Watch Out For The Baobabs

Danny Boy!

2010-06-03T08:21:00.000-07:00

Spanish Word of the Day

2010-05-24T08:58:00.000-07:00

Avena (oats)

MISS SARAJEVO

2010-05-24T08:55:00.000-07:00

Today's spanish word of the day

2010-05-19T19:22:00.000-07:00

la gaviota: seagull

Our Lady of Fatima pray for us

2010-05-13T07:08:00.000-07:00

The Message of Fatima

Sr. Lucia, Bl. Francisco and Jacinta, pray for us.

Mothers Day

2010-05-09T11:26:00.000-07:00

ObamaCare

2010-03-30T09:42:00.000-07:00

God and dog

2010-03-30T09:08:00.000-07:00

INFAMY

2009-12-07T06:44:00.000-08:00

"Always will we remember the character of the onslaught against us. No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory." full text

Photograph from a Japanese plane of Battleship Row at the

beginning of the attack. The explosion in the center is a torpedo

strike on the USS West Virginia

St. Martin de Porres

2009-11-03T00:00:00.000-08:00

DECEMBER 09, 1579 - NOVEMBER 03, 1639

The example of Martin’s life is ample evidence that we can strive for holiness and salvation as Christ Jesus has shown us: first, by loving God “with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind; and second, by loving your neighbor as yourself.” When Martin had come to realize that Christ Jesus “suffered for us and that he carried our sins on his body to the cross, he would meditate with remarkable ardor and affection about Christ on the cross. He had an exceptional love for the great sacrament of the Eucharist and often spent long hours in prayer before the blessed sacrament. His desire was to receive the sacrament in Communion as often as he could. Saint Martin, always obedient and inspired by his divine teacher, dealt with his brothers and with that profound love which comes from pure faith and humility of spirit. He loved men and because he honestly looked on them as God’s children and as his own brothers and sisters. Such was his humility that he loved them even more than himself, and considered them to be better and more righteous than he was. He did not blame others for their shortcomings. Certain that he deserved more severe punishment for his sins than others did, he would overlook their worst offenses. He was tireless in his efforts to reform the criminal, and he would sit up with the sick to bring them comfort. For the poor he would provide food, clothing and medicine. He did all he could to care for poor farmhands, blacks, and mulattoes who were looked down upon as slaves, the dregs of society in their time. Common people responded by calling him, “Martin the charitable.” He excused the faults of others. He forgave the bitterest injuries, convinced that he deserved much severer punishments on account of his own sins. He tried with all his might to redeem the guilty; lovingly he comforted the sick; he provided food, clothing and medicine for the poor; he helped, as best he could, farm laborers and Negroes, as well as mulattoes, who were looked upon at that time as akin to slaves: thus he deserved to be called by the name the people gave him: ‘Martin of Charity.’ It is remarkable how even today his influence can still move us toward the things of heaven. Sad to say, not all of us understand these spiritual values as well as we should, not do we give them a proper place in our lives. Many of us, in fact, strongly attracted by sin, may look upon these values as of little moment, even something of a nuisance, or we ignore them altogether. It is deeply rewarding for men striving for salvation to follow in Christ’s footsteps and to obey God’s commandments. If only everyone could learn this lesson from the example that Martin gave us. - from a homily by Blessed Pope John XXIII given at the canonization of Saint Martin de Porres

NYPRIEST.COM

2009-10-22T09:44:00.000-07:00

Premiered September 8, 1966

2009-09-08T12:00:00.000-07:00

Unveiled September 8, 1504

2009-09-08T11:47:00.000-07:00

Best Musical Scene Ever!

2009-08-29T22:43:00.000-07:00

The Eagle Has Landed

2009-07-20T20:17:00.000-07:00

APOLLO 11

Lunar landing
July 20, 1969 20:17:40 UTC
Sea of Tranquility
0° 40' 26.69" N 23° 28' 22.69" E
(based on the IAU Mean Earth Polar Axis coordinate system)

"I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth."
JFK at Rice University September 12, 1962

One Small Step

2009-07-17T11:07:00.000-07:00

courtesy of catholicvote.org

Into The One

2009-06-22T11:32:00.000-07:00

Into the One
by mavocation

FALSE PROPHET

2009-06-09T07:19:00.000-07:00

The March of the Unqualified

2009-06-08T10:02:00.000-07:00

"&fmt=6"

God doesn't call the qualified, he qualifies the called

more at ignitermedia

St. Joan of Arc ca. 1412 – 30 May 1431

2009-05-30T07:54:00.000-07:00

Priez pour nous

Joy, beautiful spark of gods

2009-05-06T19:41:00.000-07:00

Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125 "Choral"
Premiered on May 7, 1824 in the Kärntnertortheater in Vienna

The Third Movement

Susan Boyle HAS talent!

2009-04-16T22:28:00.000-07:00

Susan Boyle on Britain's Got Talent
by dwarthy

St. Bernadette Soubirous

2009-04-16T09:29:00.000-07:00

January 7, 1844 – April 16, 1879

Sanctuaires Notre-Dame de Lourdes

Happy Birthday!

2009-04-16T09:02:00.000-07:00

16 April 1927 Marktl am Inn, Bavaria, Germany

Estas son las mananitas

que cantaba el rey David.

Hoy por ser dia de tu santo

te las cantamos a ti.

Despierta, mi bien, despierta;

mira que ya amaneci.

Ya los pajaritos cantan;

la luna ya se meti

Que linda est la manana

en que vengo a saludarte;

venimos todos con gusto

y plazer a felicitarte.

El dia en que tu naciste

Nacieron todas las flores

En la fila del bautizmo

cantaron los Ruiceores

Ya viene amaneciendo

Ya la luz del dia nos di

Levantate de manana

mira que ya amaneci

Si yo pudiera bajarte

las estrellas y un lucero

para poder demostrarte

lo mucho que yo te quiero

Con jazmines y flores

Este dia quiero acordar

Hoy por ser dia de tu santo

Te venimos a cantar.

The Obamanation of Desolation speaks at Georgetown

2009-04-16T08:33:00.000-07:00

"Everyone who acknowledges me before others I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father. But whoever denies me before others, I will deny before my heavenly Father." -Matthew 10: 33

“His armed forces will rise up to desecrate the temple fortress and will abolish the daily sacrifice. Then they will set up the abomination that causes desolation.” - Daniel 11:31

Georgetown Says It Covered Over Name of Jesus to Comply With White House Request
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
By Edwin Mora

CNSNews.com) - Georgetown University says it covered over the monogram “IHS”--symbolizing the name of Jesus Christ—because it was inscribed on a pediment on the stage where President Obama spoke at the university on Tuesday and the White House had asked Georgetown to cover up all signs and symbols there. As of Wednesday afternoon, the “IHS” monogram that had previously adorned the stage at Georgetown’s Gaston Hall was still covered up--when the pediment where it had appeared was photographed by CNSNews.com.

“In coordinating the logistical arrangements for yesterday’s event, Georgetown honored the White House staff’s request to cover all of the Georgetown University signage and symbols behind Gaston Hall stage,” Julie Green Bataille, associate vice president for communications at Georgetown, told CNSNews.com. “The White House wanted a simple backdrop of flags and pipe and drape for the speech, consistent with what they’ve done for other policy speeches,” she added. “Frankly, the pipe and drape wasn’t high enough by itself to fully cover the IHS and cross above the GU seal and it seemed most respectful to have them covered so as not to be seen out of context.”

On Wednesday, CNSNews.com inspected the pediment embedded in the wall at the back of the stage in Gaston Hall, where Obama delivered his speech. The letters “IHS” were not to be found. They appeared to be shrouded with a triangle of black-painted plywood. Pictures of the wooden pediment prior to Obama’s speech show the letters “IHS" in gold. Many photos posted on the Internet of other events at Gaston Hall show the letters clearly. The White House did not respond to a request from CNSNews.com to comment on the covering up of Jesus’ name at Gaston Hall.

Georgetown, which is run by the Jesuit order, is one of the most prestigious Catholic institutions of higher education in the United States. Roman Catholics traditionally use “IHS” as an abbreviation for Jesus’ name. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, “St. Ignatius of Loyola adopted the monogram in his seal as general of the Society of Jesus (1541) and thus became the emblem of his institute.” The Society of Jesus is the formal name for the Jesuits.

