Former President Bush's memoir will highlight influence of Pope John Paul II

An early preview of President George W. Bush's forthcoming memoir “Decision Points,” has revealed that the book will discuss the former president's relationship with Pope John Paul II—especially the Pope's influence on his decision to restrict embryonic stem cell research.

The Pontiff and president met publicly in 2001, 2002 and 2004, for discussions that displayed both profound agreements and serious differences between the two men.

On October 28, 2010, the Drudge Report posted exclusive details from the president's memoir (available November 9). Their first look at “Decision Points” mentioned that the Pope's vision of a “culture of life” helped the president understand the dignity of embryonic human lives, even as proponents of embryonic research urged him to consider the possible benefits.

During their first meeting, in July of 2001, Pope John Paul II reminded the president that “a free and virtuous society, which America aspires to be, must reject practices that devalue and violate human life at any stage from conception to natural death.”

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Happy Halloween!

St. Alonso Rodriguez

The Saint of the Day for October 30 is St. Alonso Rodriguez.

Alonso Rodriguez was born in Segovia, Spain, the third of 11 children into a wool merchant family.

His journey toward consecrated life was not a simple one. He began his studies with the Jesuits at age 14. Not much later, his father died So Alonso returned home to learn and manage the family business. At age 26, he married Mary Suarez. Together they had three children though two of them died in infancy. His wife rapidly followed their two children to the grave. By his early 30s, Alonso was a widower. He sold his business, which had suffered much, and moved in with his sisters, who helped him raise his son.

Not long after that, his son died as well. It was then that he decided to follow his call to the religious life. He was initially refused by the Jesuits because he lacked the education they required, but was later allowed to enter as a Jesuit lay brother in Valencia in 1571. He became a Jesuit lay brother at the age of 39, taking final vows at the age of 54.

Alonzo served as a porter at the Jesuit college in Majorca for 46 years. People sought his spiritual advice and he influenced many over the years at his post. He was the friend and roommate of St. Peter Claver and advised him to request missionary work in South America. He was also said to heal the sick by fervent prayer.

He underwent extreme self-imposed austerities, which nearly destroyed his health. Finally, at age 60 he was ordered to begin sleeping in a bed.

He died in 1617 of natural causes.

video: Bruskewitz and the Poor

The controversial bishop speaks out about the role of the Church in defeating poverty

Catholic League president spars with NPR over religious 'double standard'

Go Bill!  He is absolutely right.  NPR has no problem offending Catholics.

After National Public Radio fired commentator Juan Williams on Oct. 20, for saying on a television program that he felt unnerved by Muslims on airplanes, a number of persistent questions resurfaced about public discourse in a post-9/11 world, and the line between civility and censorship.


Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League, has another question for NPR: Does the network have one standard for discussing Muslims, and another for talking about Catholics? He believes it does - but NPR has stood by its record, saying that Donohue's examples don't add up.


On Oct. 26, Donohue jumped into the debate over Williams' firing, wondering why “no one has been terminated by NPR” for what he called “anti-Catholic fare.” He cited a local affiliate's program that mocked the Eucharist, a nationally aired performance of Tom Lehrer's “Vatican Rag” (also satirizing the sacrament), and discussions of whether “too many Catholics” were on the Supreme Court.


“As I've documented, there are many instances where National Public Radio has acted in the most offensive way to Roman Catholics,” Donohue told CNA. Those instances, he alleged, were much worse than what Williams had been fired for saying about Muslims. Donohue called the remark “fairly innocuous,” saying it had “probably been made by so many Americans over a cup of coffee.”


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St. Narcissus

The Saint of the Day for October 29 is  St. Narcissus.


St. Narcissus was born towards the end of the first century, and he was almost 80 years old when he made the 30th bishop of Jerusalem.


In 195, he and Theophilus, bishop of Caesarea in Palestine, presided over a council of bishops of Palestine held at Caesarea, around Easter; where it was decreed that the feast be kept always on a Sunday, and not continually with the Jewish Passover.


The bishop and historian Eusebius says the following miracle can be attributed to him: One year on Easter-eve the deacons did not have any oil for the lamps in the church, necessary at the solemn divine office that day. Narcissus ordered those who had care of the lamps to bring him some water from the neighboring wells. This being done, he pronounced a devout prayer over the water. Then he bade them pour it into the lamps; which they did. The water was immediately converted into oil, to the great surprise of the faithful. Some of this miraculous oil was kept there as a memorial at the time when Eusebius wrote his history.


The veneration of all good men for this holy bishop, however, could not shelter him from the malice of the wicked. Three incorrigible sinners, fearing his severity in the observance of ecclesiastical discipline, accused him of something terrible. The sinners swore that they were right, adding the following to their testimony: One wished that he might perish by fire, another, that he might be struck with a leprosy, and the third, that he might lose his sight, if what they alleged was not the truth. Their accusations were false, however, and soon, Divine Retribution called upon them. The first was burnt in his house, with his whole family, by an accidental fire in the night; the second was struck with a universal leprosy; and the third, terrified by these examples, confessed the conspiracy and slander, and by the abundance of tears which he continually shed for his sins, lost his sight before his death.


