Bishop Jugis' Homily for the 2011 Eucharistic Congress

Charlotte Eucharistic Congress

This past weekend, I had the privilege of participating in the Diocese of Charlotte's Eucharistic Congress. The event began on Friday evening with a great talk by Cardinal Arinze, but unfortunately I do not have any photos of that event. He spoke very forcefully about the need to keep Sunday holy, and how we should not consider it part of the weekend where we do our shopping, play competitive sports, or do unnecessary work. Rather, it should be a time of recreation with our family, a time to visit friends, and a time to help the poor and needy.

The next morning, thousands participated in the Eucharistic procession in the streets of Charlotte. Leading the procession were the Coats of Arms of Cardinal Arinze, Bishop Jugis, and Bishop Burbidge, who were present for the Congress:

Bishop Jugis processes into the Charlotte Convention center with Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, as the thousands of faithful kneel in adoration:

Our Lord is placed on the altar that was constructed for this event:

Bishop Burbidge gave an excellent homily during the Holy Hour about how all Catholics are united in the Eucharist:

I had the honor of speaking at the event about the Eucharist and redemptive suffering:

I met some of the Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration (cloistered, contemplative nuns), who recently relocated to Charlotte. They were so nice and joyful, as is usually the case when you come across sisters who wear the habit and love their vocation as brides of Christ. They live at a parish in Charlotte at the moment as they raise money to build a convent nearby. Perhaps you could make a donation to them, or parishes could support them by buying altar breads for Mass from them. I met the Mother Superior, and two of the sisters:

Fr. James Brent, O.P. (Dominican) spontaneously took the stage. He began his fiery preaching about angelic warfare. One by one, people gathered around him until hundreds of people were listening intently. He spoke plainly and forcefully about the need to maintain chastity and purity, and the temptations that are present in the modern world. He then enrolled those that were interested into the Angelic Warfare Confraternity, a traditional Dominican apostolate:

The Angelic Warfare Confraternity is a supernatural fellowship of men and women bound to one another in love and dedicated to pursuing and promoting chastity together under the powerful patronage of St. Thomas Aquinas and the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Confraternity is an official apostolate of the Dominican Order. The Confraternity began to grow in different parts of Europe in the 1400's, and was officially founded for the whole Church in 1727 by Pope Benedict XII. It is one of the ancient Confraternities of the Dominican Order.

The three essential practices are:

i. Enrollment and Registration. In the enrollment ceremony, a Dominican priest confers the blessing upon the cord and medal of St. Thomas Aquinas and the person who will wear it. The name of the person enrolled and place of the enrollment ceremony goes into the official Register.

ii. Wearing either the blessed cord of St. Thomas or blessed medal of St. Thomas (or both) as continuously as one reasonably can for the rest of one's life.

iii. Daily prayers for purity for oneself and all the members of the Confraternity. The daily prayers consist of two special prayers for chastity and fifteen Hail Mary's.

Read their website if you desire more information about joining, or watch the following video presentation:

The Story of The Order of Mercy

The Feast of Our Lady of Mercy will be celebrated on September 24th. As a Third Order Mercedarian, it is a very important Feast for me.

The story of Our Lady of Mercy begins with St. Peter Nolasco, born in Languedoc about 1189. At the age of 25 he took a vow of chastity and gave his vast estates to the Church. After making a pilgrimage to Our Lady of Montserrat, he went to Barcelona where he began to practice various works of charity.

He conceived the idea of establishing an Order for the redemption of captives seized by the Muslims on the seas and in Spain itself; they were being cruelly tormented in their African prisons to make them deny their faith.

He spoke of it to the king of Aragon, James I, who knew him well and already respected him as a saint; for the king had already asked for his prayers when he sent out his armies to combat the Muslims, and he attributed his victories to those prayers.

On one night — August 1, 1218 — the Blessed Virgin appeared to St. Peter, to his confessor, Raymund of Penafort, and to the king, and through these three servants of God established a work of the most perfect charity, the redemption of captives.

On that night, while the Church was celebrating the feast of St. Peter in Chains, the Virgin Mary appeared first to St. Peter Nolasco, saying that she indeed desired the establishment of a religious Order, later known as the Mercedarians, bearing the name of her mercy. Its members would undertake to deliver Christian captives and offer themselves, if necessary, as a ransom pledge.

The Order, thus solemnly established in Spain, was approved by Pope Gregory IX under the name of Our Lady of Mercy. By the grace of God and under the protection of His Virgin Mother, the Order spread rapidly. Its growth was increased as the charity and piety of its members was observed; they very often followed Our Lady's directive to give themselves up to voluntary slavery when necessary, to aid the good work.

