Over the years, we've gotten used to the the attempts to secularize Christmas. This year, we have the campaign by the "humanists" that says "Just be good for goodness sake", Planned Parenthood selling gift certificates, and now their UK counterpart is using Christmas to sell birth control. It is obvious the attacks on Christmas are increasing in their hostility toward Christianity. We need to work harder than ever to keep Christ in Christmas.
A new advertisement from the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS), sometimes described as the “British Planned Parenthood,” depicting a semi-pornographic Christmas scene is being used to tout free morning-after pills and condoms for the Christmas season.
The ad shows the lower half of a man clad in "Santa" get-up grasping the rear of a woman in a mini-skirt whose leg is entwined around the “Santa” figure, set against the backdrop of a typical Christmas living room scene. "Santa only comes once a year ... but that's all it takes!" reads the ad, implying that the woman could get pregnant even if she only has sex with Santa once a year, without using contraception.
BPAS's website explains that they "recognise that Christmas is a time when people don’t think about contraception as a priority, but accidents still happen." In order to remedy the shortened holiday schedule of family planning clinics and pharmacies, BPAS will be providing a "Free Christmas Pack" containing a dose of the abortifacient morning-after pill, three condoms, a leaflet on "what your options are in case the pill doesn’t work" and another on general sexual health services.
BPAS, a non-profit organization, like its U.S. counterpart Planned Parenthood, is the U.K.'s largest single abortion provider.
At a time when the Church was heavily embroiled in nationalistic rivalries within Europe, it was also reaching across Asia to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ to the Mongols. John of Monte Corvino went to China about the same time Marco Polo was returning.
John was a soldier, judge and doctor before he became a friar. Prior to going to Tabriz, Persia (present-day Iran), in 1278, he was well known for his preaching and teaching. In 1291 he left Tabriz as a legate of Pope Nicholas IV to the court of Kublai Khan. An Italian merchant, a Dominican friar and John traveled to western India where the Dominican died. When John and the Italian merchant arrived in China in 1294, Kublai Khan had recently died.
Nestorian Christians, successors to the dissidents of the fifth-century Council of Ephesus’ teaching on Jesus Christ, had been in China since the seventh century. John converted some of them and also some of the Chinese, including Prince George from Tenduk, northwest of Beijing. Prince George named his son after this holy friar.
John established his headquarters in Khanbalik (now Beijing), where he built two churches; his was the first resident Catholic mission in the country. By 1304 he had translated the Psalms and the New Testament into the Tatar language.
Responding to two letters from John, Pope Clement V named John Archbishop of Khanbalik in 1307 and consecrated seven friars as bishops of neighboring dioceses. One of the seven never left Europe. Three others died along the way to China; the remaining three bishops and the friars who accompanied them arrived there in 1308.
When John died in 1328, he was mourned by Christians and non-Christians. His tomb quickly became a place of pilgrimage. In 1368, Christianity was banished from China when the Mongols were expelled and the Ming dynasty began. John’s cause has been introduced in Rome.
Is President Bush vastly expanding conscience protections for pro-life doctors, or is he merely enforcing the law as passed by Congress multiple times since Roe v. Wade, but which has not been enforced? And, if President-elect Obama revokes those protections, will he be restoring a reasonable status quo, or clearing the way to force pro-life people out of the health care industry? A sad irony...A "health care" industry made up of pro-aborts
The mainstream media’s uniform slant on protecting pro-life doctors is that the regulations are novel and unprecedented. The New York Times’ article last week typifies this propaganda, saying that the proposed HHS regulations are “sweeping new protections.”
Breathless pro-abortion attorneys likewise declare that the regulations would eviscerate 40 years of precedent and “throw this entire body of law into question.” What's wrong with that? Enforcing existing laws and saving lives at the same time sounds like a great idea.
It's about time. The Vatican should have been speaking out about this all along. I have never seen the UN working so hard for anything as they are trying to spread abortion.
In recent weeks, the Holy See has made a series of strong interventions at the United Nations (UN), upholding the dignity of human life while criticizing UN treaty compliance committees for overstepping their mandates by encroaching upon state sovereignty.
In advance of the debate on the Moratorium on the Use of the Death Penalty, the Holy See reminded delegates at the General Assembly (GA) that the most fundamental right is the right to life “from the moment of conception to natural death.” While it welcomed efforts to halt the use of the death penalty, it noted the need to foster a culture “in which life is respected at all stages of development.”
James was born in the Marche of Ancona, in central Italy along the Adriatic Sea. After earning doctorates in canon and civil law at the University of Perugia, he joined the Friars Minor and began a very austere life. He fasted nine months of the year; he slept three hours a night. St. Bernardine of Siena told him to moderate his penances.
James studied theology with St. John of Capistrano. Ordained in 1420, James began a preaching career that took him all over Italy and through 13 Central and Eastern European countries. This extremely popular preacher converted many people (250,000 at one estimate) and helped spread devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus. His sermons prompted numerous Catholics to reform their lives and many men joined the Franciscans under his influence.
