Catholic News Roundup 11-30

Vatican says seat-belt complaint drew papal smile

Some people just have to find things to complain about.

The Vatican said Pope Benedict XVI greeted with a smile the news that a German citizen (an ex-Catholic :) had filed a complaint against him for not wearing a seat belt in his popemobile.

The Vatican spokesman, Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, said Nov. 30 that the complaint was not being taken seriously at the Vatican.

"It continues to provoke curiosity and smiles of amusements, beginning with the pope himself," Father Lombardi said.

Father Lombardi said it was well known that the popemobile does not travel long distances, moves at a very slow speed and doesn't generally run the risk of encountering other vehicles in its path.

"The pope turns continually to the right and to the left to greet and bless the faithful. Often he gets up and takes in his arms babies to bless, to the joy of the parents and everyone present. All these gestures presume a certain freedom of movement," the spokesman said.

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"Holiday Trees" Are Divisive

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on the Christmas tree controversies hitting the states:

In Wisconsin, for the first time in years, they are reverting back to calling the Capitol Rotunda Christmas tree a Christmas tree: it was called a Christmas tree for 70 years until it was renamed a Holiday tree in the mid-1980s.

In Rhode Island, Governor Lincoln Chafee has decided to continue the politics of intolerance by calling the Capitol Rotunda Christmas tree a Holiday tree

Annie Laurie Gaylor of the Madison, Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation explains why the Christmas tree in Wisconsin was rebranded the Holiday tree: “Calling it a Holiday tree was meant to be inclusive.” Ironically, it has proven to be divisive—the uproar is in Rhode Island, not Wisconsin.

According to the Providence Journal, 87 percent of the people in Rhode Island prefer to call the Christmas tree a Christmas tree; only 8 percent think it should be called a Holiday tree. In Wisconsin, there is no discord: calling the Christmas tree a Christmas tree has brought people together. Which is why Rhode Island should learn a lesson in civility and community by calling its Christmas tree a Christmas tree.

By the way, what holiday does the Holiday tree represent? Try asking Governor Chafee’s spokesperson, Christine Hunsinger.

Contact: Christine.Hunsinger@governor.ri.gov

video: Head for the Hills

Signs of Hope are emerging in various places in the Church, but we will need all hands on deck to bring the ship into port.

North Carolina Choose Life License Plates Blocked by Judge

We've been trying to get these pro-life plates here in NC for a while.  Isn't it ironic that the ACLU (anti Christian liberty union) would file a suit to negate the "civil liberties" of anyone who disagrees with their view?

A federal judge blocked the Choose Life license plates in North Carolina on Monday after they became the subject of a lawsuit from the pro-abortion ACLU.

The North Carolina affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a lawsuit against the plates because it complains there is not a pro-abortion alternative available for drivers who want to purchase plates supporting abortion. The group filed its case on behalf of state resident Sue Holliday, according to an AP report, and she says she doesn’t oppose the Choose Life plates, she just wants to be able to express her opinion favoring abortion. 

The lawsuit claims the new plates abridge the free speech rights of pro-abortion state residents and the ACLU has filed a request for an injunction preventing the sales of the plates, which generate $15 for adoption agencies.

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Book Review: "Don't Blink" by James Patterson and Howard Roughan

Warning: potential spoilers

While conducting an interview at New York's famous Lombardo's Steak House, reporter Nick Daniels witnesses a murder and accidentally captures a key piece of evidence. This immediately makes Nick a target of both law enforcement and organized crime.  The main question is:  who will get to him first?

Not only is Nick on the run, but he must also try to protect those he loves:  his sister, his niece and his girlfriend.

This is the fastest-paced James Patterson story I've read (and I'm a big fan, so I've read quite a few).   It is full of plot twists...you won't know who to trust until the very end. 

Content warnings include mostly language, some violence, and two particularly gruesome murders (two victims have their eyes removed).

A thrilling story you won't be able to put down.

St. Andrew

The Saint of the Day for November 30 is St. Andrew.

Andrew, Peter's brother, and John were the first disciples to follow the Lord. With tender delicacy the Gospel (John 1:35-42) describes their first meeting with Jesus. Andrew did not belong to the inner circle of the apostles, Peter, James and John, and the evangelists narrate nothing extraordinary about him (John 6:8); but tradition (resting on apocrpyhal Acts) extols his great love of the Cross and of the Savior; and the Church distinguishes him both in the Mass (his name occurs in the Canon and in the Libera since the time of Pope St. Gregory I who had a special devotion to him) and in the Breviary.

The story of his martyrdom rests on the apocryphal Acts which lack historical foundation. The pagan judge exhorted him to sacrifice to the gods. Andrew replied: "I sacrifice daily to almighty God, the one and true God. Not the flesh of oxen and the blood of goats do I offer, but the unspotted Lamb upon the altar. All the faithful partake of His flesh, yet the Lamb remains unharmed and living." Angered by the reply, Aegeas commanded him to be thrown into prison. With little difficulty the people would have freed him, but Andrew personally calmed the mob and earnestly entreated them to desist, as he was hastening toward an ardently desired crown of martyrdom.

When Andrew was led to the place of martyrdom, on beholding the cross from a distance he cried out: "O good Cross, so long desired and now set up for my longing soul I confident and rejoicing come to you; exultingly receive me, a disciple of Him who hung on you." Forthwith he was nailed to the cross. For two days he hung there alive, unceasingly proclaiming the doctrine of Christ until he passed on to Him whose likeness in death he had so vehemently desired. --The legendary account of our saint's martyrdom has this value: it presents to us the mysticism of the Cross of later times.

Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch.

Catholic News Roundup 11-29

video: The American Influence

Tebow to critics: I won’t back off talking about Christ

When I read about the flack Tim Tebow is getting for daring to discuss his faith publicly, I am reminded of the following verse:

For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory, and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. Luke 9:26

Even as Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow continues to stump critics with his miraculous game-saving abilities, the NFL’s rising star has again proved that he’s not about to let fame get in the way of his relationship with God.

In a radio interview on Monday discussing Tebow, former Broncos quarterback Jake Plummer had complained that the overtly Christian football sensation should tone it down. Plummer told radio’s XTRA Sports 910 in Phoenix that he respected Tebow’s abilities, but “when he accepts the fact that we know that he loves Jesus Christ, then I think I’ll like him a little better.”

Tebow has used his fame to the benefit of the unborn, most notably in a Superbowl ad by Focus on the Family last year.

“I don’t hate him because of that, I just would rather not have to hear that every single time he takes a good snap or makes a good handoff,” he said.

Tebow, who rose to the top of college football as 2007 Heisman Trophy winner and 2009 offensive MVP of the BCS National Championship, told ESPN that he wasn’t about to back off his faith. 

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Vatican Cardinal Burke: ‘We’re well on the way’ to Christian persecution in the U.S.

I can't believe that the 1st amendment, which guarantees us freedom of religion, has been distorted by anti-Christians to remove any reference to faith, specifically Christianity,  from public life.

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

One of the highest ranking cardinals in the Vatican has said that the United States is “well on the way” to the persecution of Christians.

Cardinal Raymond Burke

Cardinal Raymond Burke, former Archbishop of St. Louis and now the head of the Vatican’s highest court, told Catholic News Agency that he could envision a time when the Catholic Church in the U.S., “even by announcing her own teaching,” is accused of “engaging in illegal activity, for instance, in its teaching on human sexuality.”

Asked if the cardinal could even see American Catholics being arrested for their faith he replied, “I can see it happening, yes.”

In his remarks to several U.S. Bishops meeting with him Saturday, Pope Benedict XVI made similarly emphatic warnings about the U.S. The pope told the bishops that “the seriousness of the challenges which the Church in America, under your leadership, is called to confront in the near future cannot be underestimated.”

He added: “The obstacles to Christian faith and practice raised by a secularized culture also affect the lives of believers.”

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http://www.markmallett.com/blog/2008...phets-part-ii/

In a talk given by Fr. Joseph Esper, he outlines the stages of persecution:

Experts agree that five stages of a coming persecution can be identified:

(1) The targeted group is stigmatized; its reputation is attacked, possibly by mocking it and rejecting its values.

(2) Then the group is marginalized, or pushed out of the mainstream of society, with deliberate efforts to limit and undo its influence.

(3) The third stage is to vilify the group, viciously attacking it and blaming it for many of society’s problems.

(4) Next, the group is criminalized, with increasing restrictions placed on its activities and eventually even its existence.

(5) The final stage is one of outright persecution.

Many commentators believe the United States is now in stage three, and moving into stage four. — www.stedwardonthelake.com

St. Saturninus

The Saint of the Day for November 29 is St. Saturninus.

St. Saturninus was the first bishop of Toulouse. It is not known if there were Christians in the town previously or if his preaching won many converts, but whatever the case, he founded a small church there not long after his arrival.

To reach his parish, he had to pass before the capitol where there was a pagan temple. The pagan priests ascribed the silence of their oracles to his frequent passings. One day, they seized him ,and when he refused to sacrifice to their idols, they tied his feet to a bull which dragged him around the town until the rope broke.

Two devout women gathered up his remains and buried them in a deep ditch so that they wouldn't be profaned by the pagans. His successors, Sts. Hilary and Exuperius, gave him more honorable burial. A church was erected where the bull stopped, after dragging the dead bishop around the town. It still exists, and is called the church of the Taur (the bull). The body of the saint was transferred at an early date and is still preserved in the Church of St. Sernin (or Saturninus), one of the most ancient and beautiful of Southern France.

Catholic News Roundup 11-28

Catholics for "Choice"?

Why don't these pro-abort Catholics just call themselves "Catholics for Abortion", which is what they are?

What they are NOT, is Catholic:

From the Catechism:

2322 From its conception, the child has the right to life. Direct abortion, that is, abortion willed as an end or as a means, is a "criminal" practice (GS 27 § 3), gravely contrary to the moral law. The Church imposes the canonical penalty of excommunication for this crime against human life.

Catholic League president Bill Donohue responds to a New York Times op-ed page advertisement placed today by Catholics for Choice:

“Choice” has no normative value absent an object, but even then it may carry no moral weight. Choosing chocolate over vanilla is a choice without moral consequence. But choosing to abort one’s baby clearly has consequences, both for the woman and her child: for the woman, they are traumatic; for the baby, they are deadly. No Catholic can support such a choice. Indeed, in this instance, the very name “Catholics for Choice” is an oxymoron.

Ironically, the Catholics for Choice advertisement in the New York Times focuses exclusively on limiting the choices of Catholics: it wants to deny Catholic institutions the right to a religious exemption from healthcare services they cannot in good conscience countenance.

