As we gathered for dinner this evening we offered a prayer for all deceased member of the military who gave their lives in service to our country. May God forgive them their transgressions and welcome them into eternity because they were willing to lay down their lives for others. Don't go to bed tonight without offering a prayer for all of them, especially those who have no one to remember them.
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Monday, May 31, 2010
Milk from BGH-injected Cows: Does it Do a Body Good?
The answer to the first question is that BGH or recombinant BGH (rBGH) is an artificial hormone injected into cows that causes them to produce 15-30% more milk. Monsanto spent a billion dollars to develop it and it's been on the market, and in milk an milk products, since 1994. It's marketed to dairy farmers under the name POSILAC.
Is it safe? Well, that's a good question. As with so many things, it hasn't really been tested on humans. One of the troubling findings of injecting cows with BGH is that it causes them to produce milk with higher concentrations IGF-1 (Insulin-like Growth Factor). Evidence is growing that IGF-1 promotes tumor growth expecially in the breast and colon. Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and most of Europe banned BGH because of health concerns and there is evidence that the hormone isn't all that great for cows either. It increases mastitis and foot problems requiring more antibiotics which also cross over into the milk:
Despite warnings from scientists, such as Dr. Michael Hansen from the Consumers Union and Dr. Samuel Epstein from the Cancer Prevention Coalition, that milk from rBGH injected cows contains substantially higher amounts of a potent cancer tumor promoter called IGF-1, and despite evidence that rBGH milk contains higher levels of pus, bacteria, and antibiotics, the FDA gave the hormone its seal of approval, with no real pre-market safety testing required. (For more go here.... )
A team of investigative reporters was set to do a piece on Monsanto and BGH on a Tampa, Florida FOX TV station in the mid 90s, but the piece was pulled after Monsanto threatened "dire consequences" if it aired. To the credit of the reporters who were threatened and bribed to alter the piece to be Monsanto friendly, they refused to lie and accept money to be silent. God bless them! Here's the video that tells their story:
I tracked down a transcript of the investigative report FOX squashed. It's on this website. Just click on the transcript button on the right. It's really interesting to see the changes FOX insisted on. You can read it here and decide for yourselves whether you want to consume milk products laced with BGH. The reporters ended up suing. They won the intitial lawsuit but lost on appeal
When I think of artificial hormones, I immediately think of the pill. When it was initially placed on the market it was treated as a miracle for women. And, of course, it was touted as having no health problems. Now 50 years later, we know a lot more about the pill and its dangerous side affects: the link to breast cancer, strokes, blood clots, heart attacks, etc. Even after changes to the pill to make it less dangerous the contraindications fill a leaflet two feet long in small print. Can anyone be cavalier about introducing artificial hormones into milk, milk products, and baby formula?
All I can say is that I'm glad we get our milk from a Mennonite family whose cows are grass fed and who raise their own winter feed. And from now on, I'm buying organic milk products or doing without.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Genetically Modified Foods: One More Way to Exploit the Third World
The hype to use genetically modified seeds is incredible. And yet there are a lot of questions about their safety and the actual benefits. Listen to Dr. Mercola's interview of Jeffrey Smith below. I've posted part one of the six-part interview. Most corn and soy products in the U.S. come from GMO seed to resist application of Round Up pesticide. And it's genetically altering the bacteria in the digestive system. Scary stuff. But what it's doing to Indian farmers is unconscionable!
The GM genocide: Thousands of Indian farmers are committing suicide after using genetically modified crops
The GM genocide: Thousands of Indian farmers are committing suicide after using genetically modified crops
Friday, May 28, 2010
One More Outrageous Case of Persecution at Public School
The video below shows one more outrageous act of persecution against a Christian student, a little girl who dared to voice her opinions while riding the school bus. Christians students are targets for the anti-Christian bigots who demand they accept homosexual conduct as normal and never voice their religious beliefs. At my granddaughter's middle school not long ago, they held the homosexual "day of silence" without even informing parents. When challenged, they defended their right to keep parents in the dark. My daughter-in-law is responding by home-schooling next year. Good for her! But everyone isn't so fortunate to have that choice.
The writing is on the wall for Christian kids in public schools - shut up, no free speech for you. Wear a T-shirt promoting a vile rock group okay, but don't you dare have a Christian message on your shirt. Don't bring anything Christian for show and tell. Don't draw a crucifix in art class. Don't pray before meals in the lunch room. Don't you dare to wear a rosary around your neck or read a Bible at recess. All of these actions on the part of Christian children have brought visits to the principal's office and punishment. Tolerance is ballyhooed for every perverted idea in the mind of man, but not for Christians.
Pray that this family is victorious in their lawsuit.
There is help out there for those being persecuted by the public schools for acting on their Christian beliefs. Don't let the schools bully your kids.
The writing is on the wall for Christian kids in public schools - shut up, no free speech for you. Wear a T-shirt promoting a vile rock group okay, but don't you dare have a Christian message on your shirt. Don't bring anything Christian for show and tell. Don't draw a crucifix in art class. Don't pray before meals in the lunch room. Don't you dare to wear a rosary around your neck or read a Bible at recess. All of these actions on the part of Christian children have brought visits to the principal's office and punishment. Tolerance is ballyhooed for every perverted idea in the mind of man, but not for Christians.
Pray that this family is victorious in their lawsuit.
There is help out there for those being persecuted by the public schools for acting on their Christian beliefs. Don't let the schools bully your kids.
Homosexuality in the Hierarchy, The Cardinal McCarrick Syndrome
Richard Sipe takes seriously the homosexual problem in the Church. In a recent post on his blog about the homosexuality of Cardinal McCarrick (Read about it here.... ) he points out the serious problem of men like McCarrick being in power. How many proteges were raised to positions of influence by their homosexual superiors? One thinks of Cardinal Bernardin and his "boys." He did more to damage the Church than most and, while he maintained his secret (more or less) until he died, he couldn't help himself from specifying that a gay choir sing at his wake.
It is particularly ironic to me that Fr. James Haley was thrown out of the priesthood for recognizing the reality of what Richard Sipe says and trying to get Bishop Loverde to do something about it. The bishop did something all right. He turned Fr. Haley into the invisible man, the priest without a diocese, the shepherd without a flock. But Fr. Haley was right! No homosexual should be in a position of authority in the Church and here's why:
From Richard Sipe's Blog
More ominous are the relationships of sexual sponsorship in which an older priest or superior takes an attractive and responsive younger priest into his affectionate embrace. Yes, some of these associations do become sexual. As the senior man rises in stature, position, and power he brings his protégé along with him up the scale of the organization. Sometimes the younger man eventually equals his mentor’s stature; he too can repeat the pattern so well learned and practiced. This pattern is well exercised in Rome.N.B. Just for the record, I do not agree with Richard Sipe on a number of issues. He favors elimination of priestly celibacy, for example. I don't see how that will solve any problems; it just introduces new ones.
There are scores of reliable documents that demonstrate this practice and people involved.
The main point is that the dynamic is in operation and affects even good, observant clergy who cannot speak openly because the secret system will not tolerate them. Where are they to go? The press will not touch malfeasance on this level of the power system without impossible vetting that will expose the whistler blower to potential or certain destruction. Who of the many-in-the-know within the secret clerical system have that kind of courage?
What I have written to Pope Benedict (Cf. home page) is but a simple example of the systemic dynamic of celibate violation within the priesthood and some of the dire consequences for the church, the clergy, and our youth.
I have expressed my awareness of how difficult it is even for him to address this dimension of the problem that I have named the Cardinal McCarrick Syndrome. Great Saints like Pope Gregory I, Peter Damian, the patron of church reform, and the other saints illustrated in C. Colt Anderson’s Great Catholic Reformers have tried, some with more success than others. (Cf. Books of Note) There is a need for such saints today. The problem is present, operative, and of major magnitude.
House Votes to Repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"
"Judas went out, and it was night."
Last night the House voted to repeal the "don't ask, don't tell" policy allowing those with perverted sexual attractions to serve openly in the military. (Go here... )What will this do to the military? For one thing, it will sure make me discourage any of my relatives from serving.
Can you imagine being an 18-year-old male recruit sleeping in a barracks with homosexuals who think your cute? With open showers? How can you fail to notice that you turn on the guy at the shower head next to you? Will the girls and the heterosexual men now be sharing showers as well? If not, why not? The lunacy of homosexuals in the military makes my head swim. It converts the military into one more politically correct entity that advances the gay agenda.
And then there is the dilemma of the recruit who is being sexually approached by the gay guys. Will he be able to complain? What if it's his sargeant making double entendre statements? Will he be labeled homophobic if he dares to show the normal reaction of disgust?
Our society has created a protected class based on a preference for perverted and disgusting sexual behavior. That it is permeating all sectors of society as a "civil right" shows just how depraved the culture has become. Tolerance for the intolerable is no virtue. Lust is one of the seven deadly sins and the fact of lusting after someone of the same sex just makes it perverted and deadly in more ways than one.
