The encyclical which was so widely opposed is now more relevant than ever. Who knew?
The Holy Spirit did, when he inspired Pope Paul VI, that's who!
"So the future of “Humanae Vitae” as the teaching of the Catholic Church seems secure, even if it will also continue to be the most widely flouted injunction of the church at the level of practice.
The encyclical’s surprising resilience is a reminder that forecasting the Catholic future in moments of crisis is always a dangerous enterprise — a point with relevance to a more recent Catholic predicament. Many critics believe that the church has not yet responded adequately to the recent sex-abuse scandals, leading to predictions that the church will “have to” become more accountable, more participatory and more democratic.
While those steps may appear inevitable today, it seemed unthinkable to many observers 40 years ago that “Humanae Vitae” would still be in vigor well into the 21st century. "
Read the entire article here.
HT Curt Jester
Thursday, July 31, 2008
No justice at Univ of Minnesota for Eucharist Outrage
from the Catholic League
UNIV. OF MINN. CHANCELLOR ON MYERS:
HE'S IN THE CLEAR
On July 25, the University of Minnesota (UMN) at Morris issued a statement by its chancellor, Jacqueline Johnson, which began with the following paragraph: "I believe that behaviors that discriminate against or harass individuals or groups on the basis of their religious beliefs are reprehensible. The University of Minnesota Board of Regents Policy: [sic] Code of Conduct prohibits such behavior in the workplace"of course this includes the classroom"and I expect those who work and study here to comply with that policy." She then proceeded to say that Professor Paul Z. Myers, who intentionally (and with malice) desecrated the Eucharist, was expressing his own views and not those of UMN.
Catholic League president Bill Donohue issued a news release the same day, saying, "This is classic: Johnson admits Myers has violated the UMN's Code of Conduct and then proceeds to tell us why he is being allowed to do so with impunity"it's a matter of academic freedom."
Johnson faxed a letter to Donohue today saying she needed to address his 'misunderstanding' of her statement. She makes it plain that because Myers posted his comments on his personal blog, he did not violate UMN's Code of Conduct.
Donohue sent Johnson the following letter today:
"I am sorry for my generosity: I took it that the reason you began your statement of July 25 with a citation of UMN's Code of Conduct as it applies to religious intolerance was your way of acknowledging Myers' delinquency. I now stand corrected: Your comment was simply a ploy, a cute way of acknowledging that something was wrong, but certainly not anything that would demand your attention. And just so you don't misunderstand me: You could have issued a statement saying that while UMN has no authority over what Myers says in his blog, it is morally indefensible for anyone to intentionally desecrate the Eucharist. But, no, you couldn't even say that. Instead, you hide behind legalisms. We will let the Catholic community know of your decision."
Bill Donohue will be appearing Friday August 1st at 8 PM on the EWTN news program"The World Over" with Raymond Arroyo to discuss the ongoing controversy.
UNIV. OF MINN. CHANCELLOR ON MYERS:
HE'S IN THE CLEAR
On July 25, the University of Minnesota (UMN) at Morris issued a statement by its chancellor, Jacqueline Johnson, which began with the following paragraph: "I believe that behaviors that discriminate against or harass individuals or groups on the basis of their religious beliefs are reprehensible. The University of Minnesota Board of Regents Policy: [sic] Code of Conduct prohibits such behavior in the workplace"of course this includes the classroom"and I expect those who work and study here to comply with that policy." She then proceeded to say that Professor Paul Z. Myers, who intentionally (and with malice) desecrated the Eucharist, was expressing his own views and not those of UMN.
Catholic League president Bill Donohue issued a news release the same day, saying, "This is classic: Johnson admits Myers has violated the UMN's Code of Conduct and then proceeds to tell us why he is being allowed to do so with impunity"it's a matter of academic freedom."
Johnson faxed a letter to Donohue today saying she needed to address his 'misunderstanding' of her statement. She makes it plain that because Myers posted his comments on his personal blog, he did not violate UMN's Code of Conduct.
Donohue sent Johnson the following letter today:
"I am sorry for my generosity: I took it that the reason you began your statement of July 25 with a citation of UMN's Code of Conduct as it applies to religious intolerance was your way of acknowledging Myers' delinquency. I now stand corrected: Your comment was simply a ploy, a cute way of acknowledging that something was wrong, but certainly not anything that would demand your attention. And just so you don't misunderstand me: You could have issued a statement saying that while UMN has no authority over what Myers says in his blog, it is morally indefensible for anyone to intentionally desecrate the Eucharist. But, no, you couldn't even say that. Instead, you hide behind legalisms. We will let the Catholic community know of your decision."
Bill Donohue will be appearing Friday August 1st at 8 PM on the EWTN news program"The World Over" with Raymond Arroyo to discuss the ongoing controversy.
Save Our Lady of Lourdes Parish
For decades on Long Island, there has been a sanctuary from the ravages of "the Spirit of Vatican II", a place where respect for the Magesterium takes precedence over liturgical fads, a place where Catholic traditions such as Eucharistic and Marian devotion have flourished, and children are nutured in the faith.Our Lady of Lourdes, Massapequa Park, is a parish which many have centered their lives around on Long Island, which has been in a spiritual desert for my entire lifetime, whose closing Catholic schools, declining religious orders, and errant retreat houses have caused many faithful Catholics pain.
A new pastor, is under the guise of 'inclusion' and the phrase, "we're all Catholics" is undermining some of Our Lady of Lourdes Massapequa Park's decades old traditions. I have been to the wonderful monthly Holy Hours at OLL, and have many friends there. Parishioners at OLL have always been close to the heart of the Church in all matters, desiring only to remain faithful to the Holy Father. It is painful to see the tranquility of the parish threatened by a new pastor who feels he needs to correct the theology of some of the holiest souls on Long Island, without consulting them.
To understand this crisis, go to their website, Save OLL MP and hear from them directly.
United we are victorious: Planned Parenthood infiltration frustrated!
We're not giving one single inch of ground to the evil organization who wants to sexualize our children, get them sexually involved, and later exploit them for abortion money. Just call American Life League, Stop Planned Parenthood next time you see those snakes trying to slither into a health fair, and stop them by the power of a strong, united protest. If it worked in the left coast, it can work anywhere!
Planned Parenthood was forced to stay away from a children's health and wellness event after American Life League supporters and local pro-life activists barraged event coordinators with phone calls and e-mails.
"We're committed to fighting Planned Parenthood wherever they are," said Jim Sedlak, vice president of American Life League. "We want to send a clear signal – there will be zero tolerance when it comes to Planned Parenthood's campaign to sexualize children."
The nation's largest abortion chain was scheduled to have a booth at the 'Vallejo Celebrates Youth' event geared toward grammar school children on Aug. 2. Children will learn about oral hygiene, literacy, and childhood obesity. They will no longer be learning about birth control, STDs and abortion.
Planned Parenthood has made a concerted effort to reach children recently through pornographic publications and web sites. The abortion giant targets children at events like the one sponsored by the Greater Vallejo Recreational District, with sex-related materials and birth control.
When American Life League heard of the events, the group contacted local activists and notified supporters. Within hours, hundreds of calls were placed to the GVRD who then decided to disinvite Planned Parenthood.
Read more here.
HT ALL
HOORAY!
Planned Parenthood was forced to stay away from a children's health and wellness event after American Life League supporters and local pro-life activists barraged event coordinators with phone calls and e-mails.
"We're committed to fighting Planned Parenthood wherever they are," said Jim Sedlak, vice president of American Life League. "We want to send a clear signal – there will be zero tolerance when it comes to Planned Parenthood's campaign to sexualize children."
The nation's largest abortion chain was scheduled to have a booth at the 'Vallejo Celebrates Youth' event geared toward grammar school children on Aug. 2. Children will learn about oral hygiene, literacy, and childhood obesity. They will no longer be learning about birth control, STDs and abortion.
Planned Parenthood has made a concerted effort to reach children recently through pornographic publications and web sites. The abortion giant targets children at events like the one sponsored by the Greater Vallejo Recreational District, with sex-related materials and birth control.
When American Life League heard of the events, the group contacted local activists and notified supporters. Within hours, hundreds of calls were placed to the GVRD who then decided to disinvite Planned Parenthood.
Read more here.
HT ALL
HOORAY!
Before your child begins public school again this fall
You should hear the far left political opinions of the Nationa Education Association. They are the policy making arm of the public school system. They decide the direction of public education; text books, goals, curriculum, and types of administrators which the public schools have. Here is a sample of their extreme anti-Christian, anti-traditional morality agenda.
NEA resolutions include all the major feminist goals such as "the right to reproductive freedom" (i.e., abortion on demand); "comparable worth" (i.e., government control of wages according to feminist ideology rather than the free market); full funding for the feminist boondoggle called the Women's Educational Equity Act; and "the use of non-sexist language" (i.e., censoring out all masculine words such as husband and father).
The NEA even urges its affiliates to work for ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment. The ERA was declared dead by the U.S. Supreme Court 26 years ago.
The influence of the gay lobby is pervasive in dozens of NEA resolutions adopted by 2008 convention delegates. Diversity is the code word used for pro-gay indoctrination in the classroom.
The NEA's Diversity resolution makes clear that this means teaching about "sexual orientation" and "gender identification," words that are repeated in dozens of resolutions. The NEA demands that "diversity-based curricula" even be imposed on preschoolers.
Do I have to mention they'll be supporting Barack Obama for president?
Read the entire article here.
HT Eagle Forum
NEA resolutions include all the major feminist goals such as "the right to reproductive freedom" (i.e., abortion on demand); "comparable worth" (i.e., government control of wages according to feminist ideology rather than the free market); full funding for the feminist boondoggle called the Women's Educational Equity Act; and "the use of non-sexist language" (i.e., censoring out all masculine words such as husband and father).
The NEA even urges its affiliates to work for ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment. The ERA was declared dead by the U.S. Supreme Court 26 years ago.
The influence of the gay lobby is pervasive in dozens of NEA resolutions adopted by 2008 convention delegates. Diversity is the code word used for pro-gay indoctrination in the classroom.
The NEA's Diversity resolution makes clear that this means teaching about "sexual orientation" and "gender identification," words that are repeated in dozens of resolutions. The NEA demands that "diversity-based curricula" even be imposed on preschoolers.
Do I have to mention they'll be supporting Barack Obama for president?
Read the entire article here.
HT Eagle Forum
The National Down Syndrome Society about the Kennedy Brownback Bill
They're not giving up hope, so niether will I, and I will pray for this important legislation to pass.
Please join me in prayer for this.
The Battle Continues
By a vote of 52-40, the Senate voted on Monday, July 28 against proceeding to debate on S. 3297, the Advancing America's Priorities Act, which bundled together the Prenatal and Postnatal Diagnosis Conditions Awareness Act (known as the Kennedy-Brownback bill) and many other bills into one piece of legislation. Unfortunately, we fell eight votes short of the 60 that were required for the Senate to begin consideration of S. 3297.
This does not mean that the bill is dead. We need you to remain vigilant and hopeful.
This session of Congress is not over.
We still have an opportunity to pass S. 3297 this year so it's absolutely critical that yesterday's disappointment not deter us from our goal. Our work will continue when Congress returns from its summer recess in September. Yesterday's vote was not a reflection of lack of support for the Kennedy-Brownback legislation. Indeed, the bill was reported out favorably in a bipartisan vote by the Senate Health Education Labor Pensions (HELP) Committee. Unfortunately, S. 3297 and the Kennedy-Brownback legislation became caught up in broader disagreements between political parties about matters not related to Kennedy-Brownback. Election year politics are having an impact on every issue debated by the Senate. Just as I said in my post.
Our efforts will continue. We all agree about the importance of this legislation and will let you know when your advocacy efforts will be the most timely and effective.
Please join me in prayer for this.
The Battle Continues
By a vote of 52-40, the Senate voted on Monday, July 28 against proceeding to debate on S. 3297, the Advancing America's Priorities Act, which bundled together the Prenatal and Postnatal Diagnosis Conditions Awareness Act (known as the Kennedy-Brownback bill) and many other bills into one piece of legislation. Unfortunately, we fell eight votes short of the 60 that were required for the Senate to begin consideration of S. 3297.
This does not mean that the bill is dead. We need you to remain vigilant and hopeful.
This session of Congress is not over.
We still have an opportunity to pass S. 3297 this year so it's absolutely critical that yesterday's disappointment not deter us from our goal. Our work will continue when Congress returns from its summer recess in September. Yesterday's vote was not a reflection of lack of support for the Kennedy-Brownback legislation. Indeed, the bill was reported out favorably in a bipartisan vote by the Senate Health Education Labor Pensions (HELP) Committee. Unfortunately, S. 3297 and the Kennedy-Brownback legislation became caught up in broader disagreements between political parties about matters not related to Kennedy-Brownback. Election year politics are having an impact on every issue debated by the Senate. Just as I said in my post.
Our efforts will continue. We all agree about the importance of this legislation and will let you know when your advocacy efforts will be the most timely and effective.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Christian anti-Defamation Coalition stands with Catholics on Desecration of Eucharist
From Dr. Gary Cass of the Christian Anti-Defamation Coalition
A Biology Professor from the University of Minnesota, Paul Zachary Myers, has taken his radical enthusiasm for atheism to a disgraceful new low. Myers recently desecrated a consecrated communion wafer from a Catholic Mass. Meyers did this after a University of Florida student made headlines by stealing the Eucharist from a communion service and holding it hostage for days.
