Just how the leaders of the Church \'dialog\' with the world. The approach of being 'positive' (meaning - refusing to call a sin a sin) has been an epic failure. Just look at Ireland and New York for two stellar examples.
A Catholic View: A Secular World, A Catholic Perspective
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Truth doesn't change.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
New York bishop launches protest against ‘Catholic’ Gov. Cuomo over gay ‘marriage’
At least we have one Bishop in New York who is willing to stand up for Catholic teaching.
In the wake of New York’s passage of same-sex “marriage” on Friday, one of the state’s Catholic bishops is launching a “protest” against Gov. Andrew Cuomo and other lawmakers who backed the legislation. The bishop says he will refuse the politicians participation in events at parishes and schools, and will turn down any honors the legislators award them.
Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio of Brooklyn said the move is “intended as a protest of the corrupt political process in New York State.”
“More than half of all New Yorkers oppose this legislation,” he wrote in a statement. “Yet, the governor and the state legislature have demonized people of faith, whether they be Muslims, Jews, or Christians, and identified them as bigots and prejudiced, and voted in favor of same-sex ‘marriage.’”
The First Martyrs of the Church of Rome
The Saints of the Day for June 30 are The First Martyrs of the Church of Rome.
here were Christians in Rome within a dozen or so years after the death of Jesus, though they were not the converts of the "Apostle of the Gentiles" (see Romans 15:20). Paul had not yet visited them at the time he wrote his great letter in A.D. 57-58.
There was a large Jewish population in Rome. Probably as a result of controversy between Jews and Jewish Christians, the Emperor Claudius expelled all Jews from Rome in A.D. 49-50. Suetonius the historian says that the expulsion was due to disturbances in the city "caused by the certain Chrestus" [Christ]. Perhaps many came back after Claudius's death in A.D. 54. Paul's letter was addressed to a church with members from Jewish and gentile backgrounds.
In July of A.D. 64, more than half of Rome was destroyed by fire. Rumor blamed the tragedy on Nero, who wanted to enlarge his palace. He shifted the blame by accusing the Christians. According to the historian Tacitus, a "great multitude" of Christians were put to death because of their "hatred of the human race." Peter and Paul were probably among the victims.
Threatened by an army revolt and condemned to death by the senate, Nero committed suicide in A.D. 68 at the age of thirty-one.
Wherever the Good News of Jesus was preached, it met the same opposition as Jesus did, and many of those who began to follow him shared his suffering and death. But no human force could stop the power of the Spirit unleashed upon the world. The blood of martyrs has always been, and will always be, the seed of Christians.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
video: Irish Stew
All it takes is one, just one man, to cause near total devastation in the Church in any given country. That happened in Ireland and Ireland is a model of what's gone wrong in the United States and other countries.
video: Irish 'Catholics"
The decline of the Church is perhaps felt nowhere more acutely than in Ireland. Once a model of holiness and apostolic zeal, its downfall is a serious wakeup call for The Church in America and other countries.
Court Affirms Human Life Begins at Conception in Indiana Case
Well Duh! I have never understood why we need any court to decide when life begins. It is a medical fact that life begins at conception. But this is certainly good news if it helps in the pro-life battle.
The state of Indiana may have lost the most recent battle in what will be a lengthy lawsuit concerning its ability to de-fund the Planned Parenthood abortion business, but two pro-life legal groups say there is a silver lining.
U.S. District Judge Tanya Walton Pratt granted Planned Parenthood’s request for a preliminary injunction in a lawsuit filed after Republican Governor Mitch Daniels signed the law in May. Judge Pratt also blocked a portion of the law requiring abortion practitioners to tell women considering an abortion that their unborn child will feel pain as early as 20 weeks into pregnancy. However, she rejected Planned Parenthood’s request that a part of the law be blocked that women be told before an abortion that “human physical life begins when a human ovum is fertilized by a human sperm.”
The order explained that “the language crafted by the legislature in this provision supports a finding that the mandated statement refers exclusively to a growing organism that is a member of the Homo sapiens species.”
Steve Aden, a pro-life attorney with the Alliance Defense Fund, hailed that portion of the ruling in comments LifeNews received.
“No one should be allowed to decide that an innocent life is worthless. Abortionists have done this by telling women that a pre-born baby is just a batch of cells instead of what he or she actually is: a human being. This law ends that deception in Indiana,” he said. “All the court did was recognize the indisputable fact that a biological human life begins at conception. It is false to say anything else.”
The court also disagreed with Planned Parenthood’s argument that the statement is “misleading.”
“Here, the mandated statement states only a biological fact relating to the development of the living organism; therefore, it may be reasonably read to provide accurate, non-misleading information to the patient,” the court wrote. “Under Indiana law, a physician must disclose the facts and risks of a treatment which a reasonably prudent physician would be expected to disclose under like circumstances, and which a reasonable person would want to know.”
Pope Benedict XVI Celebrates the 60th Anniversary of his ordination
Happy Anniversary Pope Benedict!
The Vatican daily L’Osservatore Romano included in its June 29 edition an excerpt from the book “Memoirs: 1927-1977,” published in 1997 by then-Cardinal Ratzinger. In the book, he recounts the day of his priestly ordination.
“For at least the past two months,” Ratzinger wrote, “I was able to focus completely on preparing myself for the big step: priestly ordination, which we received at the Cathedral of Freising from the hands of Cardinal Faulhaber on the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul in 1951.”
“It was a splendid summer day which was unforgettable,” he continued, “and the most important moment of my life.
“Not to be superstitious, but the moment in which the elderly archbishop laid hands on me, a bird—perhaps a lark—flew up from the main altar in the cathedral and began chirping joyfully, which for me was like a voice from on high had said: this is okay, you are on the right path.
