"Why do you pray the Rosary? or Why don't you?"

By Wally Arida, Publisher and editor-in-chief

Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and praying the Rosary is one of the cornerstone traditions of our Catholic faith. If you're a cradle Catholic like myself, you've been exposed to this prayer since you were a child. Many Catholic prayer groups are focused around the Holy Rosary. It's recited at funerals and many other special events. When Catholics get together for prayer, chances are we start reciting the rosary.

Matt Smith offers a great article explaining his devotion to this prayer. Click here to read, "For People Who Can't Stand the Rosary." We ask you to read it and then share your thoughts with us.

But do you really get it? If you're one of the passionate advocates for praying the rosary, can you help others understand why you do it and how it has made you closer to God? Do you really feel a personal connection with God when you pray the rosary? How does praying the rosary help you communicate with God better?

Share your thoughts with us. Why do you pray the Rosary? Or why don't you?

Thank you for Fr. Roberto Mena, ST

Gracias por la bella página del Padre Mena.
Quisiera mantener el contacto con él.
Thanks for the nice webpage of Father Mena.
I would like to maintain contact with him.
~ Padre Jorge Toussaint,Guatemala

"Can a Catholic be a Democrat?"

I saw this blog and I thought I should share it with you all so we can have some fun and talk about the things that really make us Catholic. I am publishing it in its entirety. Now, tell me whether you agree with the author or not. And why? This should be interesting. Post a comment at the end of the article. Fire away!
~ Wally arida, Publisher and Editor in chief



Can a Catholic be a Democrat?
January 10, 2007 01:00 PM EST

I was recently given a book called " Can a Catholic be a Democrat?" To tell you the truth, I probably won't read the book (although I hear good things about it), because it's bound to be 220 pages of "no."

Is this a question that really needs asking, "can a devout Catholic be a faithful Democrat?" I think we all know the answer. The Church has 5 non-negotiable issues. Any candidate that supports these issues cannot be supported or voted for by a Catholic, simple as that. To do so would be a sin. What are these five non-negotiable issues? To list them off sounds like one is reading the Democratic platform: embryonic stem cell research, gay marriage, abortion, euthanasia, and human cloning.

Notice the absence of "war for oil," the death penalty, and tax cuts.

The Dems have continued to support embryonic stem cell research, despite the fact that it has yet to show any hint of promise for curing diseases, because it furthers their baby-killing agenda. Life is cheap to liberals, and to create any benefit from the destruction of unborn life is to further prop up their barbaric need for what is ultimately the "right" to promiscuous, risk-free sex (aka, abortion).

The Dems have shown again and again that, against the will of the US public, they will support gay marriage with every ounce of effort they posses. Many feel gay marriage cost John Kerry the 2004 election. Dems have no respect for the institution of marriage and will sell it out to any and every gay, bigamist, or animal lover that will give them a vote.

As far as abortion goes, the Dems have religiously protected this "right" (and that's about the only thing they'll do religiously) since the first woman was "forced" to kill her unborn child with a coat hanger. The Dems put this issue above all else, and will not budge on it. They flat-out support the murder of unborn children.

The Dems showed us all a while back that euthanasia wasn't just a dream of theirs when they had Terri Schiavo starved to death against her mother and father's wishes. Adding to the "can a Democrat be a Catholic" argument, they wouldn't even allow a dieing Schiavo a measly crumb of Holy Eucharist.

Can a Catholic be a Democrat? Sure. But will that Dem be a Catholic in way other than name? Certainly not. The Democratic party's platform is almost in complete contradiction to the teachings of the Catholic faith (with the exception, perhaps, of Catholic Social Teaching, which fits perfectly due to it's heavy borrowing from Socialism). All five of the Catholic church's non-negotiable issues seem to be taken directly from the Democratic party's platform. To vote Democrat is, in almost all cases, wrong and against Church teachings. "Catholic" politicians such as Nancy Pelosi (D, CA) and Jennifer Granholm (D, MI) should be excommunicated for their support of abortion.

Can a devout Catholic be a faithful Democrat? Absolutely not!

Shane Carey is a writer at the conservative news blog, UnrestInTheForest.blogspot.com.

Watched the ParishWorld.net story on TBN

Interesting! What a great story you have there. And you interview well -- you did us proud in that video.
~ Ben Nepomuceno from San Diego, CA

Editor's note: Click here to read the article and view the video

"Your testimony is indeed inspiring!"