According to Catholic theology, the communion wafer, once duly consecrated, becomes the actual body of Christ. Professor Myers has written on his blog in defense of the University of Florida student. Meyer's has also asked people to steal the Eucharist for him in order that he might desecrate it and display it on his blog.
On his blog Meyers writes: "Can anyone out there score me some consecrated communion wafers? . if any of you would be willing to do what it takes to get me some, or even one, and mail it to me, I'll show you sacrilege, gladly, and with much fanfare. I won't be tempted to hold it hostage. but will instead treat it with profound disrespect and heinous cracker abuse, all photographed and presented here on the web."
Many have responded to this outrage and asked Professor Meyers to stop his blasphemous behavior and have even contacted the University, but nothing has been done so far. "Professor Meyers needs to be disciplined if not fired by the University Board of Regents for his unnecessary, provocative and inflammatory actions directed against Christians," said Dr. Gary Cass, Chairman and CEO of the Christian Anti-Defamation Commission. "Had Professor Myers engaged in similar such egregious acts, like burning a homosexual flag or painting swastikas on a synagogue, or burning books in front of the library, he would have been terminated on the spot. Because Meyers merely offended Christians, he goes unpunished. This reinforces the perception of hostility towards Christians on secular university campuses and brings disgrace on the University itself for condoning this provocation by their silence."
Bias against Christians within secular Universities is not new. Last year Gary Tobin, President of the Institute for Jewish and Community Research, published a survey of 1,262 faculty members from 712 public colleges and universities. The survey revealed that Christian students were perceived to be the most unfavorable group of students by university and college professors.
TAKE ACTION: Contact the Board of Regents and ask for them to discipline Professor Myers for his unnecessary and vicious attack against one of Christianities most revered sacraments. Call: 612-625-6300
Thank you for this show of solidarity, Dr. Cass
A Biology Professor from the University of Minnesota, Paul Zachary Myers, has taken his radical enthusiasm for atheism to a disgraceful new low. Myers recently desecrated a consecrated communion wafer from a Catholic Mass. Meyers did this after a University of Florida student made headlines by stealing the Eucharist from a communion service and holding it hostage for days.
According to Catholic theology, the communion wafer, once duly consecrated, becomes the actual body of Christ. Professor Myers has written on his blog in defense of the University of Florida student. Meyer's has also asked people to steal the Eucharist for him in order that he might desecrate it and display it on his blog.
On his blog Meyers writes: "Can anyone out there score me some consecrated communion wafers? . if any of you would be willing to do what it takes to get me some, or even one, and mail it to me, I'll show you sacrilege, gladly, and with much fanfare. I won't be tempted to hold it hostage. but will instead treat it with profound disrespect and heinous cracker abuse, all photographed and presented here on the web."
Many have responded to this outrage and asked Professor Meyers to stop his blasphemous behavior and have even contacted the University, but nothing has been done so far. "Professor Meyers needs to be disciplined if not fired by the University Board of Regents for his unnecessary, provocative and inflammatory actions directed against Christians," said Dr. Gary Cass, Chairman and CEO of the Christian Anti-Defamation Commission. "Had Professor Myers engaged in similar such egregious acts, like burning a homosexual flag or painting swastikas on a synagogue, or burning books in front of the library, he would have been terminated on the spot. Because Meyers merely offended Christians, he goes unpunished. This reinforces the perception of hostility towards Christians on secular university campuses and brings disgrace on the University itself for condoning this provocation by their silence."
Bias against Christians within secular Universities is not new. Last year Gary Tobin, President of the Institute for Jewish and Community Research, published a survey of 1,262 faculty members from 712 public colleges and universities. The survey revealed that Christian students were perceived to be the most unfavorable group of students by university and college professors.
TAKE ACTION: Contact the Board of Regents and ask for them to discipline Professor Myers for his unnecessary and vicious attack against one of Christianities most revered sacraments. Call: 612-625-6300
Thank you for this show of solidarity, Dr. Cass
Tiller Finally Headed to Trial — in March 2009
from Focus on the Family
Notorious Kansas abortionist George Tiller is scheduled to stand trial on 19 criminal counts in March 2009.
Sedgwick County District Judge Clark Owens will let prosecutors present evidence that reportedly shows Tiller violated a Kansas law that requires a second, independent doctor's opinion before late-term abortions take place. It’s been a long, hard-fought battle for life advocates in Kansas.
“You just keep pulling out one card at a time, and it doesn’t seem to make any difference at all," said Judy Smith, state director for Concerned Women for America of Kansas. "But at some point, the right one gets pulled out, and the house of cards begins to fall.”
We have several months to pray that the Killer will be brought to justice, the murders will end, and have a chance to convert before he faces Our Lord's justice.
Notorious Kansas abortionist George Tiller is scheduled to stand trial on 19 criminal counts in March 2009.
Sedgwick County District Judge Clark Owens will let prosecutors present evidence that reportedly shows Tiller violated a Kansas law that requires a second, independent doctor's opinion before late-term abortions take place. It’s been a long, hard-fought battle for life advocates in Kansas.
“You just keep pulling out one card at a time, and it doesn’t seem to make any difference at all," said Judy Smith, state director for Concerned Women for America of Kansas. "But at some point, the right one gets pulled out, and the house of cards begins to fall.”
We have several months to pray that the Killer will be brought to justice, the murders will end, and have a chance to convert before he faces Our Lord's justice.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Kennedy Brownback Bill dies in Senate
I am devastated to report that the Kennedy Brownback bill which would have given much needed information to parents whose unborn children have a disability, including referrals to adoption agencies, and support groups, was killed in the Senate today. I had great hopes that this bill would reduce the 90% abortion rate of disabled children whose condition is diagnosed before birth.
Read the entire story here.
HT Patricia Bauer
Read the entire story here.
HT Patricia Bauer
Saturday, July 26, 2008
A message and an offer from Catholicity
On the 40th anniversary of the promulgation of Pope Paul VI's encyclical, Humanae Vitae, on July 25, 1968. We assume our readers know this watershed encyclical rejected the premise that the use of artificial means to avoid conception was anything other than an objectively immoral act.THE AGE OF SEXUAL SLAVERYDid you know that every major Christian denomination in the world (and virtually every citizen in every country on the planet) viewed the use of artificial contraception as immoral until 1930, when the Anglican Church of England officially changed its teaching at the Lambeth Conference?
With the collapse of the Christian bulwark against the idea that sexual activity could be seperated from the responsibilities of bearing children (and ultimately, that sexuality would be seperated from exclusivity within marriage), what was regarded as grossly unnatural and morally repugnant to the "man on the street" gradually became considered "natural" to most citizens of developed countries by the end of the 1970s. The age of sexual slavery is upon us, and we fear, has not reached its nadir, as the attacks upon what legally defines marriage itself gain in popularity and ferocity.In 2008, 78 years later, and a mere "blink" of the eye of history, the Catholic Church stands alone in this foundational defense of the natural dignity of humanity itself, and sadly, many of her own members do not stand with her. Pope Paul prophetically made four dire predictions for society if this teaching was ignored, and tragically, all four have come true.
We posted Mary Eberstadt's summarizing article from First Things on CatholiCity.com this week:http://www.firstthings.com/article.php3?id_article=6262
ONE MORE SOUL
If you are married and remain faithfully open and responsible to life, we applaud your courage, empathize with the challenges, and understand your joy, especially if you have been blessed with children.If you have struggled to adhere to the teaching or are intimidated by the massive and implacable cultural obsession to separate sexual activity from the gift and responsibility of bearing and rearing children, you are not alone.
Perhaps you sincerely and honestly do not see the truth of the teaching.We humbly and gently invite you to listen to the most loving, powerful, non-judgemental, and popular explanation of the Church's teaching ever recorded, Dr. Janet E. Smith's "Contraception, Why Not?" or her recent "Contraception, Why Not? New and Revised."Both CDs are available free-of-charge from One More Soul, which offers an extensive variety of books, CDs, newsletters, and pamphlets on this important subject, including an online directory of doctors who do not prescribe contraceptives.
For a free CD of the classic "Contraception, Why Not?" or the New and Revised version, go here, respectively:
http://www.omsoul.com/catalog/index.php?target=products&product_id=531
http://www.omsoul.com/catalog/index.php?product_id=709&target=products
With the collapse of the Christian bulwark against the idea that sexual activity could be seperated from the responsibilities of bearing children (and ultimately, that sexuality would be seperated from exclusivity within marriage), what was regarded as grossly unnatural and morally repugnant to the "man on the street" gradually became considered "natural" to most citizens of developed countries by the end of the 1970s. The age of sexual slavery is upon us, and we fear, has not reached its nadir, as the attacks upon what legally defines marriage itself gain in popularity and ferocity.In 2008, 78 years later, and a mere "blink" of the eye of history, the Catholic Church stands alone in this foundational defense of the natural dignity of humanity itself, and sadly, many of her own members do not stand with her. Pope Paul prophetically made four dire predictions for society if this teaching was ignored, and tragically, all four have come true.
We posted Mary Eberstadt's summarizing article from First Things on CatholiCity.com this week:http://www.firstthings.com/article.php3?id_article=6262
ONE MORE SOUL
If you are married and remain faithfully open and responsible to life, we applaud your courage, empathize with the challenges, and understand your joy, especially if you have been blessed with children.If you have struggled to adhere to the teaching or are intimidated by the massive and implacable cultural obsession to separate sexual activity from the gift and responsibility of bearing and rearing children, you are not alone.
Perhaps you sincerely and honestly do not see the truth of the teaching.We humbly and gently invite you to listen to the most loving, powerful, non-judgemental, and popular explanation of the Church's teaching ever recorded, Dr. Janet E. Smith's "Contraception, Why Not?" or her recent "Contraception, Why Not? New and Revised."Both CDs are available free-of-charge from One More Soul, which offers an extensive variety of books, CDs, newsletters, and pamphlets on this important subject, including an online directory of doctors who do not prescribe contraceptives.
For a free CD of the classic "Contraception, Why Not?" or the New and Revised version, go here, respectively:
http://www.omsoul.com/catalog/index.php?target=products&product_id=531
http://www.omsoul.com/catalog/index.php?product_id=709&target=products
The liberals are getting frustrated with me!
Deborah Kotz mentioned me in her blog for US News and World Report, "And a blogger for a Catholic blogspot, Causa Nostrae Laetitiae, warns that if the women's-rights activists succeed at sinking the new rule, 'Catholic and other health care professionals who follow their conscience...will be driven out of their jobs.'"
I am on the top tier of Wikio News for crazed atheist PZ Meyers who has desecrated the Eucharist, this blog is floating to the top of search engines where it is clogging up the wheels of the liberal machine with inconvenient truths. That is exactly what we Catholic bloggers are meant to do, comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.
Long live freedom of the internet!
I am on the top tier of Wikio News for crazed atheist PZ Meyers who has desecrated the Eucharist, this blog is floating to the top of search engines where it is clogging up the wheels of the liberal machine with inconvenient truths. That is exactly what we Catholic bloggers are meant to do, comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.
Long live freedom of the internet!
Mark Shea on PZ Meyers' desecration of the Eucharist
In this article, Mark Shea puts PZ Meyers in his true place, and reveals why he is desecrating the Eucharist; "I won't mince words: Myers is an evil man. And as evil men -- particularly evil intellectuals -- tend to be, he is also a madman, as are most of his acolytes and followers. One need only read Pharyngula to know this. Not all atheists are driven mad by their atheism. Many are quite respectable human beings. But those who make it their raison d'être tend to be made crazy by it. That's the tragedy of sins of the intellect. They don't just make you stupid; if you persist in them, and particularly if you persist in them to this degree, they make you crazy. "
Prof. Meyers, I am deeply saddened by your abyssmally bad choice to pierce the Holy Eucharist with a rusty nail. But I must tell you, you are not original. Our Lord's Holy Hands were pierced by nails before this at the hands of Roman soldiers, and He did it for you. So I fasted yesterday and offered reparation in front of the Blessed Sacrament for your eternal soul.
May Our Blessed Lord Jesus, truly present Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity in the Blessed Sacrament, forgive you for your blasphemy.
Read Mark Shea's entire article here.
HT Catholic Online
Prof. Meyers, I am deeply saddened by your abyssmally bad choice to pierce the Holy Eucharist with a rusty nail. But I must tell you, you are not original. Our Lord's Holy Hands were pierced by nails before this at the hands of Roman soldiers, and He did it for you. So I fasted yesterday and offered reparation in front of the Blessed Sacrament for your eternal soul.
May Our Blessed Lord Jesus, truly present Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity in the Blessed Sacrament, forgive you for your blasphemy.
Read Mark Shea's entire article here.
