The Best Of St. Bellarmine Blog - 2007

Here it is!

What You Have Been Waiting For.

The Year In Review For St. Robert Bellarmine Blog.

OK, here's how it works. I will pick a category like Family Funny and give you the best of the best.


The Best Bellarmine Blog Picture.

Winner: A Miraculous Catholic Picture? Is it? You be the judge.

The Best Family Pictures.

Winner: While At the Hospital! It was a toss up. It was either the Christmas picture or the hospital one.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year from this
Bellarmine Blog Family to yours!

St. Robert Bellarmine, Patron of Catechist. Pray for us this new year.

Your Sunday Catholic Homily

From the Desk of Father Mark, Your Sunday Catholic Homily

My Dear People,

The first Holy Day of the new year is Mary, the Mother of God, which we celebrate on January 1st. While many people are overcoming their hangovers and bouts of indulgence sleeping in bed, faithful Catholics are in Church giving thanks to God for the many graces Our Lady bestows upon us and our families. Without Mary's intercession, we would soon get lost in the "over indulgence" of this world.

It is so easy to get lost in our sin. The world encourages sin on every level. Sin is popular. Sin is easy. Sin is everywhere. It takes a well disciplined soldier of Christ, to overcome the "tsunami of sin" in our world. This New Year's Day, instead of skipping another Holy Day Mass, come give thanks to God for giving us such an "awesome Heavenly Mother". Join us at God's Holy Altar. Come let us worship Him together and give Him thanks.

Entrusting you to the care of Our Lady,


Fr. Mark Your Sunday Catholic Homily

Saint Louis Catholic of the Year 2007 - Archbishop Burke

To ease the Archbishop's pain, I thought that I would announce that the Saint Louis Catholic Blog has selected him, The Most Reverend Raymond Leo Burke, Archbishop of Saint Louis, to receive the prestigious title of "Saint Louis Catholic of the Year" for 2007.

It is a little early to make the announcement, but really, who else could it be? After the year he's had, the Archbishop certainly deserves the prize. A brief recap:

• He resigned from the Cardinal Glennon Board to protest their unholy alliance with Sheryl Crow
• His Board of Catholic Education pressured St. Joseph's Academy to disinvite pro-abortion commencement speaker Claire McCaskill
• He allowed the celebration in the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis of the first Traditional Latin Masses in over 35 years, including the glorious traditional ordinations for the Institute of Christ the King, Sovereign Priest (and all before the Motu Proprio was published)
• He published a series of columns on the Apostolic Exhortation Sacramentum Caritatis
• He appointed Fr. Lenhardt of the ICRSP to oversee the faithful implementation of Summorum Pontificum in the Archdiocese, and also directed that the Seminary teach the Extraordinary Form as part of its regular formation of priests
• He acted to enforce the restrictive covenant in the Ivory Theatre/St. Boniface case
• He acted to address the inadequacies and heterodox elements of the Barat Academy theology curriculum
• He published an important article in the Periodica de Re Canonica affirming that canon law mandates the refusal of Holy Communion to pro-abortion politicians
• He defended Catholic doctrine and acted strongly to impose penalties during the schismatic, "womenpriest" pretend ordinations
  

All in all, not a bad year--
Congratulations, Your Grace
Saint Louis Catholic: Saint Louis Catholic of the Year 2007

Blogging Blessings

Therese, The Aussie Coffee Shop, gave me a blogging blessing a while ago. Now it is my turn to do the same.

You can go here to read about the blogging blessings that were started by Deb at Ukok.


The idea… it’s a game of tag with a difference, rather than looking inwardly, we look outside ourselves and bless, praise and pray for a blog friend. By participating in this endeavour we not only make the recipient of the blessing feel valued and appreciated, but we are having some fun too. We’re going to see how far the bloggin’ blessings can travel around the world and how many people can be blessed! Recipients of a bloggin’ blessing may upload the above image to their sidebar if they choose to. If you recieve a bloggin’ blessin’ please leave a comment on this thread here so that we can rejoice in just how many blessings have been sent around the world!

I want to bless the following bloggers:

Joseph Fromm - Good Jesuit, Bad Jesuit I chose Joseph because of his ability not to attack the Jesuit order. Not easy for an orthodox Jesuit Companion. Well done Joseph.
Bob Catholic - Doing Theology with Bob Catholic He is a fellow Latin lover.
Rob Kaiser - Catholic Dads Great site working with Catholic Men Fellowship.

My Son Head Butts Jesus . . .

We have a family custom in our little house hold.

After we say our bedtime prayers we give Jesus and Mary kisses from our wall portraits. This is where the head butts come in.

John Paul (1) gives Jesus and Mary head butts instead of a kissing them. Just so you know he does not have any malice in his heart. He generally smiles or laughs at Jesus and Mary.

