Baby Jesus makes appearance in Times Square

NEW YORK (Christian Newswire) - A nativity scene was displayed in Times Square this past weekend as part of "The Nativity Project."

"The Nativity Project" is a nationwide campaign that encourages citizens to set up nativity displays outside of public buildings, city halls, state capitols and in well traveled public places.

This past weekend a nativity scene was set up in the heart of Times Square on Broadway and 44th Street right below the studios of MTV.

Rev. Patrick J. Mahoney, Director of the Christian Defense Coalition and organizer of "The Nativity Project," comments,

"The Nativity Project offers an opportunity for people of faith to enter the public square with the glorious news of Christmas. And that is, the Christ-child has provided 'peace and earth and goodwill toward man.'"

This campaign also gives us the opportunity to remind our public officials that the Constitution promises freedom 'of' religion not freedom 'from' religion. Sadly, we are seeing an erosion and crushing of religious freedoms across America from groups like the ACLU. This is especially true during the Christmas season. In light of this, it is essential for the faith community not to be intimidated into surrendering their God given First Amendment freedoms which offer to all Americans the right to worship God, free from government interference and harassment.

"The nativity scene in Times Square also reminds us that the American people welcome such faith displays. While the nativity scene was set up, thousands of people walked by, yet not one person complained and scores joined in singing Christmas carols around the display."

Corporate America could stand to learn by this example too.

Schoolhouse Rock!

Mother Necessity - Where would we be?

Interplanet Janet - She's a galaxy girl!

Conjunction Junction - What's their function?

The Preamble - We the People!

Interjections! - Hey! That's not fair, givin' a guy a shot down there!

I'm Just a Bill - I hope and pray that they will, but today I am still, just a bill...

Elbow Room - It's the West or bust, in God we trust.

The Body Machine - I'm a machine, you're a machine...

The Shot Heard 'Round the World - was the start of the revolution...

ht to Vincenzo at Sancte Pater

What Really Matters

St. Olympias, widow 368 - 410

St Olympias, the glory of the widows in the Eastern church, was a lady of illustrious descent and a plentiful fortune. She was born about the year 368, and left an orphan under the care of Procopius, who seems to have been her uncle; but it was her greatest happiness that she was brought up under the care of Theodosia, sister to St Amphilochius, a most virtuous and prudent woman, whom St Gregory Nazianzen called a perfect pattern of piety, in whose life the tender virgin saw as in a glass the practice of all virtues, and it was her study faithfully to transcribe them into the copy of her own life. From this example which was placed before her eyes she raised herself more easily to contemplate and to endeavour to imitate Christ, who in all virtues is the divine original which every Christian is bound to act after. Olympias, besides her birth and fortune, was, moreover, possessed of all the qualifications of mind and body which engage affection and respect. She was very young when she married Nebridius, treasurer of the Emperor Theodosius the Great, and who was for some time prefect of Constantinople; but he died within twenty days after his marriage.

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St. Adelaide 931-999

St. Adelaide was the daughter of Rudolph of Burgundy. Still a child she was betrothed for political reasons to Lothair of Provence, heir of King Hugh of Italy. Hugh married Adelaide's widowed mother. At the age of sixteen she married Lothair, now Icing of Italy, and a daughter, Emma, was born of the marriage. It was an unhappy union but a short one, for in 950 Lothair died. His successor, Berengar, imprisoned her when Adelaide refused to marry his son. After four months' confinement she escaped in August 951, and when that same year the German Emperor Otto appeared in Italy and proposed marriage, she accepted. Four children were born to them, the future Otto II and three daughters, two of whom became nuns. A revolt led by Ludolf, Otto's son by his first marriage, was crushed. It would appear to have been Adelaide's influence which encouraged, if it did not inspire, Otto's policy of close collaboration with the church. During a sojourn of six years in Italy Otto and Adelaide received the imperial crown from John XII.

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Sister Wendy Beckett

Our local NBC entertainment report, Bobbie Wygant, interviewed Sister Wendy Beckett at The Kimball Art Museum today. The Kimball formerly in Sister Wendy's top 5 american art museums, in her estimation, now runs very near the Metropolitan; WOW!

I cant find the video or story online yet; will post when found.

link to the exhibit page Picturing The Bible at The Kimball

Wake Up!

The Face Of Indifference - A Disturbing Report From The Front

SLDN client and openly gay Army sergeant Darren Manzella to be featured on CBS' 60 Minutes
by Nick Langewis

This upcoming Sunday, CBS will feature a soldier that says he has been allowed to continue to serve in the United States Army despite being openly gay, in contradiction of 10 USC 654, more commonly known as the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy. Don't Ask serves to bar any openly gay individual from being accepted into military service, and discharge an active member who is revealed to be gay.
Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN) client and Army Sergeant Darren Manzella, [pictured here], currently serving in Kuwait after a tour in Iraq, tells Lesley Stahl of CBS' 60 Minutes that he has been well supported by soldiers and bosses alike since coming out last year.

Stories like Manzella's suggest a climate of indifference to openly gay soldiers, especially in overseas combat. An SLDN survey suggests that members stationed overseas are less likely than those serving stateside to be discharged under Don't Ask; less than 25% of 2005's discharges were revealed to be from units in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"Sergeant Manzella's story illustrates the arbitrary and uneven enforcement of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell,'" says SLDN Executive Director Aubrey Sarvis. "Many commands, like Manzella's, recognize that their lesbian and gay troops are instrumental in the work of defending our country."

Continues Sarvis, "Those commanders, who want to do the right thing and retain good troops, should not have their hands tied by this unfair law. Our nation's commitment to fairness and civil liberties demands an end to this law, and our national security interests are best served by repealing it."

Since its enactment in 1993, Don't Ask has resulted in the discharge of over 12,000 servicemembers, at an average of two every day. Medical professionals like Sgt. Manzella, along with "mission-critical" personnel such as 58 Arabic translators, are included in those ranks.

"It is perhaps only once in a lifetime," says Sgt. Manzella, "that we are given the opportunity to do something of paramount importance, and I am honored to be able to use my voice to speak out on behalf of the countless lesbian and gay Americans currently serving in our armed forces."

"More and more of us are serving openly – and proudly – in our nation's military," continues Manzella. "It is important that Americans hear our stories, see our commitment to our nation and understand the harm 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' unnecessarily inflicts on our military and our troops. I am grateful to Lesley Stahl and 60 Minutes for the opportunity to share my story, and grateful to SLDN for their fight on my behalf during my time in the Army."

Manzella, along with SLDN board member Cholene Espinoza, will be featured this upcoming Sunday, December 16, 2007, on CBS' 60 Minutes, airing at 7/6c. More information on Sgt. Manzella, and the ongoing effort to repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell, is available at Servicemembers Legal Defense Network.

source and video available here: warning this is a gay oriented site; adults only!

Pray for our president, our politicians, military leaders and combat troops as they face the enemy of indifference and amorality from within.

Saint Michael the Archangel,
defend us in battle.
Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil.
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray;
and do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host—
by the Divine Power of God —
cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits
who roam throughout the world seeking the ruin of souls.
Amen.

Blessed Mary Frances Schervier 1819-1876

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Bad Elf

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada's post office and police are trying to track down a "rogue elf" who wrote obscene letters to children on behalf of Santa Claus, a newspaper reported on Friday.