Top 10 Comments Overheard After the First New Mass

10. “That was so Lutheran! When I was a Lutheran, I knew we had copied the Catholics, but I didn’t know we translated their Mass better.”

9. “I gave up trying to follow the missalette and just followed the children’s missal. The children’s missal is a lot easier.”

8. “It’s like McDonald’s, getting used to a new slogan, like ‘We love to see you smile’ instead of ‘You deserve a break today.’”

7. “That was great! I actually paid attention to the Eucharistic Prayer. It will be five years before we’re able to tune it out again.”

6. “I loved it! Some of my favorite prayers from Mass in Spanish are now in English!”

5. “At my mom’s parish someone said ‘Forty years later, they’re dismantling Vatican II piece by piece.’ I would have answered, ‘Forty years later, they’re implementing Vatican II piece by piece!’”

4. “Wow. The Eucharistic prayer is deep. Who knew?”

3. “One guy was saying ‘And with your spirit,’ to everything.”

2. “That’s the first time I’ve ever said ‘consubstantial.’ Ever.”

1. “This is the only Mass our kids will ever know. They are going to be a lot holier than us.”

h/t Tom Hoopes @ Catholic Vote

St. Catherine Laboure

The Saint of the Day for November 28 is St. Catherine Laboure.

On November 28, the Church honors St. Catherine Laboure, the humble Daughter of Charity to whom Mary appeared, requesting that the Miraculous Medal be stamped so that all who wear it would receive great graces.

Saint Catherine Laboure was born in France on May 2, 1806. She was the ninth of 11 children. Upon her mother’s death, when Catherine was eight years old, the young girl assumed the responsibilities of the household. It was said of her that she was very quiet and practical.

She became a Daughter of Charity, and when she was a novice, at 24 years of age, the Virgin Mary appeared to her for the first time. Later, Mary appeared once again and requested that Catherine have a medal struck portraying Mary just as she appeared.

It took two years before Catherine was able to convince her spiritual director to have the medal struck. Eventually, 2,000 medals were made. Their dispersal was so rapid and effective that it was said to be miraculous itself.

After the visions ceased, St. Catherine Laboure spent the rest of her life as the portress and worked with the sick in humble and obedient service n a convent outside Paris. She spent that time in silence, not telling her superior that she was the one to whom Mary appeared and gave the medal until 45 years after the fact.

She died in Paris on December 31, 1876 and was canonized in 1947 by Pope Pius XII. Her incorrupt body lies in the crypt of the convent.

Advent is here...and the new Mass Translation

This Sunday is the first Sunday of Advent, and we will also start using the new translation of the Mass.

Here are a couple of reference pages on the new translation:

Catholic News Agency
USCCB

Senior bishops predict great results from new Mass translation

Obama might reconsider abortifacient birth control mandate

As much as Barry loves abortion and birth-control, he may have to reluctantly compromise on this.

Pro-abortion advocates are in a fury - and pro-life Democrats hopeful - after recent reports that president Obama may accede to calls from Catholic Church leaders to expand the religious exemption to the new birth control insurance mandate.

Catholic and pro-life advocates were stunned this August when federal health officials announced a new mandate under the 2010 health care reform law requiring virtually all insurers to cover the entire cost of contraceptives and sterilizations as essential “preventive care.” Included among FDA-approved “contraceptives” are early-abortion drugs such as ella, a drug virtually identical to abortion drug RU-486.

The mandate’s “religious employer” exemption was limited only to institutions serving primarily members of their own sect, a definition experts called dramatically narrower than any other in the history of federal conscience laws.

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Catholic News Roundup 11-23

Sola Sciptura - LOL

What better gift can someone get for someone they know and love than the gift that helps a person grow deeper in love with truth.

Gingrich takes heat for Immigration stance

I agree with Newt.

St. Clement I, St. Columban and Bl. Miguel Pro

The Saints of the Day for Nivember 23 are St. Clement I, St. Columban and Bl. Miguel Pro.

St. Clement

St. Clement I of Rome (92-101) was one of the first popes; according to St. Ireneus, he was the third after Peter. Clement most probably died as a martyr. Otherwise little is known of his life. It is not certain whether he is the one Paul mentions as his companion in Phil. 4:3. St. Clement's letter to the Corinthians is authentic; in it he authoritatively intervenes in that strife-torn community, a memorable act in the early history of the papacy.

The breviary gives these legendary details. Because of his zeal for souls, Pope Clement was banished to distant Chersonese; there he found two-thousand Christians who had received a similar sentence. When he came to these exiles he comforted them. "They all cried with one voice: Pray for us, blessed Clement, that we may become worthy of the promises of Christ. He replied: Without any merit of my own, the Lord sent me to you to share in your crowns." When they complained because they had to carry the water six miles, he encouraged them, "Let us all pray to the Lord Jesus Christ that He may open to His witnesses a fountain of water." "While blessed Clement was praying, the Lamb of God appeared to him; and at His feet a bubbling fountain of fresh water was flowing." Seeing the miracle, "All the pagans of the neighborhood began to believe."

When Trajan heard of these marvels, he ordered Clement to be drowned with an iron anchor about his neck. "While he was making his way to the sea, the people cried with a loud voice: Lord Jesus Christ, save him! But Clement prayed in tears: Father, receive my spirit." At the shore the Christians asked God to give them the body. The sea receded for three miles and there they found the body of the saint in a stone coffin within a small marble chapel; alongside lay the anchor. "You have given a dwelling to Your martyr Clement in the sea, O Lord, a temple of marble built by the hands of angels." The body was taken to Rome under Nicholas 1 (858-867) by Sts. Cyril and Methodius and placed in a church dedicated to his honor (S. Clemente). This is one of the most venerable of the churches in Rome because it retains all the liturgical arrangements of ancient times.

