The Good Catholic Life

Today’s host(s): Scot Landry and Fr. Chris O'Connor. Today’s guest(s): Dom Bettinelli and George Martell of Pilot New Media, reporting live from Madrid. Today’s topics: World Youth Day - Madrid 2011 Follow along with the pilgrims and their stories View pictures of the World Youth Day 2011 Pilgrimage on the Archdiocese of Boston's flickr account Watch video of Cardinal Seán and pilgrims on the Archdiocese of Boston's YouTube account Summary of today’s show: Scot and Fr. Chris discuss the events pilgrims for the Archdiocese of Boston have attended so far at World Youth Day with Dom Bettinelli and George Martell. 1st segment: Scot welcomed Fr. Chris back to the show, as it has been a few weeks since they have been on the air together. Fr. Chris described his travels with family to Rome - even that he did the same tour of Rome twice with two groups. He said it was great to return to the tomb of Blessed John Paul II at the Vatican and celebrate Mass at the tomb. Fr. Chris also said he climbed the cupola of the Basilica twice, distributing the blisters evenly across both sides of his feet. He continued and described his further trip to Holland. Fr. Chris asked Scot about his vacation. Scot detailed that he and his family visited relatives in Seattle, and that he enjoyed the outdoors and the greeness of the Pacific Northwest. The family visited two great waterfalls and climbed part of Mt. Rainier, and the temperatures were in the low 70s and comfortable. Scot said visiting the Space Needle and attending a Mariners game were highlights of the trip as well. Scot said another highlight was taking his family to a different church for three Sundays in a row. He said it was a great teaching experience for his children about the universality of the Catholic church, even when small details like songs or holding hands during the Our Father are different. 2nd segment: Scot welcomed Dom Bettinelli and George Martell live from Madrid via Skype. Dom explained that although it was 35 degrees (which sounds like parka weather), it was in Celsius - temperatures have been between 95 and 100 degrees in Madrid so far. Dom and George said there were almost 500 total pilgrims from the Archdiocese. About 350 pilgrims are traveling with the official Office of New Evangelization team, and the rest are from various parishes throughout the Archdiocese and from Boston University. Office for the New Evangelization George said it was a lot of fun to experience World Youth Day firsthand and show the incredible experience that the youth are having through his pictures. Scot and Dom discussed that the vast majority of the pilgrims from the Boston area have probably not been outside the country before except possibly to Canada or the Caribbean - he said at some times it can be overwhelming for the pilgrims but group leaders help the youth overcome that. Scot remarked how much older European landmarks are - Dom replied that some of the everyday parish churches in Madrid are older than the United States itself! Fr. Chris observed that it must take a lot of planning to keep such a large group together and under control. Dom said the planning and management from the ONE team has been great and spot on. Scot then asked about the trip the pilgrims took to Avila. Dom explained that most of the groups came on Sunday and went to the medieval walled town of Avila and went to Mass in the Monastery of San Jose, the first Monastery formed after St. Theresa of Avila worked to re-form the Carmelite order. Fr. Chris highlighted that the World Youth Day this year is "Rooted and Built Up in Jesus Christ, Firm in the Faith," from Colossians 2:7: So, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, walk in him, rooted in him and built upon him and established in the faith as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. Dom said that the overwhelming experiences of World Youth Day are the universality of the Church and also the youthfulness of the Church. He said none of the pilgrims in Madrid have any embarrassment about literally proclaiming their faith at the top of their lungs - a great example to many youth who are used to our culture here where that public enthusiasm about faith is discouraged. Scot asked George to describe what it was like to take photos in places with such rich history. George said it was hard to fathom and put into words the respect with which everything is cared for and what an awesome experience it was to have the opportunity to take pictures in the churches. Scot, George, and Dom discussed Cardinal Seán's short lecture on the history of Toledo before a Mass there. Dom said Cardinal Seán told the pilgrims that Toledo was historically a place where Muslims, Christians, and Jews always got along - a city of unity. Dom said the town still has that peaceful feeling even today. 3rd segment: Scot asked George and Dom to describe the interactions that the Boston youth are having with the youth from all around the world. George reiterated that there is no shyness about faith in public - and that it was exciting to see the youth from Boston become more comfortable expressing themselves. He said he hopes this comfort will help them grow closer to God by the end of the week. Dom said that youth are encouraged to bring trinkets with them to trade, and that there is a very interesting bargaining going on between youth all over the world. He also said gear with American flags is very popular among the crowds. Both Dom and George remarked how easily the youth got along. Dom said in Toledo a group from Boston University started playing music outside the Cathedral, and were very quickly joined by a group from South Africa with tribal drums and singers from Sicily and New York - showing the true universality of the crowd. Scot asked Dom about the Boston group being able to pray with people from other countries. Dom said the prayer so far with other groups has been much more spontaneous so far, but there will be much more opportunity now that the official events of World Youth Day have begun. Dom said it was an amazing experience to see the people from Madrid gravitate towards the energy of the youth. Fr. Chris asked Dom to speak about the opening Mass for World Youth Day, which featured the Archbishop of Madrid, 800 other Archbishops and Cardinals, 8,000 priests, and 500,000 attendees. Dom explained that people who have been to a Papal Mass before would be familiar with the tight quarters but prayerful atmosphere of the opening Mass. He continued that even though you may not speak the same language as the person on your right or left, you still have the language of faith and the universal form of the Mass. He said the crowds would be like combining a Patriots victory parade and the Boston Pops 4th of July Concert at the Hatshell and closing Commonwealth Ave and Storrow Drive in Boston. Dom said a highlight of the Mass was the blessing of a reliquary of Blessed Pope John Paul II that contained some of his blood. Fr. Chris also noted the youth all got a religious medal with and many other items in a welcome backpack kit. 4th segment: Scot started the segment by noting that many of the priests of his generation point to a World Youth Day as a spark to their vocational call. Fr. Chris agreed, saying that World Youth Day can help people to see the need for the priesthood and to see that they are not alone - they have the support of many brothers and sisters across the world. Scot added that Spain, a previously very Catholic country, now has a population that is 25% atheist. Fr. Chris said Pope Benedict has said that Europe is afloat without roots, and must get back to Judeo-Christian principals if it is to survive. Scot asked Dom if the growing secularization was noticeable in Madrid. Dom said there have been some low-visibility small protests against government support of World Youth Day, as well as graffiti here and there. He said he thinks the secularization in that area seemed to be much like it is in the USA - less hostile and more apathetic. Scot emphasized that we often infantilize the youth of the Church, and that World Youth Days show that youth are the present of the Church as well as the future. Dom said that as the group walks around, he thinks to himself "who might be getting that vocational spark in the next few days and influence the Church in the future?" Scot explained the main reason Dom and George are in Madrid is to capture video, audio, and other media that can help people in Boston experience some of the pilgrimage to Madrid. Dom said their primary goal is to bring the people of the Archdiocese along with the pilgrimage virtually through the website, blog posts, pictures, Facebook posts and tweets. Dom went on to say that while there have been a few hiccups, the computer equipment they use is unique for a small group and has performed flawlessly to let them share experiences over the internet. Fr. Chris said he can't wait for Pope Benedict to get to World Youth Day to see what messages he has for the youth gathered there. Dom said the differences between Blessed Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict have been small but important - Pope Benedict emphasizes more silence and meditation and time for silent prayer, while Blessed Pope John Paul II seemed to emphasize the joyous (and sometimes loud) expressions of faith. Scot said that, in philosophical terms, Blessed Pope John Paul II was a phenomenologist and valued the event and experience nature of World Youth Day; whereas Pope Benedict sees his role as more like John the Baptist's, pointing and leading towards Christ. Scot asked George to compare the experience of being a photojournalist in the United States with the experience he is having now taking photos at World Youth Day. George answered that the thing striking him the most is the overtly visual universality of the Church. George said one of his favorite photos so far was a young boy with his head back, yelling about his love for his faith. Fr. Chris agreed that the joy experienced is incredible on these types of pilgrimages. George said he looks forward to showing with pictures how the faith of the pilgrims will grow over the week. Scot said that up until the opening Mass a few hours ago, it's been a "pregame" for World Youth Day. Dom said that over the new few days the youth from the Boston will attend several catachetical sessions, a "Theology on Tap" event, Stations of the Cross with Pope Benedict in the streets of Madrid, a Mass at the Basilica of St Francis, Eucharistic Adoration, and the closing Mass with the Pope on Sunday morning.

**Today's host(s):** Scot Landry **Today's guest(s):** Antonio Enrique, Editor of the Pilot newspaper, and Fr. Carlos Flor, parochial vicar at Immaculate Conception Parish, Revere. * [Neocatechumenal Way](http://www.camminoneocatecumenale.it/new/default.asp?lang=en) * [Address of His Holiness Benedict XVI to the members of the Neocatehumenal Way, January 2011](http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/speeches/2011/january/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20110117_cammino-neocatec_en.html) * [Address of His Holiness Benedict XVI to the members of the Neocatehumenal Way, January 2006](http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/speeches/2006/january/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20060112_neocatecumenali_en.html) **Today's topics:** The Neocatechumenal Way **Summary of today's show:** Fr. Carlos Flor and Antonio Enrique shared with Scot their experience of life in the Neocatechumenal Way, a new movement in the Church that allows people to find the love of God in the midst of their busy lives and to become part of a loving community. **1st segment:** Scot said in Cardinal Seán's pastoral letter on Pentecost on evangelization, he addressed the topic of new communities. * [Cardinal's Seán's pastoral letter on A New Pentecost](http://bostoncatholic.org/pentecostletter) >After the Second Vatican Council, the Church has witnessed an outpouring of the Holy Spirit through the blossoming of new movements and ecclesial communities. They bring great vitality to the life of the Church. They are a sign of great hope for the Church in the new millennium. >The Church in every generation is both old and new. Throughout the centuries we have seen the great blessing of so many new religious orders, reform movements and lay associations that responded to the needs of a particular era. Today, many of the new movements and communities are showing great success in communicating a deep spirituality to their members in the context of small, close-knit communities. They energize their people to be evangelizers who bring the Good News they have received to those around them. Without those forces of renewal, the Church can sometimes become too focused on maintenance and the internal aspects of pastoral work. >Many of these small groups and communities are already present in the archdiocese: Cursillo, Charismatic Renewal, Communion and Liberation, Opus Dei, Focolare, Communities of Saint Egidio, The Neocatechumenal Way, ARISE, The Legion of Mary and others. Throughout the years I have known them and experienced firsthand the fruits of Christian life that sprout from their activity, including strengthening of family life, openness to life, and vocations to the priesthood and religious life. Scot welcomed Fr. Carlos Flor, who attended a Redemptoris Mater seminary and is now a priest in the archdiocese, and Antonio Enrique, who came from Spain as a missionary family of the Neocatechumenal Way and is now the editor of The Pilot. He gave a brief history of the Way. * [DECREE OF THE PONTIFICAL COUNCIL FOR THE LAITY: APPROVAL OF THE STATUTES OF NEOCATECHUMENAL WAY "AD EXPERIMENTUM"](http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/laity/documents/rc_pc_laity_doc_20020701_cammino-neocatecumenale_en.html) >The Neocatechumenal Way began in 1964 in the slums of Palomeras Altas, Madrid, through the work of Mr Francisco (Kiko) Argüello and Ms Carmen Hernández who, at the request of the poor with whom they were living, began to proclaim to them the Gospel of Jesus Christ. As time passed, this kerygma was embodied in a catechetical synthesis, founded on the tripod: "Word of God-Liturgy-Community", that seeks to lead people to fraternal communion and mature faith. This new catechetical experience, born in the wake of the renewal inspired by the Second Vatican Council, attracted the keen interest of Archbishop Casimiro Morcillo, then Archbishop of Madrid, who encouraged the initiators of the Way to spread it to the parishes who asked for it. This experience of evangelization thus spread gradually through the Archdiocese of Madrid and to other Spanish dioceses. In 1968, the initiators of the Neocatechumenal Way arrived in Rome and settled in the Borghetto Latino. With the permission of Cardinal Angelo Dell'Acqua, then Vicar General of His Holiness for the city and district of Rome, the first catechesis began in the parish of Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament and the Canadian Martyrs. Since then, the Way has continued to spread to dioceses around the world and even to mission countries. Scot asked Antonio how he first encountered the Neocatechumenal Way. He encountered them in his last year of high school when he had experienced a crisis of faith. He had decided that the Church was not for him, that the Church was imposing on people to prevent them from living a happy life. Also, in Spain, it was common for people to think that the Church was the reason for political problems. But he also recalls being very lonely at the time. A priest invited him to a catechesis. The priest said, If you are happy don't come, but if you feel a need or emptiness in your life, please come and see. Fr. Carlos said his parents found the Neocatechumenal Way when he was 9. His parents were going through a crisis in their marriage and the pastor invited them to the catechesis that was offered in the parish. The parents got involved and it helped them very much and their marriage was saved. In his teen years, he had his personal struggles and he worked hard because he wanted to be a doctor. He was living very much in the world, going to the disco, involved in sports, trying to have fun. But he found himself insecure and unhappy and rebellious. He was preparing to enter medical school but was unhappy. So he entered the Way through a catechesis, and he received a gift from God in realizing that the Church is his Mother and a community, not just someone who wants him to feel bad, when he wants to feel good. Then he was invited to attend the first World Youth Day in Rome in 1984. He discovered the beauty of being Catholic and of the Church and what the Lord was doing in other people's lives. He played the guitar in the community and that kept him involved because he liked the attention. But little by little, the Lord began to open his eyes to his own sin and his potential. He learned that his failings didn't come from others, like his family or others, but from within. After 7 years in the Way and another World Youth Day, this one in Czestechowa, Poland, in 1991 he felt the call to enter the seminary. Scot said Cardinal Pell at World Youth Day in 2008 estimated that about one-third of those attending were part of the Neocatechumenal Way. At World Youth Days, the Way has vocational meetings where thousands of young people come forward to respond to a vocational call. That was Fr. Carlos' experience and almost all the young men who stood up with him in Poland are still priests today. Fr. Carlos said his vocation is not just his personal decision, but the result of 7 years walking with his community, struggling with faith and accepting the grace of God. Seeing so many people in need of an experience of the Neocatechumenal Way touched him because he wanted to serve the Church out of gratitude for saving his life and for how his parents' marriage was saved. Scot said there are 87 Redemptoris Mater seminaries in the Church that are the fruit of the Neocatechumenal Way. Seminarians from the Way put themselves in the hands of the Way to be sent to any of the seminaries anywhere in the world. The community has vocation centers for young men who are interested in the priesthood to help the discernment process then they go to the vocational meetings where they accept to be trained in any place in the world and to say they have a desire to serve in the Church anywhere in the world. The names are chosen by lottery and Fr. Carlos was sent to Newark. The bishop of that diocese has authority over the priest and can assign the priest in his own diocese or can release him to missionary service. Fr. Carlos was released to service in Boston. He now can be re-assigned to another place anywhere in the world. **2nd segment:** Scot asked Antonio about the catechesis of the Neocatechumenal Way. He said the catechesis is a time when the Church presents the faith to anyone who will listen. Nothing is expected. Anyone can go, especially those who are far away from the Church. It is a place in the parish where people who are estranged from the Church can come back. It is a period in which the Word of God is presented to the people and people are encouraged to relate to the love of God and are told that whatever has happened in their lives, God has a plan for them, a beautiful plan. God wants to work for them in their lives. At the center is the kerygma, the announcement of the Good News. That Good News is that Christ came to save us. Antonio said because of temptation we are constantly being pulled away from God, but the catechesis says God wants to bring us back to him. God never forces anyone to love him. If we accept his love we become free, but if we reject God we become slaves to sin. This announcement of the Good News makes people realize that there may be a different way of living. The fact of difficulties in life suddenly is on a different level because if you put the kingdom of God first, everything else will be given you, as Jesus says in the Sermon on the Mount. Not that problems will go away, but that you will be happy in all situations of life. Antonio said he always grew up trying to be good so that God would love him. But he realized that he couldn't be good, that he kept sinning. But in the catechesis he heard that God loves you the way you are, not that he wants you to stay the way you are. The Neocatechumenal Way is a space where the grace of God can be heard in the midst of so much noise which makes it difficult to hear God. The catechesis makes a space of silence to hear God. They bring the good news that God loves you the way you. Scot asked Fr. Carlos why they call it the Neocatechumenal Way, as a post-baptismal or adult catechesis. Fr. Carlos said it is an itinerary of Christian formation so that people who are