The Ottawa Citizen said at least 10 nasty letters had been delivered to little girls and boys in Ottawa who wrote to Santa this year care of the North Pole, which has a special H0H 0H0 Canadian postal code. Return letters from Santa are in fact written by an 11,000-strong army of Canada Post employees and volunteers.

"We firmly believe there is just one rogue elf out there," a Canada Post spokeswoman told the paper.

Canada Post's popular "Write to Santa" program -- which last year delivered more than a million letters to children in Canada and around the world -- has been shut down in Ottawa until the offender is caught.

(Reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing by Peter Galloway)

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I Want To Become A Christian

Catholic Navy chaplain shares story of Iraqi conversion
Muslim woman asks—“Do you give up so easily on Jesus?”

Baghdad, Dec 4, 2007 / 04:48 pm (CNA).- Recently, CNA had the opportunity to send a writer to the Anbar Province of Iraq to cover the experiences of a Catholic chaplain working in the trenches. What follows is his recounting of the amazing encounter he had with this apostle in the desert.

Father Bautista: Apostle in the Desert
Joe Burns, War Stringer

A few weeks ago, I returned to the U.S. after spending a week with Army troops in Iraq. More specifically, I spent six and a half days with my son’s outfit, the 63rd Ordnance Company stationed at Al Taqaddum. Al Taqaddum is a former Iraqi airbase, nicknamed TQ, and lies about 50 miles west of Baghdad in the Anbar Province near Ramadi. My son Mike and I spent the first three days in Baghdad while I was processed for my press pass and then waited for a helicopter to become available to take us to TQ.

Al Taqaddum is covered in dust. In some areas where vehicles had repeatedly driven, the earth was ground down to a fine powder several inches deep (I was tempted to look for Neil Armstrong’s footprints!). The dust in this part of Iraq is so prevalent that it hangs in the air at all times of the day and night, clinging to clothing, nostrils and eyes.

On the second day at Al Taqaddum, I was privileged to attend Mass said by Fr. Jose A. Bautista-Rojas, a Navy chaplain who ministers to the Marines and soldiers at TQ and in the Ramadi area. It was a hot, dry, windy and desolate day.

In the 30 minutes prior to Mass, Fr. Bautista discussed recent events of the day with the three of us: my son Mike, his commander Captain Tom Heilman, and myself.

The setting for our conversation was a makeshift wooden chapel, sparsely furnished with the plastic chairs we sat on and a small white table for an altar. Being inside this simple chapel was like finding an oasis in the desert. What made this oasis most refreshing was the time we spent with Fr. Bautista, a man of irrepressible good humor, joy and generosity.

The events of that morning for Fr. Bautista included a Mass he had just conducted in Ramadi at a Marine detachment. What made the Mass unique, was that his “congregation” consisted of one lonely Catholic Marine. When Father Bautista arrived in Ramadi along with his personal bodyguard, a strong young, well-armed Marine, he visited a detachment of eight men, only one of whom was Catholic. Undeterred, he told the Marine he would be happy to say Mass for him.

The young Marine confided to him, “You know Father, back in the States, I didn’t go to Mass that often, but out here I find myself longing to go to Mass again. But I’ve been here for seven months and you’re the first Catholic chaplain I’ve seen.” Fr. Bautista spent some time listening to his story and asking questions about his family. Then he said Mass for this single Marine, in the presence of countless angels and saints who rejoiced with them.

As Fr. Bautista continued speaking with us, he described the fascinating story of a young Muslim woman who was entering the Church under his guidance through the RCIA process. Her story was moving. While working with Americans, this woman, who must remain anonymous, was touched deeply when she realized that the U.S. medical personnel not only treated wounded Americans and Iraqi civilians, but also treated wounded enemy combatants, including one who was known for having killed U.S. Marines. As she put it, “This cannot happen with us.”

This dramatic extension of mercy even to enemy soldiers caused her to take the next cautious step. She asked Father Bautista to “tell me more about Jesus.” As Father described Jesus and his life in the Gospels, one thing stood out among the rest for the Muslim woman he called “Fatima” (not her real name) and that was how kindly Jesus had related to, as she put it, “the two Mary’s.” Fatima was moved to see how Jesus deeply loved Mary, his mother, who was sinless, but also how Jesus deeply loved Mary Magdalene, who was “a great sinner.” As these discussions continued, Fatima reached a point where she said to Father Bautista, “I want to become a Christian.”

Since Father Bautista sees himself as a chaplain for all troops, not just Catholics, he decided to introduce Fatima to other chaplains from Protestant and Orthodox backgrounds. After some time had passed, Fatima returned to Father Bautista and said, “I want to become a Catholic like you.” When Father asked her the reason for her decision, she said, “You were the only one who told me about the other Christians, so you left me free to decide for myself. That’s how I knew this was the right decision.”

As their catechetical lessons developed over time, Fatima’s family discovered her plan and was warned sternly by her father that if she continued on this path, she would be disowned by the entire family and would never have contact with them again. At this point, Father Bautista became concerned for Fatima’s well-being and cautioned her to look carefully at the consequences of her decision and to think seriously before continuing her path into the Church.

Fatima paused for a moment and then looking intently at Father Bautista asked, “Do you give up so easily on Jesus?” [Fantastic. This is a raw glimpse of the spirit of the martyrs of the early Church.] The question took Father aback for a moment, but then he thought, “This is incredible; this Muslim woman is already bearing witness to me about how important my own faith is!”

As he related it, this woman’s question had caused him to give greater thanks for his faith and for the great privilege of sharing Christ with others. Fatima is currently continuing the RCIA process with great courage and joy.

In a wonderful irony, the first words she will hear spoken during the Liturgy of the Word in the Rite of Acceptance will be those spoken to her great ancestor, Abraham: “Leave your country (and your kindred and your father’s house), and come into the land I will show you” (Gen 12:1).

After sharing this moving testimony, Father Bautista excused himself to prepare to celebrate Mass for us. Moments later, as he led us in the prayers of Mass, I was struck by how blessed I was to be present in this moment, in the ancient dusty land of Abraham, who so willingly offered his only son to God. Now, together with Abraham and his son, Isaac, with all the angels and saints, with our own brave son and his commander, we returned to this same land and heard these magnificent words:

“Look with favor on these offerings and accept them as you once accepted the gifts of your servant Abel, the sacrifice of Abraham, our father in faith, the bread and wine offered by your servant Melchisedech …”

Here, in the same treeless, windy, dusty desert from which God had called Abraham, Christ had returned. Now, through the hands of his servant priest, Father Bautista, a perfect offering was made to fulfill the offering attempted by Abraham. And through this same priest, the Good News that was foretold to Abraham now returned to his homeland to bear witness to a courageous Muslim woman; a woman who was willing to sacrifice everything to know this Jesus who forgives even his enemies and who loves even the sinful Mary.

ht to Fr. Schnippel

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Vatican Defends Right to Evangelize - Right On!

DOCTRINAL NOTE ON SOME ASPECTS OF EVANGELIZATION

SUMMARY POINTS

I. Introduction

1. The Doctrinal Note is devoted principally to an exposition of the Catholic Church’s understanding of the Christian mission of evangelization, which is to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ; the word "Gospel" translates "evangelion" in the Greek New Testament. "Jesus Christ was sent by the Father to proclaim the Gospel, calling all people to conversion and faith. ‘Go out into the whole world and preach the Gospel to every creature’ (Mk 16,15)." [n. 1]

2. The Doctrinal Note cites Pope John Paul II’s Encyclical Letter "The Mission of the Redeemer" in recalling that "‘Every person has the right to hear the Good News [Gospel] of the God who reveals and gives himself in Christ, so that each one can live out in its fullness his or her proper calling.’ This right implies the corresponding duty to evangelize." [n. 2]

3. Today there is "a growing confusion" about the Church’s missionary mandate. Some think "that any attempt to convince others on religious matters is a limitation of their freedom," suggesting that it is enough to invite people "to act according to their consciences", or to "become more human or more faithful to their own religion", or "to build communities which strive for justice, freedom, peace and solidarity", without aiming at their conversion to Christ and to the Catholic faith.

