Fr. Donald Calloway

frequent viewer of Marcus Grodi's Journey Home program, Monday, 8pm on EWTN. Last week's guest was Fr. Donald Calloway. What a miraculous conversion at such a young age! Twice on the show he mentioned Filipino women. A Filipino woman introduced his mother to Catholicism and five Filipino women taught him how to pray the Rosary.

When Calloway caught up with the Navy chaplain, the priest told him to go to church and sit in the back while he said Mass, and then they would talk to him. Donald did as he was told, waiting as a small group of Filipino women recited a repetitious prayer -- which of course was the Rosary. Then came the moment that changed his life. The priest came out with robes. Calloway thought it was some kind of performance. He had no idea what was going on. "I was amazed. All these ladies were kneeling and standing at the same time."
But it just clicked. All of a sudden, this young man -- this drug abuser, this runaway "knew" what was happening, that what was transpiring was a "real" re-presentation of what had happened 2,000 years ago, and that it was being poured out again. "Time ceased," he says. "I saw myself at Calvary with the faithful beholding the sacrifice of the lamb." Everything about it captivated him. He felt the Presence of Christ - knew He was there - as the priest held up the "white circle."
He was 20, going on 21, and "all I knew was that I was madly in love with God and Our Savior."

Pray for this diocesian seminarian!

an academic from Israel...through the Diocese of Paterson, NJ

"I want to be a priest to be closer to God, be a man of God, become more spiritual and preach the Gospel," said Barboutz, a second-year theology student at the Theological College at The Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C., who this summer is serving St. Joseph Parish here. "I want to celebrate the Eucharist, the center of the faith."

just ordained!

from Cardinal Sean's blog...

Do I feel blessed? Totally! Do I, even more so, feel humbled? Absolutely! I am so thankful to the Lord for having called me to serve Him and His Church as a priest. I am honored to serve the people of God in the Boston Archdiocese. I promise to pray for the grace that is needed for all of us to grow together toward a deeper knowledge of God’s Love. I ask you to continue to pray for me, for my six brothers who were also ordained in May and for all the priests who serve the Archdiocese of Boston. May God bless us all.
Fr. Robert J. Blaney

Tridentine Mass

Pope Benedict XVl allows Latin mass celebrated if enough parishioners petitions. English translation of Pope's message here.

"I am speaking from experience, since I, too, lived through that period with all its hopes and confusion. And I have seen how arbitrary deformations of the liturgy caused deep pain to individuals totally rooted in the faith of the church."

hat tip - chiesa. website home here.

Jesus of Nazareth by Joseph Ratzinger, Pope Benedict XVl

full title:

Jesus of Nazareth

From the Baptism in the Jordan to the Transfiguration

by Joseph Ratzinger

Pope Benedict XVl.

Translated from the German by Adrian J. Walker.

Published by Doubleday

Jewish scholar Jacob Neusner respond to Pope Benedict's mention of his book 'A Rabbi Talks with Jesus'. Online article here.

In his “Jesus of Nazareth” the Judeo-Christian disputation enters a new age. We are able to meet one another in a forthright exercise of reason and criticism. The challenges of Sinai bring us together for the renewal of a 2,000 year old tradition of religious debate in the service of God's truth. Someone once called me the most contentious person he had ever known. Now I have met my match. Pope Benedict XVI is another truth-seeker.