Here is a link to the audio of the Holy Father's statement! (RA format - 5min 30sec)

Here’s the text of the Pope’s message to the US in anticipation of his visit:

Dear Brothers and Sisters in the United States of America,

The grace and peace of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you! In just a few days from now, I shall begin my apostolic visit to your beloved country. Before setting off, I would like to offer you a heartfelt greeting and an invitation to prayer. As you know, I shall only be able to visit two cities: Washington and New York. The intention behind my visit, though, is to reach out spiritually to all Catholics in the United States. At the same time, I earnestly hope that my presence among you will be seen as a fraternal gesture towards every ecclesial community, and a sign of friendship for members of other religious traditions and all men and women of good will. The risen Lord entrusted the Apostles and the Church with his Gospel of love and peace, and his intention in doing so was that the message should be passed on to all peoples.

At this point I should like to add some words of thanks, because I am conscious that many people have been working hard for a long time, both in Church circles and in the public services, to prepare for my journey. I am especially grateful to all who have been praying for the success of the visit, since prayer is the most important element of all. Dear friends, I say this because I am convinced that without the power of prayer, without that intimate union with the Lord, our human endeavours would achieve very little. Indeed this is what our faith teaches us. It is God who saves us, he saves the world, and all of history. He is the Shepherd of his people. I am coming, sent by Jesus Christ, to bring you his word of life.

Together with your Bishops, I have chosen as the theme of my journey three simple but essential words: “Christ our hope”. Following in the footsteps of my venerable predecessors, Paul VI and John Paul II, I shall come to United States of America as Pope for the first time, to proclaim this great truth: Jesus Christ is hope for men and women of every language, race, culture and social condition. Yes, Christ is the face of God present among us. Through him, our lives reach fullness, and together, both as individuals and peoples, we can become a family united by fraternal love, according to the eternal plan of God the Father. I know how deeply rooted this Gospel message is in your country. I am coming to share it with you, in a series of celebrations and gatherings. I shall also bring the message of Christian hope to the great Assembly of the United Nations, to the representatives of all the peoples of the world. Indeed, the world has greater need of hope than ever: hope for peace, for justice, and for freedom, but this hope can never be fulfilled without obedience to the law of God, which Christ brought to fulfilment in the commandment to love one another. Do to others as you would have them do to you, and avoid doing what you would not want them to do. This “golden rule” is given in the Bible, but it is valid for all people, including non-believers. It is the law written on the human heart; on this we can all agree, so that when we come to address other matters we can do so in a positive and constructive manner for the entire human community.

Dirijo un cordial saludo a los católicos de lengua española y les manifiesto mi cercanía espiritual, en particular a los jóvenes, a los enfermos, a los ancianos y a los que pasan por dificultades o se sienten más necesitados. Les expreso mi vivo deseo de poder estar pronto con Ustedes en esa querida Nación. Mientras tanto, les aliento a orar intensamente por los frutos pastorales de mi inminente Viaje Apostólico y a mantener en alto la llama de la esperanza en Cristo Resucitado.

Dear brothers and sisters, dear friends in the United States, I am very much looking forward to being with you. I want you to know that, even if my itinerary is short, with just a few engagements, my heart is close to all of you, especially to the sick, the weak, and the lonely. I thank you once again for your prayerful support of my mission. I reach out to every one of you with affection, and I invoke upon you the maternal protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Que la Virgen María les acompañe y proteja. Que Dios les bendiga.

May God bless you all.

I love my Papa! Viva il Papa!

From St. Martha's in Kingwood, TX, comes a series of talks on Moral Issues:

Title PPts Speaker Date MP3 Links Conscience & Conscience Formation Dr. Sandra Magie 02/12/08 mp3 Moral Teachings 1 Robert Trahan Summer, 2007 mp3-1 Moral Teachings 2 PPt 1 Robert Trahan Summer, 2007 mp3-2 Moral Teachings 3 PPt 2 Robert Trahan Summer, 2007 mp3-3 Moral Teachings 4 PPt 3 Robert Trahan Summer, 2007 mp3-4 Moral Teachings 5 PPt 4 Robert Trahan Summer, 2007 mp3-5 Moral Teachings 6 PPt 5 Robert Trahan Summer, 2007 mp3-6 Moral Teachings 7 PPt 6 Robert Trahan Summer, 2007 mp3-7 Moral Teachings 8 Robert Trahan Summer, 2007 mp3-8 Moral Teachings 9 Robert Trahan Summer, 2007 mp3-9 Moral Issues Moise Arrah 09/29/07 mp3 Annulments Ann Bryant mp3 Sin Jeff Crandall 01/26/06 mp3 Sin and Conscience Ed Kleinguetl mp3 Homosexuality Msgr. Borski 09/29/04 mp3 End of Life Issues TJ Dolce 04/17/07 mp3 Humanae Vitae/Sexuality Jeff Crandall / David Garcia mp3 Consistent Ethic of Life David Garcia 02/23/06 mp3 Immigration, Legislation, and the Gospel Mark Zwick 06/06/06 mp3 Prison Ministry: Ministry on the Green Mile Deacon O'Brien 08/01/06 mp3 Death Penalty in TX David Atwood / Deacon O'Brien 01/24/06 mp3

A reader writes:

I wanted to call your attention to the wealth of audio available on my parishes website in the Diocese of Madison, WI. Perhaps the most interesting is talks given at our well attended Theology on Tap talks. This semester we have had Fr. Robert Sirico, Vinny Rottino (former Milwaukee Brewer baseball player), Joe Campo, etc.

There are also recordings of a weekly series give by the rector of the cathedral, Msgr Kevin Holmes, on the Compendium. Each talk covers a section of the compendium and is excellent for those who are reading through it.

You can find these and homilies by our Bishop Robert Morlino on the website www.isthmuscatholic.com. The audio files are here.

Thanks,

Tim

I can't quite figure out how to link to the MP3s, so do go to the www.isthmuscatholic.com webpage linked above for the audio.

A reader left a comment and I'm hoping some of you wonderful folks can help him out:

Peace!
I am Bro. Eric, a seminarian of the Marian Missionaries of the Holy Cross (MMHC) here in the Philippines.

I was tasked by my superiors to come up with a Prayer Booklet and Order of Mass in seven different languages, including Italian.

I just want to ask if can provide me a copy of the following prayers in Italian?:
1. The Order of Mass
2. The Holy Rosary (with the four Mysteries and Litany of Loreto)
3. The Memorare (prayer of St. Bernard)
4. The Angelus

Thank you for taking time to consider my feeble request. Rest assured that I'll be offering prayers for you in seven different languages!

God bless and more power!

Bro. Eric

If you would, please leave the text of the prayers in Italian in the combox -- know that you are helping!

Upromise.com is a college savings oriented website. To drum up support/visits, they have a contest going on right now asking folks to make YouTube videos and send them in. Great. Done.
...Here's where you come in. Below is the video of an Aggie Catholic family with 9 kids trying to win a $25,000 scholarship. Your votes matter! Please go here to vote for them (yes, a short registration is required -- but consider it an act of penance and offer it up for the holy souls in Purgatory).

Islam and the Fate of Europe: Eurabia or Islamic Assimilation?
A Conversation with George Weigel and Philip Jenkins

Commenting on low birth rates and the increase in Muslim population, no less an authority than Bernard Lewis has said, "Current trends show that Europe will have a Muslim majority by the end of the twenty-first century at the latest. . . . Europe will be part of the Arab West-the Maghreb."

In his book The Cube and the Cathedral George Weigel invites us to envision a "Europe in which the muezzin summons the faithful to prayer from the central loggia of St. Peter's in Rome, while Notre Dame has been transformed into Hagia Sophia on the Seine-a great Christian church become an Islamic museum." Weigel, Lewis and others, including Daniel Pipes, Hirsi Ali, Bat Y'eor and Mark Steyn, believe we should be profoundly alarmed at the consequences for the West.

In God's Continent: Christianity, Islam, and Europe's Religious Crisis, Philip Jenkins offers a more sanguine prognosis of the future of Europe, and seeks to counter what he takes to be unduly alarmist understandings of the future of Europe. While admitting that Europe will probably be in for a "bumpy ride," Jenkins believes we have reason to be less pessimistic. Secularization and other factors will likely encourage Muslim assimilation to Western norms in the twenty-first century, just as they have had similar effects of Christians in the twentieth-century.

