The CatholiCity Message
Volume VI, Number 9 – May 14, 2002
Dear CatholiCity Citizen,
May already! Where has the year gone? Maybe we're just getting older. We've got lots of stuff for you today. Good stuff. We're going to get theological, too, but please don't be alarmed; we will type gently. Our goal today is to get you thinking about some Big Things. Even if we do a poor job of it, you might be thinking and acting on these Awesome Realities for years–even decades–to come. We also have information on a free recording from Father Groeschel on the Scandals which you will absolutely want to own and listen to immediately. Plus, we're going to Toronto!!!
1. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE MAGNIFICENT POLE
May is a big month for our Holy Father. His 82nd birthday is the 18th. May 13th was the anniversary of the failed attempt on his life in 1981. Mark your calendars to pray for him on his b-day.
2. ARE WE A MAPLE LEAF?
Toronto Right to Life has invited the Mary Foundation and CatholiCity to participate at World Youth Day. In particular, we'll be at World Youth for Life Day that will kick-off WYD Week on lovely Olympic Island on Monday, 22 July. Up to 15,000 young folks from around the world are expected to attend this all-day free Prolife Bash featuring some of the world's most inspiring prolife speakers and musical artists. For our part, we're bringing thousands of free copies of our novels and CDs to give away from dawn til dusk. We know many CatholiCity Citizens, Canadian and American, will be attending or sending your kids to Toronto for WYD, so we wanted to let you know about this Way Cool Event early enough so you or they can make plans now to attend. If your parish is sending kids, make sure you let them know about World Youth for Life Day. We want to meet you there.
(EVENT NOW PAST)
3. AND NOW TYPING GENTLY
Warning: what follows might blow your mind. We recently attended a talk in which the speaker pointed out something that we had never heard before and you probably haven't heard either. He asked himself: What three things distinguish the Catholic Church from all other Christian faiths? Surprisingly, he had to reject his initial reaction that the list would include Mary and the Eucharist because the schismatic Eastern rites accept both, and even Anglicans and Lutherans believe that Christ is present in the Eucharist (although they do not fully accept Catholic definitions of these dogmatic truths and reject the apostolic succession necessary for valid liturgical consecration).
THREE UNIONS
He eventually came up with three answers: The Pope, No Divorce, and No Contraception. He had an additional insight regarding what all three truths have in common, and it has electrified us ever since. All three teachings are fundamentally about union. The pope unifies the Body of Christ in authority and teaching. The indissolubility of marriage ensures the union of man and woman in "one flesh" and is the foundation for all family life and civilization itself. Openness to the transmission of life in the marriage bed ensures that the biological and supernatural union between man and wife will bring new life. The fruit of this last union is literally awesome: the marital act may bring forth a unique child who is eternally ensouled. We beg you: ponder these realities. Write down UNION=LIFE on a post-it note and put it on your mirror. There is no "life" without "union." There is no salvation without union. There is no authority or truth without bishops who teach and govern in union with the Holy Father.
CONCEPTION
Conversely, the evil one will always try to destroy supernatural unions by tempting us to divide from each other; by tempting us to divide from the truth and tempting us to divide from the Church. He will even try to divide us from our wives and our husbands and children. He will try to drive a wedge between Christ's bishops and their flock. Beware of dis-union. Another word for "union" is "conception." Contra-ception is literally a dis-union between love and life. Conception, on the other hand is life-from-love. The Immaculate Conception, Our Lady, is the fruit of the Holy Trinity's love for us which bore Jesus into history, and gave the world both the hope and means for eternal life and eternal union with His Father. The Holy Trinity is a union. Even unto Himself, God is both One and a Union of Persons.
MYSTERY
Wow. We don't claim to fully comprehend these mysteries which we nevertheless believe, but we wanted to present these insights to you as a theological gift today, even if we expressed them poorly. There is power in the truth. There is power in union. We are all unified, at least through this email message and the prayers we pray together, through the CatholiCity CatholiCity Message. Maybe that's why this message has become so popular: it fosters cyber-union. Let these profound realities be a seed in your souls that will bear supernatural life. Pray. Ponder. Talk with your loved ones. Think about what parts of your life are in "union" with truth, with life, with God, with love, with other souls.
4. YOUR TURN
Now that gazillions of you have heard our recordings, we invite you to share your reactions with tens of thousands of others at our online "What Listeners Say" form here:
5. FREE TALK ON THE SCANDAL
Most of you know that Father Benedict Groeschel is one of the most profound, fearless, and eloquent defenders of the Catholic Church. His is a voice or reason, humor, seriousness, and love. A new organization called the Grassroots Renewal Project is taking a page from the Mary Foundation handbook and offering an incredible free audio tape or CD of Father's just-recorded and riveting talk on the Scandals in the Church called "It's Time to Turn to God." As a "psychologist for priests" who has personally treated and directed hundreds of his brother religious over the last decade and who knows numerous bishops involved personally, we can think of no better authority on this subject than Father Benedict. His passionate address kept us riveted earlier today, and we want you to hear it. It's truly free, too: no strings attached. The folks at Grassroots told us they have 5000 tapes and CDs ready to ship. Go clean them out! Donations are optional. Write to this address: Grassroots Renewal Project, 119 Eagle Street, Brooklyn, NY 11222. Specify audio tape or CD. You can print out the online mail-in form here:
(OFFER EXPIRED, OTHER TALKS AVAILABLE)
http://www.grassrootsrenewal.com/orderform.htm
JOKE OF THE DAY
Q: Who was the tallest man in the Bible?
A: Jacob, because he tied his ass to a tree and walked seven miles.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
"What one man can do another man can do."
Charles in the movie, The Edge
6. 70K UNION
Let's all of us now pray as one for... holiness. Who ever talks about holiness anymore? All our earthly plans, all the bad stuff happening with the scandals, all the harm done to the victims–it all comes back to holiness or lack thereof. We don't know about you, but we know, utterly, that we fall so short of being holy that it's really easy for us to forget that the real problem with the Catholic Church is us and that we let you down when we're not virtuous and holy. So let's ask for the grace we need, in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit:
"Dear Sweet Jesus, Make us Holy. O Holy One, make us like You! Sinless, white as snow. Sheep among wolves. Fine seamless garments on the Body of Christ. O God Who is Triune Love, leave us not in our mediocrity and sin, but send us the grace to be the saints You created us to be, on earth and in heaven, amen."
Simple. Most important things are. See you soon.
With Christ,
Your Friends at CatholiCity