St. Columban

St. Columban was born in West Leinster, Ireland, sometime between 540 and 550, and decided when he was a youth, to dedicate himself to God despite his mother's opposition. He lived for a time on Cluain Iris, an island in Lough Erne, with a monk named Sinell, and then became a monk at Bangor. With twelve other monks he was sent as a missionary to Gaul about 585. He built his first monastery at Annegray about 590, and it was so successful that he followed with two more, at Luxeuil and Fontes (Fontaines). Soon his followers spread all over Europe, building monasteries in France, Germany, Switzerland, and Italy. He aroused much opposition, especially from the Frankish bishops, by the Celtic usages he installed in his monasteries and for refusing to acknowledge bishops' jurisdiction over them. He defended his practices in letters to the Holy See and refused to attend a Gallican synod at Chalons in 603 when summoned to explain his Celtic usages. In 610 King Theodoric II of Burgundy, angered by Columban's denunciation of his refusal to marriage and his practice of keeping concubines, ordered all Irish monks banished from his realm. Columban was shipwrecked on the way to Ireland but was offered refuge by King Theodebert II of Neustria at Metz and began to evangelize the Alemanni in the area around Bregenz on Lake Constance. Though successful, he was again banished in 612, when Burgundy warred against and conquered Neustria; Theodoric now ruled over the area in which Columban was working. Columban decided to flee his old adversary and crossed the Alps to Italy, where he was welcomed to Milan by Arian King Agilulf of the Lombards. Columban founded a monastery at Bobbio, between Milan and Genoa, which became one of the great monasteries of its time—a center of culture, learning, and spirituality. He died there on November 23. Columban wrote his Monastic Rule, sermons, poetry, and treatises against Arianism.

Blessed Miguel Agustin Pro

Miguel Pro was born January 13, 1891, at Guadalupe Zacatecas, Mexico. From his childhood, high spirits and happiness were the most outstanding characteristics of his personality. The loving and devoted son of a mining engineer and a pious and charitable mother, Miguel had a special affinity for the working classes which he retained all his life.

At 20, he became a Jesuit novice and shortly thereafter was exiled because of the Mexican revolution. He traveled to the United States, Spain, Nicaragua and Belgium, where he was ordained in 1925. Father Pro suffered greatly from a severe stomach problem and when, after several operations his health did not improve, in 1926 his superiors allowed him to return to Mexico in spite of the religious persecution in the country.

The churches were closed and priests were in hiding. Father Pro spent the rest of his life in a secret ministry to the sturdy Mexican Catholics. In addition to fulfilling their spiritual needs, he also carried out the works of mercy by assisting the poor of Mexico City with their temporal needs. He adopted many disguises to carry out his secret ministry. In all that he did, he remained filled with the joy of serving Christ, his King, and obedient to his superiors.

Falsely accused in a bombing attempt on the President-elect, Pro became a wanted man. He was betrayed to the police and sentenced to death without the benefit of any legal process.

On the day of his death, Father Pro forgave his executioners, prayed, bravely refused the blindfold, and died proclaiming "Long Live Christ the King!"

Catholic News Roundup 11-22

Pelosi accuses Catholics of having 'this conscience thing'

ROFLOL!   Is CINO Pelosi kidding?  I actually had to check twice whether this was a parody or not.

After having some of her behind the scenes shenanigans exposed, Nancy Pelosi has turned to her friends in the MSM to help her with damage control. The effect is something akin to watching what scrambles out after you overturn a large rock.

Pelosi sought to defend herself from allegations that she and her husband made millions from insider trading in what the Washington Post calls a wide ranging interview. And she responded to Herman Cain's recent reference to her as "Princess Nancy," calling it clueless: "clueless in that you don't say something like that."

Unlike, for instance, when Pelosi charged that, in voting to allow health care providers a conscience exemption from providing abortions, Republicans "will be voting to say that women can die on the floor." Duh!  It's abortion that hurts women!

Pelosi conveniently ignored that the measure passed with Democrat support.

So, in Nancy's world, it's clueless to jokingly call Pelosi a princess, but okay for her to accuse Republican members of Congress of saying that women can just die on the floor? "They would!" she reiterated to the Post. "Again, whatever their intention is, this is the effect."

Before the reader can recover from her hypocrisy, Pelosi added a startling, if inadvertent, admission. Addressing the effects such legislation would have on Catholic health care providers, Pelosi said:

"I'm a devout Catholic and I honor my faith and love it . . . but they have this conscience thing." LOL  Its called living your faith Nancy, you should try it sometime.

This conscience thing? As in, they have one?

And she called Cain clueless?

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video: Vatican II and Catholic Culture

Nothing is more glorious than the majesty and beauty of God's truth physically manifested through the song of youth in the Church's Eternal City.

St. Cecilia

The Saint of the Day for November 22 is St. Cecilia.

