“The Lord is with us. Nothing can disturb our peace and joy.”[/caption]
Father Joseph Illo, pastor of Star of the Sea parish, gave a 14-minute homily on Sunday, August 18.
At Penn State, a Campus Crusade for Christ minister taught me the reality of the Eucharist – that we receive the true Body of Christ. You and I receive divinity into ourselves.
The Church draws from the Eucharist. The Church rejoices with unique intensity. “I am with you always until the end of the world.”
As dark and chaotic as the world becomes, the Lord is with us. Nothing can disturb our peace and joy.
Our Lady said Yes to the angel, let it be done to me. In Hebrew that is Amen, Amin…let it be so.
As a former Protestant and big fan of Campus Crusade and their booklet, the Four Spiritual Laws, I read this from the Penn State C,C, minister with great delight. It shows this minister took the Word of God seriously and did not interpret it through the lens of Luther or Calvin or modern Protestant exegetes. Bravo!
Wonderful sermon! Long ago, I always admired the evangelical Campus Crusade for Christ. Their converts seemed deeply committed to Christ, and seemed to be well-instructed, and set good examples as Role Model Christians, for other students. They never compromised with the world. Their converts also worked hard academically, and were very good in school, at sports, and at everything they pursued. I recall several college kids, from neighborhood families, who sort of shamed their good, Protestant church-going parents a little, because they were so mature, so dedicated to Christ, and seemed to excell at everything they did. The corrupt world held no interest to them. How could they become so great at all of this, I wondered? Many also switched from growing up in mainline Protestant churches to the Baptist church, and evangelical churches– their parents were really kind of shocked. Some wondered when their daughter or son would “get over” their sudden new phase, where they “got religion,” at college. But these kids were real serious! They “got religion” permanently, it seemed! One girl was previously a pretty, popular cheerleader and an English major, another boy was a well-liked football player, another was a well-liked drum major in the school’s popular marching band, etc. These converts were good, clean-cut, well-groomed, popular, attractive, successful kids, with a good, strong work ethic, majoring in many different subjects. And they ditched it all for Christ– disregarded the unChristian, corrupt world, but developed their interests, talents, and skills anyway, around their new calling for Christ, Who was now “Numero Uno” in their lives. Very similar to the young Mormon missionaries. Many got involved with Billy Graham’s organization. They had religious books they studied, and held Bible studies and meetings. I got invited to several Christian musical events of theirs, with pianists, opera singers, and other good music students, who presented their music in dedication to Jesus. They were all excellent! Several of these older, pretty college girls even entered and won big beauty contests, and excelled at talent competitions, and gave speeches about their dedication to Christ, and were good, successful actresses for school plays and musicals, too, some of which might be “pretty worldly,” romantic, boy-meets-girl (a little too “sexy,” maybe?) — very strange, but they did it! I was used to a deeper worldly renunciation, as a devout Catholic girl might do. But these girls were a completely different kind of Christian. Not sure what the Baptists thought of this, at that time– the Baptists and evangelicals might not have liked some of that stuff— they were pretty focused on modesty — uh, oh!– watch the lipstick, matching red nail polish, pretty clothes, perfume, talent displays, ego and “showiness”… uh, oh! “Going to Hell,” better watch out, eh? Somehow, though, it all seemed to be okay. I heard that their founder, Bill Bright, passed away, and several decades ago, they changed their name to something really weird, no “Christ” in their new name– “Cru”– whatever that means. And next, I heard that they were no longer the deeply dedicated, serious, evangelical, world-renouncing, Bible-loving Christian college kids– they had been “poisoned by Satan,” perhaps– and had adopted weird, corrupt, worldly, liberal beliefs, including gay sex partners and gay “marriage!” How could that be? If so– then, they no longer belong to Christ, they are “Satan’s followers.”
There’s an amazing footage of a Eucharistic Miracle in today’s Spirit Daily from Bogota, Columbia titled: Palpitating Host brought Priest to tears. http://www.spiritdaily.com.
OMG!! Shocking!! The Sacred Host pulsated, “danced,” in the holy Monstrance held up by the priest, for 20 minutes! Can’t believe this! Here is a closer view of this miracle:
https://www.spiritdaily.org/blog/news/the-pulsating-host
I am not really sure that I heard correctly, that “Cru,” formerly Campus Crusade for Christ, has compromised its Christian, Biblically-based beliefs, and has accepted WOKE liberal leftist beliefs on gays and gender issues. Maybe another poster can explain this situation. Campus Crusade for Christ
was originally founded to counteract Communism and leftist beliefs on American college campuses. It seems they may have sought to attract converts with leadership potential, for our society.