(Editor's Note: This is in response to the article about ParishWorld "From Guns to God" that appeared in the January 2007 issue of Kerygma Family Magazine. Click here to view the article. Click here to view the video "From Guns to God - The ParishWorld.net Story" that aired on the Trinity Broadcasting Network last Jan. 3, 2007.)

Hi wally,

I just read your article. Praise God!!! Your testimony is indeed inspiring. It was like looking into a mirror. It gives Hope! I also had my own journey in the dessert. And this particular verse led me out of it.

The Lord has redeemed his servant Jacob. They did not thirst when he led them through the desert. He made water flow from them from the rock. He split the rock and water gushed forth. - Isaiah 48:20-22

And I tried to put my name in there instead of Jacob. The Lord has redeemed Appie. The Lord has redeemend Appie. And I smiled. :-)

There is nothing like finding that God's words come alive. And I realized that this verse was written in past tense. Meaning, this word has already happened. And if it has happened before, because God is God, it can happen again.

Then it made me think about my thirst (like you) and all those who are thirsty. And my hardened heart and all those whose hearts have been hardened. And say the words again...

They did not thirst when he led them through the desert.

God led them through the desert. They did not thirst because God led them through. I realized then that when I am in my own desert, I thirst because I do not let God lead me through. I take matters into my own hands. But what a delightful promise it is that when God is the one who leads us through the desert WE WILL NOT THIRST. And there's more! He did the impossible.

He made water flow from them from the rock. He split the rock and water gushed forth.

How many walls can God break and let something flow? How many times did he break me and let my tears flow? Sometimes, I realized, it's in the breaking that I found what quenches. It's in the breaking where I founnd what soothed me.

And it is indeed, in the desert where I found God.

Thank you God for leading me. :) Amen.

- end of sharing -

MORE POWER TO PARISHWORLD.........

~ Appie Ramos

"Do we grow more in our faith when times are tough or when times are good?"

By Wally Arida

Here's someting we want you to reflect on. We go through peaks and valleys in our lives. That's just the way life is.

There are those of you who found God when you hit rock bottom. Just when you thought no one was around to help, you realize God was the only one who was with you all the time - helping you along the rough trail. And you come back to the Church. You begin attending Mass every Sunday, looking to God for personal strength.

And there are those of you who are very fortunate in life. You have a nice job, good health, a loving family. You feel your life is blessed. You turn to God all the time with your strong faith. You thank God and praise Him as the reason for your good fortune. You're devout in your faith.

We have all hit rock bottom and we have all been well blessed at some point in our lives.

Now reflect on this question, "Do we grow more in our faith when times are tough or when times are good?" Think about it and how this has applied to your life. Were you stronger in your belief in God when all hope seems lost? Or were you stronger in your belief when all is moving extremely well.

Share you stories with us. Bless us with your stories of survival and with your stories of thanksgiving. And tell us when you think your faith was stronger.

What is Church teaching on chain letters?

I have a question regarding chain letters. What is the official stand of the Catholic Church on this? Although the content may be good and worth sharing, I just don't like the way its being propagated. Meaning, if I/you don't send it something bad might happen to you or your loved ones. I don't think Mama Mary, God or Jesus works that way. Do this or do that or else attitude.

Again as I said most if not of the content of chain letters such as this is worth sharing I just don't like the pressure or the " or else " attitude towards it.

Your comments is highly appreciated.

Octave Cantos

Our finger is on the Catholic pulse

I began subscribing to ParishWorld this past year and look forward to its arrival every week. You always seem to have your finger on the pulse of what Catholics need to think and talk about.

Regards,

Frank Tobin
Frank Tobin Public Relations
Catholics in Media Associates (CIMA)

Coming Late at Mass

I would like to have this go out to the parishoners that are constantly late to mass. They seem to be the same people every time. Please know that you are disturbing the people that make the effort to get there on time. The ushers try to hold these people back until the readings are done. However one usher told us that it doesn't do any good. People will just go ahead and disturb everyone else in the aisles to get at a seat. I'm sure you take the time to get to a family function on time. Try and respect the mass to get to God on time !
~ Anonymous parish member

Reader wants to post pictures

Just a thought that it may be a nice idea to have a section on the webiste for folks to submit pictures of events going on around the parish, such at the 50th anniversary celebration, or the carnival.
~ Dave Molloy

Border fence is not the answer

Fence at the border between the U.S. and Mexico is not the solution to the problem. So says the Rev. Larry Snyder, President of Catholic Charities of America. The Reverend requests that we enact fair and comprehensive immigration reform.

