Oremus Catholic Rock

Thanks for the work you do! You have a great website.
We will subscribe to your site.
Thanks very much for helping us to spread the Word, too!
We will look forward to your article.

Thanks and God bless,

Syte Reitz, PR
Oremus Catholic Rock

HalluJah!

HalluJah! Yes !!! I finally found after all this time where I can write an edifying letter to the editor. I am very thankful for all of the work,fun,and inspiration found in, with,and through `ParishWorld`. I being raised *cradle Catholic*, studying theology throughout a short but intensive time many years ago,than of course seeking adventure by reading some other heavy writings.......Have finally arrived at a SAFE SHORE!!! Yes all Praises be to our Heavenly Father,His Only Begotten Son Jesus,and The Presence of Life,Holy Ghost(The Breath of God) for this written reflection known as *ParishWorld.Net !!!
almost a Theophany!! Br.Phil Bara

Pray for my Nephew Mike Morales

Pray for my Nephew Mike Morales who has been fighting cancer for the last 4 years, he is 23 years old. He continued the fight as he was hopeful, and because he was on research medication for his rare type of cancer. He wanted to help others if he could. He is the most unselfish individual. He has been through so many surgeries and is now only 120 lbs in weight. He tried his last research medication after having surgery to clear his lungs which had filled with fluid. He decided to come off the medication and live the rest of his life as comfortable as possible. He went to Disneyland with his family, his mother and 2 brothers, thanks to the Moon Angels who help those with cancer and making their wishes come true. Thank you to the West Covina Police and Sheriff's departments for making his wish of flying in a helicopter come true. They are the most amazing individuals who care about people. It is nice to know people like that take care of us every day. Keep Mikey at peace with God, he is ready to meet his maker, if that is what God choses for him. Pray for his Mother and Brothers to keep strong. Love you Mikey.

From your Familia Espinoza, Aunts, Uncles, & cousins.

Parishworld,"WoW"

Dear Wally,

I believe I met you at LA Congress. I have your cards and info. At our staff meeting this week I reported on what you are offering. There is some interest.

Tonight, Friday I spent time viewing site and even registered. All I can say is WoW. I do hope you contact Fr. Marc Alexander of the Diocese of Honolulu so maybe the whole diocese will jump on this great evangelization service.

From what I saw I am very impressed. I am grateful that I allowed my curiosity to make room for your sharing with me what you offer. Truly the Holy Spirit was setting us up to cross paths. I am passing on more info to my pastor and will share even with our Coordinator of Religious Education and the school. Hopefully St. Anthony parish will take advantage of this fine ministry.God bless you and this ministry abundantly.

I just had to share this with you and do hope this is a beginning of collaborating in the ministry of Evangelization.

Peace,

Fr. Jim Moran

I enjoyed your featured blog

Just wanted to let you know I enjoyed your featured blog Being Catholic means the entire package. It takes a lot to stand up for what's right rather than whats convenient. As Christians we attach ourselves to Christ so anything to the contrary is nothing but a stumbling block to those who are not. Great job!!

Feeco

The Called and Gifted Workshop

I live in Louisiana and am a subscriber. I saw your article on The Called and Gifted Workshop coming soon and was wondering if you might offer this workshop online, some sort of way. I'd really love to attend the workshop but can't physically and was just wondering if it might be available online, maybe. Please let me know and thanks for your help.

Thank you!
Barbara Hebert

Greetings from Down Under

I have passed your website on to my teachers just recently. There is some stuff that could be very useful. There are useful pieces in your mag, plus opinions to follow the thread of - these are questions which students and even staff have raised from time to time.
- Paul Hamer

Editor's note: I have received two emails from a friend in Australia. He is a principal of a large pariochial school in Australia. We spent one month in the Ecumenical Institute called Tantur in Jerusalem during the Easter Season of 2007. When I returned to the U.S. I subscribed my Australian friends to ParishWorld.net. This is one man's comment about our "mag". I dream of the day when ParishWorld.net will be as common "Down Under" as it is here "Up Over."
- Paul Dion, STL, Theology editor

Definitely erudite and timely

Dear Wally:

Definitely erudite & timely. I refer to the article written by Edward T. Oakes, S.J. with reference to Mother Theresa. I didn't expect such a high level quality presentation. What a pleasant surprise. Keep up the good work. Know that there is someone cheering for you.

