CT 06850
www.stmarynorwalk.net

"Do not accept anything as the truth if it lacks love. And do not accept anything as love which lacks the truth!
One without the other becomes a destructive lie."
- Pope John Paul II

John Paul II, we remember you!

The week that the Holy Father's death followed close on the heels of Terri Schiavo's tragic starvation remains burned into the memory of Catholics worldwide.

The heartbreaking image of a Holy Father's broken body as he dutifully performed his role as pope with the last ounce of his strength, amidst cruel criticisms and calls to step down is my last impression of a Holy Father whose love for me was never in doubt. I felt it from his meeting with youth at Madison Square Garden, where I stood on my seat, screaming madly when he entered. I'll never forget his "Whooooooo" which we were told is a Polish father's loving response to his enthusiastic children. He told us to "look to Christ for the answers you seek".

Fast forward to World Youth Day in Colorado, when I was glued to the TV while caring for a colicky newborn, watching him transform the youth there into the John Paul II Generation, now famous for dynamic orthodoxy and vocations. I took that same baby, at two years old in 1995 to see the Holy Father one more time, at the Aqueduct Race Track in New York, on a hot October day where the water ran out but the enthusiasm never did. I wrote my first published article on that event, for Queen of All Hearts magazine.

John Paul became a rock for the Church to anchor herself on, in the midst of the turbulence of a post-modern culture, but, more importantly he became a saintly role model of how the moral decadence we live in should inspire us to even greater sanctity. This week I met a holy young Polish priest, Fr Tomasz, who reminded me of the young Karol Woytila, and once again, I thanked God for his saintly legacy.

He is to be beautified close to Easter in April of next year, the earliest possible date, as soon as the huge volume of testimony to his sanctity is processed. He already has the first miracle necessary for beatification. A French nun was dying of Parkinson's at the same time as the Holy Father, her congregation prayer for John Paul's intercession and she was completely healed.

Read the National Catholic Register's take on this fourth anniversary.

If you are a subscriber, you can read my review of Fr Peter Mitchell's book "John Paul II, We Love You" in the article entitled, "The Week We Lost John Paul".

Catholics Come Home a success

Catholics Come Home is a wonderful evangelization campaign hosted by the Diocese of Phoenix which has been credited with a 22% increase in Mass attendance. The commercials are visually stunning, and the message is orthodox and moving. Click here to view my favorite.
We need these on every Catholic media outlet. I have already seen them on EWTN. Popes Benedict and John Paul asked us to employ the media in just this way.
Read the entire story on CNS.

Pope John Paul to be beatified next April

There is some debate on the exact date, since April 2, 2010 is Good Friday, however, it seems that our dear departed Pope John Paul the Great will be beatified next Easter Season.

At the NCRegister Blog they are suggesting that he be beatified on the fifth annivesary of his death, on Divine Mercy Sunday (not by the calendar, but by the feast day he created).

I agree heartily. A perfect day.
Read the story here.

"Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it"

George Weigel recently found that the youth of Poland have forgotten their greatest legacy, Pope John Paul and Lech Walensa's Solidarity Movement. This is shocking considering that they owe their freedom today to their sacrifice and courageous activism.
Read the entire article at Catholic Exchange.
When I went to Poland in 1987, on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, Gorbachev and Reagan were talking peace. Millions of Poles packed churches spilling out into churchyards, kneeling on the frozen cobblestones, praying. Their churches were festooned in the colors of the Vatican, and the motto "Totus Tuus". They knew the name of their deliverer, and his means, his Marian consecration and the powerful intercession of Our Lady of Czestochowa.
Pray for them Black Madonna, that they may remember you before it is too late.

30 years ago today

Karol Wojtyla was elected pope. How the world has been changed by this charismatic, dynamic, intellectual, saintly man! Here is a piece where I share my memories of him, in the National Catholic Reporter.
We miss you, dear Papa, see you in Heaven!
Read about it here at Faith and Family Live!

Sarah Palin: Super Mom Makes a Super VP.