Cecilia was so highly venerated by the ancient Roman Church that her name was placed in the Canon of the Mass. Already in the fourth century there was a church of St. Cecilia in Trastevere, erected on the site where her home had stood. Her martyrdom probably occurred during the reign of Emperor Alexander Severus, about the year 230. In 1599 her grave was opened and her body found in a coffin of cypress wood. It lay incorrupt, as if she had just breathed forth her soul. Stephen Maderna, who often saw the body, chiseled a statue that resembled the body as closely as possible. Since the Middle Ages, Cecilia has been honored as patroness of Church music, a practice having its source in a false application of a passage from the Office (cantantibus organis).

Apart from the fact of her martyrdom, we know practically nothing about her that is historically genuine. Among other details the breviary offers the following:

Cecilia led a life of prayer and meditation and had vowed lifelong virginity, but a youth by the name of Valerian, relying upon the approval of her parents, hoped to marry her. When the wedding night arrived, she confided to Valerian, "There is a secret, Valerian, I wish to tell you. I have as a lover an angel of God who jealously guards my body." Valerian promised to believe in Christ if he would be enabled to see that angel. Cecilia explained how such was impossible without baptism, and Valerian consented to be baptized. After he was baptized by Pope Urban and had returned "He found Cecilia in her little room lost in prayer, and next to her the angel of the Lord was standing. When Valerian saw the angel, he was seized with great terror." The angel handed to them a bouquet of fiery red roses and snow-white lilies as a reward for Cecilia's love of chastity, a bouquet that would not wither, yet would be visible only to those who love chastity. As a further favor Valerian besought the conversion of his brother Tiburtius.

Upon arriving to congratulate the newlyweds, Tiburtius was astounded by the unspeakably beautiful roses and lilies. As soon as he was informed regarding their origin, he too asked for the waters of baptism. "St. Cecilia said to Tiburtius: Today I acknowledge you as a brother-in-law, because the love of God has made you despise the idols. Just as the love of God gave me your brother as a spouse, so it has given you to me as a brother in-law." When Almachius, the prefect, heard of the conversions, he ordered Maximus, his officer, to arrest and imprison all of them. Before being put to death, they instructed Maximus and his family, and baptized them during the night preceding execution.

At dawn Cecilia roused the two brothers to struggle heroically for Christ, as the glow of morning disappeared, Cecilia called: "Arise, soldiers of Christ, throw away the works of darkness and put on the armor of light." Cecilia pursued her victory as the soldiers willingly listened, "We believe that Christ is the true Son of God, who has chosen such a servant." Led before the prefect, she professed her faith in Christ, "We profess His holy Name and we will not deny Him."

In order to avoid further show, the prefect commanded her to be suffocated in the baths. She remained unharmed and prayed, "I thank You, Father of my Lord Jesus Christ, that through Your Son the fire was extinguished at my side." Beheading was next in order. The executioner made three attempts (the law prohibited more) and let her lie in her blood. She lived for three days, encouraging the poor and dedicating her home into a church.

Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch

Catholic News Roundup 11-21

video: The Vatican II Silence

I was born while Vatican II was going on, so I really relate to this.   I remember how taken back I was as I witnessed the aftermath unfold.

Many Catholics brought up in the last generation have been taught that accepting everything--even dissent from Church teaching-- is ok. War with Hell is just that--a war--and we should never forget it.

The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

November 21 is the Feast of The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

"Sacred Scripture contains no text concerning the event commemorated in today's liturgy. For something of a historical background one may consult the apocryphal works, particularly the Protoevangel of St. James (ch. 4:1ff). After an angel had revealed her pregnancy, Anna is said to have vowed her future child Mary to the Lord. Soon after birth the infant was brought to the sacred precincts at which only the best of Israel's daughters were admitted. At the age of three she was transferred to the temple proper (7:2). According to legend, here she was reared like a dove and received her nourishment from the hand of an angel (8:1).

"In the East, where the feast, celebrated since the eighth century, is kept as a public holiday, it bears the name, 'The Entrance of the Mother of God into the Temple'. It was introduced at Rome by a Cypriotic legate to the papal court of Avignon in 1371. In 1472, Sixtus IV extended its observance to the whole Church. Abolished by Pius V, it was reintroduced some years later (1585)."

Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch.

Music Review: "One Silent Night" by FFH

Just in time for the holidays....

A very good collection of Christmas music, both old and new.

This CD includes classics, such as "Baby it's Cold Outside", "Jingle Bell Rock", and  "I'll Be Home for Christmas".  FFH performs these as we're used to hearing them, thereby bringing back lots of memories.

You'll also appreciate some new songs such as "The Birthday of a King" and Glorious Impossible".  Although they are new, they sound as those they're also classics, like we've known them all along.

I especially enjoyed the vocals.  The songs are also enhanced by sound effects, like the sound of horses pulling a carriage, and sleigh bells.

An excellent collection of music to get you in the Christmas spirit!

http://ffh.net/

http://www.facebook.com/FFHmusic

"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."

Saint Rapahel Kalinowski

The Saint of the Day for November 19 is Saint Raphael Kalinowski.

Saint Rapahel was born in 1835 as Joseph, son of Andrew and Josepha Kalinowski in present day Lithuania. Saint Raphael felt a call to the priesthood early in his life, but decided to complete his education. He studied zoology, chemistry, agriculture, and apiculture at the Institute of Agronomy in Hory Horki, Russia, and at the Academy of Military Engineering in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

Saint Raphael became a Lieutenant in the Russian Military Engineering Corps in 1857. During his post he was responsible for the planning and supervised the construction of the railway between Kursk and Odessa. He was promoted to captain in 1862 and stationed in Brest-Litovsk. In Bret-Litovsk he started, taught, and covered all the costs of a Sunday school, accepting anyone interested.

