Mel Gibson is Tom Craven, a Boston detective. When his daughter comes to visit, she is killed in front of his house. At first, it is not clear which one was the target. The more Tom looks into it, the more he discovers about why she was killed and who did it.
I really enjoyed the storyline and the action, but my main problem was the audio quality. Many of the people spoke in a garbled manner that was difficult to understand.
Content Warning: The main content warning is language. The F word is used a lot throughout the movie. As you'd expect, there is also plenty of violence.
The final scene is a death scene, but it is actually quite uplifting.
The good Bishop reminds CINO's of Catholic teachings and what it means to be Catholic.
Speaking with LifeSiteNews.com after the Vigil for Life Mass in the National Basilica of the Immaculate Conception last week, Joliet Bishop Peter Sartain insisted that there is no wiggle room when it comes to being Catholic and holding pro-life values.
Bishop Sartain said he was proud that over 225 youth from his diocese had come to the D.C. March for Life. “They’re a great group from Joliet,” he said. “We’re teaching them the meaning of being truly pro-life.”
Asked about the example Nancy Pelosi gives of being in favor of abortion while calling herself Catholic, Bishop Sartain replied, “Any Catholic who is going to understand our faith and live by the faith seriously must be pro-life.”
The Joliet Bishop explained, “It’s at the very core of our understanding of living a moral life because all life comes from God. It’s a message that we have a responsibility to continue to get out.”
He concluded, “To be Catholic means to be pro-life.”
2271 Since the first century the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable. Direct abortion, that is to say, abortion willed either as an end or a means, is gravely contrary to the moral law:
You shall not kill the embryo by abortion and shall not cause the newborn to perish.
God, the Lord of life, has entrusted to men the noble mission of safeguarding life, and men must carry it out in a manner worthy of themselves. Life must be protected with the utmost care from the moment of conception: abortion and infanticide are abominable crimes.
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.
She was a noble Roman virgin, who glorified God, suffering many torments and a cruel death for her faith, in the capital city of the world, in the third century. There stood a chapel consecrated to her memory in Rome, which was frequented with great devotion in the time of St. Gregory the Great. Her relics were discovered in a vault, in the ruins of her old church and translated with great pomp in the year 1634, under the Pope Urban VIII, who built a new church in her honor, and composed himself the hymns used in her office in the Roman Breviary. The city of Rome ranks her among its particular patrons. The history of the discovery of her relics was published by Honoratus of Viterbo, an Oratorian.
- California's Institute for Regenerative Medicine came into being five years ago, fueled by a conviction that the Bush administration's restriction on embryo-destructive research in the National Institutes of Health was stifling the progress of science.
But after years of fruitless work, the Institute has now quietly diverted funds from embryonic stem cell research (ESCr) to adult stem cell research - which has already produced dozens of treatments and all-out cures for maladies ranging from spinal cord injury, to Alzheimer's, to type I diabetes.
The California government - which is again teetering on the brink of bankruptcy - in 2004 passed the California Stem Cell Research and Cures Initiative, or Proposition 71. The initiative pumped $3 billion into research seeking some medical use for stem cells harvested from human embryos, which are killed in the process.
But an editorial in the Los Angeles-based Investor's Business Daily magazine January 12 pointed out the abysmal failure of the state's massive investment in research that has procured no effective treatments to date.
"Five years after a budget-busting $3 billion was allocated to embryonic stem cell research, there have been no cures, no therapies and little progress," notes the IBD editors.
"ESCR has failed to deliver and backers of Prop 71 are admitting failure."
The editors also called out the Institute for dissembling on the real source of progress among stem cell research. "Over the years ... when funding was needed, the phrase 'embryonic stem cells' was used. When actual progress was discussed, the word 'embryonic' was dropped because ESCR never got out of the lab," they write.
This is very unfair, and just plain wrong. eHarmony should be able to run its business however it wants.
Dating site eHarmony has settled a lawsuit in California by agreeing to end the separation of its homosexual and heterosexual matchmaking services.
eHarmony agreed to open a site for gay and lesbian customers after another lawsuit in 2008, but it did not cross-promote or even link between the two sites, and it kept subscriptions separate.
A gay man from New Jersey named Eric McKinley filed suit against eHarmony in 2008 for not offering matchmaking for gays and lesbians. eHarmony settled by agreeing to launch a service for gay and lesbian customers called Compatible Partners. eHarmony’s launch of Compatible Partners was called a “shotgun wedding” by the Los Angeles Times, though. There wasn’t even a link to Compatible Partners at eharmony.com.
Furthermore, Compatible Partners had a completely different subscription system. Bisexuals had to pay two subscription fees to have access to both sexes. So What? That's their choice.
The newer lawsuit was settled in California yesterday. eHarmony will add its name to Compatible Partners, link it from the main eHarmony website alongside its Jewish, black, Christian and senior portals, and unify subscriptions. The company will also pay out $500,000 to around 150 Californians to settle. That’s in addition to the $1.5 million it has spent defending itself in court.
In its new report "Stand and Deliver," the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) is demanding that governments, religious institutions and society at large provide "comprehensive sexuality education" for children as young as ten years old.
In a foreword, Bert Koenders of the Development Cooperation of the Netherlands, which helped fund the publication, asserts that, "Young people have the right to be fully informed about sexuality and to have access to contraceptives and other services. These rights are enshrined in various internationally agreed human rights convention and treaties, but – unfortunately – they are still not universally respected."
