Thanks to Your Support...

Thanks to your advocacy for school choice, the Pennsylvania Senate passed Senate Bill 1 yesterday with a vote of 27-22.  This is a significant victory for Pennsylvania’s children!

Please consider visiting, calling, faxing or emailing your Senator Alloway (alloway@pasen.gov) to thank him or her for voting yes on Senate Bill 1.  Our lawmakers will be home in their districts today and tomorrow.

Senate Bill 1 must now be considered by the House of Representatives.  While Representative Rock is in support of SB 1 - it would still be good for him to hear form YOU!  Visit, call, fax or email your State Representatives, too. Click here to send a message to your legislator and click below to say "thank you" to your Senator.

Click the link below to log in and send your message:
http://www.votervoice.net/link/target/pacc/82R7zWtG.aspx

School Choice is on the Move - WE NEED YOUR HELP NOW!!

A vote is scheduled THIS WEEK on Senate Bill 1, the Opportunity Scholarship Act. The bill must first pass the Senate Education Committee; then it will be considered on the floor of the full Senate. Your State Senator needs to hear this message from you – vote YES on Senate Bill 1 and support school choice!

Amendments to SB 1 will implement Governor Tom Corbett’s proposal to begin a pilot program for vouchers and implement a significant increase to the Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) program.

School choice is the right choice for Pennsylvania! Visit, call, fax or email your state legislators TODAY and encourage your friends, family, neighbors and fellow Catholics to do the same.

Click the link below to log in and send your message:
http://www.votervoice.net/link/target/pacc/827ryg2g.aspx

The New Missal - The Creed

Some of the most significant changes to the people’s parts in the Order of Mass are found in the Profession of Faith (the Nicene Creed).  Changes to this text fall into two categories: preservation of the syntax of the original text and preservation of expressions of faith that contain Catholic doctrine.  The first change is the translation of credo as “I” instead of “We” in the opening phrase in order to maintain the person and number indicated in the Latin text.  While the Profession of Faith is a communal liturgical act, each individual in the liturgical assembly professes his or her own faith, which is joined to the profession of the whole assembly.  The second change concerns the translation of particular expressions of faith such as unigenitus, consubstantialis, and incarnatus.  The theological terminology has been preserved, in accord with Liturgiam Authenticam, in the translation to English: “Only Begotten,” “consubstantial,” and “incarnate.”

Why has “one in being with the Father” been changed to “consubstantial with the Father”?
 

The new translation is more in keeping with the ancient Latin text of the Creed and is a more accurate translation.  The bishops at the Council of Nicea (AD 325), in order to ensure that Jesus was professed as the eternal Son of God, equal to the Father, stated that he is “the Son of God, begotten from the Father, the only-begotten, that is from the substance of the Father, God from God, light from light, true God from true God, begotten not made, the same substance (homoousion) with the Father.”  The Creed of the Council of Constantinople (AD 381), which is professed at all Sunday Masses and Solemnities within the Catholic Church, similarly stated: “We believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of the same substance (homoousion) with the Father.”

When these two ancient creeds were translated into Latin, the term homoousion was rendered as consubstantialem, that is, “the same substance of the Father.”  Prior to the Second Vatican Council, the Latin consubstantialem was rendered as “consubstantial” within the English translation of the Creed.  Many theologians and the Holy See thought that the term “consubstantial” was more in keeping with the Latin tradition and a more literal and accurate translation than the more recent “one in being.”  

This is in keeping with the mind of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, as expressed in the 2001 instruction Liturgiam Authenticam.  It stated: “Certain expressions that belong to the heritage of the whole or of a great part of the ancient Church, as well as others that have become part of the general human patrimony, are to be respected by a translation that is as literal as possible” (56).

I believe in one God,
the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all things visible and invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the Only Begotten Son of God,
born of the Father before all ages.
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
consubstantial with the Father;
through him all things were made.
For us men and for our salvation
he came down from heaven,
and by the Holy Spirit
was incarnate of the Virgin Mary,
and became man.
For our sake
he was crucified under Pontius Pilate,
he suffered death and was buried,
and rose again on the third day
in accordance with the Scriptures.
He ascended into heaven and is seated
at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory
to judge the living and the dead
and his kingdom will have no end.
And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord,
the giver of life, who proceeds
from the Father and the Son,
who with the Father and the Son
is adored and glorified,
who has spoken through the prophets.
And one, holy, catholic
and apostolic Church.
I confess one baptism
for the forgiveness of sins
and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead
and the life of the world to come. 

