Catholics around the world have been hit doubly hard by restrictions on public gatherings in the face of the coronavirus.
While these restrictions have prevented Catholics from attending mass in person, many religious leaders – including the Pope – are making efforts to make sermons and mass services available over the internet.
The most recent of these efforts on the part of the Vatican is a free 192-page eBook available now for free download or to view in-browser.
Strong in Tribulation
The eBook, titled “Strong in Tribulation” is composed of three main parts.
First, “The Prayers of the Church in Difficult Times: The Universality of Intercession,” is a collection of church documents including prayers and invocations. These span from the earliest days of the church to the recent prayers of Pope Francis in the wake of the Covid-19 crisis.
Second, “What if I Can’t Participate in the Sacraments? How to Receive the Grace of the Lord When Unable to Participate Physically in Liturgical Celebrations” is a collection of references including articles and indulgences and papal decrees prepared specifically for the Covid-19 crisis.
Third, “Pope Francis’s Words: Homilies, Angelus and Regina Coeli and Messages Beginning with 9 March 2020” are a collection of recent homilies and messages from the Holy Father.
The book also includes an introduction by the editors of the book, The Dicastery for Communication of the Holy See. It’s sort of like the Vatican’s own publishing house.
Using “Strong in Tribulation”
The variety of content included in “Strong in Tribulation” means that it’s not necessarily the sort of book that one simply reads from cover to cover. Some of the content, particularly in the first section and last section could be treated that way.
However, in many ways, the book is more of a reference work. Read the messages and prayers when you feel down and read the references when you miss church, etc.
On a related note, while “Strong in Tribulation” was compiled specifically for the Covid-19 crisis, it there’s no reason not to hold onto it after this passes.
Many of the prayers included in the book will be comforting long after Covid-19 if you can’t attend mass because of a regular illness or an injury. Many of the reflections will be comforting when faced with other fears or concerns.
Because of the age of many of the prayers and reflections, the eBook is also useful as a source book for prayers of the early church and its saints.
Looking Forward
“Strong in Tribulation” was epublished very recently. However, because it is an eBook, there is potential for digital updates to be made to it in the future.
While there haven’t been published plans to do this, it’s a common practice with eBooks, particularly considering the fact that none of us know how long Covid-19 will remain a concern.
Because the book is freely available, share the link above (or this whole article) with your loved ones and fellows in faith to promote the comforting works and prayers of Pope Francis in this troubling time.
Click Here to Download Free Vatican eBook: STRONG IN THE FACE OF TRIBULATION
Article written by Johnathan Jaehnig with Christian Catholic Media News
Jon Jaehnig is a professional freelance writer and journalist, specializing in technology and health. He is a practicing Catholic and active Knight of Columbus living in upper Michigan, USA.
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Five-time NBA champion, two-time Olympic medalist and long-time LA Lakers player Kobe Bryant was one of nine passengers who lost their lives in a plane crash in California Sunday morning. Bryant’s teenage daughter Giana was also killed in the crash.
Bryant is being remembered around the world as one of the generation's best basketball players. The 60-point game, after which he retired on 2016, remains the second highest record for points scored by a single player in a single game.
However, the 41-year-old was also a loving father and devoted Catholic. While his skill at the game is being remembered, his faith is also being remembered.
Bryant’s Catholic Faith
For many people, Bryant’s faith was first made public in a 2015 GQ article.
“I’m Catholic, I grew up Catholic, my kids are Catholic,” Bryant told the Men's fashion magazine in 2015, months before his retirement. Then in his thirties, Bryant was talking specifically about an incident 12 years earlier.
While many people eventually forgot about the incident, it was a difficult time for Bryant, both professionally and personally.
“(My priest) just said, ’Let it go. Move on. God’s not going to give you anything you can’t handle, and it’s in his hands now. This is something you can’t control. So let it go.’ And that was the turning point,” Bryant told GQ.
