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| Photo: DPA/Newscom |
Monday, August 29, 2011
From the Office of Readings for August 29: From a homily by St. Bede the Venerable
Precursor of Christ in birth and death
As forerunner of our Lord’s birth, preaching and death, the blessed John showed in his struggle a goodness worthy of the sight of heaven. In the words of Scripture: Though in the sight of men he suffered torments, his hope is full of immortality. We justly commemorate the day of his birth with a joyful celebration, a day which he himself made festive for us through his suffering and which he adorned with the crimson splendour of his own blood. We do rightly revere his memory with joyful hearts, for he stamped with the seal of martyrdom the testimony which he delivered on behalf of our Lord.
There is no doubt that blessed John suffered imprisonment and chains as a witness to our Redeemer, whose forerunner he was, and gave his life for him. His persecutor had demanded not that he should deny Christ, but only that he should keep silent about the truth. Nevertheless, he died for Christ. Does Christ not say: I am the truth? Therefore, because John shed his blood for the truth, he surely died for Christ.
Through his birth, preaching and baptizing, he bore witness to the coming birth, preaching and baptism of Christ, and by his own suffering he showed that Christ also would suffer.
Such was the quality and strength of the man who accepted the end of this present life by shedding his blood after the long imprisonment. He preached the freedom of heavenly peace, yet was thrown into irons by ungodly men; he was locked away in the darkness of prison, though he came bearing witness to the Light of life and deserved to be called a bright and shining lamp by that Light itself, which is Christ. John was baptized in his own blood, though he had been privileged to baptize the Redeemer of the world, to hear the voice of the Father above him, and to see the grace of the Holy Spirit descending upon him. But to endure temporal agonies for the sake of the truth was not a heavy burden for such men as John; rather it was easily borne and even desirable, for he knew eternal joy would be his reward.
As forerunner of our Lord’s birth, preaching and death, the blessed John showed in his struggle a goodness worthy of the sight of heaven. In the words of Scripture: Though in the sight of men he suffered torments, his hope is full of immortality. We justly commemorate the day of his birth with a joyful celebration, a day which he himself made festive for us through his suffering and which he adorned with the crimson splendour of his own blood. We do rightly revere his memory with joyful hearts, for he stamped with the seal of martyrdom the testimony which he delivered on behalf of our Lord.
There is no doubt that blessed John suffered imprisonment and chains as a witness to our Redeemer, whose forerunner he was, and gave his life for him. His persecutor had demanded not that he should deny Christ, but only that he should keep silent about the truth. Nevertheless, he died for Christ. Does Christ not say: I am the truth? Therefore, because John shed his blood for the truth, he surely died for Christ.
Through his birth, preaching and baptizing, he bore witness to the coming birth, preaching and baptism of Christ, and by his own suffering he showed that Christ also would suffer.
Such was the quality and strength of the man who accepted the end of this present life by shedding his blood after the long imprisonment. He preached the freedom of heavenly peace, yet was thrown into irons by ungodly men; he was locked away in the darkness of prison, though he came bearing witness to the Light of life and deserved to be called a bright and shining lamp by that Light itself, which is Christ. John was baptized in his own blood, though he had been privileged to baptize the Redeemer of the world, to hear the voice of the Father above him, and to see the grace of the Holy Spirit descending upon him. But to endure temporal agonies for the sake of the truth was not a heavy burden for such men as John; rather it was easily borne and even desirable, for he knew eternal joy would be his reward.
August 29: The Memorial of the Martyrdom of Saint John the Baptist
From AmericanCatholic.Org:
The drunken oath of a king with a shallow sense of honor, a seductive dance and the hateful heart of a queen combined to bring about the martyrdom of John the Baptist. The greatest of prophets suffered the fate of so many Old Testament prophets before him: rejection and martyrdom. The “voice crying in the desert” did not hesitate to accuse the guilty, did not hesitate to speak the truth. But why? What possesses a man that he would give up his very life?
This great religious reformer was sent by God to prepare the people for the Messiah. His vocation was one of selfless giving. The only power that he claimed was the Spirit of Yahweh. “I am baptizing you with water, for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is mightier than I. I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Matthew 3:11). Scripture tells us that many people followed John looking to him for hope, perhaps in anticipation of some great messianic power. John never allowed himself the false honor of receiving these people for his own glory. He knew his calling was one of preparation. When the time came, he led his disciples to Jesus: “The next day John was there again with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God.’ The two disciples heard what he said and followed Jesus” (John 1:35-37). It is John the Baptist who has pointed the way to Christ. John’s life and death were a giving over of self for God and other people. His simple style of life was one of complete detachment from earthly possessions. His heart was centered on God and the call that he heard from the Spirit of God speaking to his heart. Confident of God’s grace, he had the courage to speak words of condemnation or repentance, of salvation.
