Publisher seeks prayers to consecrate Press to Sacred Heart

From the desk of William Fahey, Ph.D. President, Thomas More College Publisher, Sophia Institute Press Like many in New England, we heat our house with wood. On winter mornings at dawn — and sometimes before dawn — I carefully place kindling and wood into our heavy iron woodstove. On its front, I see the image of St. Hubert the hunter, kneeling in praise before a mighty stag whose horns are topped with the Cross. As I, too, kneel, that image reminds me each morning to recite the old Scottish prayer: I will kindle my fire this morning in the presence of the holy angels of Heaven. God, kindle Thou in my heart within a flame of love. In a few minutes I hear the pleasant popping and crackling of the new fire and smell the delightful scent of burning oak and maple: logs we labored all summer to stack and split. That wood, transformed into pure flame and heat, then transforms our chilled morning rooms into a warm and cozy home. Isn't this what we each desire? To have our lives transformed? Filled with pleasant things, protected from bitterness. It can happen, and it can happen now: The Sacred Heart of Jesusis the furnace of God's love. If we allow it, that Heart will transform each of us and all our works. It will fill our days with joy and keep bitterness and sin at bay. We need only embrace His mercy: Heart of Jesus, burning furnace of love, have mercy on us! Into its flames we throw our troubles. They are burned up. We throw our weaknesses. They are burned up. We throw our human frailties. They are burned up. When we give over even trivial cares to the Sacred Heart, His mercy burns them up and leaves us with a sustaining warmth and consolation. His mercy restores our hope. Just nine days from today is the Solemn Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus: July 1st. On that day, priests at the chapels of Thomas More College of Liberal Arts here in New Hampshire and at Holy Spirit College in Atlanta will offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass for Sophia Institute Press, for her staff, for her friends and benefactors, and for all who have purchased solid Catholic books from her. You and your intentions will be remembered at both altars, as we ask that our work here at the Press as well as all those associated in any way with the Press may be blessed and transformed by the Sacred Heart. After those Masses, we shall formally consecrate Sophia Institute Press to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and enthrone His image at the Press offices. Blessed John Paul II once noted that when it’s recited and meditated upon, the Litany of the Sacred Heart is a "true school of the interior life." Each of us needs a strong interior life. Without one, the best intentions, the best mission statement, the best staff, the best resources will never have the impact they should. With a strong spiritual life, Christ can move in us and guide all our actions according to the Father's will. You know, when I assumed the Presidency of Thomas More College, problems were manifold, the work exhausting. Poverty and strife threatened soon to destroy us. We consecrated the College to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and enthroned in the College chapel an Icon of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. And that has made all the difference! Visitors acquainted with our troubled school remarked on the peace that had settled on the campus, the quiet transformation that could be felt. A new heart was beating. Whose heart was it? Who was the real agent of the transformation at the College? None other than the burning furnace of love, the abyss of all virtues, the King and center of all hearts: the Sacred Heart of Jesus! God be praised, dissension, strife and turmoil are not among the troubles here at Sophia Institute Press. But years of money troubles have wearied her small staff, leaving them dispirited at times . . . spiritually chilled like a house struggling through a cold New Hampshire night. It's time to warm their hearts and those of all who benefit from her and support her with the fire of God’s love that burns in His Sacred Heart. As I said, July 1st is the Feast of the Sacred Heart. In the nine days between now and then, will you join us in throwing all our troubles and concerns into that blessed furnace of Divine Love? Will you, on each of the next nine days, make time in your day to pray with us this Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus? (At this link you can print out a copy for your pocket or purse.) When we pause to consider our limitations and confront our sins and weakness (especially our forgetfulness or even neglect of God's power and glory and mercy), we restore our souls. That repair work -- reparation -- is central to devotion to the Sacred Heart. So please join me as I work to repair my own soul; please join me in assisting others through prayer to repair their souls; and let us all together seeks God's help in repairing Sophia Institute Press, through the power of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Please join me in praying this Litany for nine days, and by going to Mass on July 1st, the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. In corde Jesu, William Edmund Fahey, Ph.D. President, Thomas More College New President and Publisher Sophia Institute Press Sophia Institute Press is the publishing division of Click here, if you are having trouble viewing this email.