Thank God for that man from Campus Crusade for Christ, even that he knew Catholic (and Orthodox) belief about the Eucharist. May he have found his way to the fullness of the Faith by now. I knew many devout separated brothers and sisters in college, those from Campus Crusade as well as Navigators and Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship. Thankfully, many Catholics are now ministering on college campuses. May God bless those who work with the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS), the Brotherhood of Hope, SPO (Saint Paul’s Outreach), The Evangelical Catholic, the Franciscan Sisters TOR and others in Catholic campus ministry.
Michelle Duppong (1984-2015), from a large Catholic family in North Dakota, became a FOCUS missionary after graduating from college, and mentored hundreds of Catholic students. She then became Director of Faith Formation for the Diocese of Bismark, ND. She was stricken with cancer, tragically, and died on Christmas Day of 2015. After that, the Bishop of her Diocese opened a Canonization Cause for her. Very impressive! Not sure if there might be any other FOCUS missionaries with a Cause for Canonization. I love to learn all about young Catholics of our time, who might be Saints! Great Role Models!
Michelle Duppong is now “Ven. Michelle Duppong,” one of our American candidates for Sainthood! Very exciting! You can obtain a prayer card from her Canonization Cause, at the Diocese of Bismark ND, and pray for Ven. Michelle’s intercession. Any prayers answered– or perhaps miracles– should be reported to them.
Yes, indeed. Below is a less than two-minute video trailer about her:
https://youtu.be/CGZnRDYHAkg
Wonderful! I saw a film about her on EWTN– not sure if it was the same film advertised in the trailer. She seemed like a wonderful, innocent, wholesome, caring “prarie girl” born in a large Catholic family of six kids, raised on a family farm, in a rural, small-town, farming area of ND, who enjoyed her farm chores, along with her five siblings– and then she and a few of her siblings got their college degrees in horticulture. I read that she and her family would sell some of their produce at the farmer’s market after Mass. If she is a Saint, I bet her produce that she herself grew, was extra-special– could it also have some special “saintly” healing properties? Or be extra- tasty? Yum! I read that on the family farm, they just grew crops of veggies, and had a few pet sheep, and Michelle especially loved to play with the pet lambs, whom she named. That just melts my heart! Love for animals! Beautiful! Now, if Ven. Michelle becomes a Saint– what will she– “St. Michelle”– be the patron Saint of? Horticulture and growing plants? Or FOCUS groups? She inspired and encouraged vocations to the priesthood and religious life for nuns, too. Well, what a wonderful thing, despite her tragic end. Great Catholic Role Model!
As Ven. Michelle had horticulture gifts, I wonder if she could be invoked for those planting gardens, for the hungry or starving in need of nutritious food, for badly-needed farmers’ crops suffering from a blight, a drought, a flood or a freeze– (etc.) causing a financial disaster or famine, or to help with poor soil conditions, needed rainfall, etc. etc. Perhaps the future “St. Michelle” could help! Of course, she could be invoked to help catechists, missionaries, and FOCUS group members, too!
As I understand it, Campus Crusade for Christ changed its name to drop the “crusade” word, as some Catholic schools have done (given the mixed history of the Crusades). Also, likely to broaden their appeal and engage college students, especially unbelievers. I looked at their website:
https://www.cru.org/
I didn’t see anything leftist there. Did I miss something?
Their statement of faith seems pretty standard for Protestants (who are still Christians):
https://www.cru.org/us/en/about/statement-of-faith.html
Love the word, “Crusade,” as in “Crusade for Christ” The Protestants should ignore WOKE- infested people who don’t like it. It’s perfect. “Billy Graham Crusades,” or “Campus Crusade for Christ”– both names sound very powerful, meaningful, and exciting. All the churches in any town, including Catholic churches (after Vatican II), used to work together to help prepare for the Billy Graham Crusades. A few weeks or so before the actual arrival of the Crusade, we were given prayer cards to pray for Christian converts at the upcoming Crusade. Catholic representatives as well as representatives of every Biblically-based church in a town, were invited to come each night to the Crusades, to hand out some literature about their church, and invite new Christians to come visit. Billy Graham held Altar Calls, but he did not baptize anyone, and had non-denominational but Biblically-based approach. He advised his concerts to find and join a good, solid, Biblically-based church, to grow in their new Faith. I looked online too, and it seems that “Cru” is totally committed to Christian Biblical beliefs. It seems that a few people in some colleges have raised some controversial concerns regarding the LGBT and transgender stuff, including even recognition of a so-called “gay Christian” who may or may not be chaste, or use of requested, weird pronouns for transgenders, etc. The irresponsible, immoral SCOTUS “gay marriage” decision of 2015 was a complete disaster, causing controversy, too, on college campuses and in workplaces, etc., as well as all the sick, liberal, twisted Woke garbage.