Last night the House voted to repeal the "don't ask, don't tell" policy allowing those with perverted sexual attractions to serve openly in the military. (Go here... )What will this do to the military? For one thing, it will sure make me discourage any of my relatives from serving.
Can you imagine being an 18-year-old male recruit sleeping in a barracks with homosexuals who think your cute? With open showers? How can you fail to notice that you turn on the guy at the shower head next to you? Will the girls and the heterosexual men now be sharing showers as well? If not, why not? The lunacy of homosexuals in the military makes my head swim. It converts the military into one more politically correct entity that advances the gay agenda.
And then there is the dilemma of the recruit who is being sexually approached by the gay guys. Will he be able to complain? What if it's his sargeant making double entendre statements? Will he be labeled homophobic if he dares to show the normal reaction of disgust?
Our society has created a protected class based on a preference for perverted and disgusting sexual behavior. That it is permeating all sectors of society as a "civil right" shows just how depraved the culture has become. Tolerance for the intolerable is no virtue. Lust is one of the seven deadly sins and the fact of lusting after someone of the same sex just makes it perverted and deadly in more ways than one.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Will We "Celebrate" Memorial Day by Seeing the Military Approve Homosexuality?
If that happens it will be a tragedy. The Pentagon's own data indicates that homosexuals in the military commit a disproportionate number of sexual assaults. Here are just a few examples from a report by the Family Research Council:
36-year-old Marine Sgt. Sean D. Habian used both alcohol and homosexual pornography in the course of assaulting a 21-year-old Lance Corporal.Read the Executive Summary here and the full study here.
Marine Sgt. Steven G. Carlson, a military police instructor, took advantage of his position to exploit his students, inviting them to social events, plying them with alcohol, and playing games like “truth or dare” to identify who might be receptive to homosexual activity. One of his victims “testified that the appellant’s acts shocked him, he froze, and was scared.”
Homosexual activists are fond of saying that the military cannot afford to lose the specialized skills that some homosexual service members have-such as translators and linguists. Air Force Sgt. Eric P. Marcum was a Persian-Farsi linguist-but also was charged with forcible sodomy against a male Senior Airman who “testified that Appellant’s actions made him scared, angry, and uncomfortable.”
Air Force Major Rickie J. Bellanger was charged with sexually abusing two minor boys-one of whom had begun corresponding with Maj. Bellanger when he was in the fifth grade.
Military cohesiveness, discipline, and health are all threatened by homosexuals in the ranks. Not only should "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" not be repealed; homosexuals should be banned from serving in the military as they were in the past. No particular kind of deviant behavior deserves to be thought of as a civil right. That it more and more is just indicates the death of common sense in our culture. The likelihood of its restoration seems remote since a generation of young people have been brainwashed to accept deviant behavior as normal. But the impact on the military is disasterous, especially in a war where you may have to worry not only about the enemy in front of you, but the one in back as well.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
The Frog Says, "Read the Bill! Then Secure the Border!"
Here's the first comment I read after viewing the video:
First off I am an American, I pay my taxes and I love my country, that being said if I had to specify a race I am Hispanic. I am not proud to be a "Mexican" I am proud to be an "American". I don't understand what is so hard about becoming a "Legal" Citizen. My great grandparents did it. Calling Arizonas new law "Racist" is a cop out.Arizona may be getting slammed, but ya gotta love their sense of humor. And be sure to visit the website and read the bill.
P.S. I love the statement the video is making....
hisprncs08 2 minutes ago
My Virtual May Crowning: Thank You, Blessed Mother!
Pray in reparation for all those who do not know and love the Blessed Mother and for those who desecrate her statues, attack her name, and hold her in utter contempt. Pray for the minions of Planned Parenthood who put out sacrilegious pamphlets and comic books using her images to promote abortion. Pray for the Protestant preachers who desecrate her statues as they falsely accuse Catholics of idol worship. (Do they not have pictures of their mothers in their homes? Do they not think that Jesus followed the Commandment to "Honor your father and your mother?" Above all, listen to Mary's message at Fatima. Pray the rosary daily for peace in the world and do penance in reparation for the sins of the world. The Holy Eucharist and the rosary are the most powerful spiritual weapons for soldiers of Christ. Let us use them often.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
The Law of the Church is Communion on the Tongue
I have often noticed that sweethearts feed one another. A young woman gives her date a taste of her dessert feeding him from her spoon. A young man playfully pops a candy into his girlfriend's mouth. A bride and groom (if they are sensible) lovingly feed each other a bite of the wedding cake. Feeding each other is a tender gesture that signifies the intimacy of the relationship. And it always makes me smile to see these little acts of affection. It also reminds me of a homily by a former pastor. Every Holy Thursday when we celebrate the institution of the Eucharist he described the two times in life when we are fed by others. The first when we are dependent, like babies and the elderly, and the second when we are in love. And isn't that how our relationship with Jesus Christ is? We are dependent on him for our very creation. And He wants to relate to us as a lover embracing His beloved. Communion on the tongue is the fullest image of Christ's relationship with us, the members of the Church.
Several years ago, I had the blessing of attending a day of reflection with Fr. Robert Lange. At the time he shared the picture below of his home in Fort Valley where the Eucharist was reserved. If we only truly believed that Jesus is present in Holy Communion wouldn't we be eager to be fed by him? I offer Father's beautiful article here and urge you, if you receive in the hand, to consider returning the ancient practice of being fed by our beloved Lord. I did.
Respect For Christ In The Eucharist – One Priest’s Perspective
[The picture above is of my home in Fort Valley, Virginia, and the light is coming from my chapel where the Blessed Sacrament is reserved. There is not light in the window and there is no sun out on the day of the picture.]
by Rev. Robert Lange
Americans have the option of receiving the Holy Eucharist on the tongue or in the hand. The Vatican granted us the option of receiving on the hand in 1977. This was accomplished by an indult, a lifting of the law, so we may receive either way, on the tongue or in the hand. The indult was granted because the American Bishops told the Vatican that their parishioners were clamoring for it. “We can feed ourselves” was one of the specious arguments put forward.
After Apostolic times, the Church gradually adopted Communion on the tongue as the universal practice. In the early fourth century the Arians, who denied the divinity of Christ, revived the practice of receiving Communion in the hand specifically to show a lesser respect for Christ, believing that He is not “equal to the Father.”
The universal Church law, which requires Holy Eucharist to be distributed to the faithful on their tongues, remains in force; it remains the law. However the indult has the effect of making the law inapplicable where in force.
Foreseeing the demand for the indult coming, the Sacred Office for Divine Worship sent a letter to the presidents of the bishops’ conferences to advise them how they may implement this option if granted. The letter spoke about reverence for the Holy Eucharist being the number one priority. With this in mind, the letter went into great detail trying to explain this crucial concern. The letter contained the following specifics.
Communion on the hand is an option; it is not the primary way of receiving. Catholics must be catechized to understand this important point. No one is to be forced to receive on the hand.
When receiving the Body of Christ on the hand, the faithful must be aware of the fact that each and every particle, no matter how small, is truly the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity. Therefore no particle should ever be discarded or treated with less than total respect due to the Body of Christ.
The faithful must also be reminded that their hands must be clean to receive our Lord, Jesus Christ.
When ordained in 1986, I was a proponent of receiving Communion in the hand, but time has changed my thinking on this issue. Seeing so many abuses and forming a deeper respect for Jesus’ true Presence in the Holy Eucharist were the factors which forced me to rethink my position.
On March 28, 1965, when the catholic college I was attending opened their newly renovated chapel, we students were told how to receive the Holy Eucharist: standing and in the hand. There was no option given. May I add that this was fully twelve years before any American diocese received the indult, which allowed for that option.
Why did those priests, abbots and bishops disobey the authority of Rome? Communion in the hand became the norm for American Catholics in the 1960’s. In many cases the practice was not presented to us as optional, but as the way to receive.
In my twenty-four years as a priest, I have served in many parishes and witnessed many Eucharistic abuses caused by receiving in the hand. I have picked Jesus off the floor from under pews and picked Him out of hymnals. I have followed people back to their seats and asked if they would give me the host back (they bring it out of a clinched hand or out of their pockets) and have witnessed many other sacrilegious desecrations of the most Blessed Sacrament, far too many and varied to mention, some so shocking most people would simply not believe my words.
As I began to see these desecrations of the Holy Eucharist, I began to understand how very sickening, disheartening and avoidable all of this actually has been. Many religious education programs teach the children how to receive on the hand, with at most a cursory mention of the traditional way of receiving on the tongue. Why? The Church documents do not support such teaching. It was the same with many American dioceses in the 1960’s when the faithful were being coerced into receiving on the hand a decade before being granted the indult.
Father Benedict Groeschel, a familiar face to EWTN viewers and an accomplished author, announced on his “Sunday Night Live With Fr. Groeschel” program that he considered Communion in the hand to be an abomination. That is strong language!
Blessed Theresa of Calcutta was asked what was the worst thing that has happened to the Church in her lifetime. She replied without hesitation, “Communion in the hand.” Again powerful language!
Why would these two great figures of our time be so fervent in their opinions regarding this issue if it did not affect their whole being? Somehow I think they would agree that Communion in the hand is a true American tragedy.
