A few weeks ago I promised to give more information about my "sources" when preparing the homilies. I'll try to do that here.
- Fr. Bob

Paschasius Radbertus

>> c.785-860. Abbot and scholar. From the vicinity of Soissons, he entered the monastery of Corbie under the direction of Adalhard, its first abbot. Well versed in the Scriptures, Church Fathers, and Latin classics, he became an instructor of younger monks. His exemplary humility refused to allow him advancement beyond the order of deacon. Following the death of Abbot Isaac, however, he accepted the abbacy of Corbie, a post he renounced for unencumbered study about 853. Meanwhile he attended the synods of Paris (847) and Quiercy (849). He produced several biographies and dogmatic works-especially contributions in Mariology-and extensive commentaries on Matthew, Psalm 44, and Lamentations; yet De corpore et sanquine Domini, written in 831 and revised in 844, is his most famous work. His realistic interpretation of Christ's presence at the sacrament, graphically depicted as being in the Lord's same crucified and risen flesh, was sharply opposed by Ratramnus* and Rabanus Maurus* and later gave way to a subtler, Aristotelian explanation. <<

That is the short, authoritative entry in the Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, reprinted here. A longer, much more exciting (but less well documented) life history can be found here. My understanding of Radbertus was influenced by Avery Dulles, The Assurance of Things Hoped For: A Theology of Christian Faith. (excerpt here)

Radbertus wrote a whole treatise on Faith, Hope and Charity. If you have an account with Scribd, you can download a PDF of the 1852 Migne version (Patrologia Latina vol 120) at this link. You can also borrow the PDF from me. This is some information about Patrologia Latina and the newer electronic version (link here).

REFLECTION:
Of the sacrament of the Lord’s Body and Blood, every one of the faithful should be knowledgeable and aware of what in it pertains to faith and what to knowledge, because faith in the mystery is not rightly defended without knowledge, nor is knowledge nurtured without faith.
- St Paschasius

Nativity Parish's collection for the victims of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines yielded exactly 1000 US dollars. The collection was held over the weekend of Nov. 16-17 both in Darien and at our FLETC Mass, with some further donations arriving on Monday. The entire amount has already arrived at the headquarters of Caritas Philippines through the offices of Catholic Relief Services.

CRS sends their thanks and encloses the following prayer:


Prayer for the Philippines

God, who quiets great winds and stills rough seas
We ask your protection for the people of the Philippines.
Comfort them in their fear.
Stay close to them in their danger.

And we ask the intercession of Your Blessed Mother
That together with her and with all your holy saints
We may stand in solidarity with our Filipino brothers and sisters
Through their darkest hour
Through their longest night.
Give us the courage to remain steadfast
To reach out to them in their need
To comfort them in their sorrow
To hold them as closely as You hold them
To see them through to morning.

Amen.

The Catholic Church throughout the world is mobilizing to help the victims of Hurricane Yolanda (Haiyan) in the Philippines. Pope Francis called on all Catholics to pray and to help - and led the way by ordering the Vatican to make an initial donation of app. $150,000 to Caritas Filipina. The Filipino Bishops' Conference has called for a Novena of Prayer and Fund Raising from Nov. 11-19.

Caritas Internationalis is the Roman Catholic Church's world wide relief and help organization. They are coordinating efforts in many countries to help our sisters and brothers in need. The American branch of Caritas Internationalis is called Catholic Relief Services (CRS = CaRitaS).

Nativity of Our Lady Catholic Church in Darien will support the efforts of Caritas and the parishes of the Philippines with a special collection on Saturday, November 16 and Sunday, November 17. Donations can be in the form of cash or check. You will also have the opportunity to make an IMMEDIATE donation by phone text (SMS). Phone donations will go to the American Red Cross, cash and check donations to Catholic Relief Services.

You can give right now - you do not have to wait. You can use your credit card online.
To donate online by bank card to Catholic Relief Services, click on this link.
To donate online to the American Red Cross, click on this link.
To send $10 right now to the American Red Cross, text REDCROSS to 90999. $10 will be donated immediately to the Red Cross's disaster relief fund, which helps not only the Philippines but also victims of disasters throughout the world.

Thank you very much for your generosity.

Fr. Bob & The Finance Council

Maggie Shafer joined us for the first part of the meeting. Maggie does the bookkeeping for St. Francis Xavier Parish, Nativity of Our Lady Mission Parish and St. Francis Xavier Catholic School. She will be attending our monthly meetings from now on. Welcome, Maggie!

Some highlighted topics from the meeting:

• The audit of FSX parish, Nativity & SFX school. The audit report for Nativity is not yet finished.
• Finance reports for September and the 1st Quarter.
• Contracts and payment agreements for the parish administrator (Fr. Bob), parish secretary, and services rendered by our building cleaner, by bookkeeper Maggie Shafer and by the secretary of SFX in Brunswick.
• The report from the Building Committee.
• How to handle donations for Mass intentions.
• How to handle the many special collections.
• The continuing issue of property appraisal and property insurance.
• The final bookkeeping from the Haunted Sanctuary will be discussed at the next meeting, Wednesday, November 13 at 9:30 a.m.

Jane Heying, chairperson

On Tuesday, the building committee replaced the wooden door covering the church's outdoor cellar entrance. The old door was rotting, and when the young people removed it to reveal the "dungeon grating" for the Haunted Sanctuary, the old door fell apart.

Thank you to Kieran McMullen and the building committee for a job well done!

At left:
Kieran McMullen builds a new cellar door. Nativity of Our Lady, Darien, GA.
November 5, 2013.

The Culture of Life Group from Nativity of Our Lady and St. Francis Xavier participated in Coastal Care Net Pregnancy Center's three fundraising banquets in October of this year. About 1100 people attended the banquets, which are a primary source of support for CareNet. Well over a quarter of a million dollars was raised.

With facilities in Brunswick, Jesup and Kingsland, the CareNet Pregnancy Centers of Coastal Georgia offer support to young people facing unexpected or unwanted pregnancies. The centers offer pregnancy testing, STD and other medical screenings, ultrasound evaluations, pre-natal care and education, parenting classes, help with adoption services, help with general education, scholarships, counselling, post-abortion care, and general love and support in a spirit of Christian generosity.

The Culture of Life Group of the two parishes has chosen CareNet as one of our most important partners in building up a general human culture based on repect for all human life. The C-o-L Group hopes to support CareNet in a variety of ways.

The Nifty Knitters is an important part of this work. The Knitters will be making shawls, hats, baby clothes and other items both for the people of CareNet and their babies, and for residents of the Hospice of the Golden Isles.

The C-o-L group also works with other groups and organizations in the area, such as Five Loaves and Three Fishes Food Pantry, Manna House, the Knights of Columbus, St. Francis Xavier School, as well as with individuals inside and outside the Church who believe in a consistent ethic of life embracing respect for the human person from a natural birth through a natural death.

The next meeting of the Culture of Life Group will be on Wednesday, November 6 at 7:30 p.m. in Xavier Hall, St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church, Brunswick.