Home Through Rome

Bible Timeline Study #12, 2 Samuel and Kings 1-11

2010-04-17T11:32:00.002-04:00

In the beginning of this study, we follow David to Hebron where he is annointed King over Judah - and we note he begins his reign at age 30 (sound familiar?)

Now, the Arc remains up to this point in a moving tent, like God wandering with Adam and Eve in the garden (see Gen 3). David decides to build a house for the Arc, but it is God who says He will build a house for David - meaning actually a great dynasty. Thus in chapter 7 is the covenant for one holy kingdom, which Saul previously united, and now David is expanding (2 Sam 7:14) Also see Luke 1 30-33.

BUT THEN just like many in our day, David's sin begins with his eyes. As Cavins says, "So he got on the internet..." actually he looked across at Bathsheba bathing - and the sin began.

Now just as it does today, sin leads to death. Here they were faced with a problem pregnancy, so in order to save face, someone had to die. In this case, it was Uriah. I believe we can all recall times we were caught in sin and forced others to suffer for it, rather than face up to it. And, of course, many do this by abortion!

HOWEVER, Nathan calls David out on this, and he is instantly sorrowful and repentant, see Psalm 51 (Cavins recommends taking this Psalm into the confessional). In God's justice, they lose this baby, but in His mercy, they go on to have Solomon.

FF to 2 Sam 23:8 - the 3 Warriors - here is a depiction of 3 men who work in tenacity for their king, even when faced with overwhelming odds. Eleazer grips his sword so hard, his hand cleaves to it - and Shammah guards a field of lentils, an insignificant bean field but it is his King's so he FAITHFULLY guards. This can remind us of our children - small to the world but infinitely important to God. Are we faithfully guarding them?

On to 1 Kings 1:11 and 2:13-20. Here we see Nathan and Adonijah both going to the Queen Mother with their requests for the King. Again, this should sound familiar, or rather foreshadowing, but see these passages as well: 1 Kings 14:21, I Kings 15:9-13, 2 Kings 24:12-15, Jer 13:18-20, and FINALLY Luke 1: 33-40 - THE VISITATION where Elizabeth says "Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?"

And that is why we as Catholics venerate our Blessed Mother, as we have been taught in Sacred Scripture.

Okay, back to Solomon...so while Saul and David were conquerors expanding the Kingdom, Solomon was a builder. It took him 7 years to build the temple (recall Creation), but 13 years to build his own palace. To get the money for this, he taxed the people - using them for his own gain. He did make alliances with many nations, and in the wisdom he was given by God at his asking, thrived at first. But he obtained many wives from these foreign nations, and eventually turned his heart away from God to their foreign gods, even including one who was represented as a stone monster with 2 bowls for hands, each set on fire, in which newborn babies were placed as sacrifices.

No wonder the title of our next study of 1 and 2 Kings is titled "Divided Kingdom".

The Ressurrected Blog!

2010-04-17T11:22:00.003-04:00

Home Through Rome comes back to life! Woohoo!

Dear husband had the excellent idea to post notes from his men's group study "Epic" that traces Church History here, and I thought I would do the same with my Bible Timeline Study by Jeff Cavins (my notes will also appear on Facebook).

Anyway, here you can snoop, catch up, and comment on our synopsis of these awesome studies. Conversations welcome - and I ask as Jeff Cavins says, please pray before you read and comment.

Enjoy in Christ!

The Butterfly Circus

2010-02-14T12:54:00.001-05:00

Dan Fogelberg reaches out...

2010-01-16T15:57:00.001-05:00

Okay well take this for what it is, but when I painted our bedroom...I chose the color by its name on the paint chip. I know, dumb! But, I do love it. Fastforward, so I just found out Dan Fogelberg died of cancer in '07, so I went to YouTube to get a few of my favorite videos to share, and found this:

The name of the color on the paint chip...

treasure

2010-01-07T23:42:00.002-05:00

Also...(Happy Feast of Mary, Mother of God!)

2009-12-31T16:10:00.000-05:00

The Blessed Mother

2009-12-31T16:02:00.001-05:00

Thanks, Larry

2009-12-18T01:14:00.000-05:00

Happy Feast Day

2009-12-08T16:02:00.000-05:00

Signs to say "Merry Christmas"

2009-12-04T18:03:00.001-05:00

Mike Setto, storeowner who successfully started a movement boycotting Miller Beer when they promoted San Fran's gay pride week with blasphemous photos has started a new campaign. He has spent $1200 to buy these AWESOME yard signs that say "Jesus is the reason for the season" on one side and "It's okay to say Merry Christmas" on the other in bright red and green. He is selling them from his store - the Lake Orion Keg and Wine Shoppe - on Baldwin Road between Clarkston and Waldon. They are $5 each. I will buy some for the first 5 people who say they want one and deliver them to your yard...He would like Oakland County to be swimming in them by 2011!!!

Let me know, or stop by and see him, and ask him to show you the book Bill Donohue signed for him, thanking him for being a hero. This is a true man of God, folks. Lets rally!!!

Getting ready for Christmas

2009-12-03T11:15:00.000-05:00

A fitting start to Advent!

2009-11-28T14:49:00.001-05:00

Abraham Lincoln's Proclamation Establishing Thanksgiving Day

2009-11-26T10:03:00.001-05:00

Proclamation Establishing Thanksgiving Day

October 3, 1863

The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequalled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle, or the ship; the axe had enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years, with large increase of freedom.

No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy.

It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and voice by the whole American people. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to his tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the city of Washington, this third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the independence of the United States the eighty-eighth.

A. Lincoln

Nobody Knows Your Pain

2009-11-16T15:34:00.000-05:00

Worth a thousand words - A Visit to Our Lady of Sorrows Shrine in Missouri

2009-11-09T20:54:00.001-05:00

Astronomer to the Vatican

2009-10-12T15:09:00.002-04:00

Well, September was a blur for this homeschooling mom. Books cracked, fieldtrips taken already, even a pilgrimage to Our Lady of Sorrows Shrine in Missouri (will post that soon - incredible!).

Anyway, gotta check out this cool bro - I'm taking the whole family to hear him speak tonight!

Who Am I - this is so artistically amazing!

2009-08-29T15:08:00.002-04:00

Voice of Truth

2009-08-29T00:10:00.000-04:00

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Rosary Rally October 10

2009-08-17T11:33:00.003-04:00

Hi to all my friends in Christ,

Just to let you know, Bob and I have been contacted by the organization"America Needs Fatima" to lead a "Rosary Rally" at 12 pm on October 10. I have attended one once before, and this is really a beautiful way to pray together and beautifully and peacefully remind everyone Who's really in charge of our lives!

We will be displaying a banner showing our Blessed Mother and reciting a few prayers - including the Angelus, the Rosary, and the Consecration to Jesus through Mary as written by St. Louis de Montfort, among others. We will be reciting prayer intentions, so please send yours along even if you can't attend.

I have not pinpointed the location yet - any suggestions would be appreciated. Somewhere visible, such as a mall entrance or busy intersection. I will be calling the police to inform them of our peaceful rally, and obtain a permit as necessary.

I will also try to keep updates on my blog - www.homethroughrome.blogspot.com.

If you feel shy about this, believe me I am too! But how could I say no to this call? The one I participated in was on the corner of 9 Mile and Woodward, and it was very peaceful - I may contact Michael Voris to see if we can use this spot in front of his studio, if someone else is not. Otherwise, I will try to keep it in the Troy/Auburn Hills/Clarkston area.

Please join me if you can! All that's asked for is your presence and your prayers!

And, please continue to pray for the prolife movie "Tiger's Hope" www.tigershope.com and help this project in any way you can.

God bless you all!

Andrea

One small step...

