Saturday, March 31, 2007

A Blessed Holy Week


I will be leaving the blogosphere for Holy Week, to travel to the South and visit displaced Long Islander friends and family members.
Since Palm Sunday is the second anniversary of Pope John Paul II's death, I leave you with some reflections of that incredible Catholic event. And news about his impending canonization. Santo subito!
Walk through the Passion this week with Our Lord and Our Lady, and enjoy a Blessed Easter.
Be not afraid!

Terri Schiavo died two years ago today

Two years ago, two people were slowly dying in the public eye. Pope John Paul II, was failing, and Terri Schiavo was dying of court enforced dehydration. The nation watched Terri die, yet so many good people weren't hearing the truth about her; how she had been improving until her husband won a malpractice case on her behalf, vowing to use the funds for her rehabilitation, and did precisely the opposite. She never received a day of therapy again, even though rehab professionals testified that, with therapy she would be capable of swallowing on her own. Her parents and siblings begged for the right to care for her at their own expense, in their own home, and were coldly refused by the angriest husband on TV since OJ Simpson. A man who had a renowned euthanasia advocate constantly whispering in his ear. A man who appeared to want her to die with all his strength, though he had already gone on with his personal life, accompanied with a girlfriend, fathering two children.


Why must this helpless woman die? I asked myself.

How could a local judge ignore the Governor of Florida, the President of the United States and an act of Congress?

What has gone wrong with Christians in this country, that, at the urging of Dr. James Dobson, Sean Hannity, and Jesse Jackson, they don't rise up and demand her life be spared?

Can't they see her responding to her parents and siblings on the video?

How deeply has the Culture of Death permeated this culture?

And, the most chilling question of all for me, the mother of a child with Down Syndrome, 90% of whom are destroyed before birth, what will I do when they come to kill my Christina?

An extraordinary Catholic woman I know answered this question for me when she said,
"I would consider it an honor to die for your daughter!"

Would you?

Friday, March 30, 2007

Pope to view film on the Resurrection of Jesus

There is hope for this film, it was first shown at the residence of Opus Dei. It was produced by Italian TV, and will be distributed worldwide by Fox. I'll defer to the Holy Father's review.

Motu Proprio Mania Meme

The Curt Jester,whose random Motu Proprio date calculator graces my sidebar, has discovered this on Suburban Banshee and then made up his own list of Top Ten Signs You've Succumbed to Motu-Mania.

Since we trads are ready to burst with anticipation as Holy Thursday nears, I think I should add my top ten signs. These are nearly all true. Come on, Catholic bloggers, fess up your motu-mania, give your top ten!




10. You're saving money for a airline ticket to send the lucky priest of your choice to Lincoln Nebraska where it's rumored that the FSSP is looking to train priests to say the Old Mass.

9. You've named your blog something hard for even you to spell in Latin, in hopes that a revival of the not-quite dead language will put you ahead of the curve!

8. You're submitting articles on how your family loves the Latin Mass ahead of time, to help flood the Catholic press when the Latin revival hits.

7. Rorarte Caeli's motu proprio release date predictions are the center of your social circle's conversations. And you get excited each time!

6. You hold your breath whenever Raymond Arroyo announces a news brief on EWTN.

5. You realize that people will finally understand what your name, Laetitiae, means.

4. You're teaching your children Latin hymns, so they can join the schola.

3. You mentally review every church you know, to see if the old altar is intact, trying to guess where the Traditional Mass will be offered. You price houses in the area, should you need to relocate.

2. You have made friends with your local SSPX chapel pastor, with hopes that reconciliation will follow closely on the heels of the motu proprio.

1. And the absolute winners are a devout couple I know, who have their children fervently praying for the Motu Proprio, with the proviso that when it comes, they get a puppy!

Thursday, March 29, 2007

A Teachable Moment

That's what we mothers say when our children are open to learning a particular lesson. In his role as father to his international flock, Fr. Tom Euteneuer of Human Life International is using this moment of discussion of the Church's teaching about contraception to teach us more about this often misunderstood teaching. Here is his video mini-lesson on contraception. Please view it and share it with someone you love.

Homeschooling is Getting a Bad Rap in Jersey

I normally cringe when there are 'homeschoolers' in the news. So many unstable or abusive parents who neglect their children's education hide behind the rest of us who slog on, day after day educating our children. I fear that the term 'homeschoolers' will forever conjure up some backwater family hostile to the 'guvmint' people.
As a Catholic mother, I would feel that I'm endangering my three daughters' eternal souls if I DIDN'T homeschool them, in the immoral culture we live in. The Catholic schools are hardly better, here, in fact they can do MORE damage, as one tends to trust that what they are foisting on the students is truth, when sadly, many times it isn't. I know this from personal experience with the historical-critical method of 'debunking' the miracles of the Bible, which I learned in Catholic high school.

Dr. William Marra, who homeschooled in the 1970's when it was unheard of, had a three-pronged approach for decontaminating children from the Culture of Death:

1. Take them OUT of the sewer of popular culture, blocking it's access to your home. Stuff towels under the door if necessary.

2.Create a Catholic culture in your home. Celebrate liturgical seasons, teach Church doctrine, read the lives of the saints, hang plenty of holy pictures on the walls, and don't forget frequent attendance at Holy Mass and the family rosary!

3. If you can, after doing steps 1 and 2, teach them the academics. But, if you're having a bad day, just pull out a deck of cards and deal the them. You have accomplished so much with the first two steps, you can afford to lose a day or two!

Think of all the children WON'T learn in school:
AlGore environmental voodoo science
Homosexual immorality as a healthy lifestyle choice
Many details about sex you never wanted them to know until marriage(or after).
How to sin with no consequences, and how to secretly abort a baby.
How Christian white men have caused all the misery in the world.
Why Obama/Hillary would make the world's greatest president.
The wonders of Islam, (they may even be forced to practice it as in California).
Why it doesn't matter if you can't read or add, if you feel good about yourself.

I could go on, but you get my drift! And they wonder why we can homeschool in half the time it takes for a regular school day! Just look at all the nonsense we can eliminate from the curriculum!

Pope Benedict has been busy!

Get your free copty of "Sacrementum Caritatis". Just download a copy in pdf format from "Thy Kingdom Come" website.
Oh, and by the way, according to our Holy Father, hell really does exist, and is eternal. Next time a hell-denier makes you angry, just imagine them walking on a tightrope over the pit of hell. That image works for me, and instead of righteous anger(they are, after all misleading people to downplay Christ's sacrificial death on the cross, if there's no hell, why did He need to die to save us?) I feel pity, and pray for their salvation. It's no joke.

Anderson's Law

One of my favorite bloggers, has just been quoted by John McCaslin of The Washington Times for his invention "Anderson's Law"of "which states,
" As a debate involving the Catholic Church (either a discussion about the Church specifically, or a discussion in which the Church is taking a position) grows longer, the probability of someone mentioning the sex scandal approaches one.
And then there's it's corollary: Once such reference to the Scandal is made, whoever mentioned the Scandal has automatically "lost" whatever debate was in progress."
Jay Anderson, the Virginia attorney and father, who blogs at Pro Ecclesia, Pro Familia, Pro Civitate. I think we will be hearing more from him in the future!

Jay was also mentioned last weel in the National Catholic Register as a manly man blog. You can only hide genius for so long, Jay. Congratulations!

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Armed and Dangerous

That's what China considers me. I have spoken out against the terrible one-child policy of China, and thus I have been blocked by their censors. Check out your favorite site here. Both of my blogger blogs bounced back "URL blocked", but my St.Blog's.com blog is getting through. So far.

As Love2Learn says, it's honor! I have seen several regular readers from Beijing on the sitemeter, now I know that they were government officials. I hope I am reaching the persecuted Christians there. Don't forget to pray for them

Monday, March 26, 2007

a Prolife Novena for the Annunciation

Is at A Catholic Mom in Hawaii. It's a good way to keep the Culture of Life alive. Let us pray.