Others have argued that conversion to Christ should not be promoted because it is possible for people to be saved without explicit faith in Christ or formal incorporation in the Church. Because "of these problems, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has judged it necessary to public the present Note." [n. 3]

II. Some Anthropological Implications

4. While some forms of agnosticism and relativism deny the human capacity for truth, in fact human freedom cannot be separated from its reference to truth. Human beings are given intellect and will by God that they might come to know and love what is true and good. The ultimate fulfillment of the vocation of the human person is found in accepting the revelation of God in Christ as proclaimed by the Church.

5. This search for truth cannot be accomplished entirely on one’s own, but inevitably involves help from others and trust in knowledge that one receives from others. Thus, teaching and entering into dialogue to lead someone in freedom to know and to love Christ is not inappropriate encroachment on human freedom, "but rather a legitimate endeavor and a service capable of making human relationships more fruitful." [n. 5]

6. The communication of truths so that they might be accepted by others is also in harmony with the natural human desire to have others share in one’s own goods, which for Catholics includes the gift of faith in Jesus Christ. Members of the Church naturally desire to share with others the faith that has been freely given to them.

7. Through evangelization, cultures are positively affected by the truth of the Gospel. Likewise, through evangelization, members of the Catholic Church open themselves to receiving the gifts of other traditions and cultures, for "Every encounter with another person or culture is capable of revealing potentialities of the Gospel which hitherto may not have been fully explicit and which will enrich the life of Christians and the Church." [n. 6]

8. Any approach to dialogue such as coercion or improper enticement that fails to respect the dignity and religious freedom of the partners in that dialogue has no place in Christian evangelization.

III. Some Ecclesiological Implications

9. "Since the day of Pentecost … the Gospel, in the power of the Holy Spirit, is proclaimed to all people so that they might believe and become disciples of Christ and members of his Church." "Conversion" is a "change in thinking and of acting," expressing our new life in Christ; it is an ongoing dimension of Christian life.

10. For Christian evangelization, "the incorporation of new members into the Church is not the expansion of a power-group, but rather entrance into the network of friendship with Christ which connects heaven and earth, different continents and ages." In this sense, then, "the Church is the bearer of the presence of God and thus the instrument of the true humanization of man and the world." (n. 9)

11. The Doctrinal Note cites the Second Vatican Council’s "Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World" (Gaudium et Spes) to say that respect for religious freedom and its promotion "must not in any way make us indifferent towards truth and goodness. Indeed, love impels the followers of Christ to proclaim to all the truth which saves." [n.10] This mission of love must be accomplished by both proclamation of the word and witness of life. "Above all, the witness of holiness is necessary, if the light of truth is to reach all human beings. If the word is contradicted by behavior, its acceptance will be difficult." On the other hand, citing Pope Paul VI’s Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii nuntiandi, the Note says that "even the finest witness will prove ineffective in the long run, if it is not explained, justified… and made explicit by a clear und unequivocal proclamation of the Lord Jesus." [n. 11]

IV. Some Ecumenical Implications

12. The CDF document points out the important role of ecumenism in the Church’s mission of evangelization. Christian divisions can seriously compromise the credibility of the Church’s evangelizing mission. The more ecumenism brings about greater unity among Christians, the more effective evangelization will be.

13. When Catholic evangelization takes place in a country where other Christians live, Catholics must take care to carry out their mission with "both true respect for the tradition and spiritual riches of such countries as well as a sincere spirit of cooperation." Evangelization proceeds by dialogue, not proselytism. With non-Catholic Christians, Catholics must enter into a respectful dialogue of charity and truth, a dialogue which is not only an exchange of ideals, but also of gifts, in order that the fullness of the means of salvation can be offered to one’s partners in dialogue. In this way, they are led to an ever deeper conversion to Christ.

"In this connection, it needs also to be recalled that if a non-Catholic Christian, for reasons of conscience and having been convinced of Catholic truth, asks to enter into the full communion of the Catholic Church, this is to be respected as the work of the Holy Spirit and as an expression of freedom of conscience and of religion. In such a case, it would not be question of proselytism in the negative sense that has been attributed to this term." [n. 12]

V. Conclusion

14. The Doctrinal Note recalls that the missionary mandate belongs to the very nature of the Church. In this regard it cites Pope Benedict XVI: "The proclamation of and witness to the Gospel are the first service that Christians can render to every person and the entire human race, called as they are to communicate to all God’s love, which was fully manifested in Jesus Christ, the one Redeemer of the world." Its concluding sentence contains a quotation from Pope Benedict’s first Encyclical Letter "Deus caritas est": "The love which comes from God unites us to him and ‘makes us a we which transcends our divisions and makes us one, until in the end God is all in all (1 Cor 15:28)’."

[01795-02.01] [Original text: English]

source

full text at catholic-ew.org.uk

ht to angelqueen.org

Calvary and the Mass

Each word is a part of the Mass. The First Word, "Forgive," is the Confiteor; the Second Word, "This Day in Paradise," is the Offertory; the Third Word, "Behold Thy Mother," is the Sanctus; the Fourth Word, "Why hast Thou abandoned Me," is the Consecration; the Fifth Word, "I thirst," is the Communion; the Sixth Word, "It is finished," is the Ite, Missa Est; the Seventh Word, "Father, into Thy Hands," is the Last Gospel.

Picture then the High Priest Christ leaving the sacristy of heaven for the altar of Calvary. He has already put on the vestment of our human nature, the maniple of our suffering, the stole of priesthood, the chasuble of the Cross. Calvary is his cathedral; the rock of Calvary is the altar stone; the sun turning to red is the sanctuary lamp; Mary and John are the living side altars; the Host is His Body; the wine is His Blood. He is upright as Priest, yet He is prostrate as Victim. His Mass is about to begin.

from CALVARY AND THE MASS A Missal Companion
by Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, Ph.D., D.D., LL.D., Litt.D.

cause for canonization here

ht to athorninthepew

St. John of the Cross 1541 - 1591

Doctor of the Church

Patronage: Contemplatives, mystics

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Stinking Paws No. 4

"That's What Christmas Is All About"

Scrooge in Reverse

The true meaning of A Charlie Brown Christmas
By Greg Ruehlmann

Most people respond to the approach of Christmas with a happy blizzard of activity. They lick stamps and fix them to final flurries of Christmas cards. They bake. They bounce between the malls until their cars are caked white with salt.

Me—I gripe. I raise holy hell about 24/7 Christmas programming on the radio, or holiday sales unfurled before teenagers have time to vandalize my Halloween decorations. In December, folks like me become Scrooges in reverse. We jab “bah humbugs” at anyone who profanes our precious yuletide with a wintry mix of commercial excesses. We grumble to no one in particular about an imagined “war on Christmas.”

But every year, I’m narrowly rescued from my scrooging by the most unlikely savior: a 22-minute, crudely animated TV special from the 1960s.