Our Holy Father, Benedict XVI leads by example. Since becoming Pope, anyone receiving Holy Eucharist from him must receive on the tongue and kneeling. He is not requiring a change throughout the world, but is giving us a profound message by example.
Proper respect shown to the Holy Eucharist is primary. Please consider these thoughts before receiving Holy Communion this Sunday. Thank you.
[Further note on picture: "In May of this year Bishop Loverde gave me permission to reserve the Blessed Sacrament in my chapel –The chapel is on the second floor of my home. The Eucharist had been reserved in the chapel less than a week when this picture was taken from the front porch of a neighbor’s home.
The person taking the picture was enamored by the beauty of the valley and decided to take a picture for her collection. When she aimed the camera towards the valley and tried to focus for the picture, she says the light coming from my house was so bright she said it was difficult trying to look into camera to view the picture to be taken (It was a cloudy day and I did not have a light on in the room /chapel where the light is coming from.) She took the picture and the image – the Star of David- is what came out on her digital camera. She did not know what to make of it. Not being Catholic, she had no understanding of the Sacrament of the Eucharist (Holy Communion). My opinion is that Our Lord wanted to give us a beautiful reminder of His true presence in the Holy Eucharist – Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity! It is a reminder that he is with us always, that we are never alone, that he is the Son of God and the Son of Man. It is a vivid reminder that he truly suffered and died on the cross and that he is present in this world – until his Second Coming – in this most special manner - the Eucharist.
Just as the Star appeared over the stable in Bethlehem when the Christ Child was born, so the Star of David has appeared through the window of my Chapel on St. David’s Church Road, Fort Valley, Virginia, to remind us of His care, love, protection, and presence in our lives today and always.
Fr. Robert Lange, December 2007
Several years ago, I had the blessing of attending a day of reflection with Fr. Robert Lange. At the time he shared the picture below of his home in Fort Valley where the Eucharist was reserved. If we only truly believed that Jesus is present in Holy Communion wouldn't we be eager to be fed by him? I offer Father's beautiful article here and urge you, if you receive in the hand, to consider returning the ancient practice of being fed by our beloved Lord. I did.
Respect For Christ In The Eucharist – One Priest’s Perspective
[The picture above is of my home in Fort Valley, Virginia, and the light is coming from my chapel where the Blessed Sacrament is reserved. There is not light in the window and there is no sun out on the day of the picture.]
by Rev. Robert Lange
Americans have the option of receiving the Holy Eucharist on the tongue or in the hand. The Vatican granted us the option of receiving on the hand in 1977. This was accomplished by an indult, a lifting of the law, so we may receive either way, on the tongue or in the hand. The indult was granted because the American Bishops told the Vatican that their parishioners were clamoring for it. “We can feed ourselves” was one of the specious arguments put forward.
After Apostolic times, the Church gradually adopted Communion on the tongue as the universal practice. In the early fourth century the Arians, who denied the divinity of Christ, revived the practice of receiving Communion in the hand specifically to show a lesser respect for Christ, believing that He is not “equal to the Father.”
The universal Church law, which requires Holy Eucharist to be distributed to the faithful on their tongues, remains in force; it remains the law. However the indult has the effect of making the law inapplicable where in force.
Foreseeing the demand for the indult coming, the Sacred Office for Divine Worship sent a letter to the presidents of the bishops’ conferences to advise them how they may implement this option if granted. The letter spoke about reverence for the Holy Eucharist being the number one priority. With this in mind, the letter went into great detail trying to explain this crucial concern. The letter contained the following specifics.
Communion on the hand is an option; it is not the primary way of receiving. Catholics must be catechized to understand this important point. No one is to be forced to receive on the hand.
When receiving the Body of Christ on the hand, the faithful must be aware of the fact that each and every particle, no matter how small, is truly the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity. Therefore no particle should ever be discarded or treated with less than total respect due to the Body of Christ.
The faithful must also be reminded that their hands must be clean to receive our Lord, Jesus Christ.
When ordained in 1986, I was a proponent of receiving Communion in the hand, but time has changed my thinking on this issue. Seeing so many abuses and forming a deeper respect for Jesus’ true Presence in the Holy Eucharist were the factors which forced me to rethink my position.
On March 28, 1965, when the catholic college I was attending opened their newly renovated chapel, we students were told how to receive the Holy Eucharist: standing and in the hand. There was no option given. May I add that this was fully twelve years before any American diocese received the indult, which allowed for that option.
Why did those priests, abbots and bishops disobey the authority of Rome? Communion in the hand became the norm for American Catholics in the 1960’s. In many cases the practice was not presented to us as optional, but as the way to receive.
In my twenty-four years as a priest, I have served in many parishes and witnessed many Eucharistic abuses caused by receiving in the hand. I have picked Jesus off the floor from under pews and picked Him out of hymnals. I have followed people back to their seats and asked if they would give me the host back (they bring it out of a clinched hand or out of their pockets) and have witnessed many other sacrilegious desecrations of the most Blessed Sacrament, far too many and varied to mention, some so shocking most people would simply not believe my words.
As I began to see these desecrations of the Holy Eucharist, I began to understand how very sickening, disheartening and avoidable all of this actually has been. Many religious education programs teach the children how to receive on the hand, with at most a cursory mention of the traditional way of receiving on the tongue. Why? The Church documents do not support such teaching. It was the same with many American dioceses in the 1960’s when the faithful were being coerced into receiving on the hand a decade before being granted the indult.
Father Benedict Groeschel, a familiar face to EWTN viewers and an accomplished author, announced on his “Sunday Night Live With Fr. Groeschel” program that he considered Communion in the hand to be an abomination. That is strong language!
Blessed Theresa of Calcutta was asked what was the worst thing that has happened to the Church in her lifetime. She replied without hesitation, “Communion in the hand.” Again powerful language!
Why would these two great figures of our time be so fervent in their opinions regarding this issue if it did not affect their whole being? Somehow I think they would agree that Communion in the hand is a true American tragedy.
Our Holy Father, Benedict XVI leads by example. Since becoming Pope, anyone receiving Holy Eucharist from him must receive on the tongue and kneeling. He is not requiring a change throughout the world, but is giving us a profound message by example.
Proper respect shown to the Holy Eucharist is primary. Please consider these thoughts before receiving Holy Communion this Sunday. Thank you.
[Further note on picture: "In May of this year Bishop Loverde gave me permission to reserve the Blessed Sacrament in my chapel –The chapel is on the second floor of my home. The Eucharist had been reserved in the chapel less than a week when this picture was taken from the front porch of a neighbor’s home.
The person taking the picture was enamored by the beauty of the valley and decided to take a picture for her collection. When she aimed the camera towards the valley and tried to focus for the picture, she says the light coming from my house was so bright she said it was difficult trying to look into camera to view the picture to be taken (It was a cloudy day and I did not have a light on in the room /chapel where the light is coming from.) She took the picture and the image – the Star of David- is what came out on her digital camera. She did not know what to make of it. Not being Catholic, she had no understanding of the Sacrament of the Eucharist (Holy Communion). My opinion is that Our Lord wanted to give us a beautiful reminder of His true presence in the Holy Eucharist – Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity! It is a reminder that he is with us always, that we are never alone, that he is the Son of God and the Son of Man. It is a vivid reminder that he truly suffered and died on the cross and that he is present in this world – until his Second Coming – in this most special manner - the Eucharist.
Just as the Star appeared over the stable in Bethlehem when the Christ Child was born, so the Star of David has appeared through the window of my Chapel on St. David’s Church Road, Fort Valley, Virginia, to remind us of His care, love, protection, and presence in our lives today and always.
Fr. Robert Lange, December 2007
Monday, May 24, 2010
On Blind Obedience
It never fails to amaze me how many pious Catholics think they should blindly obey anyone wearing a roman collar. Obedience is a virtue; blind obedience is not. This morning I was re-reading a back issue of Christifidelis, the newsletter of the St. Joseph Foundation. (If you are unfamiliar with this wonderful organization, you need to remedy the situation and meet them. They provide canonical advice to those in need and their website is a real education in Church law.)
The article on obedience begins with a description of virtue and what it is. For a moral act to be virtuous the individual must make the decision with an "adequate knowledge of the situation, the options available, and the consequences of each option." In other words, obeying a lawful authority is not a virtue. To obey because the authority "said so" may, in fact, be a sin. Think of all the men throughout history who committed heinous acts because they were "following orders." Obeying China's forced abortion/sterilization law is a modern example of abusive authority of a tyrannical government that may not be obeyed. To obey an order that conflicts with God's law is always objectively sinful.
Nancy Pelosi recently lectured the bishops that they should order their priests to preach the Democrats' immigration policy from the pulpit. This paragon of Catholic knowledge who thinks it's perfectly okay to disobey God's law, "Thou shalt not kill." would misuse the bishops' authority to brainwash the faithful on amnesty. And some of the bishops are doing it even without her marching orders. Cardinal Mahony, who regularly disobeys Holy Mother Church on the rubrics of the Mass and fills his catechetical conference with heretics every year, has no problem preaching his socialistic views on immigration as doctrine.
