EENS - Extra Ecclesia Nulla Sallus - Outside the Church there is No Salvation

Feast of Saint Marcelino Champagnat

EENS is an acronym for the Latin phrase "Extra Ecclesia Nulla Sallus" which means "Outside the Church there is No Salvation. It is church doctrine. But because humans can be so dense, it has had to be defined THREE times by THREE different popes! (One time is enough to make it doctrine.) Anyway, Father Z over at What Does the Prayer Really Say? wrote a post on today's papal audience regarding the Holy Father's comments on EENS and how it may/may not relate to the motu proprio & the SSPX.

Man tries to hitch a ride with the Holy Father

Feast of Blessed Mariam Thresia Chiramel Mankidiyan

I am sure you have already heard about the man who jumped the barricade at the papal audience, but just in case CNN (Communist News Network - so called by my dear brother) had a write up on it as well as a video.

Here are some of the more humorous tongue-in-cheek comments on it in the blogs. (if you know of more, please share.)

From Uncovering Orthodoxy -

I’m sure that when they get this all sorted out they’ll find that the individual was simply a traditional Catholic blogger hoping to finally settle all these Motu Proprio rumors once and for all.

From Simon-Peter Says -

Some crazy -- probably an honorary male member *cough* of the Sisters of obfuscation of the Woolly Cardigan (we have met them before), upset at the incipient Motu Proprio -- launched himself into the Pope Mobile today right behind the Holy Father. I am sure he was just going to discuss a Bach fugue, or the divine right of extra-ordinary ministers of unholy confusion, rather than cause harm.

"Rudy, are you listening? It's me, God!"

Feast of Saint Norbert

-------------------

-------------------

From Reuters

Electrical glitch worries Giuliani at debate
Tue Jun 5, 2007 9:51PM EDT

MANCHESTER, New Hampshire (Reuters) - An electrical glitch at a debate of Republican presidential candidates had Rudy Giuliani joking on Tuesday that he was about to be struck by lightning for differing with a Catholic bishop.

An electrical sound interrupted Giuliani, a Roman Catholic, as he was trying to answer a question from debate moderator Wolf Blitzer of CNN about a Rhode Island bishop who compared him to Pontius Pilate for his views on abortion.

"Look, for someone who went to parochial schools all his life, this is a very frightening thing that's happening right now," Giuliani chuckled.

Giuliani, who is leading national polls in his party's presidential race, has drawn fire from conservative critics for not being a stronger opponent of abortion.

"My view on abortion is that it's wrong, but that ultimately government should not be enforcing that decision on a woman," he said.

(snip)

I saw the news clip on this debate on TV. He may have "chuckled", but it was a nervous chuckle. I pray he takes this seriously. Divine Intervention - Gotta love it!!!

Super Heroes!

Feast of Saint Clotilde

I snagged this from a dear friend's blog, Against All Heresies.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Is it a bird?

Is it a plane?

No....

But our super heroes wear capes too.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thanks Mary!

Go see for yourself!

Feast of Saint Kevin

I don't get to read the blogs like I would want to, but today I succeeded at procrastinating on work at home (hey, it's Sunday after all), and wandered over to the Curt Jester.

I wanted to refer to some of his posts, but which one? How about the undocumented pope? Or the bored game (pun intended)? Or perhaps the one on modern debate? There is also the Gospel According to Luke Skywalker! Oh, just go see for yourself - you will not regret it!

New Category - Mommia Awards - Lasko Fans

Feast of Saint Bernadine Realino

I have wanted to do this for a while - have a special category for things or places that I think go over and above excellence. (If you have a nomination, please let me know.)

Lasko Fans - first recipient of a Mommia Award

I cannot praise these fans enough! I was looking for a tower fan a few years ago, and bought this one.

It was a little more than I wanted to pay, but I bought it anyway - and I am so glad I did! These are the features:

Wind Curve/model 2554

This innovative fan allows you to sit back, relax and take a breath of fresh air. With its sophisticated Wind Curve Profile, Fresh Air Ionizer technology and oscillation, this fan provides fresh air throughout your entire room. Ideal in your home or in the workplace, the Wind Curve utilizes minimal space while providing maximum air distribution. And to top it all off, it comes with a remote control, 3 quiet speeds, and a convenient electronic timer for up to 7.5 hours. You’ll wonder how you ever got along without it!
High-Reaching Tower Design for maximum Air Delivery
Fresh Air Ionizer Option
Convenient Electronic Timer Set from 0.5 - 7.5 Hours
3 Quiet Speeds
Multi-Function Remote Control
Oscillation
U.L. Listed

This fan has great air circulation without "blowing you away". I would almost swear it has an air conditioner in it, as the air blowing out seems cooler than in other fans. The nature of a tower fan is such that you can place this in a corner, and it still works great! Talk about "space saving design" - this fan has it! Oh, and this is the quietest fan I have ever heard!

