Wednesday, February 16, 2005

Check out the new temporary CCF discussion forum

We have a temporary discussion forum on EZBoard to tide us over until the real CCF discussion software is up & running.

I think it is easier to view & discuss things than on these blogs.

If you are already an EZ-Board global member you won't have to register. If not doing so is pretty easy and free.

It is obviously in pretty rough form, but still servicable, I think.

Check it out at:

http://p066.ezboard.com/bcatholiccommunityforum
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Note: ezboards apparently "nuked" the site for some reason. You can still view it (but not post to it) at: this link via Google's cached copy. (thanks Google).

Tuesday, February 15, 2005

The Palestinian War vs. Israel is over?

WAR 'IS OVER'
Feb 15 2005
Link www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/war--is-over--

PALESTINIAN leader Mahmoud Abbas declared yesterday that war with Israel was over.

The president said he had found a new partner on the road to peace in Ariel Sharon, who he said was speaking a 'different language'.
Abbas, 69, said terror groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad had agreed to respect the truce he announced with the Israeli leader last week.
And Hamas had vowed to stand in elections next July, continuing their 'conversion into a political party'.
Abbas said the important thing was freedom for Palestinian prisoners, as Israel's cabinet approved the release of 500 yesterday.

Monday, February 14, 2005

Sister Lucia, last Fatima seer, dead at 97

14-February-2005 -- Catholic World News Brief
SISTER LUCIA, LAST FATIMA SEER, DEAD AT 97


Fatima, Feb. 14 (CWNews.com) - Sister Lucia, the last survivor among the three Portuguese children to whom the Virgin Mary appeared at Fatima, has died at the age of 97.

Sister Lucia died on February 13 at her Carmelite convent in Coimbra, Portugal, after a long illness. Living in isolation in the cloistered convent, Sister Lucia had reportedly lost her eyesight and hearing in the months preceding her death.

Born on March 22, 1907, Lucie Dos Santos was only 10 years old when the Virgin appeared to her and her two young cousins, Francisco and Jacinta Marto, on a field outside the town of Fatima, on May 13, 1917. The apparitions continued through October 13 of that same year, and the seers conveyed Mary's predictions of World War II, the rise of Russian Communism, and the urgent need for the faithful to pray the Rosary. Sister Lucia also revealed the famous "third secret" of Fatima, which was kept secret by successive Popes until May 2000, when John Paul II revealed the text of a mystical vision involving a "bishop dressed in white" who was struggling toward the Cross, over the bodies of martyrs, until he himself was felled by gunfire. Pope John Paul concluded that the vision referred to the attempt on his own life. Some Catholics continue to insist that aspects of the "third secret" have not yet been disclosed, although the Vatican insists that there is nothing more to reveal.

Sister Lucia had spoken of the Fatima promises in four published memoirs, but kept the "third secret" hidden. She divulged that secret to the Bishop of Leira, Portugal, in January 1944; he confided the secret to Pope Pius XII. Sister Lucia had said that the secret should be revealed at the Pope's discretion, but not because 1960.

The first Pontiff to meet privately with Sister Lucia was Paul VI, when he visited Fatima in May 1967. Pope John Paul II met with her on three separate occasions: in 1982, when he made a pilgrimage to Fatima to thank the Virgin for saving him from assassination; in 1991, on the 10th anniversary of the shooting; and in 2000, for the beatification ceremonies.

Francisco and Jacinta Marto were beatified by Pope John Paul in ceremonies that took place at Fatima on May 13, 2000-- the anniversary of the first apparition there. Both Francisco and Jacinta had died in their youth-- in 1919 and 1920, respectively. Sister Lucia made a rare journey outside the Carmelite cloister to take part in the ceremony.

After the Fatima apparitions, and subsequent personal visions of the Virgin in 1923 and 1929, Lucie Dos Santos entered religious life-- first in Spain and later, in 1948, as a Carmelite in Portugal.

The body of Sister Lucia will be in the Coimbra cathedral on Tuesday, February 15, so that the faithful can pay their respects. A funeral Mass will be celebrated on Wednesday.

Questioned as to whether Sister Lucia could be canonized, as were the other two young Fatima seers, Cardinal José Saraiva Martins was non-committal. The prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints reminded reporters that the Church ordinarily requires a 5-year interval between an individual's death and the opening of a formal "cause" for beatification.

Moreover, the Portuguese cardinal observed, "sanctity is a strictly personal thing." He added: "The fact that all three children saw the Holy Virgin does not show anything about the sanctity of each one."


Pope - I always feel the need for your help before the Lord

13-February-2005 -- Vatican Information Service


I NEED YOUR HELP TO ACCOMPLISH MY MISSION

VATICAN CITY, FEB 13, 2005 (VIS) - At midday today, the Pope appeared at the window of his private study to pray the Angelus with thousands of people gathered below in St Peter's Square.

Prior to the Marian prayer, Archbishop Leonardo Sandri, substitute of the Secretariat of State, read a text prepared by the Holy Father.

"I would like to thank you all," the Holy Father writes, "including those who are following us on radio and television, for your closeness, affection and, above all, your prayers during the days I spent in the Gemelli Polyclinic. I always feel the need for your help before the Lord, in order to carry out the mission that Jesus has entrusted to me."

After recalling that Lent began last Wednesday with the imposition of ashes, John Paul II affirms that this liturgical time "reminds us of a fundamental truth: we do not enter eternal life without carrying our cross together with Christ. We do not achieve happiness and peace without courageously facing the interior struggle. This struggle is won with the arms of penitence: prayer, fasting and works of mercy. And all must be done secretly, without hypocrisy, in a spirit of sincere love towards God and our brothers and sisters."

Before closing, the Pope asks the faithful to pray for him and his collaborators in the Roman Curia during their week of spiritual exercises which begins this evening. "In silence and meditation I will pray to the Lord for all the needs of the Church and of the world."

Following the Angelus, Archbishop Sandri added in the Pope's name: "As I continue to pray for peace in the Middle East, I make a heartfelt appeal for the liberation of the Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena, and of all those kidnapped in Iraq."

The Holy Father pronounced the blessing and added before leaving: "I wish everyone a happy Sunday. Thank you."

old CCF archives can be viewed

You can view some of the old CCF archives here.

Anyone can post now

Oops.

Apparently only "members" could post previously.

If you had trouble posting before, sorry about that. You should be able to post now.

Friday, February 11, 2005

Discussion Forum software

Though the software will hopefully be up and running very shortly, there might still be time to make recommendations for discussion forum software that we could use.

Feedback on features that you like or dislike are also welcome.

I personally like to have at least the option to view posts in a threaded format so I can tell which post is being responded to in long threads. I also like the option to have the threads bounce back up to the top of the list whenever a new post is added.

Some people seem to prefer that there are no separate forums, they like all of the threads in one big happy family. I think I prefer having at least a few different forums.

I also like the ability to link to other sites, post pictures, use formatting features such as bold, italics, different colors etc. Being able to mark threads as "read" can be a time saver, as can having new posts highlighted.

I believe one of the software packages receiving serious consideration is listed here: http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/

Once again, any feedback is appreciated.

May Jesus Christ be praised!

Your brother-in-Christ,
Jeff

CCF down. New software coming.

Unfortunately the CCF software apparently crashed and burned.

The only silver lining in that cloud is that we will have the opportunity to upgrade the software with something hopefully at least a little bit better.

In the mean time we can hopefully share our thoughts here a little bit & keep in touch with some friends until the new software comes online.

Sorry for the inconvenience, and thank you for your patience.

May Jesus Christ be praised!

Your brother-in-Christ,
Jeff