What do you think?

What customs do you have that the little ones adjusted in some childlike manner?

Your Sunday Catholic Homily; The Fourth Sunday of Advent

From the Desk of Father Mark, Your Sunday Catholic Homily; The Fourth Sunday of Advent


My Dear People,

The Peace Of Bethlehem
Comes Through Our Lady

Each Christmas we are one step closer to the final return of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Every generation longs for the reign of Christ Our King. As we view Jesus in the Manger this Christmas, we know that He will have final authority over all powers and principalities. Why the humble beginning? Why the Staple? Why 2000 years ago and not now? Only God knows the answers to those questions.

What we do know, is that we benefit from this tremendous work of our salvation. Like the Blessed Mother, when we treasure all of the mysteries of our life, and place them within the deposit of Her Immaculate Heart...all is well. Just as Jesus rests peacefully within the care of His Mother, so to do we rest in Her Maternal Presence. This Christmas, spend some time before the Manger. Offer your whole life to Our Lady, and come to know the true peace of Bethlehem.

Entrusting you to the care of Our Lady,


Fr. Mark, Your Sunday Catholic Homily; The Fourth Sunday of Advent

Family Funny - Mayonnaise From Heaven?

Anne Marie (5) is at the why stage. She could know the answer, but she would still ask why. For example . . .

"Dad, why is the snow melting?"

Of course, I have answered this about five times already. Then there are the more serious ones like today's:

"Dad, why do people go hungry?"

Oh, great! How do I answer this? Then, before an answer came to my head, she fires off two more questions.

"Why were the Israelites hungry in the desert? Why did God give them mayonnaise?"

Merry Christmas From The Bellarmine Family Blog

May the God of hope
fill you with all joy and peace
as you trust in Him,
so that your may overflow with hope
by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Romans 15:13

Painting by Ferdinand Roccanti

Merry Christmas Family Pictures

Merry Christmas Everyone

Your Sunday Catholic Homily; The Third Sunday of Advent

From the Desk of Father Mark, Your Sunday Catholic Homily; The Third Sunday of Advent


My Dear People,

Eucharistic Adoration Invitation

"Guadete Sunday" or "rejoice" Sunday, is a signal that the time of the Incarnation is near at hand. Christmas is around the corner. In anticipation of the triumphant return of Our Lord, we begin to rejoice now, as we celebrate His birth as the God-man. "Our God come to save us!" Emmanuel is a name that means, "God is with His people."

Indeed, He is in every tabernacle, in every Catholic Church waiting for us. We have all kinds of excuses why we cannot visit Jesus, present in our "Eucharistic Chapel". Give up your "excuses" and make your resolution to frequent the chapel this New Year. Thirty minutes of adoration of the Blessed Sacrament grants us a "plenary indulgence". It may not seem like much of a gift to you right now, but when you and I are purgatory suffering, we will wish that we had made the time. Bless yourself NOW and in the FUTURE, make a visit to Jesus often in an Adoration Chapel.

Entrusting you to the care of Our Lady,


Fr. Mark, Your Sunday Catholic Homily; The Third Sunday of Advent


What else does Father Mark have with his Catholic Homily Minute?

The Family Litany

When you pray, do you include a Family Litany at the end?

We do. And the kids love it.

So, lets learn how to develop a Family Litany, shall we?

1. What is it? A litany, in Christian worship, is a form of prayer used in church services, processions and public and private devotions and consisting of a number of petitions. The word comes from the Latin litania, from the Greek λιτή (litê), meaning "prayer" or "supplication". Get your Litany History Here.
   
2. What do you mean by family? This will be a private devotional prayer for the purpose of personalizing a rich prayer tradition. It will be created by the family and include the families favorite saints, especially those Saints that have a name in common with a family member.
3. When is the best time to do it? At the end of family prayers, especially the Rosary or the Chaplet of Divine Mercy.
4. How do you create the beginning of the Family Litany? Cheat. Use what is already available. Does that make sense? We use the beginning and ending of the litany that the Companions of the Intercessors of the Lamb have created.
5. Can I put Saint in front of my child's name since they don't a Saints name. No, No and No. This degrades the proper honor due to a canonized Saint. Instead, adopt one.
   
6. Do you have an example? Yes, I will create one for you. Dawn, Water Into Wine Blog, asked me to explain what a Family Litany is, so I will use her family as an example.
7. Can we add all our Saints together before we respond with the pray for us. Yes we do. Our list is getting long.
   

Here is Dawn's family. Wife to Matt, mom to Mary Beth (age 8), Anna (age 5), Lucia (age 3), and Clara (born 11/24/06)

V. Lord, have mercy on us.
R. Christ, have mercy on us.
V. Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, hear us.
R. Christ, graciously hear us.

V. God the Father of Heaven, have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.
God the Holy Spirit, have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, one God, have mercy on us.

