We continue what be began in our last number, a three-part study of spiritual childhood by Father Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange, O.P. (1877-1964).
St. Teresa of the Child Jesus reminds us that the principal virtues of the child of God are those in which are reproduced in an eminent degree the innate qualities of the child, minus his defects. Consequently the way of spiritual childhood will teach us to be supernaturally ourselves minus our defects.
Happy Saint Patrick’s Day
I just read on the New Advent website the Catholic Encyclopedia’s excellent account of the life of Erin’s great apostle. I would highly recommend it if you can spare fifteen minutes today. I can’t think of anything I’ve read elsewhere over the years about the saint that …
That’s the motion that was debated last week in London, at an event hosted by the Spectator and held at the Royal Geographical Society. And guess what — “the 700-strong sell-out audience voted overwhelmingly in favour of the motion”!
Excerpt from The Catholic Herald:
Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, author Piers Paul Read and Dom Anthony Sutch, former headmaster of Downside, spoke for the motion.
Anime cartoons and their characters are a huge cultic phenomenon, the most popular of all escapist media venues. It is very addictive and very dangerous, to the soul and the mind. I don’t post weird stories, but this blog by Zoe Romanowski from Inside Catholic, along with another, even …
One of the commentators on the relevant CWN article expressed it well: “It’s past time someone said this. Too often ecumenism is taken to mean the weakening of the teachings of the Church and the addition of non-Catholic ritual and beliefs.” A-m-e-n-!
Past time is better than no time — or, “better late than never.” All the scandal that has transpired, and is ongoing, in the name of ecumenism and inter-religious dialogue should cease at these words of Cardinal Levada defining its purpose (or “final cause” to you Aristotelians out there): “Union with the Catholic Church is the goal of ecumenism.”
Our 2010 conference will be held on October 8 and 9 at Saint Benedict Center in Richmond, New Hampshire.
The information currently available is as follows:
Theme: “The Romance of Wisdom”
Cost: $100 for both days (Friday and Saturday). This includes meals. Single days without meals: $40.
Note: This year, Friday and Saturday will both be full days. There will be eight speakers giving presentations in addition to the master of ceremonies, our Prior, Brother Andre Marie.
Archbishop Alberto Bottari de Castello, apostolic nuncio to Japan, has a very perceptive insight into the subversive effects Buddhist doctrine has on the soul of a suffering devotee confronting hopelessness. From Sandro Magister’s latest column: “Why Life is Worth So Little in Prosperous Japan.”
“The Japanese do not have a personal …
[March 5, 2010 - Rome Reports (with hat tip to Rorate Caeli)]
Benedict XVI has formed a commission to investigate if Our Lady truly appeared in Medjugorje, a small town in Bosnia.
The commission is part of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and Cardinal Camillo Ruini will preside over the commission. Ruini is the pope’s former vicar of Rome’s diocese. Ruini goal will be to explain to the pope what’s happening at the sanctuary which has become the third most visited in Europe.
Allegedly, at least 6 people have witnessed the Virgins apparitions there since 1981.
When the enemies of the Church, the enemies of Christianity in general, and those who want to “hold” the Catholic hierarchy’s “feet to the fire” constantly jabber about Pius XII’s supposed complicity in the Nazi murder of Jews, it becomes necessary to defend the truth as well as the honor of the Holy Father. He was, after all, not only innocent of the crime of which he stands accused by an angry mob, but was also proactive in the protection of innocent Jews. That’s history. Catholics have a particular duty to defend the Church’s honor, but even secular historians of the era ought to vindicate Pius XII, if only to protect the integrity of their science.
In changing the traditional Douay-Rheims rendering of Genesis 3:15 from “I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed: she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel” to the Catholic Revised Standard Version translation (based on the King James Bible), “I will put enmities between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed: he shall bruise your head and you shall bruise his heel,” the scriptural foundation for the dogma of the Immaculate Conception is compromised. So, too, is the traditional doctrine concerning Our Lady’s essential role in salvation history, which has been translated into her more modern title of “Co-redemptrix.”