Public Support
Since news of the accident broke, celebrities, politicians, and everyone in between have been turning to social media to eulogize the basketball star.
“I’m heartbroken at the news of his death, alongside his daughter Gianna. My prayers go out to his Family, friends and loved ones,” singer and fellow Catholic Cristino Ballestero said on Instagram after telling the story of meeting Bryant at mass one day. “Eternal rest grant unto him, and her oh Lord and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they Rest In Peace, Amen. We love you Kobe & Gianna.”
Archbishop of Los Angeles Jose Gomez, also turned to Twitter.
“Together with my brother bishops, we prayed for #KobeBryant, his daughter, and all victims of Sunday’s helicopter crash. Join me in praying that their souls, through the mercy of God, may rest in peace,” tweeted Archbishop Gomez.
What Caused the Crash?
The cause of the crash remains under investigation. It is believed that adverse weather conditions may have played a factor, as heavy fog was reported that day.
]]>The discussion goes all the way back to the gospels, as some have argued that the apostles themselves were unmarried though the gospels shed little light on the matter.
We do know that clergy members living with women was officially banned at the First Council of Nicaea in 325 AD. The issue, however, has remained a contentious one.
The issue has reemerged in recent years with the Amazonian Synods.
What is the Amazonian Synod?
The Amazonian Synods were a series of meetings that went into the planning stage in the summer of 2017 and culminated in October of 2019. The synods involved determining how the church can best serve reclusive and remote peoples in the Amazon.
Because of cultural differences among the Amazonian peoples, as well as the dire need for clergy, married priests and female deacons were rumored to be potential products of the synods early on. However, whether these issues would come up and what it would mean for the universal church remained unclear.
The full text of the Amazonian Synod is available online and sheds significant light on the subject.
What the Amazonian Synod Actually Says about Married Priests
According to the text,
“We appreciate celibacy as a gift of God (SC1967 1) to the extent that this gift enables the missionary disciple, ordained to the priesthood, to dedicate himself fully to the service of the Holy People of God. It stimulates pastoral charity, and we pray that there will be many vocations living the celibate priesthood. We know that this discipline "is not demanded by the very nature of the priesthood" (PO 16) although there are many practical reasons for it...
“... We propose that criteria and dispositions be established by the competent authority, within the framework of Lumen Gentium 26, to ordain as priests suitable and respected men of the community with a legitimately constituted and stable family, who have had a fruitful permanent diaconate and receive an adequate formation for the priesthood, in order to sustain the life of the Christian community through the preaching of the Word and the celebration of the Sacraments in the most remote areas of the Amazon region.”
Should the pope choose to move forward on the proposition, it could open the door for married Catholic priests. The question then would be whether they would only exist in the Amazon.
What it May or May not Mean for the Universal Church
A number of possibilities are explored in the text of the document. One includes the formation of an “Amazonian Rite” alongside the currently existing seven liturgical rites. Some of these rites already allow for married priests.
However, the document also states that “some were in favour of a more universal approach to [ordaining married priests].”
While Pope Francis has stopped short of saying that he is in favor of allowing married priests, he has encouraged the faithful to be more “open minded” to “new approaches” in the church.
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI Indirectly Comments
The debate was further fueled by the publication of a book partially written by pope emeritus Benedict XVI, which became available this week. The book includes a lengthy defense of clerical celibacy.
While Benedict XVI no longer has the authority of a sitting pope after stepping down in 2013, he is recognized as an authority on church law and tradition. His traditional and conservative nature is often viewed in opposition to Pope Francis who has a more modern and flexible approach.
Article written by Johnathan Jaehnig with Christian Catholic Media News
Jon Jaehnig is a professional freelance writer and journalist, specializing in technology and health. He is a practicing Catholic and active Knight of Columbus living in upper Michigan, USA.
]]>The Vatican recently accepted a miracle attributed to the late Archbishop Fulton Sheen, claimed by an Illinois woman almost ten years ago, bringing the story back into the headlines.