called to belong to a community in this way will enter into a process that will be a number of years in the form of a catechumenate of the Church. It is a way to rediscover the riches of our baptism. In the early Church when adults would approach the Christian community and ask to be received into the Church, the Church would invite these people to enter t he catechumenate, a special time for them to discover the love of God, to know themselves, and to have conversion. If at the end of this time, there were signs of real conversion, then that person was brought to baptism. Today, when many people are already baptized, but they are living as if they are pagan, the catechumenate is a new catechumenate. They follow the same steps as the RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) as they do in parishes, but the difference while RCIA is done over a small period of time (in order to bring them to baptism rapidly), the neo-catechumenate is done over a much longer time. Scot noted that many people notice that many new converts through RCIA know the faith better than those who have been Catholic all their life. It is a gift to have this path of adult catechumenate. Antonio said Pope Paul VI is the one who named the Neocatechumanal Way. There were questions at the time whether there could be a catechumenate for those who are already baptized. Paul VI said it's not important when the catechemunate occurs, before or after baptism. It just needs to be done. Antonio said 50 years the culture of society would help you maintain the faith, but today those walls of society have come down. We are surrounded by a society that tells us to reject the elements of the Christian culture that we used to have around us. So we need to rebuild the Catholic culture to help us to live the realities of the Church. It's very difficult to do this in very big groups in the Church. If you can create an environment where people can get to know each other very well in all their strengths and weaknesses, then you are supported and growth can happen. The Neocatechumenal Way creates a space where people can grow in the faith, can be welcomed, where no questions are asked, where people must be good before they can enter. If you allow God's grace to happen, then it will change you. Scot noted a Gallup poll said that one of the best indicators of whether someone remains strongly rooted in their church is whether they have close friends there. **3rd segment:** Scot quoted Pope Benedict's comments on the Neocatechumenal Way earlier this year. * ["Pope sends 200 Neo-Catechumenal Families out on Mission" (1/17/11)](http://visnews-en.blogspot.com/2011/01/pope-sends-200-neo-catechumenal.html) >"For more than forty years the Neo-Catechumenal Way has been contributing to the revitalisation and consolidation of Christian initiation in dioceses and parishes, favouring a gradual but radical rediscovery of the riches of Baptism, helping people to savour divine life, the heavenly life which the Lord inaugurated with His incarnation, when He came among us and was born like one of us". >"Over the last few years the process of drawing up the Statues of the Neo-Catechumenal Way has reached a fruitful conclusion and, following an appropriate experimental period, they received definitive approval in June 2008. Another important step was made in recent days with the approval, by the competent dicasteries of the Holy See, of the 'Catechetical Directory of the Neo-Catechumenal Way'. >"With these seals of ecclesial approval", the Pope added, "the Lord today confirms this precious tool which is the Way and again entrusts it to you so that, in filial obedience to the Holy See and the pastors of the Church, you may contribute with renewed energy and ardour to the radical and joyful rediscovery of the gift of Baptism, and offer your own original contribution to the cause of new evangelisation. The Church has recognised in the Neo-Catechumenal Way a particular gift created by the Holy Spirit. As such it naturally tends to insert itself into the harmony of the ecclesial Body. In this light I exhort you always to seek profound communion with pastors, and with all members of the particular Churches, and of the very different ecclesial contexts in which you are called to work. Fraternal communion between the disciples of Jesus is, in fact, the first and greatest witness to the name of Jesus Christ". Scot asked Fr. Carlos how these small groups form in parishes. Fr. Carlos said a pastor sees the need of the lost sheep, especially those who are far from the Church, and so he forms a catechesis, which starts with a team from the Neocatechumenal Way from another parish. There are 15 talks that include a strong call to conversion and a proclamation of the kerygma. They include the message that God loves you, that Christ wants to give you his Spirit to know that your life is not a mistake and that God has a plan for you. The catechesis slowly leads people to the conviction that they want the Spirit of Christ in them to create hope in them and bring them to eternal life. Gradually the desire to the deepen the faith grows and then they invite them on a weekend retreat, which teaches them the fundamental importance of the Eucharist and show them the Way, which is the Sermon on the Mount. The people are invited to participate in a community of the Neocatechumenal Way, which forms in the parish, led by the pastor and in communion with the catechists entrusted the pastoral care of the community. The community works on a tripod: celebration of the Word of God celebrated on Wednesday, the Eucharist celebrated by the community on Saturday, and then a monthly meeting to share experience and life together. In the community, people learn to read Scripture and to read it in light of their life, they learn the importance of the roles of community, and the Eucharist becomes the heart of the community. Fr. Carlos said for him what helped him the most was the brothers and sisters of the community, who helped realize he was not alone on the journey. In the beginning, there re many walls between people, but over the years the barriers between people come down and they share more and more of their lives. Scot said the Way is in 87 countries, there are 750 communities in the US, and in the Archdiocese there are 15-20. Scot asked Antonio how he and his family came to the US. They were members of the Neocatechumenal Way in Spain and families can enter the missions where they are sent out to dioceses where they are welcomed and take part in the creation of new communities. Antonio said this was the idea of Pope John Paul II in his call for a new evangelization of Europe. Originally they were sent to northern Europe where it was Christian but not very Catholic. The first families were sent to northern Norway. Antonio said the Neocatechumenal Way would not be here today without the work and advocacy of Blessed John Paul II. He said he met his wife in the community, they got married, and started having children. They learned in the community that if you let God lead your life, you will experience God's eternal life and the love of God. At a certain point they heard a call to present themselves for the mission and let others discern whether they were truly being called. They offered for four consecutive years and nothing happened so they bought a house. At that point they entered in the lottery and they were sent to Boston. Cardinal Law had requested two families for the Archdiocese. They had 7 children at the time and have had 4 more since then. Scot said Cardinal Law didn't call him to be the editor of the Pilot. Just wanted them to be a presence of living the faith in East Boston. There was no job waiting for him here and he wasn't an employee of the Archdiocese. He left his job as a manager at General Electric in Spain and came here. When they first arrived, they lived in a closed convent. He didn't have a job for several months and eventually got work for the state. From there, after several other stops, he eventually became editor of the Pilot. Fr. Carlos said people who want to know more can contact him at Immaculate Conception Church in Revere and he will help people find a community. A pastor who is interested in founding a community in his parish can also talk to Fr. Carlos. Antonio said any parish with a community can see the amazing fruits of these communities in the parish.

**Today's host(s):** Scot Landry **Today's guest(s):** Fr. Andrew Apostoli, CFR, author of the book "Fatima for Today" * ["Fatima for Today: The Urgent Marian Message of Hope"](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1586175238/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=pilo0e-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=1586175238) **Today's topics:** The apparitions and message at Fatima **Summary of today's show:** Fr. Andrew Apostoli joins Scot to discuss his new book and the message of Our Lady at Fatima, her message of hope, and how we can live the message today in order to fulfill her requests and promises. **1st segment:** Scot welcomed Fr. Andrew Apostoli. He is a member of the Community of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal. He was ordained a priest by Bishop Fulton J. Sheen in 1967. He has been active in teaching, preaching retreats and parish missions, and in giving spiritual direction. He is an adjunct faculty member of Saint Joseph’s Seminary in Dunwoodie, Yonkers, New York. In his community, he has served as Community Servant and Novice Director. He was instrumental in 1988 in helping to found the Community of the Franciscan Sisters of the Renewal. Currently, he is serving as a Vice-Postulator for the Cause of Canonization for Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen. Father Andrew has been active over the years producing different TV series for EWTN. He has also been giving talks on various spiritual topics, many of which are available as videos, DVD’s, CD’s, and tapes. Scot asked him when he became interested in teaching people more about Fatima. He knew from when he was a young boy, having seen the popular film in the early 50s. The message was brought to 3 children, which fascinated him at the time. It also stuck with him that our Lady was asking us for specific things. He's tried to keep up with the requests of our Lady in his personal life, including daily Rosary and the 5 First Saturdays devotion. He started making that devotion since his time in high school seminary. Scot asked him what his hope was in writing this book? He had submitted another manuscript to Ignatius Press that was on the works of mercy. They said they would publish the book, but they also wanted a book for them on Fatima. He had helped them with a movie they were distributing called ["The Thirteenth Day."](http://www.the13thday.com/) His goal was to show the role of Mary from Scripture and the great saints, how they depicted the role of Mary in the spiritual warfare of today. He also wanted to show the meaning of the angel's apparition to the children at Fatima. His message was to instill in them a desire to pray for souls. He also wanted to present the 6 Marian apparitions at Fatima and the apparitions asking for the Five Saturdays devotion and the consecration of Russia. The three children were visited by the Angel of Peace three times. Scot wondered if this was the only major apparition site where the visionaries were prepared by an angel. Fr. Apostoli isn't sure if there were others like this. One of the beautiful part of the angel's message was to challenge them to be generous in making sacrifices. He told Lucia to make a sacrifice of anything for the conversion of sinners and peace in the world. The last apparition of the angel focused on the Eucharist and instilled them a love for the Eucharist. The angels instill in them also a desire to make sacrifices. Mary's first apparition asked them if they would accept suffering for the sake of the world and they answered without hesitation. The angel also taught them the pardon prayer: >My God, I believe, I adore, I hope and I love Thee! I beg pardon for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not hope, and do not love Thee. Amen. The world was about to be inundated by movements that denied God and hated religion. So we need faith and Our Lady had us pray for faith and to adore God. So many do not adore God, but instead adore anything else. There many today who are also broken by despair and have no hope. So many young people commit suicide as if there is nothing to live for.Even in the midst of our sufferings, we need to bear the cross of Jesus for the redemption of the world. Finally, the prayer prays for love. When life has no love, a person's life is truly empty. Our Lady came to warn us about these things and the prayer taught these virtues we need to focus on in our daily lives. Scot said it seems to be a program of different types of prayer: intercessory prayer, praying through sufferings, prayer for reparations, and more. Scot thinks reparation is de-emphasized today and wondered if Portugal was like that then as well. Fr. Apostoli said that while Portugal was Catholic, the government was controlled by the anti-Catholic Masons who tried to stamp out faith. The message of Fatima is clearly still relevant. Pope John Paul II said Fatima is more important now than it was in 1917 because secularism is spreading throughout the world. That is the concern Pope Benedict has expressed in his call for the new evangelization. The message of Fatima is crucial to our times, if we're going to hold on the family, to life and its sacredness, we need to put Mary's message into practice. We can say for sure that it will work. People just need to put it into practice. **2nd segment:** Scot asked Fr. Apostoli to give an overview of the events of Fatima. There were three apparitions of the angel starting in 1916. Pope Benedict XV was reigning at the time and World War I was just beginning. The Pope tried to prevent war, and asked for a novena for peace to the Blessed Mother. The 8th day of novena was May 13, 1917, and on that day the Portuguese children, Francisco, Jacinta, and Lucia saw an apparition of a beautiful lady who said she came from heaven. She asked the children if they were willing to suffer for the sake of souls. She asked them to pray the Rosary to stop wars, bring peace, and stop sin. The children asked about two girls they knew who had died recently. Our Lady said one of the girls was in heaven, but the other would be in Purgatory until the end of the world. The message is clear: avoid purgatory. All the messages were on the 13th of the month, except in August. In July, Our Lady told Francisco and Jacinta they would die young and go to heaven and that Lucia would live a long life. Our Lady gave the children 3 secrets. The first one dealt with a vision of hell. She showed them hell in order for us to know that hell is real. Hell is real and we need to live as if it is real in order to avoid it. The children prayed zealously that no one would go to hell. This was when Our Lady taught the children the decade prayer. She predicted that if people prayed, the first World War would end and there would be peace, but if not, there would come a greater war. She told the children that if there was an unknown light in the sky that the greater world would not be avoided. That sign came in 1939. She also predicted the rise of the Soviet Union, famines, persecutions of the Church, and the suffering of the Holy Father. She said two things would prevent the spread of Communism in the world: Five First Saturdays devotion and consecration of Russia to her Immaculate Heart. She said she would come again to reveal what needed to be done. In 1925, Our Lady returned in a vision to Sr. Lucia. (Jacinta and Francisco were already dead.) She appeared with the Christ Child and her heart was encircled by fire. She said to go to confession, receive Communion, say the rosary and spend 15 minutes in prayer with the intention of her immaculate heart on five first Saturdays, then the person would receive the graces at the end of their life. The third secret in that July was that she saved us from fires that would have engulfed the whole world. This could have been the Cuban Missile Crisis or when the Soviets were building a massive new nuclear missile that exploded in an accident. Then the children saw in the vision a line of people led by a bishop in white climbing a mountain. He kneels in front of the crucifix. As he prayers, he is shot and he dies. After that, the people in the vision, representing all the millions of people who had died in the 20th century, martyred for their faith, had their blood joined to the Blood of Christ on the Cross. Pope John Paul II had an attempt on his life on May 13, 1981, on the anniversary of the first apparition of the Blessed Mother to the children. The assassin was Mehmet Ali Agca and he later told the Pope that whoever's feast if was must have saved him. Scot said it said an invisible hand must have guided the bullet. The bullet ricocheted throughout his chest and missed every vital organ. He also lost 4-1/2 pints of blood and almost died. Later, John Paul said Mary gave him back his life. In gratitude, he carried out the consecration of Russia in 1984. He had wanted to do it in 1982, but someone at the Vatican failed to send the letters to the world's bishops in order to do the consecration in union with him. In 1984, they received the letters in time and more than 90% of bishops did the consecration. The bullet was placed in the statue of Our Lady in the Fatima shrine. And within a year of the consecration, Mikhail Gorbachev came to power in the Soviet Union, the man who would bring an end to the Soviet Union. **3rd segment:** In August 1917, the crowds were getting large. In June there were 50. In July, there were about 5,000. In August, there were more than 19,000. The anti-Catholic government of Portugal wanted to stop it. The local administrator tricked the children. He told the children he would take the children to the apparition site, but instead he took them to a prison in the district capital for two or three days. While they were in the prison, the administrator tried to get them to declare they had made up the apparitions and they had to tell him the secrets of the Blessed Mother. He even threatened to boil them in oil, but each of them refused. They were willing to give their lives for Jesus. The children ended up praying the rosary with the prisoners. When they finally got home, on the 19th of August, Lucia and Francisco were about a half-mile from the home and Lucia sensed the Blessed Mother was there. They sent for Jacinta. In September, about 35,000 people came to see the children. The kids asked the Blessed Mother about money people were giving and she said to use it to build a chapel after the messages end. She said they would see her three times in October and that St. joseph and the Christ Child would come and bless the world. In October, there was an estimated 55,000 people and another 20,000 people in the surrounding five people. All of these people saw the miracle of the sun that the Blessed Mother had promised. The sun danced across the sky and gave off different rays of color. It had rained for two days such that the ground was soaking wet. Many of them people there were extreme skeptics, including secularists and journalists. At the end, the sun seemed to detach from the sky and hurl itself toward the earth. After the miracle, everything was completely dry and the earth was itself dry. It was that miracle that gave Fatima it's stamp of authenticity because so many had seen the sign. The Church was able to give a quick approval to the supernatural happenings there. Scot said Our Lady identified herself as Our Lady of the Rosary. In all six apparitions she talked about the importance of praying the Rosary as a powerful weapon against evil and for the conversion of souls. Fr. Apostoli said the Rosary brings peace to the soul and brings us close to Jesus because not only are they about Mary, but about Jesus. The Rosary was a compendium of Catholic belief and spirituality reflecting on the life of Jesus so we can imitate him. Mary gave ti the seal of approval by promoting it. This is why the Rosary has become such a treasured prayer for Catholics. People who pray it feel the sense of Mary's presence. Five steps to promote Fatima: * live good Christian lives * pray daily, especially the Rosary * observe the Five First Saturday devotions * make sacrifices for the conversion * spread the message to others Our Lady told us what was going to happen in the 20th Century and we can see the effects of the vl in the world today. Mary told us these would happen, but she gave us the answer. Her last words to the children were to ask the people to stop offending God.