2009-07-20T12:20:00.000-04:00

From YouTube Bible In a Minute

2009-07-18T11:52:00.000-04:00

Those in our way on the journey Home - Arab festival Dearborn MI

2009-07-12T14:38:00.001-04:00

Moon walks and hair feathers

2009-06-25T23:10:00.003-04:00

When I first heard Farrah was dying today, it was on a quick channel surf where I stopped at the view - as Barbara mentioned she had the Last Rites and now we were all waiting - I find it interesting that she mentioned the Last Rites with such reverence. Maybe it was simply that she knew this act signified death. Maybe, or...Does death sometimes bring light to even those lost in the darkness? (Well, One did for sure!)

I did let a few tears escape today, as these icons remind us of days gone by, of times in our lives we cherished, enriched by the talent we enjoyed in them. Their sins are really a moot point now - they are between Him and her and him now - and we hope and pray they are not only at peace, but at or on their way to Perfect Joy.

So it really isn't the moonwalks and beautiful music or feathered hair and beautiful face that goes on with them, is it? A reminder to us all that we are given these things as gifts from God to appreciate the joy of life that mirrors Him, but, ultimately, it's about one soul longing for him, either rejecting, or hopefully coming to the Cross to be raised up with Him and to our Destiny.

I recently heard Bishop Sheen discuss how he came upon a beautiful girl, and told her God did make her beautiful for a reason - to go work with the lepers. Imagine those in the ugliness of disease being tended by a beautiful woman! Our society puts beautiful women in fancy clothes, big houses, and complete emptiness. This woman fulfilled her destiny here - how beautiful must she have looked to Him when she came Home (or will - I'm not sure of her status!)

For those who struggle with fertility issues, here's Tiger's Hope

2009-06-23T14:47:00.005-04:00

So it's been a while, but here I find myself on another crazy project! Or should I say it's crazy that some humble homeschool mom is involved, but God calls and I follow, so...

This is an AWESOME project - a movie about a couple in a fertility crisis - a couple who followed the fashionable ways of the world and are now in a crisis as these ways left them empty, disconnected, and confused. Until Tiger finds Hope.

This is a beautiful prolife story of true love and God's grace, meant to educate and inform a society that is so desperate for Truth and Light in the Darkness. Please help if you can! Especially with your prayers!

ABOUT THE PROJECT

TIGER'S HOPE will be a high-definition 30-min television drama, that will also be made available on DVD. Through the power of story, the project will give an accurate picture of the state of both in vitro technology and its effects on children, the mother/egg donor and families. The cultural ramifications brought into being by separating the conception of children from the marital act will be explored and explained in light of the Church's long held understanding of both marriage and the dignity of each human being.

Rather than a documentary or didactic presentation, the dramatic story treatment was selected in order to increase the project's accessibility to a wider audience, and to engage them on a personal and emotional level. The overriding purpose of the film is not only to present the reality of in vitro technology but to raise the necessary questions which the whole field of egg harvesting and fertilization in a petri dish have created. The film is meant to educate all Christians, but especially Catholics, lay and cleric, and to change the perspective of any thinking person who takes our common humanity serious.

Distribution of the final project will be coordinated by the Diocese of Lansing, and Our Sunday Visitor. Nineveh's Crossing, a sister company of SWC Films, will coordinate television distribution to various Catholic and Protestant television networks around the world, where they have multiple projects already airing.

Seed funding for the project was provided by Our Sunday Visitor to the Diocese of Lansing, under the guidance of Most Rev. Earl Boyea. Rory Hoipkemier, Director of the diocese's Life Justice Office is the project manger and co-executive producer. Project development funding is being provided by co-executive producer, Stan Williams, through his production company, SWC Films. Tax deductible completion funds and gifts-in-kind are being sought through the Diocese of Lansing. See Contributions to the Production Fund.

Let's get the word out! By the way, Dr. Ray Guarendi plays the part of the priest!

Thought

2009-06-05T12:40:00.000-04:00

We are living in a time of the "futile mind" and "senseless heart" (St. Paul), where the creature denies the existence of the Creator.

For June, Novena to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

2009-06-03T10:15:00.002-04:00

YouTube "Why am I Catholic?"

2009-05-20T09:45:00.000-04:00

Here's What Really Happened at Notre Dame Yesterday

2009-05-18T10:16:00.002-04:00

Jill Stanek - well known pro-life activist - posts this peaceful but important protest.

The White Martyrdom is Here Today

2009-05-17T13:21:00.003-04:00

I wept my way through this one. We know that those called to martyrdom are blessed, but it is hard to watch.

We need to stand up and speak for this priest who stands up for the millions slaughtered.

I don't believe I care to hear Obama's rationalization speech today.

Blogger of God

2009-05-08T10:18:00.002-04:00

Herod at Notre Dame: A Novena for the St. Joseph’s of Our Time
May 7, 2009 — james mary evans

Editors Note:

On Sunday, May 17th, at 2 p.m. in the afternoon Herod is scheduled to walk into Joyce Center on the Campus of Notre Dame University in St. Joseph County, Indiana. In the 2 hours that Herod will spend paying homage before the Body of Christ with words, 275 innocent children will perish within the wombs of their mothers in the United States. The total number of infanticides carried out by Herod’s soldiers in the lands of this new world Bethlehem will number 3,288 that day; a number that may well match the death count of Holy Innocents in the small town of Bethlehem and surrounding areas following Jesus’ escape from Herod into Egypt.

The Church rightly honors those original Holy Innocents as the first Christian Martyrs. And there is even talk within the Church about declaring aborted children as such. But what both groups of victims clearly share in common despite differences of age, category or particular forms of hellish demise, is the fact that their shared Martyrdom in this world today, as in ages past, are solely martyrdom’s by blood–blood alone.

Neither group’s sacrifice was self-willed martyrdom for the sake of God’s love. No child knew, or for that matter, even had the opportunity to know the love of Christ in order to freely hand his or her self over for the sake of Christ’s Love, the spread of His Gospel, or conversion of souls. How, after all, could one love Christ without knowing Him?

–A pressing question before the curious heart of any Herod feigning desire to pay homage to Christ The Savior, let alone worship Him in Spirit and Truth.

No, together as children, each of these killed in the world–by the world–are left totally dependent upon the mercy and salvation of the Holy One of Israel. Each child felled unknowingly relies upon the Father of all the Winds at the moment of death, He who knows every sparrow that falls to the earth, so that their ‘baptism by blood alone’ becomes for them union with the side of Christ through both blood and water–For worldly power fails not only to protect their innocence and defend the dignity of their lives and bodies, but fails even further in neglecting the needs of spirit and soul. And so today, only God alone is providing these Himself with the needed drink of life denied them by men, because the spirit ruling this world–defended by the likes of every Herod known to history–continues unabated as the vile source of their premature deaths on earth.

This is the world of Herod and nothing has changed…

Our Lord reminded His disciples in person and within Sacred Scripture that down through the ages if the world hated them they must recall that it first hated Him. Herod’s attempt to kill the Christ-Child is the first example. And so it is with us today. Our Lord’s life was threatened in its very infancy and only by divine action in union with the holy obedience displayed by St. Joseph in acting himself to protect the Savior of the world was the Christ-Child spared Herod’s wrath from the dying-fruit of selfish men.

Today, because of the Incarnation and Birth of the Word made flesh, Our Lord’s life is once again no less threatened in every moment of each day by the same unjust wrath ruling the world of abortion; and by the command and control of Herod’s world Christ continues to be destroyed within the bodies and hearts of these defenseless victims—unborn and unwanted children.