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us. We skip the first part and start here.
Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us.
Our Lady of Sorrows, pray for us.
Mother of the Church, pray for us.

St. Peter, pray for us. This line would be a family saint(s)
St. Matthew, pray for us. Dad
Mourning Star, pray for us. Mom
St. Elizabeth, pray for us. Mary Beth, you could add another line to include her first name
St. Anne, pray for us. Anna
St. Lucy, pray for us. Lucia
St. Clair, pray for us. Clara
St. Francis, pray for us. Favorite saint #1, list as many or as few as you would like
St. Pio, pray for us. #2
St. Rita, pray for us. #3 we sometimes add the Saint of the day
St. Nicholas, pray for us. #4, did I say they could be seasonal or temporary

All you Holy Souls, pray for us. This is the ending we use.
All You Angels and Saints, pray for us.
Queen of Peace, pray for us who have recourse to you.
Amen.

There it is, a Family Litany.
Does this help?
Do you have any more questions?

Saint Roberto Bellarmino Quote - One Church Under One Pontiff

St. Robert Bellarmine's defense of Papal authority has no equal. He wrote volumes concerning the role of the vicar of Christ here on earth, the Pope. It was the Popes of his time that determined Cardinal Bellarmine's calling was the apologetic defense of the Catholic Faith, in particular the Divine Rights given to the Pope.

Here is a smidgen of his great defense of the Pope.

But we teach that there is only one Church, ant not two, and that the one true Church is the assembly of men bound together by the profession of the same Christian faith and by the communion of the same sacraments, under the rule of legitimate pastors, and especially of the one vicar of Christ on earth, the Roman pontiff.

- Cardinal Robert Bellarmine, De Ecclesia Militante

An Ode To The Society Of Jesus

An Ode To The Society Of Jesus:

ODE TO THE SOCIETY OF JESUS

BY ELEANOR C. DONNELLY

ASSOCIATES of Jesus!
O privilege sublime,
Surpassing all the wildest flights
Of mythologic rhyme—
Companions of the Blessed Christ
In very truth to be,
In life and death to humbly share
His sweet society!

Dear company of Jesus !
Thy sainted founder prayed
That on the shoulders of his sons
The cross might, aye, be laid;
Ignatius! 'twere a needless prayer,—
Love ne'er is at a loss,
Who walketh close to Calv'ry's king
Is sure of Calv'ry's cross.

The bitterness of mortal pain,
Abandoned and betrayed;
The false tribunals of the world
Where justice stands dismayed;
The stripes, the thorns, the nails, the lance,
Men's scorn, and demons' rage,
Companions of the crucified!
These are your heritage!

But ever in the battle's front,
The vanguard of the king,
The great Society hath place,
Heroic, combating;
And in its fair celestial ranks
Full many a saint appears,
Rubies and diamonds the crown
Of martyr blood and tears.

Onward and upward, then, to swell
Those glad seraphic choirs!
Your feet are in the print of saints,
Sons of immortal sires!
From heaven's heights your brethren lean,
They beckon, lo! they call,"
God's greater glory be your aim,
His will your life, your all!"

Am I Not She Who Is Your Mother?

Our Lady of Guadalupe is without a doubt our favorite title for our Lady. I would have been remiss if I didn't give her a little recognition on her feast day, December 12th.

BTW, she is part of our family litany. Do you have a family litany? You should. Our kids love the family litany.




Yes, this is a picture of my Mom. Do you ever call her Mom?

He Is Not A Cracker!

Jesus is not a cracker. But you wouldn't know from the funeral Mass I attended this past weekend.

This weekend while attending the feast of the Immaculate Conception Mass, a funeral Mass and a Sunday Mass I witnessed three grave abuses. The last one I took to confession, because of how it turned out.

Here are the abuses...

1. A teenager chewing gum while receiving the precious Body. He helped with the readings, as it was the teenagers turn to do the liturgy, yet he still wore jeans and chewed gum.
2. I saw a third grader take the precious Body and eat it like a cracker. It took him 3 or 4 bites to consume the Lord of Lords. Thank God he consumed all of Him. He was a pall bearer. If he didn't consume Him, could you imagine going up to this grieving little boy to retrieve our Lord from his pocket?
3. This one hurts. In a bad exchange, the precious Body falls to the ground. The communicant picks up our Lord and gives it to the Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion. You could tell the EOM was confused. The EOM then discretely places Jesus in his pocket!

I witnessed Jesus being treated as a breath mint, a cracker and spare change. Lord have mercy.


Immediately after Mass, I approached the EOM, who I did not know. He admitted his confusion and lack of knowledge in dealing with the situation. I told him that Jesus needs to be consumed and that if he didn't feel comfortable that I would do it. Then things got blurry and the next thing I know he walked away with Jesus in his pocket.