Oh, there was a typing error in my comment of 8/21 at 2:13pm. One of the sentences in the middle of the comment should read, “He advised his converts (not “concerts”) to find and join a good, solid, Biblically-based church, to grow in their new Faith.”
I was a counselor supervisor at the Billy Graham Crusade in San Jose many years ago and helped with the follow up for Catholics who went forward. There is no more Bible-based community than the Catholic Church, which assembled the Scriptures into the Bible. Let’s be ready to welcome all who enter our doors.
And, let’s even be apostolic and take the gospel message to the streets, educational institutions, workplaces and market places.
Oh, that’s just wonderful! Thanks for sharing that! It must have been very exciting and fulfilling to help shepherd new converts into our Catholic churches! Of course, the Catholic Church is the original Christianity, with the total fullness of the holy Christian Faith, given to us by Jesus Christ.
When very young, I knew of several neighborhood children who told other kids that they had “gotten saved” at their Protestant churches, at very young ages– for example, at ages 7, 8, or 9 years old! They took this commitment to Christ very seriously. One little 7 year-old Baptist girl told us she wanted to be involved in missionary work when she grew up. At that time, very few denominations accepted women ministers, and the Baptists would not accept them at all, pointing out a Biblical reason. So, maybe this little girl ended up married to a Baptist missionary— or volunteered as a Sunday School teacher at her church– I have no idea. A little Lutheran boy told us all about how he learned at church, the importance of charity, kindness and helping others. He was a very sweet little boy. A Methodist boy told us he wanted to be a minister when he grew up– and he did become one. And there were kids whose families attended other churches, too. Every family had a church that they belonged to. In the early 1960s, during JFK’s presidency, a hilarious best-seller book was published, “O Ye Jigs and Juleps,” written as a series of essays, with pictures, by a10-year-old girl attending a fancy Episcopalian/Anglican boarding school in the South, in 1904. That hilarious book was quite popular! I got the idea, as I got a bit older, that God touches people of all ages, even small children. Little St. Therese of Lisieux was deeply touched by God from a very early age, about age 4. A great inspiration! Many Catholic child Saints got sick and died, though, at early ages– a real tear-jerker! I knew girls who wanted to become nuns in grade school– and got accepted for training in religious orders as nuns, right after high school graduation. Catholic parents gave young sons permission to enter Minor Seminary at age 14. All of these kids did well, with serious commitments, later, as nuns and priests. God called them to their vocations, and they were mature and ready. Society was nicer, slower, very settled, with many good schools, including many good Catholic schools. A long time ago, young men were ordained as priests at age 23. All of the priests at our church were ordained at that age, 23. They had completed their seminary training, and diaconate year, and were mature and ready. In the modern world, though, the Major Seminary lasted 8 years, and young men were ordained at age 26. Guess there were more courses to take, more religious knowledge to acquire, in the modern world. It used to be nice, to grow up and be ready for your adult life at a young age, leave home comfortably, go into a happy life, as a married person, or as a priest or nun, or whatever you wanted to do. No “modern extended childhood,” no confusion. Everything all ready and prepared. No weird new things, no big surprises, no huge changes, no sick, leftist “hippie” garbage to deal with, no sick, leftist universities and sick, leftist professors. College degrees were mainly for intellectuals, studying in various serious fields. You had all you needed, mostly, in high school. Teachers and coursework were on a much higher level. There was no leftist political baloney. Sin was not “fashionable,” nor acceptable at all. Period. So much nicer!
Here is a really nice Dominican Fathers’ Vocation film of 1964. The Second Vatican Council was going on during that time, but it was not over yet. The Novus Ordo Missae had not been
introduced yet. Here is the link:
https://youtu.be/IK8Q57o1m3I?si=Ld0XdN11jgFdjoKh
Here is the link to the entire 1964 Dominican Vocations film. It is excellent!
https://youtu.be/V4tt_BFDjUI?si=Co9tVd8ZNJuTUxMe
Loved looking at all the real men in this excellent 1964 Dominican Vocations film. Married, single, or in the priesthood. full-grown, ready for a successful adult vocation, by age 18, at high school graduation. Clean-cut, clean-shaven (no ugly, rebellious, anti-society, “animalistic” unkempt leftist hippie beards), well-groomed, good manners, good social skills, excellent speech, writing, and mature thinking skills, We used to have real men– real, masculine, mature, natural, red-blooded, male men, with good minds, too– before the ugly, rebellious, unkempt, long-haired, weak, unnaturally mindless, conformist, rebellious, babyish, sick and sinful leftist, immature hippie derelicts, political activists, perverts and freaks who violently destroyed America in the later 1960s. How I love and have missed real men in America, all these years! Have scarcely seen one, since about 1967, or 1968, when America was destroyed by the filthy, evil, lawless Culture of Satan. When young, I just loved singing for Weddings (and, sadly, Requiem Masses, too)– we used to have beautiful Catholic weddings, nearly every weekend, it seemed– sometimes, even two weddings scheduled on one day. But both real men and Catholic weddings began to disappear, after about 1967 or 1968.
