The CatholiCity Message
Volume XVII, Number 6 – August 1, 2013
Dear CatholiCity Citizen,
Welcome, to our faithful readers, from our newest to those who have been with us for over seventeen years. I bring you, among other items, the wisdom of my mom, Saint Patricia of Long Beach Island, New Jersey. In the name of Jesus Christ, King of Kings, let us begin.
HISTORY AND THE SACRAMENT OF BABY KILLING
History buffs will recall the Punic Wars were a series of three wars fought for control of the Mediterranean between Rome and Carthage from 264 BC to 146 BC. The third and final Punic War involved the successful siege of the city of Carthage, located in modern north Africa. For years, Cato the Elder, a Roman Senator, notably ended all his speeches, regardless of topic, with this assertion: "Carthage must be destroyed."
Skip forward to June 2013. During a press conference House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi sharply criticized a bill that would prohibit abortions during the final four months of pregnancy. When pressed about the moral difference between what Dr. Kermit Gosnell did to babies born alive and aborting those same infants moments before birth, Pelosi eventually asserted that "as a practicing and respectful Catholic, this is sacred ground to me when we talk about this [abortion]. I don't think it should have anything to do with politics." You can see Pelosi making her creepy remarks here:
http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/pelosi-late-term-abortions-sacred_735188.html
National radio host Rush Limbaugh, commenting the following day, astutely observed that abortion is *the* sacrament for the liberal elite. During the recent presidential election we all witnessed a brazen campaign proudly sailing upon a river of the blood of aborted babies. Which all reminded me of something G.K. Chesterton highlighted regarding the third Punic War. Some in Rome disagreed with Cato while the siege of Carthage dragged for three long years. When Roman general Scipio Aemilianus Africanus and his forces finally breached the walls of Carthage, they found a huge pit in the center of the city containing the skeletal remains of countless dead infants sacrificed to the Punic gods. Scipio promptly burned the city to the ground.
YOU SHOULD BECOME A MEMBER OF THE MILITIA IMMACULATA
The Feast of Saint Maximilian Kolbe is coming up on Wednesday, August 14. Most of you know him as the Auschwitz saint, a priest who sacrificed his life to save another in 1941. Fewer of you know him as the founder of the Militia Immaculata (MI) in 1917, a worldwide movement consisting of millions. The MI promote total consecration to Mary. I have been a member since December 8, 1983, when I consecrated my heart to Immaculate Mary as an undergrad at the University of Notre Dame.
The Mary Foundation and CatholiCity were directly inspired by and modeled upon the life and principles of Saint Maximilian ("Uncle Max" as we Macfarlanes refer to him), who started media apostolates in the 1920s and 1930s in Poland, Japan, and elsewhere. By the time the Nazis arrested him, Fr. Max and his brother, also a priest, were running the largest Franciscan monastery in the world with over 800 priests and brothers churning out millions of free newspapers and other publications using the latest technology.
I consider each of the many millions of novels, CDs, and booklets distributed by you through the Mary Foundation and CatholiCity fruit of my total consecration to Immaculate Mary, which I renew every day when I receive Communion at Mass and pray for you and your loved ones. Please do not misunderstand me: other than starting the apostolate and copying Uncle Max, I actually do very little. I make decisions and type stuff. It is your generosity, time, and love for souls, in union with divine providence, that allows the Mary Foundation to exist and be so effective.
Uncle Max wanted every person on the planet to consecrate himself or herself to Mary through the Sacred Heart of Jesus and wear the Miraculous Medal as a sign of that consecration. I always describe being a member of the Militia Immaculata as more of a state of being than joining an organization with dues and meetings, although the MI organizes many retreats and youth events around the country through their national HQ near Chicago, Illinois. If you have already consecrated your heart to Mary, you can enroll directly in the MI very easily, or, if you want to learn how to go about making the consecration, follow the steps found here:
http://consecration.com/default.aspx?id=199
Militia Immaculata youth events in several states around the country are listed here:
http://www.miyouth.org/index.cfm?load=page&page=3
There is a webpage for our Canadian readers too:
I promise you this, because I have experienced it myself every day for thirty years, and have seen the same effect for many others who have become Militia Immaculata: your life *will* change, and it will change in whatever way Our Lady desires. It is fun, sometimes scary, and always divinely worthwhile.
GIVE THE GIFT OF DAILY MASS
My mother attended daily Mass. As a little boy, I remember her telling me, a big smile on her face, as quoted below, that "any day you go to Mass is a good day." Her example inspired my father, who recently turned 80, and now he as gone every day for decades. Whenever I get the chance, I take my own sons. A close friend of mine once observed that we cannot give a gift we do not possess. The Mass is a gift to you from Jesus and His Catholic Church, and through you, as a habit, can be a gift to others.