The Class of 65
It’s been 42 years since A Charlie Brown Christmas premiered on CBS. After all this time, it’s striking how well the show has aged. The first foray into television for Charles Schulz’s Peanuts cartoon remains the gold standard for Christmas specials, never eclipsed before or since. And each winter, it sets me straight.

Charlie Brown Christmas is fantastic from its opening notes. The music, performed by the Vince Guaraldi Trio, still glistens as brightly today as it did four decades ago, thanks especially to Guaraldi’s masterful jazz piano. The brightest spots are original songs—like the twinkling gem “Skating”—but even the standard arrangements sound superior to other versions. For instance, I don’t know what Purgatory looks like, but I’m confident Kenny G’s rendition of “Little Drummer Boy” is somehow involved. In Guaraldi’s hands, however, the tired old song transforms into “My Little Drum,” a cool, syncopated, and gorgeously understated piece, accented by the lovely harmony of humming children.

Those children, so lovably wry and neurotic, are the heart and soul of
A Charlie Brown Christmas. In a snowy world free of grownups, the late, great Schulz perfectly distilled the absurdities, insecurities and existential anxieties of adulthood in his young characters’ precocious exchanges. Outspoken Lucy operates a stand where she dispenses psychiatric advice instead of lemonade. Filthy Pigpen solemnly swears to run a clean inn for the school Christmas play, despite his “outward appearance.” And Charlie Brown, the boy Everyman, frets that Christmas is becoming a mercantile monstrosity. He watches with disgust as his little sister asks Santa for money, and as his dog Snoopy garishly decorates his doghouse for a “Spectacular Supercolossal Neighborhood Lights and Display Contest.”

For the Love of Linus
While A Charlie Brown Christmas gently scolds America for its exploitation of the season, it really centers on the education of its main character. By letting commercialism spoil his Christmas, Charlie Brown becomes the prototypical “Scrooge in reverse.” As Linus wisely tells him, “You’re the only person I know who can take a wonderful season like Christmas and turn it into a problem.” Charlie must learn how to prevent these annoyances from blinding him to the true meaning of Christmas. And this holiday special stands alone by actually stating what that true meaning is.

Charlie bottoms out when his friends relieve him of his duties as director of the Christmas play, and mock the little evergreen he picks out for the performance—a sad sapling he chooses for its authenticity in a grotesque field of fabricated, Technicolor trees. Dejectedly, Charlie cries out, “Isn’t there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?”

Linus supplies the answer. He takes the stage and, under a spotlight’s glow, proclaims the story of the Annunciation, Luke 2:8-14 from the King James Bible:

“And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them; and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”

As Linus steps away, the beam of light remains, shining still upon the good news. “That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown,” he says.

If We Don’t Do It…
It’s a sublime moment, devoid of melodrama or sanctimony, subdued and wholly arresting. Schulz fought passionately to preserve the speech in the initial broadcast, asking “If we don’t do it, who else can?” Considering the choices of other “classic” TV specials, the answer to Schulz’s question appears to be “no one.” Not Dr. Seuss, not Jim Henson, certainly not the obese snowman that looks and talks like Burl Ives.

There’s no radical transformation in A Charlie Brown Christmas. Our bald little hero doesn’t grow a heart three sizes too big. He doesn’t buy a Christmas goose for Bob Cratchett. Charlie walks home with his head down, carrying his pathetic tree. The Peanuts gang follows him, and while he’s not looking, they spruce up his sad, little tree with some of Snoopy’s ornaments, a symbol of their own unabashed Christmas cheer. “Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown!” they shout. Charlie quietly sheds his cynicism, and joins them in a chorus of “Hark the Herald Angels Sing.” The end.

As Charles Schulz’s humble story concludes, it radiates with warmth and a reminder to all of us “reverse Scrooges” who are so intently focused on judging others that we forget to celebrate the miracle of Christmas ourselves.

Greg Ruehlmann, 26, writes from Augusta, Georgia.

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Sharing The Message

Vatican official: Communicators must be like Our Lady of Guadalupe

By Cindy Wooden
Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Like Our Lady of Guadalupe, Catholic communicators must share the message of the Gospel in a way that reflects the culture of their audience and uses images and gestures to capture imaginations and hearts, said Archbishop Claudio Celli.

In a Dec. 12 statement marking the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Archbishop Celli, president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, told Catholic communicators in Latin America that the success of their efforts depends on their love, humility and creativity.

As the "model of perfectly inculturated evangelization," Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared to the Mexican Indian Juan Diego in 1531 looking like an indigenous woman, he said.

"She adapted herself to the mentality of her audience, his culture, his rhythm," Archbishop Celli said. "Her message was not made up of words alone. It was gesture, form, image, language and idiom."

Mary's example, he said, was one of "loving communication and full acceptance of the world of the other, which has a dynamic impact that changes the listener forever."

Mary did not look down on Juan Diego, who was canonized in 2002, or belittle him with her words, the archbishop said. Rather, she fully recognized his human dignity and charged him with the great task of carrying her message to others.

Archbishop Celli told the Catholic communicators that in preparing for Christmas they should be awed by the fact that God became human in Jesus Christ and that "he who was all-powerful and held the universe in his hand made himself weak and dependent."

"With the awe and marvel that this mystery has caused in believers in every generation, let us try to be like those angels who were sent to announce to the shepherds the great joy, the biggest event in history," the birth of the Lord, he said.

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Good advice for all Christians especially Catholics.

Today In History

The nineteenth ecumenical council opened at Trent on 13 December, 1545, and closed there on 4 December, 1563. Its main object was the definitive determination of the doctrines of the Church in answer to the heresies of the Protestants; a further object was the execution of a thorough reform of the inner life of the Church by removing the numerous abuses that had developed in it.

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complete text

Requiescat In Pace II

Austrian Curial Cardinal Stickler

The eldest member of the Cardinalate was in his ninety eighth year and "passed away peacefully"

The Austrian Curia, Cardinal Alfonso Maria Stickler, the oldest member of the College of Cardinals, died in the Vatican on Wednesday evening at the age of 98, as Kathpress reports. The former prefect of the Vatican Library and Papal Archives (until 1988) came from Neunkirchen in Lower Austria, where he was born on 23 August 1910. While still young, he joined the Salesians of Don Bosco in 1937, and was ordained a priest. In September 1983 - just before the first visit to Austria by Pope John Paul II - was Stickler appointed in May 1985 to the Cardinal’s college, as Cardinal Bishop.

In 1983, Pope John Paul II appointed him as a successor to the Austrian Cardinal Antonio Samore, the "Pro-Librarian of the Holy Roman Church" and appointed him archbishop simultaneously to the Titular See of Bolsena. On 7 In July 1984, Pope John Paul II gave him responsibility also for the Vatican Secret Archives. During his tenure, Stickler tirelessly contined the the preservation and modernization of the Vatican library, which is not a repository of the world's richest collection of manuscripts (about 70,000), but also contains one million printed books, roughly 150,000 copper engravings, and a very valuable coin collection. Under the leadership of the Austrian cardinal, a great nuclear bomb proof bunker was built, in which the most important treasures of the library (including the "Codex Vaticanus) are accommodated.

The conservative traditionalist Stickler was extremely hostile to the "Popular Church Movement" in Austria. The Cardinal, who was a strong supporter of the pre-Conciliar rite of the Mass said at that time in precise words that the "rebellion" was directed against the Pope and "against the very essence of our faith." The conscience of the individual must be subordinate to the authority of the Magisterium.