I’m sympathetic, but, if that film were effective, why did so many priests leave and others not join?
The pre-conciliar Church was not as strong as we might wish. If it were, those formed before the Council would not have fled in droves after, as happened. Unfortunate things were brewing in the Church, even before 1962.
Those who left did not agree with the Council and the New Mass. Many religious orders collapsed. Many orders of nuns collapsed to the point of going out of existence. Many Catholic schools completely lost orders of teaching nuns and many closed. Many seminaries closed, too. It was a great crisis, on-going to this day. All of that is a historical fact. The crisis was predicted. Historically, there have been both good and bad things going on in the Catholic Church in every era. The Dominicans’ Vocations film was for young nen of that era, not young men of today’s era. It is excellent, worth watching. There was much good in that era. The large numbers of young Catholic men entering Catholic seminaries were well-prepared, in a good and decent culture, and a Church that held to her religious and moral teachings, and provided good catechesis, long ago. A great many young men entered Catholic seminaries, and many classes of seminarians were ordained to the priesthood, yearly. Today, however, the priesthood is much smaller. Many seminaries have closed. Many religious orders have greatly diminished or collapsed. The Dominican Order is much smaller, and has nearly collapsed. Again, there has now been an ongoing crisis in the Catholic Church, since the Council. An extra, propadeutuc year has been added to many seminaries at the beginning of training for the priesthood (not sure if the Dominican seminaries have the propadeutic year). This is because many candidates of today are badly harmed by the extremely bad influences of the corrupt culture of today– including tragically broken families, a poor home life to grow up in, poor schools, short attention spans (blamed on tech devices) and poor academic readiness, extreme preoccupations with computers and tech devices, and the soul-destroying evils and filth of the vast, liberal leftist, Satanic corruption prevalent in today’s society– pornography, drugs, promiscuity, rock “music,” LGBT and gender evils, etc. The candidates are not ready for spiritual formation, academic formation, and seminary training, which is very serious and holy. Our Archbishop has also added the propadeutic year to St. Patrick’s Seminary, in Menlo Park. There is ongoing discussion on all of this. Today’s Satanic era is a terrible evil, extremely destructive.
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In my comment of 8/22, at 12:20pm, it ooks like I misspelled the word “propaedeutic.”
Most who left jumped off the left side of the ship, not the right.
Stay on board the Ark, it may stink, yet it beats a dinghy!
No. That’s not true. Just like Fr. James Altman, Bishop Strickland, and many other fine priests and prelates today, with strong convictions, many left, and some tried going into a different part of the Church, and boy, it was rough on them. Especially, for those priests trying to teach the Catholic Faith correctly, in our Catholic universities and seminaries– which were going wild, completely insane! For example, here is one famous priest who suffered a greatly— Fr. Benedict Groeschel One day I happened by chance, to accidentally run into him, and I asked him a simple question. Well, he ended up sitting down and talking with me for a very long time! I was so shocked! He said heat he had just gotten through with teaching a class at Dunwoodie, St. Joseph’s Seminary, in NYC. And he had another class, much later in the day. He told me that he may ” get kicked out.” He explained that he had been restricted or thrown out (fired) many tmes, from teaching jobs at various fine Catholic seminaries and universities. They would not stand for true Catholic teaching! He told me that one of his main subjects was teaching Moral Theoligy. I told him that since the upheavals of Vatican II, I had met many other priests who had gone through the same thing. I had recently spoken with an older priest who was a former theology professor at a fine East Coast seminary– and he had told me that he resigned, and signed up to be a Catholic Military Chaplain instead. He had suffered much, and was now getting older. I heard poor Fr. Benedict Groeschel talk for a very long time. He seemed a little surprised that here was someone who was an orthodox Catholic, who totally shared his viewpoint. Many faithful, orthodox Catholic priests and prelates have grown old, suffered much, and have died, since the Council. Satan and his minions have invaded the Church. In today’s era, good, faithful religious orders of priests and nuns are booming with young vocations. The rest are withering away in their liberal filth and lies– and dying. Like the Jesuits, for example.