“The next four weeks of summer were like one long celebration,” the Pope continued. He recalled that the day of his first Mass (July 8 in Traunstein), the parish of St. Osvaldo “was splendidly illuminated” and filled with the joy of all in attendance.
Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul
June 29 is the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul.
St. Peter
Peter's original name was Simon. Christ Himself gave him the name Cephas or Peter when they first met and later confirmed it. This name change was meant to show both Peter's rank as leader of the apostles and the outstanding trait of his character — Peter (in Hebrew Kephas) the Rock. Peter was born in Bethsaida on the Sea of Galilee. Like his younger brother Andrew, he was a fisherman and dwelt at Capernaum. Peter's house often became the scene of miracles, since the Master would stay there whenever He was teaching in that locality. Together with his brothers John and Andrew, Peter belonged to the first of Jesus' disciples (John 1:40-50).
After the miraculous draught of fish on the Sea of Galilee, Peter received his definitive call and left wife, family, and occupation to take his place as leader of the Twelve. Thereafter we find him continually at Jesus' side, whether it be as spokesman of the apostolic college (John 6:68; Matt. 16:16), or as one specially favored (e.g., at the restoration to life of Jairus' daughter, at the transfiguration, during the agony in the garden). His sanguine temperament often led him into hasty, unpremeditated words and actions; his denial of Jesus during the passion was a salutary lesson. It accentuated a weakness in his character and made him humble.
After the ascension, Peter always took the leading role, exercising the office of chief shepherd that Christ had entrusted to him. He delivered the first sermon on Pentecost and received the first Gentiles into the Church (Cornelius; Acts 10:1). Paul went to Jerusalem "to see Peter." After his miraculous deliverance from prison (Easter, 42 A.D.), Peter "went to a different place," most probably to Rome. Details now become scanty; we hear of his presence at the Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15:1), and of his journey to Antioch (Gal. 2:11).
It is certain that Peter labored in Rome as an apostle, that he was the city's first bishop, and that he died there as a martyr, bound to a cross (67 A.D.). According to tradition he also was the first bishop of Antioch. He is the author of two letters, the first Christian encyclicals. His burial place is Christendom's most famous shrine, an edifice around whose dome are inscribed the words: Tu es Petrus, et super hanc petram aedificabo ecclesiam meam.
Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch
Patron: Against frenzy; bakers; bridge builders; butchers; clock makers; cobblers; Exeter College Oxford; feet problems; fever; fishermen; harvesters; locksmiths; longevity; masons; net makers; papacy; Popes; ship builders; shipwrights; shoemakers; stone masons; Universal Church; watch makers; Poznan, Poland; Rome; Diocese of Jackson, Mississippi; Diocese of Las Vegas, Nevada; Diocese of Marquette, Michigan; Archdiocese of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Diocese of Providence, Rhode Island; Diocese of Scranton, Pennsylvania.
Symbols: Two keys saltire; pastoral staff and two large keys; inverted cross; inverted cross and two keys saltire; crowing cock; fish; two swords; patriarchal cross and two keys saltire; two keys and a scroll; sword.
Often portrayed as: Bald man, often with a fringe of hair on the sides and a tuft on top; book; keys; man crucified head downwards; man holding a key or keys; man robed as a pope and bearing keys and a double-barred cross.
St. Paul
Paul, known as Saul (his Roman name) before his conversion, was born at Tarsus in the Roman province of Silicia about two or three years after the advent of the Redeemer. He was the son of Jewish parents who belonged to the tribe of Benjamin, was reared according to the strict religious-nationalistic party of the Pharisees, and enjoyed the high distinction of Roman citizenship.
As a youth he went to Jerusalem to become immersed in the Law and had as a teacher the celebrated Gamaliel. He acquired skill as a tent-maker, a work he continued even as an apostle. At the time of Jesus' ministry he no longer was at Jerusalem; neither did he see the Lord during His earthly-life. Upon returning to the Holy City, Paul discovered a flourishing Christian community and at once became its bitter opponent. When Stephen impugned Law and temple, Paul was one of the first at his stoning; thereafter his fiery personality would lead the persecution. Breathing threats of slaughter against the disciples of Jesus, he was hurrying to Damascus when the grace of God effected his conversion (about the year 34 A.D.; see January 25, Conversion of St. Paul).
After receiving baptism and making some initial attempts at preaching, Paul withdrew into the Arabian desert (c. 34-37 A.D.), where he prepared himself for his future mission. During this retreat he was favored with special revelations, Christ appearing to him personally. Upon his return to Damascus he began to preach but was forced to leave when the Jews sought to kill him. Then he went to Jerusalem "to see Peter." Barnabas introduced him to the Christian community, but the hatred of the Jews again obliged him to take secret flight. The following years (38-42 A.D.) he spent at Tarsus until Barnabas brought him to the newly founded Christian community at Antioch, where both worked a year for the cause of Christ; in the year 44 he made another journey to Jerusalem with the money collected for that famine stricken community.
The first major missionary journey (45-48) began upon his return as he and Barnabas brought the Gospel to Cyprus and Asia Minor (Acts 13-14). The Council of Jerusalem occasioned Paul's reappearance in Jerusalem (50). Spurred on by the decisions of the Council, he began the second missionary journey (51-53), traveling through Asia Minor and then crossing over to Europe and founding churches at Philippi, Thessalonia (his favorite), Berea, Athens, Corinth. He remained almost two years at Corinth, establishing a very flourishing and important community. In 54 he returned to Jerusalem for the fourth time.