Remembering that the death of the Holy Innocents is one of Our Lady’s Seven Sorrows (the loss of children following the escape of her own Son) there’s no reason for us to believe otherwise than that she continues to grieve the loss of every child killed through the curse of abortion as she had the Holy Innocents. It’s easily recognizable, then, that today’s holocaust of innocent children once again requires of heaven miraculous action, and of those on earth, obedient support to the helps of heaven by every “Joseph” found within the Catholic Church in America; this means:

See this site for even more, and to begin the novena!

http://fratres.wordpress.com/2009/05/07/herod-the-great-at-notre-dame-a-novena-for-the-st-josephs-of-our-time/comment-page-1/#comment-2194

Fr. Corapi Graces Home through Rome

2009-05-08T00:32:00.000-04:00

Acts of the Apostasy: Fault Lines#links

2009-05-04T23:07:00.000-04:00

Acts of the Apostasy: Fault Lines#links

Sister Clarissa

2009-05-02T11:16:00.001-04:00

Young man from a Catholic School in Rochester, MI:

from "Your Sins And Mine"

2009-04-30T23:59:00.003-04:00

Another Taylor Caldwell novel quote:

"It seems as though a lot of younger parsons consider the bible a fine collection of poetry and folk literature-a frame of reference, as they say. You talk politics in your pulpit,you give lectures, and not sermons. You discuss the education of children, the place of women in society, civil liberties, the merits of good citizenship and so on. Now, I'm not saying these aren't important things, you understand. We do need good schools and we do need women taking more interest in politics and community affairs, and minorities should have their just rights, and nobody should hate his neighbor because he is black or brown or green or red or has another religion other than his own."

He pointed his pipe at the minister. "Good things, all of them. But I say also you should save them for the parish hall, or the Wednesday night parish meetings. That's the time for lectures. I don't want to hurt your feelings, my boy, but I've noticed that the only time you mention the name of God is when you pray and give the benediction. What do people go to church for, after five or six days of struggling to make a living and worrying about their families and being confused about the world? I can tell you this, they don't go to hear a fine, polished lecture. They go for consolation; they go to be reconciled with God; they go to be assured God loves them and is waiting to receive their love. They want to know that above the sound and fury of this infernal world there is an everlasting peace, a love that never fails, a mercy that is full and understanding. They want their souls refreshed, not their tired minds belabored....

"I've heard you talk about the Sermon on the Mount as if it was just another Declaration of Independence. When you pray, you speak to God politely, and remind Him that we'd like to have a little peace on this earth. You mentioned once that the parables of Jesus are excellent examples of profound human psychology. That was the Sunday you devoted your whole lecture to 'the science of psychiatry' and what it can do for disturbed minds." His voice became even louder and was touched with anger. "You mentioned God in passing, but there was a hell of a lot more Freud in your lecture! Disturbed minds! You're damned right we've got disturbed minds. And why? Because our parsons think it primitive to talk about an ever-present God in the affairs of men. It never occurs to them that a human soul is thirsting for the living God, and hungering to know He is there for the asking." His voice softened and deepend. "They come to you in grief and bewilderment and pain and you quote textbooks at them, and deny them the bread of life."

Is America to be so much like the former Holy Russia?

2009-04-26T11:04:00.004-04:00

But now, alas, what sins lie heavy
Many and awful on my soul!
Thou art black with black injustice,
And slavery's yoke has branded thee,
And godless flattery and baneful lying
And sloth that's shameful, life-denying,
And every hateful thing in thee I see.

For all that cries for consolation,
For every law that we have spurned,
For sins that stain our generation
For evil deeds our Fathers learned,
For all our country's bitter passion,
Pay ye with tears the while we live.
O God of Might, of Thy compassion
May'st thou forgive! May'st Thou forgive!

A.S Khomyakov - Russian poet
1939

Bishop D'Arcy Continues to Shepherd

2009-04-26T10:55:00.003-04:00

April 21, 2009

My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Recently, Father John Jenkins, CSC, in a letter of response to Bishop Olmsted of the Diocese of Phoenix, who had written him, critical of the decision to invite President Obama to speak and receive an honorary degree of law at Notre Dame, indicated that it was his conviction that the statement “Catholics in Political Life” (USCCB) did not apply in this matter. Father Jenkins kindly sent me a copy of his letter, and also at a later meeting, asked for a response.
In an April 15th letter to Father Jenkins, I responded to his letter.

Now the points made in his letter have been sent by Father Jenkins to the members of the Notre Dame Board of Trustees and have been publicized nationally, as well as locally in the South Bend Tribune. Since the matter is now public, it is my duty as the bishop of this diocese to respond and correct. I take up this responsibility with some sadness, but also with the conviction that if I did not do so, I would be remiss in my pastoral responsibility.

Rather than share my full letter, which I have shared with some in church leadership, I prefer to present some of the key points.

1. The meaning of the sentence in the USCCB document relative to Catholic institutions is clear. It places the responsibility on those institutions, and indeed, on the Catholic community itself.

“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.” — “Catholics in Political Life,” USCCB.

2. When there is a doubt concerning the meaning of a document of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, where does one find the authentic interpretation? A fundamental, canonical and theological principle states that it is found in the local bishop, who is the teacher and lawgiver in his diocese. — Canon 330, 375 §§ 1 & 2; 380; 381 § 1; 391 § 1; 392, & 394 §1.

3. I informed Father Jenkins that if there was any genuine questions or doubt about the meaning of the relevant sentence in the conference’s document, any competent canonist with knowledge of the tradition and love for Christ’s church had the responsibility to inform Father Jenkins of the fundamental principle that the diocesan bishop alone bears the responsibility to provide an authoritative interpretation.

4. I reminded Father Jenkins that he indicated that he consulted presidents of other Catholic universities, and at least indirectly, consulted other bishops, since he asked those presidents to share with him those judgments of their own bishops. However, he chose not to consult his own bishop who, as I made clear, is the teacher and lawgiver in his own diocese. I reminded Father Jenkins that I was not informed of the invitation until after it was accepted by the president. I mentioned again that it is at the heart of the diocesan bishop’s pastoral responsibility to teach as revealed in sacred Scripture and the tradition. (“Lumen Gentium,” 20; and “Christus Dominus,” 2.) I reminded him that it is also central to the university’s relationship to the church. (“Ex corde ecclesiae,” 27 & 28; Gen. Norm., Art. 5, §§ 1-3.)

5. Another key point. In his letter to Bishop Olmsted and in the widespread publicity, which has taken place as the points in the letter have been made public, Father Jenkins declared the invitation to President Obama does not “suggest support” for his actions, because he has expressed and continues to express disagreement with him on issues surrounding protection of life. I wrote that the outpouring of hundreds of thousands who are shocked by the invitation clearly demonstrates, that this invitation has, in fact, scandalized many Catholics and other people of goodwill. In my office alone, there have been over 3,300 messages of shock, dismay and outrage, and they are still coming in. It seems that the action in itself speaks so loudly that people have not been able to hear the words of Father Jenkins, and indeed, the action has suggested approval to many.

In the publicity surrounding the points Father Jenkins has made, he also says he is “following the document of the bishops” by “laying a basis for engagement with the president on this issue.” I indicated that I, like many others, will await to see what the follow up is on this issue between Notre Dame and President Obama.

6. As I have said in a recent interview and which I have said to Father Jenkins, it would be one thing to bring the president here for a discussion on healthcare or immigration, and no person of goodwill could rightly oppose this. We have here, however, the granting of an honorary degree of law to someone whose activities both as president and previously, have been altogether supportive of laws against the dignity of the human person yet to be born.

In my letter, I have also asked Father Jenkins to correct, and if possible, withdraw the erroneous talking points, which appeared in the South Bend Tribune and in other media outlets across the country. The statements which Father Jenkins has made are simply wrong and give a flawed justification for his actions.

I consider it now settled — that the USCCB document, “Catholics in Public Life,” does indeed apply in this matter.
The failure to consult the local bishop who, whatever his unworthiness, is the teacher and lawgiver in the diocese, is a serious mistake. Proper consultation could have prevented an action, which has caused such painful division between Notre Dame and many bishops — and a large number of the faithful.

That division must be addressed through prayer and action, and I pledge to work with Father Jenkins and all at Notre Dame to heal the terrible breach, which has taken place between Notre Dame and the church. It cannot be allowed to continue.
I ask all to pray that this healing will take place in a way that is substantial and true, and not illusory. Notre Dame and Father Jenkins must do their part if this healing is to take place. I will do my part.