The Birth of James Fulton Engstrom
In September of 2010, James Fulton Engstrom was born in Peoria Illinois, according to an article written by his mother Bonnie. The article was published on Ignitum Today and picked up by Catholic.Org. This might have been any other birthday but James was stillborn.
“For a moment he was placed in my arms quiet, blue, and limp. The midwife and her assistant then took him from me and began CPR,” Bonnie wrote “They could not find a pulse. He did not breathe.”
Bonnie and her husband Travis, prayed to the late Archbishop Fulton Sheen – also originally from Peoria - for intercession. James’ was a planned home-birth so an ambulance was called. Meanwhile, his parents could only pray.
"My husband took water and baptized him using the name we had agreed upon, James Fulton,” Bonnie wrote. “ I remember sitting on the floor saying, ‘Fulton Sheen, Fulton Sheen, Fulton Sheen’ over and over again in my head. I suppose it was as close as I could come to a prayer; I suppose it was my way of asking Archbishop Sheen to interceded for my son.”
After over an hour, medical intercession was stopped to allow for the call of death. Then, without an understandable reason, his heart started to beat.
A Miraculous Recovery
Even if it had been medical means that brought James’ heart to beat, it shouldn’t have been enough. After having been without oxygenated blood for over an hour, medical science suggested that James would never be able to live a normal life.
However, with continued prayer for Sheen’s intercession, James’ organs began functioning normally and he was eventually returned home.
Written on James’ first birthday, the article concludes “My family and I believe that God brought James back from the dead and healed his body. We believe that He did this through the intercession of Archbishop Sheen. We believe that God did this for the same reason that he allowed Lazarus to die: ‘This sickness is not to end in death, but for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it’.”
The Cause for Sainthood
The church would love to simply believe all reported miracles, but that isn’t enough. Thorough investigations are required before miracles can be “approved” by the Vatican. This is the second step to a potential saint’s canonization, after their cause being initiated.
Sheen’s cause had been initiated in 2002 making James’ recovery the first potential miracle attributed to his intercession.
In early March of 2014, some 12 years after the launch of Sheen’s cause and four years after James’ recovery was submitted, a medical t a medical team confirmed the miracle and submitted it to the Vatican for approval.
It was only last week that the Vatican formally accepted the miracle, bringing an almost ten-year-old miracle back into the public eye. Sheen still requires one confirmed and approved miracle to be canonized but his beatification can now take place at any time.
Article written by Johnathan Jaehnig with Christian Catholic Media News
Jon Jaehnig is a professional freelance writer and journalist, specializing in technology and health. He is a practicing Catholic and active Knight of Columbus living in upper Michigan, USA.
]]>Reinstating the Federal Death Penalty
The decision reinstates the death penalty by lethal injection for federal inmates. A copy made available on the DOJ website is currently inaccessible but a PDF was preserved by Politico.
The document allows for prisoners to be executed via injection of a single agent. The DOJ had also previously used a “cocktail” of three different drugs, partially in order to make it easier to source the agents from reluctant commercial vendors.
Executions have not been carried out on the federal level for many years, largely resulting from legal challenges. However, most executions take place at the state level in the twenty-one states that allow the death penalty.
Partisan Approval
Approval or disapproval of the death penalty tends to largely follow party lines.
Conservative lawmakers often approve of the death penalty as a way of maintaining “rule of law.” This is the idea that all citizens are subject to the same laws and that the severity of the punishment should match the severity of the crime.
Liberal lawmakers often disapprove of the death penalty, usually on the grounds that it is impossible to exonerate and release a wrongly convicted person in the event that that person has been put to death.
Religious leaders tend to disagree with the death penalty on the grounds that it violates the sanctity of life. This religious doctrine states that humans should be allowed to live from conception to natural death. It is the same doctrine often used by the church to argue against abortion and euthanasia.