"Passed away peacefully"

Cardinal Stickler passed away peacefully on Wednesday night at 19.30 pm said the Linz diocesan Bishop Ludwig Schwarz in conversation with Kathpress. Stickler knew well Schwarz from his time as Provincial of the Roman province of the Salesians of Don Bosco. The oldest Cardinal lived in his last years secluded in his apartment in the Palazzo del Sant'Uffizio.

The late Cardinal came from a large family. He was the second of twelve children. After graduation in Vienna, he entered the novitiate of the Salesians of Don Bosco, and was professed on 15 August 1928. He completed his theological studies in Benediktbeuern and taught in Turin and Rome. He was a Doctor iuris utriusque of the Lateran University

Stickler taught ecclesiastical legal history at the Canon Law Faculty of the Salesian University in Rome, was Dean of the faculty and finally Rector of the university. On 25 March 1971 (Ash Wednesday) Pope Paul VI appointed him the Prefect of the Vatican Library, which was according to Stickler himself, the most significant "change in his career path". On 8 September 1983, Stickler was appointed "Pro Librarian of the Holy Roman Church", while as well as Titular Bishop of Bolsena. Pope John Paul II personally consecrated him Bishop on the Feast of All Saints 1983. On 7 July 1984, Pope John Paul II also gave him responsibility for the Vatican Secret Archives. In the Consistory of 25 May 1985, Pope John Paul II made him Cardinal and give him as titular, the Church of San Giorgio in Velabro (the church was on the night of 27 to 28 July 1993 severely damaged in a bomb attack, believed to be the work of the Mafia). From this time, until his retirement, Stickler was Official Archivist and Librarian of the Holy Roman Church.

source

translation

Requiescat In Pace

Oldest Chinese priest dies one month before 111th birthday

HONG KONG (UCAN) : Trappist Nicolaus Kao Se-tsien, believed to be the oldest Chinese priest in the world, died in his sleep in the early hours of Dec. 11, a month shy of turning 111 on Jan. 15.

Dom Anastasius Li, abbot of Our Lady of Joy Abbey on Lantau Island here, told UCA News Father Kao was found dead in his bed at 6 a.m. by a confrere who used to help him get dressed for daily prayers and Mass at 6.30 a.m.

Father Kao had lived a contemplative life at the abbey for the past 35 years.

The abbot described the late priest as having died "in peace, as shown on his face." The Trappist community held a requiem Mass for him that very morning, he added.

The funeral and burial will take place in the abbey, according to Trappist tradition. The date has not been decided but is likely to be before Christmas, Dom Anastasius said.

Since Father Kao did not die in a hospital, his body will have to undergo a medical examination before burial, the abbot noted.

The death was the first at the abbey since Dom Anastasius became community superior in 2003. He said, "I feel sad and miss Father Kao, a dear brother in our community, although Father Kao had expected this day to come, to be united with God."

Two days before Father Kao's death, a relative had told UCA News the priest's relatives and close friends in Taiwan had planned to celebrate his 111th birthday in Hong Kong.

A Catholic laywoman from Fuzhou diocese, where Father Kao was born in mainland China, told UCA News she feels sorry to lose such a kind priest who had been blessed with longevity. Fuzhou, capital of Fujian province, is 1,640 kilometers southeast of Beijing.

Father Kao was born near the city in 1897, at a time when China was under the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). He was baptized in 1915.

After being ordained a priest in 1933, he served in the cathedral parish of Fuzhou diocese. He left the mainland in 1949 when the communists founded the People's Republic of China and spent the next 40 years preaching in Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. He lived through two world wars, as well as the Japanese occupation of China (1937-1945).

In 1972, at age 75, Father Kao left pastoral ministry to join the Trappist monastic community -- formally known as the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance -- in Hong Kong. He made his perpetual vows at the age of 100.

Father Kao once told UCA News that since 1932, he had been reciting the rosary 15 times each day for world peace. From 2004, two years after Pope John Paul II introduced the "mysteries of light," he increased this to 20 times a day. He said he used the same rosary beads for more than 70 years.

His guiding principles in life were tolerance, which he learned at a teachers' college in his youth, and mindfulness about death, which helped him remain aware of the transience of worldly goods.

He said he had seven secrets for longevity: prayer, exercise and abstention from smoking, alcohol, anger, annoyance and over-eating. He also revealed his seven secrets for eternal life: faith, humility, love, kindness, patience, enthusiasm and perseverance.

Father Kao underwent short periods of medical care in 2004 and eye surgery in 2005.

For many years here he woke up at 3:30 a.m. with the other monks for community prayers. He would spend the day praying, reading and sharing farm and household chores with other confreres, as well as making cookies to support the community.

He told UCA News on his 110th birthday that he had long prepared for his own death, when he would "return to the heavenly Father."

Nevertheless, time after time he had to give up his chosen burial site in the monastery's cemetery to younger confreres who passed away before him.

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The Shape Of Things To Come

clip from the 49th Parallel

ht to And The World

St. Lucy, Virgin, Martyr (Memorial)

Patron Saint of the blind
283-304

Consecrated virgin, denounced by would-be pagan husband; her captors, unable to move or drag her, stabbed her and gouged her eyes out; she was martyred in Syracuse in Diocletion's persecutions of 304.




"Tis the year's midnight, and it is the day's" - John Donne

It's About Bloody Time!

Hands off Christmas, say religious leaders

By Paul Majendie Mon Dec 10, 11:20 AM ET
LONDON (Reuters) - Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims joined Britain's equality watchdog Monday in urging Britons to enjoy Christmas without worrying about offending non-Christians.

"It's time to stop being daft about Christmas. It's fine to celebrate and it's fine for Christ to be star of the show," said Trevor Phillips, chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

"Let's stop being silly about a Christian Christmas," he said, referring to a tendency to play down the traditional celebrations of the birth of Christ for fear of offending minorities in multicultural Britain.

Suicide bombings by British Islamists in July 2005 which killed 52 people in London have prompted much soul-searching about religion and integration in Britain, a debate that has been echoed across Europe.

The threat of radical Islam, highlighted by the London attacks, prompted reflection about Britain's attitude to ethnic minorities and debate about whether closer integration was more important than promoting multiculturalism.

Phillips, reflecting on media reports of schools scrapping nativity plays and local councils celebrating "Winterval" instead of Christmas, feared there might an underlying agenda -- using "this great holiday to fuel community tension."

So he joined forces with leaders of minority faiths to put out a blunt message to the politically correct -- Leave Christmas alone.

"Hindus celebrate Christmas too. It's a great holiday for everyone living in Britain," said Anil Bhanot, general secretary of the UK Hindu Council.

Sikh spokesman Indarjit Singh said: "Every year I am asked 'Do I object to the celebration of Christmas?' It's an absurd question. As ever, my family and I will send out our Christmas cards to our Christian friends and others."

Their sentiments were echoed by British Muslim leaders, who were also forthright last week in condemning Sudan for jailing a British teacher for letting her pupils name a teddy bear Mohammad.

Muslim Council of Britain spokesman Shayk Ibrahim Mogra said "To suggest celebrating Christmas and having decorations offends Muslims is absurd. Why can't we have more nativity scenes in Britain?"

More than 70 percent of Britons -- some 41 million -- said they were Christians, according to figures from the 2001 census.

Muslims were the largest religious group after Christians -- at the time there were 1.6 million Muslims in Britain, while there were over half a million Hindus and Sikhs numbered just over a third of a million.