With John of Capistrano, Albert of Sarteano and Bernardine of Siena, James is considered one of the "four pillars" of the Observant movement among the Franciscans. These friars became known especially for their preaching.
To combat extremely high interest rates, James established montes pietatis (literally, mountains of charity) — nonprofit credit organizations that lent money at very low rates on pawned objects.
Not everyone was happy with the work James did. Twice assassins lost their nerve when they came face to face with him. James was canonized in 1726.
The Vatican goes green :) I've read in a couple of articles that the goal is for the Vatican to be carbon-neutral to minimize its environmental impact.
The Vatican won the 2008 Euro Solar Prize for turning the football field-sized roof of its Paul VI audience hall into a giant solar-power generator.
A European association promoting renewable energy presented the award to Cardinal Giovanni Lajolo, president of the commission governing Vatican territory, during the inauguration of the new roof Nov. 26.
Cardinal Lajolo said he would make sure the award, a small silver and glass globe, would go to Pope Benedict XVI, who repeatedly has called on humanity to show greater care for creation.
The association's president, Hermann Scheer, said he hoped more governments, businesses and individuals would be inspired by the Vatican's efforts and thereby promote and support renewable energy, too.
A German company, SolarWorld, donated and installed 2,400 solar panels on the top of the Vatican's audience hall after Vatican officials had made public their plans to convert the rooftop into a solar-power generator.
There's only one word to describe this: sick. The word vile comes to mind also.
In what could easily become the most offensive Christmas offer ever (It is) a Planned Parenthood affiliate is offering Christmas gift certificates. Purchasers can use them to give the gift of abortion even though the group claims that's not its purpose or intent.Of course it is.
"Looking for an unusual, yet practical gift this holiday season? Planned Parenthood of Indiana (PPIN) is now offering gift certificates for services or the recipient's choice of birth control method," the abortion business says.
The gift certificates can be purchased in increments of $25 online at the group's web site or for any amount at some of PPIN's 35 statewide facilities.
It took me a while to stop laughing at this one. Kmiec? Are you kidding me? First he had the nerve to support a radical pro-abort like Obama, then he said he would change his mind if the Pope told him, do you actually think the Vatican would accept Kmiec?
An official from the Vatican's Secretary of State department has reacted to a recent article suggesting that Pepperdine professor Douglas Kmiec should become the U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican by saying, "it will never happen."
On November 23, America Magazine published an article from Michael Sean Winters describing Professor Douglas Kmiec, the former Republican pro-lifer who became Obama’s top Catholic apologist during the presidential campaign, as "the perfect candidate" to become U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See.
In his article, Winters argues that Kmiec is the perfect candidate because "He is a lifelong pro-life legal scholar who served as head of the Office of Legal Counsel in the Justice Departments of both Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush. He was Dean of the Catholic University Law School and now teaches law at Pepperdine. His published works evidence a find (sic) legal mind and thorough familiarity with the natural law tradition that has been the dominant lens for Catholic social thought. Kmiec would be well known to prominent American churchmen in the Eternal City and a jewel in the crown of the intellectual milieu that surrounds the Holy See."
Yeah, I know Barry won, and I reluctantly accept the outcome of the election. I will continue to oppose him on issues such as abortion, and I will respect the will of the people. But.....
It's not all over. There are 2 undecided Senate races going on which will determine whether Barry has 60 Democrats in the Senate. If he does, he will be able to shut down any opposition by Republicans (a filibuster). I believe the Dems now have 56 +2 independents.
Please pray for these outcomes!
Because the MN race was so close, Stuart Smalley (Franken) is fighting to change the results via the recount.
The number of ballot challenges in the U.S. Senate recount surged again on Monday, passing 3,000 overall and clouding the question of who's picking up ground in the hotly contested race.
More than 78 percent of the votes had been recounted as of Monday night, and Republican Sen. Norm Coleman's advantage over DFLer Al Franken stood at 210, according to a Star Tribune compilation of results reported to the secretary of state and gathered by the newspaper. Before the recount, Coleman led Franken by 215 votes out of about 2.9 million cast, a margin that has fluctuated over the past week.
The GA Senate race was also close, and there is a runoff election Dec 2. Even Barry is getting involved in that one.
Pro-life advocates are counting on every vote to help them stop the pro-abortion agenda Barack Obama will unleash next year once he takes office. Though Obama isn't president yet, they are already fighting him in the race to keep another pro-life vote -- Saxby Chambliss -- in the Senate.
Chambliss is running in a heavily contested runoff race in Georgia against a pro-abortion opponent who is getting strong support from Obama and his campaign.
Pro-lifers, and Catholic Bishops in particular, are justifiably concerned about FOCA. Now it seems that FOCA supporters are beginning to realize the battle they face. Now they are trying to act like FOCA is no big deal. In reality, it is the most pro-abort legislation we've ever faced. It will remove ALL abortion restrictions, such as parental consent (now your 14-year old can have an abortion without you even knowing) and restrictions on partial birth abortion.