Narcissus either could not stand the shock of the bold calumny, or perhaps he made it an excuse for leaving Jerusalem to spend some time in solitude, which had long been his wish. He spent several years undiscovered in his retreat, where he enjoyed all the happiness and advantage which a close conversation with God can bestow.


The neighboring bishops appointed a new pastor for his church until Narcissus returned. Upon his return, the faithful rejoiced and convinced him to once again undertake the administration of the diocese, which he did. As he reached extreme old age, he made St. Alexander his coadjutor. St. Narcissus continued to serve his flock, and even other churches, by his assiduous prayers and his earnest exhortations to unity and concord, as St. Alexander testifies in his letter to the Arsinoites in Egypt, where he says that Narcisus was at that time about one hundred and sixteen years old. The Roman Martyrology honors his memory on the 29th of October.

video: Murky Message

video: We Are The Catholic Vote !

New Catholic Cardinal: Catholics Can’t Vote for Pro-Abortion Candidates

I knew it was Burke before I even read the article...He's one of the most consistent in teaching true Church doctrine.


The Catholic leader who Pope Benedict named a new cardinal said in a new interview that faithful Catholics can’t in good conscience vote for pro-abortion candidates.
Pope Benedict XVI named Raymond Burke, the former Archbishop of St. Louis, as one of two Americans who will become cardinals in the Catholic Church last week.


Burke, who is the prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, the Church’s “Supreme Court” gave an interview to Thomas McKenna, President of Catholic Action for Faith and Family.


“As a bishop it’s my obligation in fact, to urge the faithful to carry out their civic duty in accord with their Catholic faith,” Burke said.

“You can never vote for someone who favors absolutely the right to choice of a woman to destroy a human life in her womb or the right to a procured abortion,” he added plainly.


From the catechism:


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.

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Baltimore sisters auctioning rare baseball card to raise mission funds

A Baltimore-based group of religious sisters is auctioning off a rare baseball card to raise support for the community’s missions to the poor. A member from Baltimore’s School Sisters of Notre Dame received the highly valued card featuring Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Honus Wagner in her deceased brother’s will.


Sister Virginia Muller told the Associated Press (AP) that the slightly damaged card of Wagner, one of only 60 that exist, was bequeathed to one of the sisters in a safety deposit box with a typewritten note explaining its value.


"It just boggles your mind," Sr. Muller said. "I can't remember a time when we have received anything like this."


A card in mint condition from the same early 1900s batch went for $2.8 million in 2007 – the highest price ever paid for a baseball card.


Wagner, known as the “Flying Dutchman,” was one of the five original inductees into baseball's Hall of Fame and compiled a .328 batting average during his career.


Although the sisters’ card is wrinkled and laminated, its estimated value is between $150,000 and $200,000.


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Feast of Sts. Simon and Jude, Apostles

The Saints of the Day for October 28 are Sts. Simon and Jude


However meagre in details is the history of these glorious apostles, we learn from their brief legend how amply they contributed to this great work of generating sons of God. Without any repose, and even to the shedding of their blood, they "edified the body of Christ"; and the grateful Church thus prays to our Lord today: "O God, through the work of the apostles you have spoken your Word of love, your Son, into our world's deafness. Open our ears to hear; open our hearts to heed; open our will to obey, that we may proclaim the good news with our lives."

St. Simon is represented in art with a saw, the instrument of his martyrdom. St. Jude's square points him out as an architect of the house of God. St. Paul called himself by this name; and St. Jude, by his Catholic Epistle, has also a special right to be reckoned among our Lord's principal workmen. But our apostle had another nobility, far surpassing all earthly titles: being nephew, by his father Cleophas or Alpheus, to St. Joseph, and legal cousin to the Man-God, Jude was one of those called by their compatriots the brethren of the carpenter's Son. We may gather from St. John's Gospel another precious detail concerning him. In the admirable discourse at the close of the last Supper, our Lord said: "He that loveth Me, shall be loved of My Father: and I will love him and will manifest Myself to him." Then Jude asked Him: "Lord, how is it, that Thou wilt manifest Thyself to us, and not to the world?" And he received from Jesus this reply: "If any one love Me, he will keep My word, and My Father will love him, and We will come to him, and will make Our abode with him. He that loveth Me not keepeth not My word. And the word which you have heard is not Mine, but the Father's who sent Me."


The churches of St. Peter in Rome and Saint-Sernin at Toulouse dispute the honor of possessing the greater part of their holy remains.

Hating on Catholics

The recent Associated Press article on faithful Catholics defending the Faith on the internet has brought out the Catholic hating crowd.

video: Voting Right!

Catholics can only vote for one thing, and it's not the economy.

Ohio billboard case on abortion funding in health care law advances

How Ridiculous.