Sunday, March 25, 2007

Happy Solemnity of the Annunciation!!

We start the consecration to Jesus through Our Lady, tomorrow. Here is a rough outline of our consecration preparation. Now begins the 33-day period of exercises. St. Louis-Marie breaks these days into sections of days, each section having its own prayers, and each particular day having its own brief readings with which to fill the mind for that day (the readings come from Sacred Scripture, "The Imitation of Christ," and "True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary"). Don't just read the readings, internalize them; don't let your lips just mouth the prayers, truly pray them. First comes a 12-day preparation period that consists of emptying oneself of the spirit of the world in penance and mortification. For those 12 days, we pray the Veni Creator, the Ave Maris Stella, the Magnificat, and the Glory Be. Then follow 3 weeks, each week having a specific focus. The first week focuses on offering up our prayers and devotions for the purpose of coming to understand ourselves and our sins; humility is the key, and the prayers the Litany of the Holy Ghost, the Litany of Loreto, and the Ave Maris Stella help us. During the second week, we ask the Holy Ghost to help us better understand the Blessed Virgin; we pray the Litany of the Holy Ghost, the Litany of Loreto, the Ave Maris Stellis, the prayer to Mary by St. Louis-Marie, and 5 decades of the Holy Rosary each day for assistance. During the third week, we seek to better understand Christ through meditation and the Litany of the Holy Ghost, the Ave Maris Stella, and the Litany of the Holy Name of Jesus, Montfort's prayer to Jesus, and the prayer O Jesus Living in Mary. Your prayers for the www.ServantsoftheSorrowfulMother.org supports www.MissionariesoftheEucharist.org taking Pope John Paul II's Theology of the Body to the streets! Together, united in prayer to Jesus Christ, we can build a culture of life and love.

Humility from Hollywood

The word humility rarely appears in a sentence with Hollywood, in fact, having just returned from my trip there, I can reaffirm that there are very few humble souls there. It's just that my trip there taught me some humility. Begining with the car rental. I didn't have the credit, so I took cabs and buses or walked from my lovely hotel on Marina del Rey, to wherever I went. Then, I took lovely photos of all I did on my new digital camera, which malfunctioned and deleted everything off the card, so I have almost no proof that I was even there. Except my daughter's lovely tan, and these stories.
So, aside from the headiness having been invited to a movie premiere on the Fox studio lot, with a reception in the studio commissary, I have been humbled in Hollywood. It gives you a good Lenten perspective with which to view sin city.
The sin is so in your face, that it even shocked this wizened New Yorker. Flesh, sex, racism, anarchism, drugs, piercings, tattoos, and attitude were so in your face on Venice Beach, that I cut our walk short there, and escaped to the beauty of the canal walk. We enjoyed finding the little arched bridge where, in the new "Little Rascals" movie Alfalfa whispered sweet nothings to Darla in a rowboat while the gang eavesdropped above with the traditional tin can and string. Contented cats watched us as we peered into secret gardens overflowing with bougainvillea and orange trees. We helped felt a peace descend with the dusk, and walked home along the strand of elegant hotels.

At Gladstones, a tremendously popular restaurant in Malibu, I reconnected with a high school friend for three hours while we watched the sun set where the mountains meet the Pacific Ocean. No, I didn't bump into Mel Gibson, though I did look out for him, and his 12 passenger van. With seven children, what else could he fit them all in?

We spent the our Hollywood tour navigating our way on public transport(proud of us AlGore?). We caught a fleeting glimpse of the Hollywood sign, and breathlessly got off the bus on Hollywood Boulevard, expecting stars at every turn. We did see the Walk of Fame, most of whose stars Gaby had never known. It was strangely like a graveyard, to see the footprints of the stars and read their remarks at Graumann's Chinese Theatre. The most popular stars(Marilyn Monroe, and Judy Garland) had their footprints nearly erased by tourist's touching them. I wondered how many of them made it to Heaven, "for what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul?" Mark 8:36 has special meaning as you look at the footprints of those stars who have passed away.

The tourist shops on the Boulevard had so much objectionable merchandise, that I started to screen them before I let Gaby walk in, and the clothing shops were reminiscent of old Times Square sleaze. New York, however, wised up and realized that they were losing valuable tourism by permitting these establishments there. Now it's more family-friendly and thus busier than ever. I hope this happens in Hollywood. They were setting up for a premiere of Sandra Bullock's new thriller, "Premonition" as we passed by which we saw later that evening on TV.

We again were worn out from trying to avoid being offended, and left for Beverly Hills. We took the 'servants express' as I called it, the direct bus full of uniformed service workers to wait upon the privileged. Having seen Palm Beach, East Hampton, London, Florence and Manhattan, I was not expecting anything much different in Rodeo Drive. We were impressed with the lushness of Ralph Lauren (you pass through a cool, jasmine-scented garden to enter the store) and the quiet of Rodeo Drive. It almost seemed a posh corner of DisneyWorld, so immaculately groomed, elegant and hushed were the streets. After feeling like Lucy and Ethel in the stores we couldn't afford, we happily found a cute discount shop and bought Gaby her Beverly Hills skirt a block away. Since the Chinese lunch didn't sit well with me (more humility!) we sat sipping iced coffee in Starbucks where surprised servers happily supplied the bus routes back to the hotel. The heat was 97 degrees that day!
On the bus home, we passed elegant Houston's where on Friday we had mingled with "Mr. Blue Sky" cast and producer Tom Lee, who hails from Long Island. Why weren't we surprised to find that many of the actors' roots led to Brooklyn?

Our tour of Hollywood made one thing abundantly clear; with a depraved culture like this, no wonder clear-thinking Christians are needed to consult with the studios on family filmaking! Hollywood, though visited from people from all over the world, such as the Finns, and Australians we met at our hotel pool, is culturally insular. It's residents constantly try to shock as a means of being noticed. Just like the TV and movies that constantly push the envelope of decency, to challenge convention.
"Mr Blue Sky" challenges conventual norms, but in a positive way. It's producer and supporters want to expand the horizons of possibility for individuals with Down Syndrome, to include marriage, acting in films where their presence is not unusual, and from this to general acceptance of their role in society.Gail Williamson of the DSALA said it best when she stated at the question and answer session after the premier that what "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?" did for acceptance of black Americans, "Mr. Blue Sky" will do for acceptance of Down Syndrome.No one asks why a black actor is in a film anymore. Someday, there may come a time when a person with Down Syndrome will be just another actor in the film, without necessarily being the lead. These changes happen first in film, then in society.
Now that's radical!

Friday, March 23, 2007

Fr Fessio to stay on as Chief Theologian at Ave Maria

I couldn't post on Fr. Fessio's firing at Ave Maria University; I was too disconsolate at the Catholic infighting. Ave Maria is near the top of Gaby's possible college list (only 4 years away)
and Fr. Fessio is a perpetual favorite of mine. So, now, I'm reporting that he's moving from administration to Theology, where I think he belongs. His fine mind should be free to focus on the higher things. Ave Maria still has his advice if needed, and has saved itself from the scandal of ousting Fr. Fessio. Apparently someone has been praying. Would that all Church spats could be handled this amicably.

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Take the New Catholic Quiz

You are 100% educated in Catholic truths!

Wow! You are totally educated in the Catholic faith. A real genius! Have you thought of teaching the faith to others? Be sure to share your wealth of knowledge with those who need it.

Catholic Truths
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New Resources to Understand the Mass

Here is a link to a DVD set explaining the Holy Mass. It looks interesting. Has anyone out there seen them?

Take that, ACLU!

