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Brown Pelican Staff

In 1858, in the grotto of Massabielle, near Lourdes in southern France, Our Lady appeared 18 times to Bernadette Soubirous, a young peasant girl.

She revealed herself as the Immaculate Conception, asked that a chapel be built on the site of the vision, and told the girl to drink from a fountain in the grotto.

No fountain was to be seen, but when Bernadette dug at a spot designated by the apparition, a spring began to flow. The water from this still flowing spring has shown remarkable healing power, though it contains no curative property that science can identify.

The Virgin appeared 18 times to the little peasant who would latter become St. Bernardette, but the most important apparition was the 16th: On the evening on March 24th, Bernadette told her parents of the feeling she had that she was being called to the Grotto once more by an interior impulse – she intended to return there in the morning. It had been a long time since the Lady had visited her – more than two weeks! How long that night was – try as she might, the child was unable to sleep. As soon as the first light of dawn began to pierce the darkness of night, she rose and quickly dressed.

Bernadette arrived at the Grotto at five in the morning, with her blessed candle in her hand. Her parents were with her. Even before she reached the rock, she could see the wondrous light filling the niche, in which stood her beautiful Lady.

Bernadette herself describes the conversation and events which followed this moment – “Whilst I was praying, the thought of asking Her name came to my mind with such persistence that I could think of nothing else. I feared to be presumptuous in repeating a question She had always refused to answer and yet something compelled me to speak. At last, under an irresistible impulsion, the words fell from my mouth and I begged the Lady to tell me who She was.

“The Lady did as She had always done before; She bowed Her head and smiled but She did not reply.

“I cannot say why, but I felt myself bolder and asked Her again to graciously tell me Her name; however, She only smiled and bowed as before, still remaining silent.

“Then once more, for the third time, clasping my hands and confessing myself to be unworthy of the great favour I was asking of Her, I again made my request.

“The Lady was standing above the rose bush, in a position very similar to that shown on the Miraculous Medal. At my third request, Her face became very serious and She seemed to bow down in an attitude of humility. Then She joined Her hands and raised them to Her breast. She looked up to Heaven.

“Then slowly opening Her hands and leaning towards me, She said to me in a voice vibrating with emotion

‘I AM THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION’

“She smiled again, spoke no more, and disappeared smiling”.

In 1862 Church authorities confirmed the authenticity of the apparitions and authorized the cult of Our Lady of Lourdes for the diocese. The Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes became worldwide in 1907.

Bernadette today inside the gold and glass coffin

President Obama, as a senator, advocated localism in a statement given to the FCC in Chicago. The head of Obama’s transition team, John Podesta, was president of the Center for American Progress, which issued a report on “The Structural Imbalance of Talk Radio,” complaining of “the absence of localism in American radio markets” and urging the FCC to seek “greater local accountability over radio licensing.”

The head of the FCC transition team for Podesta and Obama is another supporter of localism standards: Henry Rivera, former chairman of the Minority Media and Telecommunications Council. The council spells out what is intended by localism:

“Broadcasters must . . . look for leaders in the civic, religious, and non-profit sectors that regularly serve the needs of the community, particularly the needs of minority groups that are typically poorly served by the broadcasting industry as a whole.”

In other words, the FCC can use the localism standard to determine whether Catholic radio stations, or any radio stations, are serving the “needs of minority groups” in their communities. (You can bet that Catholics are not one of those minority groups.)

In addition to ideological constraints, localism would affect small stations by requiring the main studios to be located within a broadcaster’s community, to fully staff those studios during hours of operation, to restore community advisory boards, and to establish minimum levels of locally originated programming that responds to community concerns.

The nearly 200 Catholic radio stations around the country neither have the resources to meet these standards nor can they subsume their religious mission to local advisory boards. As Gajdosik puts it, “This gives a local review board oversight to decide whether a station’s content serves the needs and interests of the local population.”

The leading lobbying group for religious broadcasters, the National Association of Religious Broadcasters, has gone on record against “localism mandates, adverse definitions of ‘public interest’ obligation, and media reform rules that could disfavor Christian broadcasters.”

The NRB believes that the Broadcaster Freedom Act, introduced on January 7, will prevent the FCC from determining the content of Christian radio stations. Reps. Mike Pence (R-ID) and Greg Walden (R-OR) are sponsors of the House bill, and Sens. Jim DeMint (R-SC) and John Thune (R-SD) are the Senate sponsors.

Pence told the National Catholic Register that he and his colleagues will continue to push the Broadcaster Freedom Act: “There’s no doubt that if it gets to the floor of the House, it will pass by a wide margin.”

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has taken an in-between position on localism. Jessica Gonzales, an attorney for the Catholic bishops, explained that localism could be used as an incentive for “fast-track renewals” of station licenses. Gonzales said the USCCB is not concerned about the impact of localism “guidelines” on radio content, since “many broadcasters suggest they are already comporting with the guidelines.”

On the other hand, the Catholic Radio Association, which exists independently of the USCCB, is deeply concerned about the impact of localism standards. Last April, CRA filed a 19-page brief with the FCC opposing localism and the problems it creates for smaller stations (and for Catholic radio in particular).