Paul's third missionary journey (54-58) took him to Ephesus, where he labored three years with good success; after visiting his European communities, he returned to Jerusalem for a fifth time (Pentecost, 58). There he was seized by the Jews and accused of condemning the Law. After being held as a prisoner for two years at Caesarea, he appealed to Caesar and was sent by sea to Rome (60 A.D.). Shipwrecked and delayed on the island of Malta, he arrived at Rome in the spring of 61 and passed the next two years in easy confinement before being released. The last years of the saint's life were devoted to missionary excursions, probably including Spain, and to revisiting his first foundations. In 66 he returned to Rome, was taken prisoner, and beheaded a year later. His fourteen letters are a precious legacy; they afford a deep insight into a great soul.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Pro-Lifers Want Cigarette-Style Warning Labels for Abortions
I think this is a good idea...if the FDA is so concerned about smokers' health, why not warn about a procedure whose very purpose is to end life?
A coalition of pro-life groups, including LifeNews.com, is calling on the FDA to include warning labels telling women how abortion destroys the lives of their unborn children and informing them of the dangers and risks associated with abortion.
The FDA recently announced new restrictions on cigarette packages, forcing manufacturers to feature prominent graphic images on the front of every cigarette package to warn smokers of harmful effects that smoking can have on their health and those around them. When picking up their cigarette packages, smokers will see pictures of a man blowing smoke out of a hole in his neck, a smoker’s mouth riddled with cancer, a baby under a cloud of smoke, and a deceased man, among other colored graphics.
“This marks the biggest change in cigarette package warnings in over a quarter of a century and notes the shift in American public opinion about smoking. Smoking has become passe,” says Students for Life president Kristan Hawkins. “Yet, what about abortion? Where are the warning labels on abortion? Where are the warnings to tell women that abortion will kill their child and scar them for life?”
Pope launches Vatican news portal
On June 28, Pope Benedict XVI will launch the Vatican's first multimedia news portal, which is also designed for mobile devices.
“We are trying to give everybody an opportunity to have Vatican news immediately in a modern and accessible way, using new technology,” said Archbishop Claudio Maria Celli, president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, in an interview with CNA on June 27.
He explained that the Pope will have the privilege of giving the “first click” to take the site online, a reflection of the way Pope Pius XI inaugurated the transmission of Vatican Radio 80 years ago.
Father Federico Lombardi, director of the Holy See’s Press Office, explained to CNA that the Pope's first click will be “a simple but powerful and symbolic action,” to demonstrate that the new initiative is a response to “a desire of the Pope for the new communication of the Church.”
One of the most notable new features of www.news.va will be its integration with social networks, and a design geared toward mobile devices such as the iPad. “This is a new approach for us,” Archbishop Celli noted.
St. Irenaeus
The Saint of the Day for June 28 is St. Irenaeus
Saint Irenaeus was born in the year 120; he was of the Greek tongue, and probably a native of Asia Minor. His parents, who were Christians, placed him while still young under the care of the great Saint Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna. It was in this holy school that he learned the sacred science which later made him a great ornament of the Church and the terror of her enemies. Saint Polycarp cultivated his rising genius and formed his mind to piety by his precepts and example, and the zealous young scholar was careful to reap all advantages offered him by the solicitude of such a master. Such was his veneration for his tutor’s sanctity that he observed all the acts and virtues he saw in that holy man, the better to copy his example and learn his spirit. He listened to his instructions with an insatiable ardor, and so deeply did he engrave them in his heart that the impressions remained vivid even in his old age. In order to confound the heresies of his age, this Doctor of the Church acquainted himself with the conceits of the pagan philosophers, and thereby became qualified to trace every error to its sources and set it in its full light. By his writings he was already known to Tertullian, Theodoret and Saint Epiphanus, who speak of him as a luminous torch of truth in the darkness of those times.
After Irenaeus had spent a number of years in combat against the eastern gnostics and philosophers of error, Saint Polycarp determined to send him to Gaul, where many of the heretics of Asia Minor had already migrated to pursue the Catholic religion, which was beginning to find roots there. With a company of about forty Christians, the valiant soldier of Christ ascended the Rhone to Lyons to rejoin and aid Saint Pothinus, its bishop. Saint Pothinus was already advanced in age, and his church’s neophytes could not always distinguish truth from the gnostic aberrations. Saint Pothinus received the apostles with joy and soon ordained Saint Irenaeus.
A hundred times he exposed himself to martyrdom by his zeal, acting as the right arm of the aging bishop, but God was reserving that crown for him twenty-five years later. When Saint Pothinus had glorified God by his splendid martyr’s death in the year 177, Ireneus was chosen to be the second bishop of Lyons. The persecutors imagined that Christianity had been stifled in Lyons, and they ceased their pursuits for a time.
This great Doctor of the Church wrote many important works, of which the most famous is his Adversus Haereses, Against the Heresies, in explanation of the Faith. By his preaching, Saint Irenaeus in a short time converted almost the whole country to the Faith; the Christians of Lyons became models by their candor, their estrangement from all ambition, their poverty, chastity and temperance, and in this way confounded many adversaries of their religion. Saint Irenaeus continued to imitate what he had seen done by his beloved master, Saint Polycarp, himself the disciple and imitator of Saint John the Apostle. One can readily imagine the excellence of the administration and the breadth of charity reigning in the Church of Lyons.
Finally he suffered martyrdom there, with many others, in the year 202, under the Emperor Septimus Severus, after eighty years spent in the service of the Lord. The imperial decrees renewing the persecutions arrived at Lyons at the time of the celebration of Severus’ tenth year of reign; the pagans found amid the celebrations an opportunity to take vengeance on the Christians, who refused to participate in the debaucheries which accompanied these feastings. Assassins armed with daggers, stones and knives filled the city with blood, and thousands of Christians won, with their bishop, the crown they had always admired as the greatest glory God could grant His servants.