(Editing by Keith Weir)

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Leggo Beer Song

ht to Fr. Erik

and for the purists click here

Our Lady of Guadalupe Patroness of the Americas

Her feast commerorates her appearances to San Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin on Tepeyac Hill near Mexico City, from December 9, 1531 to December 12, 1531.

In 1531 a "Lady from Heaven" appeared toJuan Diego, a humble Native American at Tepeyac, a hill northwest of what is now Mexico City. She identified herself as the ever virgin Holy Mary, Mother of the True God for whom we live, of the Creator of all things, Lord of heaven and the earth. She made a request for a church to be built on the site, and submitted her wish to the local Bishop. When the Bishop hesitated, and requested her for a sign, the Mother of God obeyed without delay or question to the Church's local Bishop, and sent Juan Diego to the top of the hill in mid-December to gather an assorment of roses for the Bishop. After complying to the Bishop's request for a sign, She also left for us an image of herself imprinted miraculously on Juan Diego's tilma, a poor quality cactus-cloth, which should have deteriorated in 20 years but shows no sign of decay 476 years later and still defies all scientific explanations of its origin.

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Basilica de Santa Maria de Guadalupe, Mexico City

Cathedral Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Dallas, Tx

Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, La Crosse, Wi

Stinking Paws no. 3

BXVI's Angelus (excerpt) Dec. 09, 2007

“The Father does not judge anyone,” said the Pope, “but he has given all judgment to his Son [. . .] because he is the Son of Man (cf John, 5: 22, 27). It is today, in the present, that our future destiny is decided. It is through our actual behaviour in this life that we decide our eternal fate. In the twilight of our days on earth, when we are about to die, we shall be judged on the basis of our similarity to the child whose birth shall occur in the plain grotto in Bethlehem since it is He who is the God-given standard by which humanity shall live. The Father who is Heaven, who through the birth of His one and only Begotten Son has shown us His merciful love, calls upon us to follow His steps and turn our lives, as He did, into a gift of love.”

BXVI at Sunday's Angelus

ht to Rocco Palmo at whispersintheloggia

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Pope Saint Damasus I c. 305 - 384

Pope from 366 - 384

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Canonization Cause

Servent of God, Reverend Vincent Robert Capodanno, of the Society of the Foreign Missions, and Chaplain, United States Navy.

"Known for his compassion, humanitarianism and kindness, Father Capodanno was considered a soldier's chaplain -- he wore fatigues, carried a pack and ministered to the sick and dying on the field of battle. Never one to fear personal injury when his comforting words, wisdom or simply his presence were in need, Father Capodanno lost his life on the battlefields of Vietnam . On Monday, September 4, 1967, while comforting a wounded Marine, the enemy fired 27 shots into his back. In recognition of Father Capodanno's enormous contributions, accomplishments and sacrifice, he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, making him only the third Vietnam-era chaplain to receive this honor. More recently, on May 21, 2006, nearly forty years after his death on the battlefield of Vietnam , Capodanno has been publicly declared Servant of God, the first step towards canonization." - Congressman Vito J. Fossello, US House of Representatives, 13th District- Staten Island and Brooklyn

cause for canonization

New Star Trek Sequel Casting Revealed

Secrets of the STAR TREK sequel revealed
Uploaded by markdaycomedy

How To Reply To The Press

Huckabee Not Recanting or Retracting AIDS Patient Remarks

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee refused to retract a statement he made in 1992 calling for the isolation of AIDS patients.

Surging in the polls, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee campaigns Saturday in Asheville, North Carolina.

Responding to an Associated Press questionnaire, Huckabee said steps should be taken to "isolate the carriers of this plague" during his failed run for a U.S. Senate seat from Arkansas 15 years ago.

He said he probably would not make the same statement today because of what is known about how HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, is transmitted.

"I had simply made the point -- and I still believe this today -- that in the late '80s and early '90s, when we didn't know as much as we do now about AIDS, we were acting more out of political correctness than we were about the normal public health protocols that we would have acted," Huckabee told Fox News on Sunday.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention concluded in 1985 that AIDS was not transmitted by casual contact. But Huckabee said at the time, "there were other concerns being voiced by public health officials."

He disputed the characterization that he was calling for individuals infected with HIV to be quarantined.

"Now, would I say things a little differently in 2007? Probably so," Huckabee told Fox News. "But I'm not going to recant or retract from the statement that I did make because, again, the point was not saying we ought to lock people up who have HIV/AIDS."

Huckabee did not explain how individuals with HIV would have been isolated.

During his Senate run, Huckabee also told the AP in the questionnaire that he found homosexuality to be "an aberrant, unnatural and sinful lifestyle."

Speaking Monday in Miami, Florida, Huckabee said he still stands by his earlier remarks on homosexuality.

"Let's understand what sin means," Huckabee said. "Sin means missing the mark. Missing the mark could mean missing the mark in any area. We've all missed the mark."

The former Baptist minister said the "proper relationship" is one between a married man and woman having children.

"If we didn't have that as the ideal, we wouldn't have a civilization that was able to perpetuate," he said. "So, rather than read into something incredibly out of line, just read into the fact that I believe that the ideal relationship is one-man, one-woman, pro-life."

The former Arkansas governor has come under increased scrutiny since his rapid rise in the polls, particularly in Iowa, where a McClatchy-MSNBC poll conducted December 3-6 has him leading the GOP field with the support of 32 percent of likely caucus-goers.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who had been leading in Iowa for months, was the second closest rival for the GOP presidential nomination, at 20 percent. The poll's margin of error was plus or minus 5 percentage points.

Huckabee also has come under scrutiny for his role in the parole of a convicted rapist who later went on to rape and kill another woman.

As Arkansas governor, Huckabee supported the parole of Wayne DuMond, who was convicted and sentenced to a life term for raping a 17-year-old girl. After DuMond's parole in 1999, he killed a woman in Kansas City, Missouri, in 2003. DuMond died in prison two years later.

Huckabee wrote a 1996 letter to DuMond supporting his release from prison, but the candidate said the decision was made by a parole board dominated by appointees of his predecessors, Jim Guy Tucker and Bill Clinton.

Former members of the Arkansas Parole Board at the time also said that Huckabee pressured them to approve DuMond's parole, though Huckabee denies doing so.

Last week, the mother of the woman DuMond killed in 2003 said she would actively campaign against Huckabee.

In an interview with CNN, Huckabee called it "heartbreaking" that the rape victims' deaths had become politicized.

"There are families who are truly, understandably and reasonably, grief-stricken," Huckabee said. "And for people to now politicize these deaths and to try to make a political case out of it rather than to simply understand that a system failed and that we ought to extend our grief and heartfelt sorrow to these families, I just regret politics is reduced to that."

YEAH!

Blessed Adolph Kolping 1813 - 1865

"Father of All Apprentices"

Patronage: World Youth Day

Profile

Diocese of Dallas - Cathedral Santuario de Guadalupe

Dedicated October 26, 1902, as the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart by Bishop Edward Dunne.

Merged seventy-three years later, by invitation from Bishop Thomas Tschoepe, with a neighboring parish, Our Lady of Guadalupe, which had served Mexican immigrants since 1914. Renamed December 12, 1977, Cathedral Santuario de Guadalupe -- the Cathedral Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe; mother church of the 630,000 Roman Catholics in the nine-county Diocese of Dallas.