Obamacare DOES fund abortion (and contraception) with taxpayer dollars.
Driehaus voted FOR Obamacare.
Therefore, Driehaus DID support taxpayer-funded abortions.


So why doesn't he want anyone to know that?


I'm not a lawyer, but I frankly don't see how he has a case.


A federal judge ruled Oct. 26 that Rep. Steve Driehaus’ complaint against the Susan B. Anthony List (SBA List) may proceed. The congressman has asked the Ohio Elections Commission to decide whether the pro-life group’s ad charge that he voted for abortion funding was an illegal false statement.


Driehaus’ campaign plans to depose SBA List president Marjorie Dannenfelser, executive director Emily Buchanan, and former U.S. Rep. Marilyn Musgrave, a spokeswoman for the group. His campaign has asked for thousands of documents, including e-mails discussing the billboards, in part to evaluate whether the group believes its argument, Politico.com reports.


Making false statements in political campaigns is a violation of Ohio criminal law.


The SBA List had planned to run billboards reading “Shame on Steve Driehaus! Driehaus voted FOR taxpayer-funded abortion.”


According to the SBA List, Rep. Driehaus’ attorney convinced Lamar Companies not to put up the billboards in order to avoid being added to the complaint. The pro-life group has announced a $50,000 radio ad buy in Rep. Driehaus’ district.


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St. Frumentius Of Ethiopia

The Saint of the Day for October 27 is St. Frumentius Of Ethiopia.


St. Frumentius helped bring Christianity to Ethiopia. He was born in Lebanon and was shipwrecked in East Africa while voyaging on the Red Sea. Only he and his brother, Aedeius, survived.


They were taken to the king at Axum, Ethiopia, and became members of the court. When the king died, the two brothers stayed on as part of the queen's court. She permitted them to introduce Christianity to the country, as well as opening up trade between Ethiopia and the west.


Frumentius convinced St. Athanasius to send missionaries from Alexandria. He was later consecrated as the bishop of Ethiopia. He converted many people to Christianity before his death in 380. He is the patron of Ethiopia. His brother, Aedeius, was also canonized.

Movie Review: The Grace Card - PG13

Coming to theaters 2-25-11

Mac McDonald is a miserable person.  17 years ago,  his young son was hit and killed by a car.   Today, his anger is still impacting both his family life and his job as a cop.  His surviving son Blake is hanging out with a bad crowd and flunking out of school.  His wife is seeking counseling to cope with their unhappy life.  His  supervisor at the police dept. is also concerned about his attitude and assigns him a partner, which Mac is not happy about.

His new partner is Sam Wright, who is a part-time pastor who would like it to be full time.  He is a cop in order to provide for his family.

It was actually disturbing to see how Mac impacts those around him:  his wife, his son and his partner.   Both Mac and Sam are missing something in their life;  Mac has shut God out of his life for a long time, and Sam begins to doubt his calling as a pastor.

Sam relies on his faith, and guidance from his grandfather George (Louis Gossett Jr.), but it takes a tragic incident to provide the impetus for change that Mac needs in his life.

I've reviewed quite a few movies that emphasize forgiveness, but The Grace Card brought it to a whole new level.   The ending is especially emotional, and unexpected.

A very good movie worth seeing.

http://www.thegracecardmovie.com/

video: New York Times Anti-Catholic Bias?

From the Catholic League:

Archbishop Dolan's Critics Prove Revealing

Fewer People Mean Less Government Cost: Planned Parenthood President

What an ignorant statement.  In the 30+ years since Roe v. Wade, 50+ million babies have been aborted, and millions more contracepted.   How much taxes would they be paying?  How much would they be paying into Social Security?  The estimates are in the trillions.

The president of Planned Parenthood (PP) has argued that the new federal health care reform ought to consider funding all contraception with taxpayer dollars because preventing new children leads to less government expense. If it weren't so tragic, I'd put a LOL here.


In an appearance on the Bill Press radio show, PP President Cecile Richards said that, although the costs of the federal health care bill already promise to skyrocket out of control, federal officials ought to consider covering birth control because of the "cost savings" benefit of fewer children being born.


"I think it's important, Bill, to understand that unlike some other issues of cost, birth control is one of those issues that actually saves the government money," said Richards. "So an investment in covering birth control actually in the long run is a huge cost savings because women don't have children that they weren't planning on having and all the sort of attendant cost for unplanned pregnancy.


"So we actually feel that covering birth control is not only it's the right thing to do for women, it's good for women, it's good for their health care, but it's frankly good public policy."

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Democratic Ad: Catholic Church More Concerned About Abortion Than Poor

Pro-aborts always try to conceal the fact that abortion ends lives.  This is an attempt to both draw attention from it, and attack the church at the same time.  There is nothing more important than defending life.

A campaign postcard the Minnesota Democratic Party sent to voters in the Midwestern state is causing a strong reaction from pro-life advocates. It claims the Catholic Church is more concerned with abortion than helping the poor.The postcard features a large photo of a older but faceless Catholic priest holding a Bible and wearing the clearly-seen Roman Catholic collar.