Amen.

Bishop McFadden Celebrates Confirmation

It was a beautiful fall evening as Bishop McFadden, Bishop of the Diocese of Harrisburg, made his 4th visit to Saint Andrew the Apostle Parish since his installation in July 2010 to celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation with our young people.  24 students in the eighth grade received the fullness of the Holy Spirit.  During his homily the Bishop emphasized the fruits of the Holy Spirit. The twelve Fruits of the Holy Spirit are works that we can perform only with the aid of the Holy Spirit.  Therefore, the performance of such works is an indication that the Holy Spirit dwells in the Christian believer.  The 12 fruits are charity (or love), joy, peace, patience, benignity (or kindness), goodness, longanimity (or long suffering), mildness, faith, modesty, continency, and chastity.  Bishop McFadden emphasized that, having completed their Christian Initiation with this Sacrament of Confirmation, God now expects each Christian to bear fruit - and it is the Fruits of the Spirit that evidence our closeness to God.

In his closing remarks, Bishop McFadden remarked how lucky Father Bateman is to be stationed at Saint Andrew Parish.  The reason?  Because our parish so well evidences fruits - in vocations to the priesthood (our parish has three seminarians: Steven Arena, Joey Barvir & Andrew Hartung) and in several young ladies contemplating the consecrated, religious life.  Vocations are evidence of a parish that is alive in the Spirit and bearing fruit.  

He also reminded our young people that Confirmation is not a "graduation" from Religious Education.  Formation and growth in our Faith is a life-long process.  Each of us must continue to grow and learn our Faith, Bishop remarked.  

Photos to be posted soon...

Coming Soon - TV Series about the Faith

Coming to ETWN in November - Catholicism - a TV serious.  I can't wait!  Watch the short clip below!

For the first time, in breathtaking and high-definition cinematography, the truth, goodness, and beauty of Catholicism are illustrated in a multimedia experience.  Journey with Fr. Robert Barron to more than 50 locations throughout 16 countries.  Be illuminated by the spiritual and artistic treasures of this global culture that claims more than one billion of the earth’s people.

From the sacred lands of Israel to the beating heart of Uganda, from the glorious shrines of Europe to the streets of Mexico, Kolkata, and New York City, the mysteries of CATHOLICISM are revealed.   Learn what we, as Catholics, believe and why.  Discover the full meaning of the faith.

Mike Leonard, a veteran NBC Today show correspondent and acclaimed filmmaker, is the Executive Producer of this groundbreaking production.

Ten hours.  Ten episodes.  One Film Series...

Pope Benedict Proclaims "Year of Faith"

Pope Benedict XVI has announced a special “Year of Faith,” dedicated to rousing a “new impetus to the mission of the whole Church to lead men out of the desert in which they often find themselves, to the place of life, of friendship with Christ.” 

The Year of Faith will begin on October 11, 2012: a date that marks the 50th anniversary of the opening of Vatican II. Pope Benedict notes that the date is also the 20th anniversary of the publication of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which he describes as “a precious and indispensable tool” for the task of evangelization. The special observance will end on November 24, 2013: the feast of Christ the King. Pope Benedict announced the Year of Faith on Sunday, October 16, as he celebrated Mass in St. Peter’s basilica at the conclusion of a conference on the “new evangelization.” In his homily the Pontiff explained that the “new evangelization”--which is aimed at restoring the strength of the faith in traditionally Christian countries now dominated by secularism—is a natural complement to the mission ad gentes, the drive to bring the faith to societies that have not yet heard the Gospel message. On the same day, October 16, the Pope released a motu proprio entitled Porta Fidei (“The Door of Faith”), formally proclaiming and explaining the Year of Faith. The initiative, he said, is required “because of a profound crisis of faith that has affected many people.” 