Monday, June 27, 2011
Catholic Wedding Bells
Not one area of Catholic life has not been laid waste by liberal modernists in the past 50 years. Not content with destroying the past and the present, they are insuring their destruction carries well into the future.
Pro-Life Rep. Michele Bachmann Officially Launches 2012 Bid
Rep. Michele Bachmann, a member of Congress from Minnesota, officially launched her campaign today for the Republican nomination to take on pro-abortion President Barack Obama.
Bachmann becomes the first woman to enter the race — ahead of former vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin, the former Alaska governor whom many political observers are watching to see whether she decides to become a candidate for the GOP nod. Already, Bachmann has cruised to a second place position in some national polls and one in Iowa, her birthplace, as she is pulling support from Palin supporters because Palin is not in the race.
“My name is Michele Bachmann and I stand her among many friends to announce that I am formally running for the president of the United States,” she said at a rally in Iowa. “Together, once again, we can secure the promise of the future for America. I want to bring a voice — your voice — to the White House, just as I brought your voice to the halls of the United States Congress.”
Judge Blocks Indiana Law Stopping Planned Parenthood Funding
Wow...Barry is sure hell-bent on funding abortion. Not sure if this is constitutional, but we'll find out if the federal government can tell states how to allocate their own funds.
A federal judge blocked an Indiana law on Friday that protects taxpayers from having to fund the Planned Parenthood abortion business with public funds via family planning programs through Medicaid.
U.S. District Judge Tanya Walton Pratt in Indianapolis granted Planned Parenthood’s request for a preliminary injunction in a lawsuit filed after Republican Governor Mitch Daniels signed the law in May. “While it remains to be seen who will ultimately prevail on the merits, the court is persuaded” that Planned Parenthood demonstrated a “reasonable likelihood of success” in challenging the law, Pratt wrote in her decision.
“The public interest also tilts in favor of granting an injunction,” Pratt said, citing the threats the Obama administration made to yank billions in federal funding from Indiana because of its decision to not fund the abortion business.
“Denying the injunction could pit the federal government against the state of Indiana in a high-stakes political impasse,” Pratt said. “If dogma trumps pragmatism and neither side budges, Indiana’s most vulnerable citizens could end up paying the price as the collateral damage of a partisan battle.”
St. Cyril of Alexandria
The Saint of the Day for June 27 is St. Cyril of Alexandria.
St. Cyril is one of the great Greek fathers of the Church. He was chosen by divine Providence to be the shield and champion of the Church against Nestorius, who denied the unity of person in Christ. If this heresy had succeeded, Mary would not be called the Mother of God.
Excepting Sts. Athanasius and Augustine, his equal as a defender of orthodoxy, can hardly be found in the Church's history. His greatest achievement was the successful direction of the ecumenical council at Ephesus (431), of which he was the soul (Pope Celestine had appointed him papal legate). In this council two important dogmas were defined – that there is but one person in Christ, and that Mary (in the literal sense of the word) can be called the Mother of God (Theotokos). His successful defense of the latter doctrine is his greatest title to honor.
His writings show such depth and clarity that the Greeks called him the "seal of the fathers." He died in 444 A.D., after having been bishop for thirty-two years. In Rome, the basilica of St. Mary Major stands as a most venerable monument to the honor paid Mary at the Council of Ephesus. On the arch leading into the sanctuary important incidents in the lives of Jesus and Mary are depicted in mosaic.
Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch
In 1881, he was declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Leo XIII, and in 1944, on the fifteenth centenary of Cyril's death, Pope Pius XII issued his encyclical Orientalis Ecclesiae, commemorating Cyril's place in the history of the Church.
Excerpted from The One Year Book of Saints by Rev. Clifford Stevens
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Movie Review: Super 8 - PG13
The action and special effects are entertaining, the problem is with the story.
The story does NOT live up to expectations, what you'd expect from the previews and trailer. The plot is very weak, and the story is mostly implausible.
Super 8 is super lame.
Saturday, June 25, 2011
New York Redefines the family
The good news is that this is a temporary setback for the family.
The bad news is that it will take a while for people to realize the impact of this decision on society.
The sad news is that this happened because of a CINO Governor and several CINO Senators.
In a major blow to efforts to protect true marriage in the United States, the New York Senate voted Friday evening to legalize gay “marriage” in a 33-29 vote.
The Assembly has already passed their own same-sex “marriage” bill and Assembly Leader Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan) has stated that the Assembly will approve whatever comes out of the Senate.
Given that Governor Andrew Cuomo has been the driving force behind the legislation, it is practically guaranteed to become law. Homosexual couples will be able to get “married” within 30 days after the governor signs the bill.
The vote represented a defeat for Sen. Ruben Diaz, Sr. (D-Bronx), the lone Democrat who had waged a hard fought campaign to defeat the same-sex “marriage” bill, and had been successful the year before.
Diaz expressed shock on the floor that the Republicans, “the party that always defended family values,” had enabled same-sex “marriage” to pass. “God, not Albany, has settled the definition of marriage, a long time ago,” he said.
Shortly before the vote, senators had passed an amendment that provided stronger religious protections. That amendment passed 36-26.
St. William Of Vercelli
The Saint of the Day for June 25 is St. William Of Vercelli.
William was born in 11th-century Italy to a noble family. He was orphaned as an infant and raised by relatives. At the young age of 14, he made a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in Spain, and decided to devote his life to God as a hermit.