**Today's host(s):** Scot Landry and Fr. Matt Williams **Today's guest(s):** Artie Boyle * [Part 1 of the interview with Artie Boyle on The Good Catholic Life](http://www.thegoodcatholiclife.com/2011/08/10/program-0110-for-wednesday-august-10-2011-artie-boyle-part-1/) **Today's topics:** Artie Boyle's miraculous experience in Medjugorje, Part 2 of 2 **Summary of today's show:** Artie Boyle, a father of 13, tells Scot and Fr. Matt how he was diagnosed with cancer at age 44, how it drove him to prayer and deeper faith, and how he came to travel to a little town in the Balkans called Medjugorje where the Blessed Mother is said to have been appearing to six people since the 1980s where he sought both physical and spiritual healing. **1st segment:** Scot said this is a two-part series with Artie Boyle. SCot told Fr. Matt that they'd left off the day before with Artie coming down the mountain in Medjugorje convinced that he was healed of the cancer he'd been diagnosed with. Fr. Matt is reminded of the story in the Gospel of the healing of the paralytic. The paralytic's friends tore open the roof and lowered the man down to Jesus. When Jesus saw the faith of the man and his friends, he told the man his sins were forgiven and then healed. Fr. Matt said Artie's wife, Judy, and friends, Kevin and Robbie, are like a trinity who were praying with him and for him. Artie said the paralytic man's story is close to him because he believes he would not have been healed had Kevin and Robbie not decided to drop everything and go to Medjugorje with him. Kevin runs the largest HVAC company in New England and Robbie is the president of a huge commercial real-estate company. They are very busy men and they dropped everything in an instant to take their friend to Medjugorje. Scot said they had faith that if they took Artie there, that he would be healed. As the trip went on, Artie learned many things to come back and teach others. He knows many people don't receive physical healing, although they receive spiritual healing. When he came off the mountain, they went to Apparition Hill, the place where the visionaries first saw the Blessed Mother. It was dark by now and when he got to the top of the hill, he laid down prostrate on the ground, looking up at the stars, praying, and in a state of peace. He believes that after confession, he didn't sin at all for the next couple of days, which he knows is almost impossible for him. Laying there, looking up at God, Artie asked God to take him now because he was ready. Later, their guide took them to meet Fr. Jozo, who was the original pastor of Medjugorje. He didn't believe the visionaries at first, but the Blessed Mother later appeared to him as well and he became the protector of the children against the Communist regime. He was jailed for 18 months. Artie said there's lots of politics in the Church in the area and he was not allowed to go back to Medjugorje, so pilgrims would go out to his new church to hear him speak. Fr. Jozo was very tough on Americans and their way of life, especially, and it was difficult to listen to him. Fr. Jozo's translator, Nancy, was a Croatian by birth who studied in Canada. She had married while there, but had moved back to Medjugorje. Artie recalls he was the only non-priest to be prayed over by Fr. Jozo, in addition to his friend Robbie, who received an outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Nancy told them to see her before they left because she wanted to talk to them As they were getting ready to leave they saw that Fr. Ed McDonough happened to be there at the same time. Fr. McDonough had had an accident and Artie and Robbie ended up taking him to a hospital and they never got Nancy's address. But on the day they were leaving Medjugorje, an Irish nurse who had been there with them and asked them if they wanted to go see Nancy. They sat in the courtyard with many others and Nancy and her husband, Patrick, and then after everyone left she prayed and said to Artie, "You need to forgive." He couldn't imagine what she was talking about, but then she said, "You need to forgive your mother and father." His parents had just divorced after 44 years of marriage, but he'd never told her that. He burst into tears even though he'd never realized he need to forgive. He learned two valuable lessons in Medjugorje. First, he learned that God wants all of us to be well and to be healed. In order for us to be healed, we need to be an open vessel for the Holy Spirit to come in and the only way we can do that is by going to confession and by forgiving everybody and anybody, to hold nothing back. Sometimes we need to pray for the grace to know what we need to forgive. The men were ready to leave Medjugorje at this point. His wife, Judy, was at a cookout with Fr. Arthur Calter, one of the priests from his parish. As Judy got up to leave, they asked her where she was going. She said, "I have to go pickup my husband. He was just healed in Medjugorje." The three wives picked them up at the airport and they were heading out to see a priest who was going to pray over them. Before they left, Artie had seen the miracle of sun, which is a phenomenon in which the sun appears to dance in the sky. They wanted to see the miracle here in Boston, so they decided to stop the car and pray the rosary. Their wives felt bad for them because they thought they were going to be disappointed. As the men prayed, they all saw the miracle. This has happened many times since then in many places. Artie saw it as a way to share the experience with their wives. Artie had asked his entire family to be present when he got home, including his parents and siblings and all their kids. He brought his father in front oft he whole family and forgave him for divorcing their mother. His mother wasn't happy with it and he felt like he was called to do this in a public way. Two days later, he went in for a CT scan and they told him he wasn't breathing right and he got excited. He went back to the Mass. General and went up to the surgeon with the films. Normally when the doctor calls you in to deliver bad news, he's sitting behind the desk. This time, the doctor was standing on the threshold, and told him that the tumors were gone. The large tumor disappeared and the other two had shrunk to insignificant size. The thoracic surgeon, the urologist, and the oncologist all got together and on September 14, the feast of the triumph of the cross, instead of having his right lung cut out, he was playing golf with his friend, Kevin. Artie believes that those two little nodules are reminders. He prays more and more fervently and with more understanding now. Since then, Artie has met Ivan Dragicevic, one of the six visionaries of Medjugorje at a prayer meeting at St. John's in Quincy. Artie tried to get to know him, but Ivan left first. Artie's story appeared on the front-page of the Boston Globe on Christmas Day. Ivan then called the house and invited Artie to be present during one of his apparitions and they have since become very close. One or two years later, they were able to remove the remaining nodules [laparoscopically])http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laparoscopic_surgery), instead of having to remove his lung in the surgery. Ivan told him that the Blessed Mother would be in the operating room with him and that Jesus's hands would be the hands of the surgeon. He had the surgery done and it went without a glitch. The tumors were found to be renal cancer cells, which should have been growing, but had done nothing in all that time. As of his last tests, Artie's right lung looks perfectly normal and healthy. Jesus had continued to heal him and he has had zero evidence of cancer in his body. He hasn't been back in many years because he told his oncologist that Jesus healed so he didn't need the tests. The oncologist told him he's right, that the barium and other materials involved in the tests were probably doing more harm to him, and told him he'd "graduated from the school of oncology" and very few people ever do. **2nd segment:** Scot said many people don't receive the same kind of healing that Artie did. He asked Artie why he thinks so many don't receive physical healings even they pray for it. Why did God choose Artie? Artie said he may never know why God chose to heal him physically. In Medjugorje, one of the messages of the apparitions asks people to start prayer groups, and so they have a prayer group that meets every Thursday night at St. Paul's in Hingham at 7:15pm. The purpose was to pray the rosary and the chaplet of Divine Mercy. They will sometimes have the celebration of Mass. It is a rosary of people asking God for something, whether physical healing or other assistance, but through their prayer many people are made ready to come before God. They have seen thousands of people who have been healed, as well. Artie believes he's been healed not just to convey the message of forgiveness and confession to the world (because he's made a promise to speak wherever and whenever he's been asked), but also to lead others to prayer. The healing wasn't just for Artie, but to tell people that Jesus is active today healing people. He's preaching always and sometimes uses words. He has a large family and they know that people are always looking at them, wondering how they do it, so he knows they have to be a good example. Fr. Matt says through the prayer group they are pointing people toward heaven, which has always been the Blessed Mother's message at every apparition. Our decisions on this earth have eternal consequences. In the midst of people's hardships, God has raised up Artie's family to show that while no one ever wants suffering, it ultimately points to the God who can heal and wants us to be with him in heaven forever where there is no more tears. While we want to pray for healing, we need to pray for healing of the soul as well. The inward healing has an effect on the physical well-being because we are both body and soul. Artie said Jesus used his own body to heal him. He believes that in Medjugorje that he entered such a state of peace and prayer that his immune system rebooted itself and killed the cancer. That never would have happened had he not been praying and been in a state of peace. You can't know God if you're constantly on the go and receiving constant stimulation. Fr. Matt reminded Artie that he said he used to be afraid of Jesus. How did he go from there to Jesus being his brother, friend, and savior. Artie said as a kid there was always an image of Jesus being rough and tough and mean toward sin, while the Blessed Mother was always loving. But through hearing about Jesus in the confessional, reading Scripture, and prayer, he has been drawn much closer to Jesus. Scot said the practice of confession throughout the Church is not what it used to be. What has Artie learned about confession? Artie said outside of Mass, confession is the most powerful sacrament. You have to find a priest you're comfortable with and you can have a heart-to-heart conversation with him. He has the wisdom and understanding of Jesus Christ through the sacrament. He often goes to St. Anthony Shrine in Boston where confession starts at 6:30am. Scot often goes before work because it's easy to find a place to park at that time of the day. Artie used to go during the workday and was amazed at how many people would go. Part of that experience is grace, which you can never get through going to a therapist. A lot of the priests at the shrine can give get great advice, but its the grace that is most important. Artie said in Medjugorje priests can be found hearing confessions everywhere, not just in the church, because the demand is so great. Fr. Matt said Our Lady comes as Queen of Peace, helping us find peace not just in the world, but in our families and our lives. We don't have peace because we've shut God out and confession lets him back in. Confession opens the door to the closet of skeletons we shut years ago and cleans it out. Then after we've been forgiven, then we have to forgive those we hold grudges against. Fr. Matt said many people don't realize that anger and unforgiveness is a spiritual cancer. Artie said a friend was sick with cancer and he told his story to him and he went to confession. A couple of weeks before he died, Artie was with him and the phone rang. The friend looked at the caller ID and threw the phone on the bed in disgust. He said it was his father and he didn't want to talk to him. Artie said don't you understand after everything I've said that you need to forgive him, but he never did. He died a very painful death. Scot recalled that Artie said after feeling the physical healing in Medjugorje that he also felt free of sin. Artie said it was the most incredible feeling he'll ever have and hasn't experienced it since. It's even more than being in love and having 13 kids. It gave him a glimpse of what heaven must be like. He wanted to thank Jesus so much, that he just continued to pray and pray. Our Lady says, Pray until pray becomes joy. If you want to get better at prayer, pray more. Scot said perhaps people find prayer boring because they don't pray from the heart. When Artie first went to Mission Church for a healing Mass, he was desperate. He gave himself over to God. There was no "Why me?" and no animosity, just trust in God. He talked to God as a friend in the same sort of language you'd use with a close friend. Fr. Matt noted Artie called himself a convenient Catholic before his diagnosis, one who went to Mass on Sundays as a duty. He asked how often we say the Apostle's Creed or other prayers of the Mass and don't reflect on the words we are praying. Do we really intend the words we are saying. Fr. Matt said it's important to go to Mass early. If we go to a Patriots' game, we go three hours early to tailgate and get filled with the "spirits." We talk about the game and the players and what we expect. We become mentally prepared to enter the football game. But when it comes to Mass, we show up late, we're not prepared, and we're rushed. Fr. Matt said he often needs time to transition from one thing to another. That's why getting to Mass even five minutes early, so you can sit with God and ask what you need to pray for and to put yourself in the presence of God. Scot asked how many kids would show up for their child's First Communion five minutes late. No, they'd be prepared, they'd show up early, they'd invite family, they'd bu ya new suit or dress for the child. But it's the same Jesus they will receive at the second, third, and subsequent Communions. He often thinks about how he should go to Mass as if it's his first Mass, his only Mass, and last Mass. We're not called to be spectators at church. We're called to pray every prayer with intensity. Artie said most people don't recognize the great gift of Mass. We shouldn't look at it as just an obligation. When he speaks with Ivan, they pray two mysteries of the rosary, they have Mass, then Ivan speaks and Artie speaks. It's four hours long and people leave filled with the Holy Spirit. But people leave Sunday Mass upset if it's more than 45 minutes. The reason is because people aren't spending *enough* time there. **3rd segment:** Scot asked Artie what he physically experienced when he forgave his parents. In the confessional, he experienced pure joy. When he forgave his father, he gave forgave all the anger and angst he'd been feeling inside because of it. When we're holding on to a grudge, we're hurting ourselves and keeping ourselves from Jesus. When they were first married, Artie and Judy would argue, but Judy decided to stop telling him what to do and instead to pray. They both changed through the prayer and that's a form of forgiveness. Scot said we all want forgiveness from God, but recall that Our Father joins together "forgive us our trespasses" with "as we forgive those who trespass against us." Fr. Matt said forgiveness brings peace and joy. The opposite is true as well. Scot said there active apparitions and healings in Medjugorje going on now, but the Church's relationship to Medjugorje is different than those with Fatima or Lourdes. He asked Artie and Fr. Matt to reflect on how we're to respond to stories about it. Fr. Matt said a commission created by the Vatican is still investigating the legitimacy of the apparitions. There have been different quotes that have been attributed to Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI that have been positive. There has not been formal approval, because that can only come after the apparitions end to ensure that they are all compatible with faith and morals. The Church doesn't say we are prohibited from visiting there. Dioceses and parishes are not supposed to sponsor official pilgrimages there because of the potential of confusion. But private pilgrimages can have priests accompany them to provide the sacraments. Artie tells people to look at the fruits. Medjugorje has been going on since June 25, 1981. He personally knows 18 priests who received their vocations at Medjugorje. There have been millions of Eucharists received and confessions heard there. Pope John Paul II when asked about Medjugorje said, "Are they going to confession? Are they going to Mass?"