It was to return thanks to God and the Blessed Virgin that a feast day was instituted and observed on September 24, first in the Order, then everywhere in Spain and France. It was finally extended to the entire Church by Pope Innocent XII. Pope Leo XIII encouraged the devotion by making this feast proper to all the dioceses of England, with a focus on how Our Lady ransoms us from the slavery of our sins, and brings us the grace of conversion.

Below is a short video on the history of the Order, and how they minister today:

Baltimore Archbishop Praises Homeschooling Families

Baltimore Archbishop Praises Homeschooling Families

by Thaddeus Baklinski

http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/baltimore-archbishop-praises-home-schooling-families

BALTIMORE, September 14, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) - At a Mass celebrated for home schooling families held in the Lady Chapel inside the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen, Archbishop Edwin F. O’Brien, apostolic administrator of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, praised families who choose to homeschool their children.

“I’ve seen this over and over again across the country. It’s in homeschooling that you have every opportunity to share the values that really matter: respect for one another, respect for the Church and the sacraments and the ability to sacrifice for others and to see how best we can serve,” he said, according to a report in the diocesan newspaper, the Catholic Review.

Since arriving to serve as archbishop of Baltimore in October 2007, Archbishop O’Brien has ordained seven new priests for the Archdiocese and over 120 men have entered the program for priestly formation.

He told the homeschooling families gathered: “There’s no greater feeder for the vocations than the home-schoolers.”

The archbishop stressed the role of parents in teaching the faith to their children, whether they are homeschooled or attending parochial school. He added that homeschoolers are a reminder to Catholic parents of children in Catholic and other schools, that “theirs is the principle obligation for forming the consciences of their youngsters in Gospel values.”

“In a time when our government schools are forming, are dictating, the direction of moral values in many cases, homeschooling reminds our public educators in the secular field that the final responsibility belongs to parents,” he added.

At the conclusion of Mass the archbishop reiterated his support for homeschooling, and noted that while he understood the difficulties parents face in deciding to teach their children at home, he urged them to persevere, saying homeschool families have become “exceedingly important to the Church.”

Archbishop O’Brien has celebrated Mass for homeschool families many times during his four-year tenure, telling home school families he believes his support is very important.

“Home-school educators are very persevering in their admirable efforts to educate their children at home,” Archbishop O’Brien told the Catholic Review.

“Sometimes it can be a lonely endeavor and getting together like this with one another, with the encouragement of their archbishop, is a very important contribution to their perseverance.”

Bishop Burbidge Announces Plans for New Cathedral

The Most Reverend Michael F. Burbidge announced Wednesday, September 7, 2011, the planned construction of a new Cathedral Campus for the Diocese of Raleigh. In making the official announcement, Bishop Burbidge said the proposed 2,000-seat Cathedral will be dedicated under the title, Holy Name of Jesus.

The proposed Cathedral Campus will be located on a 39-acre tract of land adjacent to Western Boulevard and Centennial Parkway that has historical significance for the Catholic Church in North Carolina. The property is what remains of 400 acres purchased in 1897 by Father Thomas F. Price, the “Tar Heel Apostle” and first native North Carolinian to be ordained a Catholic priest. In 1899, Father Price established an orphanage on the site known as the “Nazareth Community.” The site currently houses the Catholic Center administration building and a smaller office building.

In his announcement, Bishop Burbidge explained that the name of the new Cathedral also has historical roots for the property. “It commemorates the name of the chapel established by Father Price at Nazareth and which was known under this same dedication to the holy name of Our Lord.” Bishop Burbidge said. “It is fitting that the name of our new Cathedral is the Holy Name of Jesus.”

For Roman Catholics, the Cathedral stands as the visible unifying presence of the Church. It is the sign of the mission of Christ to be exercised there among the people. All parishes in the Diocese are extensions of the Cathedral, as it holds the chair, the cathedra, of the Diocesan Bishop, from which he gathers the faithful to guide and lead them, as teacher and shepherd.

The need for a new Cathedral is prompted, in large part, by the continuing vibrant growth of the Catholic population throughout the Diocese, which covers the 54 eastern counties of the state. In the 10-year period between 2000 and 2010, the Catholic population in the 54-county Diocese has increased approximately 42 percent from 152,493 to 217,125 registered Catholics, with an estimated 200,000 plus unregistered Catholics, mostly of Hispanic origin. With a seating capacity of 320, Sacred Heart Cathedral, as the “Mother Church” of the Diocese, is unable to accommodate most of the Diocesan liturgical celebrations.

Initial renderings of the Cathedral Campus can be viewed on a website now under development for the project: www.holynamecathedralnc.org.

Taken from www.dioceseofraleigh.org

Raleigh TLM Continues to Grow

The Latin Mass continues to be offered at the Raleigh Cathedral every 1st Sunday of the month at 4:30pm:

Help the Nuns Keep Their Convent!