The Year of Faith will not be unprecedented, Pope Benedict observed. Pope Paul VI announced a similar observance in 1967, and concluded it by issuing the Credo of the People of God. In Porta Fidei the Pope underlined the value of such public proclamations of faith. “A Christian many never think of belief as a private act,” he wrote. He suggested that during the Year of Faith, “Religious communities as well as parish communities, and all ecclesial bodies old and new, are to find a way, during this Year, to make a public profession of the Credo.” 

The Pope explained, too, that the Year of Faith could provide an opportunity to help the faithful properly understand the thrust of Vatican II. He repeated a common theme of his papal teaching: that Vatican II can be an enormous force in restoring the strength of the faith, “if we interpret and implement it guided by a right hermeneutic.” 

The Year of Faith, the Pope wrote, should “arouse in every believer the aspiration to profess the faith in fullness and with renewed conviction, with confidence and hope.” This vigorous voice of faith, he said, is particularly important in today’s world, when the secular mentality has made inroads into the traditional strongholds of Christianity:

To a greater extent than in the past, faith is now being subjected to a series of questions arising from a changed mentality which, especially today, limits the field of rational certainties to that of scientific and technological discoveries. Nevertheless, the Church has never been afraid of demonstrating that there cannot be any conflict between faith and genuine science, because both, albeit via different routes, tend towards the truth.

The Pope added that while some people in today’s world are openly skeptical about religious faith, many others are simply looking for meaning in life. While countering the power of secularization, he said:

On the other hand, we must not forget that in our cultural context, very many people, while not claiming to have the gift of faith, are nevertheless sincerely searching for the ultimate meaning and definitive truth of their lives and of the world. This search is an authentic 'preamble' to the faith, because it guides people onto the path that leads to the mystery of God. Human reason, in fact, bears within itself a demand for 'what is perennially valid and lasting.

The New Missal - the Penitential Act and the Gloria

This week our exploration into the new translation of the Roman Missal is on the new Penitential Act and the Gloria.  We prepare ourselves to enter into the Sacred Mysteries of the Holy Eucharist by admitting that we have sinned and asking for the grace of forgiveness.  The "I Confess" or Confiteor has been part of the celebration of Mass in a fixed way since 1570, although its presence is noted even before then.  It contains two distinct parts: an honest acknowledgement of our sins and asking for the church on earth and in heaven to intercede on our behalf.  Since 1970, the Confiteor is said by both the priest and the assembly, who together confess humbly, "through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault," while striking their breast one time.  Having properly disposed ourselves by repenting of our earthly sins, we may then, through God's goodness, enter into the heavenly glory of the Sacred Liturgy.

From confessing our sins we move to confessing the glory and goodness of God in the Gloria in excelsis Deo.  Borrowing the joyful song of the angles at the birth of Christ, the Church has been singing this great hymn of praise in one form or another since the fourth century.  At one time, the Gloria could only be sung at Masses with the bishop who would intone these joyful words as the conclusion to his entrance procession.  Since 1570, the priest intoned the Gloria on a regular basis.  Today, the Gloria is sung on Sundays outside of Advent and Lent and is used for solemnities and feasts.  Whenever it is sung, it marks the solemnity and festive nature of the celebration of the Holy Eucharist which enables us, having been washed clean of our sins by Christ, to worship the Triune God with all the angels and saints.

Here is a new chant version of the revised Gloria which was written by ICEL (the International Commission on English in the Liturgy):

And with Your Spirit

Beginning on November 27, the Church in the United States will begin using a new translation to the Mass - really just a more faithful translation of the Latin texts that already exist - it's nothing new, but a new outlook.  Each week, between now and the First Sunday of Advent, we'll be looking at a different change that will soon occur.  This week we look at an exchange between priest and people that happens 4 times during Mass:

NOW                                                                           AFTER NOV 27
Priest: the Lord be with you.                                  Priest: the Lord be with you
People: And also with you.                                      People: And with your Spirit.

WHY?

Here's a short clip from the Study Program we are using in the parish (Tuesday's at 9am and 6:30 pm - there's still time to join!) that explains, partly, why the change...

A video explanation of the new Roman Missal

Today parishes throughout the Diocese of Harrisburg began a 6-week period of formal preparation for the implementation of the new Roman Missal on November 27, 2011 (the First Sunday of Advent).  This will be a time a great adjustment - and excitement - as we hear the Mass prayed with new words - but the same Holy Sacrifice.  The new translation is a more literal translation of the Latin texts that will bring a great awareness of the connection between the Mass and the Sacred Scriptures and the sayings of the Fathers of the Church.  here is a good background for how this new Missal came about...