Sincerely yours in our Lord,
Most Reverend
John M. D’Arcy

Pope JP II's take on our Earth - for Earth Day

2009-04-21T23:42:00.003-04:00

From Centesimus annus (1991)Pope John Paul II:

"Equally worrying is the ecological question...In his desire to have and to enjoy rather than to be and to grow, man consumes the resources of the earth and his own life in an excessive and disordered way. At the root of the senseless destruction of the natural environment lies an anthropological error, which unfortunately is widespread in our day. Man, who discovers his capacity to transform and in a certain sense create the world through his own work, forgets that this is always based on God's prior and original gift of the things that are. Man thinks that he can make arbitrary use of the earth, subjecting it without restraint to his will, as though it did not have its own requisites and a prior God-given purpose, which man can indeed develop but must not betray. Instead of carrying out his role as co-operator with God in the work of creation, man sets himself up in place of God and thus ends up provoking a rebellion on the part of nature, which is more tyrannized than governed by him."

Watching our puppy enjoy our yard and woods like we never have, this is so clear. I am first to say "I have no time for environmental concerns, as millions of babies are dying!" Yet we must respect God's creation as our Holy Fathers encourage. All in moderation and true forethought! Especially as I learn through my Thomist studies that every living thing has a soul (though only humans immortal). Must resist the urge to disrespect puppy's soul after her instinct causes her to chew the furniture! And, must use puppy (as animals were given us by God for our use) to instruct children on compassion and the value of life.

Early Mother's Day Gift for You

2009-04-20T15:10:00.003-04:00

Please enjoy Marie Bellet (thank you, Larry, for the technical help!)

From Pope Paul VI

2009-04-16T23:29:00.002-04:00

Here's a quote from one of my heros and I assume Pope Benedict's as well:

Let us therefor preserve our fervor of spirit. Let us preserve the delightful and comforting joy of evangelizing, even when it is in tears that we must sow. May it mean for us - as it did for John the Baptist, for Peter and Paul, for the other apostles, and for the multitude of splendid evangelizers all through the Church's history - an interior enthusiasm that nobody and nothing can quench. May it be the great joy of our consecrated lives. And may the world of our time, which is searching, sometimes with anguish, sometimes with hope, be enabled to receive the Good News not from evangelizers who are dejected, discouraged, impatient or anxious, but from ministers of the Gospel whose lives glow with fervor, who have first received the joy of Christ, and who are willing to risk their lives so that the kingdom may be proclaimed and the Church established in the midst of the world.

I have recently realized - Joy is a choice. Lord may I choose it to my death!

Bumped into a Guy Named James R. White

2009-04-16T21:23:00.006-04:00

While following a follower's blogs, I came across an apparently well known anti-Catholic James R. White. Now, I don't mean to use this blog to bring about controversial debate necessarily (okay well maybe just a little) - but I heard him mentioned on Catholic radio coincidentally so checked him out and his blog. Here's an article he posted. Now if this recent article below is an example of what the anti-Catholics, well known ones no less, are all about, I don't understand why so many people reject Catholicism!

Seventy Percent of Roman Catholics Do Not Understand The Eucharist
04/15/2009 - James Swan
Seventy percent of Roman Catholics do not understand the Eucharist? There's that anti-catholic James Swan again, making stuff up about the one true church. Everyone knows, those who are members of the one true church have the benefit of the infallible magisterium. The papacy has God-given authority keeping Catholics unified!
Actually, what most who may think this about me don't realize is I probably read more Roman Catholic books at this point than Protestant books. I certainly listen to more Catholic broadcasts than Protestant. This particular fact was not something I made up. It comes from the April 6, 2009 broadcast of Catholic Answers Live. Catholic apologist Jim Burnham devoted an hour on "How to Defend and Explain the Eucharist." You can listen to Jim's statistics in this short clip. Jim says in part,
"Poll after poll in recent years has confirmed that more and more Catholics are mistaken... they have misguided views about the Eucharist. it used to be everybody understood that the Eucharist was Jesus. it was the true flesh and blood... the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus under the appearance of bread and wine. And now more recent polls suggest that sometimes up to fifty percent depending on how the question is phrased, sometimes as many as seventy percent of Catholics can't identify that core Catholic belief..."
So, if I were to ask seven out of ten Catholics to explain the Eucharist, according to Burnham, I'd probably get a few different answers, or maybe even seven different answers. Here again we find a simple truth, typically ignored by Catholic apologists. Catholic apologists will repeatedly claim a Christian relying on the Bible as his sole infallible authority will produce confusion. They claim one must have another infallible authority, the Papacy. Yet, here is one of their key doctrines, what Burnham calls, "the crown jewel" of the Catholic faith, the Eucharist, and seven out of ten Catholics are confused on it.
In this period of economic crisis, many companies are evaluating their work plan, trying to find ways in which their company is failing and losing money. I submit, If your alleged infallible teaching magisterium is working as Burnham describes, you may want to evaluate the effectiveness of upper management at this point.

He obviously is slobbering to find a way to discount magesterial teaching - which he has great contempt for.

As he discusses the papacy's inability to "keep Catholics unified", I wonder how he can explain how protestants often move from denomination to denomination? Of course the answer is because we are human persons never made perfect until united with Him. Not an earthly "company". We are the body of Christ, all Christians included, and all who are included by the grace of God! The Magesterium is simply Sacred Tradition passed on by our Church Fathers from our Lord. It is as simple as it is profound. He promised not to leave us, and he hasn't. While even our Holy Fathers are human and in err, Christ Present in our Pope and all priests is not!

It is a crisis that so many don't understand the Eucharist, from which I recieve great joy and love - I often long to visit our perpetual adoration Chapel - and my children find great peace there as well (they beg to stay, even when I say it is time to go!) Note: Some may say my kids are obviously "indoctrinated", but I assure you I am much too lazy to do anything so profound - they are often babysat by SpongeBob cartoons and we own the "High School Musical" movie - they know what's out there, and make their own choices.

But, this number also indicates the many Catholics that never attend mass. Even for some that do attend out of a sense of duty, they are making a choice to reject our Lord. As with Pharaoh, God "hardens their hearts" (in translation they choose to reject God).

But for those of us who have seen, who have tasted - we will renew the world. And whiners about the business model of the magesterial hierarchy hopefully will turn into the lovers of the Faith which will bring them Home Through Rome!

Oh and I just realized after visiting "The acts..." How appropriate - Happy Birthday Pope Benedict XVI - our beloved Holy Father! I have just started his "Jesus of Nazareth" - but the theme already seems to come out on the importance of having an intimate friendship with our Lord, no surprise coming from the one in the Chair of Peter!

"Lord, let them be One as We are One"

Pope Benedict XVI's Good Friday Address

2009-04-11T11:02:00.003-04:00

Pope warns of 'a desert of godlessness' in Good Friday address
By Daily Mail ReporterLast updated at 2:13 AM on 11th April 2009

Good Friday address: Pope Benedict warned that religious sentiments are increasingly being held up to ridicule in the West

Pope Benedict XVI last night attacked the rise of aggressive secularism in Western societies, warning them that they risked drifting into a 'desert of godlessness'.

He used his Good Friday meditations to compare deliberate attempts to remove religion from public life to the mockery of Jesus Christ by the mob as he was led out to be crucified.
'Religious sentiments' were increasingly ranked among the 'unwelcome leftovers of antiquity' and 'held up to scorn and ridicule', he added.

'We are shocked to see to what levels of brutality human beings can sink,' said the Pope at an evening ceremony at the Coliseum in Rome.

'Jesus is humiliated in new ways even today when things that are most holy and profound in the faith are being trivialised, the sense of the sacred is allowed to erode.

'Values and norms that held societies together and drew people to higher ideals are laughed at and thrown overboard. Jesus continues to be ridiculed.'

The German-born Pope, who turns 82 later this month, prayed Christians would respond by growing in faith.

'May we never question or mock serious things in life like a cynic,' he added. He also condemned the oppression of women, saying there were 'many societies in the world where women fail to receive a fair deal.'

'Christ must be weeping for them,' he said.

We watched the movie "The Miracle Worker" as a family, after attending a Stations of the Cross yesterday between 12 and 3. I recommend this movie to anyone, kids or not - it is a beautiful and artistic depiction of the life of Christ using claymation and animation.

