Ad Maoirem De Gloriam

Cardinal-designate Timothy M. Dolan, head of the U.S. bishops' conference, says the Obama administration has revoked the religious freedom of groups that do not regard women's fertility as as "disease." "The Catholic Church defends religious liberty, including freedom of conscience, for everyone," the New York archbishop and conference president wrote in a Jan. 25 Wall Street Journal editorial, addressing the government's final decision to require contraception coverage in most new health plans. With this decision, the cardinal-designate wrote, "the Obama administration has failed to show the same respect for the consciences of Catholics and others who object to treating pregnancy as a disease." On Jan. 20 the Department of Health and Human Services confirmed it would impose the contraception coverage mandate on most religious institutions, with a narrow exception for groups whose main purpose is the "inculcation of

MANILA, Jan. 28, 2012— Church leaders are called to bring hope to the country marked by calamities, social problems and political chaos, the head of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines said. Under the “dark clouds and in the midst of poverty and suffering”, CBCP president and Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma urged his fellow prelates to “own and declare that there is hope.” “As bishops, we are to give people a reason for living and hoping,” said Palma in his speech during the opening of the 104th CBCP plenary assembly today at the Pope Pius XII Center in Manila. “It is not a wishful thinking but a well-grounded hope when we expect of blessings and good things to come,” he said. The Church official spoke about the thousands of people who died and hundreds of houses swept away in Iligan, Cagayan de Oro and Dumaguete due to Typhoon Sendong last December. Aside from the natural calamities, there are also a lot of other factors that cause untold pain and

An exegetical reflection on the Gospel of the Fourth Sunday of Year B   (Mark 1:21-28) January 29, 2012 By Msgr. Lope C. Robredillo, SThD WHEN SOME POLITICIANS expound their platform and make promises during election campaigns, many people do not care to listen, even though they hear them speak.  For them, the talks of some politicians are merely part of the political rigmarole and circuses.  Their speeches are grand, but their words are empty.  In fact, they have become cynical to these politicians because they know that for the most part the latter’s words and promises are never fulfilled.  To put it differently, what they utter are devoid of authority.  Hence, people hardly believe their words, which are scarcely any guide for them to listen and follow.  Of course, some of those with empty words do win in elections, but that is because of things that do not come from the upper orifice, which are translated into votes.  Even so, their words remain empty, and s

An exegetical reflection on the Gospel of the Fourth Sunday of Year B   (Mark 1:21-28) January 29, 2012 By Msgr. Lope C. Robredillo, SThD WHEN SOME POLITICIANS expound their platform and make promises during election campaigns, many people do not care to listen, even though they hear them speak.  For them, the talks of some politicians are merely part of the political rigmarole and circuses.  Their speeches are grand, but their words are empty.  In fact, they have become cynical to these politicians because they know that for the most part the latter’s words and promises are never fulfilled.  To put it differently, what they utter are devoid of authority.  Hence, people hardly believe their words, which are scarcely any guide for them to listen and follow.  Of course, some of those with empty words do win in elections, but that is because of things that do not come from the upper orifice, which are translated into votes.  Even so, their words remain empty, and s

  The first motivation to pray the Rosary that I would like to look at in depth are the Gospels. Many of the Rosary's prayers and Mysteries are rooted in the written Gospels. This will inspire us to pray the Holy Rosary in proportion to the level of belief we have in the Holy Gospels. Strictly speaking, it is not a matter of evidence but one of faith that allows us to fully believe in the events and words recorded in the Gospels. Even still, there is much in the way of evidence for us to examine so that our faith does not have to work so hard. First we can compare how well the modern texts of the Gospels match up with those used in ancient times. We don't have the original copies of the Gospels. But there are literally thousands of cataloged manuscripts and fragments of manuscripts of the New Testament. By examining the ancient Greek New Testament manuscripts we can conclude that the modern text of the New Testament goes back to at least 200 A.D. Since there a

 taken from PrayOften.net The Rosary is a Marian Devotion. This will motivate us to pray the Rosary in proportion to the degree that we are motivated to honor Mary. So, in this chapter we are going to talk about devotion to Mary with the aim of generating within ourselves a great desire for this devotion, thereby motivating us to pray the Rosary. In the previous lesson, we concluded that the same Gospels that we read today were also reverenced by the early Christians. In a similar spirit, Blessed John Henry Newman (1801 - 1890) set about the task of showing that the beliefs and devotions that we have today regarding Mary are the very same as those practiced by the early Christians. In one of his manuscripts, Blessed John Newman quotes 12 different early Christian writers and shows that from the very beginning Mary was recognized as a type of "second Eve." Let's consider what that implies.  Adam, who was charged by God with the naming of all things, c