Which makes it pretty clear that the sheep in the pew need to understand the nature of obedience. As I told my children when they were attending less than faithful Catholic high schools, "Just because someone is wearing a roman collar, doesn't mean he's telling you the truth." We need the VIRTUE of obedience, not its evil twin, blind obedience. Otherwise those in authority may lead us down the primrose path of dalliance to the very mouth of hell.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Bishop Sartain Removes Homosexual Priest for Breaking Vow of Celibacy
Well it's about time! Now let's see more of it. Go here for the story.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Shame on the Knights of Columbus!
The irony of the K of C's betrayal is that I know a man who was thrown out of the group because he was confronting his pastor over some scandalous goings on in the parish. Robert Kumbel is a home-schooling dad, a pro-life activist, and a faithful Catholic. That didn't protect him from becoming "The Black Knight" in the eyes of his local council. Just think -- If he was a pro-abortion politician, the local council would have been forbidden to expell him. Interesting times we live in, eh? I encouraged my husband to become a knight when he retired. Now I think I'll encourage him to resign in protest. What's the point after all. These paragons of Catholicity won't every take a position that would embarrass a pro-abortion Congressman. They have among their ranks some of the most viciously pro-abortion politicians at both the state and local levels. Most of the Catholics in the Massachusetts legislature supported the same sex marriage law.
I think the knights need to change their name to the Maids of Columbus. They lack the anatomy that would designate them as "knights."
Friday, May 21, 2010
Another Gem from Nancy Pelosi
Remember when Hillary Clinton said "It takes a village..." Well, the liberal Congress has all the earmarks of a village with not one idiot, but an entire town full. Barney Frank, Barbara Boxer, Loretta Sanchez, Louis Farrakhan, and chief idiot, speaker Nancy Pelosi.
You want to follow your dream to be a tap dancer, but can't make a living at it? That's okay. Nancy's advice - let the taxpayers provide you healthcare. They won't mind working at jobs they may hate to carry your weight, so you can do what you love. Have your barf bag ready when you watch this one. If I were a liberal I'd be embarrassed. Nancy appears to be suffering from the early stages of dementia.
You want to follow your dream to be a tap dancer, but can't make a living at it? That's okay. Nancy's advice - let the taxpayers provide you healthcare. They won't mind working at jobs they may hate to carry your weight, so you can do what you love. Have your barf bag ready when you watch this one. If I were a liberal I'd be embarrassed. Nancy appears to be suffering from the early stages of dementia.
Labels:
liberalism,
Nancy Pelosi,
politics,
Village Idiots
Tom McClintock Responds to Mexican President's Sanctimonious Speech and Criticism of Arizona
Let's see. Mexico's immigration law is almost identical to the Arizona law, which mirrors federal law. But Arizona is being libeled for actually trying to do something about illegal immigration by passing and enforcing a law almost identical to federal law that goes unenforced. Thank God for sensible and articulate men like Congressman Tom McClintock. Send the man a thank you note. We need more common sense. As for the members of Congress who gave Calderon a standing ovation - they should all be forced to live for three months on the U.S./Mexico border in the heavily travelled crossing areas. Call it a Congressional investigation. They can "dialogue" with the coyotes (the two-legged kind) and the drug cartels. Send Nancy first.
Barack Obama is the Thug of the Thugs!
SEIU is nothing but an organization of thugs intent on intimidating and threatening whoever disagrees with them. Read this article about the SEIU invasion of a Bank of America employee. They didn't just picket out front of his house on the public sidewalk, they ran up to his door, stood on his front porch with their bullhorns chanting and screaming, trashed his lawn and the police were afraid of them. So was the banker's teenage son who was home alone. He locked himself in the bathroom.
Is this America? And who is their self-professed champion? Barack Obama. We haven't heard that he's condemned the actions of his friends. Why should he? He's one of them.
Is this America? And who is their self-professed champion? Barack Obama. We haven't heard that he's condemned the actions of his friends. Why should he? He's one of them.
Welcome to a Country Priest
A great priest I know (country priest is his user name) recently went online with his excellent articles about the faith and the culture. I hope you'll visit his website often and "taste and see" the good news he shares. Here's a sample from an article he wrote called The Auschwitz Option about how our culture offers two choices for babies in the womb: be murdered by abortion or be allowed to survive to birth to be wage slaves indebted from the moment of birth:
At Auschwitz, SS officers were given the option of condemning new arrivals to either immediate extermination in the gas chambers or to horrific slave labor under the cynical logo, "Arbeit macht frei". So also, over the past four decades in America, newly-conceived children are have been legally consigned, with the sanction of the Supreme Court, to either death by abortion or to the slavery of paying off the debt of over a hundred trillion dollars in national debt and unfunded mandates. The only difference between the two is that the fate of the helpless in Hitler's Germany was determined by the Nazi SS, while, in the American version of the Auschwitz option, the determination has been made by a new SS, cynically embellished by the pillars of Hecules as "$$" to proclaim that human life has a price, but no objective value.I hope you're intriqued by Father's way of looking at the clulture of death. I think he's right on! So welcome to the blogosphere, Father. I plan to share your wisdom here and send folks over to visit your "country" often where unadulterated Catholicism, the truth, prevails. Thank you for being a good shepherd who is willing to share the hard truth. We are certainly in short supply of those these days.
As an aside, it is interesting to note how blind acceptance of the Auschwitz option has led many in our government to carefully obfuscate some important Constitutional issues. First of all, the stated intention of the Constitution "to preserve the blessings of liberty for ourselves and our posterity", has been eschewed by the demands of short-sighted political and judicial expediency, so as to allow votes to be bought by mortgaging the liberties of future generations. In addition, many of these government leaders are also denying the applicability of the Thirteenth Amendment's prohibition of "involuntary servitude" to children in utero, who, if they survive the option of abortion, are doomed by unbridled deficit spending to perpetual debt slavery. (Read more here... )
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Terrorists come into this country through the Mexican border.
"The American public has been kept in the dark about this whole issue."
Watch these two videos about the invasion of our country. Janet Napolitano, head of Homeland Security, did not answer the request for an interview. If you think illegal immigration is no big deal and doesn't affect you think again. How many families around the country were impacted by 9/11? How many more will be touched by the next big terrorist strike. We need to control our borders! And the bishops who stand behind the invasion do a great disservice by painting those who oppose illegal immigration as racists. Millions of immigrants enter this country legally and are welcomed by us. Those who sneak across the border are not immigrants; they are invaders. Twenty percent of those caught by border patrol have criminal records. Many are from terrorist nations that hate us. The drug cartels appear to be smuggling terrorists and weapons as well as drugs into the country. Check it out for yourself.
Subject: Channel 2 Investigates U.S. Border Security Part 1 - Video - WSB Atlanta
Part II of Congressional report
Watch these two videos about the invasion of our country. Janet Napolitano, head of Homeland Security, did not answer the request for an interview. If you think illegal immigration is no big deal and doesn't affect you think again. How many families around the country were impacted by 9/11? How many more will be touched by the next big terrorist strike. We need to control our borders! And the bishops who stand behind the invasion do a great disservice by painting those who oppose illegal immigration as racists. Millions of immigrants enter this country legally and are welcomed by us. Those who sneak across the border are not immigrants; they are invaders. Twenty percent of those caught by border patrol have criminal records. Many are from terrorist nations that hate us. The drug cartels appear to be smuggling terrorists and weapons as well as drugs into the country. Check it out for yourself.
Subject: Channel 2 Investigates U.S. Border Security Part 1 - Video - WSB Atlanta
Part II of Congressional report
Bishops Leave Evil Coalition
Earlier this week I blogged about the bishops involvement with a coalition of organizations that endorsed Elena Kagan for the Supreme Court. (See here....) The groups also include many who shill for abortion and "gay" rights. Apparently, picking up the rock and shining the spotlight on this scandal sent the creepy crawlies scurrying. The bishops have left the coalition to which they should never have belonged in the first place. Now the question is, who got the bishops into this pickle. Heads should roll! It's time to clean up that vipers nest at the bishops' conference.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Some Good Political News for a Change
Tuesdays primaries brought some good news. It was payback time for Arlen Specter the RINO who defected to the Democrats awhile back. This was his first time facing the electorate in his new party clothes. He's out after five terms. Good-bye and good riddance.
Rand Paul, son of Ron Paul, crushed his establishment-backed opponent in Kentucky, a major victory for the tea party movement. Maybe this eye surgeon will help the Senate see a little better. Let's pray he gets elected in November.
Primary Election Results Reflect Anti-Washington, Anti-Establishment Mood
Primary results: incumbents beware
Rand Paul, son of Ron Paul, crushed his establishment-backed opponent in Kentucky, a major victory for the tea party movement. Maybe this eye surgeon will help the Senate see a little better. Let's pray he gets elected in November.
Primary Election Results Reflect Anti-Washington, Anti-Establishment Mood
Primary results: incumbents beware
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Another Wicked Connection of the USCCB -- Will it Ever End?