My 7 y.o. asked "Why did Jesus want to kill Himself?" after the scene where Jesus told Judas to "go do what you have to do." I love when kids ask questions!

Jesus was mocked and ridiculed. The world did not know Him. So should it know us? I do not rejoice in suffering, but see it as a great opportunity to live in and with Him if we accept it in His grace. As President Obama says that our land is no longer Christian, we are truly challenged to like never before to be Christian! We were able to be complacent when Ronald Reagan counted Pope John Paul II as one of his closest friends. And we were able to be complacent when George W. Bush told us that he read the bible daily.

The time for complacency has ended.

Jesus did not want to die. HE DID NOT WANT TO DIE. But He died. And look what happened! Maybe it's our time to die in Him.

God's will be done!

Salome, my home girl in Heaven

2009-04-07T22:51:00.002-04:00

I heard Salome, wife of Zebedee, Mom of James and John talked about on the radio today. It was she with Mary Magdalene who was first to see Our Lord risen.

I have a special bond with Salome. You see, almost a year ago today, I was trying to decide whether or not to homeschool my kids. Being VP of our Catholic school board and just seeing too much of how supposedly "Catholic" our school was but not really(including having to explain and defend why we as a board take a holy hour of adoration each month, a subject which our Principal Sister was blatantly silent about), I was really soul searching. So, at my holy hour that I attended in the name of the board, I asked God for answers. Then I opened my Navarre Bible, and hit on the passage where Christ calls James and John to be disciples.

Now, the commentary discussed how their father Zebedee and also mother Salome (not refered to directly in the script) dropped everything to follow Him. It was as if they were an aging yuppie couple, enjoying their 2 sons and looking at a comfortable retirement of golf at The Villages in Florida, when Christ said "Leave it all and follow me" - and they did willingly and with total abandon. I did not see that as my answer that day. I knew following Him sometimes means Catholic school, public school, homeschool, WHATEVER. When a friend called and said "What did God say?" I could only tell her the truth - He said I would make the right decision, and I would be at peace. (What the H does that mean, dear Lord???)

A month later, at the final school mass, I was feeling very ornery, until I approached Christ in communion. A wave of peace and forgiveness for the school's deficiencies overwhelmed me like I will never forget. My girls went through the motions of the last day of school, but we left as a family, husband and 3 year old included, and began to plan and celebrate our new life together.

In this past year of teaching and learning from my kids, I can only say that I have stepped into grace, together with my family.

I am reminded of the song my husband and I chose as one of our wedding hymns "Oh Lord, in my eyes you were gazing. Gently smiling, my name you were saying. All I have, I have left on the sand there. Close to you, I will find other seas." Thanks, Salome, for reminding me!

Incidentally, I can't find this description anywhere in my Navarre right now. I've found those passages. I must just be missing it...

Upcoming Atheist Holiday

2009-03-31T18:41:00.001-04:00

Subject: FLORIDA COURT SETS ATHEIST HOLY DAY In Florida, an atheist created a case against the upcoming Easter and Passover holy days. He hired an attorney to bring a discrimination case against Christians, Jews and observances of their holy days. The argument was that it was unfair that atheists had no such recognized days.

The case was brought before a judge. After listening to the passionate presentation by the lawyer, the judge banged his gavel declaring,"Case dismissed!"

The lawyer immediately stood objecting to the ruling saying, "Your honor, how can you possibly dismiss this case? The Christians have Christmas, Easter and others. The Jews have Passover, Yom Kippur and Hanukkah, yet my client and all other atheists have no such holidays."

The judge leaned forward in his chair saying, "But you do. Your client, counsel, is woefully ignorant."

The lawyer said, "Your Honor, we are unaware of any special observance or holiday for atheists."

The judge said, "The calendar says April 1st is April Fools Day. Psalm 14:1 states, 'The fool says in his heart, there is no God.' Thus, it is the opinion of this court, that if your client says there is no God, then he is a fool. Therefore, April 1st is his day. Court is adjourned."

You gotta love a Judge who knows his scripture!

Irony or God's hand?

2009-03-29T12:54:00.001-04:00

Butte, MT (LifeNews.com) -- The crash of a small airplane in Montana carrying a family from California after a ski trip has made the national news, but the mainstream media hasn't yet connected the dots. Were they to dig a little deeper, they would learn that the family killed in the crash has an infamous abortion connection.

The crash involved two daughters of a prominent California abortion business owner, Irving "Bud" Feldkamp, and their families.

Feldkamp owns the Family Planning Associates abortion business he purchased four years ago, but the mainstream media is only mentioning his ownership of a dental practice and that he is the CEO of Glen Helen Raceway Park in San Bernardino.

That is despite the fact that his 17 FPA abortion centers do more abortions in the state of California than Planned Parenthood, the nation's largest abortion business.

Their plane went down on Sunday killing daughters Vanessa and Amy, two of Feldkamp's sons-in-law, five grandchildren, the pilot and four family friends.

For pro-life advocates who are familiar with Feldkamp's exploits as an abortion business owner, the crash is sad news but it carries a certain irony. The plane crashed into Catholic Holy Cross cemetery near the Butte airport and burst into flames. The site of the devastating impact and the deaths of the 14 passengers was near a memorial erected in the cemetery to honor unborn children who have died in abortions. The memorial, called the Tomb of the Unborn, was erected as a dedication to all babies who have died because of abortion. Gingi Edmonds, a young pro-life activist, noticed the connection and the irony associated with Feldkamp and the site of the plane crash.

"Although Feldkamp is not an abortionist, he reaps profits of blood money from the tens of thousands of babies that are killed through abortions performed every year at the clinics he owns," she says.

"His business in the abortion industry was what enabled him to afford the private plane that was carrying his family to their week-long vacation," Edmonds adds.

Edmonds, who spent time with the pro-life group Survivors of the Abortion Holocaust, helped organize and conduct a weekly campaign where youth activists stood outside of Feldkamp's mini-mansion in Redlands holding fetal development signs and raising community awareness regarding Feldkamp's abortion business ownership.

"Every Thursday afternoon we called upon Bud and his wife Pam to repent, seek God's blessing and separate themselves from the practice of child killing," she said.

Edmonds isn't sure if the plane crash is God's way of warning Feldkamp that he needs to end his involvement in the abortion industry, but she can't help but recall the Feldkamps reactions to her signs showing developing unborn children.
"Pam Feldkamp laughing at the fetal development signs, Bud Feldkamp trying not to make eye contact as he got into his car with a small child in tow" -- those are what she recalls.
"I only hope and pray that in the face of this tragedy, Feldkamp recognizes his need for repentance and reformation," Edmonds says.

"I pray that God will use this unfortunate catastrophe to soften the hearts of Bud and Pam and that they will draw close to the Lord and wash their hands of the blood of thousands of innocent children, each as precious and irreplaceable as their own," she concludes.