Our Lady of the Rosary

Today the Catholic Church celebrates the yearly feast of Our Lady of the Rosary.  Known for several centuries by the alternate title of “Our Lady of Victory,” the feast day takes place in honor of a 16th century naval victory which secured Europe against Turkish invasion.  Pope St. Pius V attributed the victory to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, who was invoked on the day of the battle through a campaign to pray the Rosary throughout Europe.

The feast always occurs one week after the similar Byzantine celebration of the Protection of the Mother of God, which most Eastern Orthodox Christians and Eastern Catholics celebrate on October 1 in memory of a 10th-century military victory which protected Constantinople against invasion after a reported Marian apparition.

Pope Leo XIII was particularly devoted to Our Lady of the Rosary, producing 11 encyclicals on the subject of this feast and its importance in the course of his long pontificate.

In the first of them, 1883's “Supremi Apostolatus Officio,” he echoed the words of the oldest known Marian prayer (known in the Latin tradition as the “Sub Tuum Praesidium”), when he wrote, “It has always been the habit of Catholics in danger and in troublous times to fly for refuge to Mary.”

“This devotion, so great and so confident, to the august Queen of Heaven,” Pope Leo continued, “has never shone forth with such brilliancy as when the militant Church of God has seemed to be endangered by the violence of heresy … or by an intolerable moral corruption, or by the attacks of powerful enemies.” Foremost among such “attacks” was the battle of Lepanto, a perilous and decisive moment in European and world history.

Troops of the Turkish Ottoman Empire had invaded and occupied the Byzantine empire by 1453, bringing a large portion of the increasingly divided Christian world under a version of Islamic law.  For the next hundred years, the Turks expanded their empire westward on land, and asserted their naval power in the Mediterranean.  In 1565 they attacked Malta, envisioning an eventual invasion of Rome.  Though repelled at Malta, the Turks captured Cyprus in the fall of 1570.

The next year, three Catholic powers on the continent – Genoa, Spain, and the Papal States - formed an alliance called the Holy League, to defend their Christian civilization against Turkish invasion.  Its fleets sailed to confront the Turks near the west coast of Greece on October 7, 1571. 

Crew members on more than 200 ships prayed the Rosary in preparation for the battle - as did Christians throughout Europe, encouraged by the Pope to gather in their churches to invoke the Virgin Mary against the daunting Turkish forces.

Some accounts say that Pope Pius V was granted a miraculous vision of the Holy League's stunning victory.  Without a doubt, the Pope understood the significance of the day's events, when he was eventually informed that all but 13 of the nearly 300 Turkish ships had been captured or sunk.  He was moved to institute the feast now celebrated universally as Our Lady of the Rosary.

“Turkish victory at Lepanto would have been a catastrophe of the first magnitude for Christendom,” wrote military historian John F. Guilmartin, Jr., “and Europe would have followed a historical trajectory strikingly different from that which obtained.” 

The Twenty Mysteries

Here is a brief listing and description of all twenty Mysteries.

The Joyful Mysteries

• The Annunciation: The Archangel Gabriel "announces" to Mary that she shall conceive the Son of God.
• The Visitation: Mary visits her cousin Elizabeth, who is pregnant with John the Baptist.
• The Nativity: Jesus is born.
• The Presentation: Mary and Joseph "present" Jesus in the Temple where they meet Simeon.
• The Finding in the Temple: After losing Him, Mary and Joseph find young Jesus teaching the Rabbis in the Temple.

The Luminous Mysteries (The Mysteries of Light)

• The Baptism in the Jordan: The voice of the Father declares Jesus the beloved Son.
• The Wedding at Cana: Christ changes water into wine, his first public miracle.
• The Proclamation of the Kingdom: Jesus calls to conversion (cf. Mk 1:15) and forgives the sins of all who draw near to him.
• The Transfiguration: The glory of the Godhead shines forth from the face of Christ.
• The Institution of the Eucharist: Jesus offers the first Mass at the Last Supper with his apostles, establishing the sacramental foundation for all Christian living.