“The United Nations estimated that 683 Christians fled Mosul between February 20 and February 27. Chaldean Catholic Bishop Emil Shimoun Nona of Mosul estimated that ‘about 400 families’ had left the city’s community of 4,000 Christians.”
This disheartening data comes from an article in Catholic World News. The Iraqi Catholic bishops themselves are bemoaning the situation. But that’s not all they are doing; they are also praying, fasting, and organizing their people to protest peacefully. The facts are not to be denied, and they are not the “spin” of liberal news pundits trying to make a Republican effort look bad.
This is not a joke. It’s from the web site of the Archdiocese of Colombo, Sri Lanka:
[ Fr. Sunil De Silva - 09.12.2009 ]
In July 2008 a severe persecution of Christians broke out in the Indian state of Orissa. A 22 year old nun was burnt to death when angry mobs burnt down an orphanage in Khuntpali village in Barhgarh district, another nun was gang raped in Kandhamal, mobs attacked churches, torched vehicles, houses of Christians destroyed, and Fr. Thomas Chellen, director of the pastoral center that was destroyed with a bomb, had a narrow escape after a Hindu mob nearly set him on fire. The end result saw more than 500 Christians murdered, and thousands of others injured and homeless after their houses were reduced to ashes. Recently a strange and dramatic event took place in Orissa, which has many people talking and wondering.
In recent months, herds of wild elephants have begun to storm villages that are home to some of the worst persecutors of Christians during the troubles. In one village, where in August a year ago the Christians had to run for their lives while their homes were being destroyed by rioters, a herd of elephants emerged from the surrounding jungle exactly one year later, in July 2009, at the same time of the day of the attack.
These elephants first attacked a rock crusher machine owned by a key leader of the persecution movement. They then went on to destroy his house and farms.
Hundreds of villagers have been forced to take shelter in camps in the Indian state of Orissa after repeated attacks by a herd of elephants.
Seven people have been killed and several others injured in attacks by a herd of 12-13 elephants over the past few weeks in Kandhamal district.
Over 2,500 people living in 45 villages have been affected by the attacks, district chief Krishen Kumar said.
It is, however, unclear why this herd of elephants migrated from the Lakheri sanctuary in a neighbouring district. He said the herd had travelled some 300km into Kandhamal, and even entered a town in the district. Wildlife officials were camping at the site of the attacks and trying to find out why the elephants had come out of their sanctuary. The villagers say elephants attack their areas in herds, causing heavy destruction.
Gaining momentum, they rampaged through other non-Christian homes, demolishing gardens and singling out the home of persecutors, leaving Christian homes untouched.
These strange attacks have spread, and according to a report, the elephants have already destroyed more than 700 houses in 30 villages, and killed five people. Nobody in this area has seen or even imagined the unique appearance of a herd of wild elephants such as this. The elephants are not ordinary elephants; they appear to be on a mission.
Typically, smaller elephants enter a village first, appearing to survey the community. They then rejoin the larger herd, and larger elephant soon follow and get the job done.
The ministry partner in India stated “We think that it might have something to do with the avenging the blood of martyrs. In fact the fear of God has fallen on the local people, who have labeled these elephants “Christian elephants.”
With little help coming from the administration, the villagers have taken to road blockades. “The elephants have destroyed crops and selected houses. But officials too express helplessness. “There is no permanent habitat of elephants in Sundargarh. They come from Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand where their habitats have shrunk. But is not clear how and why these elephants reached Orissa.
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Im sorry to see saint Benedict Center use this story as an example of Gods vengenance , I guess we can use a mother suffocating a child as part of Gods vengenance too. Stick to important stuff this sounds like something a phony seer would use to prove God ios on their side.
What happens when a wild elephant crosses paths with a future Saint?
The life and letters of St. Francis Xavier, Volume 2, page 47.
“Another time he was crossing a piazza so absorbed in heavenly contemplation that he did not perceive a wild elephant running loose upon him nor hear the shouts of the people who were warning him of the danger which was only averted by the sudden turn of the animal in another direction.”
