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The week in Cologne, Germany
The central events of the XX World Youth Day will begin on August 16 and will end on August 21 2005. The international guests will travel with their German hosts on Monday, August 15th into the diocese of Cologne where they will gather in either Cologne, Bonn, or Düsseldorf for the opening Mass. For three days at approximately 400 different places small groups will talk about faith and celebrate together. The Youth Festival will bring music, dance and performances from around the world to stages in Düsseldorf, Bonn and Cologne. On Thursday the Pope will be welcomed with a big celebration in the City of Cologne. Friday is the day of the Way of the Cross, when the young pilgrims will contemplate the passion of Jesus Christ.

Finally
On Saturday all pilgrims will make their way to Marienfeld for the major final celebrations. During the evening hours they will join the Holy Father in celebrating a Vigil. The young pilgrims will spend the night there and on Sunday morning during the final Mass, say farewell to Cologne and the XX World Youth Day. Just a few moments before this big event ends the Pope will send the young people out into the world. He will then issue a next invitation: “You are invited to….“

The Peace Pulpit -- Homilies by 
Bishop Thomas J. Gumbleton

Remembering Heroshima
and Nagasaki

I was reading about the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki this description of what happens when you explode a nuclear device, "At ground zero the explosion creates a crater 300 feet deep, 1,200 feet in diameter." That's a huge crater. "Within 1 second the atmosphere itself ignites into a fire ball more that one half mile in diameter." Try to imagine or picture some of this. "The surface of the fireball radiates nearly three times the light and heat of a comparable area of the sun, extinguishing in seconds all life below and radiating outward at the speed of light causing instantaneous severe burns to people within a radius of three miles. A blast wave of compressed air reaches a distance of three miles in about 12 seconds flattening everything. Debris carried by winds of 250 miles an hour inflict lethal injuries throughout the area. At least 50 percent of people in the area die immediately prior to any injuries from radiation or the developing fire storm." I heard on the radio people interviewed about what happened at Hiroshima 60 years ago. Both times the people said, "Yes, we had to do it." They still think that's the way that you are going to bring peace to the world. I heard earlier this week that over 57 percent of the people in the United States would still want to use those bombs right now to destroy a Hiroshima or Nagasaki, the hundreds of thousands of innocent people. It seems that we haven't really learned, haven't listened to the message that God speaks to us and speaks to us very powerfully in the scriptures.

Bishop Thomas J. Gumbleton, Detroit, co-founder of Pax Christi USA, has been a strong voice for peace and an advocate for many who feel alienated and marginalized.

Used by permission: Rita Larivee, SSA, 
Director of The Peace Pulpit, 
National Catholic Reporter

For entire homily http://nationalcatholicreporter.org/peace  

A weekly column, "The Word from Rome" 
by John L. Allen, 
is also available at this website: www.natcath.org

Pope's visit to Germany will return Papacy to world stage By John Thavis Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- In mid-August, Pope Benedict XVI travels to his native Germany to preside over the close of World Youth Day celebrations, a visit that will bring his young papacy back onto the world stage.

In Cologne, the pope will be welcomed by hundreds of thousands of young people from more than 150 countries. He will listen to their thoughts, their songs and their prayers, and offer his own reflections -- formal and informal -- at meetings and a closing Mass.

The Aug. 18-21 visit will be full of firsts: It will be Pope Benedict's first foreign trip, his first homecoming and his first appearance before a massive, international audience since his election in April.

The papal program has been expanded to include a visit to a synagogue, meetings with Germany's civil authorities, and encounters with local Muslims and ecumenical leaders.

But the primary focus will be the young people, and the world will be watching to see how the 78-year-old pope communicates with newer generations of Catholics.

The pope described the youth day events as "a spiritual pilgrimage to the source of our faith" and an opportunity to draw closer to Christ. He said the gathering could help create "true disciples, ready to proclaim and witness to the beauty and renewing force of the Gospel at every moment."

In traveling to Cologne, the pope will pick up the legacy of Pope John Paul II, who founded World Youth Day in the mid-1980s and animated the international gatherings with his presence.


Catholic News Around the World
http://www.catholicnews.com/

2004-2005 Year of the Eucharist

ROME — Pope John Paul II dedicated October 2004 to October 2005 to the Eucharist. The pope said the Eucharistic Year was part of a pastoral project for the whole Church, in which he was inviting the faithful to “start afresh from Christ.”