HT Catholic Online
The 40th Anniversary of Humae Vitae and a Warning from Fr. Corapi
The Catholic Church is in the process of celebrating the 40th anniversary of the prophetic and landmark encyclical of Pope Paul VI, Humanae Vitae, on human life. At the time the Holy Father promulgated the encyclical there was a general spirit of dissent in the air. This inspired document put the dissenters into yet a new orbit, even further from the center of Church teaching. Their lack of humility resulted in disobedience, ultimately resulting in moral death for them and countless others.What has resulted from the rejection of the principles contained in this great document is a catastrophe of unprecedented proportions. "Life begins at conception. Abortion begins at artificial contraception." Pope Paul VI prophetically predicted that if artificial contraception were to become generally acceptable in society, then abortion would inevitably become just another means of artificial contraception. Today, not only have what is approaching one billion children been murdered in the name of 'choice' worldwide, but a host of incredible evils have followed in the wake of the rejection of the Holy Father's teaching on life.Pope John Paul II called abortion murder in the clear and inspired language of his encyclical Evangelium vitae. If a single abortion is homicide"and it is"then the cumulative result of abortion on demand is genocide. Numbers of innocent and helpless children totaling more than the population of large countries have been annihilated. Can a society that elevates such an outrage to the noble status of law be pleasing to God? Or, will God's patience soon run out and visit an avalanche of natural disasters, wars, chaos, and economic collapse on the perpetrators of such violence and evil?I have no doubt whatever that the Western world is headed for collapse and annihilation, and it will be by suicide, not at the hand of terrorists or enemy states,although that may well facilitate the demise. As Abraham Lincoln asserted, "If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen, we must live through all time, or die by suicide."The Western world's wholesale rejection of the teaching of Humanae Vitae ushered in a death wish that is even now well on its way to completion. Pseudo-Christian Europe has had an extremely low birthrate for decades, while the burgeoning Muslim population is growing exponentially. With the average European family having less than 2 children and the average Muslim family having 8-10 children it won't be long until Europe as we know it will be no more. Muslims vote and they will vote to radically alter laws that facilitate gross immorality. God may use them to chastise a decadent West. I assure you they will not need bombs and bullets; mathematics will more than suffice.The unspiritual person cannot see reality as it is, hence they cannot discern the advancing disaster of our rejection of both common sense and proper morality. The spiritual person must pray fervently for the Spirit of God to discern reality as it is. (i.e., 1 Corinthians 2:12-16).
Things such as artificial contraception, abortion, homosexual sex, and euthanasia all have something in common.They have no life in them. They are part of a death wish that when brought to its inevitable conclusion will result in the annihilation of the West as we know it, if something isn't done to change course immediately.Every one of us, as disciples of Christ, must pray and sacrifice for the cause of life, and do so with earnest. The hour is late and time is now short. The battle between truth and lies, good and evil, life and death rages on toward its consummation. We know the ultimate outcome—truth, the good, and life is victorious in Christ the Conqueror. We, however, must fight the good fight. How we shall live forever is determined by how we live now. We are being called upon by the Spirit of God to be the saints of these times. How we respond to the call will dictate the rise and fall of nations, and the eternal salvation of many.
"Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go" (Joshua 1:9).
God bless you,
Fr. John Corapi
Things such as artificial contraception, abortion, homosexual sex, and euthanasia all have something in common.They have no life in them. They are part of a death wish that when brought to its inevitable conclusion will result in the annihilation of the West as we know it, if something isn't done to change course immediately.Every one of us, as disciples of Christ, must pray and sacrifice for the cause of life, and do so with earnest. The hour is late and time is now short. The battle between truth and lies, good and evil, life and death rages on toward its consummation. We know the ultimate outcome—truth, the good, and life is victorious in Christ the Conqueror. We, however, must fight the good fight. How we shall live forever is determined by how we live now. We are being called upon by the Spirit of God to be the saints of these times. How we respond to the call will dictate the rise and fall of nations, and the eternal salvation of many.
"Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go" (Joshua 1:9).
God bless you,
Fr. John Corapi
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Call today to protect freedom of conscience for health care workers
Planned Parenthood and wacky abortoholic politicians arefighting hard to FORCE pro-life pharmacists, doctors,nurses and other health care professionals to participate in theabortion business -- or quit their jobs.
Right now, the Bush administration via the Dept of HHS is considering issuing
regulations that would protect conscience rights in health care.
But we have to ACT NOW to urge the White House to take action.
*We have until 5 p.m. Eastern time tomorrow, Thursday, July 24, to
offer public comment on this issue. Please CALL NOW and expressyour support for conscience rights.*
There are *TWO numbers to call -* both the White House and theDepartment of Health and Human Services:
Health and Human Services: 202-205-5445
White House: 202-456-1414 and ask for the Comment Line
From PharmFacts email
Right now, the Bush administration via the Dept of HHS is considering issuing
regulations that would protect conscience rights in health care.
But we have to ACT NOW to urge the White House to take action.
*We have until 5 p.m. Eastern time tomorrow, Thursday, July 24, to
offer public comment on this issue. Please CALL NOW and expressyour support for conscience rights.*
There are *TWO numbers to call -* both the White House and theDepartment of Health and Human Services:
Health and Human Services: 202-205-5445
White House: 202-456-1414 and ask for the Comment Line
From PharmFacts email
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Pro-family super Star
Star Parker knows the welfare system is a trap, because she was there. She knows that abortion clinics focus on poor neighborhoods, because she was there too. She is the leader that the African American community and the rest of us need to bring true help to the poor."I was journeying through my life to find income to subsidize my welfare check, and that’s when I met some Christian men. They told me my life was unacceptable to God. It hit me hard that God thought about me and that the things I was doing were hurting Him. So I went to church with them; I dedicated my life to the Lord at that church.
I had been so exposed to the culture war and what had happened in public policy to help others destroy their lives the way I had. I made a commitment I was going to get engaged in that battle, and I’ve been there ever since."
Read the entire story here.
HT Citizen Link
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Webster Cook Impeached for stealing Eucharist
Sometimes, justice does prevail, and from college students!
"Let me begin by addressing an issue that's recently received a great deal of attention and cast a negative light on our efforts within the Student Government," Peterson said. "The situation involving Senator Cook and the Catholic Campus Ministry is an isolated event and one that has interfered with our true purpose."
Webster Cook, along with a friend, went to a Catholic Campus Ministry Mass on June 29. During the Mass, Cook had an altercation with various members of the organization after he pocketed a Eucharist, which is against Catholic tradition."
Good job, speaker Peterson! University of Minnesota, watch and learn how justice is done.
Read the entire story here.
HT CBS NEWS
"Let me begin by addressing an issue that's recently received a great deal of attention and cast a negative light on our efforts within the Student Government," Peterson said. "The situation involving Senator Cook and the Catholic Campus Ministry is an isolated event and one that has interfered with our true purpose."
Webster Cook, along with a friend, went to a Catholic Campus Ministry Mass on June 29. During the Mass, Cook had an altercation with various members of the organization after he pocketed a Eucharist, which is against Catholic tradition."
Good job, speaker Peterson! University of Minnesota, watch and learn how justice is done.
Read the entire story here.
HT CBS NEWS
Indecency wins; again!
from One Million Moms
The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday threw out the FCC's $550,000 indecency fine against CBS for the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show that ended with Janet Jackson's breast-baring "wardrobe malfunction."
CBS purposely "shopped around" in order to find a "friendly court" in which to file a law suit against the FCC. As a result, three liberal judges callously dismissed the fine, essentially giving networks court-approval to broadcast nud-ty on tax-payer funded airwaves anytime of the day or night.
This dangerous precedent now jeopardizes other FCC fines currently being appealed by the morally bankrupt NBC, CBS, ABC, and Fox networks. As a result of the ruling by three judges, networks have won the right to do what they've wanted for a long time - to be as nasty as they want to be.
TAKE ACTION
Senator John Rockefeller has introduced the "Protecting Children from Indecent Programming Act" (S. 1780) which will inherently stop abuse from activist judges and allow the FCC to fine stations for airing even a single word or image of indecency on television.
Ask your Senator to sponsor and vote in favor of S. 1780 today! Without this law, the FCC is very limited in its ability to hold network stations accountable for indecency.
Click Here to Email Your Senators Now!
Sincerely,
Donald E. Wildmon, ChairmanOneMillionMoms.com
The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday threw out the FCC's $550,000 indecency fine against CBS for the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show that ended with Janet Jackson's breast-baring "wardrobe malfunction."
CBS purposely "shopped around" in order to find a "friendly court" in which to file a law suit against the FCC. As a result, three liberal judges callously dismissed the fine, essentially giving networks court-approval to broadcast nud-ty on tax-payer funded airwaves anytime of the day or night.
This dangerous precedent now jeopardizes other FCC fines currently being appealed by the morally bankrupt NBC, CBS, ABC, and Fox networks. As a result of the ruling by three judges, networks have won the right to do what they've wanted for a long time - to be as nasty as they want to be.
TAKE ACTION
Senator John Rockefeller has introduced the "Protecting Children from Indecent Programming Act" (S. 1780) which will inherently stop abuse from activist judges and allow the FCC to fine stations for airing even a single word or image of indecency on television.
Ask your Senator to sponsor and vote in favor of S. 1780 today! Without this law, the FCC is very limited in its ability to hold network stations accountable for indecency.
Click Here to Email Your Senators Now!
Sincerely,
Donald E. Wildmon, ChairmanOneMillionMoms.com
Cardinal Rigali stands for conscience rights of health care workers
"Cardinal Justin Rigali has written a letter to all members of the U.S. Congress defending conscience protections for pro-life health care workers. According to the cardinal, due to a lack of executive action some institutions may be violating conscience protection laws “without even knowing it.”
Cardinal Rigali, who is Archbishop of Philadelphia and Chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee for Pro-Life Activities, wrote the July 18 letter in response to a New York Times article about a draft proposal requiring that any program run or funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) must certify that it will not refuse to hire nurses and other healthcare workers who object to abortion and abortifacient contraceptives."
Imagine a world without Catholic hospitals? If the pro-death camp gets it's way, Catholic and other health care professionals who follow their conscience and opt out of abortion, sterilization, and euthanasia, or pharmacists who won't fill prescriptions for abortifacients like the pill, RU486, or Plan B will be driven out of their jobs.
The only health care workers left in the field will be those whose conscience is sufficiently numbed to not cause them any discomfort when these horrific procedures are done. A terrifying thought as the US population ages!
President Bush also wants to protect the conscience rights of health care professionals.
"The Bush Administration has proposed new rules to guarantee that all recipients of federal aid under federal health programs will not discriminate against hiring doctors, nurses, and other health care professionals who have moral objections to abortion and abortifacient birth control according to a report by the New York Times.
The proposed regulations would require that hospitals, clinics, researchers, and medical schools sign "written certifications" before receiving federal funding under any program run by the US Department of Health and Human Services (HSS).
The rules would also apply to state and local governments, and forbid them from disqualifying hospitals and other institutions that refuse to perform abortions from receiving grant money. The Times reports that the HSS proposed the new requirement in order to make sure that federal money would not "support morally coercive or discriminatory practices or policies in violation of federal law."
You can expect an entirely different attitude towards healtcare worker's freedom of conscience if Barack Obama is elected president, with a Democrat Congress. The Freedom of Choice Act, whose passing he promised as his first act as president would roll back all restrictions on abortion on the state level, and you can be certain that any health care worker who disagrees will find themselves unemployed in our new National Health Care system.
HT Life Site News
Read the entire story here.
HT CNA
Cardinal Rigali, who is Archbishop of Philadelphia and Chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee for Pro-Life Activities, wrote the July 18 letter in response to a New York Times article about a draft proposal requiring that any program run or funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) must certify that it will not refuse to hire nurses and other healthcare workers who object to abortion and abortifacient contraceptives."
Imagine a world without Catholic hospitals? If the pro-death camp gets it's way, Catholic and other health care professionals who follow their conscience and opt out of abortion, sterilization, and euthanasia, or pharmacists who won't fill prescriptions for abortifacients like the pill, RU486, or Plan B will be driven out of their jobs.
The only health care workers left in the field will be those whose conscience is sufficiently numbed to not cause them any discomfort when these horrific procedures are done. A terrifying thought as the US population ages!
President Bush also wants to protect the conscience rights of health care professionals.
"The Bush Administration has proposed new rules to guarantee that all recipients of federal aid under federal health programs will not discriminate against hiring doctors, nurses, and other health care professionals who have moral objections to abortion and abortifacient birth control according to a report by the New York Times.
The proposed regulations would require that hospitals, clinics, researchers, and medical schools sign "written certifications" before receiving federal funding under any program run by the US Department of Health and Human Services (HSS).
The rules would also apply to state and local governments, and forbid them from disqualifying hospitals and other institutions that refuse to perform abortions from receiving grant money. The Times reports that the HSS proposed the new requirement in order to make sure that federal money would not "support morally coercive or discriminatory practices or policies in violation of federal law."
You can expect an entirely different attitude towards healtcare worker's freedom of conscience if Barack Obama is elected president, with a Democrat Congress. The Freedom of Choice Act, whose passing he promised as his first act as president would roll back all restrictions on abortion on the state level, and you can be certain that any health care worker who disagrees will find themselves unemployed in our new National Health Care system.
HT Life Site News
Read the entire story here.
HT CNA
PZ Meyers digs himself a deeper hole
MYERS TO DESECRATE EUCHARIST AND KORAN
On July 15, Catholic League president Bill Donohue called attention to the way Professor Paul Z. Myers of the University of Minnesota treats Catholicism and Islam: the biologist's pledge to desecrate the Eucharist contrasts starkly with the deference he has shown to Islam.
Now Myers says that "Thanks to all those who have demanded that I treat that silly book [the Koran] with disrespect, I'll have to treat both equally."
Just see who reacts with violence and who reacts with mercy praying and fasting. There may be a teachable moment in all this nonsense!