**Today's host(s):** Scot Landry and Fr. Matt Williams **Today's guest(s):** Artie Boyle **Today's topics:** Artie Boyle's miraculous experience in Medjugorje, Part 1 of 2 **Summary of today's show:** Artie Boyle, a father of 13, tells Scot and Fr. Matt how he was diagnosed with cancer at age 44, how it drove him to prayer and deeper faith, and how he came to travel to a little town in the Balkans called Medjugorje where the Blessed Mother is said to have been appearing to six people since the 1980s where he sought both physical and spiritual healing. **1st segment:** Scot welcomes Fr. Matt to the show. Today's guest, Artie Boyle, will talk about how he was healed by Jesus during a visit to the village of Medjugorje in Bosnia-Hercegovina, where the Blessed Mother is said to have been appearing since the 1980s. Medjugorje has had a big effect on Fr. Matt's own vocation. Fr. Matt said the Feast oft he Assumption is one of his favorite Marian feast days. Medjugorje invokes a love and peace in Fr. Matt because it was the impetus of his reversion to the Catholic faith and the seeds of his vocation. He first went in 1991 and he has been back 9 times. Fr. Matt's father was invited to Medjugorje by the priest-chaplain at Children's Hospital where he worked. That was the seed of his own deeper relationship with the Blessed Mother and he began to pray the rosary more and read the book [" Medjugorje: The Message"](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0035G054M/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=pilo0e-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=B0035G054M) by Wayne Weible. He chronicles his journey there and is one of the first books about Medjugorje. Fr. Matt's dad decided that the whole family should go together and he announced that the summer when Fr. Matt was 17 that the family vacation would be this trip. His father told him that this was an experience that Fr. Matt needed to have. God honors our free will and he wants us to choose him freely. When he went, over the course of the week, his hardened heart was softened. In MEdjugorje, you are inserted into an atmosphere of prayer .If nothing else, the place is marked by the sacraments and an expectant faith that God is going to do something. You start to experience the love of God through Our Lady. By the end of the week, he was on his knees praying the rosary. But it wasn't until 1994 when he went back at 20 years old and God flipped his world upside down through the experience of confession and he got a sense of his vocation. During that confession, it hits him that God loves him uniquely and personally. And that all his sins have affected this God who desires nothing but good for him. Fr. Matt started weeping. Through that, he said to the priest that he didn't know what to do with his life. He said he thought he might have a calling (despite having a girlfriend of two years). From that point forward he started a journey and three years later he entered the seminary. He been back to Medjugorje three times as a priest. Scot has stories of spiritual and physical healing at Medjugorje for people who have traveled there with an expectant faith. Fr. Matt said while he was at seminary he knew at least three or four other men who were there because of an experience at Medjugorje. **2nd segment:** Scot and Fr. Matt welcomed Artie Boyle to the show. Artie works in the Boston Catholic Development Services, helping with the Campaign for Catholic Schools. He started working for the Archdiocese in December 2009. Scot said working in development was a phenomenal experience for him, especially meeting people throughout the Archdiocese. Artie said he has seen many people who have been alienated by events over the past 10 or 50 years are starting to come back and desire to help build up the Church and the faith. Artie and his wife were married at a young age in 1974. He and his wife Judy left school and they didn't have a job to fall back on so they were in God's hands. Artie said he was a convenient Catholic at the time, going to church on Sundays and trying to raise the children in the faith. That was pretty much the only sacrament he participated in. He went to Mass an obligation and not really knowing what was going on. He didn't know until he went to Medjugorje at 44 years old. When you know, it changes your whole outlook and it makes him excited about the Mass and the Word of God. He and his wife have 13 children. Their second child, Artie, was autistic and it was very difficult for 19-year-old. They didn't believe people who told them they couldn't have more kids. Their eight child, Joseph Anthony, died of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. It was the most traumatic thing to happen to them and still is. Their next child was Julianne and since all the other 7 children had been present when Joseph died, Judy decided that they should be present in the delivery room when she had the next child. All the kids were silent the minute the hard labor hit. Two of the children are married. One has eight children and the other has seven. The kids have all done well. Artie is a Special Olympics gold medal winner, another is a doctor, his son Brian plays in the NHL, Brendan has an MBA, and they're all doing well. They're very proud and it's all a gift from God. He said Judy is the key because she is powerful in her faith. The men in the family are the leaders of the home and the women are the heart. He's convinced that if he doesn't lead in prayer, it will all fall apart. Scot said research shows that when a father is active in passing on the faith, both boys and girls are much more likely to be active in their faith as adults. Artie said Our Lady has asked men to pray the rosary with the family for a reason, to bring the family together and bring peace to the faith. He can discuss things with his kids after prayer that he wouldn't be able to otherwise. Fr. Matt said when the family prays together, you might think everyone would react this it's taking away from recreational time. The irony is that the sacrifice creates a recreation among the family that most parents would give their right arm to have. His experience is that when his family would gather for prayer, they would have the best conversations. This was the family bonding time. Artie said their prayer time is not just rote prayer of the rosary, but it's also conversation. Family conversation is prayer time. Their prayer time has evolved into a fire pit time. They have a fire pit in the backyard and every Sunday night, everyone from the oldest to the youngest want to gather around the fire pit and talk. It's not mindless recreation; they love to sit around and talk with their parents. That evolved from the prayer time. **3rd segment:** Scot said in the late 90's was when Artie first was told he had cancer. Artie said he's always been very active and has been an avid golfer, but at the time he couldn't play four holes of golf without having to stop. He would feel a burning inside that was so intense he had to stop. The doctors found he was anemic, which is very unusual for a man. He had more tests and they found he had [Barrett's sophagus](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0002128/). He was put on medication and told to come back in a month. A month later he'd lost 45 pounds and his face looked gray and sunken. The doctor said the medicine hadn't taken effect yet and sent him to stay on it for another month. Had he done that he wouldn't be here today. Instead, Judy called Mass. General Hospital and they said they could see Artie in a month. So she started to pray. She sat down at the kitchen table to pray and the doorbell rang. A good friend who lives a couple hundred miles away happened to be in the neighborhood. His sister worked at the Mass. General; he made a call and they had an appointment for two days later. The doctors gave him a battery of tests and found nothing. They sent him to a hematologist who did a bunch of tests and found nothing. They scheduled a CT scan at an offsite facility. The technicians told him all he had to do was lie down on the table and hold his breath, but then they said he hadn't been holding his breath properly and they'd need to take more tests. They said the results would be results would be read the next day so they headed home. Something pulled him to his doctor's office and as he arrived the doctor's secretary called and said the doctor needed to see him. When he went in, the doctor was waiting for him, sat him down, and told him he had renal cell carcinoma, cancer of the kidney. It's the most intense thing he's ever been told. He immediately began to wonder how much time he had left, who would take care of his 13 kids, how is his wife going to do this by herself, who will teach the boys how to play catch, who will be there for the girls when the boys come around for the prom and all that sort of stuff. The doctor tried to prescribe a tranquilizer right then and there, but Artie said No. He was scheduled for an oncologist immediately and he went right to his office. He sat there for several hours with his head in his hands, but when he started to look around the room he saw that there were people worse off than him. He believed he could beat the cancer, but not once did he think of God. The doctor finally called him in and brought up the CT pictures of the tumor as big as his fist sitting on his kidney. The spleen and the lymph nodes were also infected. The next morning he went with Judy to see the urologist. The surgeon explained that it would an ugly surgery and gave them the details of how bad it would. Judy was silent the whole time and later he learned that Judy was praying and rebuking everything that the doctor was saying. Surgery was schedule for Dec 9, 1999. In the 21 days before, many things happened to them. James 5:14-16 says, "Is anyone among you sick? He should summon the presbyters of the church, and they should pray over him and anoint (him) with oil in the name of the Lord,and the prayer of faith will save the sick person, and the Lord will raise him up. If he has committed any sins, he will be forgiven." They took it literally and went to every priest they could find, every healing Mass there was. Judy and her sister put his name on the Novena to St. Anthony and put them in the backs of many of the churches on the South Shore. December 8 is the feast of the Immaculate Conception and there was an all-night prayer vigil into the day of his surgery. One of the most profound healing Masses happened after work one day with Fr. Ed McDonough at the Mission Church in Boston. Judy picked him up in the car and he heard a fascinating story about [St. Faustina](http://thedivinemercy.org/message/stfaustina/) and the chaplet of Divine Mercy. When he got to the Mission Church, he prayed with his whole heart for the first time in his life. As he was praying, he felt something physically strike him in the chest. It knocked him backwards. After that, Fr. McDonough prayed over him and the gray cancer color of his skin disappeared right before everyone's eyes. The next day, he had his blood tested and he was back to normal, which was a scientific impossibility. Then his wife received a call from a stranger who said they'd been praying to the novena for Artie and who also said they'd lost a relic several months before and found it recently. It was a relic of St. Faustina and they wanted Artie to have it. Meanwhile, as they had been driving to Mission Church, Judy had told Artie that she thought he should wear a [Miraculous Medal](http://www.amm.org/aboutus/medal.asp). Artie had never worn jewelry, never mind religious jewelry. But when they got back to his car that he'd left at work, they found Miraculous Medal on a man's chain on the passenger seat, even though Artie knows his car door had been locked. Today this day they share the medal with people in need. Artie realized that God was trying to get through to him. Faith was clearly the key ingredient in his healing. There are many people of faith out there and Artie believes in the power of prayer. It was a tough surgery for Artie because it was a new anesthesiologist and he woke up at the end without proper pain medication and writhing in pain. However, the good news was that the pancreatic surgeon wasn't needed. A membrane had grown between the tumor and the pancreas, protecting the pancreas. So now the pancreas sits where the kidney was. The pathology report two or three weeks later from the doctor said they had got it all and he would live a normal life. Artie's reaction was to thank Jesus and ask Him what Artie could do in thanksgiving. He didn't hear anything, so he didn't do anything and went right back into the rat race. He went back three months later and there was nothing, but eight months later they found three tumors in his right lung. The cancer had metastasized and metastatic renal cell cancer has no cure. No chemotherapy, no radiation, and nothing works but extraction. They went to a thoracic surgeon, along with their medical school student daughter and her medical school student husband. Artie was petrified of going back into surgery and depression and anxiety set in. He was told he had a 5% chance of survival, but surgery was his only hope. **4th segment:** It’s time to announce the winner of the weekly **WQOM Benefactor Raffle**. This week's prize is [Rediscover Catholicism: A Spiritual Guide to Living with Passion & Purpose](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0984131892/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=pilo0e-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=0984131892) by Matthew Kelly. This week's winner is **Katherine Knapp from Sherborn, MA**. Congratulations Katherine! If you would like to be eligible to win in an upcoming week, please visit [WQOM.org](http://www.WQOM.org). For a one-time $30 donation, you’ll receive the Station of the Cross benefactor card and key tag, making you eligible for WQOM’s weekly raffle of books, DVDs, CDs and religious items. We’ll be announcing the winner each Wednesday during “The Good Catholic Life” program. **5th segment:** The surgery was scheduled for September 14, 2000, which happens to be the feast of the triumph of the Cross. It also was his brother-in-law Kevin's birthday. Artie and Judy talked to Kevin and his wife, Rita, who is Judy's sister. The next day Kevin played golf with another good friend of theirs, Robby. Kevin told him the story of Artie's illness and Robby spent the 18 holes telling him the story of Medjugorje. Kevin told Artie about Medjugorje and Artie said his daughter had given Judy the book,"Medjugorje: The Message" about ten years earlier, and eve though Judy had tried to read the messages of Our Lady at Medjugorje to him, it was inevitably while Artie was watching sports and it went in one ear and out the other. Within one week, Kevin, Robby, and Artie were on their way to Medjugorje in a little village in Bosnia-Hercegovina to be there September 4-10. Artie kept a journal and was inspired to write in that he was going to Medjugorje to see the Blessed Mother and be healed and although he wasn't necessarily going to see her, he knew that he would be touched by her in some way. Faith is the confident assurance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things yet unseen. He had written that confident assurance and he would receive the evidence. As Artie was flying across the Atlantic, Judy had taken their 5-year-old son, Nick, to a nondemoninational Bible study. Nick went in with the other kids and when they came out, she asked Nick what he learned. Nick said, "Luke 5:13, Be not afraid, your prayer has been heard." Later in the week, they heard Luke 1:37, "Nothing is impossible with God." Two things Judy needed to hear while her husband was halfway across the world. She believed from that moment that Artie would be healed. They arrived in Medjugorje and felt that it was a place of supernatural village. It was a tiny village and they'd even brought suitcases of food and water because they'd had no idea what they would experience. The food and water turned out to be fine. They stayed in a family's home. They went to the church and the first they did was go to confession, the first time for any of them in 15 years. He kind of just blew thought it as an obligation. Then they went into Mass. At Masses in Medjugorje, they pray the rosary first in many languages. But when they sing between the decades, they sing with such conviction that your soul is lifted into heaven. They met their guide after Mass who was supposed to take them to Viska, one of the six visionaries of Medjugorje, whose usual task is to pray over the sick. Unfortunately, the guide told them that Viska had to go to Rome to visit a sick friend and she wouldn't be able to pray with him. It was disappointing, but they were in Medjugorje. After Mass, the next day he was still anxious, but felt so much peace. They went to buy something nice for their wives at a little jewelry store. He had bought 5 rosary bead bracelets for his daughters and was looking at 5 gold chains and crosses for his sons and though they were expensive, he realized that if he could spend the money he did on golf and hockey and other recreational activity for himself, he could spend it on Jesus. As the thought entered his head, there was commotion immediately to his left and Viska was suddenly standing next to him. She had missed her plane the night before and she had happened to stop in the store. The guide excitedly came over to explain who Artie was and she put her hands on him to pray. The heat that came from his body started making the others with him sweat. They left there to climb up [Mt. Krizevac](http://pilgrimage.medjugorje.com/pilgrimage-to-medjugorje/84-cross-mountain.html) or Cross Mountain. In 1933, the villagers built a 33-ton cross on the mountain that overlooks the entire valley. The mountain is so craggy and the brush so thick that it's almost impossible to ascend, but the villagers were able to build this cross. Artie and the guys wanted to go up there to pray. They passed St. James Church on the way and they felt called to return to make a better confession. To this day, the priest in that confessional, an English priest who now serves in the missions in Peru, remains a dear friend. In the confessional, the priest explained to him that the Eucharist is the most powerful medicine we have on earth, to take Jesus into his body as often as possible, and ask Jesus to heal him. He told Artie that when he returns home, to live his life as a witness. Leaving the confessional, he realized that his anxiety and depression were gone and that he had gone to Medjugorje not for a physical healing but a spiritual healing. Scot said Jesus often healed people spiritually, before healing physically. Artie said confession is not an option. It is a sacrament that gives us a grace that allows us to walk in the light of Christ. They then went to the mountain. As they climbed, he felt a pain in his lung that he could put a finger on and he said to himself that it was getting worse. It was raining at the time and they'd been told it was too dangerous to climb. At the top of the mountain, they were alone and praying for healing. Artie said he went to Medjugorje in love with the Blessed Mother and afraid of Jesus. Once he was there he fell in love with Jesus and the Blessed Mother took her place. He's not sure why he was afraid of Jesus, but he knew the Blessed Mother would love him no matter what, just like any mother would. But then he realized that Jesus did love him over there. Scot is struck by the fact that Artie wasn't alone over there, but was with his friends. They took a picture at the top of the mountain of the three of them standing together overlooking the valley. In the photo, there appears to be an image of Jesus or the Blessed Mother standing behind them with their arms extended. He saw it as a gift for them. They managed to find their way down the rain-slicked mountain and Artie called his wife and asked her to schedule another CT scan before they cut out his lung. She called the doctor and the doctor's secretary left him a voicemail saying, "We know you're in Medjugorje, we know why you're there. The fact is you have cancer and it's not going to disappear. We're going to go ahead with the surgery." So Judy got another doctor. They later found out his parents had gone to Medjugorje and he had a picture from Medjugorje on his office wall. As he left Medjugorje, Artie was convinced he was healed as were Kevin and Robby. The family at home were not yet convinced. On Thursday, Part 2 of our conversation with Artie Boyle.