ACTION FOR NONVIOLENCE
PRAY to develop a spirituality of peace and nonviolence, for a gentle heart and a generous spirit to become a seeker of truth, a worker for justice, a channel of Christ's peace.
STUDY the lives of the great visionaries and practitioners of peace and nonviolence. Use their example as a guide for living and working justly and courageously in the world.
ACT to decrease violence within yourself, your community, and your world.

Pax Christi Los Angeles hosts a monthly 3rd Sunday 4pm Peace and Justice Mass at St. Camillus Chapel 1911 Zonal Ave LA CA 90033
The mass includes conversation and reports about the death penalty, 
nonviolence work (anti-war, anti-nuclear, pro-restorative justice,
pro-negotiations) human rights and consistent life ethics. 

PRAY FOR PEACE 
IN THE HOLY LAND
For the sake of all the people in the Middle East. please do your part in what ever way you can to make hope less abstract in the land longing to be more holy. Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center P.O. Box 49084 Jerusalem 91491- Website: www.sabeel.org

WHAT EVERY CATHOLIC NEEDS TO KNOW ABOUT THE BIBLE
By Kay Murdy

A Parish Guide to Scripture by Kay Murdy
$9.95, Paperbound, 96 pages
5½" x 8½" (January 2004)

This is a wonderful introductory tool for the average person. It presents the Bible in its literary, historical and religious context and provides a valuable framework for continued learning. Order from Resource Pub., Inc. 160 E. Virginia St., #290, San Jose, CA 95112-5848 http://www.rpinet.com 

From Pharaoh to the Father: 
A Journey Toward Freedom Through 
The Lord's Prayer
If you meditate on the Lord's Prayer - beginning with the last petition and going backwards to the first petition - you recreate the journey of the Israelites out of Egypt, from Pharaoh to the Father. Kay Murdy builds her provocative book on this insight, making powerful connections between Scripture and Tradition and the Old and New Testaments. Discussion questions make this a useful tool for introducing catechumens to the Lord's Prayer.

"From Pharaoh to the Father is written in a clear and simple style. Kay Murdy teaches spiritual things spiritually, and her work deserves to be warmly welcomed as a good guide along the path of prayer and Scripture. She has the rare gift of being able to integrate Scripture, prayer, and contemporary daily living." - Joseph Glynn, ODC

Paper, $17.95  You can order my book from Resource Publication http://www.rpinet.com/products/fpf.html 

The Tidings is the weekly newspaper of the Los Angeles Archdiocese. The Los Angeles Archdiocese covers Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties in the state of California. A total of four million Catholics reside in the area, making the Los Angeles Archdiocese the largest archdiocese in the United States. Begun in 1895, The Tidings is the only weekly Catholic newspaper in Southern California, and is the oldest continuously published Catholic newspaper on the West Coast of America.

Clear Thinking on current life issues. These life-affirming and life-defending teachings of the Church are based on principles that can be applied to decisions about any kind of medical treatment for both our loved ones and ourselves. http://www.lifeissues.net  

Campaign for human life Unborn babies' feet are marching in the little-feet-campaign. This is how prenatal children draw public attention to their right to live and to the scandalous number of millions of abortions worldwide every year. 

The Catholic Campaign
to End the Use of the Death Penalty

The Catholic Campaign to end the use of the death penalty provides education within the church on capital punishment. The Web site www.ccedp.org contains information on church teaching, facts about the death penalty, educational resources, and suggestions for action. The church also will act by continuing its advocacy in Congress and the courts.

New Web Site for Catholic Young Adults in search of spirituality and deeper meaning in their lives, in collaboration with Paulist Media in Washington, D.C.
  www.BustedHalo.com

Because teens spend a lot of time online, it makes sense for Catholic organizations to reach out to them there. Studies regularly show that the average teen spends between 10 and 15 hours a week online, with e-mail and instant messaging ranking as the favorite activities. Many teens feel more comfortable discussing spiritual issues online than face-to-face. DisciplesNow is a partner of AmericanCatholic.org and provides questions to teens' answers about the faith, e-cards, a prayer forum, chats and other resources. 

MASS TIMES FOR 
TRAVELING CATHOLICS
How many times have you traveled and not known the times of local Masses or the location of a church? 

Traveling Catholics http://www.masstimes.org  
lists all Catholic parishes in the United States with Mass times and directions. Call: 1-800-Mass-Times or 1-800-627-7846