When progress is good.

I remember on 9/11 I was employed as an Account Executive with Careerbuilder.com. In 2001, we still had to convince many companies that online ads were something they needed to use to recruit new employees.  At that time many of the 150 diocesan newspapers did not have websites and the popular blogs and daily checking of Catholic news sites wasn't part of a Catholic's day.

We can see how the use of the Internet by Catholic media has progressed to have networked, though not through a platform, to a real "industry" or to softly say, a community of sites. This is when progress is good.  Not only do we have favorite Catholic news sites to check each day, but the sites alert us to their new news postings through email sends. We have the opportunity to read and know and take to heart the exhortations and reflections of our bishops and the Magisterium very easily.  In their pastoral role they lift us on Church memorials and feasts and with the upcoming ten year anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and our nation, our bishops help us cope with the memorials of profane history in this earthly city.

Zenit news has posted 9/11 reflections by Archbishop Dolan. These reflections matter.  They matter to us as a community of believers because of our coming together via the Sacrament of the Eucharist, we are united in heart when tragedies are remembered. Most important, as part of the community of saints our prayers build up the Church militant. Let us remember the communion among believers that would not exist without the Eucharist. We thank the Lord for the Church whom in her pastoral care establishes law to claim Sundays as a time to worship as one.

Here is the text of Archbishop Dolan's reflections:

Archbishop Dolan: Let 9/11 Legacy Be One of Hope
Says 10-Year Anniversary a Time to Remember, Go ForwardWASHINGTON, D.C., SEPT. 8, 2011 (Zenit.org).- The tenth anniversary of the terrorist attacks that took place in the United States on Sept. 11, 2001, is a moment to not only remember, but also to go forward, says the president of the U.S. bishops' conference.

Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York wrote this in a statement released days ahead of the anniversary that marks a decade since four hijacked planes crashed in New York, Washington, D.C., and Shanksville, Pennsylvania. In total, some 3,000 died as a result of the attacks, including 19 hijackers.

"We reverently recall those who were most directly affected by this tragedy -- those who died, were injured or lost loved ones," Archbishop Dolan wrote. "In a special way we recall the selfless first responders -- firefighters, police, chaplains, emergency workers, and other brave persons -- who risked, and many times lost, their lives in their courageous efforts to save others."

It is estimated that more than 400 first responders, including 343 members of the New York City Fire Department, died in New York on 9/11. Most died when the north and south towers collapsed.

The archbishop said that it's important to not only to remember the attacks, but also the response: "We turned to prayer, and then turned to one another to offer help and support. Hands were folded in prayer and opened in service to those who had lost so much."

Going forward, Archbishop Dolan said that as a country "we remain resolved to reject extreme ideologies that perversely misuse religion to justify indefensible attacks on innocent civilians."

"This tenth anniversary of 9/11 can be a time of renewal," he added. "Ten years ago we came together across religious, political, social and ethnic lines to stand as one people to heal wounds and defend against terrorism.

"As we face today's challenges of people out of work, families struggling, and the continuing dangers of wars and terrorism, let us summon the 9/11 spirit of unity to confront our challenges. Let us pray that the lasting legacy of 9/11 is not fear, but rather hope for a world renewed."

9/12

In a column published Wednesday on the Web site of Catholic New York, Archbishop Dolan reflected that in addition to what took place on 9/11, there was a lot to be learned from 9/12.

He recounted how the parish priest of St. Peter's, located near Ground Zero, told him: "We New Yorkers don’t just remember the horrors and sorrows of 9/11; we also celebrate 9/12."

"It took me awhile to get the insight of his statement," the archbishop admitted. But then he explained: "New Yorkers were shocked, scared, angry, saddened and shaken by the unforgettable death and destruction of 9/11, true; but, New Yorkers were not paralyzed or defeated!

"They immediately rallied, becoming people of intense faith, prayer, hope, and love, as the rescue, renewal, resilience, rebuilding, and outreach began. And it has not stopped since."

"9/11 could have turned us into petrified, paranoid, vicious animals, and our demented attackers would thus have won," Archbishop Dolan continued, "or, it could bring out what is most noble in the human soul, such as heroic sacrifice, solidarity in service, non-stop rescue efforts, communities bonding, prayer for those perished and families mourning, healing and renewal."

"9/11 did not have the last word," he added. "9/12 did."

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On ZENIT's Web page:

Full text of statement: www.zenit.org/article-33379?l=english

Prayer of Lament for Evangelists

August 28, 2011
Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

Reading 1 Jer 20:7-9

You duped me, O LORD, and I let myself be duped;
you were too strong for me, and you triumphed.
All the day I am an object of laughter;
everyone mocks me.

Whenever I speak, I must cry out,
violence and outrage is my message;
the word of the LORD has brought me
derision and reproach all the day.

I say to myself, I will not mention him,
I will speak in his name no more.
But then it becomes like fire burning in my heart,
imprisoned in my bones;
I grow weary holding it in, I cannot endure it.

Birth control as "preventive health care"

Since when is birth control preventive health care? Getting your teeth cleaned and washing your hands are preventive health care. You use an external means to ward off disease. But by saying birth control is "preventative" one is putting it in the same category as a disease. May God have mercy on us all.

On another note, if the protestants would have not moved away from Orthodoxy to approving birth control, there would be more people to stand with the tradition of honoring the nature of the human person to be open to procreation. For the sake of ecumenicism, the Catholics never complain to the protestants about how they have contributed to the secular mindset. Maybe we should correct them as much as we do the rationalists and secularists? It isn't working to play nice, obviously. The conversions are not coming. Catholics need to be more evangelistic to the evangelicals.

Monastery of St. Maron at Annaya, Lebanon

According to St. Anthony Messenger Press, the "Saint of the Day" for Sunday, July 24th is St. Maron at Annaya, Lebanon. Since, Lebanon is in such turmoil these days I thought it would be interesting to look up the website to the monastery. I have attached the link. Nice music. I hope everything is well and safe there.

The Pastoral Care is Noticed

http://www.ncronline.org/news/accountability/bishops-ignored-own-guidelines-johnson-critique

When I hear that the Bishops went through a book from "beginning to end" to make sure that it was true to authentic doctrine about our Lord. Doctrine concerning his life and his teachings, which is, of course, the Word-the eternal Word, the final word - the Omega, and all that we need to really knows lies within it, and in us only through him, so, I am especially edified by their pastoral care in this matters. Their unsolicited pastoral care is an outward representation of visual Church with the soul of the Holy Spirit guiding it. You can sense the love the bishops have for their flock in their role as Shepherds. You can sense their love for the faithful by their only wanting us to have the Truth. You can see the the gates of hell have not prevailed against the Church by their example in pronouncing the new book, "Quest for the Living God" by Elizabeth Johnson not theologically sound.

This is what the faithful want from the bishops - strong pronouncements against heresy so that the people of God can know where the truth lies.

Thank you our good and gracious Lord for their witness.

The Hidden Christian

Henri de Lubac, S.J., wrote: "The best Christians and the most vital are by no means to be found either inevitably or even generally among the wise or the clever, the intelligentsia or the politically-minded, or those of social consequence. And consequently what they say does not make the headlines; what they do does not come to the public eye. Their lives are hidden from the eyes of the world, and if they do come to some degree of notoriety, that is usually late in the day, and exceptional, and always attended by the risk of distortion." From the Encyclical,The Splendor of the Church, Pope John Paul II.