According to IPPF, as "young people are sexual beings," it should be self-evident that "sexuality education promotes individual well-being and the advancement of broader societal and public health goals." IPPF argues that "comprehensive sexuality education" must be mandatory in school, and governments must also ensure that this education is delivered to those young people who are out of school.
IPPF claims that "With young people as partners, today's adult decision-makers have the chance to recast sex and sexuality as a positive force for change and development, as a source of pleasure, an embodiment of human rights and an expression of self."
A new morning-after pill that is available for free by prescription in Great Britain may be available over the counter as soon as 2012. EllaOne provides “protection” from pregnancyprotection from? They make pregnancy sound like a disease. for five days-- two days more than the current morning-after pill.
According to a document published by the European Medicine Agency, EllaOne has three “mechanisms of action”: the “ability to block, disrupt or delay ovulation,” the “ability to block or delay ovulation even after the onset of the LH surge,” and “ability to delay maturation of the endometrium likely resulting in prevention of implantation.” By preventing the implantation of a fertilized egg, EllaOne acts as an abortifacient and takes a human life.
A CNN anchor told his viewers last week that he could not make out for certain whether there were more pro-life or pro-abortion advocates demonstrating at the 37th annual March for Life - despite the fact that conservative estimates place several hundred thousand pro-life protesters in D.C. that day, compared to a few dozen pro-abortion counter-demonstrators.
Noting that there was a rally on the Washington Mall, CNN’s Rick Sanchez asserted, “So as you might imagine there are both sides being represented.”
But Sanchez then surmised that both sides might have had comparable numbers present.
“Which side is represented the most Angie, do we know?” Sanchez then queried to his producer. “Do we know?” When there was no response, Sanchez went on to promise that CNN would “keep an eye” on the situation and report on the matter “fairly and squarely.”
While Sanchez was speaking, CNN footage gave the initial impression of equal pro-life and pro-abortion numbers by using two close-up video shots of the small cadre of pro-abortion advocates gathered in front of the Supreme Court building. Another frame showed a close-up of individuals holding aloft pro-life signs with pro-abortion advocates jockeying for footage by walking with their signs in front of the camera.
I have posted about this "controversy" 3 times: HERE, HERE and HERE. The absurd part is that the pro-aborts haven't even seen the ad, and they are having fits because it is "pro-life". Please sign the petition to support CBS's decision to air it.
Pro-life forces are responding swiftly to the fierce pro-abortion campaign that is being waged against Focus on the Family’s pro-life ad featuring football superstar Tim Tebow, which is set to air on CBS during the Super Bowl on Feb. 7.
In the past few days, pro-abortion groups have generated over 120,000 letters to CBS, NFL, and Super Bowl advertising executives, asking that they scrap the ad, which has yet to be unveiled. Other pro-abortion organizations have generated thousands more.
In response, a petition was launched today by LSN, whereby pro-lifers can express support to CBS for its decision to air the ad, and exhort the network not to cave to pressure to drop the ad. The names of those who sign the petition will be forwarded on to CBS executives.
He was probably born about 517, provably in the North of England or Wales. His father's name was Cau (or Nau) and that he came from noble lineage. He probably had several brothers. It is likely that one of these, Cuil (or Hueil), was killed by King Arthur (who died in 537 AD). It also appears that he may have forgiven Arthur for this.
He lived in a time when the glory of Rome was faded from Britain. The permanent legions had been withdrawn by Maximus, who used them to sack Rome itself and make himself Emperor.
He was noted for his piety and well educated, and was not afraid of publicly rebuking contemporary monarchs, at a time when libel was answered by a sword, rather than a Court order.
Gildas lived for many years as a very ascetic hermit on Flatholm Island in the Bristol Channel. Here he established his reputation for that peculiar Celtic sort of holiness that consists of extreme self-denial and isolation. At around this time, according to the Welsh, he also preached to Nemata, the mother of St David, while she was pregnant with the Saint.
In about 547 he wrote a book De Excidio Britanniae (The Destruction of Britain). In this he writes a brief tale of the island from pre-Roman times and criticizes the rulers of the island for their lax morals and blames their sins (and those that follow them) for the destruction of civilization in Britain. The book was avowedly written as a moral tale.
He also wrote a longer work, the Epistle. This is a series of sermons on the moral laxity of rulers and of the clergy. In these Gildas shows that he has a wide reading of the Bible and of some other classical works.
He was also a very influential preacher, visiting Ireland and doing much missionary work. He was responsible for the conversion of much of the island and may be the one who introduced anchorite customs to the monks of that land.
He retired from Llancarfan to Rhuys, in Brittany, where he founded a monastery. Of his work on the running of a monastery (one of the earliest known in the Christian Church), only the so-called Penitential, a guide for Abbots in setting punishment, survives.
He died around 571, at Rhuys. The monastery that he had founded became the center of his cult.
He is regarded as being one of the most influential figures of the early English Church. The influence of his writing was felt until well into the middle ages, particularly in the Celtic Church. He is also important to us today as the first British writer whose works have survived fairly intact.
Good news for Kindle owners. CNA happens to be one of my favorite sites :)
CNA is proud to announce that our coverage of Catholic news from around the world is now available to our readers via Amazon's Kindle.
For a monthly fee of $1.99, readers can opt to have CNA’s news delivered wirelessly to their Kindle device. The service updates itself throughout the day through Amazon’s Whispernet, which ensures that all of the news is current.
The Kindle is an innovative device which downloads and displays books, blogs, and other media for easy reading, all without a computer. Using a 3G wireless network, the Kindle connects to an Amazon user account to update or download books and subscriptions.