Another revelation about the USCCB and their wicked connections is making waves on the internet. The Leadership Counsel for Civil and Human Rights (LCCHR), a coaltion that came out with a video endorsing Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan, includes among its members....guess who?....the bishops' conference. LifeSiteNews reports that:
The pro-abortion and homosexualist lobbying activities of LCCHR, whose members must pay a $1000-minimum annual membership fee, are well-documented. On its website, the group lists the "right to privacy and choice" of abortion as among women's rights, and pushes for same-sex "marriage" and other homosexualist legislation as a matter of civil "rights."This is another example of how the bishops misusing money collected from the people in the pew. And here's the propaganda ad the bishops helped pay for by their membership in this evil coalition. How do you feel about being forced to advance the career of a woman who is pro-abortion, pro-homosexual, an opponent of free speech and the second amendment, who has socialist leanings and hates the military. Frankly, I'm mad as hell.
Along with the U.S. Bishops, among LCCHR's coalition members are listed top pro-homosexuality and abortion groups, including the Human Rights Campaign, Lambda Legal, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, the National Organization for Women, the National Partnership for Women and Families, and Planned Parenthood.
Woody Allen Wants Obama Dictatorship!
Woody Allen wants Obama named dictator for few years so he can get things done without all those nasty Republicans getting in the way and fouling up his plans. Allen has never let any pesky things, like morality, get in the way of his plans. He engaged in a sexual relationshiop with his teenage adopted daughter whom he later "married" and Mia Farrow said he molested their 7-year-old adopted daughter, Dylan, as well. What a man! Have you ever heard anyone in Hollywood criticize the actions of this child molester?
Funny thing. The liberal left who are so incensed over the molestation of children never publish a word against their own abusers -- like Woody Allen and Roman Polanski who raped a 13-year-old. Polanski has been thanking his supporters, no doubt many from the Hollywood elite.
But the old guys better start thinking about the four last things: death, judgment, heaven, and hell, because the grim reaper can't be very far from their doors. And I doubt if they'll be able to serve any terms under house arrest at their posh estates.
Woody Allen says President Obama should be granted dictatorial powers (seriously)
Roman Polanski Says Supporters "A Source of Comfort and Hope"
Funny thing. The liberal left who are so incensed over the molestation of children never publish a word against their own abusers -- like Woody Allen and Roman Polanski who raped a 13-year-old. Polanski has been thanking his supporters, no doubt many from the Hollywood elite.
But the old guys better start thinking about the four last things: death, judgment, heaven, and hell, because the grim reaper can't be very far from their doors. And I doubt if they'll be able to serve any terms under house arrest at their posh estates.
Woody Allen says President Obama should be granted dictatorial powers (seriously)
Roman Polanski Says Supporters "A Source of Comfort and Hope"
Republicans Fail the Test Again: Will Not Mount Filibuster Against Extremist Kagan
A Pox on both your houses! No wonder the Tea Party Movement refuses to endorse the Republicans. They have a great platform that's about as relevant as a snowshovel at the equator. When it comes to acting on it, they are missing in action! The latest is their intent not to filibuster the Elena Kagan nomination to the Supreme Court. (Read about it here.... ) Hopefully they have another plan, but that may be a vain hope in view of their past inaction.
Political strategist John Gizzi believes the Republicans can defeat the Kagan nomination. The question is - do they have the will to do it? Judging from most of the Republican wimps in Congress, I have to say no. But those who don't try, should face the music in the next election. Throw the bums out if they stand by and fiddle while the republic burns.
Elena Kagan is anti-military, anti-the second amendment, pro-abortion, pro-homosexual, anti-free speech and on top of all that has absolutely no judicial experience. There is no record of how she will rule from the bench, but her extremism gives plenty of evidence that it won't be good for those who love life and the family. Of course we will hear that she is the smartest, most qualified person ever to be nominated to the court! But she is really Obama's payback to the gay community. Here are some articles about Kagan and how the Republicans can stop her nomination...if they have the guts:
Elena Kagan, Gay Justice?
Doubt About Kagan's Fitness
Reagan-Hating Kagan
Supreme Court Nominee Exposed in New Book on Obama
How to stop the Kagan nomination
Labels:
Elena Kagan,
political extremism,
socialism,
Supreme Court
Monday, May 17, 2010
Columbian Priest Spills the Beans About Homosexual Priests
You think the homosexual priest problem is behind us? Get real. Recently a Columbian priest published a book about the sexual immorality, mainly homosexual immorality, in the priesthood. Here's a portion of an article describing his book. You can read the complete text here....
In 2007, Fr. Robledo, formerly head of the ecclesiastical tribunal for the archdiocese of Cali, made public evidence, including videos, of sexual and financial misconduct among many of the archdiocese's clergy. Among his allegations were that several priests were conducting ongoing sexual relationships, including with women and young boys. Some priests have secretly fathered children and in two cases have been sued by the mothers for child support.
In a letter to Archbishop Sarasti, made public in the newspapers, Fr. Robledo spoke of "chronic and shameful homosexual conducts of friends and close collaborators" of the archdiocese. In a radio interview, Father Robledo said that Archbishop Sarasti responded to the charges by saying that such acts belong to the priests' private lives.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Babies May Be Smarter Than Some Bishops
Researchers have found that babies as young as six months have a well-developed moral sense. They prefer good and helpful characters to those who are mean or unhelpful. And they also prefer characters that reward good and punish evil rather than those who reward evil. Sounds like these little ones would make better bishops than many of the ones we have now who rewarded child abusers and think the way to solve the immigration problem is to welcome the lawbreaking strangers and give them houses, jobs, and money -- not their houses, jobs, or money mind you but those of the people in the pews.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Visiting the Desert or should I call it the Wasteland
My husband and I are in Richmond this weekend at the Knights of Columbus convention. I never sleep well in a strange bed so I decided to skip the 7:00 a.m. Mass at the hotel and go to a local church later. I checked out two on the web that were only a few miles away: St. Edward the Confessor and Epiphany of the Lord. St. Edward's had an orthodox-looking website and a schedule that included 9:00 a.m. "daily" Mass so I barely looked at Epiphany's site, just the mission statement which sounded a little too touchy-feely.
So off I went next morning to St. Edward's arriving about six minutes to nine. Hmm...didn't look good. No cars in the parking lot. But I got out anyway and checked the doors - locked up tight. I peered through the glass and saw a roomy foyer with an attractive wooden statue of St. Edward.
I was walking back toward my car.... Read more here.
So off I went next morning to St. Edward's arriving about six minutes to nine. Hmm...didn't look good. No cars in the parking lot. But I got out anyway and checked the doors - locked up tight. I peered through the glass and saw a roomy foyer with an attractive wooden statue of St. Edward.
I was walking back toward my car.... Read more here.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Standing up for the Truth at a Cost
The pope recently said that the greatest crisis is not the attack from outside, but the sin within the Church. Mike Voris at the Vortex speaks about it in one of his latest video commentaries which had special meaning for me because it talked about the cost of speaking the truth.
Fr. James Haley knows exactly what that cost is. When he brought information to Bishop Loverde he ended up being thrown out of the rectory and essentially cut off from the family of the Church. For a year he was silenced and shunned, but when he responded to a legal deposition exposing the horrors he discovered the persecution escalated and he became a man without a church, an outcast from his brothers, the rejected man.
A pastor of mine once said that there is no one deader than a dead priest because he has no family and is easily forgotten. There are few people to pray for him. But I think even "deader" than he is is a priest like Fr. Haley who is not only forgotten, but a pariah.
This is the cost of exposing the homosexual priest problem and a few priests have paid it. Most just leave, but some, forced out but reluctant to start a new life, live in a perennial limbo.
And is the problem really behind us? When an entire diocese (Miami) is exposed as being run by a homosexual cabal, one can only wonder how many others operate in the same way? How many continue to keep the secret?
Look at a diocese filled with dissent and there is likely a homosexual connection. The truth and the lie cannot coexist. And the homosexual bishop or priest is living a lie. He pretends to choose a celibate lifestyle, i.e., not to marry, but he has no interest in marriage in the first place. His choice of the priesthood, rather than being a sacrifice, puts him in his ideal situation. He is surrounded by men, some homosexuals like himself. He lives with men, vacations with men, enjoys the company of men and no one thinks anything of it. It's normal. His "special friend" raises few alarms.
Milwaukee under homosexual bishop Rembert Weakland is a perfect example of the dissent-ridden church created by a homosexual. The most immoral sex ed programs were introduced there. Dissent was rampant. Cleaning up the mess, like the fifth work of Hercules (to clean out the Augean stables in a single day), is a daunting task. And the problem is multiplied many times over throughout the U.S. with bishops who may be homosexual themselves or homosexualists who enable the ongoing problem.
Let us pray for persecuted priests and for our beloved Church. She is also a victim, the battered bride of Christ.
Fr. James Haley knows exactly what that cost is. When he brought information to Bishop Loverde he ended up being thrown out of the rectory and essentially cut off from the family of the Church. For a year he was silenced and shunned, but when he responded to a legal deposition exposing the horrors he discovered the persecution escalated and he became a man without a church, an outcast from his brothers, the rejected man.