Donohue responded today:
"The latest threat by Myers only makes matters worse. Instead of treating Catholicism with the respect he has previously shown for Islam, he now pledges to disrespect Islam the way he pledges to disrespect Catholicism (once again!). This is his idea of equal treatment.
"Much has been written about the moral vacuity that marks the Darwinian vision of society that Myers embraces. He now has a grand opportunity to rebut those critics. Or sustain the perception. So which will it be, Professor Myers? I will let Ibrahim Hooper at the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) know of your latest bluster. And I sincerely implore you to drop both threats now."
Contact Myers at myersp@morris.umn.edu
Contact CAIR’s communications director at ihooper@cair.com
On July 15, Catholic League president Bill Donohue called attention to the way Professor Paul Z. Myers of the University of Minnesota treats Catholicism and Islam: the biologist's pledge to desecrate the Eucharist contrasts starkly with the deference he has shown to Islam.
Now Myers says that "Thanks to all those who have demanded that I treat that silly book [the Koran] with disrespect, I'll have to treat both equally."
Just see who reacts with violence and who reacts with mercy praying and fasting. There may be a teachable moment in all this nonsense!
Donohue responded today:
"The latest threat by Myers only makes matters worse. Instead of treating Catholicism with the respect he has previously shown for Islam, he now pledges to disrespect Islam the way he pledges to disrespect Catholicism (once again!). This is his idea of equal treatment.
"Much has been written about the moral vacuity that marks the Darwinian vision of society that Myers embraces. He now has a grand opportunity to rebut those critics. Or sustain the perception. So which will it be, Professor Myers? I will let Ibrahim Hooper at the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) know of your latest bluster. And I sincerely implore you to drop both threats now."
Contact Myers at myersp@morris.umn.edu
Contact CAIR’s communications director at ihooper@cair.com
The aftereffects of World Youth Day
The archbishop of Sydney added, "This World Youth Day has demonstrated that the great majority of Australians are quite open to what we have to say." "They might disagree with us," he acknowledged, "but they recognize us as being in the mainstream of Australian life; that religious considerations are important; people need meaning and purpose; and that overwhelmingly, people recognize the necessity of being open to the transcendent."
The prelate added, "In the past, we Catholics might have been too interested just in ourselves. Now we are saying very clearly we have something to offer to the rest of the Australian population."
The transformation of society into the Kingdom of Heaven is a daunting task which will not be accomplished in our lifetime, nevertheless, it is our calling, so let us begin. . . I was especially thrilled to see 400.000 Mass attendees observe a moment of silence after Holy Communion.
Read the entire story here.
HT Catholic Online/Zenit
The prelate added, "In the past, we Catholics might have been too interested just in ourselves. Now we are saying very clearly we have something to offer to the rest of the Australian population."
The transformation of society into the Kingdom of Heaven is a daunting task which will not be accomplished in our lifetime, nevertheless, it is our calling, so let us begin. . . I was especially thrilled to see 400.000 Mass attendees observe a moment of silence after Holy Communion.
Read the entire story here.
HT Catholic Online/Zenit
Monday, July 21, 2008
The greatest compliment I have received
Lately with my two articles in the National Catholic Register here and here, I have become the recipient of many compliments from friends, and strangers alike. I cherish these, and they inspire my writing. Yesterday, however, I received a compliment which means even more to me. A devout and holy priest who I spoke with after he offered the Traditional Mass discovered that I was the one who wrote Causa Nostrae Laetitiae, when we discussed that my name Leticia means "joy".He told me that he reads my blog to get the "latest news for Catholics", and asked me where I find the time. I told him I gave up most of my TV viewing.
I try to remain true to the Magesterium and keep my readers abreast of some important news items important to Catholics who want to transform this culture, so to hear that Father is able to read this blog without finding glaring errors, and possibly even learn something new from my sources, is the highest compliment I could ever receive.
If you are reading this, Father, please remember if I ever write anything which conflicts with Catholic teaching, I want you to let me know. May God bless your ministry, Father, I will pray for you.
I try to remain true to the Magesterium and keep my readers abreast of some important news items important to Catholics who want to transform this culture, so to hear that Father is able to read this blog without finding glaring errors, and possibly even learn something new from my sources, is the highest compliment I could ever receive.
If you are reading this, Father, please remember if I ever write anything which conflicts with Catholic teaching, I want you to let me know. May God bless your ministry, Father, I will pray for you.
The Holy Father's final homily in Sydney
The theme of World Youth Day is "You shall receive power" and the Holy Father describes how the gift of the Spirit affects change in our hearts.
"Through the grace of the Church's sacraments, that power also flows deep within us, like an underground river which nourishes our spirit and draws us ever nearer to the source of our true life, which is Christ. Saint Ignatius of Antioch, who died a martyr in Rome at the beginning of the second century, has left us a splendid description of the Spirit's power dwelling within us. He spoke of the Spirit as a fountain of living water springing up within his heart and whispering: "Come, come to the Father" (cf. Ad Rom., 6:1-9).
Yet this power, the grace of the Spirit, is not something we can merit or achieve, but only receive as pure gift. God's love can only unleash its power when it is allowed to change us from within. We have to let it break through the hard crust of our indifference, our spiritual weariness, our blind conformity to the spirit of this age. Only then can we let it ignite our imagination and shape our deepest desires. "
I love how Pope Benedict always uses traditional means to call us beyond the spiritual desert of modern society in a positive way, yet without missing the fact that this is a culture of death, which must be overcome.
May those of us who hear this homily allow the Holy Spirit transform our lives so that we become living reflections of God's mercy on earth.
Read the entire homily here.
HT Catholic.org
"Through the grace of the Church's sacraments, that power also flows deep within us, like an underground river which nourishes our spirit and draws us ever nearer to the source of our true life, which is Christ. Saint Ignatius of Antioch, who died a martyr in Rome at the beginning of the second century, has left us a splendid description of the Spirit's power dwelling within us. He spoke of the Spirit as a fountain of living water springing up within his heart and whispering: "Come, come to the Father" (cf. Ad Rom., 6:1-9).
Yet this power, the grace of the Spirit, is not something we can merit or achieve, but only receive as pure gift. God's love can only unleash its power when it is allowed to change us from within. We have to let it break through the hard crust of our indifference, our spiritual weariness, our blind conformity to the spirit of this age. Only then can we let it ignite our imagination and shape our deepest desires. "
I love how Pope Benedict always uses traditional means to call us beyond the spiritual desert of modern society in a positive way, yet without missing the fact that this is a culture of death, which must be overcome.
May those of us who hear this homily allow the Holy Spirit transform our lives so that we become living reflections of God's mercy on earth.
Read the entire homily here.
HT Catholic.org
World Youth Day 2011 will be in Madrid, Spain
I was thrilled to hear the Holy Father announce that the next World Youth Day will be held in Spain, for several reasons. First the selfish ones; I have never been to Spain, and have always wanted to go. I learned to speak Spanish 20 years ago, and my daughters will be 18, 14, and 9 in 2011, and speaking Spanish as well by then. I promised them that I would bring them with me as I report on the event.
Now the unselfish reason. Spain, the once solidly Catholic nation that has strayed so far from her faithful roots with same sex marriage, liberal abortion laws and self-destructive low birth rate needs help to return to her once vibrant Cahtolic faith. World Youth Day brings with it a revival of faith in the nations where it is held, and no one seems to need spiritual boost than Spain, the country that evangelized Latin America and gave us the Dominicans, the Jesuits, and doctors of the Church St Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross.
There are signs of spiritual revival in Spain, however. One sign of hope in Spain is the strength of such movements at Opus Dei, and St. Jose Maria Escriva. Students at at Opus Dei secondary school produced this video on why they pray the Holy Rosary.
Now the unselfish reason. Spain, the once solidly Catholic nation that has strayed so far from her faithful roots with same sex marriage, liberal abortion laws and self-destructive low birth rate needs help to return to her once vibrant Cahtolic faith. World Youth Day brings with it a revival of faith in the nations where it is held, and no one seems to need spiritual boost than Spain, the country that evangelized Latin America and gave us the Dominicans, the Jesuits, and doctors of the Church St Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross.
There are signs of spiritual revival in Spain, however. One sign of hope in Spain is the strength of such movements at Opus Dei, and St. Jose Maria Escriva. Students at at Opus Dei secondary school produced this video on why they pray the Holy Rosary.
Saturday, July 19, 2008
A Merciful Response to PZ Meyers' threats
From a newly ordained Dominican.
"In this short space of days I have seen hate and witness regarding the Eucharist; hate disseminated in the media and witness through the liturgical memory of the Church. The opportunity now is to witness to our own belief in the Eucharistic Lord. Several years ago I was teaching Church History at a Catholic high school. I gave a lecture on the martyrs to six classes of students. The vast majority of these students said they would deny Christ with fingers crossed. Most of them had no regard for the value of public witness and probably didn’t even know about the Love Christ has for them. "
HT Godspy
"In this short space of days I have seen hate and witness regarding the Eucharist; hate disseminated in the media and witness through the liturgical memory of the Church. The opportunity now is to witness to our own belief in the Eucharistic Lord. Several years ago I was teaching Church History at a Catholic high school. I gave a lecture on the martyrs to six classes of students. The vast majority of these students said they would deny Christ with fingers crossed. Most of them had no regard for the value of public witness and probably didn’t even know about the Love Christ has for them. "
HT Godspy
Fr Loya interviews blasphemous Professor Meyers
Click here and scroll down to listen to Fr. Loya's interview with University of Minnesota Professor Paul Zachary Meyers who has obtained several consecrated hosts with the intention of desecrating them in public on his blog.
HT Catholic Radio International.
HT Catholic Radio International.
Obama's Narcissism
Comentator Charles Krauthammer asks the question, "Who does Obama think he is?" in this biting column which pinpoints the incredible ego of Barack Obama. Only he would have the nerve to address Europe with the backdrop of the Brandenburg Gate without having earned it. Unbelieveable. "Americans are beginning to notice Obama’s elevated opinion of himself. There’s nothing new about narcissism in politics. Every senator looks in the mirror and sees a president. Nonetheless, has there ever been a presidential nominee with a wider gap between his estimation of himself and the sum total of his lifetime achievements?
Obama is a three-year senator without a single important legislative achievement to his name, a former Illinois state senator who voted “present” nearly 130 times. As president of the Harvard Law Review, as law professor and as legislator, has he ever produced a single notable piece of scholarship? Written a single memorable article? His most memorable work is a biography of his favorite subject: himself."
Read the entire article here.
HT Barbara Kralis
Anniversary of Humanae Vitae gains momentum
From natural family planning initiatives to sexual abstinence programs for teenagers, parishes and dioceses are increasingly adopting Pope Paul's vision for a world built on fidelity in marriage and the love shared by husband and wife as the cornerstone of a stable world.While the 7,000-word encyclical -- which upholds the church's long-standing prohibition on artificial contraception -- is rarely addressed from the pulpit, ministries that seek to head off teen sex, cohabitation, high rates of divorce and single parenthood are sprouting in the hope of delivering a positive message on human sexuality."There is an army of people out there right now who are desirous of getting this message out," said Janet Smith, professor of moral theology at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in the Detroit Archdiocese."
We'll be celebrating the anniversary of this landmark encyclical here.
Read the entire story here.
HT CNS
We'll be celebrating the anniversary of this landmark encyclical here.
Read the entire story here.
HT CNS
Is Pope Benedict fulfilling the famous dream of Don Bosco?
"Breaking through all resistance, the new Pope steers his ship safely between the two columns; first, to the one surmounted by the Host, and then the other, topped by the statue of the Virgin. At this point, something unexpected happens. The enemy ships panic and disperse, colliding with and scuttling each other."Some auxiliary ships, which had gallantly fought alongside their flagship, are the first to tie up at the two columns. Many others, which had fearfully kept far away from the fight, stand still, cautiously waiting until the wrecked enemy ships vanish under the waves. Then they too head for the two columns, tie up at the swinging hooks and ride safe and tranquil beside their flagship. A great calm now covers the sea."
Read the entire post here.
HT Spirit Daily
Read the entire post here.
HT Spirit Daily
Friday, July 18, 2008
Mexicans to UN Stop Murdering our Children!
Latin American countries are under increasing presssure by the pro-abortion forces which rule the United Nations. Some nations, like Mexico are saying "NO!" "
"The United Nations Organization (UNO) is partially responsible for promoting abortion through emergency contraception, through mechanical and chemical means, curettage, endouterine manual aspiration, and chemical poisoning in the maternity hospitals of Mexico City, and through the training of Mexico City policemen by the United Nations Population Fund," they write.
"Tragically, these actions have caused the deaths of 10,340 Mexican human beings and day after day up to 40 are murdered by these means."
We have lost 50 million babies in the USA since legalized abortion; where's our outrage?
The letter concludes by demanding "a halt to the genocide, a halt to the foreign intervention in our country with criminal purposes, which results in the extermination of Mexican babies."
Read the entire story here.
HT Life Site News
"The United Nations Organization (UNO) is partially responsible for promoting abortion through emergency contraception, through mechanical and chemical means, curettage, endouterine manual aspiration, and chemical poisoning in the maternity hospitals of Mexico City, and through the training of Mexico City policemen by the United Nations Population Fund," they write.