Here is another version of the same incident.
The life of St. Francis Xavier: apostle of the Indies and Japan, page 283.
“A furious elephant contrived to escape from his menagerie and rushing through the streets created terror and confusion in all directions The saint who was walking along at the time with his whole soul absorbed in God was quite unconscious of the commotion whereupon the people screamed out aloud to warn him of his danger but he neither saw nor heard any thing Meantime the infuriated animal was close upon him and would infallibly have tossed him high into the air if our Lord had not interposed his arm the elephant stopped short and in a moment or two without any apparent cause turned off in another direction.”
Ed: We published this story literally in the exact words of the priest who wrote up the events, and had it published it on the website of the archdiocese which happens to be headed by an ordinary worthy of great esteem and respect for his defense of the Church’s tradition (Archbishop Albert Malcolm Ranjith Patabendige Don). We did not “use this story as an example of Gods vengeance,” but, in the headline, asked if it might be an example of such.
The comparison to the unnatural act of a mother murdering her child is crude and inapt. How does human prolicide resemble dumb animals inexplicably going out of their way to inflict harm and property damage on men known publicly and actively to persecute Christians?
I know of no false visionary who can claim a sign like this as proof of his legitimacy. (People sustaining retinal damage in Bosnia-Herzegovina, for instance, wouldn’t look very impressive next to this!)
For me this article is just too strange, How come a priest from the archdiocese of Colombo (in Sri Lanka, which is not even in the same country) come across this story, while nothing is mentioned about the elephant migration in the Indian media, I am an Indian and knowing the media here, trust me, these guys would never let such a humongous head line get away.
Also when I google around for Christian elephants, all the links finally end dead at the archdiocese of Colombo website, and that source does not cite any other source or references as to from where he is getting those facts.
I do not wish to question the credibility of the author of the original article here. but if this were true then there would be an alternate source or at least an official cover up trying to hide the incident, which all seem to be absent in this case.
I agree with what Stephen wrote. I live in India and I am a member of Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI), which sends regular updates on violence against Christians and other related matter.
If this story were true, then EFI would definitely have reported on it. How is it that a person in another country would know about an incident that the local people don’t know anything about?
It’s a sensational story, but not very credible.
Here are a few other links with information related to the elephants:
http://www.lukekuepfer.com/linked/mik.pdf
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8243217.stm
There is also information on the “Save The Elephants” website:
savetheelephants.org
It appears that this story is absolutely true. Could it be also that, through this sign of the True God’s watchfulness over His people, that many would repent and conversions would occur? If so, we could think of this as a sign of God’s mercy and reaching out to the souls of those persecutors to make them realize how their acts appeared in the eyes of God.
Hi Sheree
Now I checked the links you cite to say the story is ‘absolutely true’, however such elephant attacks although not the norm, have been happening not only in Orissa but in many other Indian states (especially Southern India) as well and even before the attacks took place.
Also both the BBC website and the Save The Elephants websites say, the attack is due to their habitat shrinking and this is natural as the elephants need the space.
In fact as proof that such attacks do happen, consider this quote from the link to the BBC report you provided:-
“Last year, a rampaging elephant killed at least seven people and injured 24 others in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand.”
Hmm I wonder why the elephants would travel 300 km to destroy the homes in Orissa Stephan. And in 2008 Hindu groups attacked a priest and two other Christians in Uttarakhand.
http://indianchristians.in/news/content/view/2549/45/
The Hindus are right to call them Christian elephants. The elephants are saying do not persecute God’s people.
Mike as far as your statement “The Hindus are right to call them ….” goes, let me clarify again, no one here is calling them or has ever called them Christian elephants, the story originated from the site of the Archdiocese of Colombo and I am pretty sure that if the facts mentioned in the said article eg: elephants attacking only non-christian homes, etc are even remotely true, a Christian source from India itself would have spread the word, or published this report, in fact the article never even mentioned any source for its findings, the commenters have found a few links to so the so called attacks, but how do we know the author is referring to the same incident ???