With Barack Obama in the White House and abortion advocates having a strong grip on Congress, pro-life advocates are wasting no time in energizing the grassroots for the next battle. While pro-life advocates accurately point out the far-reaching effects of the pro-abortion FOCA bill detractors claim they're exaggerating.
FOCA, or the so-called Freedom of Choice Act, is the Congressional bill that would take the Roe v. Wade ruling and its promotion of unlimited abortions throughout pregnancy for any reason and make it national law.
But the effect of the legislation goes well beyond that -- and even leading pro-abortion groups and lawmakers acknowledge this.
The bill would topple hundreds of pro-life laws in every state in the nation including freedom of conscience laws that protect private hospitals and medical personnel form having to do abortions.
As LifeNews.com has reported, the nation's Catholic bishops are very worried that Catholic hospitals, under FOCA, would be compelled to do abortions. They warned that they would go as far as shutting them down if Obama signs the bill.
Bill Donohue is concerned about Barry's latest pick. The rest of us Catholics should be also. It seems that her specialty is dissenters.
Catholic League president Bill Donohue registers his concerns over President-elect Barack Obama’s decision to select Melody Barnes as Director of Domestic Policy Council:
“The left-wing Nation hails Barnes as a ‘dyed-in-the-wool progressive,’ and the even more radical Daily Kos calls her ‘an unabashed progressive.’ Barnes herself touts her role promoting a ‘common good’ approach to values issues, explaining that it is synonymous with ‘a progressive approach to governing.’ Her forte is working with the religious left, a skill she honed at the Center for American Progress.
“A few years ago, when pro-life Catholic and evangelical judges were being summarily denied the right to serve on the federal bench, Barnes denied that bigotry was at play. To top it off, when asked to name people who are both pro-abortion and religious, she offered as proof the notoriously anti-Catholic group, Catholics for a Free Choice. Looks like Obama has chosen a ringer.”
I hope that Barry, and anyone else who supports FOCA is listening. This statement reveals how very serious our Bishops are about defending life; We should all be just as serious about it.
At the recent fall assembly of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Bishop Robert J. Hermann, the administrator for the Archdiocese of St. Louis, declared that for any bishop it would be a “privilege to die tomorrow to bring about an end to abortion.” He has further explained that Catholics' response to abortion in our country should be proportionate to the scale of the tragedy.
At the bishops’ meeting in Baltimore, Bishop Hermann had said:
"We have lost 50 times as many children in the last 35 years as we have lost soldiers in all the wars since the Revolution.
"I think any bishop here would consider it a privilege to die tomorrow to bring about an end to abortion.”
“If we are willing to die tomorrow, then we should be willing to, until the end of our lives, to take all kinds of criticism for opposing this horrible infanticide." That's exactly what it is.
The account of her martyrdom is legendary and defies every attempt to cull out the historical kernel. Old Oriental sources make no mention of her. In the West her cult does not appear before the eleventh century, when the crusaders made it popular. She became the patroness of philosophical faculties; she is one of the "Fourteen Holy Helpers." The breviary offers the following: Catherine, virgin of Alexandria, devoted herself to the pursuit of knowledge; at the age of eighteen, she surpassed all her contemporaries in science. Upon seeing how the Christians were being tortured, she went before Emperor Maximin (311-313), upbraided him for his cruelty, and with convincing reasons demonstrated the need of Christian faith in order to be saved. Astounded by her wisdom, the Emperor ordered her to be kept confined, and having summoned the most learned philosophers, promised them magnificent rewards if they could confound the virgin and turn her from belief in Christ. Far from being successful, a considerable number of the philosophers were inflamed by the sound reasons and persuasiveness of Catherine's speech with such a love for Jesus Christ that they declared themselves willing to offer their lives for the Gospel.
Then the Emperor attempted to win her by flattery and by promises, but his efforts proved equally fruitless. He ordered her whipped with rods, scourged with leaden nodules, and then left to languish eleven days without food in prison. The Emperor's wife and Porphyrius, general of the army, visited Catherine in prison; her words brought both to Christ and later they too proved their love in blood. Catherine's next torture consisted of being placed upon a wheel with sharp and pointed knives; from her lacerated body prayers ascended to heaven and the infernal machine fell to pieces. Many who witnessed the miracle embraced the faith. Finally, on November 25 Christ's servant was beheaded (307 or 312). By the hands of angels her body was carried to Mt. Sinai, where it was interred in the convent which bears her name.
Note to Pelosi, Biden, Kerry, Kennedy, Dodd and any other lawmakers who call themselves Catholic, yet refuse to defend life: You may want to think twice about supporting FOCA.
A top Catholic leader says it is possible that Catholic members of Congress who vote for the Freedom of Choice Act could face excommunication. The legislation would make unlimited abortions throughout pregnancy the law of the land and overturn hundreds of pro-life laws nationwide that reduce abortions.
