News

WAUKESHA, Wis. — Coffee shop operator Eileen Belongea will become a “consecrated virgin,” taking on an old Roman Catholic rite that was reinstated by Pope Paul VI in 1970.

The 41-year-old woman learned about the rite in 1999 while visiting one of her siblings, who is a nun with the Sisters of St. Francis of the Martyr St. George in southern Illinois. She attended a youth rally during the late Pope John Paul II’s visit to St. Louis, Mo., and came away inspired.

“The Lord has given me the grace of virginity,” she said. “It is he who has preserved it my whole life, and I offer it back to him. Through God’s consecration, through the hands of the bishop, I’ll receive the strength and the grace that I will need.”

The operator of the Brewers Two Café at Meadowbrook Marketplace, a shopping center in Waukesha, and owner with her twin sister of that establishment and two other coffee shops admits that others find her choice unusual.

“When people find out I’m (becoming) a consecrated virgin, they’re very intrigued and they want to know more about it,” Belongea said. “I haven’t had anyone who didn’t treat it with respect. My employees know. Many of my customers know because it’s a neighborhood coffee shop and you become friends.”

…Citing church canons, the association describes the virgins as irrevocably “consecrated to God, mystically espoused to Christ and dedicated to the service of the church.

I wonder what consecrated virgins and women religious do at tax time? Mystically married to Christ or bride of Christ is not one of the options and besides how would you come up with his SSN?

NEW ORLEANS – Clergymen struggling to comfort the afflicted in New Orleans are finding they, too, need someone to listen to their troubles.

Almost every local Episcopal minister is in counseling, including Bishop Charles Jenkins himself, who has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.

…Roman Catholic priests have not reported any unusual counseling needs, said the Rev. William Maestri, spokesman for the Archdiocese of New Orleans. He said one possible reason is that priests do not have wives or children to support and protect.

Many are questioning the sincerity of Michael Vick’s finding Jesus. I won’t come down on either side though since I don’t have a dog in this fight.

Bishop Francis X. DiLorenzo has approved a new diocesan-wide program recommended by a committee formed to review and recommend enhancements to the diocese’s existing marriage preparation process.

Engaged couples will still begin their marriage preparation process with the important initial meeting with their parish priest or deacon.

Under the new structure, however, that meeting will be followed by a pre-marital inventory to assess the couple’s strengths, as well as areas that need further exploration.

Additional components of the marriage prep process will provide engaged couples with a compelling and thorough catechesis on marriage and sexuality through a new program based on John Paul II’s “Theology of the Body,” as well as a full course in natural family planning.

…The information gleaned from the God’s Plan program will prepare couples for another new marriage prep component: natural family planning (NFP) instruction. Under the new program structure, engaged couples will receive instruction in one of the many NFP methods taught in the diocese. Committee members recommended a full NFP course as a way to ensure couples have the tools they need to exercise responsible parenthood when they find it necessary to space their children.

Rome, Aug 24, 2007 / 10:18 am (CNA).- More and more Italians, tired from the routine and noise of the city, are opting to spend their vacations in monasteries and convents that offer them a time of reflection and contact with nature.

Many religious communities—even cloistered convents–have opened their doors to young people and families to join in their daily life of prayer and activities, as well as to listen to their concerns and provide them spiritual guidance.

“In these times in which prayer and reflection go unnoticed,” the Augustinian Sisters of the Monastery of Lecceto, near Siena, offer such an opportunity, said Mother Sofia. Guests can participate in community prayers and even help out with the monastery’s artisan work.

The Benedictine monks, who are instructed in their rule of life to receive visitors, are taking guests in at their monastery in Subiaco, allowing them to participate in the daily prayers of the community.

The Franciscans at the Sacro Convent of Assisi offer guests the chance to visit the places where St. Francis lived, such as the Church of San Damiano, the Portiuncula chapel, and his tomb at the Basilica of Assisi.

Clinging to the Barque of Peter

Canonist Ed Peters looks at the canon law and prudent consideration regarding spouses going to joint sacramental confession. He looks at the arguments given by Catholic News Service columnist Fr. John Deitzen in support of this and shows how this just does not meet canon law muster.

Now spouses can be helpful in preparation for individual sacramental confession. If you just can’t remember what you need to confess, just ask your spouse. Just make sure you have a couple of sheets of paper to take notes with.

MANILA (Reuters Life!) – A Filipino ex-convict has sponsored a baptism ceremony for some 5,000 impoverished children, saying he wanted to offer them the chance of heaven.

Former lawmaker Mark Jimenez, who was jailed in the United States for tax evasion and illegal contributions to a Bill Clinton election campaign, also gave the children free clothes and shoes as well as paying for transportation and a reception.

