Sunday of the Publican and Pharisee

Posted on by Fr. Peter
The Pharisees were an ancient and outstanding sect among the Jews known for their diligent observance of the outward matters of the Law. Although, according to the word of our Lord, they “did all their works to be seen of men” (Matt. 23:5), and were hypocrites (ibid. 23: 13, 14, 15, etc.), because of the apparent holiness of their lives they were thought by all to be righteous, and separate from others, which is what the name Pharisee means. On the other hand, Publicans, collectors of the royal taxes, committed many injustices and extortions for filthy lucre’s sake, and all held them to be sinners and unjust. It was therefore according to common opinion that the Lord Jesus in His parable signified a virtuous person by a Pharisee, and a sinner by a Publican, to teach His disciples the harm of pride and the profit of humble-mindedness.

Since the chief weapon for virtue is humility, and the greatest hindrance to it is pride, the divine Fathers have set these three weeks before the Forty-day Fast as a preparation for the spiritual struggles of virtue. This present week they have called Harbinger, since it declares that the Fast is approaching; and they set humility as the foundation for all our spiritual labors by appointing that the parable of the Publican and the Pharisee be read today, even before the Fast begins, to teach, through the vaunting of the Pharisee, that the foul smoke of self-esteem and the stench of boasting drives away the grace of the Spirit, strips man of all his virtue, and casts him into the pits of Hades; and, through the repentance and contrite prayer of the Publican, that humility confers upon the sinner forgiveness of all his wicked deeds and raises him up to the greatest heights.

Paczki

Posted on by Fr. Peter
No that title is not an eye chart. I have discovered the most amazing pastry. This pasty must have existed in the Garden of Eden as only God could have created something so good!

Paczki is a Polish doughnut, I guess that’s what it is, is like a jelly doughnut on steroids. This is amazing and is filled with lemon or blueberry. I am not sure if they come in other flavors but those are the two I have.

I understand they are a traditional pre lent desert and once lent arrives it is bye bye Paczki. I will have to go into rehab after that.

Governor of Massachusetts Goes High Tech

Posted on by Fr. Peter
This is a great article on how the Government is using the modern technology to keep us all informed. I joined the Governors Facebook page as well as his Twitter page.

Beacon Hill goes digital – LOL
Boston Globe

In the meeting rooms and corridors of the State House, he’s known as Mr. Governor or, when formal settings dictate, His Excellency. But to Governor Deval Patrick’s more than 9,000 Facebook friends he’s known alternately as D Pat, DP, or Uncle D.

Some state senators are so focused on tapping away on their BlackBerrys, even during debate, that the Senate is considering banning the practice. Senate Republicans recently launched their own blog.

But other state officials, including Senate president Therese Murray and Treasurer Timothy P. Cahill leave the high-tech stuff to their aides. A BlackBerry for the new House speaker, Robert A. DeLeo? Not anytime soon. His staff says he is “a habitual cellphone user,” but nothing more.
In an age when most middle-school students are conversant in Twitter, Flickr, and Flotzam, leaders in state government demonstrate widely varying degrees of technical proficiency, giving the most wired elected officials an edge in the new political dialogue.

“Technology is really revolutionizing the way we communicate with people and the way they communicate with us,” said Senate minority leader Richard Tisei, who last month issued a Republican response to the governor’s State of the State speech – via video on YouTube.

The Rest of the Story

Medical Board Revokes License of Abortion Practitioner in Florida Born Alive Case

Posted on by Fr. Peter
Tampa, FL (LifeNews.com) — The Florida Board of Medicine has revoked the license of an abortion practitioner who allegedly acted negligently in a shocking botched abortion case. The July 2006 incident involves baby Shanice Denise Osbourne and abortion facility staff hid her body from officials after a botched abortion.

The medical board held a hearing Friday in the case and found abortion practitioner Pierre Jean-Jacque Renelique guilty of medical malpractice.

The panel also found him guilty of wrongly delegating a medical responsibility meant for physicians to unlicensed personnel.

Renelique’s attorney, Joseph Harrison, told AP before the hearing that he thinks the allegations are “misguided and incomplete” but did not provide more information to back his claims. He did not provide any comments following the board’s decision.

According to witnesses, a young woman went to the GYN Diagnostic Center abortion facility in Hialeah, outside Miami, for an abortion. Sycloria Williams, 18, paid $1,200 for the abortion
Police say the 18-year-old had an abortion and returned the next day complaining of severe stomach pains.

The Rest of the Story

Holocaust Deniers

Posted on by Fr. Peter
Over on the On Faith Blog there is a discussion going centered around this question:

Is it better to challenge or ignore Holocaust deniers such as Catholic Bishop Richard Williamson and Iranian President Mahmoud Amadenijad? Why?

If you don’t read the On Faith Blog I recommend it highly. It is a group blog of different folks from different religious traditions, although no Orthodox presence can be found.