North Carolina City Stands up to ACLU
Officials in Thomasville, N.C., voted 6-1 Monday to ignore threats from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and allow prayer at city-council meetings.
Mike Johnson, senior legal counsel for Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), provided the council with a proposed policy in compliance with the U.S. Constitution.
“It’s amazing that, in a country founded on religious liberty, the right to open a public meeting with a prayer would be under attack,” he said. “But that is exactly what the ACLU has been doing the past several months – using its familiar tactics of fear, intimidation and disinformation to force municipalities into passive compliance with its agenda to eliminate our First Liberty, religious freedom.”
Councilman Dwight Cornelius said he hopes other municipalities will stand up to the ACLU.
“This is a freedom of speech issue, pure and simple,” he said.
ADF offers assistance to any municipality that’s under attack for “simply continuing a practice that the Supreme Court knows is ‘deeply embedded in the history and tradition of our country,’ ” Johnson added.
From Focus on the Family Citizen Link
Want to show your support for that praying town with guts? Ever hear of Thomasville furniture?

Happy World Down Syndrome Day

The Beauty of Down Syndrome

By Nathanael Blake
(This article was printed in American Life League Magazine on February 7, 2007)

Meeting the parents has become a ritual trial of postmodern romance. Still, one of the key questions my father means to pose to my girlfriend when he meets her is rather unusual: If she and I marry, will she help care for my youngest brother when my parents die?

Zachary, you see, has Down syndrome. The current abilities of medicine make it quite possible, even likely, that he'll outlive my parents or at least their ability to watch over him, so someone else will eventually have to look after his needs. My other brothers and I have been helping him for nearly 12 years now, so it seems natural that this will continue. We've always cared for him and those marrying in will have to accept this responsibility. (Note to the curious: My lovely Julie agreed to this when I forewarned her of my father's planned query.)

But Zachary's dependence hardly means he is helpless. He can, for example, read and write, albeit at a low level. He'll never be a writer or an engineer, but in time he'll be able to hold down a simple job. Perhaps he'll even be able to live on his own as other people with Down syndrome do.

I doubt that will happen for Zachary, though. I don't think he will desire solitary living; he loves others and is loved too much. He's cheerful and outgoing, greeting everyone with hugs. Like the rest of the family, he loves to play soccer. He is fond of drawing, Legos and matchbox cars. His life is happy and he is a joy to those fortunate enough to know him.

This happy life is increasingly normal for those with his condition. But even as the quality of life and ease of care for them improves, the eugenics campaign against people with Down syndrome is becoming more ruthless and effective.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recently issued new guidelines instructing that every pregnancy be screened to see if the preborn child has Down syndrome.

Goodbye Ob/Gyn, hello Ob/Gene. The authors of these new guidelines surely know that when detected, 80 percent of American babies suspected of having Down syndrome are aborted. These doctors are no doubt also aware of a 2005 study in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology which found that doctors frequently pressure women to have such abortions—even presenting medical disinformation in order to influence the parents to "terminate" the child. And because so many babies with Down syndrome are aborted, fewer people know anyone with the condition and the resulting ignorance means more lies and more abortions. Furthermore, sometimes the tests are wrong.

As doctors pressure parents, parents pressure doctors. Approximately half the states in America allow for "wrongful birth" medical malpractice lawsuits. Allowing the birth of someone who doesn't meet a parent's criteria for a normal or ideal human specimen can land a doctor in the dock.

The undeclared but obvious goal of these practices is the elimination of Down syndrome. It's a quiet, measured and thoroughly respectable eugenics program in place around the world. Simon Barnes of the London Times wrote of his son that, "At the hospital, when they discovered on the scan that Down's syndrome was a possibility, they very kindly offered to kill him for us."

Welcome to the world where every child is "wanted." In practice, the idea that it is right for every child to be wanted means that parents have a right to the child they want. The child's dignity and value is only that assigned by the parents. Instead of blathering about children being wanted, we should see that they are welcomed.

The problem with wants is that they are generally selfish. Of course, it is well and good for a couple to want children. That desire may make it easier to welcome them. But to make the worth and even the life of a child dependent on the parents' wishes makes children chattel. In contrast, a welcoming attitude sees children as glorious gifts, and as such, there may sometimes be surprises which can lead to greater joy.

Disabilities make clear this distinction. No one wants to give birth to a baby with Down syndrome. Parents who are primarily concerned with wanting a baby will be dismayed that the child doesn't fit their plan—their desire didn't include disability. And so they will kill their baby if they can, since it wasn't what they ordered.

Alternately, there are parents who are willing to unconditionally welcome whatever child they have. They recognize that life cannot be completely controlled and refuse to attempt such by having their baby killed. They're happy despite the difficulties of raising a disabled son or daughter. They delight in the wonder of each child.

It's a matter of love. When Zachary was born, my family didn't know of the joys he would bring, only the challenges. But we accepted him, and have found that he provides us with mirth and pleasure in ways a more normal person couldn't. He loves with an unabashed enthusiasm that brings joy to all who know him. So the question is, "What kind of people would deprive the world of such a special person?"


Nathanael Blake is associate editor of Celebrate Life , the magazine of American Life League.

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

See what I mean? More ecumenism in the trenches

Operation Rescue
Press Release
Catholics Descend on Tiller's Abortion Mill For 72 Hrs. Of Prayer
OR encourages Christians everywhere to fast and pray March 23-25 for efforts to bring abortionist Tiller to justice. (This is the vigil of the Feast of the Annunciation)
Wichita, KS - March 20, 2007 - As efforts are underway to reinstate thirty criminal charges against abortionist George Tiller for committing illegal late-term abortions, a group a Catholics from Louisiana and other states will hold a 72-hour prayer vigil outside the infamous Wichita abortion mill beginning this Friday, March 23, and running through Sunday, March 25.
The group, Our Lady of Guadalupe Rosary Crusade For Life, is led by Rich Mahoney and based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. They have committed to holding round-the clock prayer vigils in Wichita twice a year until Women's Health Care Services closes.
"While this group is predominately Catholic, Christians from all denominations are invited to stop by Tiller's during the prayer event and offer their own prayers for an end to abortion, and that Tiller will be brought to justice for the commission of illegal late-term abortions," said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman.
Tiller was charged with 30 criminal counts related to illegal post-viability abortions in December, only to have them dismissed the following day at the request of the pro-abortion District Attorney Nola Foulston on dubious jurisdictional grounds. The merits of the case have never been questioned.
A campaign is ongoing to persuade members of the Kansas House to pass a resolution that would compel the current attorney general, Paul Morrison, to prosecute Tiller. An Ohio group as launched a national petition to gather signatures in support of such an effort.
"Now is a critical time in the efforts to bring Tiller to justice," said Newman. "For those who cannot make it to Wichita for prayer this weekend, we encourage you to fast and pray over March 23-25 wherever you are, to the extent that God gives you grace, with the Crusade for Life and Operation Rescue for the reinstatement of the Tiller charges and an end to Tiller's abortion business."
Click here for the Crusade for Life Prayer Schedule, March 23-25, Wichita, KS
Read about efforts to pass the Tiller Resolution in the KS House
Visit ChargeTiller.com and sign the petition.
________________________________
About Operation RescueOperation Rescue is one of the leading pro-life Christian activist organizations in the nation. Operation Rescue recently made headlines when it bought and closed an abortion clinic in Wichita, Kansas and has become the voice of the pro-life activist movement in America. Its activities are on the cutting edge of the abortion issue, taking direct action to restore legal personhood to the pre-born and stop abortion in obedience to biblical mandates.
________________________________
Web site: http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=xru977bab.0.0.zjzzpde6.0&p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.operationrescue.org%2F&id=preview
E-mail: info@operationrescue.org

Click here to donate to Operation Rescue
Click here to subscribe to "Life Talk" a pro-life news magazine on DVD hosted by Mark Crutcher of Life Dynamics, Inc. and co-hosted by OR President Troy Newman.
Click here to visit our "Pray in May to Stop Abortion" National Event Page.