"Tragically, these actions have caused the deaths of 10,340 Mexican human beings and day after day up to 40 are murdered by these means."
We have lost 50 million babies in the USA since legalized abortion; where's our outrage?
The letter concludes by demanding "a halt to the genocide, a halt to the foreign intervention in our country with criminal purposes, which results in the extermination of Mexican babies."
Read the entire story here.
HT Life Site News
John and Cindy McCain are my choice for First Couple
Read why this veteran pro-life professor from Notre Dame thinks that John McCain is the most pro-life Presidential Candidate; actions speak louder than words.
This just goes to show that some college professors understand life issues and how they are supported by presidential candidates.
Read the entire story here.
This just goes to show that some college professors understand life issues and how they are supported by presidential candidates.
Read the entire story here.
Democrats and the life issue; a no brainer for Catholics
Feministst for Life has a chapter in New York State, and here is an example of their activism in a local meeting with Craig Johnson (D) guest post by Florence.
Camille Gagliano raised her hand and was recognized. She spoke against RHAPP. The woman next to her raised other points in regard to RHAPP. I raised my hand and introduced myself as the LI liaison for FCLNY and the former secretary of the NY chapter of Dems4Life and spoke about how bad this bill was for women. Senator Johnson listened and then curtly responded, "I am pro-choice" (end of discussion). While he had spoken for a long time on the other issues, his only response to all the points we raised, was "I am pro-choice". Another gentleman raised his hand and spoke about the partial birth abortion provision in RHAPP and said that it amounted to infanticide. A little later Camille again raised her hand and was recognized. At this point Camille said that he had spoken in great detail about his rationale for his other positions but when we spoke against RHAPP, his only answer was a slogan "I am pro-choice".
He then said he respected our opinions but we weren't going to change his mind. HE IS THE SPONSOR OF RHAPP. He was Spitzer's handpicked successor to Balboni. What can we expect? To illustrate that point, let me tell you about the next question he was asked. Finally the man next to Camille got up and asked, "If it can be demonstrated that the majority of your district is against RHAPP, will you change your position?" His answer you was a flat out NO.
May I suggest that you encourage all our members (sure do wish we had an email list), not just Johnson's consistuents, to start a letter writing campaign to his local office (we are advised that letters to his Albany office won't be seen or paid attention to for months) and express our reasons for opposing this bill.
His address is:
District Office:151 Herricks Road, Suite 202
Garden City Park, NY 11040
P: (516) 746-5923F: (516) 746-5926
I might add that while Senator Johnson was unreceptive to our arguments, the majority of those in the audience were. After some of our comments, people in the audience applauded. Camille's final comment about being dismissed with a slogan was met with thunderous applause. Well, there is nothing like the power of the voting booth.
Florence
NOW contrast Craig Johnson's knee-jerk support of the most radical pro-abortion legislation ever to hit New York, the abortion capital of the world, to the ignorance of Catholic teaching shown by this letter to Catholic Exchange.
To CE Editors:
I am a long-time Catholic, and it saddens me to see Catholic organizations embracing a party that stands for everything traditional Catholics do not, such as bigotry, oppression of the poor and disabled, a war on human rights, deregulatory policies that have turned this country into a sleazy x-rated sideshow carnival on our airwaves, a disregard for public food and drug safety, disregard for the environment for the sake of industry campaign contributors, all for only one issue: abortion. The Democratic Party has always been a party more aligned with the values of traditional Catholics, so why are Catholic organizations encouraging others to embrace a party that has brought the world nothing but misery?
Name withheld at editor’s discretion.
READ ON to see Editor Mary Kochan's well informed reply and many comments. This letter writer should have been at the above meeting with Craig Johnson. He has no problem making abortion a single issue.
As Fr Pavone says, "IF he were running for president, would you ask Osama Bin Laden what his tax policy is?"
Fr Corapi has recently expressed his opinion rather powerfully on this issue:
The exclamation point at the end of the death wish is that now there is yet another candidate for the office of president of the United States who has in an extraordinary waydone everything possible to breathe life into all of the barbaric elements of the deathwish. He and his party make no apologies for their support of abortion, partial-birthabortion, and even infanticide. It’s hard to believe that we have degenerated to the pointthat we’ll murder a helpless baby should it escape the violence of an abortion and be born alive. Can a Catholic vote for such persons? We are told, “yes” for a “proportionate reason.” What, I might ask, is the proportionate reason so weighty as to excuse supporting those responsible for what is tantamount to genocide?
The judges and politicians that support such barbaric practices are truly guilty ofgenocide: genocide—the deliberate and systematic destruction of an ethnic, racial,religious, national, or social group. “What is the group so targeted?” you might ask. The group is unwanted, unborn children--tens of millions of them.The Supreme Court justices that gave us Roe v. Wade will have to plead temporary insanity in the court of history. There will be no defense in the highest Court that is thejudgment seat of almighty God if they do not repent of the incalculable evil they have wrought.
Yet, despite the life and death importance of this travesty of authentic law, there will be no serious discussion among political candidates, or anyone else. It is as if society has been bewitched, blind to the splendor of truth, deaf to the cries of the most innocent, most vulnerable, and most utterly helpless.
Read more from Fr Corapi here.
Camille Gagliano raised her hand and was recognized. She spoke against RHAPP. The woman next to her raised other points in regard to RHAPP. I raised my hand and introduced myself as the LI liaison for FCLNY and the former secretary of the NY chapter of Dems4Life and spoke about how bad this bill was for women. Senator Johnson listened and then curtly responded, "I am pro-choice" (end of discussion). While he had spoken for a long time on the other issues, his only response to all the points we raised, was "I am pro-choice". Another gentleman raised his hand and spoke about the partial birth abortion provision in RHAPP and said that it amounted to infanticide. A little later Camille again raised her hand and was recognized. At this point Camille said that he had spoken in great detail about his rationale for his other positions but when we spoke against RHAPP, his only answer was a slogan "I am pro-choice".
He then said he respected our opinions but we weren't going to change his mind. HE IS THE SPONSOR OF RHAPP. He was Spitzer's handpicked successor to Balboni. What can we expect? To illustrate that point, let me tell you about the next question he was asked. Finally the man next to Camille got up and asked, "If it can be demonstrated that the majority of your district is against RHAPP, will you change your position?" His answer you was a flat out NO.
May I suggest that you encourage all our members (sure do wish we had an email list), not just Johnson's consistuents, to start a letter writing campaign to his local office (we are advised that letters to his Albany office won't be seen or paid attention to for months) and express our reasons for opposing this bill.
His address is:
District Office:151 Herricks Road, Suite 202
Garden City Park, NY 11040
P: (516) 746-5923F: (516) 746-5926
I might add that while Senator Johnson was unreceptive to our arguments, the majority of those in the audience were. After some of our comments, people in the audience applauded. Camille's final comment about being dismissed with a slogan was met with thunderous applause. Well, there is nothing like the power of the voting booth.
Florence
NOW contrast Craig Johnson's knee-jerk support of the most radical pro-abortion legislation ever to hit New York, the abortion capital of the world, to the ignorance of Catholic teaching shown by this letter to Catholic Exchange.
To CE Editors:
I am a long-time Catholic, and it saddens me to see Catholic organizations embracing a party that stands for everything traditional Catholics do not, such as bigotry, oppression of the poor and disabled, a war on human rights, deregulatory policies that have turned this country into a sleazy x-rated sideshow carnival on our airwaves, a disregard for public food and drug safety, disregard for the environment for the sake of industry campaign contributors, all for only one issue: abortion. The Democratic Party has always been a party more aligned with the values of traditional Catholics, so why are Catholic organizations encouraging others to embrace a party that has brought the world nothing but misery?
Name withheld at editor’s discretion.
READ ON to see Editor Mary Kochan's well informed reply and many comments. This letter writer should have been at the above meeting with Craig Johnson. He has no problem making abortion a single issue.
As Fr Pavone says, "IF he were running for president, would you ask Osama Bin Laden what his tax policy is?"
Fr Corapi has recently expressed his opinion rather powerfully on this issue:
The exclamation point at the end of the death wish is that now there is yet another candidate for the office of president of the United States who has in an extraordinary waydone everything possible to breathe life into all of the barbaric elements of the deathwish. He and his party make no apologies for their support of abortion, partial-birthabortion, and even infanticide. It’s hard to believe that we have degenerated to the pointthat we’ll murder a helpless baby should it escape the violence of an abortion and be born alive. Can a Catholic vote for such persons? We are told, “yes” for a “proportionate reason.” What, I might ask, is the proportionate reason so weighty as to excuse supporting those responsible for what is tantamount to genocide?
The judges and politicians that support such barbaric practices are truly guilty ofgenocide: genocide—the deliberate and systematic destruction of an ethnic, racial,religious, national, or social group. “What is the group so targeted?” you might ask. The group is unwanted, unborn children--tens of millions of them.The Supreme Court justices that gave us Roe v. Wade will have to plead temporary insanity in the court of history. There will be no defense in the highest Court that is thejudgment seat of almighty God if they do not repent of the incalculable evil they have wrought.
Yet, despite the life and death importance of this travesty of authentic law, there will be no serious discussion among political candidates, or anyone else. It is as if society has been bewitched, blind to the splendor of truth, deaf to the cries of the most innocent, most vulnerable, and most utterly helpless.
Read more from Fr Corapi here.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Planned Parenthood in hysterics as birth control pill's abortifacient properties are revealed
The truth they've been covering up for decades is becoming known. The Pill kills implanted embryos, as one of the three ways it prevents pregnancy.
The truth hurts, and it even kills.
"Planned Parenthood and its abortion allies are apoplectic over a new Bush Administration memo that defines abortifacient contraception as abortion and proposes regulations that would prevent individuals and entities receiving federal money from discriminating against pro-life health care providers.
The New York Times reported that the proposed regulations by the US Department of Health and Human Services (HSS) would make sure federal money would not go to "support morally coercive or discriminatory practices or policies in violation of federal law."
The new rules would require hospitals, clinics, researchers, medical schools, and even state and local governments who receive funding under federal health care programs to guarantee they will not discriminate against hiring doctors, nurses, and other health care professionals who have moral objections to abortion and abortifacient birth control. "(http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/jul/08071508.html)
Read the entire story here.
HT Life Site News
The truth hurts, and it even kills.
"Planned Parenthood and its abortion allies are apoplectic over a new Bush Administration memo that defines abortifacient contraception as abortion and proposes regulations that would prevent individuals and entities receiving federal money from discriminating against pro-life health care providers.
The New York Times reported that the proposed regulations by the US Department of Health and Human Services (HSS) would make sure federal money would not go to "support morally coercive or discriminatory practices or policies in violation of federal law."
The new rules would require hospitals, clinics, researchers, medical schools, and even state and local governments who receive funding under federal health care programs to guarantee they will not discriminate against hiring doctors, nurses, and other health care professionals who have moral objections to abortion and abortifacient birth control. "(http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/jul/08071508.html)
Read the entire story here.
HT Life Site News
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
The economic news frightened a lot of people today
Especially me, and I at last remembered after a few hours tossing and turning in my bed, to seek out Mother Angelica's favorite novena for financial need: Our Lady of Good Remedy. Our Lady holds a money bag. Mother Angelica said that Our Lady of Good Remedy saved EWTN from financial ruin countless times, and Mother Teresa always trusted completely in Divine Providence, saying, "don't worry, God has all the money".
Let's offer this novena together for our nation, and besides rescuing us from financial disaster, Our Lady might convert a few of us back to the faith of our childhood.
O QUEEN OF HEAVEN AND EARTH,
Most Holy Virgin, we venerate thee.
Thou art the beloved Daughter of the Most High God,
the chosen Mother of the Incarnate Word,
the Immaculate Spouse of the Holy Spirit,
the Sacred Vessel of the Most Holy Trinity.
O Mother of the Divine Redeemer,
who under the title of Our Lady of Good Remedy
comes to the aid of all who call upon thee,
extend thy maternal protection to us.
We depend on thee, Dear Mother,
as helpless and needy children depend on a tender and caring mother.
Hail, Mary....
O LADY OF GOOD REMEDY, source of unfailing help,
grant that we may draw from thy treasury of graces in our time of need.
Touch the hearts of sinners,
that they may seek reconciliation and forgiveness.
Bring comfort to the afflicted and the lonely;
help the poor and the hopeless;
aid the sick and the suffering.
May they be healed in body and strengthened in spirit to endure their sufferings with patient resignation and Christian fortitude.
Hail, Mary....
DEAR LADY OF GOOD REMEDY, source of unfailing help,
thy compassionate heart knows a remedy for every affliction
and misery we encounter in life.
Help me with thy prayers and intercession to find a remedy for my problems and needs, especially for... (Indicate your special intentions here).
On my part, O loving Mother,
I pledge myself to a more intensely Christian lifestyle,
to a more careful observance of the laws of God,
to be more conscientious in fulfilling the obligations of my state in life,
and to strive to be a source of healing in this broken world of ours.
Dear Lady of Good Remedy, be ever present to me,
and through thy intercession, may I enjoy health of body and peace of mind,
and grow stronger in the faith
and in the love of thy Son, Jesus.
Hail, Mary.....