Public disapproves of Obama on abortion

Posted on by Fr. Peter
A new poll by Gallup finds that of the many actions President Obama took during his first days in office, the least popular is his decision to lift a ban on the use of federal funds for organizations that provide information about abortion overseas. According to Gallup, 58 percent of the public disapproves of the step to revoke the so-called Mexico City Policy, also known as the global gag rule, while 35 percent approve. By contrast, a majority of the public supports most of the other early moves by Obama. From Gallup:

“Obama’s decision to reverse the prohibition on funding for overseas family-planning providers may be the least popular thing he has done so far. This was an executive order that forbade federal government money from going to overseas family-planning groups that provide abortions or offer abortion counseling. Fifty-eight percent of Americans disapprove of Obama’s decision to lift this ban, while only 35% approve of it. The ban on federal funds to these groups was put in place by Ronald Reagan, but lifted by Bill Clinton. George W. Bush re-instituted the ban after taking office in 2001, but Obama has once again lifted it. The abortion and Guantanamo Bay prison decisions are especially unpopular among Republicans; only 8% approve of the former and 11% of the latter. But these are also the least popular decisions among independents and Democrats as well, though a majority of Democrats still approve of both.”

The Rest of the Story

US bishops slam Holocaust denial

Posted on by Fr. Peter
I wonder if my previous post had anything to do with this.

In the most pointed statement yet from a high-ranking Catholic official, Cardinal Francis E. George of Chicago, the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, today is sharply criticizing the Holocaust denial by a traditionalist bishop whose excommunication was lifted last month by Pope Benedict XVI. George (above), clearly alarmed by the brewing controversy and the damage to Catholic-Jewish relations, called the statements by Bishop Richard Williamson “deeply offensive and utterly false” and called the outrage from Jews and Catholics “understandable.”

Signficantly, George also asserts that full reconciliation between the Vatican and the four un-excommunicated bishops of the Society of Saint Pius X, including Williamson, will require “their assent to all that the Church professes, including the teachings of the Second Vatican Council.” That is important because the Second Vatican Council resulted in the church’s renunciation of anti-Semitism and led to a historic warming of relations between Catholics and Jews.

The Rest of the Story

2 February ~ The Presentation

Posted on by Fr. Peter
When the most pure Mother and Ever-Virgin Mary’s forty days of purification had been fulfilled, she took her first-born Son to Jerusalem on this, the fortieth day after His birth, that she might present Him in the temple according to the Law of Moses, which teaches that every first-born male child be dedicated to God, and also that she might offer the sacrifice of a pair of turtle-doves or two young pigeons, as required by the Law (Luke 2:22-24; Exod. 13:2; Lev. 12:6-8). On this same day, a just and devout man, the greatly aged Symeon, was also present in the temple, being guided by the Holy Spirit. For a long time, this man had been awaiting the salvation of God, and he had been informed by divine revelation that he would not die until he beheld the Lord’s Christ. Thus, when he beheld Him at that time and took Him up into his aged arms, he gave glory to God, singing: “Now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace, O Master. . .” And he confessed that he would close his eyes joyfully, since he had seen the Light of revelation for the nations and the Glory of Israel (Luke 2:25-32). From ancient times, the Holy Church has retained this tradition of the churching of the mother and new-born child on the fortieth day and of the reading of prayers of purification.

The Apodosis of the Feast of the Meeting in the Temple is usually on the 9th of February. This, however, may vary if the Feast falls within the period of the Triodion. Should this occur, the Typicon should be consulted for specific information concerning the Apodosis of the Feast.

From www.goarch.org

February 1 ~ St. Bridgit of Kildare

Posted on by Fr. Peter

ABBESS, AND PATRONESS OF IRELAND

She was born at Fochard, in Ulster, soon after Ireland had been blessed with the light of faith. She received the religious veil in her youth. from the hands of St. Mel, nephew and disciple of St. Patrick. She built herself a cell under a large oak, thence called Kill-dara, or cell of the oak; living, as her name implies, the bright shining light of that country by her virtues. Being joined soon after by several of her own sex, they formed themselves into a religious community, which branched out into several other nunneries throughout Ireland; all which acknowledged her for their mother and foundress, as in effect she was of all in that kingdom. But a full account of her virtues has not been transmitted down to us, together with the veneration of her name. Her five modern lives mention little else but wonderful miracles. She flourished in the beginning of the sixth century, and is named in the Martyrology of Bede, and in all others since that age. Several churches in England and Scotland are dedicated to God under her name, as, among others, that of St. Bride in Fleet- street; several also in Germany, and some in France. Her name occurs in most copies of the Martyrology which bears the name of St. Jerome, especially in those of Esternach and Corbie, which are most ancient. She is commemorated in the divine office in most churches of Germany, and in that of Paris, till the year 1607, and in many others in France. One of the Hebrides, or western islands which belong to Scotland, near that of Ila, was called, from a famous monastery built there in her honor, Brigidiani. A church of St. Brigit, in the province of Athol, was reputed famous for miracles, and a portion of her relics was kept with great veneration in a monastery of regular canons at Aburnethi, once capital of the kingdom of the Picts, and a bishopric, as Major mentions. Her body was found with those of SS. Patrick and Columba, in a triple vault in Down-Patrick, in 1185, as Giraldus Cambrensis informs us: they were all three translated to the cathedral of the same city; but their monument was destroyed in the reign of king Henry VIII. the head of St. Bride is now kept in the church of the Jesuits at Lisbon.
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