He returned to Italy and lived as a hermit for two years at Monte Solicoli, where he was credited with healing a blind man. At Monte Vergiliano, his reputation for holiness attracted many disciples, and in 1119, he established a monastery with a Rule based on the Benedictines.
Five other houses were formed during his lifetime, but only the original survives today. He died June 25, 1142 of natural causes.
Friday, June 24, 2011
Fr Corapi controversy w Raymond Arroyo & Joan Frawley Desmond
Raymond Arroyo and Joan Frawley Desmond of the National Catholic Register continue their discussion of Father John Corapi's decision to leave his priestly ministry.
First-ever maternity home for college students to open next to Belmont Abbey College
This is the kind of 'choice' that pro-lifers can support...helping young mothers and providing them more choices.
In the 17 years since opening its doors, Room at the Inn has provided women in Charlotte, North Carolina with the same services that thousands of pregnancy care centers offer across the country: counseling, baby supplies, adoption referrals, and a residential facility for unwed mothers.
This past Monday, however, the organization broke ground on a project that will be the first of its kind in the nation: a maternity home for pregnant college students, located adjacent to the campus of Belmont Abbey College.
According to Room at the Inn Executive Director Jeannie Wray, while there are some colleges that offer dorms for pregnant and parenting students, “this is the first time a totally independent entity has built and will run a facility on a college campus for this purpose.”
Boston archdiocese says rescheduled Mass is not celebrating gay pride
Who do they think they're fooling? Of course it is.
Cardinal O'Malley's handling of the situation has NOT been in accord with Church teachings.
The Archdiocese of Boston has strongly denied that a rescheduled Mass initiated by the Rainbow Ministry of St. Cecilia’s Catholic Church will celebrate gay pride and said that Cardinal Seán O’Malley’s handling of the situation has been unfairly maligned.
“I can tell you unequivocally: this Mass is not a celebration of gay pride week, month,” a spokesman for the diocese told LifeSiteNews.com Thursday, echoing a statement issued by Cardinal O’Malley yesterday.
In that statement O’Malley had said that the “philosophical and political agenda of Gay Pride in relation to marriage and sexual morality is incompatible with the Church’s teachings. For that reason, [St. Cecilia pastor Rev. John] Unni rescheduled a Mass of welcome for all his parishioners to a time that would not associate the Mass with the Gay Pride agenda.”
O’Malley said, “Catholics who have same sex attractions are often criticized by their friends for coming to Mass,” and that those close to such individuals “are distressed that their loved ones feel rejected by their Church.”
“We want all baptized Catholics to come to Mass and be part of our community, but we cannot compromise the teaching of the Church rooted in Scripture and tradition,” he said.
O’Malley called the confusion surrounding the event “regrettable” and referred to his previous statements on his blog and his editorial in The Boston Pilot as sources of clarification on Church teaching.
On Sunday, Rainbow Ministry supporters holding a prayer service in place of the Mass celebrated when the archdiocese announced that the Mass had not been cancelled, as initially believed, but rescheduled for July 10.
Vatican hopes iPod can bring silence to Rome’s churches
The Vatican has introduced a new way of keeping silence in their churches while also informing tourists – the iPod.
Today is the first full day of a trial which sees pilgrims to the basilica of St. John Lateran given the audio-guide with a special app explaining the 1,700-year history of the church, which serves as the Pope’s cathedral.
“I can easily say that in Italy there are no examples of experiences like this in religious contexts, probably not even those in museums,” Jelena Jovanovic said to CNA. Her company, Antenna International, created the handheld device.
The multi-lingual guide offers audio, video, photos and texts to give an interactive experience to pilgrims. It also provides historical re-enactments narrated by actors.
Solemnity of the Birth of St. John the Baptist
June 24 is the Solemnity of the Birth of St. John the Baptist
This feast, a segment of Advent in the season of Ordinary Time, makes us aware of the wonderful inner relationship between the sacred mysteries; for we are still in the midst of one Church year and already a bridge is being erected to the coming year of grace.
Ordinarily the Church observes the day of a saint's death as his feast, because that day marks his entrance into heaven. To this rule there are two notable exceptions, the birthdays of Blessed Mary and of St. John the Baptist. All other persons were stained with original sin at birth, hence, were displeasing to God. But Mary, already in the first moment of her existence, was free from original sin (for which reason even her very conception is commemorated by a special feast), and John was cleansed of original sin in the womb of his mother. This is the dogmatic justification for today's feast. In the breviary St. Augustine explains the reason for today's observance in the following words:
"Apart from the most holy solemnity commemorating our Savior's birth, the Church keeps the birthday of no other person except that of John the Baptist. (The feasts of the Immaculate Conception and of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin had not yet been introduced.) In the case of other saints or of God's chosen ones, the Church, as you know, solemnizes the day on which they were reborn to everlasting beatitude after ending the trials of this life and gloriously triumphing over the world.
"For all these the final day of their lives, the day on which they completed their earthly service is honored. But for John the day of his birth, the day on which he began this mortal life is likewise sacred. The reason for this is, of course, that the Lord willed to announce to men His own coming through the Baptist, lest if He appeared suddenly, they would fail to recognize Him. John represented the Old Covenant and the Law. Therefore he preceded the Redeemer, even as the Law preceded and heralded the new dispensation of grace."
In other words, today's feast anticipates the feast of Christmas. Taking an overall view, we keep during the course of the year only two mysteries, that of Christ's Incarnation and that of His Redemption. The Redemption mystery is the greater of the two; the Incarnation touches the human heart more directly. To the Redemption mystery the entire Easter season is devoted, from Septuagesima until Pentecost; and likewise every Sunday of the year, because Sunday is Easter in miniature.
