Father Ignacio Peries of Rosario, Argentina

Has anyone out there heard anything about this priest Father Ignacio (known in Spanish as Padre Ignacio)? My mom just forwarded this link to me, in Spanish. Padre Ignacio is said to perform many healings and to be able to read souls. He is said to celebrate Mass is a most profound and reverent way, and that sometimes his voice even cracks with emotion as he tries to hold back tears of emotion and joy while consecrating. There are comparisons drawn to Padre Pio. People flock to him for blessings and healings.

The info I have found in Spanish has been overwhelmingly positive - there seem to be few if any detractors. But I cannot find much information on him in English. He lives in Rosario, Argentina and has been there for the past 20 years. He is originally from Sri Lanka. They call him the "Healing Priest". Supposedly he has only ever granted one interview to the media, and otherwise shuns media attention (though I did find several videos on YouTube where he speaks directly to the camera and gives these sort of homilies or advice about suffering, dignity, overcoming obstacles by being positive or topics like that. Here is the only interview he is said to have granted, and it is published in El Clarin, which is a major Argentine newspaper: http://edant.clarin.com/diario/2009/07/08/um/m-01954869.htm

I am fluent in Spanish, but am more comfortable in English so I wanted to find more information on him in English... if anyone out there has any blog sites, articles or anything else that sheds light on this priest, please let me know. I am interested in learning more about him and whether the things he teaches are in keeping with the teachings of the Catholic faith.

I found this blog article which is critical of him, but then again I think the writer is either not Catholic or is actually a Catholic in Name Only... the impression I get from reading the blog is that he does not view the world through the lens of faith.  He is very critical of Fr. Ignacio but then at the end of the post says, "What I find uncomfortable is the mass phenomenon, not the man."

In short, there is really nothing there to discredit the priest other than the writer does not like all the attention that surrounds him. It says more about the pilgrims who come to see him than it does about him, I thought.

Everything else I have read about him so far is totally in line with the teachings of the Catholic faith. He says that it is not him who heals, but Jesus, and that Jesus has said that where there is no faith there can be no miracles. He refers to himself as a mere instrument of God and that whereas others have the ability to hear confessions for 18 hours a day or have other talents, this is what God is using him for. That sounds about right to me.

Anyway, do any of you know anything else about him?

Mass at the Shrine

I went to the Shrine of the Most Holy Redeemer today for Mass. This was a very rare occasion for me - usually we go to St. Francis as a family. But some car problems combined with some volunteer commitments dictated that we go separately today and so I went to the later Mass at the Shrine.

I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised. I was worried that it was going to be irreverent, that the people in the pews would be shifty and disinterested, and that the music was going to be noisy. But the music was lovely, and they actually have a pipe organ!

The priest was a little hard to understand, he had a thick accent, either African or Haitian - or something along those lines. Sometimes I was not sure if he was trying to sing or if he was actually talking, because his voice had a very musical quality to it. But he was great, and there was no liturgical abuse that I could discern (a common problem in our diocese).

But what surprised me the most was that they sang the Sanctus and the Agnus Dei in Latin! It was lovely. And not only did they sing it, but the congregation sang along! As a former Schola Cantorum singer, I was often told by different priests of our parish that we could not sing at the Masses in Latin because no one knew Latin and they would not be able to sing along. But here we were, at a Mass right off the Las Vegas Strip, and people were singing in Latin!

I enjoyed the Mass quite a lot... maybe a little of that was because I was without the kids, but I think most of it was because of the reverent priest and the beautiful music! Praise be to God!

Latin Children's Choir

Check out this adorable video of children explaining why we should use Latin! I would love to start a children's Latin choir in Las Vegas, but I am not really sure I am too good at teaching music, much less teaching it to children. And besides, where would they sing? At what Mass in Las Vegas would kids ever be allowed to chant? Adults are barely allowed, and only rarely. Still, it just plain warms my heart to see such faithful little children.