More from Bishop Chaput

2009-03-26T08:45:00.004-04:00

Catholic ‘complacency’ shares blame for country’s failures, Archbishop Chaput says

Detroit, Mich., Mar 21, 2009 / 12:32 pm (CNA).- Archbishop of Denver Charles J. Chaput delivered a speech on Saturday reflecting on the significance of the November 2008 election. Warning that media “narratives” should not obscure truth, he blamed the indifference and complacency of many U.S. Catholics for the country’s failures on abortion, poverty and immigration issues.
He also advised Catholics to “master the language of popular culture” and to refuse to be afraid, saying “fear is the disease of our age.”
The archbishop’s comments were delivered in his keynote address at the Hands-On Conference Celebrating the Year of St. Paul, which was hosted at the Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit.
Having been asked to examine what November 2008 and its aftermath can teach Catholics about American culture, the state of American Catholicism and the kind of Pauline discipleship necessary today, Archbishop Chaput said:
“November showed us that 40 years of American Catholic complacency and poor formation are bearing exactly the fruit we should have expected. Or to put it more discreetly, the November elections confirmed a trend, rather than created a new moment, in American culture.”
Noting that there was no question about President Barack Obama’s views on abortion “rights,” embryonic stem cell research and other “problematic issues,” he commented:
“Some Catholics in both political parties are deeply troubled by these issues. But too many Catholics just don’t really care. That’s the truth of it. If they cared, our political environment would be different. If 65 million Catholics really cared about their faith and cared about what it teaches, neither political party could ignore what we believe about justice for the poor, or the homeless, or immigrants, or the unborn child. If 65 million American Catholics really understood their faith, we wouldn’t need to waste each other’s time arguing about whether the legalized killing of an unborn child is somehow ‘balanced out’ or excused by three other good social policies.”
Offering a sober evaluation of the state of American Catholicism, he added:
“We need to stop over-counting our numbers, our influence, our institutions and our resources, because they’re not real. We can’t talk about following St. Paul and converting our culture until we sober up and get honest about what we’ve allowed ourselves to become. We need to stop lying to each other, to ourselves and to God by claiming to ‘personally oppose’ some homicidal evil -- but then allowing it to be legal at the same time.”
Commenting on society’s attitude towards Catholic beliefs, Archbishop Chaput said, “we have to make ourselves stupid to believe some of the things American Catholics are now expected to accept.”
“There’s nothing more empty-headed in a pluralist democracy than telling citizens to keep quiet about their beliefs. A healthy democracy requires exactly the opposite.”
Noting the 2008 presidential campaign’s “revealing” focus upon the candidates’ “narratives,” he said the campaign seemed not to involve facts, but rather “story-telling.”
“Of course, there’s nothing intrinsically wrong with story-telling -- unless the press and other news media themselves become part of the story-telling syndicate; in other words, peddlers of narratives in which facts are not told because they’re true, but rather become ‘true’ because they’re told by those who have the power to create an absorbing narrative,” the archbishop explained.
In such a state, he warned, real power does not rest with the people but with those who “shape the structure of our information.” He linked this situation with Pope Benedict’s critique of the “dictatorship of relativism.”
The archbishop also connected this relativistic spirit to St. Paul’s appearance at the Aeropagus, recounted in the Book of Acts. At the Areopagus, a prestigious place of debate for Greek philosophers, “Nearly anything was tolerated, so long as no one claimed to have an exclusive and binding claim on the truth,” the archbishop explained.
He then quoted Acts 17’s description of the Areopagite mindset: “All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new.”
“It’s worth paying attention to that description. There’s no mention of truth,” he commented, noting that when St. Paul preaches the truth “he’s mocked and despised and his preaching is a failure, at least in the short term.”
“Paul’s failure at the Areopagus is a good lesson for the times we face now in America,” the archbishop said. “When Catholics start leading their daily lives without a hunger for something higher than their own ambitions or appetites, or with the idea that they can create their own truth and then baptize it with an appeal to personal conscience, they become, in practice, agnostics in their personal lives, and Sophists in their public lives. In fact, people who openly reject God or dismiss Christianity as obsolete are sometimes far more honest and far less discouraging than Catholics who claim to be faithful to the Church but directly reject her guidance by their words and actions.”
Noting that Paul mastered the language of the popular urban culture of his time and used “every technical resource, tool and environment at his disposal,” Archbishop Chaput extensively quoted Pope John Paul II’s 1990 encyclical Redemptoris Missio, which also discussed St. Paul at the Areopagus.
“If Paul felt so fiercely compelled to preach the Gospel -- whether ‘timely [or] untimely’ -- to a pagan world, then how should we feel today, preaching the Gospel to an apostate world?” he asked, answering that the love of Christ must “impel” Catholics forward.
“Catholics in America, at least the many good Catholics who yearn to live their faith honestly and deeply, can easily feel tempted to hopelessness,” he concluded. “It becomes very burdensome to watch so many persons who call themselves Catholic compromise their faith and submit their hearts and consciences to the Caesars of our day.”
But Archbishop Chaput closed by encouraging Christians to remember the words of Jesus:
“In this world you will have tribulation. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Notre Dame Debaucle

2009-03-25T18:48:00.003-04:00

Just bumped into that poem the other day, before this ND Obama rubbish came out. So I joined the facebook group protesting Obama's speaking there. Anyway, Gotta give it up to prayer, but here's my 2 cents I wrote on facebook:

I choose to put my full prayerful and respectful support of this group. I want to correct that there is a "conservative wing" of the Catholic Church. The Church is not a political nor sociological club nor institution. She is the Mystical Body of Christ, His Beloved Bride. He did promise us teaching authority on earth, by leaving us successors, with Peter as the foundation. Each Holy Father, while certainly human and having imperfections, serves us as Peter - and as Catholics we defer to the Holy Father, and accordingly to the Bishops, in accordance with our common sense. The abortion issue is a clear issue - it is murder - it is holocaust - and this can not be said of opinions of things like "The War" and "Social Justice", on which neither polarity in government openly approves the taking of life.Some may choose NOT to agree with me or the Church. Unlike 100 mil of their aborted peers who have no choice. ND Students - Rage, RAGE against the fading of the light!

I hope they rage! I pray for courage and insight for them, and especially that the Holy Spirit fills the Hearts of those who are His own at Notre Dame, and directs them in saftey and love.

Do not go gentle into that good night

2009-03-22T13:37:00.003-04:00

Do not go gentle into that good night,

Old age should burn and rage at close of day;

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at the end know dark is right,

Because their words have forked no lightning they

Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men the last wave by, crying how bright

Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sand the sun in flight,

And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,

Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight

Blind eyes could rage like meteors and be gay,

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you my father, there on the sad height,

Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears I pray.

Do not go gentle into that good night.

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Dylan Thomas

St. Michael the Archangel, pray for us.

Church Militant - rage, RAGE against the dying of the Light!

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Enjoy!

2009-03-16T22:53:00.001-04:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57RKtUoMIDE&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJx_Lu4PymE&NR=1

Top 'o the morning to you!

Fr. Don Calloway's Conversion Story

2009-03-15T13:53:00.001-04:00

When you have the time, this former Dead Head is worth listening to.

http://www.123people.com/ext/frm?ti=personensuche%2Btelefonbuch&st=suche%2Bnach%2Bpersonen&search_term=donald%20calloway&target_url=http%3A%2F%2Fcatholicmentoday.org%2F2008%2F10%2F24%2Fformer-drug-dealer-to-catholic-priest-father-donald-calloway-mic.aspx%3Fref%3Drss

Via Dolorosa

2009-03-15T13:51:00.001-04:00

No time to watch the Passion? Watch and listen to this. Let's walk to Calvary together...

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/1047102/via_dolorosa/

Set Me Free

2009-03-15T13:49:00.001-04:00

Casting Crowns Rock:

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/yt-1FXKa6mGrHg/casting_crowns_set_me_free_passion/

Pillar of Iron quote

2009-03-08T22:27:00.003-04:00

Cicero's father - also Marcus Tillius Cicero and known as Tullius: "I have discerned a sadness of spirit in you, Marcus, that seems even greater than your illness.You speak to me no longer of God, you turn from His name. Why is this?"

Marcus murmered, "I have considered if He is dead. He is silent in the face of enormities."

"He is concerned with man, not men," said Tullius...

Our Holy Father's take on the Economic Crisis

2009-03-04T20:21:00.001-05:00

In a recent essay, Kishore Jayabalan, director of the Acton Institute's Rome office (I didn't even know they had a Rome office), offered his assessment of Pope Benedict's recent remarks about the economic crisis. The whole thing is worth reading, but here is his salient observation:

Rather than denounce an economic system that encourages people to follow their self-interest, the Pope denounces realities with more of a past and deeper effects - original sin, human greed and idolatry. He does not equate profit with greed, probably realizing that waging spiritual warfare against profits would mean losing the interest, attention and perhaps possible salvation of all who know anything about business and economics. And maybe most importantly, rather than tell us that we need a "new" system of producing and consuming, buying and selling, the Holy Father takes a more sober, realistic approach by reminding us that there is no just system without just people, and that sin is a permanent fact of life that we must learn to combat slowly, persistently and above all spiritually.The idea that a free economy, like a free political system, reflects the moral condition of its participants is a point to remember as we debate policy solutions in the coming months and years.