Although the monogram was covered over on the wooden pediment at the back of the Gaston Hall stage where it would have been directly above and behind President Obama as he spoke, the letters “IHS” are posted elsewhere around the hall approximately 26 times on shields representing different parts of the United States and the world. Obama did not mention the name of Jesus during his address. However, he did mention Christ’s Sermon on the Mount.

“There is a parable at the end of the Sermon on the Mount that tells a story of two men…‘the rain descended and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house…it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock,’” Obama said.

“We cannot rebuild this economy on the same pile of sand,” he added.

“We must build our house upon a rock.”

source

URBI et ORBI EASTER 2009

2009-04-12T07:45:00.000-07:00

URBI ET ORBI MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE BENEDICT XVI
EASTER 2009

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Rome and throughout the world,

From the depths of my heart, I wish all of you a blessed Easter. To quote Saint Augustine, “Resurrectio Domini, spes nostra – the resurrection of the Lord is our hope” (Sermon 261:1). With these words, the great Bishop explained to the faithful that Jesus rose again so that we, though destined to die, should not despair, worrying that with death life is completely finished; Christ is risen to give us hope (cf. ibid.).

Indeed, one of the questions that most preoccupies men and women is this: what is there after death? To this mystery today’s solemnity allows us to respond that death does not have the last word, because Life will be victorious at the end. This certainty of ours is based not on simple human reasoning, but on a historical fact of faith: Jesus Christ, crucified and buried, is risen with his glorified body. Jesus is risen so that we too, believing in him, may have eternal life. This proclamation is at the heart of the Gospel message. As Saint Paul vigorously declares: “If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.” He goes on to say: “If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all men most to be pitied” (1 Cor 15:14,19). Ever since the dawn of Easter a new Spring of hope has filled the world; from that day forward our resurrection has begun, because Easter does not simply signal a moment in history, but the beginning of a new condition: Jesus is risen not because his memory remains alive in the hearts of his disciples, but because he himself lives in us, and in him we can already savour the joy of eternal life.

The resurrection, then, is not a theory, but a historical reality revealed by the man Jesus Christ by means of his “Passover”, his “passage”, that has opened a “new way” between heaven and earth (cf. Heb 10:20). It is neither a myth nor a dream, it is not a vision or a utopia, it is not a fairy tale, but it is a singular and unrepeatable event: Jesus of Nazareth, son of Mary, who at dusk on Friday was taken down from the Cross and buried, has victoriously left the tomb. In fact, at dawn on the first day after the Sabbath, Peter and John found the tomb empty. Mary Magdalene and the other women encountered the risen Jesus. On the way to Emmaus the two disciples recognized him at the breaking of the bread. The Risen One appeared to the Apostles that evening in the Upper Room and then to many other disciples in Galilee.

The proclamation of the Lord’s Resurrection lightens up the dark regions of the world in which we live. I am referring particularly to materialism and nihilism, to a vision of the world that is unable to move beyond what is scientifically verifiable, and retreats cheerlessly into a sense of emptiness which is thought to be the definitive destiny of human life. It is a fact that if Christ had not risen, the “emptiness” would be set to prevail. If we take away Christ and his resurrection, there is no escape for man, and every one of his hopes remains an illusion. Yet today is the day when the proclamation of the Lord’s resurrection vigorously bursts forth, and it is the answer to the recurring question of the sceptics, that we also find in the book of Ecclesiastes: “Is there a thing of which it is said, ‘See, this is new’?” (Ec 1:10). We answer, yes: on Easter morning, everything was renewed. “Mors et vita, duello conflixere mirando: dux vitae mortuus, regnat vivus – Death and life have come face to face in a tremendous duel: the Lord of life was dead, but now he lives triumphant.” This is what is new! A newness that changes the lives of those who accept it, as in the case of the saints. This, for example, is what happened to Saint Paul.

Many times, in the context of the Pauline year, we have had occasion to meditate on the experience of the great Apostle. Saul of Tarsus, the relentless persecutor ofChristians, encountered the risen Christ on the road to Damascus, and was “conquered” by him. The rest we know. In Paul there occurred what he would later write about to the Christians of Corinth: “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold, the new has come” (2 Cor 5:17). Let us look at this great evangelizer, who with bold enthusiasm and apostolic zeal brought the Gospel to many different peoples in the world of that time. Let his teaching and example inspire us to go in search of the Lord Jesus. Let them encourage us to trust him, because that sense of emptiness, which tends to intoxicate humanity, has been overcome by the light and the hope that emanate from the resurrection. The words of the Psalm have truly been fulfilled: “Darkness is not darkness for you, and the night is as clear as the day” (Ps 139 [138]:12). It is no longer emptiness that envelops all things, but the loving presence of God. The very reign of death has been set free, because the Word of life has even reached the “underworld”, carried by the breath of the Spirit (v. 8).

If it is true that death no longer has power over man and over the world, there still remain very many, in fact too many signs of its former dominion. Even if through Easter, Christ has destroyed the root of evil, he still wants the assistance of men and women in every time and place who help him to affirm his victory using his own weapons: the weapons of justice and truth, mercy, forgiveness and love. This is the message which, during my recent Apostolic Visit to Cameroon and Angola, I wanted to convey to the entire African continent, where I was welcomed with such great enthusiasm and readiness to listen. Africa suffers disproportionately from the cruel and unending conflicts, often forgotten, that are causing so much bloodshed and destruction in several of her nations, and from the growing number of her sons and daughters who fall prey to hunger, poverty and disease. I shall repeat the same message emphatically in the Holy Land, to which I shall have the joy of travelling in a few weeks from now. Reconciliation – difficult, but indispensable – is a precondition for a future of overall security and peaceful coexistence, and it can only be achieved through renewed, persevering and sincere efforts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. My thoughts move outwards from the Holy Land to neighbouring countries, to the Middle East, to the whole world. At a time of world food shortage, of financial turmoil, of old and new forms of poverty, of disturbing climate change, of violence and deprivation which force many to leave their homelands in search of a less precarious form of existence, of the ever-present threat of terrorism, of growing fears over the future, it is urgent to rediscover grounds for hope. Let no one draw back from this peaceful battle that has been launched by Christ’s Resurrection. For as I said earlier, Christ is looking for men and women who will help him to affirm his victory using his own weapons: the weapons of justice and truth, mercy, forgiveness and love.

Resurrectio Domini, spes nostra! The resurrection of Christ is our hope! This the Church proclaims today with joy. She announces the hope that is now firm and invincible because God has raised Jesus Christ from the dead. She communicates the hope that she carries in her heart and wishes to share with all people in every place, especially where Christians suffer persecution because of their faith and their commitment to justice and peace. She invokes the hope that can call forth the courage to do good, even when it costs, especially when it costs. Today the Church sings “the day that the Lord has made”, and she summons people to joy. Today the Church calls in prayer upon Mary, Star of Hope, asking her to guide humanity towards the safe haven of salvation which is the heart of Christ, the paschal Victim, the Lamb who has “redeemed the world”, the Innocent one who has “reconciled us sinners with the Father”. To him, our victorious King, to him who is crucified and risen, we sing out with joy our Alleluia!

© Copyright 2009 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana

source

April 12, 1961

2009-04-11T17:26:00.001-07:00

Yuri Gagarin became the first human to travel into space, launching to orbit aboard the Vostok 3KA-2

"The Earth is blue. ... How wonderful. It is amazing." —Gagarin, to ground control

"Gagarin flew into space, but didn't see any God there" -Nikita Khrushchev's speaking at the plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU

NObama bows to king.

2009-04-10T07:19:00.000-07:00

I'd say more like a genuflection...notice his lower body movement...notice a slight bend of the knee?