An exegetical reflection on the Gospel of the Third Sunday of Year B   (Mark 1:14-20) January 22, 2012 By Msgr. Lope C. Robredillo, SThD IF CHIEF Justice Corona is on trial at the Impeachment Court, this is due to the vision of President Aquino to help create a Filipino society that is free of a culture of corruption especially at the top and of a culture of impunity.  Leaders and prophets usually envision for their people a form of society that addresses the pains and sufferings of the past.   To be sure, at all levels of life—international, national, local and even personal–we all experience the negative: oppression, deceit, fear, destruction, war, suffering and death.  Because of these negative experiences, we all wish to construct a better world.  After the war of the allied forces against Iraq, George Bush spoke of establishing a new order.  After the exile of the Jews, Isaiah had a vision of a new earth. During the industrial revolution, Karl Marx posited a

ANTIPOLO City, Jan. 21, 2012—The pilgrim image of the miraculous Child Jesus of Cebu (Sto. Niño de Cebu) visits the faithful of Antipolo diocese today. The image, which will be staying in the diocese for a nine-day visit, will arrive at the Ynares Center, in the Rizal Provincial Capitol at exactly 3:30 p.m. and will be in a caravan at 4:30 p.m. Hundreds of people are expected to flock the Metropolitan Cathedral to visit the four-century old Sto. Niño, said to be miraculous. A welcome Mass will be celebrated by the priests of the Antipolo Cathedral at exactly 6 p.m. The Child Jesus will also visit at least six village chapels and will bid farewell to His devotees on January 29, with a farewell Mass at exactly 11:00 a.m. [Noel Sales Barcelona/CBCPNews]

MANILA, Jan. 21, 2012—The anti-corporal punishment bill for children currently pending in the Philippine Senate, would be the first of its kind in Asia, if passed. This according to Marta Santos País, the United Nations’ Special Representative of the Secretary General (SRSG) on Violence Against Children, who visited Manila for a dialogue with children and children rights’ advocates, yesterday. The Anti-Corporal Punishment Act authored by Bagong Henerasyon Partylist Rep. Bernadette Herrera-Dy and Tarlac (2nd District) Rep. Susan Yap, seeks to prevent hitting or any other forms of violent and humiliating punishment as a form of discipline to children. On the other hand, it promotes “positive” disciplining techniques among parents in order to eliminate the alleged cruelty against children. País said that she will mention her visit in Manila and about the bill when she speaks before the delegates of the UN meeting on violence against children in Geneva on March.

MANILA, Jan. 20, 2012— The Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan’s first cloistered monastery will be inaugurated on Saturday, January 21. The Poor Clare Monastery of Saint James the Apostle, located at the Brgy. Nancapian, Malasiqui in Pangasinan is the result of almost a year of work by its parishioners. Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas, who initiated the project, will lead the blessing at 10 a.m. According to him, one of the very first concerns he immediately attended when he was appointed to the archdiocese was build a contemplative monastery as the “powerhouse of our active ministry.” “One of the very first concerns I attended to was to insure that a community of contemplative nuns be present in our midst to pray for the sanctification of priests and to offer their hidden sacrifices to sustain our mission in the world,” said Villegas. The prelate also said that the blessing of the monastery will be the only opportunity for the public to see its

Calls for Conversion at Personal and Community Level VATICAN CITY, JAN. 18, 2012 (Zenit.org).- The path to Christian unity requires more than being nice to each other and cooperating, says Benedict XVI. Full and visible unity will require transformation and being conformed to the image of Christ. The Pope said this today as he dedicated his weekly general audience to the theme of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, which begins today. The annual celebration is held in the Northern hemisphere in the week leading up to the feast of the conversion of St. Paul (Jan. 25), while in the Southern hemisphere, it is generally marked around the feast of Pentecost. "The full and visible unity of Christians for which we long demands that we allow ourselves to be ever more perfectly transformed and conformed to the image of Christ," the Holy Father stated. "The unity for which we pray requires interior conversion, both communal and personal. It is not simply a ma