Catholic Bishops Speak Up
Since Barr’s announcement, a number of American Catholic church leaders have spoken out against the decision. Leading the movement has been Bishop Frank J Dewane.
Dewane is the Bishop of the Diocese of Venice Florida and chairman of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishop’s Committee on Domestic Justice and Human development. In a letter addressing Barr’s announcement, Dewane wrote,
“I am deeply concerned by the announcement of the United States Justice Department that it will once again turn, after many years, to the death penalty as a form of punishment. I urge instead that Federal officials take this teaching into consideration, as well as the evidence showing its unfair and biased application, and abandon the announced plans to implement the death penalty once more.”
The Death Penalty and the Church
In St. Pope John Paul II’s 1995 encyclical Evangelium Vitae, he points out that God did not let Caine go without punishment after his murder of Abel. However, God did not insist that Caine’s life should be the punishment. The Mark of Caine even prevented others from killing him.
“Not even a murderer loses his personal dignity, and God Himself pledges to guarantee this,” reads the encyclical.
The USCCB has long been opposed to the death penalty. Their 2013 document Life Matters: A Catholic Response to the Death Penalty states that,
“We teach that killing is wrong by responding with mercy and justice, not more killing. We don't want a government that kills when society can be protected fully by the bloodless means of life imprisonment. By fostering a spirit of vengeance, which should have no role in the administration of justice, the death penalty contributes to the increasing disrespect for human life in our culture.”
Most recently, in 2017, Pope Francis edited an entry in the Catechism of the Catholic Church to categorically reject the death penalty.
Article written by Johnathan Jaehnig with Christian Catholic Media News
Jon Jaehnig is a professional freelance writer and journalist, specializing in technology and health. He is a practicing Catholic and active Knight of Columbus living in upper Michigan, USA.
]]>Who Was Fulton Sheen?
Archbishop Fulton J Sheen, originally from Peoria Illinois, served as a parish priest, an auxiliary bishop, and later the Bishop of Rochester New York.
Sheen served in this post for three years before retiring. Sheen passed away in 1979 and the cause for his canonization was launched in 2002.
Life and Ministry
Sheen was loved by those who knew him personally and in his ministry. However, he found an audience on his program Life Is Worth Living. The program was only recorded for five years between 1952 and 1957. However, it remains in syndication, is available to own on DVD, and is streaming on YouTube.
In the popular program, Sheen discussed how the Catholic faith impacts us in all of our various walks of life. He often discussed our roles as Catholics in America and how faith can help us in our family lives.
Sheen was passionate and charismatic. He also put up his own outline notes on a chalkboard as he spoke making his talks easy to follow along. He regularly started a program by marking “JMJ” - which he said stood for “Jesus, Mary, and Joseph” - on the top of his chalkboard.
The Process of Canonization
To be loved and remembered is good. However, being a saint is much more complicated. The official guidelines on how an individual could be officially recognized as a saint were set down in the thirteenth century.
The first step to being declared a saint is being “venerated.” To achieve this state, the individual must have lived a notable and holy life and must have never said anything against the beliefs of the church.
The next step is being “beatified.” Martyrs for the faith may be automatically beatified. Other individuals require a miracle attributed to their intercession. Sheen’s miracle involves a young boy who was apparently still-born but inexplicably recovered upon his mother’s prayer to Sheen for intercession.
The final step – canonization – can only occur after the acceptance of another miracle.
Reports of miracles are not enough. There is a specific office in the Vatican dedicated to investigating reported miracles and researching potential saints. There’s no limit on how long the process can take but it sometimes requires only decades. Pope John Paul II passed in 2005 and is already a saint.
Article written by Johnathan Jaehnig with Christian Catholic Media News
Jon Jaehnig is a professional freelance writer and journalist, specializing in technology and health. He is a practicing Catholic and active Knight of Columbus living in upper Michigan, USA.
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