Take care & God bless.

Fr. Jose R. Nacu, M.S.

For the end of workplace persecution

Pray for the end of workplace pesecution for Janice Russo, a supervisor. Her employer is a Recordkeeping Division from ORISKANY, NY with superior staff in AURORA, ILLINOIS and ORISKANY, NY. ALSO pray for Samuel L. Russo, Jr. his employer is a Community College in UTICA-ROME, NY.

God Bless and have a great day!

Sam

Letter to Fr. Manning

Dear Father Manning:

I have recently come across your blog with parishworld.net, and wrote up a critique of one of your articles on works and salvation, submitted to my friends at Parishworld.net and my friends in this diocese, as well as my parish priest. We have had a lively discussion about it, and have come to the conclusion that you and I simply have two very different audiences. So, I did a bit of poking around and found your parishworld site that has your video archive. I very much enjoyed your recent interview with Father Justin Rose, since I have attended the Divine Liturgy at his church three times so far. Today, I was very much interested in the topic:

Down with Domination
9/5/2007
Rosemary Radford Ruether, Theologian, Writer How are patriarchal exploitation of women and ecomonic [sic] exploitation of the Earth related?

I was not interested because I agree with the thesis, quite the contrary, but I wanted to hear what she had to say. Since I like to multi-task, I did a Google search of this “theologian”, and found some very discomforting information about her. Attached to this letter is a copy of the document which I read, which outlines Reuther’s career, which seems to have a consistent theme of undermining the traditional teachings of the Catholic Church, most especially in Her teachings on abortion and contraception. Even "liberal Catholics" are against abortion, and so it has frustrated me to learn of what she stands for. I am leading a small group of young adult Catholics who will be praying for an end of abortion on October 13 at the Inland Center Mall, and these same friends are going through a period of fasting for the same cause. I understand that the topic of the television broadcast was not on this issue, but it nevertheless featured such a poor example of a "Catholic theologian", or any theologian for that matter for any allegedly Christian denomination.

I believe your ministry is an incredible witness to the world of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which is why I would encourage your staff to be more scrutinizing of the personalities Wordnet productions chooses to feature on your program. If for no other reason than avoiding being the victim of “guilt by association”, please consider my request.

God Bless your ministry.

Instaurare Omnia In Christo,


Laurence A. Gonzaga
Catechist / Catholic Apologist

Interesting and inspiring weekly ParishWorld e-newsletter

I just wanted to thank you and commend you for your weekly letter introducing many of your articles. Your letter, itself, is interesting and inspiring. I found myself looking up almost every highlighted phrase and reading the article. Thank you also for the weekly Scriptures. I print them out and use them for Lectio Divina at our weekly Sunday night Prayer meeting. Keep up the good work and God Bless You.
~ Lenora Grimaud

Very informative and educational

Hi Wally, CONGRATULATIONs! Another issue of ParishWorld that is very informative and educational. It's really worth reading. Thanks again and regards.

~ Ely

Please pray for Daddy Clem who was recently diagnosed with cancer of the pancreas

Please take a moment of silence to pray for Daddy Clem:

Dear Lord,

You know Daddy Clem so much better than we do. You know his sickness and his need. You also know his heart. Lord, we ask you to be with Daddy Clem now, working in his life. Let Your will be done in his life. Lord, we pray for Daddy Clem because Your Word says we should pray for His healing. We believe You hear this earnest prayer from our hearts and that it is powerful because of Your promise. We have faith in You to heal Daddy Clem, but we also trust in the plan you have for his life. Lord, we don't always understand Your ways, and why Daddy Clem has to suffer, but we trust You now. May You be glorified in Daddy Clem's life and also in ours.
Amen.

Thank you for your prayers,
Friends of the Cruzado and Manila Families

Glad and proud to be a part of ParishWorld.net

Dear Publisher:

I have just spent an hour reading selected articles from ParishWorld.net. I have to be totally frank with you. I rarely, if ever do this. I invest a lot of time in the creation and upkeep of the material in the publication, but I rarely read more than what I have to in order to accomplish my mission to the end product. Today, though, I am taking it easy becaue I am trying to get a vicious attack of the gout to subside.