The Kindle’s developers have worked to create a device that is as thin as most magazines, weighs less than a paperback, and is capable of storing up to 1,500 books. It also offers the option of having the the passage read aloud.
CNA hopes to reach more readers and become more accessible in our mission of delivering up-to-the-minute news about the Church in the world and the creation of a culture of life with this new and innovative service.
Readers can also take advantage of the 14-day free trial.
Defenders of a pro-life Super Bowl ad featuring sports star Tim Tebow have charged that critics are being unreasonable and venomous in their opposition to broadcasting the story of his mother’s “very brave and virtuous” decision to carry her unborn son to term despite the threat to her life. The 30-second ad is sponsored by Focus on the Family and intends to encourage respect for life. College football quarterback Tim Tebow and his mother Pam will reportedly share their story in the ad.
Pam Tebow refused medical advice to abort her unborn son after she contracted a life-threatening infection in the Philippines.
Pro-abortion women’s groups have criticized the ad and have called on CBS to refuse to air it. The National Organization for Women (NOW) has claimed it is “frankly offensive” to viewers, How is pro-life offensive? “hate masquerading as love.” They have said it sends the message that abortion is “always a mistake.” Well actually, abortion is always murder.
The New York-based Women’s Media Center, which is leading a petition effort, has billed the ad as an “attack on choice” that tries to “dictate morality” and risks women’s health by encouraging them to ignore medical advice.
One defender of the ad was Marjorie Dannenfelser of the Susan B. Anthony List. She claimed that the reaction of NOW and other abortion supporters was a sign of their increasingly unpopular pro-abortion position.
She reported that the NOW president Terry O’Neill has told the National Journal that the organization is struggling and “stalled out.”
An “aggressive” pro-abortion Obama administration has been formed by a litmus test requiring support for abortion, Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) said at the 2010 March for Life.
In a Jan. 22 video interview with CNSNews.com at the March for Life, Smith advised pro-life advocates to pray and fast.
“We need to pray for Obama. He is so obsessed with promoting abortion. All of his picks for secretary, under-secretary, assistant-secretary--all the gate-keepers in government--are now litmus-tested pro-abortionists, many of whom come right out of the abortion-rights movement,” Smith commented.
“And these movement abortionists are trying to use everything when we know it, or sometimes when we don’t know it, behind the scenes, to promote this agenda. So this is an aggressive pro-abortion administration.”
While he said former President Bill Clinton was “awful” for the pro-life cause, he told CNSNews.com it is even worse under President Obama.
Rep. Smith called for a “re-doubling” of pro-life efforts. He praised the 40 Days for Life campaign and other ministries for “saving women who are at great peril and risk.”
“The post-abortive work that is done so magnificently by this movement needs to accelerate,” he advised.
“All of that combined, you know, this is the greatest human rights struggle on earth, and I think everyone needs to realize that we need to do even more,” the Congressman told CNSNews.com.
St. Thomas ranks among the greatest writers and theologians of all time. His most important work, the Summa Theologiae, an explanation and summary of the entire body of Catholic teaching, has been standard for centuries, even to our own day. At the Council of Trent it was consulted after the Bible.
To a deeply speculative mind, he joined a remarkable life of prayer, a precious memento of which has been left to us in the Office of Corpus Christi. Reputed as great already in life, he nevertheless remained modest, a perfect model of childlike simplicity and goodness. He was mild in word and kind in deed. He believed everyone was as innocent as he himself was. When someone sinned through weakness, Thomas bemoaned the sin as if it were his own. The goodness of his heart shone in his face, no one could look upon him and remain disconsolate. How he suffered with the poor and the needy was most inspiring. Whatever clothing or other items he could give away, he gladly did. He kept nothing superfluous in his efforts to alleviate the needs of others.
After he died his lifelong companion and confessor testified, "I have always known him to be as innocent as a five-year-old child. Never did a carnal temptation soil his soul, never did he consent to a mortal sin." He cherished a most tender devotion to St. Agnes, constantly carrying relics of this virgin martyr on his person. He died in 1274, at the age of fifty, in the abbey of Fossa Nuova. He is the patron saint of schools and of sacred theology.
Could this be any more absurd? The pro-aborts know that their days are numbered...that pro-lifers are making progress. They can't stand to see someone support life.
"While visiting the National Gallery of Art this past Saturday, I ran into a pair of errant security guards who have taken to interpreting the Constitution in their spare time," she writes.
Duke planned to stop in to see some of the famous works of art after spending time at the March for Life.
Searching for inspiration for her interest in photography and anticipating a visit to an exhibit on processes of photography before the digital age, Duke entered the facility excited about her time there.
But, after searching her bag, two guards at the Gallery told her, "You're good to go in, but first you need to remove that pro-life pin.”
"The pin, they informed me, was a 'religious symbol' and a symbol of a particular political cause and it could not be worn inside a federal building," Duke continues.
CINO Pelosi ceased to be Catholic long ago when she decided to promote abortion.
Speaking with LifeSiteNews.com (LSN) after the Vigil for Life Mass last week, Lexington Bishop Ronald Gainer said that the Church has been “patient enough” with outspokenly pro-abortion Catholic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
LSN questioned Bishop Gainer on whether Pelosi should be denied communion due to her public stance as a ‘pro-choice’ Catholic. While acknowledging that it was up to her local bishop, the Lexington prelate did say that “something should be done.”