Acton has also put together a useful web page with resources for understanding the economic crisis.

Interview with Bishop Chaput of Denver

2009-03-04T00:00:00.001-05:00

TORONTO, Canada, March 2, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - During the visit of Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput to Toronto last week LifeSiteNews interviewed the archbishop at the offices of Salt & Light television following his breakfast presentation to local Catholic businessmen. The interview offers important insights into Archbishop Chaput's views on the obligations of Catholics in the public realm and the failure of the Church to properly instruct its members since the 1960s. Following is the transcript of the conversation between the archbishop and LifeSiteNews Managing Director Steve Jalsevac:

LSN (Jalsevac): What can be done to bring leading Catholic pro-abortion politicians to comprehend their accountability to their faith and to God, especially regarding their public actions and public statements on the moral issues.

CHAPUT: Apparently, very little can be done because so little seems to have been accomplished. I don't know how clearer the bishops, at least as a body, can be speaking about these matters beginning with the Holy Father, of course, and now through the body of bishops. I don't know if it's because we've let it go on for such a long time and haven't challenged it before now, but this attitude of being comfortable with being pro-choice and Catholic at the same time seems to be deeply set in the lives of these folks. Genuinely, they seem to believe it's true, so somehow either someone taught them that or they've arrived at it themselves and weren't challenged on it or whatever, but they seem so firmly set in the course they've taken. So quite honestly, I don't know what can be done. I'm not aware of a single case of a Catholic politician who is pro-choice who has changed his or her mind. Maybe you are, but I am not aware.

LSN: Off hand, no, I don't. This is a question that follows that. It seems that almost without exception, Catholic politicians are affirmed or even led to their wrong views on moral issues by one or more Catholic clergy, religious, theologians or lay teachers. The recent revelation about how the Kennedy's were negatively influenced in their transformation from pro-life to pro-abortion is one of many such examples that we have become aware of. What can be done about this phenomenon? And it seems to have especially been occurring since the 60s.

CHAPUT: I think so too. It seems like there has been a very bad period of catechesis of people in the Church, not only catechesis of the laity but also catechesis of the clergy and it's bearing bad fruit in our time. I think it's very important for clergy to advise political leaders of the great scandal that they might be part of because this can lead not only to the death of the unborn but it can also lead to the spiritual death of the political leaders who vote that way. So, it seems to me that we need to reinvigorate the Church's understanding of the horror of abortion. We are as horrified by that as we would be by genocide, by slavery, you know, those kinds of issues. It seems that we have become deadened to the horror of abortion. If we can reinvigorate our understanding of that, become more sensitive to great evil that abortion is, the we can make a difference.

LSN: It doesn't seem to be limited to abortion, it's all the moral issues that seem to be tied to the same mentality

CHAPUT: Well, I don't know, I don't know if it's true about all the moral issues, but I think I would agree that some would be much related to it.

LSN: That brings us to a third related issue, I believe, and that is, you are on the bishops committee on the liturgy. How can the way that the liturgy is formulated and presented to the people elevate the sense of the sacredness of every human life and receptiveness to the Church's moral teachings and natural law. There are a lot of small things in the liturgy that may affect how Catholics have a sense of the awesomeness and wonder of God and liturgy is related to what has been happening since the 1960s. Coincident with the decline in the observance in proper liturgy and the abuse of liturgical norms has been this rise in moral relativism and rejection of the Church's teachings by people who still frequently go to Church as many of these pro-life politicians and leaders do. Is there a relationship that you can see?

CHAPUT: Well, a couple of things. First of all, I think the liturgy as we have it gives us many opportunities to think about the moral issues and life issues. One of the things that was very interesting in the United States in October, was in the week right before our national election, our federal election, we had this passage in scripture " render unto Caesar what is Caesar's and render unto God what is God's". But I find myself having the opportunity naturally because of the series that the Church presents to us in the three year cycle, to preach on the life issues frequently, so I'm grateful for that. But I think you're right. I think that sometimes priests have felt the freedom to change the liturgy kind of corresponds to their freedom to disagree with the Church's teachings on faith and morals. It's kind of like the individual priest might determine the hierarchy of what's important in the Church and what's true and what is not, and that's not at all what the Catholic Church believes. We need to be faithful to the Church's teachings and I think a sign of being faithful to the Church's teachings is being faithful to the liturgy as it's given to us by the Church.

LSN: I guess it's giving an example of, "we're doing our things here and you do things your way", rather than the loving way the Church has provided for us.

CHAPUT: Yes, that's right.

LSN: Last night a person asked you a question about excommunications. I'm not suggesting that is something that necessarily should be done, but there is the problem that prominent pro-abortion Catholics, whether they be politicians or otherwise, or known to be going to Church and being offered and still partaking of all the benefits of the Church. They may be even reading at mass, they may be involved in parish activities in some kind of prominent way in some cases. It's a scandal to the faith, but more than that it sends a very confusing message to the people.

CHAPUT: Right. I think it's another sign of accommodation with the reality of abortion. We don't understand this horror so we can put up with people who are pro-choice or pro-abortion and not challenge their Catholic identity. It seems to me that anyone who is pro-choice or pro-abortion shouldn't receive communion as they are not in communion with the Church's teaching and certainly if they cannot receive Holy Communion, they shouldn't be lectors at Mass, they shouldn't be given prominent positions in the life of the Church. Of course, we hope they will come back to the faith and to the truth, so we don't want to chase them away from the Church but, you know, Communion means not only union with the Lord but also union with His Church which is His body, His presence in the world today, and if someone doesn't believe what the Church teaches on faith and morals, that person shouldn't receive Holy Communion. Excommunication is a different thing, and for the Church to excommunicate someone, it's an extraordinarily serious situation and I think the reason it's not done more often is because it's not been perceived as being effective, that is will cause more problems than it solves. When I was a young boy a long time ago, Archbishop Rummel in New Orleans excommunicated several members of his diocese who stood in the way of his efforts to end segregation in the archdiocese of New Orleans. Essentially these people and his efforts were applauded by the New York Times even, When Archbishop Burke warned Catholic legislators in his diocese that they risked excommunication if they persisted in promoting access to abortion, he was condemned by the same kind of press for being intolerant. And is some ways that reveals the issue though. If bishops excommunicate, the issue is not going to be abortion, it's going to be the intrusive power of the Church in the life of the Church and so it's a question of is it a prudent thing to do or does this really confuse the issue more than help the issue.

LSN: Any you may be perfectly right about that. But for example, in a family there is a father, a mother and children and let's say there is one child that is very disobedient and persistently so and the father keeps talking and talking and the mother keeps talking and talking, and this goes on for years, and the other children say, "all they ever do is talk to him, they never take any action". Now, in this case I am not sure what the right action is, but…

CHAPUT: I am not sure the bishops have been talking to these people either.

LSN: That's a good point.

CHAPUT: And let's use your analogy. What about in the family if the father talks to one of the children about doing this and then decides that since you are not going to be obedient, you can't be part of this family until you are obedient. And then the other children say, why are you doing that Dad, it's not fair, or just, and instead of it being a corrective for the wayward child, it's the cause of a major family fight because the disagreement within the family is much broader than the disagreement with that one child.

LSN: But usually, the appropriate thing is to take one step at a time - take away some benefit, apply some accountability. Is there not a possibility of some accountability, as a sign?

CHAPUT: It seem to me that more bishops would be acting this way, in issues that are very clear, if they thought it would be effective, and the reason that they don't do this is that they don't think it would be effective. You know, the purpose of excommunication is ..

LSN: Sorry, I'm not asking about excommunication at all now, but rather lower level things.

CHAPUT: I can't understand why anyone who is pro-choice could be a reader at Mass, that's what you are talking about. And, an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion - it would be outrageous. Again, they should not receive Holy Communion.