The Sorrowful Mysteries

• The Agony in the Garden: Jesus sweats water and blood while praying the night before his passion.
• The Scourging at the Pillar: Pilate has Jesus whipped.
• The Crowning with Thorns: Roman soldiers crown Jesus' head with thorns.
• The Carrying of the Cross: Jesus meets His mother and falls three times on the way up Calvary.
• The Crucifixion: Jesus is nailed to the cross and dies before His mother and His apostle John.

The Glorious Mysteries

• The Resurrection: Jesus rises from the dead.
• The Ascension: Jesus leaves the Apostles and bodily "ascends" to heaven.
• The Descent of the Holy Spirit: The Apostles receive the Holy Spirit in tongues of fire in the upper room with Mary.
• The Assumption: Mary is taken bodily--assumed--into heaven by God at the end of her life here on earth.
• The Coronation: Mary is crowned Queen of Heaven and Earth.

Mysteries for Certain Weekdays

Traditionally, many people say the Joyful Mysteries on Monday, the Sorrowful Mysteries on Tuesday, the Glorious Mysteries on Wednesday, and start again with the Joyful Mysteries on Thursday, the Sorrowful Mysteries on Friday. The Glorious Mysteries are then prayed on Saturday and Sunday. Now that the Luminous Mysteries have recently been added, the schedule is:

Monday - Joyful
Tuesday - Sorrowful
Wednesday - Glorious
Thursday - Luminous
Friday - Sorrowful
Saturday - Joyful
Sunday - Glorious

Try to place yourself "into" the scene of the particular mystery as you pray, imagining the sights, smells, sounds, and emotions that Jesus, Mary, Joseph, and other participants experienced during the actual events.  It is also okay to meditate on the meaning of the words of the prayers as you pray them, or even to meditate on the person for whom you are offering the Rosary.

Cemetery of the Innocents

The “Cemetery of the Innocents” has once again been erected on our parish property to stand as a stark witness to the devastation caused by legalized abortion in our country.  Throughout the month of October (Respect Life Month), you will see the 200 crosses in the front lawn of the school.  As the sign indicates, the crosses represent the number of abortions which are performed every single hour in our country.  This is an astounding reality – and our “Cemetery of the Innocents” stands as a powerful witness to what abortion really does – think of the number of children who might have been born, but were not.  Perhaps some of them would have invented a cure for diseases or other medical or scientific advances.  While there are many Respect Life issues (human trafficking, the death penalty, euthanasia, assisted suicide, reproductive technologies that destroy human life), the most pervasive and objectively and intrinsically evil is abortion.  

 
Perhaps this is a wonderful time for parents to talk to their children about abortion by addressing the issue of “protection.”  We all want (and need) to be protected from so many things: colds, the weather, bullies, etc. Parents want very much to protect their children. Many of these protect ions are safeguarded for us by the laws of our country.  However, some people do not believe that the youngest and smallest children need protection – but we do.  The crosses in the yard remind us that everyone needs to be protected – and the crosses represent those children whose lives were not protected by the law.  I hope that this idea of speaking to the children about “protection” will help you talk to your children about the “Cemetery of the Innocents.”

Life Chain

Join us on Sunday, October 2 for the annual Life Chain - a peaceful and prayerful public witness (not a protest) of pro-life individuals all around our nation who stand each year on the 1st Sunday of October (the beginning of Pro-Life Month) for 60 minutes praying for our nation and for an end to abortion.  It is a visual statement of solidarity by the Christian community that abortion kills children and that the Church supports the sanctity of human life from the moment of concept ion until natural death. Here in Waynesboro, there will be two separate events in which everyone is invited to participate & pray:

• 9:30-10:30am in front of Saint Andrew Church & School.  Many of the older members of our CCD classes will take part in this public witness.  Parents may request that their children be excused – simply contact Peg Wagaman to request your child be excused. 
• 2-3pm in Waynesboro Square.  Stand with many other Christians to witness to the sanctity of all human life.    

During both events there are no protest rallies nor speeches, just silent witness & prayer.  Waynesboro officials are aware of the LIFE CHAIN and have given permission for the event to take place on the sidewalks at both locations.  

Come, be involved! Stand up for life!