Cardinal France George of Chicago, the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, made the comments about excommunication in an interview with CNS.
He did not say that excommunication was certain, only that it would depend on whether the cooperation with evil was "material" or "formal."
"The excommunication is automatic if that act is in fact formal cooperation, and that is precisely what would have to be discussed once you would see the terms of the act itself," Cardinal George said.
Actually, the Cardinal is not really telling us anything new.
From the Catechism:
2272 Formal cooperation in an abortion constitutes a grave offense. The Church attaches the canonical penalty of excommunication to this crime against human life. "A person who procures a completed abortion incurs excommunication latae sententiae," "by the very commission of the offense," and subject to the conditions provided by Canon Law. The Church does not thereby intend to restrict the scope of mercy. Rather, she makes clear the gravity of the crime committed, the irreparable harm done to the innocent who is put to death, as well as to the parents and the whole of society.
Citing what they call America’s “promise of equality,” the Obama administration plans to push for homosexual rights by including protections of sexual orientation, “gender identity” and “gender expression” as civil rights. His office proposes expanding hate crimes statues That's the part we need to be most concerned about. The new administration will try to silence conservative and/or religious voices. and the adoption rights of homosexuals while supporting full civil unions for “LGBT couples” to give them “legal rights and privileges equal to those of married couples.”
The proposals are announced under the Civil Rights section of their agenda presented at Change.gov, the web site of the Obama campaign’s self-described “Office of the President-elect.” LOL..if you say so :)
St. Andrew Dung-Lac's name was originally Dung An Trân, and he was born about 1795 in a poor and pagan family in Bac-Ninh in North Vietnam. When he was twelve the family had to move to Hà -Nôi (Hanoi) where his parents could find work. There he met a catechist and got food and shelter from him. He also got education in the Christian faith for three years, and was baptized in Vinh-Tri with the Christian name Andrew (Andrew Dung). After learning Chinese and Latin he became a catechist, and thereafter taught catechism in the country. He was chosen to study theology, and on March 15, 1823 he was ordained a priest. As parish priest in Ke-Dâm he was tireless in his preaching. He often fasted and lived a simple and moral life, he was a good example for the people, and many were baptized. In 1835 he was imprisoned under emperor Minh-Mang's persecutions (he was called Vietnam's emperor Nero), but his freedom was purchased by donations from members of the congregation he served. To avoid persecutions he changed his name to Lac (Andrew Lac) and moved to another prefecture to continue his work. But on November 10, 1839 he was again arrested, this time with Peter Thi, another Vietnamese priest whom he was visiting so that he might go to confession.
Once again Andrew was liberated, along with Peter Thi, in exchange for money. Their freedom was brief. They were soon re-arrested and taken to Hanoi, where both suffered dreadful torture. Finally they both were beheaded December 21, 1839.
There are 117 martyrs in this group and although they died at different times, they were all canonized by Pope John Paul II on June 19, 1988. Of the group, 96 were Vietnamese, 11 were Spaniards, and 10 were French. There were 8 bishops, 50 priests and 59 lay Catholics in the group. Of the priests, 11 were Dominicans, 10 belonged to the Paris Mission Society, and the rest were diocesan priests plus one seminarian. Certain individual martyrs were mentioned by name in the process of canonization: Andrew Dung-Lac, a diocesan priest; Thomas Tran-Van-Thien, a seminarian; Emmanuel Le-Van-Pung, father of a family; the Dominican bishops Jerome Hermosilla and Valentine Berrio-Ochoa; and John Theophane Venard.
First the good. Daniel Craig was better in this one than his last Bond movie, Casino Royale. He seemed more comfortable and natural as Bond this time. Quantum of Solace picks up right where Casino Royale left off; Bond is still haunted by the betrayal of Vesper.
This time he is after Dominic Greene, a member of a secret organization, Quantum, that has destabilized the Bolivian government in exchange for a large piece of land and oil leases.
Now the bad. The plot was very convoluted and, I felt, poorly written. It seemed to "jump around" alot. I also don't care for Judi Dench as M, Bond's boss. She often seems to be more against him than on the same side.
Content warnings: a sex scene with Bond and another agent, Fields. Lots of action/violence, explosions and some rough language.
John Lennon was forgiven by the Vatican for his 1966 comment that the Beatles were more famous than Jesus Christ, Reuters reported. It was a stupid comment to make, but I'm glad this ends it. I'm also a Beatles fan.
"The remark by John Lennon, which triggered deep indignation mainly in the United States, after many years sounds only like a 'boast' by a young working-class Englishman faced with unexpected success, after growing up in the legend of Elvis and rock and roll," Vatican daily L'Osservatore Romano said.
After Lennon made the comment to a London newspaper, some Christians in the United Stated became infuriated, and burned the Beatles' records in huge gatherings.
The Vatican newspaper article forgiving Lennon went on to praise the Beatles.
The fact remains that 38 years after breaking up, the songs of the Lennon-McCartney brand have shown an extraordinary resistance to the passage of time, becoming a source of inspiration for more than one generation of pop musicians," it said, according to Reuters.