The priest sports a campaign button in a red, white and blue motif with the words, “Ignore the Poor.”


The ad, in the estimation of National Catholic Register writer Matt Archbold is blatantly Catholic and meant to tell voters the Catholic Church is more concerned about abortion than the plight of the poor.


“Sometimes there’s a little subtlety to anti-Catholic political rhetoric but not this time. This is in your face anti-Catholicism,” he said. “It’s anti-Catholicism is not one point of many. It’s the point.”

“Never mind the factual basis the charge that the Church ignores the poor is absolutely ridiculous because the Church is the most charitable organization on the planet,” he continued.


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New Bishop for Orlando

The Vatican announced over the weekend that Pope Benedict appointed a new shepherd for the Orlando diocese in Florida. Bishop John Noonan, who currently serves as an auxiliary in the Archdiocese of Miami, will now serve over 800,000 Catholics as the 5th bishop of the Orlando diocese.


“Vatican II calls Bishops to be fathers and pastors to the people,” Bishop Noonan said on Oct. 23 in response to the news. “I pray that with God’s help I will be able to be a good father and pastor as Bishop of the Diocese of Orlando.”


“I ask that my brother priests and all of God’s people pray for me as I begin my new ministry among you,” he added.


Bishop Noonan will succeed Archbishop Thomas Wenski who led the Diocese of Orlando from 2004 to 2010 and now heads Miam


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St. Evaristus, Pope

The Saint of the Day for October 26 is St. Evaristus,


Evaristus was the son of a Greek Jew, originally from Bethlehem. He was the sixth Pope of the Catholic Church. He is traditionally considered a martyr, but there is no documentation of the event. He is buried in the Vatican, near Saint Peter.


Saint Evaristus succeeded Saint Anacletus as pope. The text of the Liber Pontificalis, says of the new pope:


“Evaristus, born in Greece of a Jewish father named Juda, originally from the city of Bethlehem, reigned for thirteen years, six months and two days, under the reigns of Domitian, Nerva and Trajan, from the Consulate of Valens and Veter (96) until that of Gallus and Bradua (108). This pontiff divided among the priests the titles of the city of Rome. By a constitution he established seven deacons who were to assist the bishop and serve as authentic witnesses for him. During the three ordinations which he conducted in the month of December, he promoted six priests, two deacons and five bishops, destined for various churches. Evaristus received the crown of martyrdom. He was buried near the body of Blessed Peter in the Vatican, on the sixth day of the Calends of November (October 25, 108). The episcopal throne remained vacant for nineteen days.”


Pope Saint Evaristus is assumed to have given his life by martyrdom at the same time as St. Ignatius of Antioch. He is often represented with a sword because he was decapitated, or with a crib, because it is believed that he was born in Bethlehem, from which his father emigrated.

video: Voting The Commandments

What if we measured the candidates against the 10 Commandments? Hmmm....

Dignity Mass for gay Catholics ended in San Antonio

Thank you Bishop Cantu, for reinforcing Catholic teachings.


Bishop Oscar Cantú of San Antonio, who is temporarily administering the archdiocese, has ended a weekly parish Mass sponsored by Dignity, a gay and lesbian organization at odds with Catholic teaching on homosexuality. The majority of Dignity chapters meet in non-Catholic churches; the San Antonio chapter had been gathering at a Catholic parish for 15 years.

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Fom the catechism:

2358 The number of men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies is not negligible. This inclination, which is objectively disordered, constitutes for most of them a trial. They must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided. These persons are called to fulfill God's will in their lives and, if they are Christians, to unite to the sacrifice of the Lord's Cross the difficulties they may encounter from their condition.

Book Review: "Pursuit of Justice" by DiAnn Mills

FBI Agent Bella Jordan is sent to a small town in West Texas, where she grew up, to investigate a series of murders related to the search for the long lost Spider Rock Treasure.  It has been a while since she's been back, and that's because she would like to forget much of her past.  Her primary concern is her career.

The prime suspect is Carr Sullivan, a man with a disreputable past, who now appears to be a devout Christian.  But...is he for real?    There are also a couple of other suspects who are more closely  related to her past, which she must eventually face.

As the investigation proceeds, Bella finds herself,  and people close to her, to be targets, and she questions who she can trust.  Although she hasn't prayed in years, she again turns to God and asks His help.  In the process of regaining her faith, she learns how to forgive.

I really related to the character of Bella, because I was once very career focused and self-concerned, and when I had some serious health issues, I realized it is God and my family that I can rely on.

I really enjoyed Pursuit of Justice because it combines a good, suspenseful murder mystery and characters who are not afraid to be Christians in a secular world.

Movie Review: The Social Network - PG13

Based on a true story.