APRIL 9, 1959

2009-04-09T07:28:00.000-07:00

The Mercury Seven, selected by NASA April 9, 2009.
(L to R) Cooper, Schirra, Shepard, Grissom, Glenn, Slayton and Carpenter

OBSTINANCE at NOTRE DAME

2009-04-09T06:51:00.000-07:00

Leaked: ND Prez Comment on USCCB Document Prohibiting Honoring Pro-Abortion Politicians

By Kathleen Gilbert

NOTRE DAME, Indiana, April 8, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - LifeSiteNews.com has obtained a copy of University of Notre Dame President Fr. John Jenkins' commentary on the U.S. Bishops Conference (USCCB) document, "Catholics in the Political Life," which was sent to Notre Dame's Board of Trustees at the beginning of this month. In the commentary Jenkins explains how he believes that the university's invitation of President Obama to be this year's commencement speaker and receive an honorary law degree is in keeping with the "letter and the spirit" of the recommendations included in the USCCB document.

The USCCB issued "Catholics in Political Life" in 2004. The document directs Catholic schools not to honor pro-abortion politicians. Many of the 29 bishops who have so far spoken out against the scandal, including Notre Dame's Bishop John D'Arcy and USCCB President Cardinal Francis George, have indicated that the school's invitation to President Obama to speak at commencement and receive an honorary law degree was in violation of the bishops' directive. (To view the USCCB document, go to: http://www.usccb.org/bishops/catholicsinpoliticallife.shtml)

The following is the complete text of Jenkins' commentary:

In June 2004, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a statement, "Catholics in Political Life." A number of people have quoted this document with regard to Notre Dame's invitation to President Obama to be its Commencement Speaker and receive an honorary degree. Our interpretation of this document is different from the one that has been imposed by those criticizing us, and I wanted to explain our understanding.

The 2004 document was clearly adopted by the Bishops as provisional. As the document says, "[h]aving received an extensive report from the Task Force on Catholic Bishops and Catholic Politicians, and looking forward to the full report, we highlight several points from the interim report that suggest some directions for our efforts...." Nevertheless, despite its provisional character, this document has been used by all the people at Notre Dame who recommend speakers for commencement or others for honorary degrees since its publication. We have tried to follow both the letter and the spirit of its recommendations.

Two key sentences of the document have been frequently quoted regarding the invitation to President Obama:

"Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles. They should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions."

Because the title of the document is "Catholics in Political Life", we understood this to refer to honoring Catholics whose actions are not in accord with our moral principles. This interpretation was supported by canon lawyers we consulted, who advised us that, by definition, only Catholics who implicitly recognize the authority of Church teaching can act in "defiance" of it. Moreover, fellow university presidents have told me that their bishops have told them that in fact it is only Catholic politicians who are referred to in this document.

In addition, regardless of how one interprets the first sentence, the second is also important. It reads: "They should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions. [My italics]" In every statement I have made about the invitation of President Obama and in every statement I will make, I express our disagreement with him on issues surrounding the protection of life, such as abortion and embryonic stem cell research. If we repeatedly and clearly state that we do not support the President on these issues, we cannot be understood to "suggest support".

Finally, the document states that "we need to do more to persuade all people that human life is precious and human dignity must be defended. This requires more effective dialogue and engagement with all public officials...." However misguided some might consider our actions, it is in the spirit of providing a basis for dialogue that we invited President Obama.

On May 17 we will welcome the ninth President who will receive an honorary degree from Notre Dame. It will be an important opportunity to bring the leader of our nation to Notre Dame, and, I hope, a joyful day for our graduates and their families.

Fr. John Jenkins, C.S.C.

source

NObama and the End of Christian America

2009-04-09T06:40:00.000-07:00

Obama: "We Do Not Consider Ourselves a Christian Nation"

By Kathleen Gilbert and John-Henry Westen

ANKARA, Turkey, April 8, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Speaking to a Turkish press conference Monday as part of a tour to boost U.S. relations with Muslim countries, President Obama sparked controversy by dismissing the notion that America considers itself Christian in nature - unlike 62% of Americans in a recent Newsweek survey.

"Although ... we have a very large Christian population, we do not consider ourselves a Christian nation, or a Jewish nation, or a Muslim nation," said Obama. "We consider ourselves a nation of citizens who are bound by ideals and a set of values."

The statement recalled previous remarks to the Christian Broadcasting Network in 2007, when Obama affirmed that "whatever we once were, we're no longer just a Christian nation."

The Internet immediately buzzed with feedback and reflection on the President's statements. Just prior to the press conference, Newsweek had stirred the waters with an article entitled "The End of Christian America," revealing 2009 American Religious Identification Survey data showing a decline in religious values in the U.S. In that survey, 62 percent of respondents said they considered the U.S. a Christian nation.

Conservative leaders questioned Obama's assessment of American self-identity, citing the U.S. Founding Fathers and presidents throughout the country's history who affirmed the country's Christian foundation.

"I think he [Obama] was using the editorial 'we' there. I don't know who he's talking to," remarked Dr. Timothy O'Donnell, president of Christendom College and professor of history, in an interview with LifeSiteNews.com (LSN) today on the issue.

While it is clear America was not instituted as an explicitly Christian nation, said O'Donnell, "it's an inconvertible fact of history that the overwhelming population of people who were involved in the drafting of the constitution ... came out of the tradition of Western Christian civilization."

"I think there's a strong body of Jews, Christians, certainly Evangelicals that would find such a statement to be very offensive," he said.

"With the greatest respect for the office of the presidency, many of us are both frightened and befuddled by this combo of bowing to the waist to the king of Saudi Arabia, and then declaring that this is not a Christian nation," remarked Rabbi Yehuda Levin, the Special Emissary to Israel for The Union of Orthodox Rabbis of the U.S. and Canada and The Rabbinical Alliance of America, in an interview with LSN today.

"I would say that most of us understand that this is a - certainly, certainly was at the founding, and for hundreds of years, was a de facto Christian nation," said Levin.

"What is the idea that binds us together?" he asked. "Respect for life and family values, respect for religious values that derive from a God who gave us Holy Writ. If Obama wants to discuss theology, then he should answer some more questions on this subject, because he is scaring a lot of people." source

Seth MacFarlane's Star Trek Interview

2009-04-07T10:34:00.000-07:00

Hugh Ramopolo Masekela (b. April 04, 1939)

2009-04-04T16:35:00.000-07:00

Recorded the best instrumental song ever...Grazin in the Grass...earworm in the sidebar.

Petition to Fr. John Jenkins, President of Notre Dame University

2009-03-24T14:04:00.000-07:00

Dear Father Jenkins:

It has come to our attention that the University of Notre Dame will honor President Barack Obama as its commencement speaker on May 17.

It is an outrage and a scandal that “Our Lady’s University,” one of the premier Catholic universities in the United States, would bestow such an honor on President Obama given his clear support for policies and laws that directly contradict fundamental Catholic teachings on life and marriage.

This nation has many thousands of accomplished leaders in the Catholic Church, in business, in law, in education, in politics, in medicine, in social services, and in many other fields who would be far more appropriate choices to receive such an honor from the University of Notre Dame.

Instead Notre Dame has chosen prestige over principles, popularity over morality. Whatever may be President Obama’s admirable qualities, this honor comes on the heels of some of the most anti-life actions of any American president, including expanding federal funding for abortions and inviting taxpayer-funded research on stem cells from human embryos.

The honor also comes amid great concern among Catholics nationwide about President Obama’s future impact on American society, the family, and the Catholic Church on issues such as traditional marriage, conscience protections for Catholic doctors and nurses, and expansion of abortion “rights.”

This honor is clearly a direct violation of the U.S. bishops’ 2004 mandate in “Catholics in Political Life”: “The Catholic community and Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles. They should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions.”

We prayerfully implore you to halt this travesty immediately. We do so with the hope that Catholics nationwide will likewise call on you to uphold the sacred mission of your Catholic university. May God grant you the courage and wisdom to do what is right.

sign the petition here

Bishop John D'Arcy of the Dioces of Fort Wayne - South Bend speaks out against Notre Dame's honorary degree to President Obama

2009-03-24T13:28:00.000-07:00

Concerning President Barack Obama speaking at Notre Dame
graduation, receiving honorary law degree
March 24, 2009

On Friday, March 21, Father John Jenkins, CSC, phoned to inform me that President Obama had accepted his invitation to speak to the graduating class at Notre Dame and receive an honorary degree. We spoke shortly before the announcement was made public at the White House press briefing. It was the first time that I had been informed that Notre Dame had issued this invitation.

President Obama has recently reaffirmed, and has now placed in public policy, his long-stated unwillingness to hold human life as sacred. While claiming to separate politics from science, he has in fact separated science from ethics and has brought the American government, for the first time in history, into supporting direct destruction of innocent human life.