Pelosi’s latest salvo claiming to support abortion and yet be a faithful Catholic came in a December Newsweek interview. "I am a practicing Catholic,” she said, while suggesting that this made the U.S. bishops uncomfortable. "I practically mourn this difference of opinion,” she said regarding her conflict with the Church over abortion, “because I feel what I was raised to believe is consistent with what I profess, and that is that we are all endowed with, a free will and a responsibility to answer for our actions.” She added: “And that women should have that opportunity to exercise their free will."
Reacting to Pelosi’s stance, Bishop Gainer said, “to make these public statements is a betrayal of our Catholic faith and discipline.” The bishop noted that her position was a “contradiction” and stressed that “our Church is clear on what the teachings are regarding the sanctity of life, on the inviolability of human life.”
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.
A little late, but I just got the picture :) Here's my niece (carrying the sign) at the March for Life last week.
Amazing. The pro-aborts are having fits because Tebow has dared to make a pro-life ad. They haven't even seen it yet.
College football superstar Tim Tebow is standing fast behind a pro-life ad developed by Focus on the Family and set to air on CBS on Super Bowl Sunday. Although the ad has not been released, abortion advocacy groups are already demanding that it be scrapped, since it likely features the story of how Tebow’s mother chose life when doctors were urging her abort her now-famous son.
The college football superstar, who just ended his last season quarterbacking for the Florida Gators, has been an anomaly among top-tier athletes. Tebow makes no bones about his Christian faith, his pro-life convictions, and the fact that he wants to save himself for marriage.
But Tebow’s pro-life convictions spring from an unusually personal source: back in 1987, his mother contracted amoebic dysentery while pregnant with him in the Philippines, and doctors recommended abortion. Had Pam Tebow taken that advice, Tebow fans would never have seen the football phenomenon win the Heisman Trophy in 2007 and carry the Gators to victory in two major championships.
At a Sunday press conference in Mobile, Tebow told the gaggle of reporters: "I know some people won't agree with [the ad], but I think they can at least respect that I stand up for what I believe, and I'm never shy about that."
The saint was born in 1474 in the diocese of Verona. Early in life she dedicated herself to Christ as His bride. After the death of her parents, she desired to live solely for God in quiet and solitude, but her uncle insisted that she manage his household. She renounced her patrimony in order to observe most perfectly the rule for Franciscan Tertiaries.
During a pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 1524, she lost her eyesight temporarily. Pope Clement VII, whom she visited in Rome, desired her to remain in the Holy City. Later she founded a society for girls, under the protection of St. Ursula; this was the beginning of the Ursuline Order. St. Angela was almost seventy when she died; her body remained incorrupt for thirty days. Remarkable phenomena occurred at her burial in the Church of St. Afra.
Catholics of the Diocese of Austin rejoiced this morning to hear the words “Habemus episcopum! (We have a bishop!),” after it was made public that Pope Benedict appointed Auxiliary Bishop Joe S. Vásquez of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston to be Austin’s new shepherd. Bishop Vásquez is the first Mexican-American to lead the diocese and will be its fifth bishop.
The Apostolic Nuncio to the U.S., Archbishop Pietro Sambi, made the announcement in Washington D.C. this morning. The installation ceremony will take place in Austin on March 8, 2010.
Bishop Vásquez responded to his appointment, saying “"I wish to thank Pope Benedict XVI for the confidence he has placed in me in naming me shepherd of the Diocese of Austin." He also said that offered prayers of gratitude “for Daniel Cardinal DiNardo, Archbishop Emeritus Joseph A. Fiorenza and the priests, religious and laity of the Archdiocese for forming me as a bishop.”
“Most of all,” Bishop Vásquez said, “I give thanks to God for the gift of priesthood, which has brought me such joy for 25 years. I trust in the Holy Spirit to enlighten me for this next step in my journey,” he added.
I'm glad to see this investigation request. The pro-aborts try to hide and deny this risk to women.
Citing “confusing and conflicting messages” about the breast cancer risks of abortion and oral contraceptives, a coalition has sent a letter to President Obama and Congressional leaders calling for an investigation of the U.S. National Cancer Institute and the cessation of federal funding for abortion. The Jan. 20 letter was authored by the Coalition on Abortion / Breast Cancer (CABC) and was signed by several doctors and pro-life organizations.
The CABC letter cited the work of National Cancer Institute (NCI) researcher Dr. Louise Brinton. Brinton, the NCI’s Chief of the Hormonal and Reproductive Epidemiology Branch, was a co-author of a 2009 study which reported a statistically significant 40 percent breast cancer risk increase for women who have had abortions.
According to the CABC, the study listed abortion among “known and suspected risk factors.”
The CABC has been critical of a 2003 NCI workshop organized by Brinton that said the non-existence of an abortion-breast cancer link was “well established.” The NCI has updated its web page on the workshop to say “the evidence overall still does not support early termination of pregnancy as a cause of breast cancer.”
The letter from the CABC reported that the web page had not been updated since 2003 until Jan. 12, 2010, soon after press inquiries began concerning the 2009 study. The Coalition questioned whether this change was coincidental.
In the Coalition’s view, the contrast between the results of the 2009 study and the information on the NCI’s web site appears “disingenuous.”
The Saints of the Day for January 26 are Saints Timothy and Titus.
St. Timothy, born in Galatia in Asia Minor, was baptized and later ordained to the priesthood by St. Paul. The young Galatian became Paul's missionary companion and his most beloved spiritual son. St. Paul showed his trust in this disciple by consecrating him bishop of the great city of Ephesus. St. Timothy was stoned to death thirty years after St. Paul's martyrdom for having denounced the worship of the goddess Diana. According to the 1962 Missal of Bl. John XXIII the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite St. Timothy's feast is celebrated on January 24 and St. Titus on February 6.