The Christmas season has for its object the mystery of God-become-Man, to which there is reference only now and then during the remaining part of the year, e.g., on Marian feasts, especially that of the Annunciation (March 25) and today's feast in honor of the Baptist. In a sense, then, we are celebrating Christ's incarnation today. The birth of Jesus is observed on December 25 at the time of the winter solstice, while the birth of His forerunner is observed six months earlier at the time of the summer solstice. Christmas is a "light" feast; the same is true today. The popular custom centering about "St. John's Fire" stems from soundest Christian dogma and could well be given renewed attention. St. John's Fire symbolizes Christ the Light; John was a lamp that burned and shone. We Christians should be the light of the world.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Music Review: "Forever Ended Yesterday" by These Hearts
There were 11 songs on the "Forever Ended Yesterday" CD I received to review.
And I tried to listen to each and every one of them.
And I discovered something in the process...There are many ways, and various musical genres, through which you can express and share your Christian faith; hard rock should not be one of them. The lyrics were difficult, if not impossible, to distinguish, which negates any message that you may be trying to share.
As far as the style itself, you will likely enjoy it if you are a fan of hard rock; It is better than most hard rock I've listened to, without the anger that is usually conveyed through hard rock or metal.
Here is one of the tracks:
“Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
Al Gore promotes population control as answer to climate change
The effort to curb climate change demands that we “stabilize the population,” according to former Vice-President Al Gore.
Speaking at the Games for Change Festival in New York City on Monday, the leading environmental activist reiterated his demand for the promotion of “fertility management” among the poor to reduce the world’s population. Gee...you wouldn't be promoting eugenics, would you Al?
“One of the principle ways of [stabilizing the population] is to empower and educate girls and women,” he said, as reported by the Daily Caller. “You have to have ubiquitous availability of fertility management so women can choose how many children to have, the spacing of the children.”
Planned Parenthood Attempts to Infiltrate Texas Schools
Just when I thought Planned Parenthood couldn't be more disgusting..
No doubt this is a reaction to the number of states that are defunding Planned Parenthood.
Planned Parenthood is attempting to increase their presence in public schools to promote their pro-abortion agenda to students. The official Planned Parenthood website has a section designed for middle and high school educators to use for sexual education lessons.
Planned Parenthood’s website offers educators several resources and links to help them create a sexual education curriculum that promotes sexual promiscuity and exploration of alternative lifestyles. The website offers to help educators craft lessons and activities that “cover human development, human reproduction, sexual health, masturbation and other sexual behaviors, all options for unintended pregnancies, sexual expression, sexual identity, and sexual orientation.”
Teachers are encouraged to select pamphlets for their classroom that cover all topics from having sex to deciding to have an abortion. There are also links to videos and websites that cast sexual behavior and expression in a positive light. Students are getting the message that sexual expression is healthy and normal, and if they should happen to need an abortion as a result of all of this activity, then their local Planned Parenthood affiliate will be there to assist them. There is a disclaimer on the website that Planned Parenthood Federation has not necessarily reviewed or endorsed these curricula or materials.
Corapi and the Blogs
The recent tornado swirling around Fr. Corapi has caused a lot of chatter among 'Professional Catholics' - who really need to watch their TONE because their motives are questionable!
St. Etheldreda
The Saint of the Day for June 23 is St. Etheldreda.
St. Etheldreda, commonly known as Audry, was Queen of Northumbria. She was born at around 630.
While she was still very young she was given in marriage by her father, Anna, King of East Anglia, to a subordinate prince, who gave her a piece of land locally known as the Isle of Ely. She remained a virgin even during her marriage, and five years after his early death lived in isolation.
St. Etheldreda was forced to marry again, out of political convenience, this time the heir to Oswy, King of Northumbria. Throughout 12 years of marriage, she kept her virginity, living as if with her brother, not her husband. She gave her time to devotion and charity.
St. Wilfrid was her friend and spiritual guide, and helped persuade her husband to agree that St. Etheldreda should live for some time in peace as a sister of the Coldingham nunnery, founded by her aunt, St. Ebb.
During this time, St. Etheldreda only ate once a day, except on feast days or while she was sick, and only wore wool clothes. After midnight prayers, she would always go back to the church and continue praying until morning.
St. Etheldreda took pain and humiliation as a blessing – on her death bed, she thanked God for an illness that painfully swelled her neck, which she considered to be punishment for having vainly worn necklaces with jewels as a young lady.
She died on June 23, 679, and buried in a wooden coffin, like she asked for.
When St. Etheldreda’s body was moved to a stone coffin, it was found incorrupt and her neck was perfectly healed, according to physicians.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
These Atheists Need to Get a Life!
Oh for heaven's sake...(pun intended :) Seriously, they need to remember the 1st amendment and respect others' constitutional right to believe.
Seven firefighters from New York City’s Engine 202, Ladder 101 died on 9/11. Now, part of a road in Red Hook, Brooklyn has been renamed “Seven in Heaven Way” in honor of their sacrifice. But the move has angered a group of local atheists who claim that “It’s improper for the city to endorse the view that Heaven exists.”
Sean asks what the world is coming to that we can’t commemorate such a sacrifice without controversy and whether it’s become the mission of the left to ban the name of God from the public square entirely.
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Olbermann's Ignorance
On last night's edition of "Countdown with Keith Olbermann," the host claimed that Galileo was punished by the Catholic Church for "his belief that the earth orbited the sun and not the other way around." He also said that "the Church acknowledged errors had been committed in assessing Galileo's scientific beliefs. They did that in 1992."