Miss World Sara Lawrence to keep her title

Julia Morley, the founder and chairman of Miss World Limited, has also written to the organizers of the local Jamaica pageant and asked them to allow Lawrence to keep her crown rather than having the 2005 contestant serve the remainder of her term.
A Radio Jamaica report indicated that Morley called Lawrence, who is a medical student, "a brilliant girl whose behavior and promotion of Jamaica is second to none."
She also said Lawrence is a "warm, compassionate and caring person."
Lawrence has already performed in the 2006 Miss World contest and won the Miss World Caribbean title as the top Miss World contestant from the region.
Miss Jamaica World franchise holder, Mickey Haughton-James, previously called Lawrence a "fabulous young woman who did Jamaica proud" but said keeping her crown and carrying the baby to term were incompatible, implying that an abortion would let her continue her reign.
"Sara's role in all of this cannot be ignored; her actions could potentially harm the tradition that is the Miss Jamaica World pageant and past and future winners," Haughton-James said.
Morley's letter came in response to those comments and Haughton-James appeared to change his stance after getting Morley's letter.
He told the Jamaica Gleaner newspaper that Morley suggested he allow Lawrence to keep her titles and that he would do so.
"I am very touched by the stance taken by Julia Morley and we are both unified in our decision to have Sara keep her titles and to give her our full support even if she decides to stick by her decision to relinquish her duties," he said. "I have no intention of removing her title."
Another pro-life victory.

Beware the Three-headed RINO!

THIS beast has taken over the Republican Party, talk show host Sean Hannity, and other formerly conservative entities. DON'T let it infect your thinking; resist it at all cost.


Remember your principles; they never had any!
HT Pro Ecclesia, Pro Familia, ProCivitate

Oh, and in case the Romney head is convincing you he's 'evolving in his support for life' watch his performance on YouTube to reorient you on where he stands on "abortion rights".

Monday, March 19, 2007

Brownback's Early Successes Continue to Mount

March 14, 2007

Among twelve contenders in a presidential straw poll held at the 2007 CPAC conference (March 1st-3rd), Senator Brownback finished in the top three. Notably, Senator Brownback also won 1st place among “traditional values” Republicans as their top choice for 2008. Furthermore, Brownback placed ahead of both Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee in a Spartanburg County straw poll conducted on March 1st.

Nationally, the Brownback campaign is slowly turning ripples into waves. In a general election face-off, a recent Rasmussen poll (March 9th) found Senator Brownback in a statistical dead-heat against Hillary Clinton. The poll found that Brownback had 41% nationwide vs. Clinton’s 46%, while Mitt Romney trailed Clinton by double that margin (41%-51%).

While Brownback is solidifying support among social conservatives, he is also making deep inroads among fiscal conservatives. The fiscally conservative Club for Growth unveiled a glowing report on Sam Brownback’s record. National President Pat Toomey calls Brownback “…a strong defender of limited government and pro-growth policies.” He continues, “On taxes, Social Security reform, school choice, and tort reform, Senator Brownback has demonstrated an outstanding commitment to fighting for American taxpayers.” For this stellar record, Senator Brownback will be awarded the Defender of Economic Freedom Award by the Club for Growth on March 14th.

Also Grover Norquist, head of Americans for Tax Reform, recently said: "What Brownback has is complete credibility on the social conservative issues and complete credibility on the economic issues."

Media insiders and political pundits are taking note:

· The New York Sun: “Mr. Brownback is certainly on the ‘right’ side on all the major issues, and has a sterling reputation in Congress.”

· The State (largest newspaper in South Carolina): “Sen. Brownback of Kansas has rock-solid credentials among social conservatives, and his passionate rhetoric on such issues as abortion and gay marriage, suffused with references to Christian values, resonates in that wing of the party — as does his often optimistic tone, which will strike some in the GOP as Reaganesque.”

· St. Petersburg Times: “Brownback, a Catholic, can rail against Roe vs. Wade and gay marriage with the best of them. But he also talks about prison reform, fighting AIDS and malaria in Africa…That's a sincere humanitarian streak that could well endear the Kansas senator to crossover voters looking for a palatable alternative to Hillary Clinton.”

We appreciate your support, and the future looks bright. Please look for more updates in the near future.
HT Brownback for President
P.O. Box 2008, Topeka, KS 66601Info@brownback.com

Feast Day of St. Joseph

Prayer to St. Joseph
by Pope St. Pius X

O Glorious St. Joseph, model of all who are devoted to labor, obtain for me the grace to work in the spirit of penance in expiation of my many sins; to work conscientiously by placing love of duty above my inclinations; to gratefully and joyously deem it an honor to employ and to develop by labor the gifts I have received from God, to work methodically, peacefully, and in moderation and patience, without ever shrinking from it through weariness or difficulty to work; above all, with purity of intention and unselfishness, having unceasingly before my eyes death and the account I have to render of time lost, talents unused, good not done, and vain complacency in success, so baneful to the work of God. All for Jesus, all for Mary, all to imitate thee, O Patriarch St. Joseph! This shall be my motto for life and eternity. Amen!

Sunday, March 18, 2007

Still thinking about voting for Guiliani? Think again!

Giuliani-Appointed Judges Lean to the Left
White House hopeful Rudolph Giuliani has been assuring conservatives that as president he would appoint “strict constructionalists” to the federal bench.
“I would want judges who are strict constructionalists because I am,” he told South Carolina Republicans in January. “Those are the kinds of justices I would appoint – Scalia, Alito, and Roberts.”
But some observers are pointing out that in his eight years as New York City mayor, Giuliani’s judicial appointees were for the most part anything but conservative.
A review by The Politico found that of the 75 judges Giuliani appointed to three of New York State’s lower courts, Democrats outnumbered Republicans by more than 8-to-1.
“Rudy’s judges were mostly liberal,”
Connie Mackey, vice president of FRC Action, an arm of the conservative Family Research Council, told the Times.
“Any pro-lifer who believes they are going to get the kind of judge out of Rudy Giuliani that we see in either Roberts or Alito is probably going to be disappointed.”
Indeed, Giuliani’s record of appointments won plaudits from Kelli Conlin, head of NARAL Pro-Choice New York, the state’s leading abortion-rights group.
However, Giuliani’s judicial appointments won good reviews in New York legal circles for “being what conservatives sometimes say they want: competent lawyers selected with no regard to ‘litmus tests’ on hot-button social issues,” The Politico reports.
NewMax.com

Ecumenism in the Trenches

Some grudging acknowledgement to the purveyors of the Culture of Death: while praying together outside the doors of your killing centers, we Catholics and Evangelicals have come to know and appreciate one another better. We realize how alike we are in moral teaching, how our pro-life activism stems from our mutual devotion to Our Lord.
Joe Carter over at Evangelical Outpost expressed this most eloquently in his post "What Evangelicals Owe Catholics: An Appreciation". Here's one of my favorite quotes from this wonderful post,

"For nearly thirty years, evangelicals have been working to catch up to our Catholic brothers and sisters on issues of the sanctity of life. Even today, the Catholic Church is more consistent in its application. Sadly, many evangelicals are willing to turn a blind eye to embryo destruction when it occurs for purposes of in-vitro fertilization or for biomedical research. We still have much to learn from the Catholics about how to respect the life that God has created. "

Thank you, Joe Carter, for growing beyond your early prejudices. I pray that Catholics continue to be good examples to you of the splendour of truth, which we believe our Church possesses in it's fullness, because once we are united, goodbye Culture of Death!
HT Jimmy Akin

Great Idea: Mobile Crisis Pregnancy RV outside abortion mills in NY

On Day 1 of Operation FrontLine, our new EMC Frontline Pregnancy Center counselor and ultrasound tech team inside "EMC Mobile Clinic 1" saved three children at high risk of abortion outside of Dr. Emily's Abortion Mill in the South Bronx. See video coverage on links in this email, Chris Slattery
Anti-Abortion Pregnancy Center On Wheels Makes Debut In South Bronx ... NY News 1

The anti-abortion group EMC Frontline Pregnancy Centers set up its ultra-sound equipped motor home outside abortion clinics in the South Bronx Tuesday.
HT Chris Slattery
What a great idea! Taking the battle to the gates of hell, as a pro-life friend put it! That's just where Jesus would be preaching if He were on earth today. Right where women in crisis need to see the truth, and receive true support for bearing life, not death!
I understand it costs $300 per day to run the RV, but what a great service it provides! Three lives saved in one day!

