Jimmy Akin's Blog, page 5

My Friend Being Taken off Life Support

I just got word that my friend who has been having medical problems has taken a downturn and is scheduled to be taken off life support. It would take a miracle for her to survive without it. Please pray for God's will, one way or the other.

Friend Being Taken off Life Support

I just got word that my friend who has been having medical problems has taken a downturn and is scheduled to be taken off life support. It would take a miracle for her to survive without it. Please pray for God's will, one way or the other.

Archbishop Chaput Answers Questions About His Stunning Letter

The Register's own Edward Pentin scored an interview with Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput when the archbishop was in Rome for his ad limina visit last week. The interview was conducted after the release of the archbishop's dramatic letter to his flock and contains some additional detail on the subjects he touched on in the letter. Here's the portion of the interview that deals with that:

You issued what seems to be a very well-received pastoral letter to the archdiocese on the feast of the Immaculate Conception in which you aired a variety of serious concerns and spoke about difficult times ahead with the completion of your review of priests accused in the grand jury report and church and school closings. Could you tell us more about why you wrote it?

The circumstances in Philadelphia are difficult at the moment. We're in a period of responding to a grand jury report that was negative about the way the archdiocese has handled the issues of sex abuse of minors by the clergy.

In addition to that, we have a major study about the number and locations of Catholic schools. Philadelphia was a place where parochial schools began in the U.S. under the leadership of St. John Neumann, so Catholic education has an extraordinary place in the hearts of our people. But we have huge financial problems as a result of schools using up their resources of their parishes, because we don't have enough students in the schools and yet we have to pay living wages to our teachers in ways that wasn't the case when we had large numbers of religious working.

KEEP READING.

Sunday Rest Special: What Can You Do on Sunday?

Can you spend money on Sunday? Can you mow the lawn? Can you cook dinner? Can you go out to a restaurant? Can you go to a sporting event? Do you have to sit in a chair and read the Bible?

Just what can and can't you do on Sunday?

And how can you have a positive rather than legalistic attitude toward Sunday?

How can Sunday help you grow closer to the Lord?

 These are among the questions we explore in this week's episode of the Jimmy Akin Podcast!

Click Play to listen . . .

or you can . . .

CLICK HERE! 

. . . or subscribe another way (one of many ways!) at JimmyAkinPodcast.Com.

SHOW NOTES:

JIMMY AKIN PODCAST EPISODE 024 (12/10/11) 

* MARK FROM OREGON ASKS ABOUT SPENDING MONEY ON SUNDAY

Dies Domini:
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_letters/documents/hf_jp-ii_apl_05071998_dies-domini_en.html

CCC 2184-2188:
http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P7O.HTM


WHAT'S YOUR QUESTION? WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO ASK?
Call me at 512-222-3389!
jimmyakinpodcast@gmail.com
www.JimmyAkinPodcast.com

Join Jimmy's Secret Information Club!
www.SecretInfoClub.com

Today's Music: For Now For Tomorrow (JewelBeat.Com)
Copyright © 2011 by Jimmy Akin

 

Archbishop Chaput's Stunning Letter to Philadelphia

On December 8th, the feast of the Immaculate Conception, Archbishop Charles Chaput, the newly-installed archbishop of Philadelphia, released a pastoral letter to the faithful of his archdiocese. It will be read this weekend at Masses, even as Archbishop Chaput is returning home from his ad limina visit to Rome.

A copy of the letter was obtained by Whispers in the Loggia and has now been published online.

Pastoral letters from bishops can range from being "ho-hum" letters to being "Wham!" letters. Archbishop Chaput's is definitely at the "Wham!" end of the spectrum.

Let's read it together.

The letter begins with the kind of gentle, winning tone that one would expect in a pastoral letter from a newly-installed bishop:

December 8, 2011
Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception

Dear friends in Christ,

Exactly three months ago, on September 8, I was installed as Archbishop of Philadelphia. In the weeks since, traveling the archdiocese, I've been struck by two things I encounter again and again: the reservoir of good will in our people, and the fidelity of our priests.

The Church in Southeastern Pennsylvania has deep roots and an extraordinary legacy of saints, service and public witness. These are profound strengths, built by the faith of generations of Catholic families. But all of these good facts depend on our willingness to sustain them by our actions in the present. Advent is a season of self-examination in the light of God's word; a season of conversion and looking forward in hope to the birth of a Savior at Christmas. There is no better time to speak frankly about the conditions we now face as a community of believers.

So far the letter has the kind of tone that might set one up for a "ho-hum" pastoral letter. But now it pivots—suddently and dramatically—and signals an entirely new direction:

KEEP READING.

New Secret Info Club Signup

I'm experimenting with a new form for the Secret Information Club.

This one has two new features:

First, it shows a count of how many members have already joined the club. We're already over 1,000 and well on our way to 2,000!