This will be the 25th Notre Dame graduation during my time as bishop. After much prayer, I have decided not to attend the graduation. I wish no disrespect to our president, I pray for him and wish him well. I have always revered the Office of the Presidency. But a bishop must teach the Catholic faith “in season and out of season,” and he teaches not only by his words — but by his actions.

My decision is not an attack on anyone, but is in defense of the truth about human life.

I have in mind also the statement of the U.S. Catholic Bishops in 2004. “The Catholic community and Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles. They should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions.” Indeed, the measure of any Catholic institution is not only what it stands for, but also what it will not stand for.

I have spoken with Professor Mary Ann Glendon, who is to receive the Laetare Medal. I have known her for many years and hold her in high esteem. We are both teachers, but in different ways. I have encouraged her to accept this award and take the opportunity such an award gives her to teach.

Even as I continue to ponder in prayer these events, which many have found shocking, so must Notre Dame. Indeed, as a Catholic University, Notre Dame must ask itself, if by this decision it has chosen prestige over truth.

Tomorrow, we celebrate as Catholics the moment when our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, became a child in the womb of his most holy mother. Let us ask Our Lady to intercede for the university named in her honor, that it may recommit itself to the primacy of truth over prestige.

source

March 18, 1965

2009-03-18T09:23:00.000-07:00

Soviet cosmonaut Aleksey Leonov became the first human to walk in space during the Voskhod 2 mission in 1965.

"SCIENCE REALITY IS STRANGER THAN SCIENCE FICTION"

2009-03-17T08:49:00.000-07:00

Technology turns babies into consumer products
Thomas G. Wenski Special to the Sentinel
March 11, 2009

In the early 1800s, a young author, Mary Shelley, wrote one of the most famous works of science fiction about a mad scientist who in his quest to create life never stopped to consider the consequences of his actions. This gothic novel, Frankenstein, or, the Modern Prometheus, was a warning against the overreaching of modern man in the Age of the Industrial Revolution.

Two centuries later, science reality is stranger than science fiction: While scientists have not learned to "create" life, they have learned to manipulate life with various reproductive technologies. That they do so without sufficiently considering the consequences of these actions is born out by the controversy surrounding Nadya Suleman, whom the press has dubbed the "Octomom" after she gave birth to eight children conceived through in-vitro fertilization. Of course, her offspring are not "monsters" but children. But precisely because they are innocent children, one must ask about the morality of such procedures.

Before the birth of these octuplets, in a recent statement by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Dignitas Personae (The Dignity of a Person), the Holy See reiterated the teaching of the Church against in-vitro fertilization and certain other reproductive technologies. In condemning these forms of reproductive technologies, the Church does not wish only to be a scold. In fact, the Church welcomes and encourages the strides that biomedical research has made in opening new possibilities for the treatment of diseases. After all, the father of genetics, Gregor Mendel, was a Catholic priest.

However, the Church insists that the dignity of a person be recognized in every human being from conception to natural death. "This fundamental principle," according to Dignitas Personae, "expresses a great 'yes' to human life and must be at the center of ethical reflection on biomedical research ... "

Because it is possible to do something does not make it necessarily right to do it. Science, if it is to truly serve humanity, cannot separate itself from the demands of ethics. The ends do not justify the means.The process of in-vitro fertilization frequently involves the deliberate destruction of embryos; some 80 percent of embryos produced artificially are sacrificed in efforts to secure successful implantation. Each embryo, however, is an individual human being and not just simply a mass of cells to be used, selected or discarded.

John Paul II observed: The "various techniques of artificial reproduction, which would seem to be at the service of life and which are frequently used with this intention, actually open the door to new threats against life." (Evangelium Vitae 14.)The desire for children is both legitimate and laudable, but not every means is morally acceptable for those wishing to become parents. As Dignitas Personae says, "The origin of human life has its authentic context in marriage and in the family, where it is generated through an act which expresses the reciprocal love between a man and a woman. ... The desire for a child cannot justify the 'production' of offspring, just as the desire not to have a child cannot justify the abandonment or destruction of a child once he or she has been conceived.

"A child should be the fruit of the parents' love — a gift received and accepted and not a consumer product to satisfy someone's subjective desire.

Artificial contraception opened the possibility of sex without procreation; now in-vitro and related technologies proffer procreation without sex. Such technologies divorced from moral reasoning devalue the meaning of human sexuality itself.

Medical science — like any other human endeavor — is not above ethics. Each of us is called to be ethically and socially responsible for our actions. In giving her judgment on the immorality of these procedures, the church insists on "both the unconditional respect owed to every human being at every moment of his or her existence, and the defense of the specific character of the personal act which transmits life." (Dignitas Personae 10.)

The Most Rev. Thomas G. Wenski is the Catholic Bishop of Orlando. source

SEPARATION OF SCIENCE AND STATE - HUH?

2009-03-09T11:14:00.000-07:00

Obama overturns Bush policy on stem cells
By PHILIP ELLIOTT, Associated Press

WASHINGTON – Reversing Bush policy, President Barack Obama on Monday cleared the way for a significant increase in federal dollars for embryonic stem cell research and promised no scientific data will be "distorted or concealed to serve a political agenda."

Obama signed the executive order on the divisive stem cell issue and a memo addressing what he called scientific integrity before an East Room audience packed with scientists. He laced his remarks with several jabs at the way science was handled by former President George W. Bush.

"Promoting science isn't just about providing resources, it is also about protecting free and open inquiry," Obama said. "It is about letting scientists like those here today do their jobs, free from manipulation or coercion, and listening to what they tell us, even when it's inconvenient especially when it's inconvenient. It is about ensuring that scientific data is never distorted or concealed to serve a political agenda and that we make scientific decisions based on facts, not ideology."

He said his memorandum is meant to restore "scientific integrity to government decision-making." He called it the beginning of a process of ensuring his administration bases its decision on sound science; appoints scientific advisers based on their credentials, not their politics; and is honest about the science behind its decisions.

Fulfilling a campaign promise, Obama signed the order that on stem cell research that supporters believe could uncover cures for serious ailments from diabetes to paralysis. Proponents from former first lady Nancy Reagan to the late actor Christopher Reeve had pushed for ending the restrictions on research.

Obama paid tribute to Reeve, calling him a tireless advocate who was dedicated to raising awareness to the promise of research.
Obama's action reverses Bush's stem cell policy by undoing his 2001 directive that banned federal funding for research into stem lines created after Aug. 9, 2001.

The president said his administration would work aggressively to make up for the ground he said was lost due to Bush's decision, though it can't be known how much more federal money will be spent on the research until grants are applied for and issued.

"Medical miracles do not happen simply by accident," Obama declared.
Embryonic stem cells are master cells that can morph into any cell of the body. Scientists hope to harness them so they can create replacement tissues to treat a variety of diseases — such as new insulin-producing cells for diabetics, cells that could help those with Parkinson's disease or maybe even Alzheimer's, or new nerve connections to restore movement after spinal injury.

House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, criticized Obama, saying in a statement that the president had "rolled back important protections for innocent life, further dividing our nation at a time when we need greater unity to tackle the challenges before us."

Bush limited the use of taxpayer money to only the 21 stem cell lines that had been produced before his decision. He argued he was defending human life because days-old embryos — although typically from fertility clinics and already destined for destruction — are destroyed to create the stem cell lines.

The Obama order reverses that without addressing a separate legislative ban, which precludes any federal money for the development of stem cell lines. The legislation, however, does not prevent funds for research on those lines created without federal funding.

Researchers say the newer lines created with private money during the period of the Bush ban are healthier and better suited to creating treatment for diseases.

Obama called his decision a "difficult and delicate balance," an understatement of the intense emotions generated on both sides of the long, contentious debate. He said he came down on the side of the majority of Americans who support increased federal funding for the research, both because strict oversight would prevent problems and because of the great and lifesaving potential it holds.

"Rather than furthering discovery, our government has forced what I believe is a false choice between sound science and moral values," Obama said. "In this case, I believe the two are not inconsistent. As a person of faith, I believe we are called to care for each other and work to ease human suffering."

