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Month: August 2020

From the streets to a family reunion

Posted by | Aug 2, 2020 | , |

After years of loneliness living on the streets, Gordon Petrie’s chance move into a rundown shed outside a Ukrainian Catholic church in Surrey, B.C., has brought him friendship, community and a family reunion out of his wildest dreams.

Staff at Holy C…

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Was Jesus a Homosexual? Some say “Yes” and try to Prove it from the Bible!

Posted by | Aug 2, 2020 | , , , , |

After posting a blog about Jesus and homosexuality, I received a correspondence from a Harry H. McCall, a self-proclaimed ex-reverend. He referred me to his post entitled Jesus the Homosexual: Evidence From the Gospels. It is despicable to even say or suggest this of Our Lord but we need to be prepared to refute such […]

The post Was Jesus a Homosexual? Some say “Yes” and try to Prove it from the Bible! appeared first on Defenders of the Catholic Faith.

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What the new year is set to look like at Rome’s pontifical universities

Posted by | Aug 2, 2020 | , , , , , , , , , , , |

With online registrations open and classes scheduled to start in early October, many pontifical universities in Rome have been publishing their new safety protocols and procedures on their websites.

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Eighteenth Sunday In Ordinary Time

Posted by | Aug 2, 2020 | |

Reading 1  IS 55:1-3

Thus says the LORD:All you who are thirsty,come to the water!You who have no money,come, receive grain and eat;Come, without paying and without cost,drink wine and milk!Why spend your money for what is not bread;…

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Eighteenth Sunday In Ordinary Time

Posted by | Aug 2, 2020 | |

Reading 1 Is 55:1-3

Thus says the LORD:
All you who are thirsty,
come to the water!
You who have no money,
come, receive grain and eat;
Come, without paying and without cost,
drink wine and milk!
Why spend your money for what is not bread;
your wage…

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The care in careful: Pontifical universities prepare for classes in COVID-era

Posted by | Aug 2, 2020 | , , , , , , , , , , , |

When the Vatican issued norms that pontifical universities offer in-person classes on their campuses for the coming academic year, institutes in Rome spent the summer hammering out what changes and protocols would be needed to keep staff and students safe.

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On Aug. 2, you can get this St. Francis-themed indulgence

Posted by | Aug 2, 2020 | , |

New York City, N.Y., Aug 2, 2020 / 03:18 am (CNA).- Today’s feast of Our Lady of the Angels of Porziuncola and its associated indulgence is a way to focus on the importance of Mary and the Franciscan tradition in the Church, said one friar.

The Aug. 2 feast is found in the Franciscan tradition, and marks the dedication of the parish church, called Porziuncola or “little portion,” which is one of those Italy’s St. Francis of Assisi rebuilt in obedience to Christ’s command to “rebuild my church.”

“The Porziuncola is at the heart of the Franciscan journey,” Father David Convertino, the development director for the Holy Name Province of the Observant Franciscans, told CNA.

“For Francis, it was his most beloved place. He lived near it with the early followers … and he loved the Porziuncola, as it was part of his devotion to Our Lady.”

The Catholic Church teaches that after a sin is forgiven, an unhealthy attachment to created things still remains. Indulgences remove that unhealthy attachment, purifying the soul so that it is more fit to enter heaven. Indulgences are either plenary (full) or partial.

A plenary indulgence also requires that the individual be in the state of grace and have complete detachment from sin. The person must also sacramentally confess their sins and receive Communion up to about 20 days before or after the indulgenced act.

Anyone who visits a Catholic church with the intention of honoring Our Lady of the Angels and recites the Creed, the Our Father, and prays for the Pope’s intentions, may receive a plenary indulgence on Aug. 2.

“Any kind of a prayer form that helps people come closer to God is obviously a good prayer form, and certainly an indulgence is one way,” Fr. Convertino said.

“It helps us focus on, in this case, the meaning of the Porziuncola and the Franciscan tradition, how it’s situated in the greater idea of the Church.”
 


Porziuncola located inside the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli near Assisi. Credit: emmav674 via Flickr (CC BY_NC_SA 2.0)

The Porziuncola was built in honor of Our Lady of the Angels in the fourth century, and by St. Francis’ time had fallen into disrepair. The church, which was then located just outside of Assisi, became the “motherhouse” of the Franciscan orders.

“Although Francis realized that the kingdom of heaven is found in every dwelling on earth … he had learned nevertheless that the church of Saint Mary at Portiuncula was filled with more abundant grace and visited more frequently by heavenly spirits,” says the life of St. Francis written by Friar Thomas of Celano, read today by Franciscans.

“Consequently he used to say to his friars: ‘See to it, my sons, that you never leave this place. If you are driven out by one door return by the other for this is truly a holy place and God’s dwelling.’”

Fr. Convertino added that the Porziuncola “was the place he chose to lie next to on his deathbed, and at that time of course you could have looked up to the city of Assisi, which he also loved so well.”

The Porziuncola, a rather small chapel, is now located inside a large basilica which was built around it, to enclose and protect it.

“You have this large basilica built over this teeny tiny little chapel,” Fr. Convertino reflected. “If that chapel wasn’t there then the basilica wouldn’t be there, but if the basilica wasn’t there, the chapel probably wouldn’t be there either, given 800 years of war, weather, and turmoil.”

For Fr. Convertino, the duality of the big church and the little church is a reflection of the relationship between the world-wide Catholic Church and the smaller communities which make it up.

“We feel the Franciscans kind of convey, we’re the ones at the heart of the Church, the little church there.”

He said that each time he visits Assisi, the “experience” of the Porziuncola is “compounded more and more,” and added that “it’s such a magnificent place, and the friars there are wonderful.”

Fr. Convertino also discussed the fresco now painted around the entrance of the Porziuncola, which shows St. Francis, together with some of his followers, receiving the indulgence from Christ and Our Lady.

“The idea behind the story is that Francis is asking Jesus for a Porziuncola indulgence, and Jesus is saying to Francis, ‘Well, you really better ask Mary, ask my mother.’”

This article was originally published Aug. 2, 2013.

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