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St. Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin c.1474 – May 30, 1548

"The eagle who speaks"

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The Day The Music Died

John Winston Lennon, MBE

October 9, 1940 - December 8, 1980

photo link

The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The Immaculate Conception

Ineffabilis Deus

Apostolic Constitution issued by Pope Pius IX on December 8, 1854

God ineffable -- whose ways are mercy and truth, whose will is omnipotence itself, and whose wisdom "reaches from end to end mightily, and orders all things sweetly" -- having foreseen from all eternity the lamentable wretchedness of the entire human race which would result from the sin of Adam, decreed, by a plan hidden from the centuries, to complete the first work of his goodness by a mystery yet more wondrously sublime through the Incarnation of the Word. This he decreed in order that man who, contrary to the plan of Divine Mercy had been led into sin by the cunning malice of Satan, should not perish; and in order that what had been lost in the first Adam would be gloriously restored in the Second Adam. From the very beginning, and before time began, the eternal Father chose and prepared for his only-begotten Son a Mother in whom the Son of God would become incarnate and from whom, in the blessed fullness of time, he would be born into this world. Above all creatures did God so lover her that truly in her was the Father well pleased with singular delight. Therefore, far above all the angels and all the saints so wondrously did God endow her with the abundance of all heavenly gifts poured from the treasury of his divinity that this mother, ever absolutely free of all stain of sin, all fair and perfect, would possess that fullness of holy innocence and sanctity than which, under God, one cannot even imagine anything greater, and which, outside of God, no mind can succeed in comprehending fully.

full text

Sign O' the Times

provenance

Stinking Paws No. 2

Cadbury Ad

Theological vocabulary 101

The same honor, the same latreutic worship that is paid to the divinity is paid to the humanity as well, inasmuch as it subsists in the divinity. And therefore God cannot confer a greater dignity upon a human being than to give it a share in the veneration due to himself. As Saint John Damascene explains how latreutic worship can be paid to a creature: “As a lighted piece of charcoal is not simply wood but wood united to fire, so the flesh of Christ is not mere flesh but flesh united to the Godhead.” In that passage he speaks therefore of the flesh of Christ as divinized; because of this divinization there is a sharing in the honor and veneration due to God.

The eternal Word willed to stoop to such great poverty, in order that he might enrich us abundantly with heavenly gifts. Should one reflect on the manner in which he enriched us, one would find it wonderful indeed, since he enriched us by his poverty and endowed us out of his indigence.

Henry of Friemar, O.S.A. (d.1340)


la•treu•tic

Pronunciation: (la-trOO'tik), —adj. of or pertaining to latria.

la•tri•a

Pronunciation: (lu-trī'u), —n. Rom. Cath. Theol. the supreme worship, which may be offered to God only.

Heavenly Bodies

Saturns rings and moon Tethys

ht to Todd at CatholicSensibility

Feast of Saint Ambrose

"But a very little while," and a change we could never imagine will happen. The lowly will find joy and the poor will rejoice. Why? Because of a Presence that even a blind man can sense...because it is the Presence we have been waiting for all our life. "Have pity on us!" "The Lord Jesus took compassion on us in order that he might call us to himself and not scare us away. He comes as someone gentle, someone humble." - St. Ambrose (c. 338 - 307)

Saint Ambrose, mosaic, Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio, Milan

Remember December 7th!

NPS

Prince Caspian

Coming Spring 2008



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"That Guy's Wise"

Ministry of Truth

Gov. Romney's Religious Speech Today

"Thank you, Mr. President, for your kind introduction.

"It is an honor to be here today. This is an inspiring place because of you and the First Lady and because of the film exhibited across the way in the Presidential library. For those who have not seen it, it shows the President as a young pilot, shot down during the Second World War, being rescued from his life-raft by the crew of an American submarine. It is a moving reminder that when America has faced challenge and peril, Americans rise to the occasion, willing to risk their very lives to defend freedom and preserve our nation. We are in your debt. Thank you, Mr. President.

"Mr. President, your generation rose to the occasion, first to defeat Fascism and then to vanquish the Soviet Union. You left us, your children, a free and strong America. It is why we call yours the greatest generation. It is now my generation's turn. How we respond to today's challenges will define our generation. And it will determine what kind of America we will leave our children, and theirs.

"America faces a new generation of challenges. Radical violent Islam seeks to destroy us. An emerging China endeavors to surpass our economic leadership. And we are troubled at home by government overspending, overuse of foreign oil, and the breakdown of the family.

"Over the last year, we have embarked on a national debate on how best to preserve American leadership. Today, I wish to address a topic which I believe is fundamental to America's greatness: our religious liberty. I will also offer perspectives on how my own faith would inform my Presidency, if I were elected.

"There are some who may feel that religion is not a matter to be seriously considered in the context of the weighty threats that face us. If so, they are at odds with the nation's founders, for they, when our nation faced its greatest peril, sought the blessings of the Creator. And further, they discovered the essential connection between the survival of a free land and the protection of religious freedom. In John Adams’ words: 'We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion... Our constitution was made for a moral and religious people.'

"Freedom requires religion just as religion requires freedom. Freedom opens the windows of the soul so that man can discover his most profound beliefs and commune with God. Freedom and religion endure together, or perish alone.

"Given our grand tradition of religious tolerance and liberty, some wonder whether there are any questions regarding an aspiring candidate's religion that are appropriate. I believe there are. And I will answer them today.

"Almost 50 years ago another candidate from Massachusetts explained that he was an American running for president, not a Catholic running for president. Like him, I am an American running for president. I do not define my candidacy by my religion. A person should not be elected because of his faith nor should he be rejected because of his faith.

"Let me assure you that no authorities of my church, or of any other church for that matter, will ever exert influence on presidential decisions. Their authority is theirs, within the province of church affairs, and it ends where the affairs of the nation begin.

"As governor, I tried to do the right as best I knew it, serving the law and answering to the Constitution. I did not confuse the particular teachings of my church with the obligations of the office and of the Constitution – and of course, I would not do so as President. I will put no doctrine of any church above the plain duties of the office and the sovereign authority of the law.

"As a young man, Lincoln described what he called America's 'political religion' – the commitment to defend the rule of law and the Constitution. When I place my hand on the Bible and take the oath of office, that oath becomes my highest promise to God. If I am fortunate to become your president, I will serve no one religion, no one group, no one cause, and no one interest. A President must serve only the common cause of the people of the United States.

"There are some for whom these commitments are not enough. They would prefer it if I would simply distance myself from my religion, say that it is more a tradition than my personal conviction, or disavow one or another of its precepts. That I will not do. I believe in my Mormon faith and I endeavor to live by it. My faith is the faith of my fathers – I will be true to them and to my beliefs.

"Some believe that such a confession of my faith will sink my candidacy. If they are right, so be it. But I think they underestimate the American people. Americans do not respect believers of convenience.

Americans tire of those who would jettison their beliefs, even to gain the world.

"There is one fundamental question about which I often am asked. What do I believe about Jesus Christ? I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the Savior of mankind. My church's beliefs about Christ may not all be the same as those of other faiths. Each religion has its own unique doctrines and history. These are not bases for criticism but rather a test of our tolerance. Religious tolerance would be a shallow principle indeed if it were reserved only for faiths with which we agree.

"There are some who would have a presidential candidate describe and explain his church's distinctive doctrines. To do so would enable the very religious test the founders prohibited in the Constitution. No candidate should become the spokesman for his faith. For if he becomes President he will need the prayers of the people of all faiths.