Obama warned against overstating the eventual benefits of the research, but he said his administration "will vigorously support scientists who pursue this research," taking another slap at Bush in the process.
"I cannot guarantee that we will find the treatments and cures we seek. No president can promise that. But I can promise that we will seek them actively, responsibly, and with the urgency required to make up for lost ground," he said.

It's a matter of competitive advantage globally as well, the president argued.

"When government fails to make these investments, opportunities are missed. Promising avenues go unexplored," Obama said.
But the president was insistent that his order would not open the door to human cloning.

"We will develop strict guidelines, which we will rigorously enforce, because we cannot ever tolerate misuse or abuse," Obama said. "And we will ensure that our government never opens the door to the use of cloning for human reproduction. It is dangerous, profoundly wrong, and has no place in our society, or any society." source

REMEMBER

2009-03-06T11:09:00.000-08:00

http://www.thealamo.org/

Gay Marriage

2009-03-06T07:59:00.000-08:00

Gay Marriage: Is California's Supreme Court Shifting?
By Michael Lindenberger Thursday, Mar. 05, 2009

The prospects of same-sex marriage in California grew dimmer Thursday, when two Supreme Court justices who helped create the right for gays to marry in last year's historic decision expressed deep reservations about attempts to strike down a statewide referendum passed last fall to ban the practice. "You would have us choose between these two rights: the inalienable right to marry and the right of the people to change their constitution," said Justice Joyce L. Kennard, one of those two key judges. "You ask us to willy-nilly disregard the right of the people to change the constitution of the state of California. But all political power is inherent in the people of California."

click here for story

JUST STUPID!

2009-03-05T08:34:00.000-08:00

Woman Calls 911 After McDonald's Runs Out Of Nuggets

Fort Pierce Woman Cited For Misusing 911 Emergency Communications System

story here

HEAT

2009-03-05T06:39:00.000-08:00

Following is Kansas City, Kansas Archbishop Joseph Naumann's column from the upcoming edition of his archdiocesan newspaper, The Leaven.

Leaven Column
March 6, 2009

By Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann

Normally, it would be a source of joy and pride to have a Catholic from Kansas named by the President to an important Cabinet Post. Unfortunately, I experience neither with President Obama’s selection of Governor Kathleen Sebelius as his choice to serve as the Secretary for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

In many ways, I can understand why President Obama selected Governor Sebelius. As I have acknowledged on several other occasions she is a very bright and gifted leader. In many important areas, she represents well Catholic social teaching. She has advocated for more affordable housing for the poor, she has worked to expand access to health care for economically disadvantaged children, and she has supported incentives encouraging adoption.

Yet, on the fundamental moral issue of protecting innocent human life, Governor Sebelius, throughout her career, has been an outspoken advocate for legalized abortion. For this reason her appointment to HHS is particularly troubling.

President Obama has made a top priority for his administration health care reform. The Church certainly supports the objectives of such reform: to make quality health care accessible and affordable for everyone. Of course, there is vigorous debate on how to best achieve this important goal. I claim no competence or expertise in this area.

The Secretary for HHS will be a key figure in developing and implementing the Health Care Reform for the nation. There are those, who have great influence within the Obama administration and with whom Governor Sebelius has been associated throughout her political career (e.g. Planned Parenthood, National Organization of Women, NARAL, etc.), who want abortion not only to be permitted in this country but considered a right.

If they are successful in their efforts to have abortion included amongst “basic health care services,” then it is entirely possible that doctors, nurses and health care institutions will be compelled to cooperate in the provision of abortion. Those advocating for abortion to be considered a “right” would love to see Catholic hospitals faced with the choice to either cooperate in providing abortions or close.

The protection of conscience rights for individuals and institutions is extremely important. The Obama administration has already expressed a desire to rescind the policies of the Bush administration to strengthen conscience protection for health care workers and providers. President Obama, when he was Senator Obama, co-sponsored the so-called Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) that was introduced in the previous congress. That version of FOCA would have, among other things, forced health care providers to cooperate in abortion. Regretfully, Governor Sebelius throughout her political career has been associated with and supported by Planned Parenthood, NOW, NARAL and others advocating for abortion to be considered a “health care right.”

Even more troubling is that earlier in her political career Governor Sebelius accepted political contributions from Wichita’s notorious late-term abortionist, Dr. George Tiller. When this was no longer politically opportune, Dr. Tiller established a political action committee through which he donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to support the election and re-election of Governor Sebelius, as well as other equally staunch supporters of legalized abortion.

Kansas has one of the most restrictive laws regarding late-term abortions. Yet, it has become, in large part because of Dr. Tiller, the late-term abortion capital of the Midwest. How is this possible? It is possible because our current laws have not been enforced. Each time the Kansas Legislature has passed statutes in an effort to improve enforcement of late-term abortion restrictions, Governor Sebelius has vetoed these laws.

As you are aware, because of her long history both as a legislator and Governor of consistently supporting legalized abortion and after many months of dialogue, I requested Governor Sebelius not to present herself for communion. I did this in the hope that it would motivate Governor Sebelius to reconsider her support for what is an intrinsic evil – the destruction of innocent human life by abortion. I also took this pastoral action to protect others from being misled by the Governor’s public support and advocacy for legalized abortion.

The appointment of Governor Sebelius as the Secretary of HHS concerns me on many levels. With her history of support for legalized abortion and embryonic stem cell research, it is troubling the important influence that she will have on shaping health care policies for our nation. Having elected President Obama with his own record of support for legalized abortion, our nation should not be surprised by his appointment of a Secretary for HHS who shares his views. Though many people voted for President Obama, not because of his support for legalized abortion but despite it, voters in effect gave him the ability to appoint individuals who share his anti-life views to his Cabinet and even more troubling to the courts.

I am also concerned personally for Governor Sebelius. Her appointment as Secretary for HHS places her in a position where she will have to make many decisions that will in all probability continue her personal involvement in promoting legalized abortion and her cooperation in this intrinsic evil.

I am also concerned that the appointment of Governor Sebelius places another Catholic supporting legalized abortion in a prominent national position. She joins Vice-President Joe Biden, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and unfortunately a host of Catholic Senators and members of the House of Representatives who support legalized abortion contrary to the clear and consistent teaching of their Church. It saddens me that so many Catholics, to gain political advancement, have chosen to compromise their Catholic faith by their failure to defend the most fundamental of all human rights – the right to life.

I am reminded of the powerful scene in A Man for All Seasons, the play about the heroic Catholic English Martyr, St. Thomas More. After Richard Rich has perjured himself in order to make it possible to convict Thomas More of treason, the Judge asks Thomas More if he has any questions for the witness. Thomas More notes that Richard Rich is wearing a chain of office and asks what it signifies. He is told that Richard Rich has been appointed Attorney General for Wales. Thomas More then paraphrases the Gospel saying to Richard Rich: “What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul, but for Wales?”

We need to pray for all Catholics who serve in public life that they will have the courage and integrity to be true to the teachings and principles of our Faith no matter the political consequences.

source

To Teach and Enforce

2009-02-27T13:30:00.000-08:00

The Elephant in the Room: In praise of Catholic priests who dare to teach and enforce
By Rick Santorum

Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a self-proclaimed "ardent, practicing Catholic," had an opportunity last week to meet a fellow ardent Catholic, Pope Benedict XVI.
It appears that the pope used the visit to educate a confused Pelosi about the Roman Catholic Church's long-held position on the life issue.

Appearing on Meet the Press just prior to the Democratic National Convention, Pelosi told the country that, over the centuries, the Catholic Church had been unable to define when life begins. "We just don't know," she chirped.

The Vatican's statement after last week's meeting between Pelosi and the pope began: "His Holiness took the opportunity to speak of the requirements of the natural moral law and the church's consistent teaching on the dignity of human life from conception to natural death."

Pope Benedict did not allow any photos of the meeting, making a second and equally bracing instructional point: Dissenting Catholic politicians who deliberately mislead others about the church's core teachings will not be given another chance to do so by having their picture taken with the vicar of Christ.

The pope heads a long list of church leaders who have used the speaker's comments to teach the faithful. It includes our own Cardinal Justin Rigali.

Pelosi made it easy for the bishops to confront an offense against church teaching, because, rather than state her own position, she misstated the church's position. To the church, this is akin to wearing a "Kick me" sign on your backside.