St. Titus, a convert from paganism, was a fellow laborer of St. Paul on many apostolic missions. St. Paul later made him bishop of Crete, a difficult charge because of the character of the inhabitants and the spread of erroneous doctrines on that island. St. Paul's writings tell us that St. Titus rejoiced to discover what was good in others and drew the hearts of men by his wide and affectionate sympathy.
Pretty sad to have to ask nuns to remember their vows of obedience, but I'm still glad this inquiry is ongoing.
The American nun who has been appointed by the Vatican to conduct an apostolic visitation of American women’s religious orders has written to the leaders of women’s religious communities, asking for their cooperation in the inquiry. Mother Mary Clare Millea’s letter, dated January 12, implicitly acknowledges that many religious orders have failed to respond to earlier requests.
Mother Millea was appointed by the Congregation for Religious to head the apostolic visitation. Last year she sent questionnaires to the leaders of women’s religious orders, asking that they be returned by November 20. Many religious orders, joining in a refusal to cooperate with the Vatican inquiry, did not respond.
"As the family goes, so goes the nation and so goes the whole world in which we live." Pope John Paul II
Very disappointing to see Cindy McCain agreeing that the will of the people doesn't matter, that same-sex "marriage" should be forced on society. In every state in which it has been voted on, the people have consistently stated that they do NOT want same-sex "marriage". They have civil unions and domestic partnerships, why do they have to redefine marriage to suit their agenda?What if someone loves their pet? Do we redefine marriage for them too?
Cindy McCain, the wife of former Republican presidential candidate Senator John McCain, has joined a campaign supporting same-sex "marriage" by having her picture taken for the campaign's website, and has prompted the senator to issue a clarifying statement reaffirming his opposition to gay “marriage.”
In the photo for the group, NOH8, she has "NOH8" written on her face (the letters are a reference to Proposition 8, California’s ban on same sex "marriage") and has her mouth covered in silvery duct tape.
NOH8 was started in opposition to Prop. 8 by a group calling itself "Love Honor Cherish".
The founder of the group, Adam Bouska, said he was surprised by Mrs. McCain's support.
“In the year since we’ve started the NOH8 campaign, we’ve often been surprised at some of the different individuals who have approached us showing their support. Few, though, have surprised us more than Cindy McCain,” Bouska told the media.
Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, one of the groups that supported the successful Proposition 8 campaign in California, said he doubted Mrs. McCain's endorsement of same-sex "marriage" would have any effect on public opinion.
St. Paul was born at Tarsus, Cilicia, of Jewish parents who were descended from the tribe of Benjamin. He was a Roman citizen from birth. As he was "a young man" at the stoning of Stephen and "an old man" when writing to Philemon, about the year 63, he was probably born around the beginning of the Christian era.
To complete his schooling, St. Paul was sent to Jerusalem, where he sat at the feet of the learned Gamaliel and was educated in the strict observance of the ancestral Law. Here he also acquired a good knowledge of exegesis and was trained in the practice of disputation. As a convinced and zealous Pharisee, he returned to Tarsus before the public life of Christ opened in Palestine.
Some time after the death of Our Lord, St. Paul returned to Palestine. His profound conviction made his zeal develop to a religious fanaticism against the infant Church. He took part in the stoning of the first martyr, St. Stephen, and in the fierce persecution of the Christians that followed.
Entrusted with a formal mission from the high priest, he departed for Damascus to arrest the Christians there and bring them bound to Jerusalem. As he was nearing Damascus, about noon, a light from heaven suddenly blazed round him. Jesus with His glorified body appeared to him and addressed him, turning him away from his apparently successful career.
An immediate transformation was wrought in the soul of St. Paul. He was suddenly converted to the Christian Faith. He was baptized, changed his name from Saul to Paul, and began travelling and preaching the Faith. He was martyred as an Apostle in Rome around 65 AD.
John Crowley (Brendan Fraser) and his wife Aileen (Keri Russell) have 3 children; two of those children, Megan and Patrick have Pompe disease, which is slowly killing them by destroying their muscles and organs. Crowley does research and finds Dr. Robert Stonehill (Harrison Ford), who has discovered an enzyme that may be able to treat Pompe. Most of the movie focuses on raising funds for the research. This is accomplished by starting a foundation and yet another company. They are continually fighting against the odds.
I would not classify this as a "feel good" movie. Although there are humorous moments, it is fairly serious story. The themes most prevalent are perseverance, hope and people doing for others. The strongest quality is how well Brendan Fraser, Keri Russell and Harrison Ford play their roles.
As I blogged earlier, today is the West Coast Walk for Life in San Francisco. I watched the coverage on EWTN.
You can now text a $5.00 donation to Walk for Life via your cell phone. Text Support Life to 20222 - you may donate up to five times. A one-time donation of $5 will be added to your mobile phone bill or deducted from your prepaid balance. Messaging and Data Rates May Apply. All charges are billed by and payable to your mobile service provider. Service is available on most carriers. Donations are collected for the benefit of Walk for Life West Coast by the Mobile Giving Foundation and subject to the terms found at www.hmgf.org/t. You can unsubscribe at any time by replying STOP to short code 20222; Reply HELP to 20222 for help.
As a top prospect for the Oakland Athletics, outfielder Grant Desme might've gotten the call every minor leaguer wants this spring.
Instead, he believed he had another, higher calling.