"I believe that every faith I have encountered draws its adherents closer to God. And in every faith I have come to know, there are features I wish were in my own: I love the profound ceremony of the Catholic Mass, the approachability of God in the prayers of the Evangelicals, the tenderness of spirit among the Pentecostals, the confident independence of the Lutherans, the ancient traditions of the Jews, unchanged through the ages, and the commitment to frequent prayer of the Muslims. As I travel across the country and see our towns and cities, I am always moved by the many houses of worship with their steeples, all pointing to heaven, reminding us of the source of life's blessings.

"It is important to recognize that while differences in theology exist between the churches in America, we share a common creed of moral convictions. And where the affairs of our nation are concerned, it's usually a sound rule to focus on the latter – on the great moral principles that urge us all on a common course. Whether it was the cause of abolition, or civil rights, or the right to life itself, no movement of conscience can succeed in America that cannot speak to the convictions of religious people.

"We separate church and state affairs in this country, and for good reason. No religion should dictate to the state nor should the state interfere with the free practice of religion. But in recent years, the notion of the separation of church and state has been taken by some well beyond its original meaning. They seek to remove from the public domain any acknowledgment of God. Religion is seen as merely a private affair with no place in public life. It is as if they are intent on establishing a new religion in America – the religion of secularism. They are wrong.

"The founders proscribed the establishment of a state religion, but they did not countenance the elimination of religion from the public square. We are a nation 'Under God' and in God, we do indeed trust.

"We should acknowledge the Creator as did the Founders – in ceremony and word. He should remain on our currency, in our pledge, in the teaching of our history, and during the holiday season, nativity scenes and menorahs should be welcome in our public places. Our greatness would not long endure without judges who respect the foundation of faith upon which our constitution rests. I will take care to separate the affairs of government from any religion, but I will not separate us from 'the God who gave us liberty.'

"Nor would I separate us from our religious heritage. Perhaps the most important question to ask a person of faith who seeks a political office, is this: does he share these American values: the equality of human kind, the obligation to serve one another, and a steadfast commitment to liberty?

"They are not unique to any one denomination. They belong to the great moral inheritance we hold in common. They are the firm ground on which Americans of different faiths meet and stand as a nation, united.

"We believe that every single human being is a child of God – we are all part of the human family. The conviction of the inherent and inalienable worth of every life is still the most revolutionary political proposition ever advanced. John Adams put it that we are 'thrown into the world all equal and alike.'

"The consequence of our common humanity is our responsibility to one another, to our fellow Americans foremost, but also to every child of God. It is an obligation which is fulfilled by Americans every day, here and across the globe, without regard to creed or race or nationality.

"Americans acknowledge that liberty is a gift of God, not an indulgence of government. No people in the history of the world have sacrificed as much for liberty. The lives of hundreds of thousands of America's sons and daughters were laid down during the last century to preserve freedom, for us and for freedom loving people throughout the world. America took nothing from that Century's terrible wars – no land from Germany or Japan or Korea; no treasure; no oath of fealty. America's resolve in the defense of liberty has been tested time and again. It has not been found wanting, nor must it ever be. America must never falter in holding high the banner of freedom.

"These American values, this great moral heritage, is shared and lived in my religion as it is in yours. I was taught in my home to honor God and love my neighbor. I saw my father march with Martin Luther King. I saw my parents provide compassionate care to others, in personal ways to people nearby, and in just as consequential ways in leading national volunteer movements. I am moved by the Lord's words: 'For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: naked, and ye clothed me...'

"My faith is grounded on these truths. You can witness them in Ann and my marriage and in our family. We are a long way from perfect and we have surely stumbled along the way, but our aspirations, our values, are the self-same as those from the other faiths that stand upon this common foundation. And these convictions will indeed inform my presidency.

"Today's generations of Americans have always known religious liberty. Perhaps we forget the long and arduous path our nation's forbearers took to achieve it. They came here from England to seek freedom of religion. But upon finding it for themselves, they at first denied it to others. Because of their diverse beliefs, Ann Hutchinson was exiled from Massachusetts Bay, a banished Roger Williams founded Rhode Island, and two centuries later, Brigham Young set out for the West. Americans were unable to accommodate their commitment to their own faith with an appreciation for the convictions of others to different faiths. In this, they were very much like those of the European nations they had left.

"It was in Philadelphia that our founding fathers defined a revolutionary vision of liberty, grounded on self evident truths about the equality of all, and the inalienable rights with which each is endowed by his Creator.

"We cherish these sacred rights, and secure them in our Constitutional order. Foremost do we protect religious liberty, not as a matter of policy but as a matter of right. There will be no established church, and we are guaranteed the free exercise of our religion.

"I'm not sure that we fully appreciate the profound implications of our tradition of religious liberty. I have visited many of the magnificent cathedrals in Europe. They are so inspired … so grand … so empty. Raised up over generations, long ago, so many of the cathedrals now stand as the postcard backdrop to societies just too busy or too 'enlightened' to venture inside and kneel in prayer. The establishment of state religions in Europe did no favor to Europe's churches. And though you will find many people of strong faith there, the churches themselves seem to be withering away.

"Infinitely worse is the other extreme, the creed of conversion by conquest: violent Jihad, murder as martyrdom... killing Christians, Jews, and Muslims with equal indifference. These radical Islamists do their preaching not by reason or example, but in the coercion of minds and the shedding of blood. We face no greater danger today than theocratic tyranny, and the boundless suffering these states and groups could inflict if given the chance.

"The diversity of our cultural expression, and the vibrancy of our religious dialogue, has kept America in the forefront of civilized nations even as others regard religious freedom as something to be destroyed.

"In such a world, we can be deeply thankful that we live in a land where reason and religion are friends and allies in the cause of liberty, joined against the evils and dangers of the day. And you can be certain of this: Any believer in religious freedom, any person who has knelt in prayer to the Almighty, has a friend and ally in me. And so it is for hundreds of millions of our countrymen: we do not insist on a single strain of religion – rather, we welcome our nation's symphony of faith.

"Recall the early days of the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia, during the fall of 1774. With Boston occupied by British troops, there were rumors of imminent hostilities and fears of an impending war. In this time of peril, someone suggested that they pray. But there were objections. 'They were too divided in religious sentiments', what with Episcopalians and Quakers, Anabaptists and Congregationalists, Presbyterians and Catholics.

"Then Sam Adams rose, and said he would hear a prayer from anyone of piety and good character, as long as they were a patriot.

"And so together they prayed, and together they fought, and together, by the grace of God ... they founded this great nation.

"In that spirit, let us give thanks to the divine 'author of liberty.' And together, let us pray that this land may always be blessed, 'with freedom's holy light.'

"God bless the United States of America."


"His mind slid away into the labyrinthine world of doublethink. To know and not to know, to be conscious of complete truthfulness while telling carefully-constructed lies, to hold simultaneously two opinions which cancelled out, knowing them to be contradictory and believing in both of them; to use logic against logic, to repudiate morality while laying claim to it, to believe that democracy was impossible and that the Party was the guardian of democracy; to forget whatever it was necessary to forget, then to draw it back at the moment when it was needed, and then promptly to forget it again: and above all, to apply the same process to the process itself. That was the ultimate subtlety: consciously to induce unconsciousness, and then, once again, to become unconscious of the act of hypnosis you had just performed. Even to understand the word 'doublethink' involved using doublethink."

George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four