Update about Padre Ignacio

I know it has been forever since I last posted, and I was asking about whether anyone knew more about Padre Ignacio. Since that last post my mom's best friend, her husband and their daughter went to Rosario to see Padre Ignacio. Interestingly, neither of them are actually Catholic! But still, they went with their faith in the priest and hopefully faith in the Lord.

The daughter, who had gone through a very nasty and extremely distressing separation from her husband, was told by Padre Ignacio (never having met her until that moment, of course), "Let go of the past and let go of your anger." That is exactly spot on for her considering what had been occurring in her life.

Then, to my mom's best friend's husband, he gave a warning to be careful with the health of his heart and arteries. Or maybe he said cardiovascular system, I don't remember exactly. Something like that. He has no history of health problems in that respect so it seemed very much out of the blue. But of course now he is going to start being more careful about his health. To my mom's best friend he said nothing at all. Out of the whole trip, their encounter with him was a mere instant of a few seconds.

Anyway, it will be interesting to see what else will come from this priest. If you guys hear anything else let me know!

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!