Haha. He left his bag behind when he went back down the stairs.

Good on you Anthony. You made me proud brother. "I'll walk... I'll start walking on Saturday... I'll hitch-hike...". I'm so glad you didn't compromise your faith. Bloody legend.

For other denominations it's a sharing of a meal. With a meal the usual protocol when invited to dinner is to reciprocate. Good manners. But we are not just sharing a meal in the Eucharist. It is Christ himself that we are receiving. An atheist once said: "If Catholics really believed in the Body and Blood of Jesus in the Eucharist they would crawl on their hands and knees down the aisle to receive him." The atheist is correct in noticing a lack of awe in we Catholics as we routinely queue up often thinking of other things, not mindful that the almighty God has stooped down to us to join Himself with us. We're not just sharing a piece of bread! We must only approach the Eucharist with full knowledge of 'how holy is the ground on which we tread'. In addition we need to understand what the Body of Christ also is made up of the members of the faith who believe in the Real Presence (of Christ's Body and Blood) and have been duly prepared for and received this most blessed of Sacraments at a First Eucharist Mass. In the end it's about our Holy, Holy, Holy God and the reverence due to Him not us and our sense of reciprocal hospitality.

Thanks for sharing your experience Marie, what great suggestions!

It very pathetic to note that still exploitations of third world countries by so called developed countries are not curtailed. How can the owners of this very big leading reviles are with peace of mind by exploiting third world countries?

I agreed with Fr. John, let the daughter regularise her relationship with Cath. and she will be free to receive anywhere

Well said Papa!!!! God Bless Pope Francis.

Thanks, just downloaded a pdf copy,, really looking forward to the reading

I also came back to the faith. Ask Our Lady for the shortest way back. Pray the Rosary. Start small with one Hail Mary and grow each day.
There were many testimonials that helped spur me on that are easily found on the internet. Go to the You Tube EWTN videos of the program "The Journey Home" for other people's stories.
Listen to Eduardo Verastagui's testimonial
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NK-7Lg6WrXo
and be blown away.
Go to the Mary Foundation and order free CDs that explain the faith so well. Buy a Catechism of the Catholic Church and read for yourself what the faith is all about. It's amazing!

Another great site is www.wordonfire.org with sermons from one of the best priests around - Fr Robert Barron. If you can get a hold of his 10 part "Catholicism" DVD series it's awesome. Beautiful photography and great explanations. You'll fall in love with your faith!

Also http://rcspiritualdirection.com/blog/ is great for your spiritual formation and growth if you need support.

One last piece of advice... the Body of Christ, of which we are members, resembles his body during the Passion - scourged, bloody and in pain. Don't expect it to look as perfect as the Resurrected Body just yet. God isn't finished with us yet. When you come back to the faith realise that we are all at different points on the journey Home and don't be disappointed with the level of fervour you will find in many practising Catholics! The biggest reasons to come back are to receive Christ in the Eucharist and be healed by him in Confession and to get to know his lovely mother. You'll get to love all the members, warts and all, as you grow in grace.

God Bless and Happy Days!

Hi Mark, we tried to fix this file up as much as we could, but as this was recorded in 2008 for World Youth Day we have to work with what we have and it's not the best. I hope it is better anyway!
Also, if you click on "download this audio track" it is a bit better quality. Hope this helps :)

Go the AMA!!!

God is Love. God doesn't need anything or anyone. But Love wants to pour this out and share it with others. Who are the others? We are. Creation was set up for us! God is superabundant in His generosity and so the universe is abundant at every level from nano to giga and beyond. No big deal when you're infinite. Love doesn't want robots who automatically respond or slaves who are compelled to obey, but beloveds who freely love back. God is a family (the Trinity) and He wants to adopt us into His Family. He wants us to have a share in His divinity (without being gods). He became a human to do it. By Christ's death and Resurrection we can be baptised i.e. adopted into His family. Sons and daughters of God. Awesome, isn't it? But there's a catch. Because we aren't robots or slaves we don't have to love Him back. We must choose. This leaves us with the ability to refuse. Our time on earth is the frame in which we make the choice. And it will involve sacrifice. But He is a faithful father, He loves us first and patiently awaits our response. He's given us a family to help us - the Church. Some of our family are already Home and are cheering us on - they're the Saints. He even comes to us directly in the Eucharist. When we throw a 'tanty', if we are sorry we can be forgiven! Always ready and willing to start us off with a clean slate. He's even given us a Mother to go to if we get lost - she knows the shortest way Home. Grace abounds. That's why we're here - out of pure generosity on God's part we are created to be loved and love in perfect happiness for eternity. That's the Beatific Vision. No wonder we should praise God! Life here and now is all about choosing. Choose Love.

Interesting title. Can someone do something to improve the audio quality so we can hear what's being said? The reason this has been viewed over 1200 times, but with no comments, is because it's impossible to hear what Cardinal Schoenborn is saying! Can we get a tech person to fix this?

a real martyr

a real martyr

Not so much about whether he's a political figure or 'not' - cos the truth remains, he is the head of the Vatican State and is therefore a political figure whether people like it or not. But more to the point about which kind of political figure. I cannot for a moment think he would be the kind of person to denounce anyone to the strongholds of a military dictatorship - because for one thing, Pope Francis, Jorge Bergoglio, has always been someone who fought where he could for social justice and for the rights of the marginalized - so the accusations are flaming contrary to the truth of his own core convictions. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if these accusations were trumped up by secular opportunists masquerading as something they aint, as is often the case when it comes to such twists and turns in the agendas of those in the public arena who want to turn the truth inside out.

Good video by Cardinal Arinze on Liturgical Dance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rJFdmmqj_s

I would just say that while i agree dance is not appropriate for Mass in North American or European culture, i don't think there's anything wrong with 'devotional' dance, i.e. dance as an expression of prayer in private. But it's not the same thing.

What about Paco Peña's "Missa Flamenca" where a number of traditional liturgical parts of the Mass are being danced? Andalusia, where "Missa Flamenca" originates from is a part of Spain and Europe.

Kind regards,

Witold Nowak

HI-Two things -they flash "Crusades" and "Spanish Inquisition" on this video.
The Crusades were fought because of the Muslim invasion's of Europe, Middle East, N Africa, and many other places.
While some 'crusaders' were really mersanaries, they fought to save Western Christianity and Civilization-other wise we'd all be bowing to Mecca five times a day.
"Inquistion"-does anyone know the Church did NOT start that? The King of Spain did, and while the Pope's of the time first aproved it, they came to denounce it, to excommunicate members of it, and even made Rome a sanctuary for those escaping it.

He is showing an attitude that I probably can't do, calm in face of humiliation. The women truly are lost. Admire Bishop Andre.

Praying for him, wrote to him and offered my support.