Mark Zuckerberg, one of the founders of Facebook, is a Harvard student and after his girlfriend dumps him, he spitefully creates a site called Facematch on the Harvard network, where users can rate Harvard girls.  When the site is so popular it crashes the network, the Winklevoss brothers hire Mark to create Harvard Connection, a social network for the Harvard network.   As Mark works on it with his friend Eduardo Saverin, it expands to other universities and the internet in general, and becomes 'The Facebook',  and eventually 'Facebook'.

Since the story is told in the context of two lawsuits, I couldn't help considering "who is right?", and "who is wrong?" while watching.   Initially, Mark is working with Eduardo, who provides start-up funding.  After Mark moves the operation to California, he works with Sean Parker (Justin Timberlake), the founder of Napster, who handles the business side and helps him expand Facebook even more.  Eduardo gradually becomes less involved.

Although the Winklevoss brothers hired Mark for the Harvard Connection, Mark built on the concept and added features and networking content they hadn't conceived of.

Mark Zuckerberg  is portrayed in a pretty negative light.  He is portrayed as geeky, vindictive, obnoxious and combative;  Jess Eisenberg does an excellent job in the role.  I have become a real fan of Justin Timberlake as an actor, more so than as a singer.

Content warning: There are a couple of very brief scenes of sexual situations,  and a few instances of bad language.

A very engaging movie.  The more you're into Facebook, the more you'll like it.

http://thesocialnetwork-movie.com/

Forty Martyrs of England and Wales

The Saints of the Day for October 25 are the Forty Martyrs of England and  Wales.

These forty were canonised by Pope Paul VI on October 25th, 1970. They are representative of the English and Welsh martyrs of the Reformation who died at various dates between 1535 and 1679. Some 200 of these martyrs had already been declared ‘Blessed’ (i.e. ‘beatified’) by previous Popes. They include:


•SS. John Houghton, Robert Lawrence and Augustine Webster, the first martyrs (1535), all priors of different Charterhouses (houses of the Carthusian Order, including the one in London) who, by virtue of the Carthusian vow of silence, refused to speak in their own defense;
•St. Cuthbert Mayne, a Devonian, who was the first martyr not to be a member of a religious order. He was ordained priest at the then newly established English College at Douai in Northern France and was put to death at Launceston in 1577;
•St. Edmund Campion, the famous Jesuit missionary and theologian who published secretly from Stonor Park, the ancient Catholic country house near Henley-on-Thames, who died in 1581 on the same day as St. Ralph Sherwin, the first martyr to have been trained at the English College in Rome;
•St. Richard Gwyn, the first of the Welsh martyrs, a schoolteacher from Llanidloes in Mid-Wales who died at Wrexham in 1584;
•St. Margaret Clitherow, the wife of a butcher with a shop in the famous Shambles in York, who allowed her house to be used as a Mass centre, who was sentenced to be crushed to death under a large stone at the Ouse Bridge Tollbooth in the city;
•St. Swithun Wells, a teacher from Brambridge in the county of Hampshire who owned a London house at Grays Inn Fields which was also a secret Mass centre (1591);
•St. Philip Howard, eldest son of the fourth Duke of Norfolk (himself executed for treason in 1572) who led a dissolute existence and left behind an unhappy wife in Arundel Castle until he was converted by the preaching of St. Edmund Campion, and died in the Tower in 1595;
•St. Nicholas Owen, Jesuit lay brother and master carpenter, who constructed many priests’ hiding-holes in houses throughout the country, some of them so cunningly concealed they were not discovered until centuries later (1606).
Under James I and Charles I the purge died down, but did not entirely cease. St. John Southworth, missionary in London, was put to death under Cromwell and is venerated in Westminster Cathedral, and the final martyrs died in the aftermath of the Titus Oates plot in 1679. [SS. John Fisher & Thomas More are not included in this list for they had been canonized in 1935].

Movie Review: Rust - PG

Corbin Bernsen is James (Jimmy) Moore, a  former minister who loses his faith and returns to his home town after a family is killed when their house burns down.  Jimmy's childhood friend Travis is in a mental institution, accused of setting the fire. Jimmy is convinced that Travis is innocent, and sets out to prove it.

Jimmy is mad at God because God hasn't provided the answers he has been seeking.   Jimmy's father is mad at Jimmy for leaving them, and for never finishing anything.   Jimmy's friend Duane is mad because he believes Travis is guilty.  While investigating the fire, Jimmy meets a lot of resistance, but by finding the truth, he also finds his lost faith.

There is plenty of anger in Rust.   Everyone was mad at something.   The reward is that there is also much healing, forgiveness  and redemption.  A worthwhile film with positive lessons.

http://www.rustmovie.com/

Optional Memorial of St. John of Capistrano, priest

The Saint of the Day for October 23 is St. John of Capistrano.

St. John was born in 1386 at Capistrano in the Italian Province of the Abruzzi. His father was a German knight and died when he was still young. St. John became a lawyer and attained the position of governor of Perugia. When war broke out between Perugia and Malatesta in 1416, St. John tried to broker a peace. Unfortunately, his opponents ignored the truce and St. John became a prisoner of war. On the death of his wife he entered the order of Friars Minor, was ordained and began to lead a very penitential life.