Desme announced Friday that he was leaving baseball to enter the priesthood, walking away after a breakout season in which he became MVP of the Arizona Fall League.
"I was doing well at ball. But I really had to get down to the bottom of things," the 23-year-old Desme said. "I wasn't at peace with where I was at."
A lifelong Catholic, Desme thought about becoming a priest for about a year and a half. He kept his path quiet within the sports world, and his plan to enter a seminary this summer startled the A's when he told them Thursday night.
General manager Billy Beane "was understanding and supportive," Desme said, but the decision "sort of knocked him off his horse." After the talk, Desme felt "a great amount of peace."
"I love the game, but I aspire to higher things," he said. "I know I have no regrets."
In a statement, Beane said: "We respect Grant's decision and wish him nothing but the best in his future endeavors."
Pope Benedict XVI has a new commandment for priests struggling to get their message across: Go forth and blog.
The pope, whose own presence on the Web has heavily grown in recent years, urged priests on Saturday to use all multimedia tools at their disposal to preach the Gospel and engage in dialogue with people of other religions and cultures.
And just using e-mail or surfing the Web is often not enough: Priests should use cutting-edge technologies to express themselves and lead their communities, Benedict said in a message released by the Vatican.
"The spread of multimedia communications and its rich 'menu of options' might make us think it sufficient simply to be present on the Web," but priests are "challenged to proclaim the Gospel by employing the latest generation of audiovisual resources," he said.
The message, prepared for the World Day of Communications, suggests such possibilities as images, videos, animated features, blogs, and Web sites.
Benedict said young priests should become familiar with new media while still in seminary, though he stressed that the use of new technologies must reflect theological and spiritual principles.
Archbishop of Toledo; died 23 January, 667. He was born of a distinguished family and was a nephew of St. Eugenius, his predecessor in the See of Toledo. At an early age, despite the determined opposition of his father, he embraced the monastic life in the monastery of Agli, near Toledo. He was ordained a deacon, about 630. Called by King Reccesvinth, towards the end of 657, to fill the archiepiscopal throne of Toledo, he governed the Church of Toledo for a little more than nine years and was buried in the Basilica of Saint Leocadia.
Ildephonsus, it is said, was one day praying before the relics of Saint Leocadia, when the martyr arose from her tomb and thanked the saint for the devotion he showed towards the Mother of God. It was related, further, that on another occasion the Blessed Virgin appeared to him in person and presented him with a priestly vestment, to reward him for his zeal in honoring her.
The literary work of Ildephonsus is better known than the details of his life, and merits for him a distinguished place in the roll of Spanish writers.
Arriving over an hour early for the 6:30pm Vigil Mass for the March for Life yesterday, not only was every seat in the massive Basilica of the National Shrine occupied, but so was every good standing area. Brian McFee, his wife Molly and their children Lucas and Dominic were in the front row of seats open to the public – but to gain this distinction they had to arrive at 1pm to stake out their spot.
The Mass, which precedes the annual March for Life, is a joyous celebration of faith and commitment to life, and a stunning spectacle. Five Cardinals accompanying 40 other bishops and archbishops concelebrated the Mass with 350 priests. Also in the sanctuary were 65 deacons and a whopping 550 seminarians and 60 servers.
Hundreds of men and women religious also took part, with the steps leading up the to the sanctuary taken up by a large contingent of the Sisters of Life. Well over 8,000 faithful jammed every nook and cranny of the spacious Basilica both in the main church and the crypt below.
Tens of thousands of people are gathered in the nation's capital today to mark the anniversary of Roe v. Wade and protest abortion in the annual March for Life. Gathering from all over the country, protesters of all ages first heard from prominent pro-life, political and religious leaders before beginning the march.
Congressman Chris Smith (R-N.J.) was among the politicians who addressed the crowd on Friday, saying, “Thank you one and all for being an important part of the greatest human rights struggle on earth – the right to life movement. By the grace of God, we stand behind, with and unabashedly for both victims of abortion – women and children.”
The sheer number of people has caused a traffic advisory to be issued for the District. The volume of protesters has also allowed for two separate marches to take place. The first route will proceed East on Constitution Avenue to First Street, NE, then South on First Street, NE, to the United States Supreme Court where they will rally and then disband.
It is hard to take Fr. Jenkins' 'pro-life' intentions seriously when he ignored the objections of about 70 Bishops and the pleas of thousands of people and decided to invite the most pro-abort president in history to speak at "supposed to be" Catholic Notre Dame and give him an honorary degree. And he still hasn't dropped the charges against the "ND88", who protested his anti-life, anti-Catholic decision.
Eight months after the University of Notre Dame drew criticism from over 70 bishops for awarding an honorary degree to President Barack Obama, Father John Jenkins has traveled to Washington for the March for Life for the first time since he became university president.
“We’re very glad to have Father Jenkins and faculty coming,” said pro-life student leader Mary Daly, who opposed the decision to President Obama an honorary degree. “This is something we’ve been working to get for a several years now.”
Famed actress Jennifer O'Neill, civil rights activist Dr. Alveda King, and 45 Silent No More women and men from across the country will testify to their abortion experiences this Friday at 3:00 pm in front of the Supreme Court Building.
"The Silent No More Awareness Campaign was born of the grief, pain, and suffering that those of us who have had abortions know all too well," said Georgette Forney, a co-founder of the SNMAC. "We are growing in number because women have found that abortion is not the answer, it's the problem."