V. Pray for us, O Holy Mother of Good Remedy,
R. That we may deepen our dedication to thy Son, and make the world alive with His Spirit.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Barnes and Noble selling pornography openly
from the American Family AssociationIn Collierville, Tennessee, recently, an 11 year-old boy named Landon was walking through the Barnes & Noble bookstore when he noticed a book lying open on one of the reading area tables. His dad, Brannon, was right behind him. What Landon saw were graphic pictures of two men engaged in s--. The book was titled "Ultimate Gay S--," and is one of the many sexually explicit books offered in Barnes & Noble stores.
Mr. Howse was obviously stunned and upset at what his young son had just been exposed to just walking through a general bookstore. When Mr. Howse complained to the store management that this kind of material should not be on the bookshelves anywhere in the store, especially a store children frequent, he was met with indifference.
When he complained to law enforcement that Barnes & Noble was in violation of the Tennessee "harmful to minors" statute he was given the run around.
Since this story broke, AFA has learned that this is a serious problem in Barnes & Noble stores across the country. Many parents have written to say they have had the same type of heart wrenching experiences with their children as Barnes & Noble does not place the homosexual pornography behind the counter or even in a restricted area not open to minors.
Anyone can go in and find it on the shelf. I wanted to warn parents and grandparents about this danger because this is the largest bookstore chain in America and other bookstores have similarly have no responsible policy when it comes to placing these kinds of books in theirs stores.
Please help us send a message to Barnes & Noble Chairman Mr. Leonard Riggio. He needs to demonstrate corporate responsibility and either remove this material from Barnes & Noble stores altogether or, at the very least, place it behind the counter or in a restricted area where minors can't access it.
Corporate Offices phone number: 212-633-3300
Blasphemous Professor Myers has a host to desecrate
from the Catholic League
MYERS STILL WANTS TO ABUSE EUCHARIST;
SHOWS DEFERENCE TO ISLAM
Catholic League president Bill Donohue commented on the latest developments to surface regarding the pledge made by Paul Z. Myers, a professor at the University of Minnesota, to desecrate the Eucharist:
"Myers was quoted yesterday saying, 'I have to do something. I'm not going to just let this disappear." [Last Friday it was reported that he had acquired a Host.] He continued,'Something will be done. It won't be gross. It won't be totally tasteless, but yeah, Ill do something that shows this cracker has no power.'
'The biology professor made it clear that he would never disrespect Islam the way he does Catholicism. When asked about those who abuse the Koran, for example, he said such an act was analogous to desecrating a graveyard. 'That's completely different,' he said. ' don't favor [that idea].' But when it comes to the Body of Christ, he opines, 'The cracker is completely different.'
"This isn't the first time Myers has shown deference to Islam. For instance, two years ago he was critical of the Danish cartoons that simply depicted an image of Muhammad. 'They [the cartoons] lack artistic or social or even comedic merit, and are presented as an insult to inflame a poor minority.' So now the Planet-of-the-Apes biologist has divined himself an expert on the artistic value of cartoons. So thoughtful of him. He even went so far as to say that Muslims 'have cause to be furious.' (His italic.) Worthy of burning down churches, pledging to behead Christians and shooting a nun in the back, Professor Myers?
"We hope Myers does the right thing and just moves on without further disgracing himself and his university. The letter I received from University of Minnesota President Robert H. Bruininks makes it clear that school officials want nothing to do with his hate-filled remarks. It would also be nice if Myers' fans would cease and desist with their hate-filled screeds."
Contact Professor Paul Z. Myers at myersp@morris.umn.edu
MYERS STILL WANTS TO ABUSE EUCHARIST;
SHOWS DEFERENCE TO ISLAM
Catholic League president Bill Donohue commented on the latest developments to surface regarding the pledge made by Paul Z. Myers, a professor at the University of Minnesota, to desecrate the Eucharist:
"Myers was quoted yesterday saying, 'I have to do something. I'm not going to just let this disappear." [Last Friday it was reported that he had acquired a Host.] He continued,'Something will be done. It won't be gross. It won't be totally tasteless, but yeah, Ill do something that shows this cracker has no power.'
'The biology professor made it clear that he would never disrespect Islam the way he does Catholicism. When asked about those who abuse the Koran, for example, he said such an act was analogous to desecrating a graveyard. 'That's completely different,' he said. ' don't favor [that idea].' But when it comes to the Body of Christ, he opines, 'The cracker is completely different.'
"This isn't the first time Myers has shown deference to Islam. For instance, two years ago he was critical of the Danish cartoons that simply depicted an image of Muhammad. 'They [the cartoons] lack artistic or social or even comedic merit, and are presented as an insult to inflame a poor minority.' So now the Planet-of-the-Apes biologist has divined himself an expert on the artistic value of cartoons. So thoughtful of him. He even went so far as to say that Muslims 'have cause to be furious.' (His italic.) Worthy of burning down churches, pledging to behead Christians and shooting a nun in the back, Professor Myers?
"We hope Myers does the right thing and just moves on without further disgracing himself and his university. The letter I received from University of Minnesota President Robert H. Bruininks makes it clear that school officials want nothing to do with his hate-filled remarks. It would also be nice if Myers' fans would cease and desist with their hate-filled screeds."
Contact Professor Paul Z. Myers at myersp@morris.umn.edu
Meditations on Life and Death from Tony Snow
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
'Blessings arrive in unexpected packages, - in my case, cancer. Those of us with potentially fatal diseases - and there are millions in America today - find ourselves in the odd position of coping with our mortality while trying to fathom God's will. Although it would be the height of presumption to declare with confidence 'What It All Means,' Scripture provides powerful hints and consolations.
The first is that we shouldn't spend too much time trying to answer the 'why' questions: Why me? Why must people suffer? Why can't someone else get sick? We can't answer such things, and the questions themselves often are designed more to express our anguish than to solicit an answer.
I don't know why I have cancer, and I don't much care. It is what it is, a plain and indisputable fact. Yet even while staring into a mirror darkly, great and stunning truths begin to take shape. Our maladies define a central feature of our existence: We are fallen. We are imperfect. Our bodies give out.
But despite this, - or because of it, - God offers the possibility of salvation and grace. We don't know how the narrative of our lives will end, but we get to choose how to use the interval between now and the moment we meet our Creator face-to-face.
Second, we need to get past the anxiety. The mere thought of dying can send adrenaline flooding through your system. A dizzy, unfocused panic seizes you. Your heart thumps; your head swims. You think of nothingness and swoon. You fear partings; you worry about the impact on family and friends. You fidget and get nowhere.
To regain footing, remember that we were born not into death, but into life,- and that the journey continues after we have finished our days on this earth. We accept this on faith, but that faith is nourished by a conviction that stirs even within many non believing hearts - an intuition that the gift of life, once given, cannot be taken away. Those who have been stricken enjoy the special privilege of being able to fight with their might, main, and faith to live fully, richly, exuberantly - no matter how their days may be numbered.
Third, we can open our eyes and hearts. God relishes surprise. We want lives of simple, predictable ease, smooth, even trails as far as the eye can see, - but God likes to go off-road. He provokes us with twists and turns. He places us in predicaments that seem to defy our endurance; and comprehension - and yet don't. By His love and grace, we persevere. The challenges that make our hearts leap and stomachs churn invariably strengthen our faith and grant measures of wisdom and joy we would not experience otherwise.
'You Have Been Called'. Picture yourself in a hospital bed. The fog of anesthesia has begun to wear away. A doctor stands at your feet, a loved one holds your hand at the side. 'It's cancer,' the healer announces.
The natural reaction is to turn to God and ask him to serve as a cosmic Santa. 'Dear God, make it all go away. Make everything simpler.' But another voice whispers: 'You have been called.' Your quandary has drawn you closer to God, closer to those you love, closer to the issues that matter,- and has dragged into insignificance the banal concerns that occupy our 'normal time.'
There's another kind of response, although usually short-lived an inexplicable shudder of excitement, as if a clarifying moment of calamity has swept away everything trivial and tiny, and placed before us the challenge of important questions.
The moment you enter the Valley of the Shadow of Death, things change. You discover that Christianity is not something doughy, passive, pious, and soft. Faith may be the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. But it also draws you into a world shorn of fearful caution. The life of belief teems with thrills, boldness, danger, shocks, reversals, triumphs, and epiphanies. Think of Paul, traipsing through the known world and contemplating trips to what must have seemed the antipodes (Spain), shaking the dust from his sandals, worrying not about the morrow, but only about the moment.
There's nothing wilder than a life of humble virtue, - for it is through selflessness and service that God wrings from our bodies and spirits the most we ever could give, the most we ever could offer, and the most we ever could do.
Finally, we can let love change everything. When Jesus was faced with the prospect of crucifixion, he grieved not for himself, but for us. He cried for Jerusalem before entering the holy city. From the Cross, he took on the cumulative burden of human sin and weakness, and begged for forgiveness on our behalf.
We get repeated chances to learn that life is not about us, that we acquire purpose and satisfaction by sharing in God's love for others. Sickness gets us part way there. It reminds us of our limitations and dependence. But it also gives us a chance to serve the healthy. A minister friend of mine observes that people suffering grave afflictions often acquire the faith of two people, while loved ones accept the burden of two peoples' worries and fears.
'Learning How to Live'. Most of us have watched friends as they drifted toward God's arms, not with resignation, but with peace and hope. In so doing, they have taught us not how to die, but how to live. They have emulated Christ by transmitting the power and authority of love.
I sat by my best friend's bedside a few years ago as a wasting cancer took him away. He kept at his table a worn Bible and a 1928 edition of the Book of Common Prayer. A shattering grief disabled his family, many of his old friends, and at least one priest. Here was an humble and very good guy, someone who apologized when he winced with pain because he thought it made his guest uncomfortable. He retained his equanimity and good humor literally until his last conscious moment. 'I'm going to try to beat [this cancer],' he told me several months before he died. 'But if I don't, I'll see you on the other side.'
His gift was to remind everyone around him that even though God doesn't promise us tomorrow, he does promise us eternity, - filled with life and love we cannot comprehend, - and that one can in the throes of sickness point the rest of us toward timeless truths that will help us weather future storms.
Through such trials, God bids us to choose: Do we believe, or do we not? Will we be bold enough to love, daring enough to serve, humble enough to submit, and strong enough to acknowledge our limitations? Can we surrender our concern in things that don't matter so that we might devote our remaining days to things that do?
When our faith flags, he throws reminders in our way. Think of the prayer warriors in our midst. They change things, and those of us who have been on the receiving end of their petitions and intercessions know it. It is hard to describe, but there are times when suddenly the hairs on the back of your neck stand up, and you feel a surge of the Spirit. Somehow you just know: Others have chosen, when talking to the Author of all creation, to lift us up, - to speak of us!
This is love of a very special order. But so is the ability to sit back and appreciate the wonder of every created thing. The mere thought of death somehow makes every blessing vivid, every happiness more luminous and intense. We may not know how our contest with sickness will end, but we have felt the ineluctable touch of God.
What is man that Thou art mindful of him? We don't know much, but we know this: No matter where we are, no matter what we do, no matter how bleak or frightening our prospects, each and every one of us who believe, each and every day, lies in the same safe and impregnable place, in the hollow of God's hand.'
T. Snow
'Blessings arrive in unexpected packages, - in my case, cancer. Those of us with potentially fatal diseases - and there are millions in America today - find ourselves in the odd position of coping with our mortality while trying to fathom God's will. Although it would be the height of presumption to declare with confidence 'What It All Means,' Scripture provides powerful hints and consolations.
The first is that we shouldn't spend too much time trying to answer the 'why' questions: Why me? Why must people suffer? Why can't someone else get sick? We can't answer such things, and the questions themselves often are designed more to express our anguish than to solicit an answer.
I don't know why I have cancer, and I don't much care. It is what it is, a plain and indisputable fact. Yet even while staring into a mirror darkly, great and stunning truths begin to take shape. Our maladies define a central feature of our existence: We are fallen. We are imperfect. Our bodies give out.
But despite this, - or because of it, - God offers the possibility of salvation and grace. We don't know how the narrative of our lives will end, but we get to choose how to use the interval between now and the moment we meet our Creator face-to-face.
Second, we need to get past the anxiety. The mere thought of dying can send adrenaline flooding through your system. A dizzy, unfocused panic seizes you. Your heart thumps; your head swims. You think of nothingness and swoon. You fear partings; you worry about the impact on family and friends. You fidget and get nowhere.
To regain footing, remember that we were born not into death, but into life,- and that the journey continues after we have finished our days on this earth. We accept this on faith, but that faith is nourished by a conviction that stirs even within many non believing hearts - an intuition that the gift of life, once given, cannot be taken away. Those who have been stricken enjoy the special privilege of being able to fight with their might, main, and faith to live fully, richly, exuberantly - no matter how their days may be numbered.
Third, we can open our eyes and hearts. God relishes surprise. We want lives of simple, predictable ease, smooth, even trails as far as the eye can see, - but God likes to go off-road. He provokes us with twists and turns. He places us in predicaments that seem to defy our endurance; and comprehension - and yet don't. By His love and grace, we persevere. The challenges that make our hearts leap and stomachs churn invariably strengthen our faith and grant measures of wisdom and joy we would not experience otherwise.
'You Have Been Called'. Picture yourself in a hospital bed. The fog of anesthesia has begun to wear away. A doctor stands at your feet, a loved one holds your hand at the side. 'It's cancer,' the healer announces.