John became a disciple of Saint Bernadine of Siena and a noted preacher while still a deacon, beginning his work in 1420. The world at the time was in need of strong men to work for salvation of souls. Thirty percent of the population was killed by the Black Plague, the Church was split in schism and there were several men claiming to be pope. As an Itinerant priest throughout Italy, Germany, Bohemia, Austria, Hungary, Poland, and Russia, St. John preached to tens of thousands and established communities of Franciscan renewal. He reportedly healed the sick by making the Sign of the Cross over them. He also wrote extensively, mainly against the heresies of the day.

He was successful in reconciling heretics. After the fall of Constantinople, he preached a crusade against the Muslim Turks. At age 70 he was commissioned by Pope Callistus II to lead it, and marched off at the head of 70,000 Christian soldiers. He won the great battle of Belgrade in the summer of 1456. He died in the field a few months later, but his army delivered Europe from the Moslems.

video: Bruskewitz and the Church

The controversial bishop speaks out about the Church in America.

Juan Williams Responds to His Firing From NPR

I often disagree with Juan, but NPR was wrong to fire him.  A commentator is paid to give their opinion and he was fired because they didn't like his.  If NPR wants to restrict free speech, they shouldn't get any taxpayer funds.

Paintings from the German Renaissance Artist Cranach Arrive in Rome

These pictures belong to an artist that largely personifies the Renaissance and yet is relatively unknown. Lucas Cranach was born in Germany in 1472 and later became the court painter of Frederick III of Saxony.

St. Mary Salome

The Saint of the Day for October 22 is St. Mary Salome

Wife of Zebedee. Mother of Saint John the Apostle, and Saint James the Greater. May have been a cousin of the Blessed Virgin Mary. One of the "three Marys," the holy women who ministered to Jesus during his earthly ministry, and may have accompanied him on his travels. Witnessed Christ's death on the cross, his entombment, and his resurrection. Mark mentions Salome as one of the women who came to anoint the body of Jesus on the morning of the Resurrection.

Legend says that after the Resurrection she went to Veroli, Italy and spent the rest of her life there spreading the Good News.

Like the Jewish greeting "Shalom" and the Arab "Salaam," Salome is based on an Aramaic word meaning health and peace. It would be hard to think of a more fitting name for a mother.

It is quite probable that Salome was the sister of the Blessed Virgin, and it is certain that she was the wife of Zebedee and the mother of James the Greater and John the Evangelist (Matthew 20:20; 27:56). In the Gospel of St. Matthew (20:20ff) it is written: "Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee approached Him with her sons and did Him homage, wishing to ask Him for something. He said to her, 'What do you wish?' She answered Him, 'Command that these two sons of mine sit, one at Your right and the other at Your left, in Your kingdom.'"

Salome was one of the women who followed Jesus and served him (Mark 15:41), witnessed His Crucifixion and death at Calvary (Matt. 27:56; Mark 15:40), and who brought spices to embalm him on Easter morning (Mark 16:1ff) (Delaney, Encyclopedia).

In art, Mary Salome is shown with her two sainted children (James and John) in her arms. Occasionally Mary Salome is present at the Nativity because there is a legend that the doubting Salome was a midwife, who came, unbelieving, to the stable at Bethlehem and was converted (cf. Jameson, Legends of the Madonna). Sometimes Mary Salome together with Mary Cleophas support the Virgin at the Crucifixion or they are present with Mary Magdalene at the Resurrection.

video: Coming Persecution

It's surprising the number of faithful Catholics these days openly talking and wondering about persecution and martyrdom. What gives?

Reporter Stands by 'Simpsons' Catholic Claim

Vatican paper lauds 'Simpsons' for realistic portrait of faith

Archbishop Nienstedt Defends Diocese’s Aggressive Pro-Marriage Campaign

Thank you Bishop Nienstedt!

The Catholic Archbishop of St. Paul-Minneapolis has exhorted Catholics to stick close to Church teaching as the archdiocese catches flak for its aggressive campaign to reaffirm the Catholic Church's teaching on marriage.

The archdiocese sent out over 400,000 DVDs to area Catholics last month explaining the Catholic Church's position and rationale on same-sex "marriage" - a move decried by some Catholics as too "political." Media have been covering instances where the DVDs have been met with outrage or mockery, including the reaction of one artisan, an artist-in-residence at the Basilica of Saint Mary, who has collected about 1,300 DVDs to cut and "recycle" into art.

Archbishop John Nienstedt, however, refuses to back out of the debate.

"We're part and parcel of the culture, so it's important for us to be involved with those discussions and have our say," Nienstedt told the Associated Press Monday. He counseled Catholics to "either be hot or cold" but not lukewarm on their loyalty to the faith.

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Combative press conference highlights continued dispute on abortion in health care bill

What a farce. The pro-aborts who supported Obamacare refuse to admit that it covers abortion (and contraception, BTW) with our tax dollars. 