A pastor of mine once said that there is no one deader than a dead priest because he has no family and is easily forgotten. There are few people to pray for him. But I think even "deader" than he is is a priest like Fr. Haley who is not only forgotten, but a pariah.
This is the cost of exposing the homosexual priest problem and a few priests have paid it. Most just leave, but some, forced out but reluctant to start a new life, live in a perennial limbo.
And is the problem really behind us? When an entire diocese (Miami) is exposed as being run by a homosexual cabal, one can only wonder how many others operate in the same way? How many continue to keep the secret?
Look at a diocese filled with dissent and there is likely a homosexual connection. The truth and the lie cannot coexist. And the homosexual bishop or priest is living a lie. He pretends to choose a celibate lifestyle, i.e., not to marry, but he has no interest in marriage in the first place. His choice of the priesthood, rather than being a sacrifice, puts him in his ideal situation. He is surrounded by men, some homosexuals like himself. He lives with men, vacations with men, enjoys the company of men and no one thinks anything of it. It's normal. His "special friend" raises few alarms.
Milwaukee under homosexual bishop Rembert Weakland is a perfect example of the dissent-ridden church created by a homosexual. The most immoral sex ed programs were introduced there. Dissent was rampant. Cleaning up the mess, like the fifth work of Hercules (to clean out the Augean stables in a single day), is a daunting task. And the problem is multiplied many times over throughout the U.S. with bishops who may be homosexual themselves or homosexualists who enable the ongoing problem.
Another aspect of the problem is that homosexuals also tend to be narcissistic. The homosexual priest loves being the center of attention. If he's a pastor, he's the Lord of his parish. He may use the money of his people to redecorate his rectory with lavish accoutrements. On the altar he stands in the spotlight. He enjoys the attention. He preaches sweetness and light or, in some cases, a watered down orthodoxy. But one thing is for sure. He will not preach the fullness of the truth about the Church's sexual morality. He cannot. And he is often the ringmaster at the liturgical circus.
Even if he is trying to live a faithful life, his disordered nature makes his situation untenable. If he is assigned with a priest to whom he is attracted, he lives in a constant occasion of sin and a serious state of tempation -- like a man living with his fiance before marriage. If his confessor tells him to get out of the situation, where can he go? If he is in the closet, how does he explain the situation to his bishop? No, homosexuals do not belong in the priesthood -- ever. Those who are already there should never be given a position of authority. It is simply too dangerous. We have seen the result in the chaotic situation in the Church today. Not to deal with it head on and vigorously is irresponsible.
As the pope said, the greatest attack on the Church comes from sin within. Part of the sin, I believe, is the attack on good priests who dared to expose the pornographic horrors in the rectory closet and on the rectory computers. Part of the sin is continuing to downplay the seriousness of homosexuals in the priesthood as some bishops do. And part of the sin is the omission of preaching the fullness of the truth to the people in the pews.
Let us pray for persecuted priests and for our beloved Church. She is also a victim, the battered bride of Christ.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Another Bishop Demonizes Arizona's Law
Bishop Richard Garcia of Monterey came out with a statement about the Arizona law on illegal immigration saying, "We cannot condone such a state of terror." (For more go here.... For the full text of the bishop's remarks go here.... ) His inflammatory rhetoric adds little to the debate. He immediately conflates legal and illegal immigration by talking about us being a "nation of immigrants." That's true. We've had orderly immigration since our very beginning. What no nation can sustain, however, is the disorderly invasion by foreigners who do not assimilate and continue to think of themselves as citizens of their native land. The Roman Empire fell because of internal corruption and the barbarian invasions. Will that happen here?
As a commenter on the post declared, "The Arizona law mirrors federal law. Are the bishops going to go after Barack Husein Obama to repeal the federal law? Don't hold your breath. If you are an American in Mexico you need papers. How is it unjust to ask the same of foreign nationals in the United States?I plan on vacationing in Arizona this summer, it's a beautiful state." Good points.
The Church should look at its own organizing structure. She requires people to present papers for many reasons. If you want to be married in the Church, have a baby baptized, receive First Communion, etc. you need to prove you are a Catholic and present your official documents. You can't just storm into the rectory office and demand to be treated like a registered parishioner. You often need to prove you are a Catholic in good standing.
The hysterical attack on Arizona is unjust and imprudent. The bishops should spend a little time asking Mexico to create a just system where people can make a living wage instead of a corruption-ridden two tier system of rich and poor with almost no middle class. Then their people won't have to invade another country to get jobs.
Not to worry, though. Illegal immigration will end when the United States is as corrupt and two-tiered as third world countries with rich politicians and their cronies at the top, the wage slaves at the bottom, and no middle class. With Barack Obama in the White House that day may be coming sooner than we think.
As a commenter on the post declared, "The Arizona law mirrors federal law. Are the bishops going to go after Barack Husein Obama to repeal the federal law? Don't hold your breath. If you are an American in Mexico you need papers. How is it unjust to ask the same of foreign nationals in the United States?I plan on vacationing in Arizona this summer, it's a beautiful state." Good points.
The Church should look at its own organizing structure. She requires people to present papers for many reasons. If you want to be married in the Church, have a baby baptized, receive First Communion, etc. you need to prove you are a Catholic and present your official documents. You can't just storm into the rectory office and demand to be treated like a registered parishioner. You often need to prove you are a Catholic in good standing.
The hysterical attack on Arizona is unjust and imprudent. The bishops should spend a little time asking Mexico to create a just system where people can make a living wage instead of a corruption-ridden two tier system of rich and poor with almost no middle class. Then their people won't have to invade another country to get jobs.
Not to worry, though. Illegal immigration will end when the United States is as corrupt and two-tiered as third world countries with rich politicians and their cronies at the top, the wage slaves at the bottom, and no middle class. With Barack Obama in the White House that day may be coming sooner than we think.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
If Security Doesn't Matter Why Do Pastors Lock Our Churches?
I had a conversation with a priest friend today about the immigration law in Arizona that has been under attack by many bishops in the U.S. and by the liberal establishment. Father hit the nail on the head when he said, "I would like to leave the church in my parish open all night, but for reasons of security I can't."
Doesn't that say it all? So here's the question for those bishops criticizing Arizona for trying to "secure the door." Do you leave the doors to the churches open all night or do you lock them? Do you leave your bishop's house open or do you bolt it? Is your chancery open and welcoming to all comers? (Hey, we know the USCCB building is locked and has a screener at the entrance as does the chancery of the Diocese of Arlington.) So, bishops, if you lock out those who would invade your house or office or churches, and screen the "immigrants" who come to the chancery to make sure they are "legally" there for business, how can you criticize the state of Arizona for trying to secure their borders and protect their citizens from invasion?
Hmmm?
Doesn't that say it all? So here's the question for those bishops criticizing Arizona for trying to "secure the door." Do you leave the doors to the churches open all night or do you lock them? Do you leave your bishop's house open or do you bolt it? Is your chancery open and welcoming to all comers? (Hey, we know the USCCB building is locked and has a screener at the entrance as does the chancery of the Diocese of Arlington.) So, bishops, if you lock out those who would invade your house or office or churches, and screen the "immigrants" who come to the chancery to make sure they are "legally" there for business, how can you criticize the state of Arizona for trying to secure their borders and protect their citizens from invasion?
Hmmm?
The Third World Dumping Ground for Pervert Priests: The Legacy of Archbishop Rembert Weakland
I blogged today at my Bishop Loverde, Where is Fr. James Haley blog about the revelation that Archbishop Rembert Weakland used a small African village as his dumping ground for homosexual pervert Fr. James Tully. Just as the secular first world considers the children of the poor fodder for their abortion machines, homosexual bishop Weakland apparently considered the children of the poor in Africa chickens for his homosexual chicken hawk confrere. The wickedness of this reeks to high heavens as the article I quoted shows. If well-to-do parents of the first world were vulnerable to manipulation by abusive bishops, how vulnerable are the parents in poverty-stricken villages of Africa?
If you have the stomach for it, visit the blog and read the story. I won't blame you if you don't.
Monday, May 10, 2010
An Unexpected Survivor of the Abortion Holocaust
When pro-lifers talk about survivors, they generally mean those born after Roe v. Wade who managed to navigate the troubled waters in utero and make it to birth. But recently another survivor revealed that a social worker pressured his mother to abort him. Bishop Victor Galeone of St. Augustine, FL said his mother, an Italian immigrant with a third-grade education, was threatened with loss of benefits during the great Depression unless whe aborted her fourth child. When his mother told his father what the social worker had threatened his father replied, "Let them have their cards back! The Lord will provide.” This immediate defense came from a man who had been without steady work for two years. (Read more here... )
Bishop Galeone wrote a beautiful tribute to his "heroine" mother that was published yesterday for Mother's Day. In part he wrote:
Bishop Galeone wrote a beautiful tribute to his "heroine" mother that was published yesterday for Mother's Day. In part he wrote:
On two occasions of my life, I stayed awake all night long. One was a case of food poisoning in Peru. The other was Mother’s Day 1970. I tried to fall asleep, but to no avail. For the first time in my life—on learning how close I had come to not seeing the light of day—I fully realized what a precious gift life is.Bishop Galeone is one of the bishops who opposed Notre Dame's invitation to Barack Obama and also one of the few bishops who did not take up the collection last November for the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD).
