Finally! His Eminence Cardinal Thomas Collins' 3 Minute Intervention at #Synod15!

Skimming through blogs, I came to First Things, which is covering #Synod15 in an interesting style, akin to Fr. Francis Zavier Murphy with Vatican II.

Under a fictional pen name, Xavier Rynne II, an author is being given much information and coverage, of the Ordinary Synod on the Family 2015. While we don't know this reporter/editoralist's name, he/she is gaining a wealth of information, and even cardinals' own 3 minute speeches (the "interventions") published online. For more, including past articles, please see this website on first things: http://www.firstthings.com/tag/synod2015

Well .... Finally it is here!!! Allow me to be the first to bring the scoop to the SCCB!!!! His Eminence, Thomas Cardinal Collins, has finally given his 3 minute intervention in the Synod. While we were gobbling turkey this weekend, ++Collins delivered the the intervention on Saturday Oct 10. Xavier Rynne II has just included it as part of their latest report on First Things, given today this morning. I repost it here in full, to break the scoop.

If you choose to include it in your blog post, feel free to link to either one of our blogs (but if you choose mine, please credit First Things and XR2 for the original publishing, and S.U.D. for breaking the scoop.) 

Enjoy this good morning wakeup!!! Pax tibi Christi, Julian Barkin. 

Cardinal Collins on the Art of Accompaniment

The following intervention was given to the general assembly of the Synod of bishops on Saturday, October 10, by Cardinal Thomas Collins, the Archbishop of Toronto, with special reference to section 110 of the Synod’sInstrumentum Laboris:

We are called to accompany people with a compassion that challenges, and that leads to conversion and to a heart on fire for Christ. Here are some ways to do that:

1. Pastors, who must daily accompany their people in their struggles, should imitate Jesus on the road to Emmaus, and with clarity and charity preach the call to conversion, which is the foundation for the liberating message of Jesus “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17).

2. The Gospel message is entrusted to us; but our greater task is to form messengers, for all the faithful are called to the apostolate, especially parents entrusted with the evangelization of their children.

3. Men in particular need to be challenged in order to assume their responsibilities in society, so that the young are not deprived of paternal models to guide them along the sure path that can sustain their hope.

4. Young people should be presented with the fullness of God’s plan for human love, with all of its challenges and its invitation to heroic sanctity. Pastoral experience shows that they rise to this challenge with a reaction similar to the disciples of Emmaus: “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the scriptures?” (Luke 24:32).

Our mission is to make disciples, but secular culture is more effective in unmaking them. This is nowhere more evident than in the secular vision of the family, of sexuality, of gender, of fidelity, and of the human person.

We must certainly start where people are at, in their subjective personal situations, and accompany them. But to do so with evangelical integrity, we must effectively share with them the objective truths of Sacred Scripture and Tradition, which challenge the secular assumptions that they draw in with the air they breathe. The goal is to form missionary disciples within the family who will evangelize the world.

“Go, make disciples” (Matthew 28:19). That is the mandate Jesus gives us at the end of the Gospel of Matthew. In Luke, on the road to Emmaus, he shows us how to do so.

First, he drew near, and accompanied his downcast disciples as they walked in the wrong direction, into the night. He started by asking questions about their present disposition and by listening to them, but he did not stop there. Instead, he challenged them with the Word of God: “Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared!” (Luke 24:25). His presentation of the objective vision of Scripture broke through their subjective self-absorption and, along with his loving presence, brought them to conversion. The disciples of Emmaus accepted the Word of God that challenged them, and asked Jesus to remain with them. When the Lord was made known to them in the Breaking of the Bread they changed direction and, with burning hearts, raced through the night to Jerusalem to bear joyful witness to the community gathered there.

Traditional and Orthodox Catholics of Toronto! Now's Your Chance! Give the Church Strength She Needs for Synod 2015

Hello Everyone,

While cruising the Archdiocese of Toronto's website looking at certain pages for information, I found an interesting link on its front page:

http://www.archtoronto.org/synod/index.html#feedback

What! Unlike the Extraordinary Synod where the Office of the Archdiocese of Toronto decided that feedback was only to be obtained from clergy upon order from the CCCB, His Eminence has decided that we deserve to share in giving our utmost advice on issues for the 2015 Synod in Rome! Here's the full text from the website of the invitation:

A MESSAGE FROM THOMAS CARDINAL COLLINS:

Later this year, the Holy Father will be holding an Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on The vocation and the mission of the family in the Church and in the contemporary world. The synod will take place at the Vatican and will be attended by bishops from around the world. 

