Women's Ordination

Published: July 16, 2010 The Vatican has labelled the ordination of women among the "most serious crimes" and a "crime against the faith". In an update to disciplinary rules released by the Vatican this week, cases of "attempted ordination of women" will now be handled by the Vatican's doctrinal watchdog, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), a Vatican statement said on Thursday. The new rules put attempts at the ordination of women among the "most serious crimes", along with pedophilia, said an AFP report in the Sydney Morning Herald. But Vatican officials emphasized that simply because women's ordination was treated in the same document as priestly sex abuse did not mean the two acts were somehow equivalent in the eyes of the church, said a report by the Catholic News Service. "There are two types of 'delicta graviora': those concerning the celebration of the sacraments, and those concerning morals. The two types are essentially different and their gravity is on different levels," said Msgr Charles Scicluna, an official of the Vatican's doctrinal congregation. The AFP report cites US-based Women's Ordination Conference, an advocacy group, dismissed the decision as "medieval at best" and a "scare tactic". The Vatican is using this attempt to extinguish the widespread call for women's equality in the church."

Recent miracle in Egypt !

Broadcasted in CBS...

A Muslim man in Egypt killed his wife because she was reading the Bible and then buried her with their infant baby and an 8-year old daughter.

The girls were buried alive! He then reported to the police that an uncle killed the kids. 15 days later, another family member died. When they went to bury him, they found the little girls under the sand - ALIVE!

The country is outraged over the incident, and the man will be executed at the end of July. The older girl was asked how she had survived and she says:- 'A man wearing shiny white clothes, with bleeding wounds in his hands, came every day to feed us. He woke up my mom so she could nurse my sister,' she said. She was interviewed on Egyptian national TV, by a veiled Muslim woman news anchor. She said on public TV, 'This was none other than Jesus, because nobody else does things like this!'

Muslims believe Isa (Jesus) would do this, but the wounds mean He really was crucified, and it's clear also that He is alive! But, it's also clear that the child could not make up a story like this, and there is no way these children could have survived without a true miracle.

Muslim leaders are going to have a hard time to figure out what to do with this, and the popularity of the Passion movie doesn't help! With Egypt at the centre of the media and education in the Middle East , you can be sure this story will spread. Christ is still controlling and turning the world.

Please let this story be shared.

The Lord says, 'I will bless the person who puts his trust in me. (Jeremiah 17)

Being Caught by the Lord

by Friar Jim Van Vurst, O.F.M.
Why was the adulterous woman caught by the Pharisees?

One of the most powerful scenes in the Gospel of John is the incident of the woman caught in adultery (Jn 8:1-9).

Caught by the Pharisees and Scribes, this poor woman is paraded before Jesus and a large crowd. It is so typical that the religious self-righteous are the ones who relish in catching people falling into sin, straying from the straight-and-narrow path of the law, which they, of course, observe to perfection.

It is strange that the woman is not the main interest of the religious leaders. But it is Jesus they really want. She is merely bait in one of their attempts to catch Jesus as a lawbreaker.

The word catch has an interesting origin, derived from the Latin verb captare, which means “to chase someone” (into a corner) and “to entangle in a snare.” In fact, the root of the word is the basis for our word harpoon. A harpoon is used to hook someone, which is what the leaders are trying to do with Jesus—hook him by the law.

How does Jesus catch people?

But just look how Jesus uses the word catch in his preaching and ministry.

When Jesus begins his public ministry, he chooses Peter and the two brothers, James and John, to be his first apostles. They are fishermen. But, curiously, Jesus tells them that “someday you will be catching men, not fish” (Lk 5:9-10). But in this case, people are being caught not to destroy them, but to give them new life. Isn’t that what the father of the prodigal son does when he runs down the hill to “catch” his son and carry him back to new life with his family? The father “ran to his son, embraced him (i.e., caught him), and kissed him” (Lk 15:20). It’s Jesus’ description of the good shepherd who goes after and catches the lost sheep lest it be lost forever.

And this is exactly what Jesus does when he catches poor, weak Peter who has just been tripped up, having denied Jesus three times in the High Priest’s courtyard. With a look of love, Jesus says, “I’ve got you Peter. You’re safe now.” The point is that when Jesus catches someone in his hands, it is not for the purpose of squeezing life out of him; rather it is to breathe new life into him.

That is why people crowded around Jesus, as Luke writes in his gospel (Lk 15:1). There was something about his face, his countenance and his voice that drew people so that, in an image that seems so appropriate, they often jumped into his arms to be reborn. In fact, rejoicing is one of the criteria for what it means to be a true Christian and a disciple of Jesus. If we are to rejoice, however, it is not at the image of a sinner getting his just deserts. Rather, it is a sinner who gets a second chance, as did Peter, the prodigal son and the adulterous woman. It is exactly what Jesus means when he says, “There is more rejoicing in heaven for one sinner who repents than for 99 who have no need of repentance” (Lk 15:7).How does the woman experience new freedom?When Jesus looks at the adulterous woman, can you imagine what his eyes must have told her and what she saw? Think of what went on in her heart when Jesus asks, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” After she replies, “No one, sir,” Jesus offers her absolution with his words, “Neither do I condemn you. Go, (and) from now on do not sin any more” (Jn 8:10-11). And for the first time in her life, this woman knows what it means to be free. While making her way through the crowd, she is never more alive than at that moment.

But what about the man, her partner in sin, who was not brought before Jesus? It just doesn’t seem fair. In frustration, people sometimes think he got off scot-free. But that’s not true. In fact, it was unfortunate that he, too, was not brought before Jesus with the woman. Why? He missed the moment of freedom and grace that the woman experienced. The newly reborn woman would surely tell him that if she ever had the chance.