The reveredn is right, the fence is not the answer.

The reverend is also wrong, legislation is not the answer. We have laws in this country concerning immigration and concerning the steps to take to prevent and to rectify the illegal act of entering the country. The problem is not with the criminals who are crossing The border. It is with the criminals who do not apply and enforce the laws that they are elected to uphold concerning these matters, and plenty of others.

It is criminally immoral to take an oath to uphold the laws of a country which bills itself as a democracy of the people, by the people and for the people, and then ignore those laws, and indeed even aid and abet the behavior of the very perpetrators of illegal acts.

I therefore ask the reverend, "what makes you think that the abdication and dereliction of duty of the present politicians will not continue despite whatever other legislation might replace the laws that we presently have? I have absolutely no hope. Their vices are altogether too deeply engrained.

Welcome to ParishWorld, Fr. Mena !!

Father, I want to say AMEN! AMEN! y AMEN! I am happy that you are on tv, radio, and now the internet... There are a lot of people who dont go to church, now with you on the Radio, TV, and the Internet, they will hear the word of the lord... Gracias Padre.
- Paul from Our Lady of Victory.

What is difference between Pity and Mercy?

In this weeks gospel Bartimaeus, the blind man crys out to Jesus, "Jesus, son of David, have pity on me." The question posed to me was what is the difference between pity and mercy. Your comments are appreciated.
~ Debbie Aguilera, St. Catherine of Siena in Rialto, CA

Thanks for the question, Debbie. We asked our ParishWorld Theology editor to answer your question and this is what he said:

Pity: The Spanish translation uses the word "compasion". Pity is a feeling of sadness that we get when we consider a limiting situation in another person. It can be physical, spiritual, intellectual or emotional. It is not a driving force that makes us rectify the limiting factors in the person that they afflict because they don't come from us or from any other source over which we have any discretion, authority or power. Whatever good we do for the afflicted person will more than likely not restore the person to a non-afflicted state of normalcy.

Mercy on the other hand is an emotion that arises for some of the same reasons as pity except mercy makes us do something to alleviate the elements of distress that afflict the person in which they exist. We take mercy on someone when we forgive an insult, for instance. Mercy is granted to criminals when the judge either shortens or commutes the sentence. Mercy is offered to persons who have called the affliction down upon themselves and are now suffering the consequences of their own behavior.

Bartimaeous asks Jesus to take pity on him because his blindness is a consequence of a natural condition and not the result of sinful actions on his part. If he wanted to draw attention to himself as a sinner at least partially deserving to be punished through blindness, he would ask Jesus to have mercy on him, not pity.

Detroit Tigers manager and his priest brother

Re: Tigers manager and his priest brother both shepherd winning 'teams'

I wanted to tell the story of the time that Jesus went to a baseball game. He sat there and never cheered for one team or the other. When a rabid fan asked Him why, Jesus replied, "I'm enjoying the skill of these intense young men. Who wins or loses will not take away the skill with which they have been gifted." I was reminded of that when Father Leyland, Jim's brother said that he doesn't pray for one team or the other but just that the players retain their health. Good job, Father.

Thank you, Bishop Rutilio

Thank you, Wally, for the good service you provide God's people.
~ Most. Rev. Bishop Rutilio del Riego, Diocese of San Bernardino

"We must be as open as a child"

Shared by Jocelyn of Bonne Lake, WA

This picture was published in a New Orleans newspaper on Sept. 11, 2002. The following is the caption that accompanied the photo:

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Amy and Andrew J. DiMaggio Jr. of LaPlace don't have to be told that their 1-year old daughter Anna Maria is special. They get a glimpse of it every day when the toddler walks out to the front yard of her house and begins an animated conversation with the Blessed Mother. "Whenever she is with us in the front yard, she will always stop playing at some point and walk up to our statue of Mary," the DiMaggio said. "In this photo, she was holding her hands up and talking to Mary in her own babble language. We hope that this picture will inspire your readers to remember the words of Jesus who said that to enter the kingdom of heaven we must be as open as a child."
-----------

We thought we should share this with our ParishWorld.net readers. Now ask yourselves this question: "What would you tell the Blesss Virgin Mary if she appeared in front of you and spoke with you?"

Is First Friday Mass an obligation?

I am just a regular parishioner who goes to church every Sunday and to other holiday obligations. But it is very rare that I attend the mass on first Friday. My question is, is it an obligation to go to this special mass, and what is the significance of it?