"All I wanted is for them to have a chance, because the investment of the devil is so plentiful," the businessman told Reuters. "You see all the advertisement that is dangerous, but we don’t have anything that relates to heaven."

Many poor Filipinos living on around 360 pesos ($7.8) a day in this predominantly Catholic country are unable to afford a private baptism, which costs around 3,000 pesos ($65).

What the heck is a "private baptism" and just who is charging 3,000 pesos for one? Surely not the Catholic Church in the Philippines. For $65 dollars would they be using inmported bottled Holy Water?

The Star Quest Production Network is proud to announce that three SQPN shows have won in various categories of this year’s People’s Choice Podcast Awards!

The Daily Breakfast, a morning show hosted by Fr. Roderick Vonhögen, won the award for best religious podcast;

Praystation Portable, daily prayers from the Liturgy of the Hours formatted to be used on mobile phones or other mobile devices and hosted by Jeff Vista, won the award for best Mobile Phone Formatted podcast;

Catholic Rockers, a podcast higlighting new Catholic popular music, hosted by George Leite, won the award for Best Podsafe Music podcast.

It is the third consecutive year that SQPN shows win Podcast Awards. In 2005, the Catholic Insider won the award for best religious podcast; in 2006, the Daily Breakfast, Catholic Insider and the Rosary Army podcast won awards. This year, SQPN also stimulated people to vote for Steve Runner’s Phedippidations podcast. Steve is a longtime SQPN listener and friend of the network. Phedippidations is the winner of this year’s award in the Sports category.

The awards will be officially presented to the winners during the Podcast and New Media Expo from 28-30 September in Ontario, California.

Congratulations to the winners especially considering this is a highly secular podcast award. Though in my opinion all of the SQPN shows are worth nominations and awards as are many other fine Catholic podcasts.

Now if only Fr. Roderick can get a Daily Breakfast out this week. Though George Leite did release a fine show this week from the roud 2B Catholic music festival.

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla., Aug. 14 (UPI) — A Florida man allegedly took out his frustration with God by slamming his pickup truck into a St. Augustine church Tuesday.

The St. John’s County Sheriff’s Office said Thomas Kyle Nursey, 23, of St. Augustine told deputies he drove his truck into St. Anastasia Catholic Church because he was angry with God, WJXT-TV in Jacksonville, Fla., reported. It wasn’t known what was at the core of Nursey’s anger.

The 3 a.m. vehicular assault on the church resulted in damage to a door and wall but a dollar estimate wasn’t available, the TV station said.

If you are angry with God and attack a Church is this a hate crime? Though I guess God isn’t a protected minority. But he is certainly a minority since their is only one God, but a census would give you three persons.

Thinking about this it does make it easier to understand why God became man 2000 years ago. Could you imagine the difficulties he would have now? Just think of the paperwork when having to check off his minority status. "I don’t see a block here for God/Man, I guess other will do. But it should at least be wholly other." I do wonder if Jesus would always have his hand raised in class when the teacher asks a question. "Don’t be a know-it-all Jesus! Sorry ma’am, but I can’t help it."

"The church does not sacrifice trees," Paul Wuthe, a spokesman for the papal visit, told the Catholic news agency Kathpress.

Well that is comforting to know, but definitely not a statement you hear a a spokesman for the papal visit make often. Here is the article that prompted it.

They were planted to honor one pope. Now they’re being purged for another.

Four stately lime trees ceremoniously planted near a popular Roman Catholic shrine in 1983 for a visit to Austria by the late Pope John Paul II are being uprooted to make way for a large grandstand for next month’s pilgrimage by Pope Benedict XVI.

Environmentalists have criticized the action, but church and municipal officials are playing down the trees’ significance.

"This shows the hypocrisy of the church," said Lambert Schoenleitner, a regional spokesman for the environmentalist Green Party in the southern province of Styria.

The hypocrisy of the church! I am shocked shocked I tell you! I am starting to loose my faith over this axing of papal trees makes me question my roots and I might leave to another branch. I might have to oPine on this further and this is no oak.

Schoenleitner believes nature should be revered as much as faith and doesn’t think trees should be sacrificed for an event that will last just a few hours.

I want mercy and not sacrifice of trees.

Organizers say the trees must go to make room for a 52 1/2-foot-high steel grandstand to accommodate some of the thousands of pilgrims who will flock to the shrine town of Mariazell, 60 miles southwest of Vienna.

During his Sept. 7-9 visit, the seventh foreign trip in his two-year papacy, Benedict will make a stop in Mariazell to mark the 850th anniversary of its founding.

Officials conceded that a few more trees might have to be felled for the pope’s stop in Mariazell, which the Archdiocese of Vienna considers the highlight of his visit. Up to 30,000 faithful are expected to converge on the shrine to the Virgin Mary.