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| Image: Salome with the head of John the Baptist; painting by Caravaggio |
Daily Reading, August 29
1 Thes 4:13-18
And we will not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning them that are asleep, that you be not sorrowful, even as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died, and rose again; even so them who have slept through Jesus, will God bring with him. For this we say unto you in the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who remain unto the coming of the Lord, shall not prevent them who have slept. For the Lord himself shall come down from heaven with commandment, and with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God: and the dead who are in Christ, shall rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, shall be taken up together with them in the clouds to meet Christ, into the air, and so shall we be always with the Lord. Wherefore, comfort ye one another with these words.
And we will not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning them that are asleep, that you be not sorrowful, even as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died, and rose again; even so them who have slept through Jesus, will God bring with him. For this we say unto you in the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who remain unto the coming of the Lord, shall not prevent them who have slept. For the Lord himself shall come down from heaven with commandment, and with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God: and the dead who are in Christ, shall rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, shall be taken up together with them in the clouds to meet Christ, into the air, and so shall we be always with the Lord. Wherefore, comfort ye one another with these words.
Ps 96:1 and 3, 4-5, 11-12, 13
The Lord comes to judge the earth.
Sing ye to the Lord a new canticle:
sing to the Lord, all the earth.
Declare his glory among the Gentiles:
his wonders among all people.
The Lord comes to judge the earth.
For the Lord is great, and exceedingly to be praised:
he is to be feared above all gods.
For all the gods of the Gentiles are devils:
but the Lord made the heavens.
The Lord comes to judge the earth.
Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad,
let the sea be moved, and the fulness thereof:
The fields and all things that are in them shall be joyful.
Then shall all the trees of the woods rejoice.
The Lord comes to judge the earth.
Before the face of the Lord, because he cometh:
because he cometh to judge the earth.
He shall judge the world with justice,
and the people with his truth.
The Lord comes to judge the earth.
The Lord comes to judge the earth.
Sing ye to the Lord a new canticle:
sing to the Lord, all the earth.
Declare his glory among the Gentiles:
his wonders among all people.
The Lord comes to judge the earth.
For the Lord is great, and exceedingly to be praised:
he is to be feared above all gods.
For all the gods of the Gentiles are devils:
but the Lord made the heavens.
The Lord comes to judge the earth.
Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad,
let the sea be moved, and the fulness thereof:
The fields and all things that are in them shall be joyful.
Then shall all the trees of the woods rejoice.
The Lord comes to judge the earth.
Before the face of the Lord, because he cometh:
because he cometh to judge the earth.
He shall judge the world with justice,
and the people with his truth.
The Lord comes to judge the earth.
Mk 6:17-29
For Herod himself had sent and apprehended John, and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias the wife of Philip his brother, because he had married her. For John said to Herod: It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife. Now Herodias laid snares for him: and was desirous to put him to death, and could not. For Herod feared John, knowing him to be a just and holy man: and kept him, and when he heard him, did many things: and he heard him willingly.
And when a convenient day was come, Herod made a supper for his birthday, for the princes, and tribunes, and chief men of Galilee. And when the daughter of the same Herodias had come in, and had danced, and pleased Herod, and them that were at table with him, the king said to the damsel: Ask of me what thou wilt, and I will give it thee. And he swore to her: Whatsoever thou shalt ask I will give thee, though it be the half of my kingdom. Who when she was gone out, said to her mother, What shall I ask? But she said: The head of John the Baptist. And when she was come in immediately with haste to the king, she asked, saying: I will that forthwith thou give me in a dish, the head of John the Baptist. And the king was struck sad. Yet because of his oath, and because of them that were with him at table, he would not displease her: But sending an executioner, he commanded that his head should be brought in a dish. And he beheaded him in the prison, and brought his head in a dish: and gave it to the damsel, and the damsel gave it to her mother. Which his disciples hearing came, and took his body, and laid it in a tomb.
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Worst case of odometer tampering sees A1 Auto Care Nerang wind back cars four million kilometres
Just, wow. Yep, this is why we do not trust used car salesmen:
HE is Queensland's four million kilometre man - deviously winding back the clocks on dozens of cars in one of the worst cases of odometer tampering investigators have seen.
Gold Coast mechanic Paul David Smith was found to have illegally slashed more than four million kilometres from the odometers of write-offs bought at auction before palming them off to unsuspecting buyers in a ruse that has shocked Fair Trading investigators.
The extent of the tampering amounted to an average 105,000km erased from the history of each of 38 cars sold by Mr Smith - collectively the equivalent distance of flying to the moon and back five times.
Riots, panic and meltdown in financial markets...To the Eurofanatics it's just another BENEFICIAL CRISIS!
Never let a crisis go to waste:
It might come as a surprise, then, after such turmoil in the financial world and the ugly riots in the streets of Athens, to realise that in the eyes of those Eurocrats who inhabit the Brussels bubble, things are going pretty well.
That’s because the present euro crisis is an inevitable consequence of a deliberate choice. For them it is all part of a greater long-term project: a ‘beneficial crisis’ that will help hasten their ultimate goal of a federal European state.