The Feast of Christ the King was established by Pope Pius XI in 1925 as an antidote to secularism, a way of life which leaves God out of man's thinking and living and organizes his life as if God did not exist. The feast is intended to proclaim in a striking and effective manner Christ's royalty over individuals, families, society, governments, and nations.
Today's Mass establishes the titles for Christ's royalty over men: 1) Christ is God, the Creator of the universe and hence wields a supreme power over all things; "All things were created by Him"; 2) Christ is our Redeemer, He purchased us by His precious Blood, and made us His property and possession; 3) Christ is Head of the Church, "holding in all things the primacy"; 4) God bestowed upon Christ the nations of the world as His special possession and dominion.
Today's Mass also describes the qualities of Christ's kingdom. This kingdom is: 1) supreme, extending not only to all people but also to their princes and kings; 2) universal, extending to all nations and to all places; 3) eternal, for "The Lord shall sit a King forever"; 4) spiritual, Christ's "kingdom is not of this world". — Rt. Rev. Msgr. Rudolph G. Gandas
Yes I do love New York, but the mayor? Well, that's another story :) And aren't they lucky that Bloomberg is rewriting the law so that he can stay for a 3rd term?
City officials have ordered 22 New York churches to stop providing beds to homeless people.
With temperatures well below freezing early Saturday, the churches must obey a city rule requiring faith-based shelters to be open at least five days a week -- or not at all.
Arnold Cohen, president of the Partnership for the Homeless, a nonprofit that serves as a link with the city, said he had to tell the churches they no longer qualify.
He said hundreds of people now won't have a place to sleep.
The Department of Homeless Services said the city offers other shelters with the capacity to accept all those who have been sleeping in the churches. The city had 8,000 beds waiting.
Last year, four unsheltered homeless people died in the city during cold weather, so three dozen emergency outreach teams were prepped to respond to reports of homeless people outdoors or in the subways.
"We really don't want people sleeping on the streets, on grates, on church steps. We want people sleeping in beds," said Homeless Commissioner Robert Hess. Well duh! That's what the churches were providing...beds.
How could anyone support abortion (killing babies) and not have their conscience bother them? I don't believe that those who claim it is not a baby really believe that. In Biden's (who calls himself Catholic) case, it is simply a political decision to support abortion.
Following the Fall meeting of the U.S. Catholic bishops in Baltimore, where they pledged not to yield ground to the incoming Obama administration on the issue of abortion, Bishop Samuel Aquila has revealed that vice president-elect Joe Biden is struggling with his conscience over his support for abortion.
In an interview with the Grand Forks Herald on Friday, Bishop Hoeppner explained the situation, saying, “We bishops are united in our teaching and our belief in the sanctity of all life. That’s not new, and it’s across the board, and some politicians have missed that.”
One particular threat to the unborn that the bishops are worried about is the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA), which President-elect Obama said he would sign into law as his first act as president.
More lies from Planned Parenthood. The truth is that unfortunately, many Catholics are poorly catechized and don't know their faith. Others are under the incorrect impression that what the Church teaches (i.e. 'Truth') is optional.
Dianne Luby, the head of the Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts has responded to comments by Cardinal Sean O’Malley after the prelate criticized President-elect Obama and Planned Parenthood. Charging that his comments diminish his credibility, she argued that Catholics “overwhelmingly support” the “views and services” offered by Planned Parenthood and advocated by Obama.
She also claimed Planned Parenthood shares common ground with the Catholic Church on working to reduce “risky behavior among young people” and the need for abortions. You've got to be kidding me. Planned Parenthood wants as many abortions as possible. They also encourage promiscuity among teens by distributing condoms and making birth control available to them.
Luby’s reply was directed to the Boston Globe’s Michael Paulson, who had interviewed the cardinal.
In his interview with Paulson after Election Day, the cardinal had remarked that Obama “is possibly in the pocket of Planned Parenthood, which in its origins was a very racist organization to eliminate the blacks, and it’s sort of ironic that he’s been co-opted by them.” He also said Obama had a “deplorable” record on pro-life issues and argued that church-going Catholics reflect the Church’s teaching, though “not as much as we’d like them to.”
I received this video in a couple of emails. It is going around to prepare us for FOCA. Please take a couple of minutes to watch it...and prepare to fight FOCA and defend life!