No one lists ‘motherhood’ on their resume, least of all a vice presidential candidate. But Governor Sarah Palin, who has just been named Senator John McCain’s running mate, finds herself talking more about her motherhood than her record of cleaning up Alaska politics. And most of the questioners are card-carrying NOW members. What are they thinking?
Could these pundits have rediscovered their lost parenting instincts? Or is something more sinister at work? I suspect that liberals are feeling the hot breath of a new feminist on their necks, and have come out of their comfortable thrones in the mainstream media loaded for bear. How dare a conservative woman leave her kitchen! Stay home with your son, and keep his adorable face out of the media lest people learn that 90% of children like him are aborted. Don’t you dare look so slim only four months after giving birth, you got some explaining to do, or we’ll make up our own story.
And what’s with the cool glasses and posh up-do? You people are supposed to look frumpy!
The point is that Sarah Palin contradicts the liberal’s reviled stereotype of the angry conservative woman, “clinging to her guns and religion”. They understand her combination of values as poorly as they comprehend the name of the organization she belongs to: “Feminists for Life”. A mother who is tough on corruption, yet tender with errant children. A wife who supports and is supported by her husband. An intelligent woman who loves God. A pistol-packing mamma who breastfeeds her baby. A meat-eater who enjoys nature. Such a description of Sarah Palin’s character is reminiscent of the frontier woman, once was considered the gold standard of womanhood. Some of us recognized these traits right away and were whooping for joy on Friday thinking, here’s the woman who can take on Washington and the Taliban! Here’s the vibrancy and moral clarity which seems to have drained from the Republican Party! Who else but the mother of five, can burst into the beltway with a gust of icy Arctic Air, blasting away the cobwebs of cronyism?
None other than the mother who faced the daunting prospect of raising a child with Trisomy 21 and accepted him lovingly. She said that Trig was a gift from God, and proudly carried him in her arms in a YouTube video she made a week after his birth, causing this special needs mom to take notice. A true test of character is living by your standards when it has a personal cost. And now that her seventeen year old daughter Bristol’s pregnancy has been made into a campaign issue, Sarah headed off ugly rumors by reminding us what a good mother does in such situations. She supports her daughter so that she can choose what’s best for all concerned. Life. And she’s not afraid to tell us so.

Sarah Palin’s seasoned motherhood has added tremendous gravitas to her character, and her resume. What she did as a hockey mom was not wasted. Her life as a mother taught her lessons which made her into the wise, dynamic woman praised in Proverbs 31. Ignoring feminist dogma, she didn’t need to make herself into a man to be successful; Sarah Palin is successful because femininity fully lived just may be the most powerful force in the world.
Pope John Paul II wrote in his 1995 letter to women;
“Thank you, women who work! You are present and active in every area of life-social economic, cultural, artistic and political. In this way, you make an indispensable contribution to the growth of a culture which unites reason and feeling, to a model of life ever open to a sense of mystery, to the establishment of economic and political structures ever more worthy of humanity. Through the insight which is so much a part of your womanhood, you enrich the world’s understanding and help to make human relations more honest and authentic.”
“Women will increasingly play a part in the solution of the serious problems of the future: leisure time, the quality of life, migration, social services, euthanasia, drugs, health care, the ecology, etc. In all these areas a greater presence of women in society will prove most valuable, for it will help to manifest the contradictions present when society is organized solely according to the criteria of efficiency and productivity, and it will force systems to be redesigned in a way which favors the processes of humanization which mark the “civilization of love.”
“It is thus my hope, dear sisters, that you will reflect carefully on what it means to speak of the “genius of women,” not only in order to be able to see in this phrase a specific part of God’s plan which needs to be accepted and appreciated, but also in order to let this genius be more fully expressed in the life of society as a whole, as well as the life of the Church.”

This “Civilization of Love” which John Paul mentions might sound gentle, but establishing it in a in the midst of the Culture of Death takes the greatest possible courage. It takes a mother.
Meet Sarah Palin, supermom, proud possessor of feminine genius, and the best candidate ever for Vice President. She seems to have been chosed by God to perform this special task at this extraordinary hour of need.

Pope John Paul II on women who work

from the Letter to Women, written in June 1995:

“Thank you, women who work! You are present and active in every area of life—social, economic, cultural, artistic AND POLITICAL (emphasis mine). In this way you make an indispensable contribution to the growth of a culture which unites reason and feeling, to a model of life ever open to the sense of “mystery,” to the establishment of economic and political structures ever more worthy of humanity. . . . Thank you, every woman, for the simple fact of being a woman! Through the insight which is so much a part of your womanhood you enrich the world’s understanding and help to make human relations more honest and authentic.”