Saturday, March 17, 2007

Happy St. Patrick's Day

I dedicate this montage in loving memory of my Irish grandmother Helen Heslin Bonk.
“Christ shield me this day: Christ with me,
Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every person who thinks of me,
Christ in the eye that sees me, Christ in the ear that hears me”
(from “The Breastplate of St. Patrick”).
Christine Schult has a great post on St. Patrick.

Friday, March 16, 2007

A Tale of Two Babies

Two single young women found themselves pregnant by their boyfriends. One woman, 22 year old is Sara Lawrence, who is reigning as Miss Jamaica,who could lose her title if she carries her child to term, and the other 19 year old, I-Sharii Best, has far less to lose.
One boyfriend is pleased to be a father, and is supporting his girlfriend, though it will be rough for her to study medicine while a mother, and the other boyfriend, 21 year old Daniel Riase, bought RU486 online, and slipped it into his girlfriend's drink. She miscarried hours later.
Whose boyfriend caused the abortion? The 19 year old's. He is currently under indictment.
Miss Jamaica will relinquish her title, and give birth in September with the full support of her boyfriend. She stated, "I relinquish my position as Miss Jamaica World 2006, having taken a deeply personal decision to face up to my responsibilities as one who expects to become a mother later this year," the Jamaica Gleaner reported.
"I believe that it is my moral obligation to do what I believe to be ethically correct and will follow what I believe to be right" Lawrence added.
The young woman told the newspaper her boyfriend supports her decision to keep the baby and not have an abortion. Though abortion advocates frequently say otherwise, she said she would have no problem continuing to pursue a career and raising her child at the same time.
"I will continue pursuing a career in medicine after the birth of my baby," Lawrence, who is 12 weeks pregnant, said.
HT Lifenews

Thursday, March 15, 2007

Fr Tom Euteneuer is not getting Hannitized anytime soon!

Spirit & Life
"The words I spoke to you are spirit and life." (Jn 6:63)Human Life International e-NewsletterVolume 01, Number 59 Friday, March 16, 2007
...................................................................................
http://www.hli.org/
The Church Will Not Be HannitizedTo say that I am humbled and awed by the overwhelming response of the faithful to last Friday night's Hannity interview would be an understatement. To show my gratitude I have celebrated a Mass of thanksgiving for the literally hundreds of people who wrote emails, sent faxes and made phone calls in support of the Church's teaching, and for the unique opportunity to offer this witness to millions more. At the writing of this column, HLI has received more than 1250 emails and dozens of other communications which have run clearly 90-10 in favor of the Church's teaching - this is just incredible! I was aware that there were good Catholics out there who support the Church, but I didn't realize how many were willing to go to bat for the Truth. This gives me the greatest of hope for the future of the Church!In light of this hope, I have to say that the "Hannitization" of the Church will not prevail! "Hannitization" is the stance that Mr. Hannity displayed on Friday night in his attitude toward infallible Church teaching. It is the curious fantasy of people who consider themselves devout Catholics in every way yet see no incompatibility between contraception and Communion. In this, he is just an icon of a whole sector of "Catholics" who live out of that template in public and private. Forty years of vigorous internal dissent against clearly-defined teachings on contraception have ceded the battlefield to the default cultural mindset that says contraception is not only morally justified, it is actually "a good thing," as Mr. Hannity has stated. We know that all chemical contraception actually causes abortions at the embryonic stage, but dissenters are rarely swayed by medical facts.
Our recent Popes call the "hannitization" phenomenon moral relativism and condemn it in the starkest possible terms as incompatible with the Faith of our Fathers. Pope Benedict has even used the term "dictatorship" to describe the arrogance with which such people tend to treat all who question their private judgments about objective truths.
This whole incredible episode has exposed, in a graphic way, the profound internal crisis of Catholicism in a post-Vatican II world. The battle is not at all between so-called liberals and conservatives. The poster boy for conservative values has just gone on record admitting that he is - obstinately - in denial of a truth of the Faith that must be believed, as the Catechism says, "with divine and catholic faith" (n. 2089). "Liberal" and "conservative" values must all be held up to scrutiny by the Church because no political ideology has the charism of infallibility. Only Christ's Vicar has that. Rather, the internecine battle within our own Church is between those who believe in objective right and wrong and those who believe that they, individually, are the arbiters of right and wrong.
This issue is not over, friends, because the battle lines are being drawn between the two worldviews and the stakes are high. Those stakes are the hannitized souls of this and the next generation of youth, and they are worth fighting for. For my part I have been deeply gratified to see evidence of the soldiers of the Church Militant who accept objective right and wrong about contraception and are quite fed up with the nonsense of the high profile dissenters who have done so much spiritual damage to souls. We stand together to defend our first love - Christ's Church! After all, it's not just Hannity's soul we are worried about. How many millions are potentially led astray by a man with that kind of platform? Keep in mind, though, that our project is much more than just objecting to dissenters in the media. We are to lead souls to the Truth through the media, or despite it. That is our common mission.
By the way, as Providence would have it, our Holy Father just this week issued a Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation on the Eucharist which will knock your socks off [See sidebar link "Sacramentum Caritatis"]. Read paragraph 83 to see whether denying a guy like Hannity the Eucharist would be something the Pope would agree with!
Now I need to ask you for a quick favor. Starting today there are nine days before our Church celebrates the Feast of the Annunciation - that day in history when Our Lord took on embryonic form in the womb of His most holy Mother. Pray with me a novena for the conversion of all those who have bought into the lies of the contraceptive culture - including Mr. Hannity. Then pray that he responds to my second request to meet with him privately. Who knows, we may de-hannitize our whole Church through his conversion!
Sincerely Yours in Christ,
Rev. Thomas J. EuteneuerPresident, Human Life International


Fr. Euteneuer's response to Fox Priest
Novena Prayer for Conversion from Contraception
Pope Benedict's recent document
Testimonies of support from some other priests
Links to other commentaries on the Hannity interview
FREE HLI address labels


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Human Life International4 Family Life Lane -- Front Royal, VA 22630 U.S.A.Phone: 1-800-549-LIFE Fax: 540-622-6247E-mail: hli@hli.org Website: http://www.hli.org/

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Sean Hannity has put his foot in it this time!

Fr Tom Euteneuer has found an ally in pro-life columnist, Jill Stanek, an Evangelical Christian, as she posts a fine defense of the Catholic Church here.