MY MOM'S POTTY TRAINING METHOD
Almost two decades ago, when my oldest son seemed unwilling to forsake diapers, I called my mother for advice. She told me that my nine sisters and my brother and I were potty-trained quite early and quickly (in a couple of days) when she simply replaced diapers with underwear from one day to the next. "Diapers are too comfortable. Even babies don't enjoy walking around in soiled underwear. All you have to do is be willing to change poopy underwear for a few days." Mom's method worked fast and saved us a significant amount of money when applied to four boys. The Scotsman in me also noticed that pull-ups cost almost as much as real underwear, so for those two or three transition days, I tossed their soiled underpants away, because nobody enjoys *cleaning* loaded underwear, either.
MARK YOUR CALENDAR: UPCOMING CATHOLIC FEASTDAYS
There are so many great feast days in August that I can only supply reminders of a handful of my favorites:
Today, August 1, Thursday. Saint Alphonse Liguori, Bishop and Doctor
August 6, Tuesday. Transfiguration of Jesus (now a Luminous Mystery!)
August 8, Thursday. Saint Dominic. Brains and holiness.
August 10, Saturday, Saint Lawrence, Deacon. He's the guy who, while being grilled over a fire, told his torturers to "turn me over, I'm not done on the other side."
August 14, Wednesday. Saint Maximilian Kolbe. Canonized by soon-to-be Saint John Paul II.
August 15, Thursday. Assumption of Mary. Holy Day of Obligation.
August 16, Friday. Saint Stephen, First King of Hungary (975-1038). Had title papers drawn up giving ownership of Hungary to Our Lady. His right hand is incorrupt. Pray to this guy.
August 20, Tuesday. Saint Bernard of Clairvaux. Defender of Popes. Composed the Memorare. Doctor of the Church. This is our Pick of the Month for reading his life story:
http://www.americancatholic.org/features/saints/saint.aspx?id=1113
August 22, Thursday. Queenship of Mary.
August 27, Tuesday. Saint Monica. Augustine's mom. The model for all mothers with fallen away children, and intercessor for your wayward sons and daughters, if you have any.
August 28, Wednesday. Saint Augustine. Monica's son! Only one of the smartest dudes ever.
JOKE OF THE MONTH (YOU CAN TELL I MADE THIS UP MYSELF)
Question: How many popes does it take to screw in a light bulb?
Answer: One (Get it? There can't be more than one pope. Ho ho.)
CATHOLIC QUOTES
"Any day you go to Mass is a good day."
Patricia Macfarlane (Bud's Mom)
"The pain of the humiliation of my stupidity is worse than the actual pain in my finger."
Bud Macfarlane (to his son Buddy, while being driven home from the hospital three weeks ago, now fully recovered after a skin graft and able to type this CatholiCity Message pain-free, after cutting the fleshy tip of one of his fingers off on a moving lawn mower blade)
"Nothing was conferred on the apostles apart from Peter, but several things were conferred upon Peter apart from the apostles."
Pope Leo XIII, Satis Cognitum
"With the universal legal recognition of same-sex marriage a fait accompli, the next fight will on the Church doorstep. The next battle will be to force churches, most particularly the Catholic Church, to recognize and conduct same-sex marriage. The refusal to do so will result in a series of escalating legal and financial ramifications. Eventually, because of its refusal to recognize immoral unions as marriage, the state will refuse to recognize Church marriages. As a result, more and more people will bypass Church marriage altogether, further marginalizing faith in this country. This effort is and has always been a war against religion and in particular a war against the Catholic Church. Right now, it is a war we are losing and after today; perhaps it is fair to say that we lost."
Pat Archbold, National Catholic Register
"A single act of love makes the soul return to life."
Saint Maximilian Kolbe
"The faithful, therefore, should be recommended to recognize in such chastisements the fatherly love of God, and ever to have in their hearts and on their lips the saying of Job, the most patient of men: 'He woundeth and cureth; he striketh and His hands shall heal.'"
Catechism of the Council of Trent
"When we were children we were grateful to those who filled our stockings at Christmas time. Why are we not grateful to God for filling our stockings with legs?"
Gilbert K. Chesterton
60,000 CATHOLICITY CITIZENS PRAYING TOGETHER
How about our new pope! Let us pray for Francis, tens of thousands of us together, to Our Lady, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit:
"Upon this Rock He will build His Church.
And the jaws of death shall not prevail against her.
O Mother of the Redeemer,
Living Tabernacle of the Eucharist,
and Luminous Rose of Heaven,
with humble confidence we ask you
to bestow upon the Holy Father
all the graces and blessings
reserved for him by the Holy Trinity from all eternity.
Help his friends. Convert his enemies.
Saint Joseph, pray for us. Amen."
CORRECTION: ANIMA CHRISTI PRAYER
CatholiCity Citizens are sharp. After my meditation on the post-Communion Anima Christi, more than one pointed out that although Saint Ignatius popularized the prayer by including it in his Spiritual Exercises, it was composed well before his time.
Every day at Mass, my mom prays for my intentions as I pray for your intentions, so your intentions are in good stead. Place your hope in having your prayers answered. Please pray for me and my co-workers and all who listen or read Mary Foundation materials today and every day. Without grace, there is no conversion.
With Immaculate Mary,
Bud Macfarlane
Founder