Persistent questions about abortion funding in President Obama's Affordable Care Act arose again on Oct. 20 in a telephone press conference hosted by the bill's supporters at Catholics United. Heated discussion ensued between the organization's executive director Chris Korzen, and Douglas Johnson of the National Right to Life Committee over a controversial ad campaign targeting a Democrat who supported the bill.

Representative Steve Driehaus (D – Ohio) previously filed a complaint to the state's election commission due to a proposed billboard campaign by the pro-life Susan B. Anthony List. He claimed that the campaign would have illegally misrepresented his voting record by stating that “Driehaus voted FOR taxpayer funded abortion.” With a full hearing by the state's election commission scheduled for October 28, SBA List has filed its own lawsuit, alleging that Ohio's regulations of electoral advertising violate their right to free speech.

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St. Ursula And The Virgins Of Cologne

The Saints of the Day for October 21 are St. Ursula And The Virgins Of Cologne.

Patronage: Catholic education (especially of girls), Cologne, Germany, educators, holy death, schoolchildren, students, teachers

Representation: arrow; clock; maiden shot with arrows, often accompanied by a varied number of companions who are being martyred in assorted, often creative ways; ship.

When the pagan Saxons started to invade England in the fourth century, with the intention of destroying the Catholic Faith and the purity of all young English virgins, a great group of English girls, numbering ten friends of Saint Ursula, and each having a thousand companions, - which made their number in all, 11,011 - fled from England to the Continent. In the year 383, Saint Ursula and her 11,010 companions were all slaughtered for their purity and their Faith.

This great martyrdom occurred in Cologne, at Germany. A shrine has been erected to them there, containing as may of their bones as could be rescued. A Religious Order of nuns in the Catholic Church in honor of Saint Ursula was established by Saint Angela Merici in the year 1535. They are known as the Ursulines.

The Order of Ursulines, founded in 1535 by St. Angela de Merici, and especially devoted to the education of young girls, has also helped to spread throughout the world the name and the cult of St. Ursula.

video: Sex and Obedience

Pope announces names of 24 new cardinals for a November consistory

Go Cardinal Burke! Just as I expected, Archbishop Burke will now be Cardinal Burke :)

Pope Benedict XVI named two dozen new cardinals, including two from the United States: Archbishop Raymond L. Burke, a top Vatican official, and Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl of Washington. The new cardinals will be installed in a special consistory to be held at the Vatican, Nov. 20.

The Pope made his announcement Oct. 20 at the conclusion of his weekly Wednesday general audience. “The universality of the church is reflected in the list of new cardinals,” he said. More than a dozen countries are represented by the new cardinals, including four from African countries, two from Latin America, two from North America, and one representing Asia.

Among the new cardinals, 20 are under the age of 80 and are hence eligible to vote in the case of a papal election; four of the new cardinals are over that age and will not be eligible to vote.

With the new additions, the College of Cardinals now has 203 members, 121 of which are eligible to vote for a new Pope should the opportunity arise.

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Optional Memorial of St. Paul of the Cross, priest

The Saint of the Day for October 20 is St. Paul of the Cross

St. Paul of the Cross was born at Ovada in the Republic of Genoa on January 3, 1694. His infancy and youth were spent in great innocence and piety. He was inspired to found a congregation, having while in ecstasy beheld the habit which he and his companions were to wear. After consulting his director, Bishop Gastinara of Alexandria in Piedmont, he reached the conclusion that God wished him to establish a congregation in honor of the Passion of Jesus Christ.

On November 22, 1720, the Bishop vested him with the habit that had been shown to him in a vision, the same that the Passionists wear at the present time. From that moment the saint applied himself to prepare the Rules of his institute, and in 1721 he went to Rome to obtain the approbation of the Holy See. At first he failed, but finally succeeded when Benedict XIV approved the Rules in 1741 and 1746. Meanwhile St. Paul built his first monastery near Obitello. Some time later he established a larger community at the Church of Sts. John and Paul in Rome.

For 50 years St. Paul remained the indefatigable missionary of Italy. God lavished upon him the greatest gifts in the supernatural order, but he treated himself with the greatest rigor, and believed that he was a useless servant and a great sinner. His saintly death occurred at Rome in the year 1775, at the age of 81. He was canonized by Pope Pius IX in 1867.

video: THE speech!

The recent speech given by Archbishop Raymond Burke continues to send shockwaves through the Catholic world. More than a few bishops must be feeling very uncomfortable.

Memorial of Sts. Isaac Jogues and John de Brebeuf, priests and martyrs and companions,

The Saints of the Day for October 19 are Sts. Isaac Jogues and John de Brebeuf and companions.