Sadly, the church hierarchy has been less assertive when public figures' policy positions openly dissent from core teachings.

That's why Scranton Bishop Joseph Martino got so much national attention last fall. Martino, formerly the auxiliary bishop of Philadelphia, made the welcome decision to publicly bar then Sen. Joe Biden and other abortion advocates from receiving Communion in the Scranton Diocese. Then, after the November election, he admonished his brother bishops for their reluctance to deal with the issue faithfully.

Last month, Martino took on the most influential family in his diocese, the Caseys. He excoriated Sen. Bob Casey, who claims to be pro-life, for voting to give taxpayer dollars to overseas organizations that perform abortions. He warned that Casey was "formally cooperating with evil."

Martino was not done. Two weeks ago, the Philadelphia native and St. Joseph's Prep graduate issued a strong statement of disapproval to a local, nominally Catholic college, Misericordia University, that had scheduled a speech on campus by someone advocating same-sex marriage. "The faithful of the Diocese of Scranton should be in no doubt," Martino said, "that Misericordia University in this instance is seriously failing in maintaining its Catholic identity."

Then, last week, Martino took on some more of the biggest guns in the diocese: the Irish clubs that organize the largest public Catholic event of the year, the St. Patrick's Day festivities. Through a letter from his Irish auxiliary bishop, Martino warned that if any of these groups went ahead with plans that in any way honor politicians who are not pro-life, he would close the cathedral where Mass is usually held prior to the parade, as well as other diocesan churches. He said he would not countenance anything that created confusion about the teachings of the church.

The reason for the letter: Scranton's St. Patrick's Day parade last year featured Hillary Clinton.

Many of his brother bishops will look at Martino as they do at other uncompromising defenders of the faith, worrying about the world's reaction. As a Philly guy, though, his excellency knows something about being booed. He also knows his job and calling: to be the good shepherd who faithfully leads and protects his flock from those who would lead them astray.

Yes, scores of people are reportedly protesting and threatening to leave the church. In the end, however, people leaving the church because of a bishop who enforces its teachings are a blessing compared with the alternative: people leaving because bishops and their priests don't teach, much less enforce, those teachings.

source

Stinking Paws No. 6

2009-02-18T11:03:00.001-08:00

This cartoon image provided by the New York Post appeared in the Post's Page Six Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2009. The cartoon, which refers to Travis the chimp, who was shot to death by police in Stamford, Conn. on Monday after it mauled a friend of its owner, drew criticism Wednesday on media Web sites and from civil rights activist the Rev. Al Sharpton.(AP Photo/New York Post)

AP story here

Stinking Paws No. 5

2009-02-17T12:05:00.000-08:00

Chimp attack in Stamford CT, click here for story.

It was 80 years ago today

2009-02-11T06:49:00.000-08:00

The Vatican City State

http://www.vaticanstate.va/EN/homepage.htm

BOLDLY GOING!

2008-11-19T15:57:00.000-08:00

Świadectwo

2008-10-15T11:28:00.001-07:00

Trailer "Świadectwo" / "Testimony" / "Testimonianza"

http://www.testimonyfilm.com/Testimonyfilm/0,0.html

Canonized October 12, 2008

2008-10-12T10:01:00.000-07:00

Gaetano Errico (1791-1860) http://www.vatican.va/news_services/liturgy/saints/2008/ns_lit_doc_20081012_errico_en.html

Mary Bernard (Verena) Bütler (1848-1924)
http://www.vatican.va/news_services/liturgy/saints/2008/ns_lit_doc_20081012_verena_en.html

Alphonsa of the Immaculate Conception (1910-1946)
http://www.vatican.va/news_services/liturgy/saints/2008/ns_lit_doc_20081012_alfonsa_en.html

Narcisa de Jesús Martillo Morán (1832-1869)

http://www.vatican.va/news_services/liturgy/saints/2008/ns_lit_doc_20081012_narcisa_en.html

Bloggage

2008-08-18T09:19:00.000-07:00

Stuff Catholics Like

Here's a sampling:

Holy Scripture
Patron Saints of Scary Stuff
Spiritual Directors
Scapulars
Lists
Catechisms
Candles
Retreats

The Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

2008-08-15T00:01:00.000-07:00

Munificentissimus Deus

La Inmaculada de Soult, 1678, Bartolomé E. Murillo

St. Maximilian Mary Kolbe, Priest, Martyr of Charity

2008-08-14T00:01:00.000-07:00

"I asked the Mother of God what was to become of me. Then she came to me holding two crowns, one white, the other red. She asked if I was willing to accept either of these crowns. The white one meant that I should persevere in purity, and the red that I should become a martyr. I said that I would accept them both." - Saint Maximilian

St. Maximilian Kolbe died 14 August 1941 by lethal carbonic acid injection after three weeks of starvation and dehydration at Auschwitz, his body was burned in the ovens and his ashes scattered

D'oh!

2008-08-13T14:19:00.000-07:00

I Don't Know What I Know 'til Somebody Tells Me

Girl #1: Did you finish with the Christmas card?
Girl #2: We call it holiday card now. Because everyone is not Catholic.

Girl #1: You know it's not just Catholics that celebrate Christmas; Christians celebrate it too.
Girl #2: Oh they do? I didn't know because I'm Catholic.

Overheard in the office

Saint Clare

2008-08-11T00:01:00.000-07:00

Detail depicting Saint Clare from a fresco (1312–20) by Simone Martini in the Lower basilica of San Francesco, Assisi

"They say that we are too poor, but can a heart which possesses the infinite God be truly called poor?" - St. Clare of Assisi

Urakami Cathedral, 500m from Ground Zero, Nagasaki

2008-08-09T11:02:00.000-07:00

Urakami Cathedral

2004

After the atomic bomb

St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross

2008-08-09T00:01:00.001-07:00

Edith Stein

"To suffer and to be happy although suffering, to have one's feet on the earth, to walk on the dirty and rough paths of this earth and yet to be enthroned with Christ at the Father's right hand, to laugh and cry with the children of this world and ceaselessly sing the praises of God with the choirs of angels -- this is the life of the Christian until the morning of eternity breaks forth." - St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross

Paris, at dusk, from the Tour Montparnasse

2008-08-09T00:01:00.000-07:00

An Engineer's Guide To Cats

2008-08-08T18:30:00.000-07:00

Is This A Human Being?

2008-08-08T14:59:00.000-07:00

Daily fix of Beet

2008-08-08T14:33:00.000-07:00

Let the Games begin!

2008-08-08T10:02:00.000-07:00

St. Dominic

2008-08-08T00:01:00.000-07:00

St Dominic of Guzman

by Claudio Coello Spanish painter,

Madrid school (b. 1642, Madrid, d. 1693, Madrid

Oil on canvas, 240 x 160 cm

Museo del Prado, Madrid

ORDO PRAEDICATORUM

"A man who governs his passions is master of the world. We must either command them, or be enslaved by them. It is better to be a hammer than an anvil." - St. Dominic

Hiroshima August 06, 1945

2008-08-06T12:09:00.000-07:00

This is our cry. This is our prayer. Peace in the world.
(Inscription at base of statue of Sadako Sasaki in Hiroshima Peace Park)

The Transfiguration of the Lord

2008-08-06T00:01:00.000-07:00

The Transfiguration
Raphael, 1516-1520
oil on wood
405 × 278 cm
Pinacoteca Vaticana, Vatican City

BENEDICT XVI

ANGELUS

Saint Peter's SquareSecond Sunday of Lent, 12 March 2006

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Yesterday morning marked the end of the week of Spiritual Exercises preached by Cardinal Marco Cé, Patriarch emeritus of Venice, Italy, here in the Apostolic Palace. They were days dedicated entirely to listening to the Lord, who always speaks to us but expects our still greater attention, especially during this time of Lent.

Today's Gospel reading also reminds us of this, re-proposing to us the episode of the Transfiguration of Christ on Mount Tabor. Awestruck at the sight of the transfigured Lord who was speaking with Moses and Elijah, Peter, James and John were suddenly overshadowed by a cloud, out of which came a voice which proclaimed: "This is my beloved Son on whom my favour rests; listen to him" (Mk 9: 7). When one has the grace to live a strong experience of God, it is as if one is living an experience similar to that of the disciples during the Transfiguration: a momentary foretaste of what will constitute the happiness of Paradise. These are usually brief experiences that are sometimes granted by God, especially prior to difficult trials.