Read my comment on her blog here:
"I am grateful to Sean Hannity for causing Jill to produce her great article and this enlightened, discussion between Christians on this timely topic. Before 1930 all Christian Churches opposed birth control, as they recognized what it's legalization would do to society. The Episcopal Church in the 7th Lambeth Conference approved it, and the other mainline Protestant denominations followed suit. In the 1965, thanks to the Supreme Court decision Griswold v Connecticut, birth control was made available to married couples, and in 1972 to unmarried people, due to the efforts of abortion clinic owner, Bill Baird.(By the way the so-called right to privacy found by Justice Douglas in this case was the basis for the Roe v Wade decision). "

"Unmarried pregnancy, abortions, and child abuse all skyrocketed, exactly the opposite promised to us by Planned Parenthood, which, by the way, is the nation's biggest abortion business. (Dr Janet Smith does a devastating expose on the failure of contraception to fulfill all the promises that were given as excuses for it, in "Contraception; Why Not?")See the connection? "

"Pope Paul predicted in Humanae Vitae in 1968, that birth control would cheapen the role of women in society and lead to their exploitation. I have just spent a weekend in Hollywood, and there, the culture is absolutely toxic towards women. I had to shield my innocent daughter's eyes repeatedly. Pope Paul also predicted that governments would use birth control to control individuals, as we see in the Chinese one child policy. "

"Fr. Tom Euteneuer with his work in Human Life International has been fighting the worldwide exploitation of women and children which has resulted from the 'freedom' of birth control, and, it's backup when it fails, abortion. He knows of what he speaks. Women were once revered as mothers and wives, now they are almost universally viewed as sex objects. Once you divorce childbearing from sexuality, commitment flies out the window, and women are objectified. Funny how a celibate old man foresaw that 40 years ago. Perhaps he was the only one listening to the Holy Spirit. "

Thank you, Jill, for seeing what so many of our own faithful fail to see; the importance of respect for Church leadership and obedience to the Magisterium. If you're going to call yourself a Catholic, Mr. Hannity, then BE a Catholic. Even when it's inconvenient. Even when you have a liberal pastor who winks at disobedience to the Church's teaching. Even when it means trusting God with ALL of you, your fertility included. I once heard you say you couldn't afford more children. Really! Well, I must have more money than you (not!) because I have one more child. Right?
Sean, I spoke with you in the Book Revue in Huntington, and you seem like a sincere man, when it comes to defending the unborn. Let's remember it's Lent, and admit you were rude to Fr. Tom, and need to go to confession. The conservative Catholic community has been praying for your conversion on this issue long before this latest incident. Let God's grace prevail here, and receive Holy Communion in a state of grace this Easter. I'm sure your parents, God rest their souls, are praying for you at this moment as well.
If you want to tell Sean you want him to apologize to Fr. Tom, and that you're praying for his conversion, send him an email here.

Mitt Romney Would Have Let Terri Schiavo Be Killed

Mitt Romney said that he thinks “it's probably best to leave these kinds of matters in the hands of the courts. I generally think that it's not a good idea for courts to legislate. Nor is it a great idea for legislatures to adjudicate in a specific circumstance.”
Not even to save a woman's life, Mr. Romney?

Jim Anderson, producer of LifeNews radio says,

"Mitt Romney might find a way to think things through without campaign experts whose only job is to hunt votes where they think they can find them. He could find a way to see that the actions surrounding Terri Schiavo were attempts at checks and balance, and not the misappropriation of power. But if he cannot, we may one day look back and see this week will have been the end of his campaign trail."
"The voters which swing presidential nominations do not entertain foolishness for long."
Let's prove him right.

Bobby Schindler supports Brownback for President

The brother of Terri Schiavo, the young woman murdered legally by her husband two years ago this month, says he will never forget Senator Brownback's efforts to save his sister's life, and supports his candidacy personally.

Thursday, March 08, 2007

We're Going to Hollywood!

I have accepted an invitation to my first movie premiere: Mr Blue Sky. This film, will be premering in Hollywood on March 9th. It's the love story of a young woman with Down Syndrome who marries a typical man. It's a groundbreaking film, in that this theme has not yet been touched by Hollywood.
The Perspectives International Film Festival is sponsoring this premiere. Their goal is to help create a society in which people with disabilities are seen as unique individuals, welcomed as equal participants in all aspects of community life.
Claire Williamson, a facilitator for disabled individuals at DSALA (Down Syndrome Association of Los Angeles)who want to pursue acting in movies. Ms. Williamson has worked as a voice coach for Chris Burke, the star of the TV series "Life Goes On".
The producers of the TV show, "Touched by an Angel", in their episode where a man whose wife is expecting their child with Down Syndrome, and he, thanks to the angel played by Christ Burke, comes to accept his child, the newborn was actually played by a baby with Down Syndrome, and NOT a doll, thanks to Clair.
Her own son, Blair, has worked a the film Unknown which stars Jim Caviezel. I hope to meet them at the premiere on the Fox studio lot. He has appeared in several TV shows such as ER and has a bright future ahead of him.

I applaud Clair's efforts to bring talented individuals with Down Syndrome to the screen, so that we can come to appreciate their gifts. When the producers of the movie "The Ringer" wanted to film a story about the Special Olympics without any participants with Down Syndrome, Clair found them the great comic actor Edward Barbanell who played Billy, famous for his impeccable delivery of the line, "you scratched my CD, you know!" not to mention his "Romeo and Juliet" soliloquy.

The Faith of William Wilberforce

The Better Hour is a documentary which goes into depth about the faith of William Wilberforce. See the trailer here.
Over at Open Book, there is an intellectual discussion of the heritage of Wilberforce for Catholics. I learned that he was a supporter of Irish Emancipation. Makes sense, doesn't it that a man who couldn't bear the thought of humans in chains, wanted to free the Irish from famine, economic, and religious persecution as well. I also learned that three of Wilberforce's children became Catholics, and formed part of the Oxford Movement. That Pope Leo XIII's encyclical which formed the Church's social teaching for the 20th century, Rerum Novarum, was also influenced by Wilberforce.
What far-reaching effects his example has had on our society! No wonder "Amazing Grace" has had a fantastic opening! Don't miss this inspiring film.

Deal Hudson on "Bella"

"Bella" is the buzz word of the Catholic blogosphere these days. So many bloggers have seen it, and universally love it, that the anticipation of it's release sometime this spring is nearly palpable.
The touchy subject of a crisis pregnancy is skillfully woven into a compelling tale of the mean streets of New York, in
Deal Hudson, editor of Crisis Magazine, adds his opinion to the gathering storm.Vivat Jesus and American Papist Catholic Pro-Life CommitteeWolfington Dove
Actually, Deal, I just emailed Leo Severino, the Director, and he says the release date is scheduled for August 15th.
Perfect.

Wednesday, March 07, 2007

And the award goes to. . . George Tiller!

Jill Stanek, the RN who assisted at a partial-birth abortion and then testified before Congress to for the Partial-birth abortion ban, has become an important pro-life activist. Her column on her tongue-in-cheek nomination of George, the baby killer, Tiller for the abortionist of the year award is outstanding. She writes that, in honor of March's 10th being the day of appreciation for abortion profiders Here's a preview on the list of potential abortionist of the year nominees:

"Oh dear, and we were already scraping the bottom of the barrel.

Take Reffat Kamel Abofreka of Virginia, for instance, who would have made a spectacular nominee had he not lost his license last April for botching a couple of abortions, then shooing the mothers off to the hospital ER without making arrangements.

We were sorry to learn 82-year-old former abortionist Richard Leigh of Grand Forks (how appropriate!), N.D., lost his license in December for defrauding Medicare, the dear old buzzard.

We were proud California abortionist Laurence Reich managed to avoid license revocation for six years (!) after complaints were filed for sexually molesting patients. But last April his legal options sadly petered out.

On the bright side, New Jersey abortionist Flavius Thompson deserves honorable mention for completing court intervention to learn how not to flush aborted babies into the sewer system so he could have his medical license reinstated in May!

But that news was tempered by a rash of abortion mill closures. We worry about the health and safety of women if all the front alley abortion mills are shut down due to health and safety violations! "

I think Bill O'Reilly would second that nomination. Click here to watch a video of his coverage of the investigation of George Tiller, and the interview with Kelly, who, at age 20 suffered through a late-term abortion at his infamous mill in Witchita, Kansas.