Sunday, May 9, 2010
What did you do for Mother's Day?
What a beautiful day! To see who I spent it with go here.
Labels:
family,
feasts and traditions,
mother's day
Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About George Soros (and some things you probably didn't).
An individual commenting on my George Soros/Barack Obama post sent a link to his website with a wealth of information on the billionaire manipulator. You could spend a month perusing all this stuff. One thing I thought about as I read down briefly. Wow! Money can sure buy you a lot of influence. Too bad the man doesn't seem to care about the Biblical admonition, "For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required." (Luke 12:48) He is going to have a lot to answer for when he stands before Almighty God.
Saturday, May 8, 2010
The Obama - Soros Connection
Catholics need to know George Soros because he is a serious enemy of the Church. He has financed some of the most egregious "Catholic" front groups in the U.S., groups like Catholics for a Free Choice and Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good. The man's history is one of betrayal and he is a master at profiting from other people's misery.
Executive Intelligence Report (EIR) gives us a brief sketch of what Soros has been up to in more recent times: (My comments are in red.)
Following the crisis of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism of September 1992, when the Bank of England was forced to abandon efforts to stabilize the pound sterling, a little-known financial figure emerged from the shadows to boast that he had personally made over $1 billion in speculation against the British pound.” Great man, eh? Profitting from bad times for the multitudes. That's how he's made his billions.
That speculator was none other than George Soros, who once helped the Nazis expropriate the property of his wealthy fellow Jews. Isn't that an interesting piece of information! He betrayed his own, why would he not betray anyone else? Is there a man alive who truly believes that George Soros has the best interests of the United States and the American people at heart? Nobody with half a brain. This is the man who now pulls Obama’s strings… who whispers behind-the-scenes economic advice into Obama’s ear as he engineers the most dangerous slide toward economic chaos since the Great Depression. He poured beaucoup bucks into Obama's campaign and expects a return on his investment.
So what assurances do we have that the Soros-Obama cabal is not working toward a period of ruinous hyperinflation in the United States… a period of hyperinflation designed to make Soros the wealthiest man on Earth and Obama the most powerful? None at all. What assurances do we have that Soros and Obama are not purposely designing economic policies that could quickly turn the United States into just another Third World country, smothered in foreign debt? In view of Obama's policies, all of which have been devastating to the U.S. economy, it's a good bet. No one can be that stupid! So if he's not stupid, it stands to reason that he's doing it on purpose.
In Soros we have a man with a history of satisfying his greed by betting against the economic interests of his own country and his own people, while in Obama we have a man who has spent almost his entire adult life learning at the knee of America-haters such as the Communist Frank Marshall Davis; radical activist Saul Alinsky; the anti-Semitic guru of black liberation theology, Rev. Jeremiah Wright; the unrepentant 1960s terrorists William Ayers and Bernadine Dohrn, and numerous other Marxist college professors, America-haters, and assorted homegrown radicals.
There is not a single free-market capitalist in Obama’s entire political lineage. Surprise!
Individually, Obama and Soros are dangerous men. But together… given Soros’s wealth, now estimated at over $11 billion, and Obama’s skills as a “snake oil” salesman of the first order… they have the potential to serve as the catalysts for worldwide economic calamity. Greece may just be the beginning.
Read the complete article here and keep your eyes on the relationshiop between Soros and Obama. Soros is no stranger to the White House where he's visited a number of times. Michele Malkin noted two visits, but the visitor logs released by the administration are miniscule. Who knows how many times Soros has been there pulling strings with his money greasing the skids? Here's what Malkin writes:
Soros visited Lipton [Obama's advisor for international economic affairs] on February 25, just a few days after he made international headlines for statements at Columbia University about the global financial collapse, and again on March 25, the day he was quoted around the world gloating about “having a very good crisis.”
Soros makes no bones about wanting the devaluation of the dollar, the birth of the new world order, with China in the lead pulling us along. That's what he says in this ten minute interview if you can stand to listen to it. We are well on the way to becoming a banana republic. If you want to know how a country can go from a successful, thriving economy to disaster in just a short time check out the videos on YouTube about Argentina's economic collapse.
Strip Search Machines Already Causing Problems
An airport security worker at Miami International beat up another for making fun of him for having small genitalia. During training to use the new virtual strip search machines, the man walked through the screening device and from that day on became the victim of daily jokes from fellow workers. He reacted by taking a security baton to another screener beating him up in the airport parking lot. (Read more here... ) Doesn't this make you just really eager to be scanned by one of those machines? You too can be the subject of jokes or lustful thoughts.
What about the health impact? While the backscatter X-ray machines are being called safe by the manufacturer (What else would one expect?), others say even the minimal radiation is a health risk, especially to pregnant women and children. The technology is still experimental. There have been no clinical trials or long-term studies of the safety of millimeter wave scanning machines. A few studies indicate that such devices can damage DNA. (For more information read this.)
And then there are those who proclaim that the privacy of those scanned won't be abused and that the machines can't make printouts. Not true. The machines are capable of full color photographs although at present they are blurring the images, a PR tactc one suspects. But in a case at Heathrow Airport in London, female security guards printed out the nude pictures of Indian film star Shahrukh Khan which he autographed for them.
Frankly, if the only way I can fly is to submit to this degradation, I choose to ground myself. The last time I flew I watched security spend a long time with two elderly people in wheelchairs taking off their belts and shoes, etc. I stood there with my mouth open over the luncacy of it. Meanwhile, groups of turbaned men are passed right through for fear of "profiling." So instead of sensible solutions, the government goes to a totally invasive, expensive, and, in my opinion, unconstitutional search of every law-abiding citizen who wants to fly. It's one more way for government to control every aspect of our lives and for some people to make big bucks in the process.
Friday, May 7, 2010
Practice what you preach, Mr. President
President Obama continually calls for more civil discourse pointing the finger at conservatives as the guilty ones. But he ought to look at his hand and see where all the other fingers are pointing. Incivility is a staple of the liberal establishment, including their disparaging and offensive description of the tea party movement as "tea baggers," a sexual term for a form of fellatio.
Obama's PR guru, Robert Gibbs, was recently asked during a press briefing whether the president used the term to describe the conservative movement that he has continually attacked for their influence in the Republican Party. Gibbs said he didn't know but would check. It would not be surprising if he did. The president talks out of both sides of his mouth. And here's an example via columnist James Fitzpatrick who in an article titled Purveyors of Vitriol gave a number of illustrations including the following:
One last example: the lesbian comedian Wanda Sykes. At last spring's White House Correspondents' Dinner, she joked, "Rush Limbaugh, I hope his kidneys fail. He needs a good waterboarding, that's what he needs." The London Telegraph's U.S. editor, Toby Harnden, was at the dinner. He wrote, "President Obama seemed to think this bit was pretty hilarious, grinning and chuckling and turning to share the joke with the person sitting on his right. There's not much room for differing interpretations of what Sykes said. She called LImbaugh a terrorist and a traitor, suggested that he be tortured and wished him dead. What was his crime? Hoping that Obama's policies -- which he views as socialist -- will fail. That's way, way beyond reasoned debate or comedy and Obama's reaction to it was astonishing.... Obama laughing when someone wishes Limbaugh dead? Hard to take from the man who promised a new era of cvility and elevated debate in Washington."
Ah, but "civility" and "elevated debate" are relative terms and the left defines them according to their own skewed sense of righteousness. Obama and company are the good and holy so everything they do is just, right, and blessed by the gods. Anyone who criticizes them is, by definition, uncivil. They, on the other hand, are never uncivil by definition. They are just telling the truth and stating the facts about those evil, right wing, homophobic, misogynistic fanatics who are attached to their guns and religion. The same leftists who called police pigs and military vets baby-killers during the Viet Nam war are now claiming to be the arbiters of elevated debate.
It's a laughable construct, of course, and just goes to prove, once again, that the three ring circus in Washington is filled with clowns, starting with the clown-in-chief.
Labels:
Barack Obama,
civility in politics,
liberal politics
From Uncle Sam Theatre: The Government Can (And Will)
Thanks to Kathy for sending this along. A little chuckle with your money coffee. (If you didn't laugh about all this nonsense, you'd be crying all the time.)
Labels:
funny politics,
The Government Can,
Tim Hawkins
Hypocrite of the Week Award to Charlie Crist of Florida
LifeSiteNews has this to say about Charlie Crist of Florida and his plan to veto a bill that opts the state out of the federal health care plan, but also mandates ultrasounds for women contemplating abortion:
Facing immense pressure to veto a measure that both opts the state out of the federal health law's abortion mandate and requires ultrasounds before abortion, Florida governor Charlie Crist has said that, even though he is personally "pro-life," he may strike down the bill out of unwillingness "to impose my will on others." (Read the complete article here... )
Have you stopped laughing yet? Since when has a politician been unwilling to "impose [his] will on others?" Let's see, they impose seat belts on drivers, helmets on cyclists, content labeling on manufacturers, regulations on just about everybody, and some are even considering a ban on salt in restaurant kitchens. But giving a woman the information she needs about her developing baby....that's "imposing [your] will on others"? Are you for real, Charlie?