The Lineamenta is a document which outlines issues that need to be considered in order to help prepare the working document that will be used by the synod. In order to facilitate discussion, a list of questions has been provided with the Lineamenta. 

As part of this official consultative process, Catholics are invited to share their reflections on topics highlighted in the Lineamenta. As this is an extensive document that covers diverse subject matter, it is recommended that respondents consider selecting perhaps three areas or specific questions to provide informed commentary or insights. A concise response would be appreciated. A synthesis of responses will be sent to the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops who will then forward the information gathered from across Canada to the Vatican in preparation for the Synod later this year.

All responses to the Lineamenta must be received no later than Monday, February 16, 2015. Responses can be sent either by e-mail to communications@archtoronto.org or by mail to the Office of Public Relations & Communications, 1155 Yonge St., Toronto, ON M4T 1W2.

Thank you in advance for your feedback on these important topics. 

So basically, you pick some focus areas from the Lineamenta, or the questions from the CCCB summary that is part of the website and answer them (3 broader areas or a specific question) and send them to the e-mail to the Archdiocese's communications office. It's that simple! Here are the Lineamenta AND the CCCB summary links:

http://www.archtoronto.org/synod/lineamenta.pdf

http://www.archtoronto.org/synod/questions_lineamenta.pdf (The so called "questions" seem to be the ones in this document)

A priest friend of mine has already alerted me to this as well. And I do appreciate it. See folks, a lot of the time, it's the active, loudmouthed liberals and "change people" that write to chanceries and to the Vatican with their groups in these kinds of things. When it comes to the Traditional side of things, it tends to be letters of shame, detraction, so and so did X wrong in the liturgy, excommunicate people like Michael Coren (just couldn't resist, ha ha ha!) ... and you wonder why no one in the hierarchy of the Church wants to listen to the Traditional Catholics. 

Well, let this be your chance to actually shine and show the Church what is needed with regards to this synod. Please follow the website's instructions and submit your feedback to the office, no later than Mon, Feb 16, 2015. You have almost a month. That should give you time to formulate an articulate, clever response that can benefit His Eminence when he must submit his information to the CCCB. 

Look, I get it that people in the know view the CCCB as some Liberal dark cloud blah blah blah usual Radicals Misrepresenting Traditionalist garbage. But look, if YOU and many other Traditional Orthodox Catholics do NOT write to His Eminence, it will be the liberals and those who are not sufficiently educated (or manipulated by the Culture in their weak formation of Faith) who will write to Him, and then what will he have to present to the CCCB? HE WANTS YOUR HELP!!! YOU KNOW HE'S MORE OF A ROLE MODEL VS OTHER BISHOPS AND CARDINALS TODAY!!!! YOU MUST put your feelings aside, and assist him! 

I am certainly one Glad Trad that will be assisting His Eminence and the whole of the Church by doing this in my spare time, and I implore you to do the same. "Evil triumphs when good men do nothing" was the expression, Well, how about good men and women do something for a change and actually assist the Church by showing them that even in Canada, we don't want radical pastoral change to make Church doctrine/dogma moot in areas of Family and Life! At its absolute worst ... at least you did your part and tried and fought for Her Holy Mother Church. 

Let's do this for His Eminence, for His Holiness, and for the Church! For the Family and Life!

Pax Tibi Christi, Julian Barkin. 

Off the Beaten Path: #howtodad ad for Cheerios

Hello Everyone,

Time to take a break from my usual posts, and go off the beaten path. While viewing my blogs, this advertisement popped up in the side screen:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GYxH2-WeZY

What makes this video so epic? Well it's a salute in an advertisement that hails all fathers out there, but also large families.

Watch the whole thing from start to finish. In the video, this guy has 4 kids. That's right, 4! That is a statement in itself where most families are not procreating enough, especially Catholic families. Further, this dad is NOT a bumbling idiot as portrayed by the man-sterilizing, anti-male, misandrist media and society. No, rather he's protector, advice giver, multi-tasker, and man-in-command of this house as he associates with all the members he's got.

Kudos to General Mills and their latest advertisement for Cheerios. If you aren't a organic foods/health nut, then go buy a box of Cheerios and let them know you did it because of this ad. Especially you Catholics!

Pax, Julian.