**Today's host(s):** Scot Landry **Today's guest(s):** Richard Ely, Director of Gift Planning for the Catholic Community Fund of the Archdiocese of Boston * [Catholic Legacy Society](http://www.catholiclegacysociety.org) **Today's topics:** End of life planning as a way to pass on your values and render unto God **Summary of today's show:** Richard Ely joins Scot to discuss estate planning as a way to leave not just a financial legacy to support charity, but also as a spiritual exercise to pass on your values to the next generation, continue the work of corporal and spiritual works of mercy after our death and be a good steward of God's gifts. **1st segment:** Scot read the Gospel passage form Luke about rendering unto Caesar what is Caesar's and render to God what is God's and explained that to render is to give back. Scot welcomed Richard Ely to the show. How long has Richard been helping institutions and individuals applying the logic of estate planning to charitable giving. Scot said in the Catholic context, how we put together and estate plan, it's an indication of our values, to pass on our spiritual legacy in addition to a financial legacy. In many cases, people treat their secular world as separate from our relationship with God, but to the extent that we can recognize that they aren't separate makes our lives easier. Scot said knowing the laws and regulations about our civil obligations is rendering unto Caesar. Richard said this has always been a meaningful Scripture passage for him. We tend to think that if we have good things, it's due to our own hard work, but if something bad happens God is punishing us. But the reality is that everything we have are all gifts from God. We have many ways we can render unto God our gifts, including non-monetary talents like leadership, organizational ability, skills with hands, and so on. Scot recalled a story from our show with Jim Orcutt from My Brother's Keeper who told Scot about a woman who had nothing left but an apple, but gave thanks to God for what she had. We are blessed with so much, not just material things. When we try to take an inventory of our gifts, it's amazing how grateful you can be. Just writing the names of all the people you love on a piece of paper as part of an inventory of your gifts in a formal estate planning situation can be extremely rewarding. Richard said, it's important to be grateful for the gifts from God. **2nd segment:** Richard has initiated the Catholic Legacy Society, which helps Catholics benefit the Church through their estates for decades, if not centuries. Scot asked Richard what the Church asks of us, when she asks us to be good stewards. We must receive God's gifts gratefully. We must also cherish and tend those gifts in a responsible and accountable manner. Then we must share those gifts in justice and love. That's not necessarily a fundraising pitch. It could be sharing those gifts wit hthe family. The fourth element is returning those gifts to the Lord with increase. * [Stewardship: A Disciple's Response (USCCB)](http://www.usccb.org/stewardship/) Scot said God has given us unique gifts. No two people in the world have ever received the same compilation of gifts from God. We're called to appreciate those gifts as well. Richard said it's a recognition and mind-shift. It's one thing to look at an IRA or house and know how much work when into acquiring those assets and to think, "I did that; nobody gave me that." But it's another thing to understand that those are gifts from God. That's an important shift of thinking. * Psalm 116:12 >How can I repay the LORD for all the good done for me? Scot noted a verse from Psalm 116 he often sees on the wall of his parish church. We as Christians have been given an infinitely powerful gift of our own creation and our life. The only response to the love behind that gift is to love him back. God doesn't just want money for the Church, but to give that love to others. The next component is to cherish and tend those gifts. Richard said cherish occurs several times in Scripture in the context of family, friends, and life. We don't just understand that these are gifts from God, but we embrace them like we embrace our friends and family. It's more than just gratitude. Tending them responsibly and with accountability is a big part. There are people who misuse their gifts or fail to use them. But if we cherish the gifts, it's easier to tend in a responsible and accountable manner. In a gift planning context, tending means having the documents in order for the rendering to Caesar and rendering to God. If you fail to provide for the legal requirements, then the state steps in and makes decisions that have nothing to do with your own values or desires and obligation to cherish and tend. Scot said he loves that the Church's teaching includes the word "cherish," which is to love so tenderly, just like a parent with a newborn infant. All of our gifts are given to us like our children to cherish and tend as if they were like our children to be raised. The third component is sharing them in justice and love with others. Richard noted the parable of Jesus about not putting your light under a bushel basket. We can get self-indulgent and selfish about gifts, but this is an exhortation to share. Sometimes this is financial sharing to charities and the Church, but we also are called to do what we can to help family and friends. In fact, God may be calling us to share with our family primarily. Scot said of the things were are called to share, money is way down the list after our own life, our love, our family. Richard said the mind-shift that occurs in our being mindful, cherishing, and tending brings us to naturally sharing. The fourth component is returning the gifts we have tended with increase to God. Richard said this is the richest component of all of them. We end up with all of the discrete pieces of life, as in being spread out all over the table as it were. This component is about summing it up so that we have a sense of our life as a whole. Who am I and what am I, ultimately? A husband, father, property owner, a Christian, and so on. Scot said returning with increase is doing everything I can so that others understand that I truly believe I am Catholic, that my family is stronger. At the end of my life, try every day to make my family, my friends stronger and better for my having been among them. Richard said this process is a wonderful occasion for turning our lives around. We need to do this for the state anyway, so why don't we use this as an opportunity for a better, deeper relationship with God. **3rd segment:** Scot asked how to put all this into practice with later-life planning. Richard said is the endpoint of our life here, but is an entry life into eternal life with God. So in many ways we are defined by our death. So death too can be a gift. So what do I do know to render unto Caesar and satisfy the requirements of the state? So this is where he starts talking about a will, a trust perhaps, a durable power of attorney, and a health-care proxy. Scot said we have to beware of thinking about this forever, studying it, talking about it, but failing to finally follow through before death. Richard has heard of cases where the completely drawn will is sitting on someone's desk unsigned when they die. So the state says that you have left no direction for the disposition of your property and so the state then decides based on the law, which is usually in a manner that the person would not have wanted. Richard said it's also important to keep these documents up to date, reflecting the gifts you have now as opposed to what you had 15 years ago. Scot said you can hire an attorney or estate planner, but there are even software packages that you use and then consult with an expert later. Scot said through proper planning, whatever age you are, you can make plans not just for death,but for life. Richard said you can plan for death, but you can also plan how you can live until the end of life. There are stories of older people who get ill and become isolated and even start to despair. So how can we live until the end of life? Another situation is when we are alive, but no longer able to make decisions for ourselves: mental illness, dementia, comas, or paralysis, for example. Scot said health-care proxy and durable power of attorney are important in these cases. Scot said it's important to have a conversation with the person named in these documents as the proxy and attorney so they know your values and so they will do this as a gift back to you. Richard said there's a common situation of an older husband or wife and one of the two have a severe case of dementia. While the other spouse works to care for the first, they eventually decide they can no longer for them and decide to sell the house and move into assisted living. But they find one needs the signature of the other to sell and now needs to go before the court to declare them the guardian for the other. A durable power of attorney circumvents that obstacle. The health-care proxy will never be needed for many people who just die, but many people will linger. Richard noted his own circumstance when his mother had a stroke and he was called upon to make a decision on whether to take extraordinary steps to prolong her life. He didn't want to make a decision to cause her to die, but they knew she didn't want to be kept alive way longer than she would have wanted. Fortunately, she had a health-care proxy that had clear instructions. If not and Richard and his sister disagreed on what to do, it could have been very messy. Scot said the proxy can be a gift to the survivors to keep them from being put in a bad situation. There was no question of their legal authority to make health-care decisions for their mother. To have one person to be able to speak to the doctors can be very useful. Richard has co-written a book with Patricia Steward called "The Health Care Decision Guide for Catholics." A second edition will be coming out soon. **4th segment:** Richard said the example of Pope John Paul II in the end of his life was very inspiring. As the end of his life unfolded, he showed how to live until the moment that you die. The spiritual part of preparing for death includes that understanding that we don't know when that will be. Thus we have to be prepared both relationally (forgiving others) and legally. Scot said our documents reflect our response to God's love. Scot said it's important for us to leave instructions about our death and burial. He related a story of a neighbor who was a daily communicant, his children had left the faith, but because he didn't make provisions for it, he didn't get a Catholic funeral. Richard said it's important for people to make preparations for receiving the Sacrament of the Sick. Many people still have the misconception that it's only received when you're at death's door. Scot brought up the concept of ethical wills, where we transfer our values, not just our valuables. It comes from the Jewish tradition, Jacob talking to his 12 sons who became the 12 tribes of Israel, as well as Jesus' last discourse to the 12 apostles, conveying to them the essence of his ministry. Rich's own ethical will instructs his sons to take care of their mother, to stay in touch with the rest of the family, that he's proud of them; all kinds of things that you want to say. Others will say that education is important or other philosophical ideas. This is a key component is returning with increase to the Lord. All the documents are squared away, your understanding of your relationship with God is there, so now the ethical will is a place to sum it all up and pass that on. Grandparents shouldn't miss an opportunity to write a love letter to their grandchildren and great-grandchildren before their old enough to really appreciate what they have to say to them. Richard said anyone who does genealogy recognizes that when you go back a few generations, you know what people did, but not what they were about. People can find out more about end of life planning by going to [CatholicLegacySociety.org](http://www.catholiclegacysociety.org) or [email](mailto:[email protected]) or call Richard at 627-779-3702. He often does presentations at parishes, especially for pastoral councils and finance councils.

**Today's host(s):** Scot Landry **Today's guest(s):** Fr. Roger Landry, Pastor of St. Anthony of Padua Parish, New Bedford, and Executive Editor of The Anchor, the newspaper of the Diocese of Fall River * [St. Anthony of Padua Parish, New Bedford](http://www.saintanthonynewbedford.com/) **Today's topics:** The Church's teachings on the Blessed Virgin Mary **Summary of today's show:** Fr. Roger Landry joins his brother Scot to discuss what the Church believes and teaches about Mary, the Mother of Jesus, and how best to prepare for the upcoming Feast of the Assumption. **1st segment:** Scot welcomed his brother, Fr. Roger Landry, to show to discuss the role of Mary in the economy of salvation. Fr. Roger has led retreats called the School of Mary on the teachings of the Church on Mary. Fr. Roger said he took the term School of Mary from Bl. John Paul II. HE spoke about entering into a school of Mary, just as Jesus would have been in a school at the feet of Mary. It also refers to the school of the Rosary which teaches us in meditations on Mary. John Paul II wrote an encyclical called [Redemptoris Mater](http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_25031987_redemptoris-mater_en.html) in which he asked the Church to look to Mary as a model for the faith. >The Mother of the Redeemer has a precise place in the plan of salvation, for "when the time had fully come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, 'Abba! Father!'" (Gal. 4:4-6) Scot asked what is the blessed Mother's role in the economy of salvation, God's plan to save us all. Fr. Roger said the first point is her free Yes to God's proposal made through the Archangel Gabriel, which set into motion God's plan of salvation. This allowed Christ to take on our human flesh in order to provide expiation for our sins through His flesh and open up the gates to heaven. The second point is the third annunciation of the Cross. The first was Gabriel's and the second was when Simeon told her her own heart would be pierced. The third is when Christ said to her to behold her son, John (and through him all of us), and to all of us. By her prayers and intercession, by her example, and by her continuing to hand on to us her Son, our savior. The Catechism begins talking about Mary by calling her the Mother of the Church. Why is it significant that she is our mother? Fr. Roger said we all need spiritual mothers. Most of us have learned our faith from our mothers. Mothers have a particular genius for handing on the faith to their children. Also, Jesus came from heaven to found a family. We have a father, Jesus is our brother, and no better person has existed who has heard the Word and put it into practice than Mary. Jesus said his mother and brothers and sisters are those who hear the Word and put it into practice. Scot said the Church has proclaimed two dogmas about Mary. The first is the Immaculate Conception, which means she was preserved from sin. * [Immaculate Conception](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immaculate_Conception) * [Assumption](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assumption_of_Mary) the Immaculate Conception was proclaimed in 1854 and the Assumption in 1950. This doesn't mean they were invented then, but that they were conclusively stated at the time. Immaculate Conception was debated. It was universally acknowledged that she did not choose to sin but was she preserved from Original Sin. The dogma said that when God gave Mary a soul at conception, she was preserved from sin. Fr. Roger explained Original Sin. Adam and Eve had supernatural and preternatural gifts, which we lost when they freely disobeyed the Lord and squandered our inheritance. The Immaculate Conception says Mary was conceived *with* these gifts. This was the complicated question theologians asked: How did this happen? Blessed Duns Scotus spoke of prevenient grace, it comes before. What Jesus did on the cross was an eternal act outside of time, in that it's effects were felt throughout time before and after. She was conceived without Original Sin and the ultimate effect of Original Sin is to be born without the preternatural and supernatural gifts. At baptism, we are put back in the state of grace although we still have some of the effects of sin. Both Jesus and his Mother would have felt temptation (Scripture says Jesus was tempted), buy they are able to say no to all temptation. **2nd segment:** Scot asked Fr. Roger what we learned about Mary during the Annunciation. He said we learned first that she was immaculately conceived. The Archangel uses a word that means "you who have been filled with grace." To be filled with grace means to be filled with God in such a way that there is no room in which God isn't present. This is implicit testimony to her Immaculate Conception. Then he says, The Lord is with you. They were already in communion. St. Athanasius said before she conceived Jesus in her womb, she conceived him in her heart. Then she was afraid, with a sense of awe that God was calling her to something she is not worthy of. She confessed that she is a virgin. She would know how babies were conceived, but she had already made a vow to remain a virgin in her marriage. And in the end, she said Let it be done to me, which changed the world. Her full cooperation with the Lord was the beginning of our redemption. After conceiving Jesus, she went to visit her cousin Elizabeth. We see what a woman of charity and faith that Mary is. She went in haste because the Archangel had her told that Elizabeth, who was quite old, would need assistance. Newly pregnant Mary traveled through mountainous and rough country because she loved and because she totally believed everything she'd been told. Elizabeth said in the Holy Spirit that she was totally blessed because of her faith and that Mary was carrying her Lord within her, even though Mary would only have been pregnant a few days. Mary then exclaimed the famous [Magnificat](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnificat). Mary exclaims that her existence is full of God. >My soul glorifies the Lord, * my spirit rejoices in God, my Saviour. He looks on his servant in her lowliness; * henceforth all ages will call me blessed. The Almighty works marvels for me. * Holy his name! His mercy is from age to age, * on those who fear him. He puts forth his arm in strength * and scatters the proud-hearted. He casts the mighty from their thrones * and raises the lowly. He fills the starving with good things, * sends the rich away empty. He protects Israel, his servant, * remembering his mercy, the mercy promised to our fathers, * to Abraham and his sons for ever. Scot said Pope John Paul II talked about the visitation as the highest expression and inspiration of the feminine genius, in the way Mary responded by putting motherhood and service as her primary vocation in life. Fr. Roger said the expression feminine genius is receiving a lot of theological study. Pope John Paul II was describing a maternity in a woman that loves and other teaches them to