Holy Card Heaven

I have to share this lovely treasure of a blog so that you, too, can enjoy its beauty! Not only are countless holy cards (including antiques!) shared, but they even have one of my favorite scriptures verses in the header. :)

Holy Card Heaven

Pope asks Bloggers to Give Internet a Soul

(24 Apr 10 – RV) The need to give the Internet a soul and humanize the dynamics of the digital world was at the heart of Pope Benedict XVI’s message Saturday to participants in a conference on modern means of mass communication.

Promoted by the Italian Bishops Conference, “Digital Witness” draws together experts in information technology, social networking, web journalism and blogging to focus on the language we use and the way we communicate as Christians in the online society.

Pope Benedict told participants that the task of every believer who works in media, is to ensure the “quality of human contact, guaranteeing attention to people and their spiritual needs”.

“This is increasingly urgent in today’s world”, he said, at a time when Internet appears to have a “basically egalitarian” vocation, but at the same time, “marks a new divide", the "digital divide" that "separates the included from the excluded."

"The dangers of homologation and control, of intellectual and moral relativism are also increasing, as already recognizable in the decline of critical spirit, in truth reduced to a game of opinions, in the many forms of degradation and humiliation of the intimacy of the person."

Thus said the Pope we see, a "spiritual pollution" that brings us to no longer "look one another in the face”. So we must “overcome those collective dynamics that risk reducing people to "soulless bodies, objects of exchange and consumption”. The media must become a “humanizing factor”, focused "on promoting the dignity of persons and peoples". Only then will "the epochal times we are experiencing be rich and fertile in new opportunities."

"Without fear we must set sail on the digital sea facing into the deep with the same passion that has governed the ship of the Church for two thousand years. Rather than for, albeit necessary, technical resources, we want to qualify ourselves by living in the digital world with a believer’s heart, helping to give a soul to the Internet’s incessant flow of communication".

Power of the Eucharist

I love quotes... you know that by now. :) But when I find one this moving, how can I not share it?

"My children, we know when a soul has worthily received the Sacrament of the Eucharist, it is so drowned in love, so penetrated and changed, that it is no longer to be recognised in its words or its actions... It is humble, it is gentle, it is mortified, charitable, and modest; it is at peace with everyone. It is a soul capable of the greatest sacrifices; in short, you would not know it again."

—St John Vianney, special patron of this "Year for Priests"

(Quote found at this blog, where there is also an insightful article about the recent persecution of the Holy Father and the clergy scandal.)

On a completely non-related note, I noticed that I've just exceeded 500 posts: this is my 501st entry here. :)

Answers & Winners :)

Okay, here are the answers for the Easter greeting languages. And congrats to Nati, who correctly identified 10 of them! Runners up are Larissa and Catherine, who each knew 7. Hope you had fun. :)

1. Cristo ressuscitou! Ressuscitou verdadeiramente!
Portuguese

2. Christus ist auferstanden! Er ist wahrhaftig auferstanden!
German

3. Christus is opgestaan! Hij is waarlijk opgestaan!
Dutch

4. Christus resurrexit! Resurrexit vere!
Latin

5. Christ est ressuscité! Il est vraiment ressuscité!
French

6. Cristo è risorto! È veramente risorto!
Italian

7. Cristo ha resucitado! ¡En verdad ha resucitado!
Spanish

8. Χριστός ἀνέστη! Ἀληθῶς ἀνέστη!
Greek

9. Христос воскрес! Воистину воскрес!
Russian

10. Krist uskrsnu! Uistinu uskrsnu!
Croatian

11. Chrystus zmartwychwstał! Prawdziwie zmartwychwstał!
Polish

12. Christos voskresen! Naistino voskresen!
Church Slavonic used by Slovaks

13. Kristus prisikėlė! Tikrai prisikėlė!
Lithuanian

14. Tá Críost éirithe! Go deimhin, tá sé éirithe!
Irish

15. Tha Crìosd air èiridh! Gu dearbh, tha e air èiridh!
Scottish

16. Si Cristo ay nabuhay! Siya nga ay nabuhay!

Filipino

17. Ua ala hou ´o kristo! Ua ala ´i ´o no ´oia!
Hawaiian

18. Krisztus feltámadt! Valóban feltámadt!
Hungarian

19. Kristus er opstanden! Ja, sandelig opstanden!
Danish

20. Ha Masheeha houh quam! Be emet quam!
Hebrew

Sources:
http://www.oca.org/OCpaschalgreetings.asp?SID=2
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paschal_greeting

Greetings on Divine Mercy Sunday!

In the words of Jesus:

"I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and shelter for all souls... On that day the very depths of My tender mercy are open. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the fount of My mercy. The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment."

-St. Faustina's Diary p. 699

Here's a beautiful website explaining the devotion, Feast, graces, and more:

www.thedivinemercy.org

Doesn't anyone visit here anymore?

...or is everyone too shy to participate in my Paschal languages contest? Come on, come out of hiding! :)

Modern "Feminism"

My dear friend Malori has authored a splendid article on The Negative Effects of Modern Feminism, and I was honored to be the editor. Do head over to her blog and check it out. Let us know what you think!

Easter Greetings from around the world...

Christ is Risen! He is risen indeed! In a true Catholic (universal) spirit, here are the joyful greetings as spoken 'round the globe. How many languages can you identify (or add)? Time for a comment contest!

1. Cristo ressuscitou! Ressuscitou verdadeiramente!

2. Christus ist auferstanden! Er ist wahrhaftig auferstanden!

3. Christus is opgestaan! Hij is waarlijk opgestaan!

4. Christus resurrexit! Resurrexit vere!

5. Christ est ressuscité! Il est vraiment ressuscité!

6. Cristo è risorto! È veramente risorto!

7. ¡Cristo ha resucitado! ¡En verdad ha resucitado!

8. Χριστός ἀνέστη! Ἀληθῶς ἀνέστη!

9. Христос воскрес! Воистину воскрес!

10. Krist uskrsnu! Uistinu uskrsnu!

11. Chrystus zmartwychwstał! Prawdziwie zmartwychwstał!

12. Christos voskresen! Naistino voskresen!

13. Kristus prisikėlė! Tikrai prisikėlė!

14. Tá Críost éirithe! Go deimhin, tá sé éirithe!

15. Tha Crìosd air èiridh! Gu dearbh, tha e air èiridh!

16. Si Cristo ay nabuhay! Siya nga ay nabuhay!

17. Ua ala hou ´o kristo! Ua ala ´i ´o no ´oia!

18. Krisztus feltámadt! Valóban feltámadt!

19. Kristus er opstanden! Ja, sandelig opstanden!

20. Ha Masheeha houh quam! Be emet quam!

Now, if only I could pronouce all of these, we'd be good to go. :)

In the Tomb

Tomb, thou shalt not hold Him longer

Death is strong, but Life is stronger

Stronger than the dark, the light

Stronger than the wrong, the right

Faith and Hope triumphant say:

Christ will rise on Easter Day.

(Bishop Phillips Brooks, An Easter Carol)

I long

...for the day when our culture will be so completely Christian, so completely Catholic, that Google will acknowledge Good Friday. Not that I have anything against Hans Christian Anderson, but the salvation of the world is more noteworthy than his 205th birthday...