The FCC currently renews radio station licenses every eight years. If, as suggested by Human Events, the FCC decides on an accelerated license review every two years, then during Obama’s first term, every radio license in America can be reviewed twice. Any station that fails to meet localism standards would then be subject to having its license revoked. We’ll keep you updated as events develop.

http://insidecatholic.com/Joomla/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5318&Itemid=48

Father Ernest Daly, LC

Mark 4:1-20
On another occasion Jesus began to teach by the sea. A very large crowd gathered around him so that he got into a boat on the sea and sat down. And the whole crowd was beside the sea on land. And he taught them at length in parables, and in the course of his instruction he said to them, “Hear this! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Other seed fell on rocky ground where it had little soil. It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep. And when the sun rose, it was scorched and it withered for lack of roots. Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it and it produced no grain. And some seed fell on rich soil and produced fruit. It came up and grew and yielded thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.” He added, “Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear.” And when he was alone, those present along with the Twelve questioned him about the parables. He answered them, “The mystery of the kingdom of God has been granted to you. But to those outside everything comes in parables, so that ´they may look and see but not perceive, and hear and listen but not understand, in order that they may not be converted and be forgiven.´” Jesus said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand any of the parables? The sower sows the word. These are the ones on the path where the word is sown. As soon as they hear, Satan comes at once and takes away the word sown in them. And these are the ones sown on rocky ground who, when they hear the word, receive it at once with joy. But they have no root; they last only for a time. Then when tribulation or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. Those sown among thorns are another sort. They are the people who hear the word, but worldly anxiety, the lure of riches, and the craving for other things intrude and choke the word, and it bears no fruit. But those sown on rich soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.”

Introductory Prayer:Lord, I want to spend these moments close to you. I believe that you are here with me. Take over my life more and more and make it what it was meant to be. Lord, I put my trust in you.

Petition:Jesus, make the soil of my heart open to your word so that it will bear fruit for eternal life.

1. Beware of the Thieves What the Father has planted in our lives is good. Goodness can bear fruit. But Christ has shown us that there is someone who does not want us to bear fruit. The devil tries to take goodness from our lives through enticing us with evil, filling our hearts with selfishness, and making us insensitive to the movements of grace in our soul. We need to renounce Satan every day by fixing our will on the goodness of Christ. This is done through sincere prayer and generosity of spirit.

2. Dig Deep The strength of our resolve is tested by the difficulties we face. If we go deeper in our prayer each day and build up the habit of letting go of our own ego, we can face the bad times with peace and trust. When our spiritual roots are not deep, we find ourselves disoriented—even defeated—by the tribulations that are part of an authentic Christian life. Christ teaches us to dig deep. With him as our friend, difficulties become a way to show our love and to do something that has eternal value. If I don’t fight, how can I merit a crown of victory?

3. Fruit in Docility In order to bear fruit, we must be docile to God’s word. But being docile does not mean being passive. For a Christian, docility to Christ and the Holy Spirit means willingness to work and serve. We are followers of the One who came to serve. The Spirit that is self-surrender moves us. To hear the Word of God and accept it means to make our lives an imitation of Christ’s total self-giving—day in and day out. God will grant fruit to our lives if we are willing to be other Christs in the here and now.

Conversation with Christ: Lord, thank you for showing me how to bear fruit in my life. I want to imitate your self-surrender to the Father and to souls. I know that this requires a constant effort to go deep in my life and be docile to the Holy Spirit. Help me to live as a giver, not a taker. Your love will always be there to accompany me.

Resolution: Today I will offer up a small sacrifice to ask God for the grace of acquiring the virtue that I need the most.

http://www.regnumchristi.org/english/articulos/articulo.phtml?se=363&ca=975&te=735&id=20302

We have passed the threshold into one of the most important weeks in American history, and a convergence of three very important celebrations reminds us of it. Monday we celebrate the remembrance of Dr. Martin Luther King, who worked so heroically and tirelessly to insure that all men and women might share in the American dream equally. Tuesday we celebrate the inauguration of the first African American president, Barack Obama. That an African American can be so elected is indeed a cause to celebrate. However, thursday we pray and do penance on the anniversary of the most infamous court decision in United States history, Roe v. Wade. All three are related.

Dr. King fought long and hard and suffered many things that all men and women in the United States of America might enjoy those truths that we hold to be self evident: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. He was an American hero for so doing. This week we should rightly celebrate the fact that an African American can be and has been elected President of the United States. This is surely progress, both political and moral.

This all being said, it has to plague the conscience of any thinking person that in this country there is yet the most immoral and deadly form of prejudice and persecution imaginable against the most innocent and vulnerable class of human beings-the unwanted unborn. No matter what advances this country makes, moral, economic, social, or technological, so long as that blight on our national identity remains, all else will ultimately pale into relative insignificance.

God is not a disinterested spectator in the affairs of man. He knows every child by name from all eternity. He loves each one with His infinite love. God’s holy Catholic Church teaches that abortion in a single case is homicide. I assert that if this is the case, and it is, then the 50,000,000 homicides through abortion that have taken place in the United States since Roe v. Wade constitute genocide. God will not favor such a country, regardless of any other progress. Unless this outrage against God and humanity is stopped very soon, the United States of America, and in turn all of the Western world, will realize the death wish that it has manifest for several decades.

Every Catholic, Christian, Jew, and all people of good will and right reason must pray and do penance rigorously and daily from now on for the defeat of this heinous evil we call abortion. If we fail, then Western society as we know it will soon collide with a disaster it will not survive.

May God have mercy on us.

Fr. John Corapi