love. A woman gives love first by receiving it and receiving it is capable of sharing it. Mary received Love himself and couldn't keep it to herself. Mary just learned she was to be mother of the messiah and her first thought is to go to Elizabeth. Men do not have this genius because they are more selfish. **3rd segment:** Mary provides a lot of guidance on how we are to be Christians in the episode from Scripture of the Wedding feast of Cana. The scene is a wedding where no one notices that they are out of wine except Mary because she is one who loves and those who love pay attention to details of others. The Jewish wedding feast would be an eight day feast and if you ran out of wine, it would be a huge embarrassment for the family and the couple. So she went to her Son and told him. She didn't twist his arm or ask for anything. Saints and theologians have debated his next words: "What's this to you and to me." She tells the servants, "Do whatever he tells you." These are her last words in Scripture. A lot of time we don't recognize that we are ourselves are running on empty. Fr. Roger imagines Mary in heaven standing at the side of Jesus, asking Him to take care of those who need grace as she notices their needs. She takes our prayers to Him and He answers. The young servants can also be an inspiration. They had to take small leather pouches of about a gallon to fill 180 gallons of water in the jugs, filled all the way to the brim. Would that we would respond with as much enthusiasm to Mary's message to us. Scot said Mary was assumed into heaven and then crowned as queen of heaven where she intercedes for us. The Assumption was a tradition in the Church from the beginning. We know from history that while the burial spots of Jesus and all saints were venerated, there was no known burial place for her. The Assumption was defined as God taking Mary's soul and body into heaven, preserving her immaculately conceived body from the corruption due to sin and death through Original Sin. Heaven is not a retirement where we sit a leisure. Pope John Paul said that for Mary to reign in heaven is for her to continue to serve, just as Jesus the King continues to serve and govern. She continues to love us. On her deathbed, St. Therese the Little Flower said she wanted to spend her time in heaven doing good on earth. That's what Mary does. How does her assumption and coronation in heaven help us to know what our destiny is? Fr. Roger said Mary is the fulfillment of the human vocation to be with God in heaven forever. Her assumption shows that the human body is sacred and a temple of the Holy Spirit. We're called body and soul to heaven one day to rejoice fully human with God and all the saints as long as continue to say fiat to Jesus. Hopefully, we when get to heaven, by God's grace, that we will spend our time in heaven praying for our kids and grandkids and descendants until the Second Coming.This is supposed to begin now on earth, not waiting to start until we die. The best way to prepare for heaven is to start doing this now. **4th segment:** Scot said the Fr. Roger that most people know that Pope John Paul II's motto was Totus Tuus. What is the total translation of the phrase that this is just the first few words of. Fr. Roger said when John Paul was a young man working in a factory, he was a little suspicious of Marian devotion because felt some went overboard that even raised her over her Son. But a fellow worker introduced John Paul to St. Louis de Montfort who created a prayer of Total Consecration to Mary. It started with "totus tuus." >"Totus tuus ego sum, et omnia mea tua sunt. Accipio te in mea omnia. Praebe mihi cor tuum, Maria." ("I belong entirely to you, and all that I have is yours. I take you for my all. O Mary, give me your heart") * [St. Louis de Montfort's Total Consecration](http://www.saintlouisdemontfort.com/consecration.cfm) John Paul II would pray this prayer every day. Mary had said at Fatima that the solution to the problems of the 20th century was consecration to Mary's heart, to her purity, to the way she would treasure the message of the Word. John Paul could say "Be not afraid," because he'd given himself to her totally and trusted totally. The Lord wants us to consecrate ourselves to him through Mary, living in our own being Mary's total consecration to the Lord so we can live and extend salvation, just as Mary did before us. Scot asked why the Church teaches that Jesus wants us to go through Mary. Fr. Roger said there was no reason for Jesus to be conceived as an embryo, but could have come as an adult. He chose to come into the world through Mary as God's plan throughout all eternity. Why would he change now? In this way, we are not intimidated because Mary is not intimidating. Mary is not trying to be a hero. Jesus praises Mary not just because she is a blood relation, but because of her spiritual relationship to Him. Mary hears the Word of God and puts it into practice. She teaches us how to be a better Christian. **5th segment:** Scot asked Fr. Roger about Marian apparitions, why she is appearing, and how we should receive these messages. Fr. Roger said we need to be alert that Satan can try to fool us. Catholics need to be judicious and not be gullible when it comes to every report of an apparition. Mary always comes down with God's permission not to teach us anything new, but to understand anew what has already been revealed. In Guadalupe, Mary gave a message through Juan Diego for the whole nascent Church in the Americas. That she appeared as a mestiza, a woman of European and native heritage, is something that helped the evangelization of our continents. In Lourdes, Mary revealed herself as the Immaculate Conception. It was a great means for the whole Church to reflect on the dogma that had just been defined. Fatima was a call to repentance, that we need to get with it in term of her Son's teaching. As Catholics we don't *need* to listen to private revelation. Public revelation ended with the death of the last Apostle. But we need to hear the echoes of public revelation should be sought in the private revelation. We need to evaluate these reported apparitions with our common sense. These message can be great assists for us as we live the message of the Gospel in our lives today. Scot asked about the miracles at apparition sites. Fr. Roger said we see Jesus' miracles in the Gospels and the greatest are not the physical healings, but they were always a prelude to the deeper miracle of spiritual conversion. The reason for the miracles might be for us to have confidence in the message of Lourdes and to draw people to that place in order to have deeper spiritual miracles take place in us. Fr. Roger said as we prepare for the Assumption, it is a time for preparation. We could pray the Rosary or pray it with greater devotion, to recall Michaelangelo's depiction of the Last Judgment in which the Rosary was used literally to lift souls into heaven.

**Today's host(s):** Scot Landry **Today's guest(s):** Fr. Peter Loro Bambu, a priest from the Archdiocese of Juba, South Sudan * [Sudan Catholic Bishops' Conference](http://www.eglisesoudan.org/eaccueil.htm) * [CIA World Factbook on South Sudan](https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/od.html) **Today's topics:** The Catholic Church in the new country of South Sudan in Africa **Summary of today's show:** Fr. Peter Loro, a priest of the new country of South Sudan, tells Scot of the extreme poverty of his country and the difficult conditions they have endured over the past 50 years. Yet he also considers himself blessed because of the astounding faith of the people. **1st segment:** Scot introduced today's topic of the Church in South Sudan. He said perhaps no group of Catholics has suffered more than the Catholics in the new Republic of South Sudan. The country gained its independence on July 9. Fr. Peter said the independence came as a result of a long struggle. It was a colony of Britain until 1956. Then the political and economic power was held by the Arab majority in the north of the country of Sudan. The south, which was mainly Christian and animist, was subjected to a lot of suffering. In 1947, the people of southern Sudan had been asked whether they wanted to be one country or to be separate. In 1955, the people of southern Sudan decided to choose to be free, but there were many difficulties. All the power, including the country's resources, were held in the north. The north resisted the separation which brought civil war until 1972. Then there was 10 years of relative peace and in 1983, the president of the country abrogated the peace agreement and declared the country an Islamic country. Civil war began again. The fighting lasted for 22 years until another peace agreement in Nairobi, Kenya, in 2005. In that agreement, southern Sudan was again given the choose to split or remain as one country. Last January, the people voted overwhelmingly to separate. Fr. Peter said they were at war for 38 years out of the 55 years of independence since colonial times, because they refused to be second-class citizens in their own land. Scot asked Fr. Peter if religion was the primary reason for the fighting. Fr. Peter said in the south they are mainly Christian African versus the mainly Arabic Islamic north, but they were also treated poorly. Fr. Peter's own family was separated by the war. Many of them had to run to Uganda when war broke out. Those left behind were separated as well. He fled to northern Sudan with his brother and the rest of his immediate family stayed behind. both of his brothers were killed in the war. Today, they are still re-grouping. Almost all families in southern Sudan were affected in one way or another. Fr. Peter said about 2 millions people died in the 22 years of Sudan since 1983. Most of them died as a result of direct fighting, but a number also died as the consequences of the war. Scot said South Sudan has a population of 8 to 9 million. Fr. Peter said the government of northern Sudan tried to say that there were only 5 million before the referendum on independence. Scot asked if many South Sudanese have returned since July 9. Fr. Peter said even before the referendum, millions of people were returning to South Sudan because they knew they were going to cast their own votes for freedom. Now the key towns and villages are overpopulated from all the refugees returning. Fr. Peter said he went to seminary at 14 years old and became a priest in December 1996. He has been a priest for 14 years and 7 months serving in very difficult situations. He has served in war and hates war. He says to his people now to live in peace. Scot asked him what it's like to be a priest in his country. When Fr. Peter was ordained, he was assigned to a rural parish. He stayed for three weeks and then the parish priest traveled abroad and never returned. He had to assume the role of pastor. The people looked to the priest for everything: money, food, clothing, school tuition. But he had none of that because he came from a background as poor as they are. He stayed there for two years. He also had to travel miles throughout the parish to reach people, and didn't have a car. The best he could do was ride a motorcycle. From there, he was sent to another parish in August 1999, even further from the city of Juba. There was no home for a priest to live. He was living in a military camp, traveling via canoe to villages and military camps along the Nile River. He did that for three years. When he left, he left behind a church and a school. Scot asked Fr. Peter to tell him about the hunger of the people of South Sudan. He said the people lived on less than 1 dollar per day, which can provide one meal per day. He said to have one meal in a day for these people would be a grace from God. And when he says a "meal", it would not even be considered a meal in the United States. Most people cannot afford even that. People are forced to choose between food and shelter and education for their children. Many people choose the very basics just to survive. **2nd segment:** Scot asked Fr. Peter about the Archdiocese of Juba. Juba is the capital of the new Republic. It has been there since the colonial years. The Archdiocese has 11 parishes at the moment and they're setting up 7 more parishes. Fr. Peter said the largest parish is St. Mary Immaculate Parish. They have 103 chapels. It is the size of the state of Rhode Island. They have just two priests. The priests must travel miles and miles to reach the chapels over under developed roads. He said the Archdiocese is just too large. * [Statistics on the Archdiocese of Juba](http://catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/djuba.html) Fr. Peter said there are 54 active priests. There are also two bishops, Archbishop Paulino Lukudu Loro and Auxiliary Bishop Santo Loku Pio Doggale. Because of the great distances, the chapels have lay catechists who prepare the people for the visits by the priests. In a year, a chapel might see a priest six times. They have not just Mass, but the priest administers the sacraments and stays for a couple of days to see how the community is doing. Scot asked how the priests are supported. Fr. Peter said the priests' families don't have the resources to help them. The archdiocese is even poorer because it serves an even bigger family. The parishes ask for help from the priests instead of the other way. So the priests go on foot to the chapels because they don't have the resources, even for buses. Scot said it sounds like the people are poor, the Church is poor, and the country is poor. The people often have to walk miles to celebrate Mass and even then only get to Mass a few times a year if they live in a rural area. Fr. Peter said the Mass is the consolation of the people. The priest brings the message of Christ and of love to them. when Fr. Peter went to villages for the first time, he would encounter 14 year old children who had never seen a priest and others who had never seen a black priest. The people move not only your sense of faith, but also show what humanity is all about. Sometimes the people had to overcome great obstacles as they travel to Mass. Some would even been killed by land mines or maimed. Some children are kidnapped on the journey, often on their way to their First Holy Communion. Yet they place an immense value on the practice of the faith. They are willing to risk their lives and limbs for the sake of receiving the Eucharist and the other sacraments. Scot said in the US we can take it for granted how it easy it is to get to church. He asked Fr. Peter what it's like for him to share these stories with Americans, who can easily take their faith for granted. When he celebrated the first Mass at Fr. Roger Landry's parish of St. Anthony, New Bedford. He was shocked at the big and beautiful church was so empty. If the church was in a village back home, it wouldn't be big enough to contain all the people who would come for prayer. He sees in the US that the sense of faith is lost. Perhaps people have other "gods". But in the Archdiocese of Juba, the truth of the Catholic faith and the sense of faith is so valued. Even though the people of South Sudan are so poor, they are in a better situation than most American Catholics because they know and love God so much. Scot asked how the people of America can help the priests. Fr. Peter said the Church in South Sudan is the home of the people because the Church brings education and medical care and the basic necessities. He said a single priest can make a big difference to many people, and if he doesn't have even enough to support his own basic needs, then they can't help the people. He said there is a need for the Catholics of the US to support the priests of South Sudan to provide spiritual and pastoral services to the people. If they cannot travel to the villages scattered throughout their parishes, they cannot bring Christ and the Gospel to the people. He recommends if people want to help financially that they can send contributions to Fr. Roger Landry at St. Anthony of Padua Parish, New Bedford, MA and he will ensure that the money will be sent to Fr. Peter. **3rd segment:** Scot asked Fr. Peter how South Sudan is trying ti build itself as a new country. Fr. Peter said the infrastructure of the country was virtually destroyed during the civil war, civil, government, and Church. They are starting from nothing as a country and a church. Before the war, most of the villages had churches and schools built by missionaries, but the war destroyed them all. As a Church, they have a duty to rebuild the churches and schools. This requires money. Much more than that, they need to build the people. They don't have a sense of culture, of peace, or of human rights. The people need to learn what it means to have peace and liberty and what it means to have rules that guide a people for a healthy and good life. They need doctors, mechanical engineers, and not just foreigners who will come, but their own people to be trained. They need qualified priests, who get further training and formation after seminary. He said the government has public schools, but they are not as effective as the Catholic schools. Scot said he has read that South Sudan has one of the highest percentages of infant mortality and of maternal mortality, dying during childbirth. Fr. Peter said in many of the villages, they don't even midwives. Fr. Peter said there are plans to welcome foreigners who wish to come and help with their specialized skills, including doctors and others. Fr. Peter said the United States has been most helpful to South Sudan and has been the driving force that has resulted in the independence of South Sudan. He thanked the people of America for this. He said many American organizations are also working in South Sudan, including [Catholic Relief Services](http://www.crs.org). They have helped enormously in education, health, and building capacity. They have suffered with the Sudanese and even died with them. He is grateful in addition to the workers to the people who have donated to CRS from their own means. Fr. Peter himself is a beneficiary of CRS' work because it funded his theological education. His bishop paid for him to go to the north for advanced theology studies and he was supported by this money from the bishop. And the money came from foreign donations, including some from Catholic Relief Services. Scot said when the second collection for Catholic Relief Services is taken up this year, he hopes the people of the Archdiocese of Boston will recall the voice of Fr. Peter and and the suffering of our Catholic brothers and sisters in other parts of the world. Fr. Peter asked the people of America to pray for the people of South Sudan. He asked them to pray for a meaningful peace and freedom and independence for South Sudan and that the people of South Sudan to know that they were not alone in their days of struggle, but that they received assistance from their American brothers and sisters. They should pray for a greater communion among people, so that they come to know Christ and see Christ in their neighbor. Fr. Peter will be in the US for another month and then he will go back to Rome for a time and then back to South Sudan. He hopes to become a parish priest, which will make him the happiest, to be with the people who need him.