By the way, this magazine is wonderful. Very inspirational to everyone and has lots of good and interesting stories to share. God bless the people who made it possible. Keep up the great work.

-- Chino Hills resident

Dear Chino Hiils resident,
We asked Paul Dion, STL - ParishWorld blogger and Theology Editor - to answer your question and this is what he said. We know many like yourself will be enlightened and blessed by this reponse.
~Editor


Dear Reader:

No one who is a regular reader of Parish World is “just a regular parishioner.” So, here we go.
The First Friday Mass is part of a very special popular devotion that has been around since about the 1920’s. Being a popular devotion, it is not imposed on all Catholics and the First Friday devotional Mass is therefore not obligatory.

The devotion that it supports is to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. In the late 19th century a French nun by the name of Margaret Mary had visions of Jesus with his heart visible through His chest. These visions took place at the convent where she was staying at Paray-le-Monial in France. The nun was a very holy person and in fact was canonized early in the 20th century.

Along the course of the visions, the Sacred Heart made a promise that found its way into the hearts of His people around the world. Essentially is this: Anyone who attends the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and participates in the sacred banquet of holy communion for nine consecutive first Fridays will not die outside the loving kindness and presence of the Sacred Heart in the form of the sacraments of Penance, Sacrament of Healing (Anointing of the sick) and the Viaticum.

This devotion, along with its promise, received unprecedented, and very rare support from the Pope who canonized Saint Margaret Mary when he mentioned the promise of the First Fridays in his Bull (letter) announcing his intention to canonize Margaret Mary. As you can imagine, this devotion “took off” and is one of the cornerstone devotions of our Catholic prayer life to this very day.

The reason why you, and many others, wonder if attendance at Mass on First Friday is obligatory is that you hear people saying all the time, “It’s First Friday tomorrow, I have to go to Mass.”

It’s because so many people do not do the novena, that they then forget about it. But many keep doing it most of their lives. How do I know that? I am one of those “habitués.”

Here is a link that you may enjoy.

Paul Dion, STL

"It's not about Jesus, its' about who Jesus is!"

Dear Editor:

You know what? I hate to say this, but Father Cantalamessa's sermon about "Who do you say that I am?" is the same old stuff that you hear in the Catholic Church all the time. It all comes from the left, logical lobe and frankly, is beginning to annoy me.

I never thought that I would catch myself saying that, but it is true. When I saw this on the front page of the magazine to which I am related, I was plugged in and rattled.

We Catholics never hear a true testimony of personal faith from the pulpit. This part of the Gospel should have been the trigger for personal witness to the relationship between the spiritual leader of the flock and Jesus.

Instead what we got, and not just from Father Cantalamessa, but from the rest of the clergy, was a bunch of direction from what appears to be the intellectual leader of the Sunday School Assembly.

I am not so sure that any of these preachers know Jesus. I am quite convinced that they can talk about Jesus all day. After all, that's what they studied in school for all those years of seminary. But it's getting more and more evident to me that none of them ever shook His hand, looked Him in the eye, and said what Peter said, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God" and I am very glad to know you.

The pulpit leaders of the Catholic Church rarely reach into their own hearts to throw spiritual love out over the congregation. Catholics themselves imitate this and never talk about their personal relationship with Jesus. We know that if we do, we will be ridiculed by our hearers and more than likely be accused of boasting about our intimate relationship with "the Lord."

Why are we ashamed of being emotional about our relationship with Jesus? We hold hands with our children. We hold hands with our wives. We are not even shy about wrapping our arms around one another and even slipping a hand into our loved one's back pocket in public. I want to know what is so shameful about patting Jesus on the back(side!) in public?

I think that after I finish with this diatribe, I'm going to polish off my rusty Italian and give a piece of the right side of my brain to Father Cantalamessa. When I get done with him, he won't cry at my funeral. As they say in Italy, "Finalmente, non c'è più!"

~Paul Dion, STL

She wants to get a copy of the GIRM

I read your article "Gestures At Mass". I found this article informative and interesting. The General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM) was used as reference. Please, where can I purchase this book?

I really enjoy receiving "Parish World" by email. Thank you.

Sincerely,
Tricia Coscione

(I suggest you check out the US catholic Conference of Bishops and get the information you need from there. Click here for the link. ~Editor)

Looking for a parish in San Diego

I have recently moved to Carmel Valley in San Diego and haven't been able to find a parish in the area. Can you help me please?
~ Anonymous

(There are several Catholic parishes in your area. Check out the Diocese of San Diego web site by clicking here. ~ Editor )