Young Men and the Church

Here is a great video from The Vortex.

Vatican Invites Catholic Bloggers to Rome

Very interesting, the Vatican has extended an invitation to Catholic bloggers to come to Rome for a bloggers conference. Ha! I only wish! Anyway, I am not a "serious" blogger like some of those big ones out there - American Papist, the Crescat, Acts of the Apostasy, Creative Minority Reports, etc. etc.

The conference will take place the day after the beatification of JPII, presumably taking advantage of the fact that a large number of Catholic youth will likely already be present.

Here is an article with the details.

Theology According to My Daughter

So we were watching some clips from Jesus of Nazareth and the final scene at the tomb where they came to find his body was gone because he had been resurrected. Here is how the conversation went with Ivy.

Ivy: Where's Jesus??
Me: He resurrected, so you know, he disappeared. They crucified him, and laid him in the tomb. When they came to anoint his body with spices he was gone. 
Ivy: Well, he should have disappeared before they crucified him!

LOL!

Crazy Catholics

Have you ever tried to explain your faith to someone who was not even Christian? I did, yesterday, to a friend of mine. I tried to explain the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. She listened politely, but as I was talking I became aware of how incredibly CRAZY the whole thing sounded.

We believe God himself becomes flesh again? We believe that His actual body is right there, before us? We adore what appears to all others to be just a piece of bread? I sounded like a lunatic.

She didn't act like she was taken aback or anything. She was perfectly attentive as she listened to my string of lunatic claims. The bread becomes True Flesh. The wine becomes the actual Blood of God. The Mass is actually Heaven, visited upon earth for a moment.

On the surface it really does sounds nuts. And yet, I firmly believe all of it. There is such a rich wealth of information in the Bible and in our faith and our traditions. It is information that shows us, without a shadow of a doubt, that this is absolute truth. But someone who is not Christian or Catholic, someone who has never opened much less read a Bible has no idea the information contained within. They are content to ignore it (at best), or to rely on some stereotypical belief they once heard of what it contains (at worst).

One of the best cases for belief stems from the Messianic prophecies themselves. These are things that were prophesied hundreds of years before Christ was ever born. And the chances of any human being able to intentionally recreate and fulfill those prophecies is next to nothing. The chance is infinitesimal. How could someone have made them cast lots for his clothes, for example?  How could anyone be sure they did not break his legs before being crucified, as many prisoners usually were? He was given vinegar to drink, and on and on and on, the biblical prophecies continued to be fulfilled.

I wished I could make her understand, but I knew that I was only making myself and other Christians sound like we ought to be committed to the asylum. And if we should be committed to an asylum, I only hope that I can do so in the name of Christ, and gladly take such punishment as long as I am left alone to believe and know the Truth.

Exorcism and the Church Militant

Have you heard of the book "Exorcism and the Church Militant" by Rev. Thomas Euteneuer? I hadn't until this weekend when I was browsing my parish gift shop and I ran across it. I thought the $20 price tag was too steep, so I didn't buy it and instead my husband looked for it online once we got home. We thought we would surely find it for less. Instead, we found out that it was not available at all online!

As it turns out, the book is out of print, is sold out, and Fr. Euteneuer has stepped down from his post as President of Human Life International. Although he was a very public figure who had even been on Hannity (and rightly said he would deny Hannity Communion based on his public pro-contraception stance), he canceled all his speaking engagements and returned to his home diocese at the call of his Bishop.

It all seems very mysterious, but once I learned all this I felt particularly compelled to get my hands on this book and read it. I went back to my parish gift shop at the first opportunity and bought their only 2 remaining copies.

The book is highly educational, entirely fascinating, and Fr. Euteneuer's frank and straightforward voice permeates the pages. It is easy to understand and has shed a lot of light on role of evil influences in the lives of man. I think it is an important work, and I truly hope and pray that the publisher will consider re-printing it. There are many, many souls who would benefit from understanding the things written about in this book. Have you read it yet? If so, what did you think?