I am impressed. Like a friend of mine yesterday, I am practically left speechless. Decidedly a rarity for me. You can tell that I have since recovered from my initial lingual stricture.
I am all the more in awe of the publication because I know that I was playing around in one third of the "sandbox". I didn't open any if the specific sites maintained by individual parishes. [30 some odd]. I also am not a fan of the audio and video features offered, but I know that this is a highly prized section of ParishWorld.net.

As I sit here I am reminded of the article that I read on the Internet a few weeks ago that reminded us consumers that the vast majority of us use about 2% of the computing power that we own and control. I can't help but think of myself. 1 PC, 2 laptops, 1 Treo and one state of the art 10.1 megapixel, watch pocket sized digital camera with a 2 gigabyte chip, that takes very good video as well.

I split my living arrangements in two, between Moreno Valley and San Diego, but that doesn't stop me from communicating and producing. I have access to the Internet no matter where I go. I spend over one month in Asia Minor and Europe in March and April and never missed a beat. I even contributed a daily blog about my stay in the Holy Land, pictures and all. You saw it all, and can still access it in ParishWorld.net.

It makes me think of what I have been going through for the past 35 or 40 years about the fact that I live in San Diego. The reaction of people who come to find out where I live is invariably, "How lucky! San Diego is sooo beautiful." I know that I made a conscious decision to live in San Diego because of my appreciation for the region.

I admit that I did not make a conscious decision to come to ParishWorld.net because of a deep appreciation for something with which I had become intimately familiar. Nope! It was simply because I am an adventurous and curious person who loves the feel of change and the challenge of conquering the new.

I am one of those people who is married to a woman who never throws a magazine away. Fortunately we only have two hard-copy magazines that come to our home. We have two bathrooms that contain every copy of each one of those magazines that has arrived at our home over the last three years. I don't have that problem with ParishWorld.net. I always know where to find it. If I have an idea about something that I want to look-up, I go to the search engine and "poof!", there I am with more information that I could have anticipated would be there.

It is with totally unabashed pride that I say that I am glad to be here. I can say that Wally's brain child is indeed a beauty of world class quality. I can assure you that once you have tried it and stay with it a while, you'll look forward to having it in your E-mail week after week.

~ Paul Dion, STL , ParishWorld.net Theology Editor

Love the website

Love the website. I hadn't heard of it before Vanessa referred us to it. Keep up the good work.
~ Brian O'Neel, Catholic Word

One of our best issues yet

Hi Wally,
Thanks for the ParishWorld email. This is one of the best issues (6/22/07). God bless your apostolic task!
~ Ka Ely

Hoping to have the courage and faith

Dear Wally,

hi!I have watched preacherinbluejeans.com and I heard about the trials you encountered before you started the parishworld.I hope I can also have the courage and faith that you have.I made a terrible mess in my life.It's maybe because back in the Philippines where I originally came from there are a lot of hopelessness and poverty around.So, I decided to work abroad. I have a missionary visa but I do another job and go to a Methodist church!At first I thought it was just same as our Mass. I took for granted the importance of the Holy Mass.I will go home on July and I promise myself to give importance to it.It's like my soul is dead because I haven't received the Eucharist.Inspite of this, I thank God because he is also going high tech!I have found a Mass on the net.It's in Pennsylvania and I also found the exposition of the Blessed Sacrament on line.I don't know why I tell you about this.It's just I think I need to unload my burden.I'm sorry. Thanks a lot!(especially for reading this novel of mine) :-) More power to your ministry and God bless!

~ Cindy L.

Dressing Modestly in Church

This past Sunday at the Holy Trinity Mass at St. Christopher's in MV, a scantily clad teen participated in the Mass as an usher. It was beyond shocking at her lack of regard for her dress. I approached her during Mass because I felt she was being highly disrespectful. This teen was upset that I encouraged her to dress appropriately, especially as a Mass participant. She said, she didn't have time to change her clothes... and Jesus says, COME AS YOU ARE. Hmm... I think she needs a bit of deeper understanding about the need for modesty and a healthy sense of shame. I know some Parishes require all Mass participants to wear choir robes as they serve our Lord. It's a good idea.