The natural reaction is to turn to God and ask him to serve as a cosmic Santa. 'Dear God, make it all go away. Make everything simpler.' But another voice whispers: 'You have been called.' Your quandary has drawn you closer to God, closer to those you love, closer to the issues that matter,- and has dragged into insignificance the banal concerns that occupy our 'normal time.'
There's another kind of response, although usually short-lived an inexplicable shudder of excitement, as if a clarifying moment of calamity has swept away everything trivial and tiny, and placed before us the challenge of important questions.
The moment you enter the Valley of the Shadow of Death, things change. You discover that Christianity is not something doughy, passive, pious, and soft. Faith may be the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. But it also draws you into a world shorn of fearful caution. The life of belief teems with thrills, boldness, danger, shocks, reversals, triumphs, and epiphanies. Think of Paul, traipsing through the known world and contemplating trips to what must have seemed the antipodes (Spain), shaking the dust from his sandals, worrying not about the morrow, but only about the moment.
There's nothing wilder than a life of humble virtue, - for it is through selflessness and service that God wrings from our bodies and spirits the most we ever could give, the most we ever could offer, and the most we ever could do.
Finally, we can let love change everything. When Jesus was faced with the prospect of crucifixion, he grieved not for himself, but for us. He cried for Jerusalem before entering the holy city. From the Cross, he took on the cumulative burden of human sin and weakness, and begged for forgiveness on our behalf.
We get repeated chances to learn that life is not about us, that we acquire purpose and satisfaction by sharing in God's love for others. Sickness gets us part way there. It reminds us of our limitations and dependence. But it also gives us a chance to serve the healthy. A minister friend of mine observes that people suffering grave afflictions often acquire the faith of two people, while loved ones accept the burden of two peoples' worries and fears.
'Learning How to Live'. Most of us have watched friends as they drifted toward God's arms, not with resignation, but with peace and hope. In so doing, they have taught us not how to die, but how to live. They have emulated Christ by transmitting the power and authority of love.
I sat by my best friend's bedside a few years ago as a wasting cancer took him away. He kept at his table a worn Bible and a 1928 edition of the Book of Common Prayer. A shattering grief disabled his family, many of his old friends, and at least one priest. Here was an humble and very good guy, someone who apologized when he winced with pain because he thought it made his guest uncomfortable. He retained his equanimity and good humor literally until his last conscious moment. 'I'm going to try to beat [this cancer],' he told me several months before he died. 'But if I don't, I'll see you on the other side.'
His gift was to remind everyone around him that even though God doesn't promise us tomorrow, he does promise us eternity, - filled with life and love we cannot comprehend, - and that one can in the throes of sickness point the rest of us toward timeless truths that will help us weather future storms.
Through such trials, God bids us to choose: Do we believe, or do we not? Will we be bold enough to love, daring enough to serve, humble enough to submit, and strong enough to acknowledge our limitations? Can we surrender our concern in things that don't matter so that we might devote our remaining days to things that do?
When our faith flags, he throws reminders in our way. Think of the prayer warriors in our midst. They change things, and those of us who have been on the receiving end of their petitions and intercessions know it. It is hard to describe, but there are times when suddenly the hairs on the back of your neck stand up, and you feel a surge of the Spirit. Somehow you just know: Others have chosen, when talking to the Author of all creation, to lift us up, - to speak of us!
This is love of a very special order. But so is the ability to sit back and appreciate the wonder of every created thing. The mere thought of death somehow makes every blessing vivid, every happiness more luminous and intense. We may not know how our contest with sickness will end, but we have felt the ineluctable touch of God.
What is man that Thou art mindful of him? We don't know much, but we know this: No matter where we are, no matter what we do, no matter how bleak or frightening our prospects, each and every one of us who believe, each and every day, lies in the same safe and impregnable place, in the hollow of God's hand.'
T. Snow
The Decisive Pope the world needs
Young Australian journalist John Heard says of the Holy Father: "People everywhere welcome his gifts. As a young Catholic studying in a modern university where relativism and other intellectual trends pushed against Christian truth, beauty and goodness- I often found Benedict to be speaking directly to those who wanted to push back. "
Read the entire story here
HT News.com AU
Read the entire story here
HT News.com AU
Monday, July 14, 2008
New Website: 10,000 Catholics for Obama
This website is campaign approved recruitment tool for young Catholics who aren't educated enough on life issues to know that a Catholic in good standing cannot vote for Obama.
New DTaP vaccine uses aborted baby cells
"On June 26, the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommended adding the Pentacel vaccine to the immunization schedule for children. Pentacel is a combination vaccine of Diptheria, Petrussis, Tetanus (DTap), HiB and Polio. It is the first DTaP-based combination vaccine that also includes polio and HiB vaccine components.
While similar five-in-one vaccines like Pediarix and Pediacel are also available, controversy has arisen over the use of the Pentacel vaccine, because the polio portion of this vaccine is grown on the MRC-5 cell line - derived from human fetuses. England's J.P Jacobs for the Medical Resource Council created this cell line in 1966. It was derived from the fifth subject of the study: the normal lung tissue of a 14-week-old male fetus who was electively aborted by a 27-year-old woman."
Children of God for Life is a website with information about which vaccines are derived from the remains of aborted babies. Catholics have a legal religious exemption from vaccines since abortion is against Catholic teaching.This is the position which I take, and I have never been challenged on it.
That is not to say that it is against Catholic teaching for Catholics to use these vaccines, since the child is already dead, but if you still want your child to receive this vaccine, you can request ethical alternatives.
Read the full story here.
HT ALL
While similar five-in-one vaccines like Pediarix and Pediacel are also available, controversy has arisen over the use of the Pentacel vaccine, because the polio portion of this vaccine is grown on the MRC-5 cell line - derived from human fetuses. England's J.P Jacobs for the Medical Resource Council created this cell line in 1966. It was derived from the fifth subject of the study: the normal lung tissue of a 14-week-old male fetus who was electively aborted by a 27-year-old woman."
Children of God for Life is a website with information about which vaccines are derived from the remains of aborted babies. Catholics have a legal religious exemption from vaccines since abortion is against Catholic teaching.This is the position which I take, and I have never been challenged on it.
That is not to say that it is against Catholic teaching for Catholics to use these vaccines, since the child is already dead, but if you still want your child to receive this vaccine, you can request ethical alternatives.
Read the full story here.
HT ALL
Sunday, July 13, 2008
New DVD to teach priests to say the Latin Mass
The Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, begun by Pope John Paul to restore the Traditional Latin Mass is offering a free instructional DVD for priests and seminarians who want to learn how to say the Low Mass. In our diocese, one of the seminarians took their training one summer in Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary in Lincoln, Nebraska, and said a High Mass on June 28 at which my daughter sang in the schola. It was heavenly! (See photo)Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos who introduces the video, comments here;
"The cardinal also emphasized that this Mass was a universal gift.
“All this liturgical richness, all this spiritual richness, and all the prayers so well-preserved during the centuries, all of this is offered by the Rome of today for all. As a gift for all, it is not a gift merely for the so-called traditionalists. No, it is a gift for the whole Catholic Church,” .
HT Catholic Online
NYS Governor Patterson wants input!! Give it to him now!
The phone was answered immediately; the script was exactly as described below. It took all of 8 or 9 seconds. -- You don't have to be a New York State resident, so spread the word WIDELY.
New York Governor David Paterson has opened a phone line to determine how much support there is for his directive to recognize same-sexmarriages from other states and countries. The call is simple. Here's all you have to do:
Call: 1-518-474-8390
This is literally what happens when calling:Person on the Other End of the Phone: 'Executive Chamber, may I helpyou?'
You: 'I want to voice my opposition to Governor Paterson's same-sexmarriage directive.'
POTOEOTP: 'OK, what's your zip code?'You: '11231 (or whatever it is).'
POTOEOTP: 'OK, thanks, goodbye.' ---
New York Governor David Paterson has opened a phone line to determine how much support there is for his directive to recognize same-sexmarriages from other states and countries. The call is simple. Here's all you have to do:
Call: 1-518-474-8390
This is literally what happens when calling:Person on the Other End of the Phone: 'Executive Chamber, may I helpyou?'
You: 'I want to voice my opposition to Governor Paterson's same-sexmarriage directive.'
POTOEOTP: 'OK, what's your zip code?'You: '11231 (or whatever it is).'
POTOEOTP: 'OK, thanks, goodbye.' ---
Was Tony Snow a more sincere Catholic than Tim Russert?
It's not for us to judge the state of an individuals soul, but just look at Russert, who supported pro-abortion Catholic politicians Moynihan and Cuomo, and Snow who worked in a largely pro-life Bush White House (yes, I know Bush promoted the use of embryonic stem cell lines, but held firm against killing more embryos for more cells) President Bush's pro-life accomplishments are unmatched, however, and no one doubts his sincerity on this issue, he never tried the Cuomo lint, "I will not impose my personal religious beliefs on others". You are known by the company you keep. Tony Snow was a quietly Catholic in word and loudly Catholic in action.Here's an anecdote from a Republican insider.
"Tony always spoke of his spirituality in a different way than did Russert, who wore it on his sleeve in almost a patronizing manner, despite his history of liberalism. I just saw Dana Perino, Tony's successor at the White House who used to hang around my office at the State Capitol back in the early '90s when she was a college student & TV intern from southern Colorado & I was chief PR poobah for the House GOP, interviewed live on Fox News; Dana said that Tony always kept a Bible (Holy Family or something similar?) on his desk that he readily & regularly consulted. "
Phil Ross
UPDATE:
From the Family Research Council:
Universally Liked, Universally Missed
In Washington one meets a handful of people who are almost universally liked and respected. So much is at stake in the partisan battles in the capital that having the admiration of political friend and foe alike is rare. Tim Russert achieved that and so did Tony Snow. Tony spoke at the FRC Action Values Voter Summit in 2006 and described with relish his experience at the White House with a mix of professionalism and amazement that was endearing and all-American. He knew, appreciated, and communicated how lucky he was to have been born in the U.S. of A., grown up in the Midwest, and had the chance to work in hallways and places he had dreamed of as a kid. That youthfulness, and the bedrock values that fueled him, never faded, whether at the peak of his success or in the throes of his illness. The proximity of those two things, the peak and the throes coming at once, and the way he handled both with wit and verve only underscored how grounded he was. He will be greatly missed. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family
The Holy Father asks the faithful in invoke the Holy Spirit for World Youth Day
He emphasized the importance of Catholics worldwide joining in prayer for the July 15-20 event, to be held in Sydney, Australia.
"I invite the whole Church to share in this new stage of the great pilgrimage of young people across the world, begun in 1985 by the Servant of God John Paul II," he exhorted. "I am certain that from all the corners of the earth Catholics will be united with me and with all the young people gathered -- as in the Cenacle -- in Sydney, intensely invoking the Holy Spirit so that he will flood hearts with the inner light of love of God and of brothers, and of courageous initiative to introduce Jesus' eternal message in the diversity of languages and cultures."
Read the entire story here.
HT Zenit
Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Your faithful,
enkindle in them the fire of Your love,
Send forth Your Spirit, so that they can be re-created,
and renew the face of the earth.
Amen
"I invite the whole Church to share in this new stage of the great pilgrimage of young people across the world, begun in 1985 by the Servant of God John Paul II," he exhorted. "I am certain that from all the corners of the earth Catholics will be united with me and with all the young people gathered -- as in the Cenacle -- in Sydney, intensely invoking the Holy Spirit so that he will flood hearts with the inner light of love of God and of brothers, and of courageous initiative to introduce Jesus' eternal message in the diversity of languages and cultures."
Read the entire story here.
HT Zenit
Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Your faithful,
enkindle in them the fire of Your love,
Send forth Your Spirit, so that they can be re-created,
and renew the face of the earth.
Amen
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Fight AIDS in Uganda with Catholic teachings:NO WAY!
It seems that the forces of the Culture of Death hates a Catholic success story. It reminds me of the Spanish diplomat's line in "The Mission", regarding the conomic success of the missions, "IF you wanted the approval of the state, you should have produced a noble failure".
No, the Catholic Church has made Uganda the lowest HIV infected nation in African, without condoms and condoning fornication, so the pro-death camp had to undermine their efforts, lest their unsuccessful condom distribution look foolish by comparison.
"We understand that casual sex is dear to you, but staying alive is dear to us. Listen to African wisdom, and we will show you how to prevent AIDS."
Sam L. Ruteikara wrote in the Washington Post that efforts to maintain the world's most successful AIDS prevention programme was "sabotaged" by precisely those Western "experts" who insisted that only condoms would work.
Ruteikara is the co-chair of Uganda's National AIDS-Prevention Committee. He wrote in a column in the Washington Post on June 30, "AIDS epidemics in Africa are driven by people having sex regularly with more than one person." The Western experts, dedicated to the exclusive promotion of condoms, were incensed when Ugandan AIDS rates plummeted with this "ABC" method that left condoms as a "last resort".
Ruteikara nailed it, the Westerners were more interested in promoting promiscuity than preventing deaths.
We have the same problem here in the public schools, with Planned Parenthood's 'safe sex' programs are nothing but marketing campaigns to keep their abortion mills making big money.
Read the entire story here.
HT Life Site News
No, the Catholic Church has made Uganda the lowest HIV infected nation in African, without condoms and condoning fornication, so the pro-death camp had to undermine their efforts, lest their unsuccessful condom distribution look foolish by comparison.
