WQPH 89.3 FM Shirley/Fitchburg MA an EWTN Catholic Radio Station will be holding our 1st Annual Shrove Tuesday Brunch on Tuesday February 13th (the feast of the Holy Face of Jesus) at Slattery’s Restaurant 106 Lunenburg St, Fitchburg, MA 01420-4466 (978 342 8880) from 10:30 AM to 1:30 PM.
Enjoy a tasty brunch with your local WQPH show hosts (including yours truly who hosts Your Prayer Intentions Saturdays at Noon and Midnight as we prepare together for our Lenten Journey together while helping WQPH (Queen of Perpetual Help) continue to bring you the daily mass, the daily rosary and all our shows to help spread and maintain our Catholic Faith.
Tickets are $45 but only $40 if purchased by before February 4th.
If you can’t go yourself consider sponsoring a member of the Clergy (Put “Clergy” in the subject line) or someone who might not be able to afford a ticket (Put “Sponsor” in the subject line) to come and share our brunch with us.
You can get tickets or sponsor someone to attend in several ways:
Send your check made out to ELRN (Eternal Life Radio Network) to…
WQPH 89.3 FM PO Box 589 Medford MA 02155
In all cases above in the subject line put
“Tickets” if you are buying tickets for yourself.
“Sponsor” if you wish to sponsor someone else to attend.
“Clergy” if you wish to buy a ticket for a local Priest, Nun or Deacon to attend.
Hope to see you there.
SPECIAL MATCHING OPPERTUNITY: WQPH has a donor who is offering to match $200 donations unrelated to this event. If you donate $200 to the station our sponsoring donor will match it
This morning when I woke up I noticed that Medjugorje was trending on twitter likely because one of the bishops that the Vatican under Francis has gone after is going there.
Nobody seems to have a neutral position on Medjugorje either they firmly believe in the apparitions or they don’t. The Vatican has not approved Medjugorje, which does not mean they never will, but they have not denounced it either. Catholic Answers has a pretty good summery of the Church’s position:
In 1985, Mostar-Duvno’s bishop Pavao Zanic determined that the apparitions were not authentic, i.e., not of supernatural origin.
In 1991, the bishops’ conference of Yugoslavia ruled that the supernatural character of the reported apparitions could not be affirmed. This is different than a definitive declaration that there is no supernatural character
No subsequent bishop who has authority over that area has overturned these rulings. As for the Vatican:
The Holy See, consistent with the rulings of the local bishops, has allowed pilgrimages to Medjugorje—and in May 2019 Pope Francis formally authorized them—provided they don’t present the reported apparitions as approved by the Church. The Holy See has also forbidden the faithful from participating in events where the reported seers present their reported apparitions as of supernatural origin (see this for more information).
Those who have experienced conversions—or a deepening of faith—associated with pilgrimage(s) to Medjugorje should know that the validity of their experiences does not hinge upon whether the reported apparitions are declared of supernatural origin. Indeed, the sacraments are valid at Medjugorje, and the Blessed Mother can—and does—fruitfully intercede for those who seekher sincerely, wherever that may be.
Emphasis mine
What it really comes down to in my opinion is this.
If you are seeking God, if you are praying faithfully, going to confession, receiving the sacraments, reading scripture and loving your neighbor as yourself then you have already found him, even if you don’t realize it.
There is a tendency among people in general and among those in the faith in particular to go “hunting miracles”. It’s not unnatural thing to do. Man always sees awe and wonder in the natural, man made and even the supernatural world. That just human, but to those who chase miracles hoping to find God it me tell you something.
Its been my experience that those chasing miracles are forgetting Elijah in the cave. The miracles of God are all around us. We just need to learn to notice them amongst the noise of the world and if you stick with prayer and the Sacraments you’ll eventually see what’s been around you all the time.
As for Medjugorje, if it’s not supernatural Christ and Blessed mother will do what they always do, make Lemonade of Lemons and if it is the Vatican will eventually approve it in God’s own good time.
If you want to go there, go ahead, if you want to stay away, that’s fine too just but keep in mind this advice from Christ:
But seek first the kingdom (of God) and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides.
Matthew 6:33
You don’t have to travel half way around the world to seek the kingdom of God. Worry about being a good and faithful Catholic where you are, anything else is just gravy.
Yesterday I talked about the mini-series Jonathan and Jesus today I watched it. Several takeaways from Part 1.
I mentioned in yesterday’s piece that Roumie has credits dating back with 2003. He commented that Harold Ramis told him it takes 20 years to be an overnight sensation and at the time he said that wasn’t going to be him. Reality just is.
I was not familiar with Dallas Jenkins previous short from 2013 Once we were slaves (retitled the two thieves) about St. Dismas on the Cross. Jonathan played Jesus in that short and Jenkins thought it be best film portrayal of Christ in film.
And this was five years before the Chosen.
That’s mysterious ways all over.