The New Mother Angelica Book

Has been reviewed over at The Cafeteria is Closed. Take a look, and have a chuckle with Mother.

Tuesday, March 06, 2007

San Juan Capistrano

Is where I'm hoping to attend Holy Mass this Sunday in California(I live near New York City, more on why I'll be in LA later). Check out these gorgeous photos taken by Gerald Augustinius at The Cafeteria is Closed. Hopefully, I'll be posting some of my own, when I return.

Patrick Buchanan on Educational Fraud

". . . it is all a giant fraud, exposed as such by the performances of high school seniors on the National Assessment of Educational Progress exams known as the "nation's report card." An NAEP test of 12th-grade achievement was given to what The New York Times called a "representative sample of 21,000 high school seniors attending 900 public and private schools from January to March 2005."
What did the tests reveal?
-- Since 1990, the share of students lacking even basic reading skills has risen by a third, from 20 percent to 27 percent.
-- Only 35 percent of high school seniors have reached a "proficient" level in reading, down from 40 percent.
-- Only 16 percent of black and 20 percent of Hispanic students had reached a proficient level in reading.
-- Among high school seniors, only 29 percent of whites, 10 percent of Hispanic students and 6 percent of black students were proficient in math.
This is only the half of it. Among the kids whose test scores on reading and math were not factored in were the 25 percent of white students and 50 percent of black and Hispanic kids who had dropped out by senior year.
Factor the dropouts back in, and what the NAEP test suggests is that, of black kids starting in first grade, about one in eight will be able to read at the level of a high school senior after 12 years, and one in 33 will be able to do the math. Among Hispanic kids, one in 10 will be able to read at a high-school senior level, but only one in 20 will be able to do high-school math. "
Townhall.com

*Yet the liberals oppose school vouchers for these failing poor students, out of fear that their failing schools will empty out and the Catholic schools prosper.

*The Democrats want to nominate Hillary, whose husbands' abysmal 3-term education record in Arkansas brought the state DOWN to the lowest ranking from test scores in the nation!!

*"Homeschoolers who do with less than $1000 per student what Washington DC schools can't do with $20,000 per student" , according to former Education Secretary, Bill Bennett, whose wife teaches those students in inner-city Washington.

Some people just never learn!

Monday, March 05, 2007

Brownback Takes Third Place in CPAC Straw Poll

At the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), every GOP presidential candidate but Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) tried to stake a claim for conservative support. The results of CPAC's presidential straw poll indicate that voters are grappling to find candidates whose platform addresses both the crisis abroad and the dilemmas at home. Of 1,705 registrants,
21 percent backed former Gov. Mitt Romney (R-Mass.) for President.
Rudy Giuliani, came in second-place with just 17 percent of the vote.
Senator Sam Brownback received 15%. The poll also surveyed conservatives for their opinion on what the government's priorities ought to be. Half responded that "their most important goal is to promote individual freedom by reducing the size of government." However, what voters considered the second biggest concern wasn't national security or immigration, but "promoting traditional values by protecting marriage and the life of the unborn." Family Research Council
Feeling the heat from Sen. Brownback you RINOs? Conservatives, stick to your core values!

The Ultimate Gift

Fox Faith, has produced a new film which looks promising, as it was reccommended by the American Family Association. "The Ultimate Gift" opens Friday, March 9th. It's about a wealthy young man whose grandfather leaves him an inheritance. . . with strings attached.
View the trailer here.

That Show on Discovery Channel Last Night!

I forced myself to watch "The Lost Tomb of Christ" last night in order to comment on it for my readers, and after waiting for my anger to subside, I decided that Theology of the Body did a much more intelligent critique than I could hope to do. But I will give you my reaction, however(this is NOT breaking my Lenten resolution of not complaining; decrying blasphemy charitably is always a good Lenten practice!)Thus the wait.
Here goes; I have heard anti-Darwin thinkers state that it takes more faith to believe in Darwin's theory than it does to believe in a Creator, and the same applies to this show. Dr James D. Tabor, a professor from UNC and the white-coated experts talk you into a great error of logic. They ask you to start with their assumptions to get to their dubious conclusions. For example, he said, "Catholic tradition holds that St. Peter was beheaded in Rome and is buried under the Vatican, but there is no archaeological evidence of this, and we scholars know better, we just found a bone box with his name on it right here under this apartment building." Case closed.
Ahem, but I hate to have to remind you that the remains of St. Peter were confirmed in their burial place directly under the main altar of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. Case closed.
The professor also assumes that Jesus had brothers, was married to Mary Magdalane, and that his heretofore unknown Uncle Matthew is buried with him.
Don't worry though, John Dominic Crossman, the little blond leprechaun from the Jesus Seminar they always trot in front of the cameras in Lent to say that Jesus wasn't divine, says, "this won't affect my belief in Jesus at all".
Now, I feel better!

Sunday, March 04, 2007

Stages of Carmelite Spritituality

A Little of This, a Little of That has a great post on the stages of Carmelite sprituality. EWTN has a Bishop Anders Arbolerius of Stockholm, Sweden, discussing Carmelite spirituality in a weekly series as well.

Part of my heart has always longed for the contemplative life. Especially while fixing dinner with moody children arguing about finishing their homework: I think of nuns in front of the Blessed Sacrament, and sigh. I feel certain, when my domestic duties are no longer pressing, that I will make a monastic retreat.

For now, I look forward to being able to see "Into Great Silence" a film made while a man spent six months inside a Carthusian monastery in the Alps. It's an unusualy quiet film, which seems to truly give the viewer a window into monastic life. Surprisingly the New York Times reviewer called it "engrossing". It is out on limited release in the US. View the trailer here.

These things are reminders to step outside the frantic pace of normal American life, and spend some time in the Lord's presence, allowing Him to transform us into His image.

"Vale la pena"/ "It's worth the trouble"

Father was giving a homily at the Indult Mass today, and he referred to St. Jose Maria Escriva's spirituality. Fr. Escriva would say to himself, many times daily, "Vale la pena", Spanish for "it's worth the trouble" thus sanctifying his daily duties, and many sacrifices offered up for souls. It's a relatively short run we have to suffer here on earth, for an eternity in the presence of the Lord, or an eternity of regret in hell that we didn't accept His salvific love. Let's redouble our efforts to make this the most significant Lent of our lives so far.

Here's a little poem I memorized in the midst of the hardest year of my young life; seventh grade:
Only one life,
'Twill soon be past,
Only what's done
For Christ will last.

Lenten Poetry: The Hollow Men

The Hollow Men
T. S. Eliot (1925)
I
We are the hollow men
We are the stuffed men
Leaning together
Headpiece filled with straw.
Alas!Our dried voices,
when
We whisper together
Are quiet and meaningless
As wind in dry grass
Or rats' feet over broken glass
In our dry cellar
Shape without form, shade without colour,
Paralysed force, gesture without motion;
Those who have crossed
With direct eyes, to death's other
Kingdom
Remember us -- if at all -- not as lost
Violent souls, but only
As the hollow men
The stuffed men.

II
Eyes I dare not meet in dreams
In death's dream kingdom
These do not appear:
There, the eyes are
Sunlight on a broken column
There, is a tree swinging
And voices are
In the wind's singing
More distant and more solemn
Than a fading star.
Let me be no nearer
In death's dream kingdom
Let me also wear
Such deliberate disguises
Rat's coat, crowskin, crossed staves
In a field
Behaving as the wind behaves
No nearer --
Not that final meeting
In the twilight kingdom

III
This is the dead land
This is cactus land
Here the stone images
Are raised, here they receive
The supplication of a dead man's hand
Under the twinkle of a fading star.
Is it like thisIn death's other kingdom
Waking alone
At the hour when we are
Trembling with tenderness
Lips that would kiss
Form prayers to broken stone.