With that said, I think it is the time once again to address the issue of modesty in our parishes for both men and women. It seems like people need to be reminded to DRESS THEIR SUNDAY BEST. What does Sunday Best mean? It does not mean sleeveless and cleavage showing tops, halter tops, ragged and baggy jeans, tank tops and skirts above the knee. Modesty means to be decent and respectful towards others as we are worshiping God and we are in the company of heavenly Saints and angels! Modesty calls forth the good in each other through edifying behavior and dress.

Unfortunately, many men and women are quite naive about the impact on others of immodest dress. Modesty in dress and respectful behavior around others and especially at MASS, is governed by the principle of not offending others and not being an occasion of sin for others. St. Augustine said, "in all your movements, let nothing be evident that would offend the eyes of another."

Moreover, our Catechism expounds upon these principles of modesty. "Modesty protects the intimate center of the person. It means refusing to unveil what should remain hidden. It is ordered to chastity to whose sensitivity it bears witness. It guides how one looks at others and behaves toward them in conformity with the dignity of the person and their solidarity. Modesty protects the MYSTERY of the other and their love. It encourages patience and modesty in loving relationships; it requires that the conditions for the definitive giving and commitment of man and woman to one another be fulfilled. Modesty is decency. It inspires one's choice of clothing. It keeps silence or reserve where there is evident risk of unhealthy curiosity. It is discreet." (nos. 2521, 2522)

As followers of Christ, we might ask ourselves as we dress for Mass, "what am I stating by what I am wearing?" Should we all wear choir robes before entering Mass? A close friend of mine raised that idea. It certainly would cause each person to focus more on the Mass than on the distraction of others clothing. Since that reality is not possible or most likely probable, the question needs to be asked by the individual, why am I dressing this way? Is it to draw attention to oneself and pique and arouse the curiosity of another? If so, then modesty has been violated and the virtues of humility are not evident as the other feels the need to showcase their defined body to possibly promote others to an occasion of lust. We are obviously not serving love.

Let me know your thoughts and let's discuss this topic at Parish World News.

In His Service,

Vanessa Browne
A concerned Catholic woman

CLICK HERE to view "Modesty, Modesty, wherefore art thou" a blog by Paul Dion, STL.

An uplifting story

Thank you for :The Fern and the Bamboo." It is amost uplifiting story.
~ Anonymous

More on Yoga and the Catholic Church

June 3, 2007

Dear Editor,

I’m writing to you in regards to your article, "Catholic faith and Yoga? They’re incompatible."

I realize that this is a very long letter, but I hope you will indulge me by reading it. I have been studying the document, "Jesus Christ The Bearer of the Water of Life" for several months, so I want to make it clear that I agree with you, in that Catholic faith is incompatible with Yoga. However, I was very disturbed by the course of actions taken by the woman, “Mary” at Ft. Meyer.

It appears that the world is much more adept at evangelizing Christians than Christians are at evangelizing the world. Why is that? Could it be that we lack the one indispensable ingredient—the love of God? St. Paul warns us that knowledge of the truth is not enough—without love we are nothing; merely a “noisy going.” If I have the gift of prophecy, understanding all the mysteries there are, and knowing everything and if I have faith in all its fullness, to move mountains, but without love, then I am nothing at all. (1Cor.13:2). It is not enough to have the truth, we must live it. We are all prone to sin and need to discern what our true motives are—whether our ego is moving us to do something, or whether it is the love of God—the Holy Spirit. If we are motivated by our ego, we are not living the truth, and not motivated by the Holy Spirit. St. Paul counsels Timothy: a servant of the Lord is not to engage in quarrels, but has to be kind to everyone, a good teacher, and patient. He has to be gentle when he corrects people who dispute what he says, never forgetting that God may give them a change of mind so that they recognize the truth and come to their senses, once out of the trap where the devil caught them and kept them enslaved. (2Tim.2:24-26).