**Today's host(s):** Scot Landry **Today's guest(s):** Fr. Roger Landry, executive editor of The Anchor, the newspaper of the Fall River diocese; and Gregory Tracy, managing editor of The Pilot, the newspaper of the Boston archdiocese * [The Anchor](http://www.anchornews.org) * [The Pilot](http://www.pilotcatholicnews.com) * Some of the stories discussed on this show will be available on The Pilot's and The Anchor's websites on Friday morning. Please check those sites for the latest links. **Today's topics:** St. John Vianney; contraceptive mandate; immigrants' contributions to US; the Knights' new priorities; the new euthanasia push **Summary of today's show:** Gregory Tracy and Fr. Roger Landry join Scot to discuss the news of the week, including Houston's Cardinal DiNardo's statement on the proposed religious exemption from a federal contraception mandate; Archbishop Gomez's remarks on the contributions of Catholic immigrants to the US; the four new initiatives of the Knights of Columbus, including the purchase of the John Paul II Cultural Center; and Fr. Roger's editorial on euthanasia. **1st segment:** Scot welcomed Fr. Roger and Greg back to the show. Susan is off this week. Scot said today is an important day in the Church's calendar for priests because it is St. John Vianney's priest. He asked why the Church has singled out this one priest to be the patron saint of priest. Fr. Roger said he showed proper priestly priorities. When he went to Ars, France, it was dead spiritually and he prayed daily in his church for 10 years asking God to convert his people and spent 18 hours per day in the confessional. There was a lot of sin in his town when he arrived, but at the end people who came to Ars were amazed at the holiness of the people of Ars. He was not a gifted man in human measurement. He was kicked out of seminary three times for his academic deficiencies, but he shows that you don't have to be as smart as Pope John Paul to be a good priest. * [St John Vianney](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Vianney) Greg said St. John Vianney really came into his consciousness when his relic came to Boston. It was available for veneration and he saw many people come to visit with him during the Year of the Priest. He was a man of deep, fundamental faith, not necessarily learned or a scholar, but truly one who has inspired millions through his humble Christian life. Scot said he's like Tom Brady, nobody's first pick, but on his way to the Hall of Fame. Scot asked everyone to pray for all priests today. **2nd segment:** Scot said earlier this week, the Department of Health and human Services proposed a religious exemption for the mandate on all new health insurance plans to include coverage of contraception. Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Houston said this exemption is way too narrow. For example, Catholic Charities would have to only employ Catholics and stop serving non-Catholics. * ["Cardinal criticizes contraceptive mandate, calls exemption too narrow," CNS, 8/3/11](http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1103049.htm) * ["USCCB: HHS Mandate for Contraceptive and Abortifacient Drugs Violates Conscience Rights"](http://www.usccb.org/comm/archives/2011/11-154.shtml) * [Full text of Cardinal DiNardo's letter](http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/human-life-and-dignity/religious-liberty/upload/respect-for-rights-of-conscience-act-cardinal-dinardo-letter-to-congress-hr1179-07-22-11.pdf) Greg said this follows up recent coverage on this issue. As part of the new federal health mandate, "preventative" care must be provided free of charge and contraception is considered preventative care. Planned Parenthood has said there is an "epidemic" of unplanned pregnancy, but pregnancy is not a disease. HHS issued the regulations that include the abortifacient morning-after pill and sterilizations. Greg read the religious exemption in the regulations: >Employers "that: (1) has the inculcation of religious values as its purpose; (2) primarily employs persons who share its religious tenets; (3) primarily serves persons who share its religious tenets; and (4) is a nonprofit organization." This would not include Catholic schools, hospitals, and social service agencies. While HHS said the language is taken from existing state regulations, many state regulations simply don't cover health insurance plans provided by religious employers. Federal law does not provide the same exemption. Scot said the cardinal said Catholics aren't alone in objecting to these mandates. >Cardinal DiNardo added: “Catholics are not alone in conscientiously objecting to this mandate. The drugs that Americans would be forced to subsidize under the new rule include Ella, which was approved by the FDA as an ‘emergency contraceptive’ but can act like the abortion drug RU-486. It can abort an established pregnancy weeks after conception. The pro-life majority of Americans – Catholics and others – would be outraged to learn that their premiums must be used for this purpose.” >“HHS says the intent of its ‘preventive services’ mandate is to help ‘stop health problems before they start,’ said Cardinal DiNardo. “But pregnancy is not a disease, and children are not a ‘health problem’ – they are the next generation of Americans.” >“It’s now more vital than ever that Congress pass the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act to close the gaps in conscience protection in the new health care reform act, so employers and employees alike will have the freedom to choose health plans in accordance with their deeply held moral and religious beliefs.” Scot said one of his biggest concerns about the Obama universal healthcare plan was how sweeping the changes to health care would be. Fr. Roger said a big concern here is that it says that taxpayers need to pay for abortifacient pills, even before we talk about religious exemptions and conscientious objection. He said for a long time the strategy of the Church was too lax because it sought just exemptions for the Church rather than saying that the principle itself of violating the consciences of all Americans by forcing them to pay for abortifacients, contraceptives, and sterilization. They're forcing their immorality on all Americans. Are we going to stand up and say enough is enough. **3rd segment:** Scot said the Anchor this week has an article called "When children are immigrants" about a recent forum in the Fall River diocese to discuss the support of children who are immigrants, especially those born to undocumented parents. Fr. Roger said the issue of immigration policy is shown in relief when we look at how we treat the kids. He recalled an immigration raid in New Bedford a few years ago in which parents were rounded up and sent off to Texas while the kids were still in school. When first- and second-graders returned home, their parents and cousins and aunts and uncles were nowhere to be found and it was up to the Catholic churches to find and take care of these kids. Often these kids are exploited in the underground system they find themselves and they are denied full legal representation and advocacy in our government system. Scot said immigrants are too often dehumanized by those opposed to some kinds of immigration, especially when their own parents were themselves immigrants. Archbishop Jose Gomez of Los Angeles is himself an immigrant from Mexico and recently spoke on immigration. * ["Archbishop Gomez: immigrations helps recover Christian origins of America," CNA, 8/2/11](http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/archbishop-gomez-immigration-helps-recover-christian-origins-of-america/) Greg said the archbishop was speaking on the important role of Hispanic immigrants in the nation. He said we have a too-New England-centric view, but "long before the Boston Tea Party, Catholic missionaries were naming this countries rivers, mountains, and lakes for Catholic saints." Catholics were here for many decades before the first immigrants on the Eastern seaboard. Scot said he liked that Archbishop Gomez said: >While the New England-focused American history tells the story of “great men” like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison and also of “great documents” like the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights, it is not the entire story. >“When we forget our country’s roots in the Hispanic-Catholic mission to the new world, we end up with distorted ideas about our national identity,” Archbishop Gomez said. “We end up with the idea that Americans are descended from only white Europeans and that our culture is based only on the individualism, work ethic and rule of law that we inherited from our Anglo-Protestant forebears.” >The “whole story” about America starts in the 1520s in Florida and in the 1540s in California. This story also centers on New Spain and teaches that “before this land had a name its inhabitants were being baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.” Fr. Roger said Gomez has seen this firsthand and now presides over a church with more than 5 million immigrants. He is thrilled that the archbishop has become a spokesman for the entire Church on immigration and becoming a voice for the voiceless on this issue. He agrees that the notion of our history is too New England-centric. >The archbishop said that although America was founded by Christians, it has become home to “an amazing diversity” of cultures and religions that flourishes “precisely because our nation’s founders had a Christian vision of the human person, freedom and truth.” >But America is changing because of globalization, threats from abroad, and internal cultural forces. >“We have an elite culture — in government, the media and academia — that is openly hostile to religious faith,” he continued. “America is becoming a fundamentally different country. It is time for all of us to recognize this — no matter what our position is on the political issue of immigration.” Greg said it is true that there is a creeping secularism in America's elites and it is significant to him that these immigrants are coming here with a strong faith. Those most active in our Church with growing families are Hispanic. He noted that Europe is also experiencing massive immigration, but these communities are not integrating into society and hold values different from the historical values of Europe. In the United States, immigrants from Central America want to become part of our society and hold the same Christian values. Fr. Roger said the HHS mandate is a clear example of the elite openly hostile to religious faith. They do not want to accord us a right to say this is wrong. He noted that the US State Department has re-defined the right to religious belief to the right to worship; i.e. the right to attend a church, not a right to live out our faith the rest of the week. He said Archbishop Gomez speaks not just to immigration, but also the xenophobia of those who don't want those with a great religious faith to come in and renew our country. **4th segment:** Scot said the Knights of COlumbus are having their annual meeting in Denver this week. They have 1.8 million members and donated more than $150 million to Catholic causes and more than 70 million volunteer hours. The Knights also give a lot of support to the Vatican. they announced four new initiatives this year. The first is a disaster-response fund to help local councils become second-responders in providing food, clothing, and shelter in response to disasters. They are are setting up an outreach for children in Africa. The third is supporting vocations and Catholic chaplaincy in the military. And fourth the Knights are purchasing the John Paul II Cultural Center in Washington and expanding it to encompass the whole 500year history of Catholic culture in North America. * ["Supreme Knight Announces New Initiatives for Knights"](http://www.kofc.org/un/en/news/releases/detail/new_initiatives_08032011.html) * ["Knights of Columbus Plan Shrine to Blessed John Paul II in Washington, DC"](http://www.kofc.org/un/en/news/releases/detail/jpii_shrine.html) * ["Preserving Blessed John Paul's Legacy," Annual Report of the Supreme Knight 2011](http://www.kofc.org/un/en/conv/2011/skreport/jp2.html) * [John Paul II Cultural Center](http://jp2cf.org/_index.php) Fr. Roger said Cardinal Adam Maida, the former archbishop of Detroit, was the leader in getting this started back in the 90s. It is a first-rate museum, but suffered from low attendance. Fr. Roger think the Knights will draw far more people there. He's very excited that there's a resolution for the center. The Archdiocese of Detroit has been trying to find a buyer for several years. A women's religious order in Michigan had tried to buy it, but that fell through. He said Catholics need a museum in the City of Museums. Greg said it's the Knights coming to the rescue once again. They have such a love for the Church and that's why the Church goes to them when there's a special need. The Knights have provided such critical support to the Archdiocese of Boston in the recent past. Greg admits he's walked by the JP2 Center many times, often because he's in town on other business and never seemed to make it inside. With the extra visibility that the Knights bring to it, especially if they make it a centerpiece of other activity there, it will draw much larger crowds. Scot said when Supreme Knight Carl Anderson was on The Good Catholic Life back in April he was much more excited about the time the Knights gave in volunteerism than the money they give. Scot said he's especially happy about the second-responder program. Fr. Roger launched a Knights of Columbus council in his parish a few years ago. He said it forms men into strong men of the Church and of their families. It calls them clearly to live up to chivalrous heroism. The Knights have four pillars, one of which is service of community. In north New Bedford, they've been very active in the community especially for disabled and deceased veterans, programs for youth, Marian pilgrimages, pro-life activity in and around New Bedford including supporting crisis pregnancy centers. The Knights overall are getting stronger in both numbers but also the quality of the men and organization. Scot said the Knights of Columbus annual gathering is important in the life of the Church, especially since so many bishops from around the US gather to express their gratitude for all the Knights do, including Cardinal Seán and Bishop Hennessey. Some of the addresses given at the meeting are available at [CatholicTV](http://www.catholictv.com), which has been covering it live. **5th segment:** Scot wanted to follow up that the reason the Knights can give so much to Catholic causes is because they provide life insurance to Catholics and because so many men join. * [Massachusetts State Council Knights of Columbus](http://massachusettsstatekofc.org/) Fr. Roger said in June the US bishops had a pastoral letter on living each day with dignity and he had not had a chance to work closely with that letter to explain it. Also Dr. Jack Kevorkian died in early June which focused attention again on the idea that killing those with terminal illness is compassionate. The bishops said that there is a movement to pass laws in certain places where they think it will be easier to set a precedent for killing people with terminal illnesses and other debilitating and chronic diseases. Economic arguments about health care costs are often cited. The US bishops are ahead of the curve. There are only two states in the US that have passed referenda allowing assisted suicide, but there is a growing movement to push the ides of "dying with dignity" through euthanasia. Fr. Roger quoted the bishops: >“The sufferings caused by chronic or terminal illness are often severe,” the bishops wrote. “They cry out for our compassion, a word whose root meaning is to ‘suffer with’ another person. True compassion alleviates suffering while maintaining solidarity with those who suffer. It does not put lethal drugs in their hands and abandon them to their suicidal impulses, or to the self-serving motives of others who may want them dead. It helps vulnerable people with their problems instead of treating them as the problem.” * ["Pressured to Die: Euthanasia push continues," Zenit, 7/17/11](http://www.zenit.org/article-33090?l=english) * ["Living and Dying with Dignity," Fr. Roger Landry, The Anchor, 8/5/11](http://catholicpreaching.com/index.php?content=articles&articles=20110805anchor) * ["US Bishops approve statement on physician-assisted suicide," EWTN News/Catholic World News, 6/17/11](http://www.ewtn.com/vnews/getstory.asp?number=113955) Greg notes that in Europe this issue has progressed much further than here, even to the point where the decision to kill the victim has been undertaken by others, including doctors and family members. Fr. Roger noted also in the Anchor this week that the Fall River diocese had a pro-life boot camp. The last abortion clinic in the diocese is in Attleboro and they're working to put them out of business. The boot camp gathered about 35 young people to teach them how to be advocates for life and then be witnesses themselves, including praying outside the abortion clinic. Greg pointed a story about Bishop Elias Chacour from Haifa, Israel, visiting Boston recently and being interviewed by the Pilot about the state of Christians in the Holy Land. Scot pointed out a story about the parishioners of St. Evangelist in East Bridgewater reaching out to youth.