Cecilia was so highly venerated by the ancient Roman Church that her name was placed in the Canon of the Mass. Already in the fourth century there was a church of St. Cecilia in Trastevere, erected on the site where her home had stood. Her martyrdom probably occurred during the reign of Emperor Alexander Severus, about the year 230. In 1599 her grave was opened and her body found in a coffin of cypress wood. It lay incorrupt, as if she had just breathed forth her soul. Stephen Maderna, who often saw the body, chiseled a statue that resembled the body as closely as possible. Since the Middle Ages, Cecilia has been honored as patroness of Church music, a practice having its source in a false application of a passage from the Office (cantantibus organis). Apart from the fact of her martyrdom, we know practically nothing about her that is historically genuine. Among other details the breviary offers the following:
Cecilia led a life of prayer and meditation and had vowed lifelong virginity, but a youth by the name of Valerian, relying upon the approval of her parents, hoped to marry her. When the wedding night arrived, she confided to Valerian, "There is a secret, Valerian, I wish to tell you. I have as a lover an angel of God who jealously guards my body." Valerian promised to believe in Christ if he would be enabled to see that angel. Cecilia explained how such was impossible without baptism, and Valerian consented to be baptized. After he was baptized by Pope Urban and had returned "He found Cecilia in her little room lost in prayer, and next to her the angel of the Lord was standing. When Valerian saw the angel, he was seized with great terror." The angel handed to them a bouquet of fiery red roses and snow-white lilies as a reward for Cecilia's love of chastity, a bouquet that would not wither, yet would be visible only to those who love chastity. As a further favor Valerian besought the conversion of his brother Tiburtius.
Upon arriving to congratulate the newlyweds, Tiburtius was astounded by the unspeakably beautiful roses and lilies. As soon as he was informed regarding their origin, he too asked for the waters of baptism. "St. Cecilia said to Tiburtius: Today I acknowledge you as a brother-in-law, because the love of God has made you despise the idols. Just as the love of God gave me your brother as a spouse, so it has given you to me as a brother in-law." When Almachius, the prefect, heard of the conversions, he ordered Maximus, his officer, to arrest and imprison all of them. Before being put to death, they instructed Maximus and his family, and baptized them during the night preceding execution.
At dawn Cecilia roused the two brothers to struggle heroically for Christ, as the glow of morning disappeared, Cecilia called: "Arise, soldiers of Christ, throw away the works of darkness and put on the armor of light." Cecilia pursued her victory as the soldiers willingly listened, "We believe that Christ is the true Son of God, who has chosen such a servant." Led before the prefect, she professed her faith in Christ, "We profess His holy Name and we will not deny Him."
In order to avoid further show, the prefect commanded her to be suffocated in the baths. She remained unharmed and prayed, "I thank You, Father of my Lord Jesus Christ, that through Your Son the fire was extinguished at my side." Beheading was next in order. The executioner made three attempts (the law prohibited more) and let her lie in her blood. She lived for three days, encouraging the poor and dedicating her home into a church.
Neither Maria or Arnold is a Catholic in good standing. They can't be when they support abortion and same-sex marriage. He also supports embryonic stem cell research. It is pathetic how so many Catholics have decided they can call themselves Catholic while ignoring Church teachings. It is even more pathetic that they lead others astray.
California’s first lady, Maria Shriver, recently told Sally Quinn of the Washington Post that she considers herself "a Catholic in good standing" despite the fact that she openly advocates abortion.
"I find I don't spend a lot of time trying to square my own daily life with the institutional Church," said Shriver. "I pick and choose."
Shriver called herself a "cafeteria Catholic," a term that is most often used in a derogatory manner, referring to individuals who only selectively submit to Church teaching and authority while still calling themselves Catholic.
Here's a reminder for Maria and Arnold from the Catechism:
2272Formal cooperation in an abortion constitutes a grave offense. The Church attaches the canonical penalty of excommunication to this crime against human life. "A person who procures a completed abortion incurs excommunication latae sententiae," "by the very commission of the offense," and subject to the conditions provided by Canon Law. The Church does not thereby intend to restrict the scope of mercy. Rather, she makes clear the gravity of the crime committed, the irreparable harm done to the innocent who is put to death, as well as to the parents and the whole of society.
2357Homosexuality refers to relations between men or between women who experience an exclusive or predominant sexual attraction toward persons of the same sex. It has taken a great variety of forms through the centuries and in different cultures. Its psychological genesis remains largely unexplained. Basing itself on Sacred Scripture, which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity, tradition has always declared that "homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered." They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved.
The Congregation for the Causes of the Saints has approved the miracle of the inexplicable cure of Begona Leon Alonso, a 38 year-old woman from Madrid who suffered from Hellp Syndrome during her pregnancy and went into a coma when doctors performed surgery to save her child.
Miraculously, she recovered through the intercession of Blessed Rafael Arnaiz Baron, a Trappist monk who died at the age of 27.
According to the newspaper La Nueva España, Bergona Leon fell ill in 2000 during her pregnancy and underwent a cesarean at the Gregorio Maranon Hospital to save the life of the child. Her condition worsened and she fell into a coma, at which point doctors considered her brain dead.
A nun from the Cistercian convent of San Bernardo de Burgos heard about Leon from her family, and the nuns at the convent decided to pray a novena to Blessed Rafael for her healing. From that moment on Leon began to improve until she completely recovered. In order for Blessed Rafael to be declared a saint, the Pope needs to sign a decree prepared by the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints.