LSN: In our work, that we have been doing for many years, we find that many people, even some leaders in the Church do not comprehend the gravity of the situation that we are in now, that our civilization is in danger of collapsing. Do you find that people just don't believe what you are saying, don't believe what you are warning them about, don't believe that they should not vote for Obama? Does it sometimes frustrate you that things are so obvious and yet you have a difficulty convincing the public or certain people of the gravity of the situation that we are in today?

CHAPUT: It seems human history has been a series of times of us not taking the warning signs seriously. I think the reading for the first Sunday of Lent this year is the story of Noah and the flood. They were eating and drinking and carrying on and the flood came. They just weren't willing to take the warnings that God sends us and I think it is true about our time that we are not taking the situation concerning the Church and the world seriously now. I agree with you. I don't know what we can do about it except to be persistent in our preaching and in our continuing to give the warning and that God bring fruit from that if He chooses. We shouldn't give up.

LSN: …proclaiming the truth, regardless,

CHAPUT: Yes.

LIFESITENEWS: Would you agree that there seems to be an increase in that happening now?

CHAPUT: Increase in what happening?

LSN: Of various leaders starting to be more outspoken about the current state of our culture?

CHAPUT: You might be a better judge of that than I. I certainly don't think there are enough.

LSN: I agree with that.

CHAPUT: There may be more than there were. Last year or the year before, I don't know.

LSN: Well, the last election there were so many bishops who came out so strongly. We were actually excited.

CHAPUT: Not nearly enough.

LSN: Last night a person asked a question comparing the response to the invitation to speakers at two colleges, a Canadian one and one in the United States and the Canadian one invited Cokie Roberts. I guess you didn't know who she was.

CHAPUT:: Oh, I know who she is. I just didn't know where she stood.

LSN: She is a Catholic, outspokenly pro-abortion, pro-homosexual. At the college of course she was not talking about that, but that was the usual strategy of "we are not here to talk about abortion" and so on to justify inviting the person. It was a great disappointment to us that we got the kind of response that we did from the college.

CHAPUT: (After reading the LifeSiteNews report on the event) I can't believe that the president of the Catholic Assumption University said abortion is not infallible Church teaching.

LSN: Yes, we couldn't believe it either.

And now, the rest of the story...(Paul Harvey - Good eternity!)

2009-03-03T21:03:00.000-05:00

Here's the rest of the story of the facade of the San Jose Mission Church.

Look to the Left of the door, and you will find Saint Joachim, father of our Blessed Mother. The Franciscan monks were well aware of the native custom of reverence for grandparents, thus the prominent position of Jesus' "Nana and Papa" here. St. Joachim's arm is missing as it was broken when a thief climbed up him to try to enter throught the Rose Window above.

This window is reminiscent of many such windows on Churches through Europe. It was possibly named the Rose window after St. Rose of Lima, the first saint of the New World.

Look up and to the right of St. Joseph and Jesus, and you will find St. Francis, the patron of these missions. I myself know a lot about him, so moving on...

To the left is St. Dominic. St. Dominic became prominent in the late 10th century, where he battled the Albigensian heresy that was rampant at the time. He actually worked with his family, who all show signs of having been sanctified in this life. He loved the truth and abhorred heresy. His convents were set up originally to protect and educate women and children who were especially vulnerable to this heresy. The Militia of Jesus Christ (now known as the 3rd order Dominicans) was formed under him as a lay movement to protect the Church.

He is also known for having the Rosary revealed to him by our Blessed Mother.

Finally, notice the round balls surrounding the door. These are pomegranates, and represent fertility. Let the Truth that is held within this building bear great fruit, let faithful Catholics devoted to the truth populate and renew the world, and make the ground of the seedlings of Love be ever fruitful and nourishing!

And so begins the Taylor Caldwell Quotes...

2009-03-02T23:33:00.000-05:00

From "A Pillar of Iron" - An historical fiction work of Taylor Caldwell on the life of Marcus Tullius Cicero:

"I distrust uncontrolled and vehement emotion, which has its impulse not in reason but in malice and confusion, lord. If man is to rise above mere beasthood then he must obey just law, formulated by just men, and not random and expedient law which is the servant of tyrants. That law which appeals to the sentimentality, gross and unlearned, of the masses, or to their bellies, is no law at all. It is only the lust of the barbarian, the scream of the jungle. Such law leads us back to the wilderness of tooth and bloody claw, the service of mindless beasts. Unfortunately, too often, the wild law of savagery is used by unscrupulous men to advance their own interests, and they, too often, find it in the masses. These unscrupulous men discover, to their ruin, that they have seized a tiger by the tail."

"You will observe, lord (addressing Emporer Sulla) "that Cicero has no high regard for the noisy and noisome masses." He(Julius Caesar) spoke with affection.

Marcus cried, "We are not speaking of the same thing at all! The people have souls and minds! I ask that rulers appeal to these things, and not to base appetites!"

She has many actual quotes - but I just read this one, and after her 9 years of study before writing, I bet Cicero would approve.

The Choice before Israel, the Choice before America

2009-03-02T21:11:00.000-05:00

...I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Choose life, then, that you and your descendants may live, by loving the Lord, your God, heeding His voice, and holding fast to Him. (Dt 30:19-20)

Our Lady of Guadalupe

2009-03-02T20:48:00.000-05:00

Now go to the center door (don't you long to go in?) and scan up. Above the door is the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe. I just learned that she was especially mentioned as the protector of babies in danger of not being born, by our late Holy Father Pope John Paul the Great. See:

http://www.sancta.org/intro.html

I know of a baby like that. Her earthly parents desperately want her, but the mom is having scary symptoms. I pray for all who are now in the situation of possibly losing their babies, either through natural means or through the evil scourge of abortion. Hail Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, Our Life, Our Sweetness and Our Hope. To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve, to thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. Turn then, Oh gracious advocate, thine eyes of Mercy toward us. And after this, our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Oh clement, Oh loving, oh sweet virgin Mary, pray for us, Oh Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Conduct in Public Life

2009-03-01T23:28:00.000-05:00

Do no evil, and evil will not overtake you; avoid wickedness, and it will turn aside from you, Sow not in the furrows of injustice, lest you harvest it sevenfold. Seek not from the Lord authority, nor from the king a place of honor. Parade not your justice before the Lord, and before the king flaunt not your wisdom.
Seek not to become a judge if you have not strength to root out crime, Or you will show favor to the ruler and mar your integrity. Be guilty of no evil before the city's populace, nor disgrace yourself before the assembly.
Do not plot to repeat sin; not even for one will you go unpunished. Say not: : "He will appreciate my many gifts; the Most High will accept my offerings."
Be not impatient in prayers, and neglect not the giving of alms.
Laugh not at an embittered man; be mindful of him who exalts and humbles.
Plot no mischief against your brother, nor against your friend and companion.
Delight not in telling lie after lie, for it never results in good.
Thrust not yourself in deliberations of princes (yikes) and repeat not the words of your prayer. Hate not laborious tasks, nor farming, which was ordained by the Most High.
Do not esteem yourself better than your fellows; remember, his wrath will not delay. More and more, humble your pride; what awaits man is worms. (Sir 7:1-17)

Santa Anna

2009-03-01T23:20:00.000-05:00

Notice the statue on the bottom right. This is Saint Anne, holding the blessed Mother as a child. What can she tell you, what does she teach us? What were her thoughts and dreams for her child? What kind of a mother was she? What kind of a child was Mary? Was St. Anne
there when they crucified my Lord?

Observe

2009-02-28T23:49:00.000-05:00

This picture is taken at Mission San Jose in San Antonio, Texas. This is one of the 5 missions there, the Alamo included. Take time to study each statue in stone on this church. Notice St. Joseph (San Jose) holding the child Jesus - each statue was made to communicate to the Native Americans who these key early Christians were - what they were about. I learned from them as well. I will include a more thorough description in a later blog.

Sacrifice of Body and Mind

2009-02-28T21:39:00.000-05:00

I urge you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual worship. Do not conform yourself to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is pleasing and perfect. (Rom 12:1-2)