Happy Father's Day!

Fathers Are Wonderful People


Fathers are wonderful people
Too little understood,
And we do not sing their praises
As often as we should...

For, somehow, Father seems to be
The man who pays the bills,
While Mother binds up little hurts
And nurses all our ills...

And Father struggles daily
To live up to "his image"
As protector and provider
And "hero of the scrimmage"...

And perhaps that is the reason
We sometimes get the notion,
That Fathers are not subject
To the thing we call emotion,

But if you look inside Dad's heart,
Where no one else can see
You'll find he's sentimental
And as "soft" as he can be...

But he's so busy every day
In the grueling race of life,
He leaves the sentimental stuff
To his partner and his wife...

But Fathers are just wonderful
In a million different ways,
And they merit loving compliments
And accolades of praise,

For the only reason Dad aspires
To fortune and success
Is to make the family proud of him
And to bring them happiness...

And like Our Heavenly Father,
He's a guardian and a guide,
Someone that we can count on,
To be always on our side.


~ Helen Steiner Rice ~

THE REAL SELF

SABBATH

The sin that our Lord Jesus targets in His Gospel teaching today is none other than hypocrisy. The British biblical scholar William Barclay points out, “In popular opinion there is no sin more universally detested, and in the New Testament there is no sin more strongly condemned.” A remarkable statement as that should make us more aware or extra careful of our own hypocritical attitudes and behavior and, of course, heed our Lord’s teachings.  Originally (or etymologically), the word had no negative meaning at all. In classical Greek, the basic meaning ofhupokritēs is “one who answers.” In ancient Greece, stage plays followed a sort of questionand- answer format for the script; hence, an actor can be described as a hupokritēs, an answerer. Now it is in this context that hupokritēs develops its bad sense, as Barclay explains. It came to mean a “dissembler, one who is playing a part, putting on an act” (New Testament Words). Truly, a hypocrite (as we would say nowadays) is one who puts up a virtuous or holy external image, for example, but is in reality a morally reprehensible person deep inside. Just like in our Gospel today, the hypocrite is the one person who wants everyone to see him giving alms, praying and fasting. But as Barclay points out, “He is the man whose goodness is designed not to please God but to please men; the man who says not ‘To God be the glory’ but ‘To me be the credit.’” In today’s world of reality TV, celebrity culture, video game avatars and social networking websites, we ought to heed a lesson or two regarding this. We can easily put up fronts or masks and hide comfortably behind them. But what about the raw inner self deep within us? The transition to living double lives is much too easy and tempting. Jesus Christ invites to “go to our room, close the door” and do the hard task of confronting this raw inner self of ours. Unless we do, we will live our lives as though on a stage, in a movie world of sorts inhabited by makeup artists and actors. That is most certainly not the real self that Jesus asks of us to confront and to be. Fr. Martin Macasaet, SDB   Reflection Question: Who is the real you when no one is looking?   Grant me courage, Lord, to be truly who I am, without fear of what people might say or think about me.   St. Adelaide, pray for us.

Your Spiritual Pipeline

June 13, 2011 — by Dennis Fisher

Read: Psalm 57

My soul trusts in You; and in the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge. —Psalm 57:1

The Trans-Alaska Pipeline stretches 800 miles through Alaska. Because it was built through an earthquake zone, engineers had to be sure the pipe could withstand earth trauma. They decided on a network of Teflon sliders designed to ease the shock when the ground moved below the pipes. Engineers were delighted when the first big test came. In 2002, an earthquake occurred causing the ground to move 18 feet to one side. The Teflon sliders moved gently to accommodate the movement without any damage to the pipe. The key was flexibility.

The believer’s spiritual pipeline to heaven is built upon firm trust in God. But if we are inflexible in our expectations of how God should work, we can run into trouble. In a crisis, we can make the mistake of shifting our focus from God to our painful circumstances. Our prayer should be, “God, I don’t understand why You have allowed this painful situation. But I am trusting in Your ultimate deliverance despite all that’s going on around me.” The psalmist expressed this so well when he wrote: “My soul trusts in You . . . until these calamities have passed by” (Ps. 57:1).