I stood there dumbfounded. What if he is a Mason? Did you know Masons steal the precious Body just to mock it?

Here's Jesus, next to some dimes and nickels, and I let Him walk away. Christ have mercy.


What do you think? What comments do you have?

Your Sunday Catholic Homily; The Second Sunday of Advent

From the Desk of Father Mark, Your Sunday Catholic Homily; The Second Sunday of Advent

My Dear People,

Bring A Clean Heart To The Manager

"A voice cries out in the wilderness...prepare the way of the Lord." Matthew's Gospel calls us to a spirit of repentance. St. John the Baptist called all to a simple and holy life hungry for the Messiah. Jesus announces that the Kingdom of God is at hand. Humility and obedience always open the door to Our Lord Jesus Christ. What better way to get ready for Christmas than to bring a clean heart to the manger.

Remember, the Church still requires confession at least once a year, especially if you receive the Holy Eucharist often. Makes plans to come to confession this Advent on Saturday, or to your Parish Penance Service. Jesus is calling YOU to receive His Divine Mercy in the confessional this Advent.

Entrusting you to the care of Our Lady,


Fr. Mark, Your Sunday Catholic Homily; The Second Sunday of Advent

Good Jesuit, Bad Jesuit Tidbit

Fellow blogger, Joseph Fromm, decided to list his eight things about himself on my blog comments. So I decided to publish them.

FYI, he has more information on the Jesuits than you can imagine. The red comments are mine.


Nine things about me, Joseph Fromm, Good Jesuit, Bad Jesuit

1. Oldest son, with younger brother and sister.
2. Fell through the winter ice at 8 years old, saved by God from death. I bet your Mom prays a lot.
   
3. I work for an NFL football team. Wow.
   
4. I have two children.
5. My wife is an evangelical convert to Catholicism. My wife is a convert.
   
6. A good Jesuit helped me pull my self from out of the puddle I was drowning in, he spent five years and countless hours as my spiritual director. I would love a good spiritual director.
   
7. I went on a Marian pilgrimage to Poland with my brother, It changed my/our life again. You can't beat a good pilgrimage.
   
8. The hardest, yet most rewarding devotion that I have made, was a "by the book" Sacred Heart of Jesus, 9 month, First Friday devotion.
9. I want to be a farmer in my old hometown up in the midwest. I would say cattle would be best.
   

Family Funny - A Little Potty Humor

"Rose, it's time for bed. You need to go potty now."

Whining in her high-pitch girly girl response,

"But, Daddy, my pee-pee doesn't work!"

After convincing her to try anyway, she comes back and remarks,

"Daddy, my pee-pee DID work!"

Want more family funnies?

What are your family funny moments?

A Day In The Life . . . "The New Nun"

Here is the update of our friend, Gloria, the newest Poor Clare nun. Gloria was given the chance to write her family. Here is her little story about how she is adjusting.

She writes, "I am settling in quite well here with the Poor Clares, and although everything is new to me, it all feels familiar somehow. I am sleeping well, eating well and starting to pick up the routine. The Novice Mistress Sr Mary Rose and her assistant Sr Mary Elizabeth are easing me into things. All are patient with the newest member, who is constantly confused, especially by the Liturgy of the Hours which the community prays 7 times a day!

But honestly, between these set prayers of the Church, we do plenty more praying--constantly and for everyone. Please know that all of you are not only in my prayers, but also in the prayers of all 12 of the other Poor Clares here. And feel free to call if you have special prayer requests or even an urgent message for me, ie about how to handle something I left behind.

I didn't even know the Liturgy of Hours had seven daily prayers associated with it. Did you?

Eight Things About Me

Tag, I'm it. Therese, Aussie Coffee Shop, gave me a little love on her site, but she is making me work for it. I can handle that. It is a good blog. Make sure you go visit.

So here are the rules.

....Here's what you do: Each person starts with 8 random facts/habits about themselves and post these guidelines. At the end of the post, choose 8 people to be tagged and list their names. Don't forget to leave a comment telling them that they are tagged and to read your blog. Have fun!

1. I am an identical twin.
2. In fourth grade, I was seriously injured in a farm accident involving a power take-off. In essence, my right arm wrapped around a pipe three times. By the grace of God, it is mostly fully functional.
   
3. I am still a Mizzou fan, even if they can't beat Oklahoma.
4. I used to teach high school agriculture.
5. I moved back to my home town about a year ago, so my wife could be a stay at home mom.
6. We home school our children.
7. Going for the "crazy" title, as we are "actively" pursuing number 4.
8. I am absolutely, positively in love with my wife and our children.

Now it is time for the tag.


Joseph Fromm - Good Jesuit, Bad Jesuit
Renew Catechesis
Under the Mercy - Hope of Recovery

You can expect more tags later.