One of the things that happens in the 1st episode is that Roumie gets to meet the head of one of his favorite bands: “The Killers’ who are apparently one of the biggest rock bands of the 21st century and have been around for 20 years.
I had never heard of them until that moment.
Boy I’m old.
While in Italy they walk along actual Roman Roads dating back to the time of Christ and before.
Those Roman Roads were the internet of their times. They connected people throughout the empire in a way that was not possible previously because it made travel, trade and communication easier.
Those Roman Roads are one of the greatest single inventions in the history of mankind and it was across those roads that Christianity marched through the empire, at a time of general peace which made it possible.
Just a coincidence I’m sure.
If I had to choose the best moment of part one it was the visit with Alice Cooper who while I heard had converted to Christianity didn’t know that his family had been very Christian and that he came back to the faith late in life. He also talked about how he was told that putting his Christianity into his work would end his career, but of course it did not.
His description of what the price of incredible fame is the single best I’ve ever heard:
Fame is really dangerous, I mean, look what it did to Elvis. Here is a good example. If you take anybody and put him in the biggest mansion on the planet and say: ”You can have anything you want, you can have all the woman, you can have all the drugs, you can have food, you can have anything you want, but you can’t leave the mansion.” that person will find a way to kill themselves because they’ve lost the basic freedom be just to live. Elvis couldn’t go to the movies. Elvis couldn’t play pool, Elvis couldn’t go out for a drive. He was a prisoner of his own fame. He was that big. Michael Jackson. Everybody that achieved that type of fame died early, because it’s so unnatural.
Of course the most important and true thing he said was: ”It’s your relationship with Christ that is the most important thing no matter what situation you’re in.”
Abraham Lincoln: [speaking to a old freed slave who dropped to his knees before him] Don’t kneel to me, that is not right. You must kneel to God only, and thank Him for the liberty you will enjoy hereafter.
This trailer dropped from the folks at the Chosen:
In one respect this isn’t odd, you might recall from your movie history Cecil B DeMille’s silent movie King of Kings, the first movie adaption of the Gospels. It’s available at Youtube:
At the Turner Classic movies the lengths that DeMille took to keep things on the “right” path:
Cecil B. DeMille did not want to take any chances with the film. His two stars, ‘H. B. Warner’ and ‘Dorothy Cummings’ , were required to sign agreements which prohibited them from appearing in film roles that might compromise their “holy” screen images for a five-year period. DeMille also ordered them not to be seen doing any “un-biblical” activities during the film’s shooting. These activities included attending ball games, playing cards, frequenting night clubs, swimming, and riding in convertibles.
and Turner also reports that DeMille had some serious damage control to do:
Lead actor H.B. Warner, who played Jesus, was involved in an off-camera scandal with anonymous woman who was determined to blackmail Cecil B. DeMille by ruining the production. It is believed that DeMille paid the woman on the condition that she leave the U.S.
IMDB.com claims the woman was made to back off after being threatened with arrest. It also states that the pressure that Warner felt playing Christ was so intense that it brought back his drinking problem.
Now consider, this was one movie released in 1927 at a time when movies were not universal. Warner was already an established actor with a ton of credits behind him and decades of credits ahead of him (you might best remember him as Mr. Gower the druggist in It’s a Wonderful Life)
The Chosen has now been around for over four years. It has been seen by hundreds of millions all over the world. It is a global phenomena. Furthermore if you look at IMDB you will find that while Jonathan Roumie has credits dating back to 2001 you will see nothing in a significant staring role that might cause him to be memorable before the Chosen. His entire fames comes from playing Jesus and there are, I suspect, many particularly in a post Christian culture that have not known the Gospel before and are rediscovering faith for the first time, for whom he is the only Jesus they have ever known in their lives.
Imagine the pressure of playing the son of God under those conditions and add to that the aditional pressure when you consider Jonathan Roumie is a devout Catholic who is very conscious of the dangers of the sin of Pride and that his performance and how he carries himself in public could have a huge oversized effect on people trying to find God. An actor might worry about the effects of his words and actions hurting a production, a devout Christian would worry about his actions and their effect on souls.
And we haven’t even touched on those who despise this message and the messengers who deliver it, both natural and supernatural. I’ve written and spoken about how the clergy and particularly the higher ups are targets for the devil, that comes with the job. Jonathan Roumie is an actor. I suspect that Satan has painted a target on his back bigger than the one on any Bishop.
That he is able to function at all, let alone as a man of faith and devotion speaks volumes and by the time the final season of the Chosen has wrapped, if he didn’t have a complete understanding of redemptive suffering he’ll know it first hand.
I admire him for this task which I would not want for all the gold in the world.
I haven’t watched this documentary yet, but you can bet I’m going to.
Update: Apparently it’s in four parts and available on Amazon. Watching now
Speaking of Gold in the world this is the final day of Christmas and thus the final day of our fundraiser: We remain stuck $2345 away from our goal. I suspect we won’t manage that today but I’d be really delighted if we could get that number below $2000 before I get home. If you would like to help please hit DaTipJar below or to the left:
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