Recently we moved from a home with central air, to an older home without it. Not only that, but all of the bedrooms are upstairs. It quickly became clear we needed more fans for the bedrooms. The store was out of the aforementioned fan, though they did have another Lasko fan. Since I could not get the model I wanted, I decided to try other brands. Folks, let me tell you, the other brands are NOT worth it! I bought one brand, and then took it back. I tried another brand, and back to the store it went too. Finally I bought the Lasko fan, model 2517 (not on the website). It is very similar to my preferred model, but lacks the Fresh Air Ionizer - no big deal, as we are not a stinky family (or so no one says).

While I like this model MUCH better than any of the other brands I tried, it is not as good as the Wind Curve, in my humble opinion, though it is very close. Perhaps I am just picky (hush Mom!) It seems SLIGHTLY louder, air circulation is SLIGHTLY less effective, and the air does not seem as cool. Perhaps it is the Fresh Air Ionizer (though I do not know how that would affect things); more than likely it is a difference in design. All that said, Model 2517 is my second favorite fan, a close second to the Wind Curve.

After perusing the website, my next purchase will be a Lasko window fan. I have 17 windows in this place. Perhaps if I keep the air circulating, I can keep down the use of the energy hogging window air conditioner units.

Embracing Grief (was "Surviving Grief")

Feast of Saint Gracia

(Note - I changed the title - see KimB's comment to find out why.)

A dear friend is going through a difficult time. She wrote this to me:

There is one line from a prayer called "indulgenced Prayer for a Christian Family" that I often think of at times like this. It is, "Preserve us and our house from all evils and misfortunes, but grant that we may be ever resigned to Thy divine Will even in the sorrows which it shall please Thee to send us." While we are very saddened by this, we know it's God's will.

I am always amazed at how Catholics handle grief, compared to non-Catholics. It is because we realize God sends us crosses because he loves us. Shocking concept if you are not Catholic (or, sadly, not properly catechized). I know I already posted about this subject, but I think it bears repeating.

John Mallon wrote some interesting thoughts in his article Grief: The Journey Takes Time. He wrote about a Jewish psychiatrist, Auschwitz survivor, and eventually Catholic convert, Victor Frankl, who wrote a book titled Man’s Search for Meaning. In it he wrote that if we could find meaning in our suffering, then we could use that suffering to strengthen ourselves, survive, and become better for it.

Mr. Mallon also wrote:

For the Christian the ultimate meaning of our suffering is found in the Cross of Christ — where the greatest evil that ever happened—the murder of God — Deicide — resulted in the greatest good that ever happened: Redemption. Philosopher Peter Kreeft calls this “God’s jujitsu.” God used the force of the devil’s own evil to defeat him. We can endure evil and suffering. We can, with great suffering, adjust to evil’s results (although perhaps we should never adjust to evil itself).

There are numerous references to the purpose of suffering in scripture. Some that caught my attention are:

Hebrews 12:11 - Now all chastisement for the present indeed seemeth not to bring with it joy, but sorrow: but afterwards it will yield, to them that are exercised by it, the most peaceable fruit of justice.

And -

1 Peter 5:10 - But the God of all grace, who hath called us into his eternal glory in Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a little, will himself perfect you, and confirm you, and establish you.

And probably my favorite (though not listed on the aforementioned site) -

John 16:21 - A woman, when she is in labour, hath sorrow, because her hour is come; but when she hath brought forth the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world.

Pope John Paul II wrote about suffering in his Apostolic Letter "Salvifici Doloris"(On the Christian Meaning of Human Suffering); as did Saint Augustine in The sufferings of Christ are not in Christ alone. St. Therese of Lisieux wrote Joy in Suffering.

Having been raised a protestant, I know how they handle grief. For protestants, it is a much sadder event. That is not to say Catholics do not become sad, we do. But there is a difference, Catholics look at suffering as a gift from God – that he gives us these crosses because he loves us. I feel sorry for those who do not know this, because it does bring great comfort. I tried to find sources on the differences between Catholics and non-Catholics when it comes to suffering, but was unable to find them. I am sure they are out there, so if you know of any, please post them in the comment section.

I will close with some quotes from some saints (thank you Rebecca) –

"Suffering is the very best gift He has to give us. He gives it only to His chosen friends."~ St. Therese of Lisieux

"God had one son on earth without sin, but never one without suffering."~Saint Augustine

"We always find that those who walked closest to Christ were those who had to bear the greatest trials."~St. Teresa of Avila