Second, if you are signed in to Facebook, the form changes to show your Facebook info pre-filled in, meaning all you have to do is click to join, unless you want to change your name or email address. In theory, this will make it easier for Facebookers to join the club.

CLICK HERE FOR INFO ON WHAT THE SECRET INFORMATION CLUB IS.

What do you think?

Catholic Sales Job Opening in Washington State

For anyone in Washington state (or willing to move there) who might be interested at a job at Logos Bible Software:

Logos Bible Software is looking to add a new Sales Associate to the Direct Sales team in the Catholic products division. This is a full-time position.

Sales Associate Responsibilities:

Call out on sales leads and other duties as assigned
Actively generate new sales leads
Analyze customer needs and make recommendations for product choices
Develop and maintain an ongoing relationship with customers to facilitate future selling opportunities
Address inbound telephone and email inquiries and turn them into sales

Ideal Candidate:

Is conversant in Catholic theology, Catholic Scripture study techniques and resources, and in the Catholic Church's organization and history.


Is target driven, creative, and self-motivated
Enjoys a challenge and is able to work under pressure
Has excellent telephone manner
Is an eloquent writer
Has good math skills
Has basic computer skills and good typing skills
Has previous sales experience
Enjoys serving people

The Really Ideal Candidate:

Has a degree in biblical, theological, or Catholic studies
Is a Logos Bible Software user

Logos Bible Software is a growing company located in Bellingham, Washington that offers benefits including health care, dental care, a 401(k), and free pop and espresso. Please visit our blog to learn about our corporate culture and the winner of our latest chili cook off.

Apply

Please submit a résumé and/or cover letter to: 

Andrew Jones, Catholic Product Manager
Logos Bible Software
1313 Commercial St., Bellingham, WA 98225-4307
(360) 527-1700, x5195
Andrew.jones@logos.com

* We are unable to consider applications for remote employment or telecommuting.

 

Vatican newspaper addresses traditionalist concerns

In an unusual move, the Vatican newspaper has published an essay responding directly to concerns raised by the traditionalist Society of St. Pius X (SSPX).

The piece, titled "On Adhesion to the Second Vatican Council," appeared in theL'Osservatore Romano (L'OR) section of the Vatican's online news portal on December 1, and it deals with one of the most troublesome points in the Holy See's dialogue with the formerly schismatic society of priests.

Troublesome history

The SSPX broke from full communion with the Church in 1988 when its head, the late Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, acted against the instructions of Pope John Paul II and ordained the four bishops who currently lead it.

The SSPX argued that this action was necessary because of a crisis in the Catholic Church brought on in part by statements made by the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965).

Since his election to the papacy, Benedict XVI has sought to heal the situation by allowing broader use of the traditional Latin Mass (one of the group's key demands) and lifting the excommunications that the four bishops leading the organization had incurred when they were ordained in 1988.

He also gave the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) the task of continuing a dialogue with the priestly society to resolve doctrinal concerns and, hopefully, clear the way for the SSPX's full rehabilitation.

A "doctrinal preamble"?

This dialogue has been conducted privately for the last two years, and recently the Holy See asked SSPX leaders to assent to a document referred to as a "doctrinal preamble."

By some accounts, this document is an explanation of the way in which the Church's profession of faith is to be understood in light of traditionalist concerns. The SSPX leadership would be asked to make the profession of faith—which includes the Nicene Creed and a few additional paragraphs—in view of the doctrinal preamble.

The preamble's contents are not known, though at the end of November, Bishop Bernard Fellay—the head of the SSPX—stated that the group could not accept the doctrinal preamble as it was written, but that they would ask the Holy See for modifications that would allow them to agree to it.

He also indicated that the SSPX will release the doctrinal preamble or a revised version of it, if the CDF agrees to one.

Why did L'Osservatore Romano publish now?

KEEP READING.

 

Praying for the Holy Souls in Purgatory

A reader writes:

I know that it is always good to pray for the souls in Purgatory.  Otherwise, the souls won't make it to Heaven.  However, is it O.K. to pray that all of the souls in Purgatory be released and allowed to go to Heaven.  In fact, the moment all souls would be released (if God wants to do this), then a new batch would come into Purgatory and take their place.  Am I correct in this?  Or, are we only supposed to pray for people we know that have died?  Let me know (if you would). Thank you so much.  Happy Advent (it's still not Christmas yet).

Thank you for the questions! And Happy Advent to you as well (good point about it not being Christmas yet!).

Allow me to go through the query a bit at a time:

I know that it is always good to pray for the souls in Purgatory.

Yes! Absolutely! Always a good thing to do!

Otherwise, the souls won't make it to Heaven. 

Actually, they will.

KEEP READING.

Happy Day of the Ninja!

LEARN MORE.

And then there's this cold open from Sheep in the Big City (does anyone remember that show but me?)