When the earth seems to move under us, let’s be flexible in our expectations but firmly confident in God’s steadfast love and care.

Press forward and fear not! Though trials be near;

The Lord is our refuge; whom then shall we fear?

His staff is our comfort, our safeguard His rod;

Then let us be steadfast and joy in our God. —Anon.

God may delay or deny our request,

but He will never disappoint our trust.

GOD IS GENEROSITY

DIDACHE

Memorial of St. Barnabas, Apostle 11   “Freely you have received, freely give.” – Matthew 10:8   I once attended a retreat with the theme “God Is Generosity.” Our speaker, John Keating, said that what he will share about our generous Father is nothing new. But what amazed me was discovering a deeper understanding of the extent of God’s generosity to me and His children. John shared that God created us and He called everything into being that He may be able to share His generosity with us and all of creation. Imagine that? God created me so that He can give me His all — out of His abounding love, glorious riches and tender mercy. Who else would do that for me? Who would create me in His image and likeness, make me a little less than a god and give me a soul? Who would provide for all I need even before I ask? Who would send His only beloved Son to die for me that I may be saved? Only God — a God whose generosity is immeasurable and beyond human understanding. I know God can never be outdone in His generosity and I believe He doesn’t expect me to. But what I do know is that God wants me to accept what He gives so that I can in turn give as much to others. Then in my emptiness, God will once again fill me up with all the good I need.Dina Pecaña (dpecana@yahoo.com)   REFLECTION: “You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.” (2Corinthians 9:11)   Lord Jesus, teach me to be generous; teach me to serve You as You deserve, to give and not to count the cost. (Prayer for Generosity by St. Ignatius de Loyola)

Pro-life groups call for Pepsi boycott over aborted fetal cell lines

BY REBECCA MILLETTE

• Thu May 26, 2011 14:17 EST
• Comments (16)
• Tags: Abortion, Fetal Cell Lines, Pepsi, Senomyx

LARGO, Florida, May 26, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Scores of prolife groups are calling for a public boycott of food giant, PepsiCo, due to its partnership with Senomyx, a biotech company that uses aborted fetal cells in the research and development of artificial flavor enhancers.

LifeSiteNews previously reported on Senomyx’s partnership with major food corporations, most notably PepsiCo, Kraft Foods, and Nestlé. 

Pro-life watchdog group, Children of God for Life (CGL), is now joined by major pro-life organizations calling upon the public to target PepsiCo in a boycott.

Pepsi is funding the research and development, and paying royalties to Senomyx, which uses HEK-293 (human embryonic kidney cells) to produce flavor enhancers for Pepsi beverages.

“Using isolated human taste receptors we created proprietary taste receptor-based assay systems that provide a biochemical or electronic readout when a flavor ingredient interacts with the receptor,” says the Senomyx website.

“What they do not tell the public is that they are using HEK 293 – human embryonic kidney cells taken from an electively aborted baby to produce those receptors,” stated Debi Vinnedge, President for CGL, the watch dog group that has been monitoring the use of aborted fetal material in medical products and cosmetics for years.

The aborted fetal cells are not in the product itself. However, “there are many options PepsiCo could be using instead of aborted fetal cells,” noted Vinnedge.

The revelation about Senomyx’s research techniques motivated Campbell Soup to sever all relations with Senomyx.

However, PepsiCo continues their business relationship despite the abortion connection. They drew public ire earlier this year when they responded, saying, “our collaboration with Senomyx is strictly limited to creating lower-calorie, great-tasting beverages for consumers.”

When pressed further, PepsiCo sent out a form letter response saying they had been accused of conducting aborted fetal tissue research.

Bradley Mattes, executive director of Life Issues Institute, said, “While aborted fetal cells aren’t actually in the product itself, the close relationship is enough to repulse most consumers.  To our knowledge, this is the first time a food product has been publicly associated with abortion.”

The pro-life groups noted that additional companies collaborating with Senomyx will be targeted for boycott next.