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| Graphic: The Daily Mail |
Hoax sign warns Arizona drivers of panda rampage
A wave of "panda-monium" has swept through a northern Arizona city thanks to a mischievous street sign hacker who warned motorists of a "ROGUE PANDA ON RAMPAGE."
State transportation officials said Tuesday that a person was able to post the hoax warning by hacking into an electronic message board in Flagstaff, Arizona, over the weekend.
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| The wild pandas of Arizona: how they roll |
Le Parisien: 75-year-old armed robber killed in Normandy: "He spoke for awhile of committing suicide"
A very rough translation:
She maintained that she "never saw him with a gun" and did not know "that he had one." According to her, her husband, the father of three children by another woman, "had some neurological problems," but the "representative" of his pension had "stopped his treatment."
He did not shoot just before being neutralised
The public prosecutor's department of Caen has given new information on the sequence of events: the man had fired several times at law enforcement during his wild ride. But contrary to what had at first been announced, he was not shooting at the gendarmes just before being neutralised. "He threatened the gendarmes, but he did not fire," specified Gérald Lesigne, the assistant public prosecutor for the court of appeals of Caen on Friday.
The testimony is "precise", according to the prosecutor
"Yesterday there was information that was advanced in the framework of the story that did not originate from the police regarding the cause of the fatal shots. Now we have the testimony of the servicemen. It is very precise. He made threats but he did not fire in the direction of the gendarmes," clarified the magistrate.
Results of the autopsy expected in the early afternoon
So the elderly man had repeatedly shot at law enforcement during his flight, but only threatened the gendarmes, without firing anew, after the vehicle he was driving had been crashed into by them.
According to the public prosecutor, the gendarmes had shot out two windows in his vehicle, then shot him in the shoulder and the left arm, the only targets available to them other than the head. They then took the elderly man out of the car. Attempts to resuscitate him failed. Six cartridges in total were retrieved from the proximity of the vehicle: two bullets had shattered the windows, two had struck the perpetrator, and two were "lost."
Hit in the shoulder and the chest
The robber was shot twice, once in the shoulder and once in the chest, "areas that normally are not lethal," according to the public prosecutor. "It is very likely that he was killed by these gunshots, but we must have an autopsy to officially determine the cause," specifies Gérard Lesigne. The results of the autopsy are expected early in the afternoon.
It all commenced at 2:40 pm. The grandfather arrived at the casino Barrière, a cap on his head and a scarf around his face. When "the guard confronted him, the robber shot at him." He then launched into a messy and bloody escape during which he wounded a gendarme and took a hostage. It ended in tragedy.
Read the article in the original French here.
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| Trouville, France |
LifeSiteNews: Pro-life activist arrested, beaten, and accused of bomb plot
Handing out pro-life bookmarks at a fair on the grounds of St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Franklin, Massachusetts, Peter D’Attilio was surprised to be confronted by police. The police demanded his ID and refused to let him leave the fair voluntarily when told that his presence was not welcome; they accused him of wanting to plant bombs at the fair, because pro-lifers "are known for that kind of thing." Mr. D'Attilio claims that he was handcuffed and then beaten; LifeSiteNews has the details.
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| Peter D'Attilio after his encounter with a Franklin, MA policeman. |
Libyan rebels carry out reprisal attacks
Disturbing evidence of reprisal killings against Gaddafi loyalists is tarnishing the reputation of rebel forces today as the National Transitional Council calls for discipline among its troops. Bodies of Gaddafi soldiers have been found in Tripoli, the victims of apparent execution-style killings, with hands bound behind their backs and visible gunshot wounds.
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| Map of Tripoli; rebels now claim control of 95% of the city as the focus of battle switches to Sirte, Muammar Gaddafi's hometown and his last major stronghold |
Asia News: Heze, China, 2 years hard labour for Fr. Wang for refusing to submit to PA
Fr. Wang Chengli, a Catholic priest in Heze Diocese (Caozhou), China, was sentenced to two years of hard labor on August 25 for refusing to join the Catholic Patriotic Association, the Chinese government's approved version of the Catholic Church.
Heze Catholics urgently ask members of the universal Church and the Holy See to pray for Fr Wang and work for his release. The priest, born in Yanzhou, has led the underground community in Heze in recent years. Ordained a priest in 1991, Wang this year celebrated the 20th anniversary of his ordination.
Rueters: Pope earns rare praise from leading German leftist
Pope Benedict has reaped praise before his visit to his German homeland next month from one of the last people one would expect -- the sharp-tongued leader of the former communists from old East Germany.
Gregor Gysi, parliamentary leader for a small party in the German Bundestag called The Left, thanked the conservative pontiff Thursday for consistently preaching that a modern society must have moral norms in order to function properly.
"It won't work without the concept of the good," he wrote in the weekly Christ und Welt. "But modern science can't tell us what is good. Its concepts focus on empirical experience. Ideas such as morality play no role there."
Despite his reputation as a staunch conservative, Gysi wrote, Benedict turns out to be a modern theologian who says societies need both religious traditions and rational arguments to forge the moral consensus they need to operate.
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| Gregor Gysi |
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