"Sacred Scripture contains no text concerning the event commemorated in today's liturgy. For something of a historical background one may consult the apocryphal works, particularly the Protoevangel of St. James (ch. 4:1ff). After an angel had revealed her pregnancy, Anna is said to have vowed her future child Mary to the Lord. Soon after birth the infant was brought to the sacred precincts at which only the best of Israel's daughters were admitted. At the age of three she was transferred to the temple proper (7:2). According to legend, here she was reared like a dove and received her nourishment from the hand of an angel (8:1). "In the East, where the feast, celebrated since the eighth century, is kept as a public holiday, it bears the name, 'The Entrance of the Mother of God into the Temple'. It was introduced at Rome by a Cypriotic legate to the papal court of Avignon in 1371. In 1472, Sixtus IV extended its observance to the whole Church. Abolished by Pius V, it was reintroduced some years later (1585)."
CNA has exclusively obtained the full-text of Cardinal James Francis Stanford’s lecture delivered at the Catholic University of America last week in which the prelate examined President-elect Obama’s loyalty to pro-abortion organizations and described his promises as cause for Catholics to weep tears of betrayal.
The full text of this lecture titled, “Pope Paul VI and Pope John Paul II: Being True in Body and Soul,” can be found in our Documents section or at the link: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/document.php?n=780
Commenting on the results of the recent presidential election, Cardinal Stafford said in his speech that on Election Day “America suffered a cultural earthquake.” He went on to note that though Obama and Senator Joe Biden clearly stated their “anti-life agenda” prior to the election, Americans were too excited at the prospect of electing a Black President. Now that he has been chosen, the cardinal predicted, “I foresee the next several years as being among the most divisive in our nation’s history.”
On Thursday, November 20, 2008 between 7:00 - 8:00 pm EST, Catholic League President Bill Donohue will appear on CNN's “Lou Dobbs Tonight” to discuss a variety of issues pertaining to the Catholic Church.
Someone call Michael J. Fox. This successful transplant did NOT require any lives to be destroyed.
The use of adult stem cells has ushered in another major success and, this time, doctors were able to use a patient's own stem cells to give a woman a new windpipe. Very few trachea transplants have been performed and this new procedure could become a new standard of treatment.
The successful transplant again shows how adult stem cells are not only more ethical than their embryonic counterparts but more effective.
They also underscore the opposition to and lack of a need for incoming president Barack Obama to force taxpayers to fund the use of embryonic stem cells that involve the destruction of human life as he has promised to do.
Well Barry's pro-abort administration is really beginning to take shape. He has promised to sign FOCA, and with pro-abort Daschle at HHS, This does not bode well for "women's health".
Tom Daschle has accepted the position of Secretary of Health and Human Services from president-elect Barack Obama. Daschle's record of supporting anti-life initiatives is extensive enough that his bishop previously asked him to stop calling himself a Catholic.
According to FOX News, “two Democratic sources close to Daschle and with intimate knowledge of the decision” said on Wednesday that the former Senate majority leader has accepted the post.
As the new Health and Human Services chief, Daschle will be responsible for helping implement Obama’s promised government-run health plan.
Note: Catholic Culture has her feast day as Nov. 18, the same day as the dedication of the Basilicas of St. Peter and Paul. Because American Catholic has her as November 20, I decided to post her today.
Born in Grenoble, France, of a family that was among the new rich, Philippine learned political skills from her father and a love of the poor from her mother. The dominant feature of her temperament was a strong and dauntless will, which became the material—and the battlefield—of her holiness. She entered the convent at 19 without telling her parents and remained despite their opposition. As the French Revolution broke, the convent was closed, and she began taking care of the poor and sick, opened a school for street urchins and risked her life helping priests in the underground. When the situation cooled, she personally rented her old convent, now a shambles, and tried to revive its religious life. The spirit was gone, and soon there were only four nuns left. They joined the infant Society of the Sacred Heart, whose young superior, St. Madeleine Sophie Barat, would be her lifelong friend. In a short time Philippine was a superior and supervisor of the novitiate and a school. But her ambition, since hearing tales of missionary work in Louisiana as a little girl, was to go to America and work among the Indians. At 49, she thought this would be her work. With four nuns, she spent 11 weeks at sea en route to New Orleans, and seven weeks more on the Mississippi to St. Louis. She then met one of the many disappointments of her life. The bishop had no place for them to live and work among Native Americans. Instead, he sent her to what she sadly called "the remotest village in the U.S.," St. Charles, Missouri. With characteristic drive and courage, she founded the first free school for girls west of the Mississippi.
It was a mistake. Though she was as hardy as any of the pioneer women in the wagons rolling west, cold and hunger drove them out—to Florissant, Missouri, where she founded the first Catholic Indian school, adding others in the territory. "In her first decade in America Mother Duchesne suffered practically every hardship the frontier had to offer, except the threat of Indian massacre—poor lodging, shortages of food, drinking water, fuel and money, forest fires and blazing chimneys, the vagaries of the Missouri climate, cramped living quarters and the privation of all privacy, and the crude manners of children reared in rough surroundings and with only the slightest training in courtesy" (Louise Callan, R.S.C.J., Philippine Duchesne).