The document on “New Age” states: It should be recognized that the attraction that New Age religiosity has for some Christians may be due in part to the lack of serious attention in their own communities to themes which are actually part of the Catholic synthesis, such as the importance of man’s spiritual dimension and its integration with the whole of life, the search for life’s meaning, the link between human beings and the rest of creation, the desire for personal and social transformation, and the rejection of a rationalistic and materialistic view of humanity. The document states its purpose: These reflections are offered primarily to those engaged in pastoral work so that they might be able to explain how the New Age movement differs from the Christian faith. . . .It is an invitation to understand New Age and to engage in a genuine dialogue with those who are influenced by New Age thought. The document uses Jesus as a model of how to minister to those involved in New Age, citing his encounter with the Samaritan Woman by the well: The gracious way in which Jesus deals with the woman is a model for pastoral effectiveness, helping others to be truthful without suffering in the challenging process of self-recognition (“he told me everything I have done,” verse 39). The Samaritans of Jesus’ day could be compared with those caught up with New Age, today. Jesus gave the woman dignity, humbling himself to ask her for a drink, acknowledging her as a person of worth (Pages 7-9, 81). St. Paul gives a similar example: Men of Athens, I have seen for myself how extremely scrupulous you are in all religious matters, because I noticed , as I strolled round admiring your monuments, that you had an altar inscribed: To An Unknown God. Well, the God whom I proclaim is in fact the one whom you already worship without knowing it (Acts 17:23). St. Paul has the humility to admire the work of their hands and to acknowledge the good intentions of their heart—acknowledging their dignity. Then, he goes on to enlighten them and lead them to repentance—to turn away from their idols.

After reading Mary’s story, I couldn’t help but wonder if she has a spiritual director. If she doesn’t, it would be wise for her to get one. If she has a spiritual director, I wonder if she checked with her director before taking the actions she did. From the article, it appears that the parish in question wasn’t even her parish; that she read about these classes being offered; and that she took it upon herself to form a pose—“including a relations manager from Relevant Radio.” She seems to have intended to make her quest very public—and even took a camera to take pictures. This whole incident was turned into a public scandal—damaging the reputation of the Church, the women, the Pastor, and the Bishop who was responsible for the parish. Certainly, it is shocking that Catholic women would practice Yoga in a Catholic Chapel, (although, not surprising in our current culture), but I doubt that these women were aware that what they were doing was idolatry.

Why didn’t Mary attempt to speak to the Pastor, or Assistant Pastor, before the event took place, (or her own Pastor) in order to convey her concerns to them. If they didn’t listen to her, then she could have gone to the Bishop. Mary should have gone to the Bishop before making this incident public, not after. It is true that Jesus drove the money changers out of the temple, but Jesus is the only Son of God; he was without sin, and embodied the fullness of the truth. The rest of us are all blind—it is just a matter of degree. The fullness of the truth resides within the Catholic Church, but not within any individual Catholic, or group of Catholics. Is there any Catholic alive today, or priest, for that matter, who has never held an erroneous belief, or said, or done something contrary to the faith? If so, then let him cast the first stone. Jesus taught his disciples: If your brother does something wrong, go and have it out with him alone, between your two selves. If he listens to you, you have won back your brother. If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you: “the evidence of two or three witnesses is required to sustain any charge.” But if he refuses to listen to these, report it to the community; and if he refuses to listen to the community, treat him like a pagan or a tax collector (Mat. 18:15-17).

As was stated, the Chapel is consecrated ground—a holy place (not a place to provoke confrontations and dissension. I suspect that somewhere in the Church there was a tabernacle holding the Blessed Sacrament, as well as holy water fonts. It is also true that each of these women, by virtue of Baptism, is a “temple of the Holy Spirit.” Why did Mary feel that it was necessary for her to sprinkle the altar with holy water and blessed salt? Jesus is not a prisoner within the tabernacle. Jesus was present in that place, and has more power than the holy water and blessed salt. Why didn’t Mary go to pray before the Blessed Sacrament and ask the Lord to enlighten these women and lead them back to the truth? In my opinion, Mary used these holy sacramentals in a superstitious manner. (See CCC 2111).

Mary’s courage and zeal for the faith are commendable, and I’m sure she meant well, but in my opinion her actions were not an example of a pastoral approach, or an effective means of evangelization. I would hope that others do not follow her example. This incident was damaging to the reputation of the parish and to the pastor, and an embarrassment for the Bishop—not to mention the attack on the dignity of those women. We don’t need to start another “Inquisition.” Instead, we need to pray for enlightenment, for ourselves, and for those who are led astray; and follow Jesus example to the “woman at the well.”

Thank you for all that you do for the faith.

Lenora Grimaud

CLICK HERE to view the article Lenora references to as well as all the wonderfully illuminating comments that have been pouring from our readers about it.