It is not for nothing that Olbermann's new show is drawing such phenomenal advertisers like "Furniture Fix" and "Gyro Ball." Indeed, whenever a show has to rely on junk products for revenue (the sure give-away is when they advertise that the buyer gets "two for the price of one"), it's an ominous sign. More than ominous is the intellectual acuity of Olbermann.
The fact is that the belief that the earth revolves around the sun was first broached by Copernicus, in 1543, and that was many moons before Galileo was even born. Copernicus not only did not get into trouble with the Catholic Church—he was a priest. Moreover, when Galileo first floated Copernicus' idea, he was bestowed with medals and gifts by Pope Urban VIII. What got him censured was his arrogance: Galileo argued that his hypothesis was a scientific fact, something which even the scientific community of his day scoffed at. It is instructive that Father Roger Boscovich didn't get into hot water with the Church at the time, and yet he also explored Copernican ideas.
It is false to say that in 1992 the Catholic Church acknowledged errors in dealing with Galileo. That happened in 1741 when Pope Benedict XIV granted an imprimatur to the first edition of the completed works of Galileo. What happened in 1992 was the release of a Pontifical Academy report on the controversy.
If Olbermann were simply wrong, that would be one thing. But it was his snide delivery that was really offensive. Glad we taped his new show—we knew it wouldn't be long before he threw a low-blow at the Catholic Church.
Contact the executive producer, David Sarosi: countdown@current.com
Catholic Investigative Agency : The Rockefeller Foundation
We are used to thinking of the Rockefellers as simply a byword for wealth, power and financial success. Perhaps we might think of them as determined businessmen or see them as great philanthropists. But the truth is far different; the Rockefeller Foundation is actively undermining the Catholic Church, and in the process, attempting to erase man's natural orientation to the eternal.
St. Thomas More
The Saint of the Day for June 22 is St. Thomas More.
His belief that no lay ruler has jurisdiction over the church of Christ cost Thomas More his life.
Beheaded on Tower Hill, London, July 6, 1535, he steadfastly refused to approve Henry VIII's divorce and remarriage and establishment of the Church of England.
Described as "a man for all seasons," More was a literary scholar, eminent lawyer, gentleman, father of four children and chancellor of England. An intensely spiritual man, he would not support the king's divorce from Catherine of Aragon in order to marry Anne Boleyn. Nor would he acknowledge Henry as supreme head of the church in England, breaking with Rome and denying the pope as head.
More was committed to the Tower of London to await trial for treason: not swearing to the Act of Succession and the Oath of Supremacy. Upon conviction, More declared he had all the councils of Christendom and not just the council of one realm to support him in the decision of his conscience.
Four hundred years later, in 1935, Thomas More was canonized a saint of God. Few saints are more relevant to our time. In fact, in 2000, Pope John Paul II named him patron of political leaders. The supreme diplomat and counselor, Thomas More did not compromise his own moral values in order to please the king, knowing that true allegiance to authority is not blind acceptance of everything that authority wants. Henry himself realized this and tried desperately to win his chancellor to his side because he knew More was a man whose approval counted, a man whose personal integrity no one questioned. But when Thomas resigned as chancellor, unable to approve the two matters that meant most to Henry, the king felt he had to get rid of Thomas.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
The New York Times and The Church
Who would have EVER thought that faithful Catholics would have to turn to the op-ed pages of the New York Times to learn the truth of the crisis of in the Church.
Pro-Life Ex-Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Announces GOP 2012 Campaign
Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, a moderate Republican who has a pro-life record on the issue of abortion, announced his campaign for the Republican nomination for president today. With a speech in New York City at the State of Liberty, Huntsman sounded pro-America themes.
Standing in the shadow of the famous statue as his former boss Ronald Reagan did before him, Huntsman launched his campaign for the White House.
“For the first time in our history, we are about to pass down to the next generation a country that is less powerful, less compassionate, less competitive and less confident than the one we got,” he said. “This is totally unacceptable and totally un-American.”
“And it need not, must not, will not be our permanent condition! We will not be the first American generation that lets down the next generation,” Huntsman continued. “What we need now is leadership that trusts in our strength. Leadership that doesn’t promise Washington has all the solutions to our problems, but rather looks to local solutions in our cities, towns and states. Leadership that knows we need more than hope, leadership that knows we need answers”
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NBC apologizes for cutting God from Pledge of Allegiance
NBC has issued an apology for omitting the words “under God” from the Pledge of Allegiance during a broadcast of the U.S. Open. Yeah...it just happened to be two words "under God"
Conservatives were up in arms after the intro to Sunday’s broadcast of one of golf’s biggest championships included audio footage of children reciting the entire pledge, except for the part that mentions God.
Outraged viewers vented their anger on Twitter and other social media outlets before NBC announcer Dan Hicks issued an on-air apology.
“We began our coverage of this final round just about three hours ago and when we did it was our intent to begin the coverage of this U.S. Open Championship with a feature that captured the patriotism of our national championship being held in our nation’s capital for the third time,” Hicks said.
“Regrettably, a portion of the Pledge of Allegiance that was in that feature was edited out. It was not done to upset anyone and we’d like to apologize to those of you who were offended by it.” LAME...of course it was intentional.
Several top conservatives were dissatisfied with the apology.
NAACP Denounces Pro-Life Billboards Decrying Black Abortions
Which is more important to the NAACP? Black people or abortion? Sometimes it's hard to tell...
The NAACP is not happy with a new campaign sponsored by a black pro-life advocate that has new billboards placed in Atlanta, Georgia with the message “Abortion Enslaves Us” and “The 14th Amendment Made Us Members. Abortion Dismembers.”
