Note to singles: have hope. Above all, you must keep hope. Keep in mind compatibility. Seek a spouse who will be compatible with you. A spouse who will honor the vows.
"May the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob be with you: and Himself fulfill His blessing on you: that you may see your children's children even to the third and fourth generation; and thereafter possess life everlasting, by the aid of our Lord..."
"A feminist mentality has also entered into women's religious orders. This is particularly evident, even in the most extreme forms, on the North American continent. On the other hand, the cloistered contemplative orders have withstood very well because they are more sheltered from the Zeitgeist, and because they are characterized by a clear and unalterable aim: praise of God, prayer, virginity and separation from the world as an eschatological sign. On the other hand, active orders and congregations are in grave crisis: the discovery of professionalism, the concept of 'social welfare' which has replaced that of 'love of neighbor', the often uncritical and yet enthusiastic adaption to the new and hitherto unknown values of modern secular society, the entrance into the convents, at times wholly unexamined, of psychologies and psychoanalyses of different tendencies: all this has led to the burning problems of identity and, with many women, to the collapse of motivations sufficient to justify religious life."
-Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (The Ratzinger Report, pp. 99-100).
Three times yours truly had the honor to pray at his tomb in Turin while passing through town. Once during the 2006 Winter Olympics. May he pray for us!
Vancouver (Assumption Parish of Port Coquitlam): July 1, 2012
What every parish needs - a professional musician guiding parishioners on how to sing the music of the Church.
The Church has already given us Her music. Now we just teach. And learn.
A universally accepted voice culture requires the same patience and effort as agriculture - and God's blessing in due time.
The better the quality of the sacred music, the closer the choir becomes the sublime interpreter of the congregation, bringing the congregational singing a quality of expression that by itself it could never achieve.
Today we are are at a crossroads of re-evaluation of the spiritual role of much modern liturgical music. Thus the need for the thrilling raiment of Gregorian chant.
Chant - the enriching words of prayers with an additional power of intense, affective sentiment that comes from the language of worship, Latin.
Thank the Lord this music can remain in the memories of a new generation.
"O God, who willest that all men should be saved and should come to the knowledge of the truth: we beseech Thee, send forth labourers into Thy harvest, and grant them grace to speak Thy word with all boldness, so that Thy word may spread swiftly and be glorified, and all nations may know Thee, the only God and Him whom Thou has sent: even Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord: who liveth and reigneth..."
Thank you to all.