Fr. Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests for Life, will gather with the Silent No More witnesses as the March for Life reaches the top of Capitol Hill. "The empty slogans of the child-killing industry avoid the realities of abortion," he stated. "The Silent No More Awareness Campaign lives and breathes those realities every day. One can't help but be moved and motivated by their stories."
In every state, including California, where it has been put to a vote, the people have maintained that they do NOT support same-sex marriage. But the anti-family activists continue their efforts to force it on society.
Homosexualist activists hope the case will determine that California's Proposition 8, which amended the California constitution to clarify that marriage is only be between a man and a woman, is an violation of the United States Constitution's Fourteenth Amendment, which guarantees equal protection beneath the law. Should the court rule that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional, it could ultimately lead to the overthrow of dozens of state amendments and laws passed defending traditional marriage and to the erasure of years of effort by traditional marriage activists.
"It’s impossible to overstate the importance of this case to the future of marriage in America," said Ron Prentice of ProtectMarriage.com. "Not only is the constitutionality of California’s Prop 8 at stake, but so are the marriage laws of 45 other states and the federal Defense of Marriage Act."
Homosexualist activists have attempted to paint the issue in the colors of the civil rights movement. David Boies, a lawyer for the two homosexual couples that are plaintiffs in this case, has written that "Proposition 8 is the residue of centuries of figurative and literal gay-bashing." He calls homosexuality "a condition that, like race, has historically been subject to abusive and often violent discrimination."
Similarly, in his opening statement in the case, his fellow attorney Theodor Olson said that "this case is about marriage and equality. The plaintiffs are being denied both the right to marry and equality under the law." He also said that that Proposition 8 adds yet another chapter to the long history of discrimination in America.
In their opposing brief, lawyers representing California argued that “the traditional definition of marriage does not reflect animus against gays and lesbians — in California or anywhere else. Nor is it in anyway arbitrary or irrational."
Court witnesses arguing against California’s Proposition 8 have described religious beliefs of those who believe marriage is between a man and a woman as biased and a “chief obstacle” to homosexuals’ “political progress.” The comments were part of a “troubling” attack on religion, Proposition 8 defenders say.
Proposition 8, the successful 2008 California ballot issue that restored to state law the definition of marriage as a union between a man and a wife, is being challenged in federal court by opponents who claim it is unconstitutional.
Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on the way religion is being implicated in the Proposition 8 trial contesting the constitutionality of the California resolution affirming the traditional view of marriage:
Lawyers for the anti-Prop 8 side are touting Stanford University professor Gary Segura’s testimony that religious groups which supported Prop 8 constituted 34 percent of the nation’s population, while only 2 percent of religions opposed it. His comment was grossly misleading.
In all the dioceses of the United States of America, January 22 (or January 23, when the 22nd falls on a Sunday) shall be observed as a particular day of penance for violations to the dignity of the human person committed through acts of abortion, and of prayer for the full restoration of the legal guarantee of the right to life.January 22 is the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, and the annual March for Life in Washington, D.C.
Vincent of Saragossa was one of the Church's three most illustrious deacons, the other two being Stephen and Lawrence. He is also Spain's most renowned martyr. Ordained deacon by Bishop Valerius of Saragossa, he was taken in chains to Valencia during the Diocletian persecution and put to death. From legend we have the following details of his martyrdom. After brutal scourging in the presence of many witnesses, he was stretched on the rack; but neither torture nor blandishments nor threats could undermine the strength and courage of his faith. Next, he was cast on a heated grating, lacerated with iron hooks, and seared with hot metal plates. Then he was returned to prison, where the floor was heavily strewn with pieces of broken glass. A heavenly brightness flooded the entire dungeon, filling all who saw it with greatest awe.
After this he was placed on a soft bed in the hope that lenient treatment would induce apostasy, since torture had proven ineffective. But strengthened by faith in Christ Jesus and the hope of everlasting life, Vincent maintained an invincible spirit and overcame all efforts, whether by fire, sword, rack, or torture to induce defection. He persevered to the end and gained the heavenly crown of martyrdom.
Tomorrow, Friday January 22, the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, there will be the huge annual March for Life in Washington, D.C. The following day, Saturday January 23, there will be the big annual Walk for Life West Coast in San Francisco. I will be blogging about both events here, and EWTN will be covering both events all day. If you can't watch it on TV, you can watch or listen online atEWTN.com. It will be interesting to see if they get any coverage in the MSM. The MSM likes to ignore these pro-life events, but there will be thousands of people there. Please join them in prayer! The event will begin tonight, with a Mass from the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington at 6:30 p.m. EST.
Two days after voters in the liberal state of Massachusetts sent a message to Congress that even they don't want the pro-abortion health care bill, the House and Senate bills appear unlikely to go anywhere. Though no official decision has been made, Democrats and Obama officials are looking at starting over.
The Senate had approved a bill that would force taxpayers to finance abortions and that measure was expected to be the basis of a merged bill.
That was before Republican Senate candidate Scott Brown defeated pro-abortion stalwart Martha Coakley in a special election in Massachusetts.
Now, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi concedes the bill is apparently dead.
"I don't see the votes for it at this time," Pelosi told reporters during her weekly press conference. "The members have been very clear." Duh! You finally realize this? Did you not hear all the town halls this past summer and the polls since then? We DON'T want socialized healthcare!
The new senator-elect from Massachusetts is not Catholic, but he has a long-standing relationship with an order of nuns:
The family worships at New England Chapel in Franklin, a member of the Christian Reformed Church of America, a Protestant denomination, but has developed a special relationship with an order of Cistercian Catholic nuns at Mt. St. Mary's Abbey in Wrentham.