For an audio recording of this event, please click here for Part I, and here for Part II.

*HT to Liz for sending this in!

Renewal Ministries, founded in 1980, has worked in harmony with Church leadership to carry out the work of renewal and evangelization in North America as well as in more than 25 countries around the world. This is made possible by an excellent staff and the supervision of highly qualified and experienced Boards of Directors, in both the United States and Canada.

The Power of Forgiveness (RealAudio)
Click here for audio MP3 format

Fr. John Riccardo discusses the need for and the power of forgiveness.

Where is That in the Bible? (RealAudio)
Click here for audio MP3 format

Catholic Answers apologist Tim Staples talks about his conversion to Catholicism.

Defending Life (RealAudio)
Click here for audio mp3 format

Dr. Janet Smith discusses her experiences in the last year in spreading the pro-life message.

UPDATE: For a crazy number of excellent programs, be sure to check out their site's archives from 2006-2008.

Video Information

Length:

• 30 minutes

In this programme, Hollywood actor Michael Douglas, a United Nations Messenger of Peace, travels to Sierra Leone in an attempt to reunite the country's child soldiers with their families.

Following the long and brutal civil war, in which children were tortured, drugged and manipulated into becoming combatants, the UN brokered a peace agreement that guaranteed the release of Sierra Leone's child soldiers.

As a result, kids put down their guns, streamed out of the bush, and were told to go home. Sadly, most of them no longer knew where home was.

During his trip, Michael Douglas befriends a former child soldier who had been separated from his family during the war. The young boy, Abu, has been so emotionally devastated and detached that no one has been able to break through to him; that is until Michael spontaneously sings him a simple song.

The star's rendition of the Frank Loesser classic, I love you a Bushel and a Peck, proves to be the key that unlocks Abu's memories and eventually help the UN to reunite him with is family after a long and painful 10-year absence.

Download for video iPod here.

From Letter and Spirit comes another Dr. Hahn lecture. Again, it's surprising the debt of gratitude American Catholics owe to this guy -- from Rosalind Moss to Tim Staples to any number of lay folks you'll never know, so many have come or returned to the Church because of his work...

The Mystery Unveiled: The Nuptial Meaning of the Temple

Dr. Scott Hahn
Founder and President
St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology

part 1 part 2 part 3 part 4 part 5 part 6 part 7 part 8

Here's another few lectures from Letter and Spirit. I'm starting the series today, so we'll see how it goes -- but I have high hopes!

Inspiration and Incarnation: The Christological Analogy and the Hermeneutics of Faith

Dr. Mary Healy
Adjunct Professor of Scripture
Christendom College

part 1 part 2 part 3 part 4 part 5 part 6 part 7 part 8 (includes Respondent)

Jesus and the New Priesthood

Dr. Brant Pitre
Donum Dei professor of Word and Sacrament
Our Lady of Holy Cross College


part 1 part 2 part 3 part 4 part 5 part 6 part 7 (includes Respondent)

I know a lot of you owe some measure of gratitude to Dr. Hahn. If you either (1) wandered away from the Church and have come back in the last 20 years or (2) are just learning your faith, chances are you've either read his works or read works by folks he has heavily influenced.

That said, here's a lecture of his from the Letter and Spirit site:

The Liturgical Hermeneutic: Reading the Bible from the Heart of the Church


Dr. Scott Hahn
Founder and President
St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology

part 1 part 2 part 3 part 4 part 5 part 6 part 7

From Letter and Spirit, Catholic Biblical Theology for the New Millennium (edited by Scott Hahn):

Second Annual Father Ronald Lawler Memorial Lecture
"St. Athanasius and the Divinity of the Holy Spirit"

Father Thomas Weinandy, O.F.M. Cap.,
Executive Director
Secretariat for Doctrine and Pastoral Practices
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops


part 1 part 2 part 3 part 4 part 5 part 6 part 7

Inaugural Father Ronald Lawler Memorial Lecture
“‘Bread From Both Tables’: Scripture and Tradition in the 21st Century Church”

Dr. Robert Louis Wilken
William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of the History of Christianity
University of Virginia


part 1 part 2 part 3 part 4 part 5 part 6 part 7


*HT to Darren who sent me the links!