**Today's host(s):** Scot Landry **Today's guest(s):** Jim and Terry Orcutt, founders of My Brother's Keeper, and Jack Shaughnessy Sr. of Shaughnessy and Ahern Hauling and Rigging * [My Brother's Keeper](http://www.mybrotherskeeper.org/) * ["As it celebrates it's 20th year, My Brother's Keeper bids farewell to founders," by Vicki-Ann Downing, Brockton Enterprise (6/9/08)](http://www.wickedlocal.com/easton/news/x902824572/As-it-celebrates-its-20th-year-My-Brother-s-Keeper-bids-farewell-to-founders) * ["College students learn to give of selves," by Michael Quinlan, Patriot Ledger (12/11/99)](College students learn to give of selves) * ["The hard lives of the needy made easier," by Beverly Beckham, Boston Herald (9/11/98)](http://www.mybrotherskeeper.org/News_and_Press_Full_Stories.htm#needy) **Today's topics:** My Brother's Keeper, a volunteer ministry providing assistance in southeastern Massachusetts **Summary of today's show:** **1st segment:** Scot said the corporal works of mercy and the spiritual works of mercy are essential elements of our faith. He is inspired by ministries that integrate the corporal and spiritual works together. One such ministry is My Brother's Keeper in the Brockton and Easton area. Scot welcomed Jim and Terry Orcutt and Jack Shaughnessy to the show. Jack had asked Scot on our first show to have Jim and Terry on the show. Jack said it's an extraordinary all-volunteer ministry. Most of the volunteers are students at local Catholic high schools and colleges. Jack had read about a young woman at Stonehill College who was assigned to My Brother's Keeper as part of her social service requirement and she spent two weeks there. Part of My Brother's Keeper's ministry delivers household furniture to people who often have none at all. They give furniture that is secondhand but looks like new to people who are often living in small apartments in the poorer parts of Brockton and who are sleeping on the floors of their apartments because they can't afford anything more than rent. When they deliver the furniture, the people are often so very grateful, but Jim tells them, "Don't thank us. We're only the delivery people." They then give the recipients a small crucifix for their home. The young woman after spending two weeks there literally had her whole life turned around. Scot asked how the idea for My Brother's Keeper came about. Terry said she and Jim had lived a Cursillo retreat weekend in the late 80s and after that weekend, they saw a movie about a mom who lost her job and struggled to find a place to live and ended up having to give up her daughter to foster care. They were so touched by it that they wanted to do something. They saw the empty bedroom their grown son had just vacated and thought that this was all the woman needed. So they made a covenant with the Lord that they would do what He asked of them. Jim said the promise said to God that they wanted to bring their love and hope to people, but they didn't know what to do and they asked him to guide them. They had a desire and a willingness, but that isn't getting the job done without action. At the time they were both working in low-paying jobs in a rented house. They made up flyers on 8.5x11 paper with "We collect things for homeless people." They started to get calls from people who had material to donate and they would pick them up with their car and store them in their cellar. Their philosophy is that if you work for the Lord you should take your work seriously, but not yourself. They had to laugh at themselves because they eventually realized they had no one to give the material to, so they looked up homeless shelters and started making contacts in the area. He finally had someone tell him that she had an apartment but no furniture and that's how they started. There's a danger of over-thinking things. Jim said he tells t heir college student volunteers that there's only three things that we need for God to do great things through us: A desire to serve God and people in his name; a willingness to prioritize that desire; and to act. The ministry has grown overtime and God has provided as they grew. When they started they had an '85 Cavalier with roof racks, their cellar, and Jim and Terry. God provided "sufficient unto their needs." In the past 23 years they've been in several locations, but now they're in a state-of-the-art, 15,000-square-foot, brand-new building built in 2002 with private funds adjacent to Stonehill College; a fleet of five trucks; a staff of 6; and 2,000 volunteers, 450 of whom are student volunteers. Most of the student volunteers come from private schools and upper-middle class and affluent homes. One of Jim's own grandkids who just graduated high school has never seen the kind of conditions some of their recipients live in: peeling paint, cockroaches, garbage in the driveway, cramped triple-decker apartments. They spend a great deal of time with experiential learning. Sometimes the kids ask how the adults spend so much time on the students. Jim says its because this generation will be the leaders of society in 20 years and they want to be able to make the decisions about the poor from their experiences, not just academics or intellectual exercises. Terry said it's often devastating for the students to walk into some of these homes for the first time; to see them with not a single piece of furniture. They often talk about how their bedrooms at home are bigger than the whole apartment and how sad it is that the little kids are running around indoors in the winter with coats on because there is no heat and the ovens are open to keep them warm. They see how excited the kids get over a new bed or having a refrigerator full of food. The students get to know the people that are served and become friends with them. They realize that they are ordinary people just like them. Terry said there all types of people who call for help; battered women, men who've lost jobs. She had one woman who called and said they had nothing in their apartment. In talking with her, she heard that all they had was a small mattress on the floor. They itemized a list of all they would need. In the middle of the call, they got cut off and she never called Terry back. Terry got very concerned so they loaded up the truck with everything. The woman was overwhelmed that they came anyway. When Jim plugged in the fridge it didn't work and he apologized and said they would bring another, but the woman said she had been too embarrassed to tell them that she didn't have electricity. Jim asked her how she was eating. She said the man who lived upstairs would run a cord down the stairs and she borrowed a microwave and that's how she fed her children. So Jim and Terry called the electric company and arranged to have her bill taken care of. The woman called and said to Terry that the night before they came with her furniture, their electricity was disconnected and she took her girls out onto the porch and all they had to eat was an apple. She cut the apple in quarters, gave them all a piece, and taught them to sing Alleluia to the Lord. And when the truck came the next morning, she told the kids that the Lord heard their prayer. Scot said to Jack that we often think of poverty as something over in Africa or somewhere else. While Jack had a hard upbringing himself, was he shocked to see the depths of poverty we have in cities like Brockton? Jack said he is shocked and dismayed to see how close it is to us. Jack said he attended Boston College high School and there he learned how to become a man for others. It is mandatory today for all their students to get involved in ministries such as My Brother's Keeper. Jack said even towns that are considered to be affluent have dozens of deliveries from My Brother's Keeper. **2nd segment:** Scot said to Jim that he was moved earlier this week to read on their website their policies. * My Brother's Keeper shall have no prerequisites for service. No one seeking assistance shall be required to justify their need or provide any information, e.g., an income statement. * Each person that we have the privilege of serving will be presented a crucifix as a gift for their home, and the following message shall be conveyed: * "We're just the delivery people, this is the person who sent you the furniture." * If the crucifix is declined for a stated religious reason, e.g., "No thank you, I'm Jewish," our reply should be: "No problem ... whoever your God is ... that's who sent you the furniture." * All My Brother's Keeper vehicles shall be unmarked so as to protect the privacy and dignity of those whom we are given the privilege of serving. Jim said all of their policies emanated from situations that came about that they knew would come up again. The policies give them a consistent way of dealing with the situation. Jim said they aren't trained ministers and so these policies come from their experience in the mission. The mission of the organization is the reason why it exists. He said too often you see many organizations with long, involved mission statements that even the president of the organization would have trouble repeating to you. The mission has to be memorable such that everyone knows what it is. The mission of My Brother's Keeper emanates from Jim and Terry's promise to God: "My Brother's Keeper is a ministry of volunteers whose mission is to bring the love and hope of Jesus Christ to those it serves." It occurred to them to figure out who they should be serving, but it dawned on them that in all the Gospel miracles Jesus never once asked a question of the people before he healed or otherwise served them. So they resolved to do it like Jesus did. From that came the policy of no prerequisites for service; no questions asked. It's the most controversial policy for new volunteers. They get questions about whether people take advantage of that. Jim said there's no system that can't be circumvented. But that's the good news: Because of the mission. Keep your eye on the ball. They exist to bring love and hope of Jesus Christ to those they serve. Who needs their mission more than the guy who would sell a kitchen set for $25 to buy drugs? If the price of giving the guy a crucifix and telling him that God loves him is the cost of a cheap kitchen set that they never run out of, then that's a cheap price. Jesus said you don't send a doctor for well people, but for sick people. This becomes the policy people embrace the most and that they love. Jim is constantly inspired by the faith of the people he serves. He saw it growing up, watching his mother serving the elderly lady who lived downstairs from them who had nothing. Jim said they recently served a grandmother who was living in a furnished room. Her daughter had gone to prison for dealing drugs so she went to court to ask for custody of her two grandchildren. The judge said she had to get an apartment and she got one in a bad area. She contacted My Brother's Keeper and they outfitted her completely. When he gave her the crucifix and told her, "This is the person who sent you the furniture," she said to him, "Oh yes, he's always been very good to me." Jim thought about it all the way home. What would he be saying if he'd had to sleep on the floor for a month with his two grandchildren. He'd be asking God why he'd forsaken him. Three months later, Jim heard she'd moved to a new apartment and she need a full bed. Jim brought her the bed and while he was there a neighbor told him what had happened to the old bed. Tw months after the first delivery, a young girl with a new baby had moved from shelter into the apartment above her. The girl had nothing so the woman gave her the bed. Scot noted a brochure from My Brother's Keeper that says, "We carry furniture and food. We deliver hope." Some of the other policies of My Brother's Keeper are that they don't take any state of federal funding so they can continue to give people the crucifix as part of the ministry. They don't sell anything or take any money for services. "My Brother’s Keeper shall not accumulate money beyond what is necessary to ensure its ability to meet the annual operating expenses of the ministry. All surplus funds must be spent promptly on goods and services for those we serve for Christ or as part of the tithing program. Each day of service at My Brother's Keeper shall begin and end in community prayer— i.e., intentions of those we serve as well as those we serve with, a stating of the mission, and the Our Father to help us remain focused on our mission and mindful of the privilege of service. All staff, volunteers, and visitors will be invited to participate." Terry remains going on a delivery to a single dad with three girls and he needed furniture. On the way to the delivery, they'd received a call from a guy who wanted to put signs on all the trucks to label who they are. They showed up to the house and all the neighborhood kids gathered round to see what was going on. While they were doing this delivery they realized it wasn't a good idea to put their name on the trucks because it would embarrass the kids for everyone to know they are receiving charity. Scot said to Jack that they receive donations of furniture, but it has to be in very good shape because this is a gift from Jesus. Jack said the reason is because they want to treat every person with dignity and love and respect. The furniture must look like new. **3rd segment:** Scot asked how they deliver food to the hungry and the Christmas program. Jim said they have basic services in addition to the furniture. They pick up furniture in about 35 towns and deliver in 25 of them. They deliver the food mainly in the greater Brockton area. They do about 1,000 furniture deliveries per year and about 3,500 food deliveries. They give out a great food order worth about $117, including the normal staples, fresh milk, juice, eggs, meats, and fresh vegetables. It probably covers at least a week's supply. The main component of the ministry is the delivery. They are going to people who have no way of getting the furniture or food. They serve many elderly, veterans, single moms without a car. They started in 1988 and incorporated in 1990. In that year they started a Christmas program because they were hearing from people who needed assistance at Christmas and for one reason or another couldn't meet the requirements of similar programs elsewhere. The first year they provided gifts and food for 14 families in Brockton. Every year that has grown in both the people served and the people who volunteer. Last year, they provided all-new gifts and food to 2,774 families in 74 towns. And every gift and package was delivered to each home by their volunteers. Under the operating policies, it is integral and important to them that whatever service they provide, it is done in such a way that the recipient understands that what they are receiving is not coming from My Brother's Keeper, but from Jesus Christ. With the furniture, they provide the crucifix with the message: "This is the man who sent it." In every food box, there is a picture of Jesus Christ, which is deliberately shaded so he could be white, black, Hispanic or Asian, and the message says, "I hear your prayers. I have not forgotten you." At Christmas, they print 50,000 small tags, each with a child's name and each with picture of the Nativity scene that says, Happy Birthday, Jesus." Every one will understand that what they receive comes from God. Scot asked Terry how they manage Christmas gifts to more than 10,000 children and adults. Terry said the 2,000 volunteers actually "shop" for the gifts within the facility among items that have been donated, and MBK also buys what they need. They also have many parishes that have giving trees and they donate the gifts to them. Volunteers distribute the gifts with their own cards. It is very organized and very spirit-filled. The night after Thanksgiving, at 7pm they have a Mass with more than 700 people at MBK's facility. Then they set up the facility as Santa's Workshop. She said they start each day in prayer and end it in prayer. At Christmas the closing prayer is around 8pm and they read Noel Henry's "Alleluia to the Lord", they shut off all the lights, and start their prayer while gazing on a Nativity scene. Jim said the Christmas season is amazing for what it provides to both those they serve and the volunteers. He said parents are looking for meaningful opportunities to show their children how to serve God and hear what he's calling us to do. Grandparents, parents, and children of all ages come together to serve wrapping presents together as family. No one got more excited than the kids. Each volunteer family is given a particular recipient family to shop for, with specific genders and ages. A teenage girl can get gifts for a teenage girl. They feel needed and like that they have a specific contribution to make to someone. The student who Jack talked about said she couldn't believe that growing up in Easton, she didn't know such poverty was right next door to her. She received what parents all want our kids to have: a deep appreciation for how fortunate they are. He said he tells the student volunteers that the only difference between them and the people they're serving is the family they were born into. Scot read the My Brother's Keeper prayer: >Lord... >When I have food, Help me to remember the hungry. >When I lie in my bed, Help me to remember those who sleep on the floor. >When I have a warm home, Help me to remember the homeless. >When I have work, Help me to remember those without jobs. >When I experience the joy of giving to my children, >Help me to remember the agony of those who must watch their children go without. >By remembering, Help me to destroy my indifference and arouse my compassion. >Make me concerned enough to act in your name, to help those who cry out to you for that which I so often take for granted. Jack said it is a magnificent summation of the mission of My Brother's Keeper. He said people may not realize the actual joy of the person who gets involved with the mission by giving their time, talent, or treasure. God loves a cheerful giver and there's no limit to the blessings God will give to a cheerful giver. Scot said we can never outdo God's generosity in return. **4th segment:** It’s time to announce the winner of the weekly **WQOM Benefactor Raffle**. Our prize this week is a series of 5 CD’s from the Mary Foundation: * Seven Secrets of the Eucharist by Vinny Flynn; * The Mass Explained by Fr. Larry Richards; * Marriage and the Eucharist by Christopher West; * The Eucharist Explained by Richard May; and * The Rosary and Divine Mercy Chaplet on CD and two boxes of Chocolate Butter Nut Munch – one milk chocolate and one dark chocolate -- made by the Nuns of Mount Saint Mary’s Abbey in Wrentham, MA. This week’s winner is **Kristin & Doug Seed from Salem, NH.** Congratulations Kristin and Doug! If you would like to be eligible to win in an upcoming week, please visit [WQOM.org](http://www.WQOM.org). For a one-time $30 donation, you’ll receive the Station of the Cross benefactor card and key tag, making you eligible for WQOM’s weekly raffle of books, DVDs, CDs and religious items. We’ll be announcing the winner each Wednesday during “The Good Catholic Life” program. **5th segment:** Scot asked Jim the best way for people to get involved. Jim said individuals, schools, parishes, organizations, and companies can find out more by coming down to the facility and see. Contact them at 508-238-5712 and let them know you're interested about learning more and arrange to come down as an individual or group for a tour of the facility or discuss the various volunteer opportunities. If you're not able to come down, visit the website and see the many ways to be involved, even if you can't be present physically. Most importantly, pray for them for God's guidance first and foremost and for God to continue to bless them. Serving people goes beyond obligation or responsibility. It is a privilege. Since the Book of Samuel, God has asked "Who can I send?" and when he gives the answer, he sees you. Terry said there families that have been recipients of assistance who now give back either through donations or working on the various deliveries. Jack has been a financial assist to My Brother's Keeper. He said it's an all-volunteer organization and much of the facility is built with contributions from volunteers. Everything they do advances Christ's work on earth. When you get involved, you are moved.