French Jesuits were the first missionaries to go to Canada and North America after J. Cartier discovered Canada in 1534. Their mission region extended from Nova Scotia to Maryland. Isaac Jogues, John de Brebeuf, Gabriel Lalemant, Noel Chabanel, Charles Garnier, Anthony Daniel, Rene Goupil and John de Lalande (the first six Jesuits, the last two laymen) preached the gospel to the Iroquois and Huron Indians, and after being tortured, they were martyred in the area of what is now Auriesville, New York. The martyrdoms took place between 1642 and 1649. Ten years after the martyrdom of St. Isaac Jogues, Kateri Tekakwitha was born in the same village in which he died. These martyrs are co-patrons of Canada.

The missionaries arrived in Canada less than a century after its discovery by Cartier in 1534, in the hope of converting the Indians and setting up "New France." Their opponents were often the English and Dutch colonists. When Isaac Jogues returned to Paris after his first capture and torture, he said to his superior: "Yes, Father, I want whatever our Lord wants, even if it costs a thousand lives." He had written in his mission report: "These tortures are very great, but God is still greater, and immense."

In the Office of Readings we have an excerpt from the mission journal of St. John de Brébeuf, who had been a student of the great Jesuit spiritual writer, Louis Lallemant. He wrote:

For two days now I have experienced a great desire to be a martyr and to endure all the torments the martyrs suffered.... I vow to you, Jesus my Savior, that as far as I have the strength I will never fail to accept the grace of martyrdom, if some day you in your infinite mercy should offer it to me, your most unworthy servant.... On receiving the blow of death, I shall accept it from your hands with the fullest delight and joy of spirit.... My God, it grieves me greatly that you are not known, that in this savage wilderness all have not been converted to you, that sin has not been driven from it.

Burke Smackdown

Archbishop Raymond Burke has some direct words for any Catholic disregarding Church teaching - and his words include bishops!

Vatican paper lauds 'Simpsons' for realistic portrait of faith

- L’Osservatore Romano marked the 20th anniversary of “The Simpsons” in its Oct. 17 edition by lauding the popular television show for taking religious faith seriously, although often irreverently. 

And, although "few know it, and he does everything to hide it ... it's true: Homer J. Simpson is Catholic," according to newspaper.

The newspaper cited an analysis in the Oct. 16 issue of the Italian Jesuit magazine, La Civilita Cattolica.

In it, Father Francesco Occhetta examined a Catholic-themed episode from 2005, "The Father, the Son and the Holy Guest Star," in which Homer and his son Bart are befriended by a priest named Father Sean, and consider conversion to Catholicism.

"The Simpsons remain among the few TV programs for kids in which the Christian faith, religion and the question on God are recurrent themes," Father Occhetta wrote.

Homer may snore through his evangelical pastor Rev. Lovejoy's sermons, and he may heckle his evangelical neighbor, Ned Flanders, but religious faith is realistically portrayed in the show, he said.

Characters are often shown praying and the Simpsons family always prays before meals. "In their own way," Father Occhetta wrote, the character all "believe in the 'beyond'."

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Bill Donohue's take: VATICAN AND "THE SIMPSONS"

Susan Boyle: Docs Told Mum to Abort Me

First Andrea Bocelli, now Susan Boyle....If some pro-abort doctors had their way, there would be less music in the world.

International singing phenomenon Susan Boyle has revealed in a new autobiography that doctors had told her mother to abort her, because they thought the pregnancy was risky.

Boyle soared to stardom in April 2009 after appearing on the UK television program, Britain’s Got Talent, when the plain-looking Scotswoman shocked audiences with a powerful rendition of “I Dreamed a Dream” from the musical version of Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables.

But the 49-year-old native of Blackburn, a village in West Lothian, Scotland would never have dreamed the dream of singing on the international stage, if her mother had agreed to abort her on the advice of doctors.

In her autobiography, The Woman I Was Born To Be, Boyle reveals that doctors recommended a “termination” to Bridget Boyle, who already was a mother of eight children, because they feared physical complications.

Boyle reveals that her mother rejected this advice as “unthinkable” since she was a “devout Catholic.”

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Feast of St. Luke, Evangelist

The Saint of the Day for October 18 is St. Luke.

St. Luke came from Antioch, was a practicing physician and was one of the first converts to Christianity. He accompanied St. Paul, who converted him, on his missionary journeys and was still with him in Rome when St. Paul was in prison awaiting death. We hear no more of him afterwards and nothing is known of his last years. The Church venerates him as a Martyr.

St. Luke's Gospel is principally concerned with salvation and mercy; in it are preserved some of our Lord's most moving parables, like those of the lost sheep and the prodigal son. Dante calls St. Luke the "historian of the meekness of Christ." It is also St. Luke who tells us the greater part of what we know about our Lord's childhood.

"According to tradition he was an artist, as well as a man of letters; and with a soul alive to all the most delicate inspirations, he consecrated his pencil to the holiest use, and handed down to us the features of the Mother of God. It was an illustration worthy of the Gospel which relates to the divine Infancy; and it won for the artist a new title to the gratitude of those who never saw Jesus and Mary in the flesh. Hence St. Luke is the patron of Christian art."