“Women’s dignity has often been unacknowledged and their prerogatives misrepresented; they have often been relegated to the margins of society and even reduced to servitude. This has prevented women from truly being themselves and it has resulted in a spiritual impoverishment of humanity.”

“Women will increasingly play a part in the solution of the serious problems of the future: leisure time, the quality of life, migration, social services, euthanasia, drugs, health care, the ecology, etc. In all these areas a greater presence of women in society will prove most valuable, for it will help to manifest the contradictions present when society is organized solely according to the criteria of efficiency and productivity, and it will force systems to be redesigned in a way which favors the processes of humanization which mark the “civilization of love.”

“It is thus my hope, dear sisters, that you will reflect carefully on what it means to speak of the “genius of women,” not only in order to be able to see in this phrase a specific part of God’s plan which needs to be accepted and appreciated, but also in order to let this genius be more fully expressed in the life of society as a whole, as well as the life of the Church.”

Read the whole thing here: http://www.vatican.va/ holy_fathe...5_women_en.html

I believe that Sarah Palin has already expressed the "genius of women" by cleaning up the corruption and waste in Alaska's politics, and running a honest, responsive state governement and winning an 80-90% approval rating from her constituency. She has expressed the feminine genius in her personal life by being the proud mother of five, including her son Trig with Down syndrome. She considers him a gift, and seems to be doing a fine job juggling her family and political responsibilities. I believe Sarah Palin is the type of woman our Holy Father had in mind when he wrote this letter.

Is Pope Benedict fulfilling the famous dream of Don Bosco?

"Breaking through all resistance, the new Pope steers his ship safely between the two columns; first, to the one surmounted by the Host, and then the other, topped by the statue of the Virgin. At this point, something unexpected happens. The enemy ships panic and disperse, colliding with and scuttling each other."Some auxiliary ships, which had gallantly fought alongside their flagship, are the first to tie up at the two columns. Many others, which had fearfully kept far away from the fight, stand still, cautiously waiting until the wrecked enemy ships vanish under the waves. Then they too head for the two columns, tie up at the swinging hooks and ride safe and tranquil beside their flagship. A great calm now covers the sea."
Read the entire post here.
HT Spirit Daily

Mehmet Ali Agca wants Polish citizenship

The Turkish zealot who shot Pope John Paul II and is in Turkish prison for killing another person, has expressed a desire for Polish citizenship when he is released.
He has chosen Poland because it is country of the pope," Ozhan said. "Because the pope forgave him and paid close attention to him, we believe that the application will be accepted."
Read the entire story here.
I heard that when he had his famous meeting with the Holy Father, he didn't ask for the forgiveness he got from the pontiff, rather he asked him to placate the "goddess of Fatima" (his misunderstanding of Our Lady) whom he feared he had offended. He was afraid that Our Lady of Fatima would seek vengeance!
In 2005, Agca asked for a day's leave from prison(which was denied) to attend John Paul's funeral since he knew that the Third Secret of Fatima was partially fulfilled by his shooting of the pope. He may be a madman, but he is keenly in tune with the prophecies of Fatima. Perhaps he wants to learn more about the Holy Father, and convert. It's a fascinating story of the power holiness to transform others.
Pray for his conversion.

John Paul II We Love You

John Paul II, We Love You This is the Book Pick I wrote for the National Catholic Register. I'm not certain when it's coming out in the paper, so you'l have to look for it there.

In honor of the third anniversary of John Paul II's entrance into Eternal Life, I give this book my highest recommendation. If you want to relive those stirring days, this book will take you there.

I was teaching English to foreigners in a local college that morning of April 2, 2005, when my Polish students came into class with tear-streaked faces. I immediately knew where their hearts were; back in Polishtown in their parish church, St. Isidore's where the Polish community was holding a prayer vigil. "Go," I told my Polish students,"and pray for me, I wish I could be with you". They ran out, faces shining, and, after class, I ran home and spent the rest of the day in front of the TV, rosary in hand, tears streaming down my face.

New blog by a friend of mine

A friend of mine, with great devotion to the Blessed Mother, under her title of Our Lady of Czestochowa, and our late Holy Father John Paul II, has started a blog entitled, Behold Your Mother.

He has a deep love for and understanding of the Extraordinary Form of the Mass, and has a great post about 'active participation' in the Traditional Mass.