Crist is just one more Mario Cuomo/Ted Kennedy style politician who wavers according to the direction of the wind. He ran as a "pro-choice" candidate in the late 90s, but apparently decided the pragmatic option is claiming to be pro-life and pro-family. These guys think the voters are so stupid they can play the shell game moving the pea deftly between the "pro-choice" and pro-life position fooling people on both sides. Well, he's demonstrated how pro-life he is. He sold out Terri Schiavo and now it's the babies and their moms.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Oh the lunacy of liberals on illegal immigration!
Arizona Immigration Law Identical to Federal Laws Requiring Alien Documentation, Says Attorney
And guess what. The Arizona governor's approval rating jumped 16% after signing the law. President Obama should take note. Read the article here.
But let's face it. We're living in a madhouse where illegals often have more rights than citizens, certainly more than the ranchers on the border being murdered by the drug cartels as they move their drug trains across the border and dare anyone to stop them.
And then there's the case of the kids sent home from school yesterday for wearing t-shirts with the American flag. They were being insensitive and inflammatory for daring to show their patriotism on cinco de mayo. This nonsense will make you laugh til you cry.
And for all those folks who think supporting amnesty for illegals is the Catholic position, think again. Fr. Michael Orsi has written an excellent article on the real Catholic teaching. A country has a right to control immigration and ensure for the protection of its own citizens and the orderly assimilation of immigrants.
And guess what. The Arizona governor's approval rating jumped 16% after signing the law. President Obama should take note. Read the article here.
But let's face it. We're living in a madhouse where illegals often have more rights than citizens, certainly more than the ranchers on the border being murdered by the drug cartels as they move their drug trains across the border and dare anyone to stop them.
And then there's the case of the kids sent home from school yesterday for wearing t-shirts with the American flag. They were being insensitive and inflammatory for daring to show their patriotism on cinco de mayo. This nonsense will make you laugh til you cry.
And for all those folks who think supporting amnesty for illegals is the Catholic position, think again. Fr. Michael Orsi has written an excellent article on the real Catholic teaching. A country has a right to control immigration and ensure for the protection of its own citizens and the orderly assimilation of immigrants.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Scientists Say Darwin's Theory Insufficient to Explain the Complexity of Life
Like the noisy gongs proclaiming global warming, the evolution clique is short on fact and long on manipulation. But they no longer have a stranglehold suppressing the truth.
Almost a Thousand Major Scientists Dissent from Darwin!
"A major storm of protest against the myth of evolution has been building for many years, as proved by almost a thousand major scientists, all with doctorates who have signed on to the following statement as of 2010: 'We are skeptical of claims for the ability of random mutation and natural selection to account for the complexity of life. Careful examination of the evidence for Darwinian theory should be encouraged.'”
Almost a Thousand Major Scientists Dissent from Darwin!
"A major storm of protest against the myth of evolution has been building for many years, as proved by almost a thousand major scientists, all with doctorates who have signed on to the following statement as of 2010: 'We are skeptical of claims for the ability of random mutation and natural selection to account for the complexity of life. Careful examination of the evidence for Darwinian theory should be encouraged.'”
Labels:
Darwinism,
evolution,
scientists dissent from Darwin
What's Going on at The Wanderer?
I received my Wanderer in the mail yesterday, as always a week late thanks to the postal service that discriminates against small publications. As usual I gave it a quick scan to see what the main issues are. When I got to the back page the piece that particularly drew my attention was the "retraction and correction" related to recent articles on Tom Monaghan and Ave Maria University and town. I read all the articles and was disappointed that the paper was caving in the face of Monaghan's pressure. The retraction on its face is simply not credible.
Since the very first controversy at Ave Maria over the Monaghan-designed monstrosity of a church, I've followed the events at the school closely. My husband and I were thrilled to hear of a new Catholic college and town and joined the "founders club" early on with regular contributions. However, we withdrew in the light of growing problems over, not only the design of the church, but the draconian actions taken against the Ave Maria Law School in Ann Arbor. We were appalled at the forced move to Florida including the removal of Dr. Charles Rice from the governing board and the suspension of three law professor who sued the president of the law school, Dean Bernard Dobranski, and Tom Monaghan. The professors subsequently won a settlement including full reinstatement and an undisclosed financial award. But a promising institution that had a 100% pass rate for the Michigan Bar Exam in 2004 and was accredited in the shortest time possible, ranked at the bottom in the 2010 U.S. News and World Report review of law schools.
The Wanderer's series of articles by Marielena Montesino de Stuart on the situation in Ave Maria were very disturbing, but subsequent events indicate the criticism of Monaghan and University president, Nicholas Healy, are thoroughly justified. Naming the sports center after billionaire Tom Golisano with his consistent funding of pro-abortion politicians was shocking. Galisano gave a million dollars to the Obama extravaganza democrat convention, consistently supports dozens of NARAL-backed politicians, and most recently promised to support publicly pro-abortion Charlie Crist after he fled the Republican party to run as an independent. These are the actions of a man who claims he is pro-life?
With regard to the problem of Ave Maria's town charter that allows abortion, what is there to retract? No less an authority than constitutional scholar Charles Rice wrote an article in The Wanderer in the February 18th edition titled The Controversy Behind Monaghan's Ave Maria "Scheme". Professor Rice affirmed all the documentation from the previous article and concluded:
A curious question arises from the conclusion that the absolute prohibition of abortion in the first sentence of Section 6.5(V) is unconstitutional and void. If that prohibition is void, all that could possibly be left of Section 6.5(V) is the restriction on promotion, counseling and referrals. But if “promotion” of abortion is not counseling or referral, what is it? Does it include the performance of abortions? Can you promote abortion by performing abortions? The drafters of Section 6.5(V) drew a distinction between performance and promotion of abortion. But how can you perform abortions without promoting abortion? Promotion, unlike counseling and referrals, is a vague term and should not have been used in that context. If the absolute prohibition of abortion is void and if promotion of abortion can include performance of abortions, Mrs. Marielena Montesino de Stuart’s criticism has merit.Since Dr. Rice wrote this, Ave Maria has stepped into another morass (Is it because they're located in a swamp?) over Monaghan turning over a section of land so that eugenics pioneer Jackson Labs can locate in Ave Maria Town. In view of all these problems with Ave Maria and the obvious accuracy of the articles illustrated by the analysis of a constitutional scholar, exactly what is really going on at The Wanderer and why did they print a retraction (with a face-saving refusal to concur on one issue)?
In any event, Mrs. Montesino de Stuart understated her case. Will Ave Maria Town be required to permit the performance of some abortions? Yes, if, as seems clear, Ave Maria is subject to the Fourteenth Amendment under the criteria ofMarsh v. Alabama.
The underlying problem here is that the architects of the Ave Maria scheme undertook to create a town and exempt it from the constitutional restrictions that apply to state and local governments and to private persons assuming public functions by the operation of such a town. The incoherence of that course legally means that it will apparently be up to the abortionists to decide whether some abortions will be performed in Ave Maria Town. Any claim to the contrary is, in my opinion, a misrepresentation.
Here's my educated guess. First, everybody knows The Wanderer is in financial trouble. It's mentioned in almost every issue. Second, Tom Monaghan has plenty of money to engage in a frivolous lawsuit which the paper can ill afford and he has shown himself perfectly willing in the past to go after those who disagree with him (Remember the professors at the law school in Ann Arbor?). Third, and this pains me to consider, Monaghan can "help" The Wanderer with its difficulties. All it takes is throwing a troublesome journalist under the bus and retracting a few facts that are true, but unpleasant for Monaghan.
If my third supposition is true, you will never see another critical item about Tom Monaghan and Ave Maria appear in The Wanderer's pages. You may even see full page ads for Ave Maria gracing the back page. And anyone who thinks Monaghan would buy an ad from a critic needs a reality check.
The Wanderer has been described as a "witness to the truth," a well deserved accolade. But if the paper caved to Monaghan over money, that witness is in mortal jeopardy: a newspaper that has been fearless in its reporting for over 100 years has sold its soul. It's integrity will have been bought by a pragmatist who, while paying lip service to the faith, is willing to compromise Catholic values to get what he wants. Is Ave Maria really about the Blessed Mother and the promotion of the faith or is it the legacy of a man building a shrine to himself? Pray for Tom Monaghan and all those he is willing to injure to reach his goals. The list is growing. Pray especially that this is not the death knell of The Wanderer. I love the paper and have myself written articles for it. The mourning will indeed be great if the great witness to the truth becomes one more jockey in Tom Monaghan's stable.
Labels:
Ave Maria Town,
The Wanderer,
Tom Monaghan
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