In 1863 he supported the Polish insurrection. He resigned from the Russian army and became the rebellion's minister of war for the Vilna region. He only took the commission with the understanding that he would never hand out a death sentence nor execute a prisoner. He was soon arrested by Russian authorities and in June of 1864 he was condemned to death for his part in the revolt. Fearing they would be creating a political martyr, they commuted his sentence to ten years of forced labour in the Siberian salt mines. Part of his sentence was spent in Irkutsk where his relics have been moved to sanctify the new cathedral.

Upon his release in 1873, he was exiled from his home region in Lithuania. He moved to Paris, France, and worked as a tutor for three years. In 1877 he finally answered the long-heard call to the religious life, and joined the Carmelite Order at Graz, Austria, taking the name Raphael. He studied theology in Hungary and then joined the Carmelite house in Czama, Poland. He was ordained on January 15, 1882.

Saint Raphael worked to restore the Discalced Carmelites to Poland, and for church unity. He founded a convent at Wadowice, Poland in 1889 and worked with Blessed Alphonsus Mary Marurek. He was a noted spiritural director for both Catholics and Orthodox. He was considered an enthusiastic parish priest and spent countless hours with his parishioners in the confessional. Saint Raphael died in 1907 and was cannonized by Pope John Paul II in 1991.

Catholic News Roundup 11-18

Diocese of Orange wins biding war for Crystal Cathedral

A bankruptcy judge on Nov. 17 ruled in favor of the Diocese of Orange's $57.5 million offer for the iconic Crystal Cathedral over a bid from Chapman University.

Bishop Tod D. Brown vowed on Thursday that the diocese will “protect this wonderful structure as a place of worship and will soon provide our Catholic community with a new cathedral, pastoral center, parish school and more.”

The Crystal Cathedral will meet the needs of the 1.2 million Catholics in Orange County, the 10th largest diocese in the nation.

Judge Robert Kwan made his ruling at 7 p.m. on Nov. 17 after a grueling, week-long case that ultimately disappointed Chapman University which aimed to buy the property as a satellite campus.

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Gingrich Would Replace Obama With Pro-Life Agenda

As I posted back in May, Newt is my man for 2012!

The rollercoaster race for the 2012 Republican nomination has been characterized by the swift ascent, brief peak and lightening fast demise of almost all the candidates. The exception has been Mitt Romney, who has remained steadily in the top tier, if not in the frontrunner slot.

The latest candidate to challenge Romney’s steadfast candidacy is former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich. In a November 13-15 Fox News poll of Republican voters nationwide, results showed Gingrich and Romney running neck-in-neck.

Gingrich has catapulted to the top tier as a result of growing support among tea party activists and anti-establishment conservatives. Ironically, with the exception of Congressman Paul, Gingrich has the most elected office experience of any of the GOP candidates. Gingrich served in the US House from 1979-1999 including a stint as Speaker.

He resigned from the House in 1999 in the midst of a borderline mutiny by House Republicans and a series of ethics questions. Gingrich was widely blamed for Republicans losing 5 seats in the 1998 midterm elections, the worst performance in 64 years for a party that didn’t hold the presidency in the previous election.

Despite his polarizing leadership in the House, Gingrich’s voting record on pro-life issues reflected the consensus pro-life views of the majority of Americans.

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Dedication of the Churches of Peter and Paul

November 18 is the Dedication of the Churches of Peter and Paul.

Today's feast is a spiritual journey to two holy tombs, that of St. Peter and that of St. Paul in Rome. These two basilicas, marking the place of each apostle's martyrdom, are the common heritage and glory of Christendom; it is, therefore, easily seen why we observe their dedication.

Abbot Herwegen makes the following observations on St. Peter's in Rome. The Eternal City has two principal churches, St. John Lateran and St. Peter's. Since ancient times the Lateran basilica, the mother of all churches on earth, has been the church proper to the bishop of Rome in his position as head of the local community. Here the Lenten season was opened and the Easter liturgy solemnized. The basilica of St. Peter, on the other hand, was the church of non-Romans, of pilgrims who journeyed to the city where the two great apostles were martyred. Here those celebrations were held which expressed the universal character of the Roman Church, e.g., Epiphany and the noon Mass on Christmas. The Introits, Lessons, and chants of both these feasts are best explained as proclaiming Christ's universal dominion and His royal majesty.

The third lesson gives the history regarding the construction of the two basilicas. Among the holy places which the first Christians held in honor, those sites were especially dear where the bodies of holy martyrs lay. Great veneration was accorded that area of the Vatican Hill where the grave of St. Peter was located. From all lands Christians made pilgrimages to it as to the rock of faith and the foundation of the Church. In due time the legend arose that Emperor Constantine the Great, eight days after his baptism, took off his diadem, threw himself humbly upon the earth, and shed many tears. Then with pick and shovel he started digging and, in memory of the twelve apostles, carried away twelve baskets of ground; thereby he set the boundaries of the basilica to be built in honor of St. Peter. When finished, the edifice was solemnly consecrated by Pope Sylvester I.

Pope Sylvester had ordered the altar to be of stone; he anointed it with chrism and decreed that in the future only stone altars were to be used. A new church, the present St. Peter's, was consecrated by Pope Urban VIII on November 18, 1626. The ancient basilica of St. Paul was destroyed by fire in 1823; a new structure was consecrated by Pius IX on December 10, 1854, the occasion of the proclamation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception.