Finally, at 72, in poor health and retired, she got her lifelong wish. A mission was founded at Sugar Creek, Kansas, among the Potawatomi. She was taken along. Though she could not learn their language, they soon named her "Woman-Who-Prays-Always." While others taught, she prayed. Legend has it that Native American children sneaked behind her as she knelt and sprinkled bits of paper on her habit, and came back hours later to find them undisturbed. She died in 1852 at the age of 83.
The homosexual agenda loses in the voting booth (Prop 8), so they will use the courts to force it on society.
Online dating site eHarmony will create a service for same-sex matching in a settlement of a 2005 complaint that the company's failure to offer such a service was discriminatory.
The new same-sex matching service from eHarmony, Compatible Partners, is set to debut by March 31.
Under terms of the agreement with the New Jersey attorney general's office, eHarmony Inc. will start the service, called Compatible Partners, by March 31.
"With the launch of the Compatible Partners site, our policy is to welcome all single individuals who are genuinely seeking long-term relationships," said Antone Johnson, eHarmony vice president of legal affairs.
The company and its founder, Neil Clark Warren, admit no wrongdoing or liability.
"Even though we believed that the complaint resulted from an unfair characterization of our business, we ultimately decided it was best to settle this case with the attorney general, since litigation outcomes can be unpredictable," eHarmony attorney Theodore B. Olson said.
Beaufort County Councilwoman Laura Von Harten(D) blasted the Catholic Church yesterday for its strictures regarding the priesthood and its teachings on abortion. She took the occasion to vent at a scheduled hearing regarding a zoning request by a local Catholic church, St. Gregory the Great in Bluffton, South Carolina, that would allow it to expand. She was quickly denounced by several area residents for her comments; when the vote was taken, she recused herself.
Von Harten ripped the Catholic Church for not allowing women priests and for its position on what she called “uterus rights,” saying they were “an affront to my dignity and all womankind.” Uterus rights? LOL! Did you just make that up? Any thoughts on the baby's rights? Are you saying that you have to kill babies to have dignity? I think that giving a baby life is one of the very gifts that most dignifies a woman.
Do you know your insects? This little guy has been on the outside of my window (2nd floor) since Monday in the same spot. I have never seen an insect like this. His body is approximately 1 inch long. If you can tell me what it is, I will say my next rosary for your intentions!
An excellent reflection on the election by Fr. Thomas Euteneuer.
Now that the election is over, we can separate the real Catholics from those who just act the part. Those are the CINO's. (Catholics in name only) Those still reeling from the results of the election can rest assured that they are in good company with the saints. Those who have drawn a line in blood and made a decision to stand with the culture of death need a serious examination of conscience.
Now look at what we’ve done to ourselves. America has made her “choice” for maximum leader and it is not pretty. In fact, it is one of the most devastating blows to American civilization that we have ever undergone, and I do not speak in hyperbole. Even such a saintly figure as Mother Theresa said that “a nation that kills its children has no future;” likewise, an authority like Fr. Benedict Groeschel recently commented that we have entered into “the beginning of the twilight” of our country — dire words that touch on the reality of electing the most extreme, pro-abortion candidate America has ever had the misfortune of occupying the highest office of our land.
A group of homosexual activists is angry that we won't redefine society for them; that the majority of people consider marriage to be 1 man and 1 woman.
It's called An ELECTION, and sometimes we don't agree with the results. However, most of us live with the results.
A mob of homosexuals sexually and physically assaulted a group of Christians praying together in the city's Castro District last week, in apparent retaliation for the recent defeat of homosexual marriage in California.
The Christians, a group of Evangelical Protestants who regularly go to the predominantly homosexual Castro District to sing songs and pray with passers-by, say they were holding hands and singing "Amazing Grace" when a angry mob began to shove and kick them, steal their belongings, pour hot coffee on their faces, and sexually assault them.
And I hope he hears ALOT from pro-lifers, until he realizes that we won't accept FOCA.
A group of Catholics has addressed an open letter to President-elect Barack Obama, professing an eagerness to cooperate with his administration while pleading that he reconsider his support for the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA).
The open letter, initiated by Henry C. Karlson III, has been signed by several prominent Catholic bloggers and commentators, including the Catholic apologist Mark Shea.
Praising Obama’s call to end harmful forms of partisanship, the writers of the letter said they too wanted to encourage people to “work together for the common good,” saying “It may change the hearts of many, and it might alter the path of our nation, shifting to a road leading to a better America.”
Over the years, we've gotten used to the the attempts to secularize Christmas. This year, we have the campaign by the "humanists" that says "Just be good for goodness sake", Planned Parenthood selling gift certificates, and now their UK counterpart is using Christmas to sell birth control. It is obvious the attacks on Christmas are increasing in their hostility toward Christianity. We need to work harder than ever to keep Christ in Christmas. 
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