Many of the 48 nuns are from other countries, and Brown's first contact was in response to their request for help on an immigration matter.
"It has turned into a beautiful friendship,'' said Sister Katie McNamara, the monastery's nurse.
Brown raised money to buy a special golf cart to transport elderly sisters, and, with his wife, has assisted efforts to raise $5.5 million needed to replace the order's 50-year-old candy factory with an environmentally friendly plant, complete with solar panels and a wind turbine. The order is self-sustaining through sale of its candies and fudges.
"We pray for them every day,'' Sister Katie said of Brown and his family.
"When you have nuns praying for you three times a day and you're not Catholic, anything that anybody can do or say about me, it's Teflon,'' Brown said. "It bounces right off.''
They say a picture is worth a thousands words, but, in this case, it may be worth one million. Pro-life advocates are unveiling a display of one million pennies at the White House today to tell President Barack Obama that Americans don't want any abortion funding in any health care bill.
The pro-life groups sponsoring the effort tell LifeNews.com they want to remind Obama that abortion is not health care and that 71% of Americans oppose tax dollars being used to pay for and subsidize abortion.
The Christian Defense Coalition, Operation Rescue and Generation Life say the pennies display is a "teaching moment for the President to learn that not one penny of public money should be spent to destroy and diminish human life through abortion and that human rights begin in the womb."
The pennies were purchased with money donated by pro-life people from across the country who don't want to pay for abortions under the health care bill.
Agnes is one of the most glorious saints in the calendar of the Roman Church. The greatest Church Fathers vie with one another in sounding her praise and glory. St. Jerome writes: "All nations, especially their Christian communities, praise in word and writing the life of St. Agnes. She triumphed over her tender age as well as over the merciless tyrant. To the crown of spotless innocence she added the glory of martyrdom."
Our saint's name should be traced to the Greek hagne - the pure, rather than to the Latin agna - lamb. But the Latin derivation prevailed in the early Church. The reason may have been that eight days after her death Agnes appeared to her parents with a train of virgins, and a lamb at her side. St. Augustine knew both derivations. "Agnes", he writes, "means 'lamb' in Latin, but in Greek it denotes 'the pure one'". The Latin interpretation occasioned the yearly blessing of the St. Agnes lambs; it takes place on this day in the Church of which she is patron, and the wool is used in weaving the palliums worn by archbishops and, through privilege, by some bishops. In the church built by the Emperor Constantine over the saint's grave, Pope Gregory the Great preached a number of homilies. Reliable details concerning the life of St. Agnes are very few. The oldest material occurs in St. Ambrose's De Virginibus, parts of which are read today at Matins. The value of the later (definitely unauthentic) "Passion" of the saint is enhanced by the fact that various antiphons and responsories in the Office are derived from it.
From such liturgical sources we may construct the following "life of St. Agnes". One day when Agnes, then thirteen years old, was returning home from school, she happened to meet Symphronius, a son of the city prefect. At once he became passionately attracted to her and tried to win her by precious gifts. Agnes repelled him, saying: "Away from me, food of death, for I have already found another lover" (r. Ant.). "With His ring my Lord Jesus Christ has betrothed me, and He has adorned me with the bridal crown" (3. Ant., Lauds). "My right hand and my neck He has encircled with precious stones, and has given me earrings with priceless pearls; He has decked me with lovely, glittering gems" (2. Ant.). "The Lord has clothed me with a robe of gold, He has adorned me with priceless jewels" (4. Ant.). "Honey and milk have I received from His mouth, and His blood has reddened my cheeks" (5. Ant.). "I love Christ, into whose chamber I shall enter, whose Mother is a virgin, whose Father knows not woman, whose music and melody are sweet to my ears. When I love Him, I remain chaste; when I touch Him, I remain pure; when I possess Him, I remain a virgin" (2. Resp.). "I am betrothed to Him whom the angels serve, whose beauty the sun and moon admire" (9. Ant.). "For Him alone I keep my troth, to Him I surrender with all my heart" (6. Ant.).
Incensed by her rebuff, Symphronius denounced Agnes to his father, the city prefect. When he threatened her with commitment to a house of ill fame, Agnes replied: "At my side I have a protector of my body, an angel of the Lord" (2. Ant., Lauds). "When Agnes entered the house of shame, she found an angel of the Lord ready to protect her" (1. Ant., Lauds). A light enveloped her and blinded all who tried to approach. Then another judge condemned her to the stake because the pagan priests accused her of sorcery.
Surrounded by flames she prayed with outstretched arms: "I beseech You, Father almighty, most worthy of awe and adoration. Through Your most holy Son I escaped the threats of the impious tyrant and passed through Satan's filth with feet unsullied. Behold, I now come to You, whom I have loved, whom I have sought, whom I have always desired." She gave thanks as follows: "O You, the almighty One, who must be adored, worshipped, feared - I praise You because through Your only begotten Son I have escaped the threats of wicked men and have walked through the filth of sin with feet unsullied. I extol You with my lips, and I desire You with all my heart and strength."
After the flames died out, she continued: "I praise You, Father of my Lord Jesus Christ, because by Your Son the fire around me was extinguished" (4. Ant., Lauds). And now she longed for union with Christ: "Behold, what I yearned for, I already see; what I hoped for, I already hold in embrace; with Him I am united in heaven whom on earth I loved with all my heart" (Ben. Ant.). Her wish was granted; the judge ordered her beheaded.
Warning: Potential Spoilers
