HEADLINES

FOOTSTEPS IN FAITH BIBLICAL CONFERENCE – The Body of Christ –February 4 & 5, Holy Spirit Church, 98th & Frankford, Lubbock.. Speakers-Dr. John Bergsma, Dr. Brant Pitre and Dr. Michael Barber. Dr. Hahn will not be present due to serious health issues. Purchase tickets at Brother John's Catholic Books, 13th and Slide Road, Lubbock, www.FootstepsInFaith.com; mail checks to FIF Holy Spirit Church, 9821 Frankford, Lubbock 79424; visit or, call 806-438.5253 (Kathryn Loskill) 806-698-6400 (church secretary), 806-239-0884 (David Powell) or 806-438-9280 (Debbie Powell).$20-general admission; $10-active CCE instructors; Free for bishop, priests, sisters, and deacons. Lunch available at local restaurants or on site for $5- (St Peter Chanel 4th Degree Assembly #3098) purchase at the door.

Church unity will come 'in God's time, not ours,' Pope says
Presiding at a Vespers service on Wednesday evening, January 25, the Pope compared the quest for Church unity with the conversion of St. Paul. “This transformation was not the fruit of long inner reflection nor of individual effort,” he said. “It was, first and foremost, the grace of God working in its mysterious ways.”

Archbishop Dolan ‘terribly let down’ by Obama’s HHS decision
In an editorial column for the Wall Street Journal, the cardinal-designate --who is also president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops--argued that the new mandate is an offense against religious freedom, a principle that "is the lifeblood of the American people, the cornerstone of American government."

Fr Dwight Longenecker on The New Radicals, the Young Pro-Life Advocates
The new radicals are the hundreds of thousands of college aged and high school students who thronged into Washington for the March for Life. All statistics show the future belongs to them. Anti abortion sentiment is strongest among the young, and the young people who marched on Washington yesterday are not only young and joyful. They're smart.

Vatican downplays charges of financial 'corruption'
Insisting on the Holy See's continuing commitment to transparency and rectitude in economic affairs, the Vatican's spokesman downplayed references to "corruption" in a letter apparently sent to Pope Benedict XVI by a Vatican official who is now apostolic nuncio to the United States.

Cardinal Wuerl thinks Church can win contraception fight
“Americans by our tradition, by our heritage, are a people who tend to be very fair and don’t readily admit to excluding blocks and groups of people from participation in the common good,” Cardinal Donald Wuerl of Washington, D.C. said.

Prayer is central to priest's effectiveness, Pope says
Pope Benedict continued, “the study of theology must always have an intense bond to the life of prayer.” And the life of prayer is the most important element of a priest’s preparation for ministry. “It is, in fact, vital that the multiple activities of a priest's ministry be harmoniously integrated with his spiritual life.”

A Rising Catholic Tide of Resistance May Determine the U.S. Presidential Election
Catholics in the United States are rising up in a Tide of Resistance to the unjust actions and edicts of the Obama Administration. They might determine the outcome of the 2012 Presidential election in the United States. That is if they act in a manner which, in the words of the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, is "morally coherent." This President and his administration espouse a rapidly expanding Secularist State which fails to respect fundamental human rights including the Right to life and the Right to Religious Freedom.

Next Church doctor is model for evangelization
"St. John of Avila is far from us in time, but nearby for his figure, his life, his evangelizing witness and for his teaching," Archbishop Juan del Río Martín of Spain's Archdiocese for Military Services told CNA.

Around the Web – Catholic Blogosphere Wrap-up

Angel to the Rescue
Do angels really guard us and interact with us? This short story by Paulie Ruby from Minot, ND was included in the Amazing Grace for Mothers book. It's a testimony that we are not alone.

The Devil Cares
Mark 1:23-28: In their synagogue just then there was a man possessed by an unclean spirit and it shouted, ‘What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are: the Holy One of God.’ But Jesus said sharply, ‘Be quiet! Come out of him!’ And the unclean spirit threw the man into convulsions and with a loud cry went out of him. The people were so astonished that they started asking each other what it all meant. ‘Here is a teaching that is new’ they said ‘and with authority behind it: he gives orders even to unclean spirits and they obey him.’ And his reputation rapidly spread everywhere, through all the surrounding Galilean countryside.

Art Masterpieces Teaching Church History
Duquesne University Press has done something noteworthy by publishing two new full-color books which present masterpieces of art with accompanying text to illustrate key moments in the history of the Church, and also the lives of the saints. The books, originally published in French and authored by journalist Jacques Duquesne and art editor François Lebrette, are entitled The History of the Church through 100 Masterpieces and The Lives of the Saints through 100 Masterpieces.

Justice
Benedict XVI associates justice with judgment. In speaking of justice, we acknowledge injustice’s possibility. We cannot talk of either justice or injustice without talking of judgment. Justice, to recall, “cries out.” Judgment is unpopular today. It implies a standard that we do not make but to which, to be reasonable, we are to adhere.

The Big Five Catholic Music Books
I’ve been receiving an unusual number of emails recently that are asking fundamental (or rudimentary) questions.This is probably a good sign because it indicates an ever widening number of people who are interested in reforming Catholic music in a more liturgical direction. One yesterday asked for a basic tutorial in the main books of chant music for the Catholic liturgy. This seems like a reasonable request.