The campaign is the brainchild of Ryan Bomberger, the head of the Radiance Foundation and the billboards were set up to celebrate Juneteenth (June 19th) and the liberation of black Americans from the shackles of slavery. They are meant to “expose the epidemic of abortion.”
“The campaign invokes the Reconstruction Amendments and the abortion industry’s dependence upon certain persons being classified as property,” Bomberger explains. “The landmark Roe v. Wade decision relied upon the perversion of the 14th Amendment, which finally ascribed full humanity to African-Americans, to justify stripping humanity from another group of individuals — the unborn.”
“In NYC, where Planned Parenthood is headquartered, this dehumanization results in the abortion of 60% of all black pregnancies. Here in Georgia, nearly 60% of all abortions are on African-Americans,” Bomberger continued. Why doesn't this statistic bother the NAACP?
But, in an interview with the liberal Huffington Post, Hilary Shelton, director of the Washington bureau of the NAACP, condemned the billboards.
“Comparing abortion to slavery certainly raises major concerns,” he said. “Women are not forced to have abortions the way they were in servitude. Slavery was about not having the right to make any decisions. Women were actually bred to produce children for the purposes of profit. This is so far removed from that, that if it weren’t such a serious issue, it would almost be laughable.”
Bomberger responded saying the campaign “must be doing something right” if the NAACP is attacking it.
St. Aloysius Gonzaga
The Saint of the Day for June 21 is St. Aloysius Gonzaga.
The people who mass-produce statues and holy cards have done St. Aloysius Gonzaga no favors. The standard image of the saint as a frail, doe-eyed novice has given us the wrong impression. It may even be responsible for the decline in devotion to St. Aloysius. Yet Aloysius deserves a revival, especially as the patron saint of teenagers.
The time and place where he grew up — 16th-century Italy — is not very different from 21st century America. It was a lax, morally careless, self-indulgent age. Aloysius saw the decadence around him and vowed not to be part of it. He did not, however, become a kill-joy. Like any teenage boy, he wanted to have a good time, and as a member of an aristocratic family he had plenty of opportunities for amusement. He enjoyed horse races, banquets and the elaborate parties held in palace gardens. But if Aloysius found himself at a social function that took a turn to the lascivious, he left.
Aloysius did not just want to be good, he wanted to be holy; and on this point he could be tough and uncompromising. He came by these qualities naturally: among the great families of Renaissance Italy, the Medici were famous as patrons of the arts, and the Borgias as schemers, but the Gonzagas were a warrior clan. While most Gonzaga men aspired to conquer others, Aloysius was determined to conquer himself.
Aloysius wanted to be a priest. When he was 12 or 13, he invented for himself a program he thought would prepare him for the religious life. He climbed out of bed in the middle of the night to put in extra hours kneeling on the cold stone floor of his room. Occasionally, he even beat himself with a leather dog leash. Aloysius was trying to become a saint by sheer willpower. It was not until he entered the Jesuit novitiate in Rome that he had a spiritual director — St. Robert Bellarmine — to guide him.
Bellarmine put a stop to Aloysius’ boot camp approach to sanctity, commanding him to follow the Jesuit rule of regular hours of prayer and simple acts of self-control and self-denial. Aloysius thought the Jesuits were too lenient, but he obeyed. Such over-the-top zeal may have exasperated Bellarmine, but he believed that Aloysius’ fervor was genuine and that with proper guidance the boy might be a saint.
To his credit, Aloysius recognized that his bullheadedness was a problem. From the novitiate he wrote to his brother, "I am a piece of twisted iron. I entered the religious life to get twisted straight."
Then, in January 1591, the plague struck Rome. With the city’s hospitals overflowing with the sick and the dying, the Jesuits sent every priest and novice to work in the wards. This was a difficult assignment for the squeamish Aloysius. Once he started working with the sick, however, fear and disgust gave way to compassion. He went into the streets of Rome and carried the ill and the dying to the hospital on his back. There he washed them, found them a bed, or at least a pallet, and fed them. Such close contact with the sick was risky. Within a few weeks, Aloysius contracted the plague himself and died. He was 23 years old.
In the sick, the helpless, the dying, St. Aloysius saw the crucified Christ. The man of the iron will who thought he could take Heaven by sheer determination surrendered at last to divine grace.
Monday, June 20, 2011
video: The Senator
It's amazing who you meet in airports! We each need to defend the truth, sometimes boldly and forcefully, even in the strangest of circumstances.
2012 GOP Candidates Sign Pro-Life Pledge; Romney, Cain Decline
Romney just dropped a couple of points in my eyes. If he calls himself pro-life, why not sign the pledge?
Five of the Republican presidential candidates seeking the GOP nomination to take on pro-abortion President Barack Obama in 2012 have signed onto a pro-life pledge the Susan B. Anthony List has sponsored, but Mitt Romney and Herman Cain have declined.
The Susan B. Anthony List today announced its Pro-Life Leadership Presidential Pledge and said it asked all of the candidates who have officially announced a presidential campaign or exploratory committee to sign the pledge certifying they will not just check off the pro-life box but show true pro-life leadership if elected president.
Signers of the pledge include Michele Bachmann, Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, Tim Pawlenty and Rick Santorum and the pro-life organization is calling on pro-life activists to put pressure on those candidates who have refused to sign, Mitt Romney, Herman Cain, and Gary Johnson. Johnson’s not signing is no surprise given his pro-abortion views but Romney has been campaigning as a pro-life candidate since converting to the pro-life position before the 2008 presidential election. Cain has said he holds pro-life views and has repeatedly excoriated Planned Parenthood for targeting the black community with its abortion facilities.
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