No one, however, is permitted to live "on Tabor" while on earth. Indeed, human existence is a journey of faith and as such, moves ahead more in shadows than in full light, and is no stranger to moments of obscurity and also of complete darkness. While we are on this earth, our relationship with God takes place more by listening than by seeing; and the same contemplation comes about, so to speak, with closed eyes, thanks to the interior light that is kindled in us by the Word of God. Mary's pilgrimage of faith

The Virgin Mary herself, among all human creatures the closest to God, still had to walk day after day in a pilgrimage of faith (cf. Lumen Gentium, n. 58), constantly guarding and meditating on in her heart the Word that God addressed to her through Holy Scripture and through the events of the life of her Son, in whom she recognized and welcomed the Lord's mysterious voice.
And so, this is the gift and duty for each one of us during the season of Lent: to listen to Christ, like Mary. To listen to him in his Word, contained in Sacred Scripture. To listen to him in the events of our lives, seeking to decipher in them the messages of Providence. Finally, to listen to him in our brothers and sisters, especially in the lowly and the poor, to whom Jesus himself demands our concrete love. To listen to Christ and obey his voice: this is the principle way, the only way, that leads to the fullness of joy and of love.
***

After the Angelus:

I am happy to greet all the English-speaking visitors present at today's Angelus, especially the group of pilgrims from Ontario, Canada. On this Second Sunday of Lent, the Gospel of St Mark presents to us an account of the Transfiguration. God the Father instructs us to listen to Jesus, his beloved Son. Let us pray that our Lenten journey will open our hearts to Christ and his saving message! He leads us through his suffering and death to a share in his glorious Resurrection. Upon all of you I invoke God's abundant Blessings and wish you a good Sunday!
I wish a blessed Sunday to everyone!

© Copyright 2006 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana

THIS IS SO COOL!

2008-08-05T14:02:00.000-07:00

Saw this in a meme at Fr. Eric's blog; sweeeet!

SPORE, link in the sidebar

Psalm 119

2008-08-04T17:11:00.000-07:00

1 Happy those whose way is blameless, who walk by the teaching of the LORD.
2 Happy those who observe God's decrees, who seek the LORD with all their heart.
3 They do no wrong; they walk in God's ways.
4 You have given them the command to keep your precepts with care.
5 May my ways be firm in the observance of your laws!
6 Then I will not be ashamed to ponder all your commands.
7 I will praise you with sincere heart as I study your just edicts.
8 I will keep your laws; do not leave me all alone.
9 How can the young walk without fault? Only by keeping your words.
10 With all my heart I seek you; do not let me stray from your commands.
11 In my heart I treasure your promise, that I may not sin against you.
12 Blessed are you, O LORD; teach me your laws.
13 With my lips I recite all the edicts you have spoken.
14 I find joy in the way of your decrees more than in all riches.
15 I will ponder your precepts and consider your paths.
16 In your laws I take delight; I will never forget your word.
17 Be kind to your servant that I may live, that I may keep your word.
18 Open my eyes to see clearly the wonders of your teachings.
19 I am a sojourner in the land; do not hide your commands from me.
20 At all times my soul is stirred with longing for your edicts.
21 With a curse you rebuke the proud who stray from your commands.
22 Free me from disgrace and contempt, for I observe your decrees.
23 Though princes meet and talk against me, your servant studies your laws.
24 Your decrees are my delight; they are my counselors.
25 I lie prostrate in the dust; give me life in accord with your word.
26 I disclosed my ways and you answered me; teach me your laws.
27 Make me understand the way of your precepts; I will ponder your wondrous deeds.
28 I weep in bitter pain; in accord with your word to strengthen me.
29 Lead me from the way of deceit; favor me with your teaching.
30 The way of loyalty I have chosen; I have set your edicts before me.
31 I cling to your decrees, LORD; do not let me come to shame.
32 I will run the way of your commands, for you open my docile heart.
33 LORD, teach me the way of your laws; I shall observe them with care.
34 Give me insight to observe your teaching, to keep it with all my heart.
35 Lead me in the path of your commands, for that is my delight.
36 Direct my heart toward your decrees and away from unjust gain.
37 Avert my eyes from what is worthless; by your way give me life.
38 For your servant fulfill your promise made to those who fear you.
39 Turn away from me the taunts I dread, for your edicts bring good.
40 See how I long for your precepts; in your justice give me life.
41 Let your love come to me, LORD, salvation in accord with your promise.
42 Let me answer my taunters with a word, for I trust in your word.
43 Do not take the word of truth from my mouth, for in your edicts is my hope.
44 I will keep your teachings always, for all time and forever.
45 I will walk freely in an open space because I cherish your precepts.
46 I will speak openly of your decrees without fear even before kings.
47 I delight in your commands, which I dearly love.
48 I lift up my hands to your commands; I study your laws, which I love.
49 Remember your word to your servant by which you give me hope.
50 This is my comfort in affliction, your promise that gives me life.
51 Though the arrogant utterly scorn me, I do not turn from your teaching.
52 When I recite your edicts of old I am comforted, LORD.
53 Rage seizes me because of the wicked; they forsake your teaching.
54 Your laws become my songs wherever I make my home.
55 Even at night I remember your name in observance of your teaching, LORD.
56 This is my good fortune, for I have observed your precepts.
57 My portion is the LORD; I promise to keep your words.
58 I entreat you with all my heart: have mercy on me in accord with your promise.
59 I have examined my ways and turned my steps to your decrees.
60 I am prompt, I do not hesitate in keeping your commands.
61 Though the snares of the wicked surround me, your teaching I do not forget.
62 At midnight I rise to praise you because your edicts are just.
63 I am the friend of all who fear you, of all who keep your precepts.
64 The earth, LORD, is filled with your love; teach me your laws.
65 You have treated your servant well, according to your word, O LORD.
66 Teach me wisdom and knowledge, for in your commands I trust.
67 Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I hold to your promise.
68 You are good and do what is good; teach me your laws.
69 The arrogant smear me with lies, but I observe your precepts with all my heart.
70 Their hearts are gross and fat; as for me, your teaching is my delight.
71 It was good for me to be afflicted, in order to learn your laws.
72 Teaching from your lips is more precious to me than heaps of silver and gold.
73 Your hands made me and fashioned me; give me insight to learn your commands.
74 Those who fear you rejoice to see me, because I hope in your word.
75 I know, LORD, that your edicts are just; though you afflict me, you are faithful.
76 May your love comfort me in accord with your promise to your servant.
77 Show me compassion that I may live, for your teaching is my delight.
78 Shame the proud for oppressing me unjustly, that I may study your precepts.
79 Let those who fear you turn to me, those who acknowledge your decrees.
80 May I be wholehearted toward your laws, that I may not be put to shame.
81 My soul longs for your salvation; I put my hope in your word.
82 My eyes long to see your promise. When will you comfort me?
83 I am like a wineskin shriveled by smoke, but I have not forgotten your laws.
84 How long can your servant survive? When will your edict doom my foes?
85 The arrogant have dug pits for me; defying your teaching.
86 All your commands are steadfast. Help me! I am pursued without cause.
87 They have almost ended my life on earth, but I do not forsake your precepts.
88 In your kindness give me life, to keep the decrees you have spoken.
89 Your word, LORD, stands forever; it is firm as the heavens.
90 Through all generations your truth endures; fixed to stand firm like the earth.
91 By your edicts they stand firm to this day, for all things are your servants.
92 Had your teaching not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction.
93 I will never forget your precepts; through them you give me life.
94 I am yours; save me, for I cherish your precepts.
95 The wicked hope to destroy me, but I pay heed to your decrees.
96 I have seen the limits of all perfection, but your command is without bounds.
97 How I love your teaching, Lord! I study it all day long.
98 Your command makes me wiser than my foes, for it is always with me.
99 I have more understanding than all my teachers, because I ponder your decrees.
100 I have more insight than my elders, because I observe your precepts.
101 I keep my steps from every evil path, that I may obey your word.
102 From your edicts I do not turn, for you have taught them to me.
103 How sweet to my tongue is your promise, sweeter than honey to my mouth!
104 Through your precepts I gain insight; therefore I hate all false ways.
105 Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light for my path.
106 I make a solemn vow to keep your just edicts.
107 I am very much afflicted, LORD; give me life in accord with your word.
108 Accept my freely offered praise; LORD, teach me your decrees.
109 My life is always at risk, but I do not forget your teaching.
110 The wicked have set snares for me, but from your precepts I do not stray.
111 Your decrees are my heritage forever; they are the joy of my heart.
112 My heart is set on fulfilling your laws; they are my reward forever.
113 I hate every hypocrite; your teaching I love.
114 You are my refuge and shield; in your word I hope.
115 Depart from me, you wicked, that I may observe the commands of my God.
116 Sustain me by your promise that I may live; do not disappoint me in my hope.
117 Strengthen me that I may be safe, ever to contemplate your laws.
118 You reject all who stray from your laws, for vain is their deceit.
119 Like dross you regard all the wicked on earth; therefore I love your decrees.
120 My flesh shudders with dread of you; I hold your edicts in awe.
121 I have fulfilled your just edict; do not abandon me to my oppressors.
122 Guarantee your servant's welfare; do not let the arrogant oppress me.
123 My eyes long to see your salvation and the justice of your promise.
124 Act with kindness toward your servant; teach me your laws.
125 I am your servant; give me discernment that I may know your decrees.
126 It is time for the LORD to act; they have disobeyed your teaching.
127 Truly I love your commands more than the finest gold.
128 Thus I follow all your precepts; every wrong way I hate.
129 Wonderful are your decrees; therefore I observe them.
130 The revelation of your words sheds light, gives understanding to the simple.
131 I sigh with open mouth, yearning for your commands.
132 Turn to me and be gracious, your edict for lovers of your name.
133 Steady my feet in accord with your promise; do not let iniquity lead me.
134 Free me from human oppression, that I may keep your precepts.
135 Let your face shine upon your servant; teach me your laws.
136 My eyes shed streams of tears because your teaching is not followed.
137 You are righteous, LORD, and just are your edicts.
138 You have issued your decrees in justice and in surpassing faithfulness.
139 I am consumed with rage, because my foes forget your words.
140 Your servant loves your promise; it has been proved by fire.
141 Though belittled and despised, I do not forget your precepts.
142 Your justice is forever right, your teaching forever true.
143 Though distress and anguish come upon me, your commands are my delight.
144 Your decrees are forever just; give me discernment that I may live.
145 I call with all my heart, O LORD; answer me that I may observe your laws.
146 I call to you to save me that I may keep your decrees.
147 I rise before dawn and cry out; I put my hope in your words.
148 My eyes greet the night watches as I meditate on your promise.
149 Hear my voice in your love, O LORD; by your edict give me life.
150 Malicious persecutors draw near me; they are far from your teaching.
151 You are near, O LORD; reliable are all your commands.
152 Long have I known from your decrees that you have established them forever.
153 Look at my affliction and rescue me, for I have not forgotten your teaching.
154 Take up my cause and redeem me; for the sake of your promise give me life.
155 Salvation is far from sinners because they do not cherish your laws.
156 Your compassion is great, O LORD; in accord with your edicts give me life.
157 Though my persecutors and foes are many I do not turn from your decrees.
158 I view the faithless with loathing, because they do not heed your promise.
159 See how I love your precepts, LORD; in your kindness give me life.
160 Your every word is enduring; all your just edicts are forever.
161 Princes persecute me without reason, but my heart reveres only your word.
162 I rejoice at your promise, as one who has found rich spoil.
163 Falsehood I hate and abhor; your teaching I love.
164 Seven times a day I praise you because your edicts are just.
165 Lovers of your teaching have much peace; for them there is no stumbling block.
166 I look for your salvation, LORD, and I fulfill your commands.
167 I observe your decrees; I love them very much.
168 I observe your precepts and decrees; all my ways are before you.
169 Let my cry come before you, LORD; in keeping with your word give me discernment.
170 Let my prayer come before you; rescue me according to your promise.
171 May my lips pour forth your praise, because you teach me your laws.
172 May my tongue sing of your promise, for all your commands are just.
173 Keep your hand ready to help me, for I have chosen your precepts.
174 I long for your salvation, LORD; your teaching is my delight.
175 Let me live to praise you; may your edicts give me help.
176 I have wandered like a lost sheep; seek out your servant, for I do not forget your commands.

Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn December 11, 1918 – August 3, 2008

2008-08-04T07:58:00.000-07:00

[Of] the problems of both East and West as "a disaster" rooted in agnosticism and atheism.

He referred to it as "the calamity of an autonomous, irreligious humanistic consciousness."

"It has made man the measure of all things on earth—imperfect man, who is never free of pride, self-interest, envy, vanity, and dozens of other defects.

We are now paying for the mistakes which were not properly appraised at the beginning of the journey. On the way from the Renaissance to our days we have enriched our experience, but we have lost the concept of a Supreme Complete Entity which used to restrain our passions and our irresponsibility."

obit: http://www.lastingtribute.co.uk/tribute/solzhenitsyn/2867109

SW TCW

2008-07-29T17:26:00.000-07:00

Christian Bale as John Conner

2008-07-29T16:06:00.000-07:00

Jason Statham kicks @$$!

2008-07-29T16:00:00.000-07:00

and lastly the 3rd

2008-07-24T15:20:00.001-07:00

and the 2nd movement

2008-07-24T15:19:00.000-07:00

Lovin me some Wolfie (Clarinet Concerto in A major 1st movement)

2008-07-24T15:16:00.000-07:00

Ellas Otha Bates (The Man, Bo Diddley) Dec. 30, 1928 - June 2, 2008

2008-06-02T16:16:00.000-07:00

The Visitation of The Blessed Virgin Mary

2008-05-31T16:22:00.000-07:00

"When the voice of your salutation sounded in my ears, the infant in my womb leapt for joy, alleluia."

Jeanne d'Arc (c. 1412 – May 30, 1431)

2008-05-30T15:00:00.000-07:00

Priez Pour Nous

Yep! I'm A Closet Bee Gee's Fan!

2008-05-04T21:47:00.001-07:00

Prince Caspian

2008-04-30T19:28:00.001-07:00

Silly Test, but still cool

2008-04-29T18:34:00.001-07:00

You know the Bible 98%!

Wow! You are awesome! You are a true Biblical scholar, not just a hearer but a personal reader! The books, the characters, the events, the verses - you know it all! You are fantastic!

Ultimate Bible Quiz
Create MySpace Quizzes

la lola!

2008-04-12T17:18:00.000-07:00

WAY COOL!

2008-03-06T18:08:00.001-08:00

neat

2008-02-02T19:07:00.001-08:00

Baby Jesus makes appearance in Times Square

2007-12-18T09:20:00.000-08:00

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!

2007-12-18T09:04:00.000-08:00

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

2007-12-18T08:27:00.000-08:00

St. Olympias, widow 368 - 410

2007-12-17T00:01:00.000-08:00

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.

full text

St. Adelaide 931-999

2007-12-16T00:01:00.000-08:00

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.

full text

Sister Wendy Beckett

2007-12-15T17:06:00.000-08:00

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!

2007-12-15T16:56:00.001-08:00

The Face Of Indifference - A Disturbing Report From The Front

2007-12-15T10:01:00.000-08:00

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

2007-12-15T00:01:00.000-08:00

profile

Bad Elf

2007-12-14T15:18:00.000-08:00

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)

source

I Want To Become A Christian

2007-12-14T14:56:00.000-08:00

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

source

Vatican Defends Right to Evangelize - Right On!

2007-12-14T12:57:00.000-08:00

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

2007-12-14T11:50:00.000-08:00

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

2007-12-14T00:01:00.000-08:00

Doctor of the Church

Patronage: Contemplatives, mystics

profile

Stinking Paws No. 4

2007-12-13T23:44:00.000-08:00

"That's What Christmas Is All About"

2007-12-13T13:24:00.000-08:00

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.

source

Sharing The Message

2007-12-13T13:09:00.000-08:00

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.

source

Good advice for all Christians especially Catholics.

Today In History

2007-12-13T12:49:00.000-08:00

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.

article

complete text