"We understand that casual sex is dear to you, but staying alive is dear to us. Listen to African wisdom, and we will show you how to prevent AIDS."
Sam L. Ruteikara wrote in the Washington Post that efforts to maintain the world's most successful AIDS prevention programme was "sabotaged" by precisely those Western "experts" who insisted that only condoms would work.
Ruteikara is the co-chair of Uganda's National AIDS-Prevention Committee. He wrote in a column in the Washington Post on June 30, "AIDS epidemics in Africa are driven by people having sex regularly with more than one person." The Western experts, dedicated to the exclusive promotion of condoms, were incensed when Ugandan AIDS rates plummeted with this "ABC" method that left condoms as a "last resort".
Ruteikara nailed it, the Westerners were more interested in promoting promiscuity than preventing deaths.
We have the same problem here in the public schools, with Planned Parenthood's 'safe sex' programs are nothing but marketing campaigns to keep their abortion mills making big money.
Read the entire story here.
HT Life Site News
Tony Snow the Catholic Journalist, dead at 53
He addressed the graduating class of 2007 at Catholic University with these words.
“When it comes to faith, I’ve taken my own journey. You will have to take your own. But here’s what I know. Faith is as natural as the air we breathe. Religion is not an opiate, just the opposite. It is the introduction to the ultimate extreme sport. There is nothing that you can imagine that God cannot trump.
As Paul said “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” And once you realize that there is something greater than you out there, and then you have to decide, “Do I acknowledge it and do I act upon it?” You have to at some point surrender yourself. And there is nothing worthwhile in your life that will not at some point require an act of submission.”
Spoken like a true Catholic.
Eternal rest grant him O Lord, and may perpetual light shine upon him,
may his soul, and the souls of all the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God,
rest in peace.
Amen
Read the entire story here.
HT Catholic Online
“When it comes to faith, I’ve taken my own journey. You will have to take your own. But here’s what I know. Faith is as natural as the air we breathe. Religion is not an opiate, just the opposite. It is the introduction to the ultimate extreme sport. There is nothing that you can imagine that God cannot trump.
As Paul said “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” And once you realize that there is something greater than you out there, and then you have to decide, “Do I acknowledge it and do I act upon it?” You have to at some point surrender yourself. And there is nothing worthwhile in your life that will not at some point require an act of submission.”
Spoken like a true Catholic.
Eternal rest grant him O Lord, and may perpetual light shine upon him,
may his soul, and the souls of all the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God,
rest in peace.
Amen
Read the entire story here.
HT Catholic Online
Farewell letter from Archbisop Burke
We will miss his leadership here, but he's going to a higher position where he can be an even greater influence in the Church."As archbishop, building upon the strength of Catholic life in the Archdiocese, I tried to lead you in the new evangelization which is so needed in the totally secularized society in which we live. Your response has been dedicated and generous. In thanking you for your response to my pastoral leadership in carrying out the new evangelization, I urge you to continue to teach, to celebrate in prayer and the sacred liturgy, and to live in practice our Catholic faith with new enthusiasm and new energy, with the enthusiasm and energy of the first disciples of our Lord and of the first missionaries to our part of the world."
. . ."Our society, which esteems, above all, political correctness, views negatively anyone who is in the eye of a controversy over questions of faith and morals. Yet, in the Church, we know that we, like our Divine Master, are destined to be a "sign of contradiction" (Luke 2:34). It is not by chance that our most esteemed religious symbol is the crucified Christ.If a totally secularized society is not uncomfortable with the way we teach and pray and live, then we are not putting the truth of our faith into practice. While we must always speak the truth with love (Ephesians 4:15), we must speak the truth.
"A society which prefers the comfort of confusion and error will not be pleased. But what alone matters for us is that we be pleasing in the eyes of God. Thank you for holding fast to the truth of our Catholic faith, for praying and worshiping with the great devotion and fervor, and for witnessing to the truth of the faith in your attitudes, words, and actions."
Steve Mosher: US birthrate up, pro-life sentiment on the increase
Sometimes the grim scenario of cultural decline we see in Western Europe will spread to the US; but not this time, says Steve Mosher of the Population Research Institute. The American birthrate is back up to replacement levels and this nation is gradually becoming more pro-life.
Read the entire story here.
My theory on this is that pro-lifers have more children, who are more likely to have children than their pro-death counterparts who value material success or career more than children. This blogger thinks that prolific homechool families are taking over the nation, and paints this picture of what a nation run by such people would look like:
" the likes of Pelosi and Kerry and Kennedy (take your pick) won't have a snowball's chance in hell of being elected to public office and, poof! there goes Cafeteria Catholicism in Congress. Hillary will be just a bad dream, and Alan Keyes a public force to be reckoned with.
No more abortion, no more assisted suicide, no euthanasia, no gay "marriage" and no more whiny little brats joining the military who don't possess any real intentions of manning up and being soldiers with moral integrity....And no more public school teachers molesting, raping and beating on children, or teaching sex ed in the name of "protecting our youth from unscrupulous priests."
Down at the Inauguration of President Bush in 2000, I addressed this topic with two elderly NARAL protesters, "you women forgot one important thing in your support of abortion; you are aborting your consistency. Pro-lifers love life, and thus while you are driving yourselves to extinction, our many children will be running this country". The poor women were apoplectic with rage, but had no response.
I have one for them, atheists essentially own the public school system right through university, if Prof. Meyer the Eucharist defiler is any indication. That's where they repeat the pro-death mantra (unless you're a polar bear). They have our children, if we are foolish enough to allow them access.
Then there's the media. The media once belonged exclusively to non-believers, but now, thanks to the internet, we lovers of God's gift of live have found our platform. We must vigorously protect this medium and the growing number of Catholic radio and TV outlets from the jealous hands of those who would silence it, under the guise of "Fairness".
Yes we are winning the culture war, but we must never rest upon our laurels. Mother Cabrini a diminutive Italian with poor health her whole life set up hospitals, orphanages and schools all over North and South America. She was known to say, " there will be time to rest in Heaven".
Let's get back to work to bring about the Culture of Life in America.
HT One News Now
Read the entire story here.
My theory on this is that pro-lifers have more children, who are more likely to have children than their pro-death counterparts who value material success or career more than children. This blogger thinks that prolific homechool families are taking over the nation, and paints this picture of what a nation run by such people would look like:
" the likes of Pelosi and Kerry and Kennedy (take your pick) won't have a snowball's chance in hell of being elected to public office and, poof! there goes Cafeteria Catholicism in Congress. Hillary will be just a bad dream, and Alan Keyes a public force to be reckoned with.
No more abortion, no more assisted suicide, no euthanasia, no gay "marriage" and no more whiny little brats joining the military who don't possess any real intentions of manning up and being soldiers with moral integrity....And no more public school teachers molesting, raping and beating on children, or teaching sex ed in the name of "protecting our youth from unscrupulous priests."
Down at the Inauguration of President Bush in 2000, I addressed this topic with two elderly NARAL protesters, "you women forgot one important thing in your support of abortion; you are aborting your consistency. Pro-lifers love life, and thus while you are driving yourselves to extinction, our many children will be running this country". The poor women were apoplectic with rage, but had no response.
I have one for them, atheists essentially own the public school system right through university, if Prof. Meyer the Eucharist defiler is any indication. That's where they repeat the pro-death mantra (unless you're a polar bear). They have our children, if we are foolish enough to allow them access.
Then there's the media. The media once belonged exclusively to non-believers, but now, thanks to the internet, we lovers of God's gift of live have found our platform. We must vigorously protect this medium and the growing number of Catholic radio and TV outlets from the jealous hands of those who would silence it, under the guise of "Fairness".
Yes we are winning the culture war, but we must never rest upon our laurels. Mother Cabrini a diminutive Italian with poor health her whole life set up hospitals, orphanages and schools all over North and South America. She was known to say, " there will be time to rest in Heaven".
Let's get back to work to bring about the Culture of Life in America.
HT One News Now
Prolifers to receive cash prizes as incentives
Unlike pro-abortion advocates with large profits from abortion at stake, pro-life advocacy work is so often a thankless job, now someone is finding a way to say thank you for the babies who have no voice.
Family News in Focus
Organizers hope the program will inspire the next generation of life advocates.
The Gerard Health Foundation is sponsoring a Life Prizes program to honor people who have made significant contributions to the pro-life cause. The annual program will award $600,000.
Pre-selected nominees were chosen based on pro-life achievements in the public advocacy, scientific research and legal arenas.
Philanthropist Raymond Ruddy is dedicating the first award to his parents, who were strong believers in the cause.
"We hope it will encourage pro-lifers who spend most of their life battling the forces for evil," he said. "We hope this will help them and give them some encouragement and also some additional funds for the struggle."
Cathy Ruse, director of Life Prizes, said she is hoping the program will inspire the next generation of pro-life leaders.
"Once they see the great work thatÃs been done by so many heroes to date," she said, "they will only be motivated more to get in this great fight for humanity."
The awards gala will be held at the Students for Life January conference in Washington.
Family News in Focus
Organizers hope the program will inspire the next generation of life advocates.
The Gerard Health Foundation is sponsoring a Life Prizes program to honor people who have made significant contributions to the pro-life cause. The annual program will award $600,000.
Pre-selected nominees were chosen based on pro-life achievements in the public advocacy, scientific research and legal arenas.
Philanthropist Raymond Ruddy is dedicating the first award to his parents, who were strong believers in the cause.
"We hope it will encourage pro-lifers who spend most of their life battling the forces for evil," he said. "We hope this will help them and give them some encouragement and also some additional funds for the struggle."
Cathy Ruse, director of Life Prizes, said she is hoping the program will inspire the next generation of pro-life leaders.
"Once they see the great work thatÃs been done by so many heroes to date," she said, "they will only be motivated more to get in this great fight for humanity."
The awards gala will be held at the Students for Life January conference in Washington.
Friday, July 11, 2008
Univ Minnesota Prof Myers on the verge of hysteria
HYSTERIA MARKS MYERS AND HIS ILK
Yesterday, Catholic League president Bill Donohue issued a news release calling attention to the plea that Paul Zachary Myers made on his blog: he solicited the Communion Host for the express purpose of desecrating it. Donohue now responds to the reaction he has received from the University of Minnesota Morris professor, as well as others:
"Myers went on Houston radio station KPFT last night saying that Bill Donohue has "declared a fatwa" against him. He should know better; I don't need others to do the fighting for me. I'm quite good at it myself. But he'd better be careful what he says, because if I get any death threats, it won't be hard to connect the dots.
"Myers, who claims expertise in studying zebrafish, has quite a following among the King Kong Theory of Creation gang. Indeed, we've been inundated with hate mail from all over the world, and it all stems from those whose alleged god is reason.
"As a result of the hysteria that Myers' ilk have promoted, at least one public official is taking it seriously. Thomas E. Foley is chairman of Virginia's First Congressional District Republican Committee, a delegate to the Republican National Convention and one of two Republican at large nominees for Virginia's Electoral College. His concern is for the safety of Catholics attending this year's Republican National Convention in Minneapolis, Myers' backyard. Accordingly, Foley has asked the top GOP brass to provide additional security while in the Twin Cities so that Catholics can worship without fear of violence. Given the vitriol we have experienced for simply exercising our First Amendment right to freedom of speech, we support Foley's request.
"We already know that Myers lost one round: the university has removed the link to his blog from his faculty page. He should be prepared to lose a few more rounds. By the way, Myers says he is delighted to have finally garnered my attention. Too bad I can't say the same, I never heard of the guy until yesterday."
Contact Professor Paul Z. Myers at myersp@morris.umn.edu
Vive Christus Rex's post on this outrage
Creative Minority Report's post on this issue.
.
Yesterday, Catholic League president Bill Donohue issued a news release calling attention to the plea that Paul Zachary Myers made on his blog: he solicited the Communion Host for the express purpose of desecrating it. Donohue now responds to the reaction he has received from the University of Minnesota Morris professor, as well as others:
"Myers went on Houston radio station KPFT last night saying that Bill Donohue has "declared a fatwa" against him. He should know better; I don't need others to do the fighting for me. I'm quite good at it myself. But he'd better be careful what he says, because if I get any death threats, it won't be hard to connect the dots.
"Myers, who claims expertise in studying zebrafish, has quite a following among the King Kong Theory of Creation gang. Indeed, we've been inundated with hate mail from all over the world, and it all stems from those whose alleged god is reason.
"As a result of the hysteria that Myers' ilk have promoted, at least one public official is taking it seriously. Thomas E. Foley is chairman of Virginia's First Congressional District Republican Committee, a delegate to the Republican National Convention and one of two Republican at large nominees for Virginia's Electoral College. His concern is for the safety of Catholics attending this year's Republican National Convention in Minneapolis, Myers' backyard. Accordingly, Foley has asked the top GOP brass to provide additional security while in the Twin Cities so that Catholics can worship without fear of violence. Given the vitriol we have experienced for simply exercising our First Amendment right to freedom of speech, we support Foley's request.
"We already know that Myers lost one round: the university has removed the link to his blog from his faculty page. He should be prepared to lose a few more rounds. By the way, Myers says he is delighted to have finally garnered my attention. Too bad I can't say the same, I never heard of the guy until yesterday."
Contact Professor Paul Z. Myers at myersp@morris.umn.edu
Vive Christus Rex's post on this outrage
Creative Minority Report's post on this issue.
.
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