In the perspective of the liturgy, the two churches honored today are prime examples connoting the heavenly Jerusalem. The liturgy excels in the pedagogy of passing from the material to the supernatural — the precedent for which on the point in question was already set by the author of the Apocalypse.

Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch

Catholic News Roundup 11-17

Vatican takes legal action against clothing company over Pope ad

 I'm certainly used to smears against the Church or the Pope, but this is a new low.

The Vatican will take legal action against Italian clothing company Benetton to prevent the circulation of an ad featuring Pope Benedict XVI kissing a Muslim imam.

The move on Nov. 17 comes a day after Benetton hastily withdrew the image from a new advertising campaign following protests from both religions.

“The Secretariat of State has authorized its lawyers to initiate actions, in Italy and elsewhere, to prevent the circulation, via the mass media and in other ways, of a photomontage used in a Benetton advertising campaign in which the Holy Father appears in a way considered to be harmful, not only to the dignity of the Pope and the Catholic Church, but also to the sensibility of believers,” read the Vatican's Nov. 17 statement.

The image was used as part of a new advertising campaign by Benetton titled “UNHATE” which was launched yesterday at a press conference in Paris. It was immediately followed by the unveiling of a new poster campaign at various locations around the globe.

The posters feature various religious and political leaders kissing each other on the mouth including a mock-up of Pope Benedict XVI kissing Ahmed Mohamed el-Tayeb, the Imam of the Al-Azhar mosque in Cairo.

A large banner bearing the image was unfurled from a bridge over the River Tiber in Rome. Within a few hours, however, the image had been withdrawn.

You can join the Boycott Benetton movement HERE.

The picture is HERE.  Warning: most readers will find it offensive.

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h/t catholic vote

video: Sleeping Beauty

I've felt this is the case for a while;  Since Vatican II, good priests and Bishops have been largely silent regarding true Church teachings, but slowly, we are seeing them gradually waking up and beginning to once again teach the faith.

Just like Sleeping Beauty, the Church has fallen into an almost death-like trance in many ways. What is needed is the kiss of holy Prince Charmings to awaken her. That's your cue, laity!

St. Elizabeth of Hungary

The Saint of the Day for November 17 is St. Elizabeth of Hungary.

Elizabeth was the daughter of the Hungarian King Andrew II. At the age of four (b. 1207), she was brought to the court of her future husband, Ludwig, landgrave of Thuringia. After her marriage in 1221, she very conscientiously fulfilled her duties both toward her husband and as a servant of God. During the night she would rise from bed and spend long periods in prayer. Zealously she performed all types of charitable acts; she put herself at the service of widows, orphans, the sick, the needy. During a famine she generously distributed all the grain from her stocks, cared for lepers in one of the hospitals she established, kissed their hands and feet. For the benefit of the indigent she provided suitable lodging.

After the early death of her husband (in 1227 while on a crusade led by Emperor Frederick II), Elizabeth laid aside all royal dignities in order to serve God more freely. She put on simple clothing, became a tertiary of St. Francis, and showed great patience and humility. Nor was she spared intense suffering -- the goods belonging to her as a widow were withheld, she was forced to leave Wartburg. In Eisenach no one dared receive her out of fear of her enemies. Upon much pleading a shepherd of the landgrave permitted her to use an abandoned pig sty. No one was allowed to visit or aid her; with her three children, of whom the youngest was not more than a few months old, she was forced to wander about in the winter's cold.

In 1228 she took the veil of the Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis at Marburg and there built a hospital with some property still belonging to her. She retained for herself only a small mud house. All her strength and care were now devoted to the poor and the sick, while she obtained the few things she needed by spinning. Young in years but rich in good works, she slept in the Lord in 1231, only twenty-four years old.

Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch

White House Knew Obamacare Abortion Funding “Ban” a Sham

Joe Wilson was right.  Barry and his administration have continually lied, denying that Obamacare funds abortions.  Kagan definitely needs to recuse herself from this decision.

Efforts by the watchdog group Judicial Watch to demand that Justice Elena Kagan recuse herself when the Affordable Care Act (Health Care Reform) is brought before the Supreme Court later this year resulted in the release of emails between Kagan (back when she was Solicitor General) and a top Department of Justice official.

They unsurprisingly, confirm what pro-lifers have been saying all along about the phony agreement which Democrats have claimed prevented health care reform from creating new abortion funding streams.

Namely, that the executive order signed by President Obama to give cover to Congressman Bart Stupak and his “pro-life” Democrats for them to support health care reform was a sham (emphasis mine):

Kagan, while serving as President Obama’s Solicitor General, exchanged emails with her then-colleagues in the Justice Department indicating her support for the Obamacare legislation when it was under consideration in Congress.

“I hear they have the votes, Larry!! Simply amazing,” Kagan wrote, in an email obtained by Judicial Watch, on the day Obamacare passed through Congress. Larry Tribe, a Harvard Law professor and Supreme Court attorney who served as “senior counselor for access to justice” in the Department of Justice (DOJ), replied to Kagan that the bill’s passage was “remarkable.”

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Parents beware: ‘Twilight: Breaking Dawn’ features disturbing treatment of abortion

Parents with children who are thinking of watching the latest Twilight film, Breaking Dawn – Part I, should be aware that it features disturbing discussions about abortion that carry ambiguous, if not openly anti-life messages, according to a professor at a Canadian college.