The pro-life organizations are asking the public to boycott all Pepsi drink products and encourage consumers to contact Pepsi management requesting that they sever all ties with Senomyx.

For a list of Pepsi Beverages included in the boycott: http://pepsico.com/Brands/Pepsi_Cola-Brands.html

To Contact PepsiCo:

Jamie Caulfield, Sr. VP
PepsiCo, Inc.
700 Anderson Hill Road
Purchase, NY 10577
(914) 253-2000
Email form.

Edmund M. Carpenter, Chair, Corporate Development
Campbell Soup
1 Campbell Place
Camden, NJ 08103-1701
1-800-257-8443
Email form

Pro-life groups joining CGL in the boycott to date are:  Life Issues Institute, American Life League,  Colorado Right to Life, American Right to Life, Sound Choice Pharmaceutical Institute, ALL Arizona, Central Nebraskans for Life, Pro-Life Waco, Houston Coalition for Life, Mother and Unborn Baby Fox Valley, Womankind, Billboards for Life, Movement for a Better America, Defenders of the Unborn, Focus Pregnancy Help Center, Idaho Chooses Life, EMC Frontline Pregnancy Centers of NY, Four Seasons for Life, CREDO,  Life Choices, STOPP Dallas, CA Right To Life, Human Life Alliance, International Right to Life Federation, Operation Rescue, Pro-Life Nation, LifeNews.com, and Mary’s Outreach for Women.

A PRAYER OF CONSECRATION

SABBATH

In this second Gospel installment of Jesus Christ’s High-Priestly Prayer, our Lord continues to intercede for His disciples. The opening verses are truly worth quoting: “O Father most holy, protect them with your name which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one.” Towards the end of this passage too, Jesus consecrates us. In the meantime, we have in today’s first reading a similar tender moment. Paul speaks to the church leaders of Ephesus before his emotional departure. He gives them his recommendations and advice. He tells them, “I commend you now to the Lord, and to that gracious word of His which can enlarge you and give you a share among all who are consecrated to Him.” This idea of consecration deserves our consideration. TheMerriam-Webster’s 11th Collegiate Dictionary gives us at least three categories of meanings for the verb “consecrate.” But in our case, we aren’t told who is the one consecrating. The dictionary doesn’t tell us who the active agent is in the act of consecration. It should be a no-brainer, anyway: God, and God alone, is the one who consecrates. It is He who sets us apart. It is He who makes us holy. It is He who dedicates us for a special mission or purpose. In the last verse of our Gospel passage, Jesus states, “I consecrate myself for their sakes now, that they may be consecrated in truth.” Jesus may certainly consecrate Himself; we instead are consecrated by Jesus in this priestly prayer of His. He truly is our priest, interceding for us and offering us in sacrifice to the Father. Fr. Martin Macasaet, SDB   Reflection Question: What has the Lord set you apart for? Search for it in your heart.   Help me to become a man worthy of Your consecration, Lord.   St. Sallustian, pray for us.

WHO ’S TELLING THE TRUTH?

DIDACHE

“He will guide you to all truth.” – John 16:13

 

One day, I was preaching about the power of our words. I asked my audience to say out loud, “I’m beautiful!” After the talk, I saw a young beautiful woman waiting for me at the foot of the stage. But I sensed deep sadness in her eyes.

She asked me, “Bro. Bo, if one says I’m beautiful but I feel ugly, isn’t she lying?” I asked, “Why do you think you’re ugly?” She told me her story. When she was a little child, her father would tell her, “Dorothy, you’re ugly.” And he’d laugh the meanest laugh. She said, “Since then, I’ve always felt ugly.”

I asked her, “Define lying.”

“When I say something that’s not true.”

“We’ve got a problem here. You say you’re ugly. Your father said you were ugly. But today, I announce to you that God says you’re beautiful. Who is telling the truth? You, your father or God? Only one of you claimed, ‘I Am the Truth.’” She broke down.

Dorothy allowed the words of her father to create ugliness in her life. She jumped from one lover to another, searching for someone to tell her that she was beautiful.

But the truth is in God — who created all of us beautiful. Bo Sanchez (bosanchez@kerygmafamily.com)