IV
The eyes are not here
There are no eyes here
In this valley of dying stars
In this hollow valley
This broken jaw of our lost kingdoms
In this last of meeting places
We grope together
And avoid speech
Gathered on this beach of the tumid river
Sightless, unless
The eyes reappear
As the perpetual star
Multifoliate rose
Of death's twilight kingdom
The hope only
Of empty men.

V
Here we go round the prickly pear
Prickly pear prickly pear
Here we go round the prickly pear
At five o'clock in the morning.
Between the idea
And the reality
Between the motion
And the act
Falls the Shadow
For
Thine is the Kingdom
Between the conception
And the creation
Between the emotion
And the response
Falls the Shadow
Life is very long
Between the desire
And the spasm
Between the potency
And the existence
Between the essence
And the descent
Falls the Shadow
For Thine is the Kingdom
For Thine is
Life is
For Thine is the
This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang but a whimper.

New Editor of "The Long Island Catholic"

I first met the new editor, Rick Hinshaw, at a Young Americans for Freedom party while we were both attending Catholic high schools on Long Island. I was impressed by his outspoken conservatism then, and have watched his impressive career with interest, which, after leaving "The Long Island Catholic", included working for pro-life Nassau County District Attorney Dennis Dillon, the diocesan office of Family Ministry, the NYS Catholic Conference, and the Catholic League. He has written a Respect Life column in the Catholic which I have always enjoyed, and I am delighted with Bishop Murphy's choice in Rick for editor of "The Long Island Catholic".
This is good news for our diocese.

Friday, March 02, 2007

News: They're Making a Movie about St. Jose Maria Escriva

A great blog I just discovered, named "Orthfully Catholic" written by faithful British seminarians reports the following:
" Apparently in an attempt to undo the damage done by 'The Da Vinci Code' phenomenon Opus Dei are giving theological advice (but no financial aid) for a film about St Josemaria Escriva and the founding of the Prelature. As a film buff and follower of the Saint and his ways I am personally looking forward to the release of this film."
An anonymous commenter on the site said that Roland Joffe would be directing the film, and that Barbara Nicolosi of Act One has written the screenplay.
Evangelical Catholicism says that Antonio Banderas, and Robert De Niro may star in it, which will give it wide appeal. Read more details here.

My Letter to the Editor of "National Catholic Register"

Dear Editor,
As a participant in this year’s March for Life, as well as the Bloggers for Life Conference that day, I can confirm the high visibility of Brownback supporters at the March. I can also tell you why. A pro-life leader in the Senate since he won Bob Dole’s seat from a pro-choice governor’s appointee in 1996, Senator Brownback has sponsored such landmark bills as the Fetal Pain Awareness Act, which he re-introduced this week, and a failed bill which would have offered updated information on disabilities to mothers expecting a child with a disability. He said, both at the Conference, and the March, that unborn Down syndrome babies are aborted at a rate of 80%, yet there are waiting lists of parents to adopt them. He pleaded with mothers expecting a child with Down Syndrome not to abort them. He explained that he has adopted his fifth child, a girl in 3rd grade from a selfless mother in China who gave her life. These comments brought on some of the most enthusiastic cheers at the March, as the crowd of 127, 000 knew of his sincere dedication to the pro-life cause.

Senator Brownback has been a Catholic since his conversion in 2002 after reading the works of the late Holy Father, John Paul II, and Blessed Mother Teresa for whom he obtained the Congressional Medal of Freedom, America’s highest honor. His public stands against human trafficking worldwide, for the desperate situation in the Sudan, and his willingness to work with Senators across the aisle, have shown him to be a man who thinks of the Church’s social teaching first, his political career second. Sam Brownback has a sense of mission in his political career, due to a bout with cancer.
He is a man of the highest integrity who rightly deserves the support of Catholics and pro-lifers of all denominations in his bid for the presidency.

Quote of the Day

Dr. Kathleen Dixon, director of Women’s Studies at Bowling Green State University, Ohio, commented on the resignation of Dr. Richard Zeller, who wanted to teach a course on how liberalism has led to political correctness:

“We forbid any course that says we restrict free speech!”

Women just don't matter to the drug companies

"NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Women who use a contraceptive patch appear to be more than twice as likely to develop a dangerous blood clot in their veins as those who use an oral contraceptive, new research shows.
Dr. Alexander M. Walker and colleagues, from i3 Drug Safety in Auburndale, Massachusetts, note that it was not known if users of the patch system ran the same risk of stroke, heart attack and venous blood clots as users of oral contraceptives
."
Translation: both the contraceptive patch and oral contraceptives more than double your risk of premature death. Birth control is SO liberating!

Hispanic and black women are often targeted for experimental products the the now revoked Norplant, which my former OB, who practiced in a minority neighborhood, pushed heavily. I had a Salvadorean housekeeper who had taken the now banned Depo-Provera shots; she fell down an entire flight of stairs because of light-headedness. She survived, but was shaken.
Another Hispanic friend, who took the Pill, is severely handicapped due to a stroke she suffered at age 28. Her young daughters were shipped out to different family members, and her husband turned into a philandering drunk, arrested 3 times for DWI. She is at her mother's home in El Salvador, where she never sees her daughters in the USA. They were a lovely Catholic family when I first met them, she was looking forward to a nursing career in the US.
These tragedies were caused by lethal drugs these women took while trusting their local clinic. Why wasn't their priest condemning these drugs from the altar?

Falling Off Your Lenten Practices? Try L-mart!

We have a local commercial bakery on Long Island, Entenmenn's which reports a drastic drop in cake/cookie sales on Ash Wednesday. By the end of that week, however, sales are back to normal. So much for our Lenten observances.
If your resolve to do penance is wavering, try some of these new products at L-mart!

HTCurt Jester

Media Research Center: Moral Compass for 20 years

Here is a nice article in the Washington Times profiling the 20 year history of the Conservative Media Research Center, founded in 1987 by Brent Bozell, a Catholic father of five.

This is such and important work; watching and reporting on trends in the media, and The Media Research Center has had quite an effect on public opinion. Twenty years ago, only 25% of the public believed that the mainstream media has a liberal bias, today that number has increased to 79%.
Conservatives have found a voice, in talk radio, Fox news and the internet, but we still lag far behind in audience. Fox news, the highest rated news on Cable, has an audience of only 3 million, while the big three broadcast news programs have a combined audience of 30 million viewers.

Thursday, March 01, 2007

The Discovery of the Tomb of Jesus is a Fraud

"The Discovery Channel, like most of the national TV elite, display a dramatic bias in target selection when it comes to religion. There are no controversies over the historical claims of Islam, Judaism, or any other religious faith. But Christianity is another story. It is routinely the subject of sensationalistic TV exposes, complete with breathless claims about how Jesus “might be” the son of a Roman soldier, or he might have survived the Crucifixion. And now he’s a dad, with kids.
What’s worse is that these shoddy alleged exposes always air in the most sacred Christian seasons, like Lent. Last year during Lent, on April 2, 2006, “Dateline NBC” offered part of its show to alleged Jesus-debunker Michael Baigent, even as reporter Sara James declared: “Baigent acknowledges there’s no proof of his theory, but points out that it was possible to survive crucifixion.”
If the Discovery Channel fails to cancel this slanderous ‘documentary,’ it will have to explain why it is intentionally misleading the public. This network should be embarrassed by this plunge into sensational speculation masquerading as ‘science.’ To slander Christianity at the start of the Lenten season is unconscionable. This isn’t news. It’s sensationalism on a stick. Or in this case, on a cross."

Brent Bozell
Media Research Center
If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all men most to be pitied.
I Corinthians15:17-19
Here is an article about the discovery of the tomb on Holy Spirit Interactive.
Click on this link to voice your outrage to the Discovery Channel.