In this fourth film, set for release on Friday, heroes Bella and Edward get married and then are shocked to discover on the honeymoon that Bella is pregnant. The story appears to carry a strong pro-life message, as Bella quickly realizes that her life is at risk but chooses to keep the half-vampire, half-human child despite strong pressure from Edward and other characters for her to obtain an abortion.

“All Bella wants is for that baby to survive and she’s willing to kill herself for it,” comments actress Nikki Reed in a promo video.

In a society that largely accepts abortion-on-demand, let alone abortion to save the mother’s life, the storyline comes across as strongly counter-cultural. Indeed, the book sparked fan protests over a perceived “anti-abortion” theme when it was released in 2008.

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Catholic News Roundup 11-16

video: Modernism Inherited

One of the sneakiest things about the Modernist heresy, perhaps the most dangerous aspect, is that most Catholics who are under its sway, don't even KNOW about it. In the years after Vatican II, it is what we have inherited.

More Americans than not want health law repeal: poll

Obamacare is a disaster.  It will wreck the economy and result in healthcare rationing.  It also includes coverage for abortion and contraceptives.

As the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to review President Barack Obama's healthcare reforms, more Americans want to it repealed than want to keep it, a poll released on Wednesday shows.

A Gallup survey of more than 1,000 U.S. adults found that 47 percent favor the repeal of healthcare reform, versus 42 percent who want the law kept in place. Eleven percent had no opinion.

But the survey also showed that 50 percent of Americans believe the federal government has a responsibility to make sure everyone has health coverage, compared with 46 percent who do not.

The results, which have a 4 percentage point margin of error, suggest a sharply divided U.S. public as the Supreme Court prepares to begin hearing legal arguments next March from 26 states and an independent business group that want the law struck down as unconstitutional.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act would extend health coverage to more than 30 million uninsured Americans by expanding Medicaid and establishing special state-run insurance markets called exchanges.

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Pamela Anderson to play Virgin Mary?

Oh give me a break...

Sex-tape veteran and frequent "Playboy" Playmate Pamela Anderson is reclaiming her virginity -- at least on Canadian television.

The former "Baywatch" babe will play the Virgin Mary -- yes, the chaste mother of the Son of God -- in CTV's "A Russell Peters Christmas," the Canadian network announced Monday.

The special, which will be hosted by comedian Russell Peters, will deliver "an irreverent twist on the Christmas special making it unlike anything viewers have seen before."  And it's safe to target Christians, as usual.    They wouldn't dare insult Muslims or Jews or any other faith like this.

No kidding. What, Ron Jeremy wasn't available to play Joseph?

Also joining in for the twisted Yuletide festivities: Michael Buble, Jon Lovitz and Ted Lange, lovingly known by millions as Isaac the bartender from "The Love Boat."

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h/t catholic vote

Mass Changes

The main problem with Vatican II is its IMPLEMENTATION.  Many changes were made that were not actually called for in the Vatican II Council Documents. Revising the Mass translation to a more accurate interpretation is one step in correcting this.

St. Margaret of Scotland and St. Gertrude

The Saints of the Day for November 16 are St. Margaret of Scotland and St. Gertrude.

St. Margaret of Scotland

She was born in Hungary (1046), where her father was living in exile, and likewise spent her childhood there as an unusually devout and pious girl. In the course of time she went to England, when her father was called to high office in his fatherland by his uncle, King St. Edward III. Fortune, however, soon reversed itself again (Margaret's father died suddenly in 1057), and upon leaving England a mighty storm — or better, divine Providence — brought her to the shores of Scotland. Upon instructions from her mother, Margaret married Malcolm III, king of Scotland, in 1069. The country was blessed by her holy life and by her deeds of charity for the next thirty years. Her eight children she zealously trained in the practice of Christian virtues.

In the midst of royal splendor Margaret chastised her flesh by mortification and vigils and passed the greater part of the night in devout prayer. Her most remarkable virtue was love of neighbor, particularly love toward the poor. Her alms supported countless unfortunates; daily she provided food for three hundred and shared in the work of serving them personally, washing their feet and kissing their wounds

Excerpted from the Roman Breviary

Queen Margaret of Scotland is the secondary patroness of Scotland. Margaret's copy of the Gospels is preserved in the Bodleian Library at Oxford University.

St. Gertrude

St. Gertrude the Great, a Cistercian nun, is one of the most lovable German saints from medieval times, and through her writings she will remain for all ages a guide to the interior life. She was born in 1256 at Eisleben and at the age of five taken to the convent at Rossdorf, where Gertrude of Hackeborn was abbess. Similarity in name has often occasioned confusion between the two Gertrudes. Our St. Gertrude never functioned as superior.

In spite of much ill-health, Gertrude used her exceptional natural talents well, knew Latin fluently. When she was twenty-five years old (1281), Christ began to appear to her and to disclose to her the secrets of mystical union. Obeying a divine wish, she put into writing the favors of grace bestowed upon her. Her most important work, Legatus Divinae Pietatis, "The Herald of Divine Love," is distinguished for theological profundity, sublime poetry, and unusual clarity. How it stimulates love of God can be felt only by reading it; Abbot Blosius is said to have read it twelve times each year. St. Gertrude died in 1302, more consumed by the fire of God's love than by fever.

Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch