The Fifth Column: Boycott OSV!

The Fifth Column: Boycott OSV!

Consider that OSV recently took over the religion department of Harcourt which promotes and sells some of the worst "Catholic" programs out there -- like Fr. Sparks' horrendous, pro-gay Growing in Love series. OSV bears watching.

One of the Advantages of an Aging Population

The demographic winter which is the inevitable result of an aging population with two few young people is a major problem, but it does offer one distinct advantage -- the ability to find modest bathing suits. You don't see many flabby grandmas in bikinis at the beach. Oh, there are a few loony ladies who let all their bulges hang out, but most have enough sense to know they look foolish stuffing an elephant body into a canary suit.

Twenty-five years ago I would go to the beach and lament the fact that there wasn't a modest suit on the racks at the suit shops - nothing but the teeny weenie bikini. Now, I'm complimenting young moms at the beach wearing two piece suits with little shorts and long tops or swimdresses. There is still plenty of skin, but not nearly as much as there used to be.

Now if we could just get those moms and grandmas (Even better dads who should be protecting their daughters!) to lay down the law with their nearly nude teenage daughters we could really celebrate! 

L.L. Bean and Lands End are two places to shop for sensible, modest suits. I recommend buying at the end of the season for the next summer for great prices if you don't mind not having full selection.

Remember the Fallen

A wonderful veteran in our parish spends Memorial Day weekend on the Woodstock overpass at Int. 81 playing patriotic music and waving a huge American flag. Dressed in camouflage, he stands his vigil hour after hour honoring his fallen brothers and sisters. Thanks, Art, for reminding us what semper fidelis means!

Two priests respond to Fr. Peter Stravinskas about home schooling

Thanks to Matt Abbott for asking two priests to weigh in on the home schooling controversy created by Fr. Stravinskas' negative evaluation of home schooling. Their comments are insightful and encouraging. Read them here....

Head of National Catholic Reporter Dies at 48

Joe Feuerherd, head of liberal Catholic weekly, has died

Feuerherd is survived by his wife Rebecca and their three children. Pray for the repose of his soul. When the bishops put out guidelines against voting for pro-abortion candidates in 2008, Feuerherd made it clear he was voting for Obama. Here's what USA today reported in its obituary:

Four years later (2008), in a Washington Post column, Feuerherd said he would vote for Barack Obama, "bishops be damned," after the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops approved voter guidelines that cautioned against casting ballots for politicians who, like Obama, support abortion rights.

"To Catholics like me who oppose liberal abortion laws but also think that other issues — war or peace, health care, just wages, immigration, affordable housing, torture — actually matter, the idea that abortion trumps everything, all the time, no matter what, is both bad religion and bad civics," Feuerherd wrote.

Feuerherd's claim to oppose liberal abortion laws conflicted with NCR's constant drum-beating for pro-abortion liberal democrats and their featured columnists like Rosemary Ruether, Sr. Joan Chittister, and others who promoted abortion and contraception. NCR also helped promote the lie that there is a difference between being pro-abortion and "pro-choice" as in "Nobody is pro-abortion, but many are "pro-choice."

Please pray for Joe Feuerherd today. Impending death has a way of clearing the mind and awakening the conscience. Let us pray he thought of the least of God's little ones as he prepared to meet his Maker.

UK's Daily Mail Posts Pictures and Video of Joplin

Go here....

The devastating destructive powr of the tornado that hit Joplin is appalling. This is what 198 mile an hour winds in a vortex can do. Pray for the poor people there especially that the missing will be found alive and unhurt.

How 'bout a little hepatitis C to go with that abortion?

Remember Dr. David Acer, the dentist who deliberately infected his patients with AIDS? (See here...)Misery loves company - especially when your misery is self-inflicted and the result of serious sin.

Here's a similar case from an abortion mill worker. When you're willing to kill babies, hey what's the big deal about deliberately infecting a few dozen women with a serious illness? Oh, but we all know the staff of abortion mills are caring and compassionate people who only want what's best for women, right? Right?

Abortion Biz Staffer Charged With Infecting Women With Hepatitis C

Here's just a bit from the article about this terrific guy:

Victoria’s Chief Health Officer Dr John Carnie told the Herald Sun newspaper the investigation has now concluded but he can’t say whether the infections were intentional.

“It would be very hard to determine some accidental means that would involve this number of patients at just the one clinic,” Dr Carnie said....

Peters has been prohibited from practicing medicine and he reportedly has a history of drug usage and was convicted of possessing child pornography. In 1996, he was convicted of forging more than 100 prescriptions for pethidine. The Age newspaper reported that the Croydon Day Surgery abortion business knew of the convictions but hired Peters anyway.

Grandma Gruesome Busted by the FBI

The 91 year old great grandmother who sold suicide kits so people could kill themselves was arrested by the FBI this week. See my original post and then read about this murderess coming face to face with justice. She still has to face the final judge and unless she repents she's in big trouble. You would have hoped someone who has been blessed with such a long life would have accumulated some wisdom and holiness along the way instead of being a henchmen of the Prince of Lies.

91-Year-Old Grandma Busted in California for Suicide Kit Business

Commercial Break...

Go Hiking!

The dancing nun -- showing off her legs and her panties!

Ai yi yi! St. Teresa of Avila, great reformer of dissident religious orders, pray for them!

Vatican shuts down monastery where dancing nuns performed

The Saga in Wisconsin Continues

Dane County judge strikes down collective bargaining law

Fr. Stravinskas vs. Home Schooling: With all due respect, you're all wet!

I get a little testy about priests who go after parents for daring to home school their children. Fr. Peter Stravinskas gives home schooling two thumbs down and makes a lot of statement that are just downright wrong, at least from this former home schooler's perspective. My comments in read. Here's what Father told Our Sunday Visitor (See complete article here....):

There are several reasons to prefer Catholic schools, Father Stravinskas told Our Sunday Visitor, including that the Church Fathers made clear that catechesis is the job of the whole Church, with the main responsibility resting on the shoulders of the pastor, not the parents. (The Church teaches that PARENTS, not the pastor are the primary educators of their children. This includes religious training. The pastor and the Church certainly have a part to play, but to say the main responsibility is the pastor's flies in the face of reality, especially when pastors change every few years. In view of the fact that the faith is not being taught in many parishes and dioceses, parents who went along with this view would be guilty of abandoning their children to ignorance in the faith.)

And Catholic parents who choose to home-school when there is a Catholic school available at least implicitly send the message that they do not trust the Church to educate their children properly, and the children get that message. (There is a wide disparity among Catholic schools with regard to both academic training and religious training. The two high schools my three oldest went to were scandalous. When I visited my daughter's school senior year to speak to the girls about marriage and NFP I ended up arguing in the faculty lounge with teachers who had no problem with Sr. Mansour being head of human services in, I believe, Chicago and paying for abortions. I left the school shaking my head over what these teachers were saying to my daughter in the classroom. Not to mention that it was costing us a fortune to have her faith undermined. It was even worse at our two sons' school where many teachers were liberal democrats and had no problem with politicians coming to the school who were pro-abortion. Fr. Stravinskas can make an argument when Catholic schools are truly Catholic. Until then, those of us who love the faith and love our children will choose what's best which is often home schooling!)

“On the same property where they go to church on Sunday is a school where the parents don’t wish to send them,” he said. (Maybe they can't afford it. We spent tens of thousands of dollars sending children to Catholic schools that betrayed us. My only regret is that I didn't home school sooner! We could have invested that money for college instead of refinancing our house to pay for "Catholic" education.)

That leads to a subtle anti-clericalism, he said, because the children learn that priests cannot be counted on to hand on the faith. It shows in what he sees as a dearth of vocations from home-school families. “Why would you want to join the club if its members can’t be trusted to their jobs?” he said. (Is Fr. Stravinskas kidding? Many priests CAN'T be trusted! I started telling our children after numerous scandalous experiences with teachers and principals at Catholic schools that, "Just because someone is wearing a roman collar doesn't mean he's telling you the truth!" My kids are all adults with children now and they are all practiciing the faith despite being scandalized at Catholic schools. I almost lost my own faith at a Catholic college. I think my husband and I fighting with bad priests and bad laity in the schools helped make our children firmer in their faith. Perhaps, Father, you should look to your brother priests and bishops who preach a different gospel than that of Jesus Christ for the dearth of vocations and stop pointing the finger at home schoolers.) 

He also believes it is psychologically unhealthy for mothers to spend 24 hours a day with their children as they get older, and it’s academically nearly impossible for one person to teach all that is included in a modern high school curriculum. (Oh please! Home schooling moms don't spend 24 hours a day with their kids. Most children participate in multiple activities outside the home. Some attend home school academies one or two days a week. Some volunteer or intern; others attend junior colleges for high school subjects like biology and foreign language, and most engage in extra curriculars. How many home schoolers does Fr. Stravinskas actually know? I have a home schooling friend whose daughter is discerning religious life. Father's anti- home school bias gets in the way of facts.)

What’s more, he said, some home-school families say they have no issues with the faculty or teaching at their local Catholic schools, but they don’t want their children exposed to others whose families might not have the same values as theirs. (One of the reasons I began home schooling my two youngest of five children was the breakdown of the family. I taught in a parochial school my children attended for a year and was shocked at how things had changed since I was in school. I had youngsters in my class whose parents weren't married or came from seriously disfunctional homes. I loved the kids, but the disruption in the classroom from chaotic home situations was appalling. That's a major reason I decided to home school and I continued for five years and then put my youngest in a faithful Catholic high school her older sister, who only home schooled one year, was attending. Home schooling was one of the best decisions I ever made. I'm only sorry I didn't do it sooner for more of my children.)

Most Catholic schools from elementary through college do not teach the authentic faith. When pastors try, like the one in Massachusetts who refused enrollment of the child living with lesbian partners, they get a quick slapdown. Fr. Stravinskas does not appear to live in the real world. If Catholic schools were Catholic he might have a point. They are not. We committed to Catholic education for about 18 years. I volunteered in every school my children attended. Frankly, I feel like we should have sued our three oldest children's high schools for fraud. Our elementary school was better, but many are not, like another in the diocese that did their passion play in mime makeup and had a girl playing the role of Jesus. And then there was the one with the sex ed class where kids "built" sex organs out of nuts and straws and other things. This is Catholic?

Two thumbs up for home schoolers who are brave and committed and want their children to be "raised up in the way they should go" -- the authentic Catholic faith.

Narcissistic Priests Who Mess with the Mass

I'm working on an article for the summer issue of the Les Femmes newsletter. (I just sent out the Spring issue, but with our Texas kids coming for most of the summer, I will have little time to do it once we hit July. So I'm in my get an early start mode.) Doing research I came across an interesting article that attributes "messing with the Mass" to psychological narcissism of priests. I found it fascinating and convincing. It fits with the general narcissism of the culture. Need evidence? Spend a day on Facebook and see the thousands of photos young people put up of themselves often in provocative and suggestive poses. Attention-seeking is the epidemic of our me-me-me culture. Check out the article here and see what you think.

Who Says Miracles Don't Happen?

Phoenix woman refuses abortion, gives birth to baby carried outside womb

John Jay Study on Causes of Clergy Sex Abuse Misses the Mark

Well, the latest John Jay report is out and I admit I haven't read anything but the executive summary yet. But I plan to even though I expect to be disappointed. The study, contrary to what Cardinal George says about it being hard on the bishops (He hadn't read the report!), pretty much gives them a finger tap on the wrist according to Phil Lawler of Catholic World News. He has plenty to say about the study's shortcomings including two big omission 1) the bishops' failure to deal with known sex abusers and 2) the homosexual nature of the abuse. Here's what he says about #1:

The John Jay report does mention the failures of the American hierarchy—but only in passing, and in the mildest possible terms. The report alludes to a “performance gap” in the reaction to sex-abuse complaints, and then quickly adds that at their meeting in Dallas in 2002, the American bishops admitted that “performance gap” and addressed it.


Yes, in Dallas the American bishops did admit a “performance gap.” They confessed that they had not handled sex-abuse complaints properly, and instituted new standards for handling those complaints. But they did not address their own culpability for the scandal, and they did not set standards for their own future performance.

And here's what he says about #2, the nonsensical conclusion in the study that homosexuality wasn't a major issue:

According to the report, homosexuality was not an important factor in the sex-abuse crisis. But that conclusion seems to be clearly at odds with the evidence presented in the text. Richard Fitzgibbons, a psychiatrist who has treated many troubled priests, commented that that “analysis of the research demonstrates clearly that the major cause of the crisis was the homosexual abuse of males.”

The John Jay report confirms that more than 80% of the victims of abusive priests were males. Most other studies of sexual abuse in the general population have shown that female victims easily outnumber males. Yet in this particular study, the largest group of victims was composed of adolescent males....Although the report does not differentiate between male and female adult partners—an enormous omission—one might speculate that adult homosexual affairs were common among the molesters. Dr. Fitzgibbons has commented in the past that he has never treated a priest who abused children who did not also have adult male sexual partners.


With all that evidence suggesting a strong role for homosexuality, how did the John Jay study avoid the conclusion? The report offers two anemic explanations.

First, the John Jay study notes that the incidence of sexual abuse by priests peaked in the 1960s and 1970s, and then subsided. From interviews with priests, seminarians, and seminary instructors, the authors of the report conclude that active homosexuals became an important influence on seminary life and priestly training in the mid-1970s. “There was no evidence of any significant level of sexual activity among seminaries before the mid-1970s,” the report says. Yet the priests who were ordained after the mid-1970s—that is, after homosexuals became a major influence–were statistically less likely to have abused children.
As an argument that homosexuality was not a factor in priestly abuse, this is a classic example of the post hoc ergo propter hoc fallacy: the assumption that because something happened after a given event, it must have been caused by that event. There may be many different reasons for the decline in the incidence of priestly abuse; the John Jay report presents a variety of possible explanations. But there is no evidence to suggest that homosexual priests were less likely to be abusers. It is at least equally plausible to speculate that priests trained in the 1970s and thereafter found it easier to identify adult homosexual partners—for relationships that would still be abusive, even if they did not involve children.
Second, the John Jay report offers the generalization that priests had more access to young men than to young women, and that difference would account for the prevalence of male victims. But that explanation is credible only if priests saw young men and young women as equally desirable sexual objects. In my line of work, I have more access to old magazines than to T-bone steaks. Still I never eat magazines, because I do not think of magazines as food. Yes, priests had more access to altar boys than to girls of a similar age. But that access would have been a determining factor only for priests who saw young men as potential sex objects. The John Jay report fails to provide an honest exploration of the role of homosexuality, and thus neglects another key factor in this scandal.

Keep in mind that the bishops financed the study. I hate to be cynical but perhaps that influenced the report. (Hmm...given the data we can argue this way or that way and that way will be much more acceptable to the bishops.) Oh no, it couldn't be that rampant homosexuality in the priesthood (and among the bishops) contributed to the abuse! Horrors, what a thought.

If you're interested in more on this, visit these sites:

Original John Jay Study: Nature and Scope

The John Jay Study part 2: Causes and Context

Phil Lawler's take on the study

More from Lawler on the bishops' culpability

The Catholic Funeral Scandal from a Priest's Perspective

When priests scandalize the impact is much greater than when the scandal comes from the laity. How much bad priests will have to answer for on Judgment Day, not only for their own evil actions, but for making life so much harder for their faithful brother priests struggling to do God's will.

Pray for priests!

The Story of Ave Maria Town and Jackson Labs

When Catholics stand up for the fulness of the faith, we can accomplish amazing things. When those who profess to be faithful Catholics compromise with the prince of this world, they court disaster. The saga of Tom Monaghan's attempted union with eugenicist Jackson Labs and Ave Maria Town is a warning to those who love the Lord. You cannot serve God and Money. Ave Maria tried to serve two masters. Thank God a small vocal group stood up and said no. Randy Engel's series provides an important historical perspective and, for those considering relocation to Ave Maria Town, a warning.

Jackson Lab and Ave Maria - Part I

Jackson Lab and Ave Maria - Part II

Jackson Lab and Ave Maria - Part III

One More Natural Disaster: What Next?

My husband and I stayed after Mass this morning to pray the Miraculous Medal Novena for the poor people of Joplin and other places struck by natural disasters. I know I will make some people mad by saying this, but our world has sowed the wind and now we are reaping the whirlwind -- literally. These mega-hurricanes, earthquakes, and tornadoes are predicted as part of the chastisement. Read Matthew 24.

We are a sinful nation. The U.S. has been incredibly blessed and we have responded with contempt toward our Creator. Our sins have unleashed disasters. If you doubt that it's possible, consider the Blessed Mother warning the three little children of Fatima that World War I was a punishment for sin and that if mankind did not change there would be another worse war. It happened!

Can anyone look at us today and pretend that we are better than the people of the 1920s and '30s? Today we murder millions around the world by surgical and chemical abortions every year. So-called "contraception" dwarves those numbers killing millions more. Promiscuity, both homosexual and heterosexual, has turned many into rutting brutes. Divorce destroys families. Every week it seems there is another attack on Jesus and the Blessed Mother through obscene books, art shows, movies and plays. Mary said at Fatima that clothing would come into fashion that would offend her son very much. Watch Dancing with the Stars if you want an example.

We deserve the chastisement!

Joplin is no more guilty than any other place. Neither is Birmingham or New Orleans or any other city experiencing disasters. If God targeted evil places, I think Washington, D.C. would head the list. Joplin is Anytown, USA. They have (or had) their Planned Parenthood facility that offers the morning after pill and a local crisis pregnancy center that tries to save the babies and offers help to women. They have a Catholic church and school (St. Mary's) with adoration in the parish. Both were demolished and the pastor had to be dug out of the rubble after taking refuge in the bathtup of the rectory. Many protestant churches were destroyed as well.

The purpose of discipline is to call us to repentance. Pray and help the people of Joplin by choosing a worthy charity and donating money to the relief effort. But then help our poor country by falling on your knees and begging for mercy, especially through the intercession of Mary, the Mother of God.  If we don't change and convert look for more of the same.

Senate Votes NO on Goodwin Liu for 9th Circuit Court of Appeals

The Senate voted thumbs down on pro-abort liberal judge Goodwin Liu. Thank God! Read more here...

It's Official: We Now Live in the State of Insanity! (Not for kids!)

A first: Majority of Americans now supports same-sex marriage, Gallup finds

Gallup says most Americans now believe that traditional and same-sex marriage are equal.

Duh! If they are equal than it wouldn't matter which the majority chose to practice, right? Think about it. If everybody chose same-sex marriage what would happen? Are you thinking? Have you figured it out?

Hmmmm.......Do these folks know anything about the birds and bees?

The culture of death leads to the death wish for the culture. The Bible predicted a day would come when people would say, "Blessed are the barren and the breasts than never gave suck." We're there. And what happens next? The chastisement and people begging for the mountains to fall on them.

Liberals want to blame the disasters that have been happening in the world on global warming and they are absolutely right -- although it's not from the weather kind. It's actually the global warming that comes from advancing the fires of hell! They are hot - hot - hot! And every time we sin we release another blast from the infernal furnace.

Teach your children the truth about marriage -- God's view of marriage. The world didn't create marriage between a man and woman, God did, in the Garden of Eden when he made Adam and Eve and gave them to each other. Two men or two women (or three or four or six) can pretend to be married, but their bodies don't fit together. (Have you noticed?) And they certainly can't create new life with each other.

Those who pretend that fellatio and sodomy are sexual intercourse live in the worst kind of delusion. In a sane society we'd call them crazy, but sin makes you stupid and we live in the sinful culture of death. The question is how much longer will God let this insanity continue? Pray hard. I personally believe the only reason the world is still here is the amount of Eucharistic adoration going on around the world and the number of people receiving the sacraments and praying the rosary. Like the Blessed Mother said at Fatima -- penance, penance, penance. Pray, pray, pray for mercy on our poor deluded world.

How Many Will Be Saved?

A few days ago I blogged about the saints' views on how many will be saved. Well, seems Mike Voris and I are on the same wavelength. He posted quotes from the saints on the same question. It's pretty chilling to think that most people will be lost. No wonder the little children of Fatima tied rough ropes around their waists, gave their lunches to children poorer than themselves, and drank from puddles as penance for poor sinners. "We must save poor sinners," little Jacinta with her tender heart often said.

We need to foster a tender heart for sinners. St. Francis of de Sales says to judge ourselves sternly and others with charity. So let us commit to pray, fast, and do penance for poor sinners. Perhaps the degree we are willing to suffer for others will determine our own salvation.

Jesus, be merciful to me, a sinner. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, save souls.

Unbelievable! Fr. Pfleger is back in the pulpit at St. Sabina's

Ah....but he apologized...so all is forgiven. This is like the pope reinstating Martin Luther. Fr. Pfleger has been preaching a different gospel for years. Now who do you think is in charge in Chicgo? Cardinal George?

Cardinal restores Pfleger to St. Sabina

Malta's Bishop Says No Communion for Dissenting Catholics

"If you are not in communion with Christ’s teachings, you are not in communion with the Church and you cannot receive Communion.”  Read more here....


Two thumbs up for Bishop Mario Grech of Gozo!

You Don't Know the Day or the Hour

I take Communion to the Catholics at a local nursing home every Sunday. One is a lovely lady from Massachusetts who has Alzheimers. Her daughter moved her about a year ago so she'd be closer. It was a hard adjustment. She went to daily Mass "at home" and had many friends. Happily, one of the gentleman in the home, a widower (I'll call him Bill), took her under his wing, looking after her with such tenderness it was sweet to see. I would come in and find him getting her a glass of juice or coming down to her room to bring her to one of the activities. He appeared to be one of the healthiest people in the home and one of the most alert. 

Yesterday, the nursing home called to say "Bill" had died suddenly the night before, a shock to everyone, and "Linda" (not her real name) was very distraught. Could I come and sit with her because family was unavailable until later in the day. Of course I went right over. I found Linda lying in bed hugging a stuffed animal and weeping. I thought of Jesus weeping at the tomb of Lazarus. I stayed with her for an hour hugging and comforting her and reminding her that she would see Bill again and that she was not alone. A number of the staff came in just to give her a hug. We walked the corridors praying several decades of the rosary for the repose of Bill's soul and her own comfort.

This isn't the first time someone has died suddenly there. I've been taking Communion since 2002 and on occasion have been shocked by the death of someone who seemed exceptionally healthy, while other very sick patients live for years. We don't know the day or the hour. We need to be prepared every moment.

Are you ready if you're called today? In the event of a sudden death, is your spiritual house in order? There's a great bumper sticker, "Life is fragile - Handle with prayer." It's a good motto for each of us. Prayer is talking (and listening) to God. We pray if God is our friend. It shows where our treasure lies. If we only talk and listen to the world, which belongs to the Prince of Lies, well...how can we claim to be God's friends?

Where will you spend eternity?

Please pray for "Linda" and for the repose of "Bill's" soul.

The Cafeteria Catholic and the Cafeteria Husband: Arnie and Maria Call it Quits

Betrayal -- that's what living a cafeteria lifestyle means, so it's hard to feel too sorry for proud, self-proclaimed "cafeteria Catholic" Maria Shriver who is experiencing the reality of betrayal from her cafeteria husband. In 2008, Shriver told the world, via the Washington Post's religion blog, that she chooses what she wants from Church teaching:

"Even though I consider myself a Catholic in good standing, I disagree with a lot of the teachings of the Church....I don’t believe that if someone’s divorced they shouldn’t get Communion; I don’t believe that people who are gay shouldn’t be accepted into the Church… I’m pro-choice, I believe women should have that right....women should have a larger role in the Catholic Church."

In other words, "I do it my way!" God's way be damned!

Shriver called herself a cafeteria Catholic at the time and, while claiming to pray every day and to love her parish priest, it's clear she wasn't praying for her conscience to conform to the teachings of Christ articulated through the Church He founded on "the rock" of Peter. Why has Shriver stayed in the Church? She likes the social justice teachings (and maybe the stained glass windows and the bingo). Among the Church teachings she was willing to throw out are the pesky ones about the indissolubility of marriage. After all, she wanted the divorced who attempt new marriages without a declaration of nullity to receive the Eucharist -- so much for respecting sacramental marriage!

So how can Shriver, the cafeteria Catholic, complain about Arnie, the cafeteria husband? Schwarzenegger  was also a cafeteria Catholic who promised his faith would never interfere with his decisions as governor. It's obvious he also didn't believe in those pesky vows he took on his wedding day -- or he changed his mind along the way when they interfered with his "right to choose" a little whoopy on the side.

Maria and Arnie both betrayed Christ and the Church as cafeteria Catholics by picking and choosing the doctrines they would follow and those they would reject. Arnie just took the betrayal a step farther by being a cafeteria husband who played fast and loose with the vows he made to Maria on their wedding day. But if you don't respect your obligations to Christ and His Church, why would you respect your obligations to another person?

The pain and damage Schwarzenegger has caused his family (His son Patrick changed his name to Shriver on his facebook page.) mirrors the pain sin causes to Jesus Christ. The reality is that the cafeteria lifestyle is a betrayal. Once you accept it, you have no grounds for complaining about the cafeteria choices made by others. Just as Maria felt she could be a Catholic "in good standing" while she cheated on the faith, Arnie may have felt he could be a husband "in good standing" while he cheated on Maria. Those who live the cafeteria lifestyle need to realize some of the choices available on the food bar are poison. The only healthy response is to close the cafeteria and return to the solid food offered at the banquet table of the Church. Let's pray that Maria and Arnie make that choice, for the sake of their own souls and the example they leave for their children.

See more here....

Illegal Immigration and Sex Trafficking

I once listened to a radio interview with a former agent with U.S. Immigration. He talked about the link between illegal immigration and sex trafficking saying that women were brought in and established in houses of prostitution in areas where Hispanic men lived, separated from their families. It was one of the additional criminal consequences, he said, of illegal immigration. This article from LifeNews confirms what he said as well as pointing to one more despicable act by Planned Parenthood (PP). PP will happily enable sex trafficking since it helps their bottom line. They've been caught now in aiding statutory rapists, advising the illegal transfer of minor girls across state lines to avoid parental consent/notification laws, and now it looks like sex trafficking may be on their resume as well. Got to give it to them though. A lot of liberal women defend Planned Parenthood despite the fact they aid and abet the exploitation of women anywhere anytime. PP is absolutely fabulous at PR propaganda. But then when you get beaucoup bucks from the taxpayers you can spend a lot polishing your image!

Planned Parenthood May Have Helped Sex Traffickers in Indiana

Portugal Woman Dies from Deadly Infection Caused by RU 486

“This may be the first reported global case that needs to be further investigated as part of the ongoing review of C. sordellii medical abortion deaths that includes my daughter, Holly Patterson and others in the United States and Canada,” he told LifeNews.com. See more....

One of those wolves I was talking about....

Why do the rich and powerful think they can get away with anything? Because the powers that be mostly let them?.....

The Dirty Old Man and the IMF by Pat Buchanan

"What is this satyr doing running the IMF? How was a man of his Eurotrash reputation approved by the United States government? Such conduct may be pooh-poohed over the pond, but has our country dropped that low?

"As is not infrequently the case, Rep. Ron Paul nails it: 'These are the kind of people running the IMF, and we want to turn the world's finances and the control of the money supply (over) to them?'

"Indeed, there are issues here far beyond the corruption of character that drives aging compulsive lechers to criminality when their prey resist.

"One of those issues is: Why is the IMF still being funded by the United States?"

Obama Gives Planned Parenthood Easy Access to the White House

Remember all those faux Catholic groups -- like Catholics United and Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good and all their useful dupes like Greg Kmiec, etc. They all try to paint Obama as really and truly a "pro-life" guy at heart who sincerely wants to reduce abortion, you know, like Bill Clinton -- make it safe, legal, and rare. (Gag!) Well it's a crock as we all know. No matter how many flowers they throw on that manure pile, it still stinks; and one more piece of evidence is in re Obama's radical abortion advocacy.

Obama and Cecil Richards, head of Planned Parenthood, are snuggy bears. In reviewing White House logs, LifeNews.com found that Richards is one of the most frequent visitors to the White House and is there during deliberations on most legislation affecting abortion:

Visitor logs LifeNews.com obtained in February 1010 revealed what pro-life advocates suspected would happen once President Parack Obama took over as president. He and his administration have allowed the Planned Parenthood abortion business unfettered access to theWhite House and top staffers. See more...

No surprise, but it's no wonder Obama is insisting that Congress WILL continue to fund abortion with taxpayer dollars.

It's time for a revolution! Let's all move to Texas, put Cecile Richards on a plane to D.C., close down the huge PP mega-abortion mill in Houston, and secede.

Where is Separation of Church and State When it Comes to Islam?

Are You the Wolf or the Sheep?

I remember a popular song a number of years ago called Hungry Like the Wolf. (See the video below.) It's about a man stalking and running down a woman who's his prey. The song graphically portrays the predator, hungry like the wolf, who says, "I'm on the huntdown after you." This song illustrates many relationships today particularly on college campuses.

How do you view others? Are they objects to be used, to be preyed upon, to be exploited? Matt Archbold has a great article on this called The Scariest Conversation I've Ever Heard. I recommend you read it. The first step in conversion is recognizing our sinfulness. If we use others as objects or prey to satisfy our own greed or lust, we're in big trouble. Jesus never used the wolf as a positive image. Wolves don't go to heaven. They attack the sheepfold and they attack the shepherds. If you recognize yourself in Duran Duran's song....well....read the previous post.

Where will you spend eternity? Repent and hear the good news!

I have a whole library of Catholic books with a large section on the lives of the saints. While we don't hear many warnings these days in church about death and judgment, the saints were relentless in blowing the warning trumpet. Don't fall for the heresy of universal salvation. Jesus isn't the Pillsbury Doughboy. His death was real and indicates how evil and damaging sin is. If we do not repent and live according to the will of God, hell's fire will welcome us. Where will you spend eternity? In the end, it's the only question that really matters. Listen to the saints:


Saint Augustine, Father and Doctor of the Church: “As a man lives, so shall he die....It is certain that few are saved."


Saint Jerome, Father and Doctor of the Church: “Out of one hundred thousand sinners who continue in sin until death, scarcely one will be saved.”

Saint Alphonsus Maria Liguori, Doctor of the Church: “Saint Teresa, as the Roman Rota attests, never fell into any mortal sin; but still Our Lord showed her the place prepared for her in Hell; not because she deserved Hell, but because, had she not risen from the state of lukewarmness in which she lived, she would in the end have lost the grace of God and been damned.”

Saint Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church: “Those who are saved are in the minority.”


Saint Louis Marie de Montfort: “The number of the elect is so small — so small — that, were we to know how small it is, we would faint away with grief: one here and there, scattered up and down the world!”

Saint Anthony Mary Claret: “A multitude of souls fall into the depths of Hell, and it is of the faith that all who die in mortal sin are condemned for ever and ever. According to statistics, approximately 80,000 persons die every day. How many of these will die in mortal sin, and how many will be condemned! For, as their lives have been, so also will be their end.”
 
Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska, #153: “One day, I saw two roads. One was broad, covered with sand and flowers, full of joy, music and all sorts of pleasures. People walked along it, dancing and enjoying themselves. They reached the end of the road without realizing it. And at the end of the road there was a horrible precipice; that is, the abyss of hell. The souls fell blindly into it; as they walked, so they fell. And their numbers were so great that it was impossible to count them. And I saw the other road, or rather, a path, for it was narrow and strewn with thorns and rocks; and the people who walked along it had tears in their eyes, and all kinds of suffering befell them. Some fell down upon the rocks, but stood up immediately and went on. At the end of the road there was a magnificent garden filled with all sorts of happiness, and all these souls entered there. At the very first instant they forgot all their sufferings." 

Blessed Jacinta of Fatima: "So many people are going to die, and almost all of them are going to Hell! So many people falling into hell!”

Lucy of Fatima: "Taking into account the behavior of mankind, only a small part of the human race will be saved.”

But don't be discouraged. God desires heaven for all His children and gives us a prescription for salvation.

Padre Pio of Pietrelcina: "Humility, humility and always humility. Satan fears and trembles before humble souls. The Lord is willing to do great things but on condition that we are truly humble"

Humble souls pray like the publican in the parable who would not even lift his eyes to heaven. We all need to repent and do penance. Every one of us! If you are presuming on God's goodness to save you from a life of unrepented sin, remember that presumption is a sin against the first, and primary commandment.

Is Friday Abstinence on the Way Back?

Bishops in England and Wales re-establish fish on Fridays

"I've Never Been to Me" -- Do you know yourself?

St. Francis de Sales, the great spiritual director, believed that advancing in the spiritual life begins with self knowledge. He echoes the Greeks, saying "know thyself." On Ash Wednesday in 1612, he preached a sermon saying, "The first elements of a knowledge of God are in the knowledge of self."

When I listened to this wonderful song at the urging of a priest friend, I thought of St. Francis' admonition. It's only when I've "been to me" and seen myself in the light of God's grace, that I can truly begin to grow in the spiritual life. Too many people run from the Lord trying to hide in the pleasures and distractions of the world. Only when they stop running from the Hound of Heaven, and turn toward Him can they see themselves in His image and likeness.

This song is hauntingly beautiful and filled with the sad truth of the emptiness of a worldly life. Another "translation" of its meaning is the film, It's a Wonderful Life. When George Bailey sees his life reflected through his guardian angel Clarence he learns how important and valuable his "cursed" life was. And remember what happens next? He runs home and embraces his family. It's at the heart of the family, the domestic church, where true meaning exists.

Seek God's Forgiveness: It's There for the Asking!

The only sin God can't forgive is the one that is unrepented. If you've had an abortion or helped someone get an abortion, run to the Lord of Life and ask for his forgiveness. Remember, he leaves the ninety-nine sheep for the one lost. Don't remain in opposition to the God who loves you so much. Seek his forgiveness. It's there for the asking. Just look at the cross where his arms are open wide. He's already paid for our sins. If you're Catholic go to confession. The priest, speaking with the voice of Christ, will rejoice over your sorrow for sin and will offer you the healing that can only come from reconciliation with the Lord of Life. Don't wait!

Please pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy today, for all those involved in killing babies waiting to be born.

Dangerous Vaccines: "The Needle Nuts are at it Again!"

How many vaccines are more dangerous than the disease they are supposed to protect against? Probably more than we know. After all, most people just nod their heads like wobble-head dolls when somebody in a white coat says bare your arm. But these days more people are questioning the drugs and with good reason:

Risky new vaccine pushed on babies
By Dr. William Douglass

The needle nuts are at it again — and this time, they’re pushing a dangerous vaccine on babies for a disease you shouldn’t worry about in the first place.
The feds have signed off on a plan to give Menactra, a vaccine that’s supposed to prevent invasive meningococcal disease, to babies as young as nine months old.
“The highest rate of meningococcal disease occurs in children under one year of age,” said Dr. Karen Midthun, director of FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.
Sounds scary, right?  Read more here....

To be open and transparent, I'm not a great believer in the medical profession -- the drug-pushing kind. My dad used to say the reason they call it the "practice" of medicine is because they're practicing on you. So I tend to be slow to go to the doc's and even slower to take prescription medicine. (I use lots of natural supplements.) I would never take a statin drug for cholesterol after reading about them and when my doctor put me on a low dose steroid for my lazy adrenal gland, I took it for a week and then pitched it because I didn't like the way it made me feel. I took the natural supplements recommended by another doctor, a big believer in wholistic medicine. I recently had a three week bout with an upper respiratory thing that left me coughing to the point of being breathless. I thought it would never go away. But it did -- after about three weeks. I never went to the doctor because 1) I wasn't running a fever and 2) everything I coughed up was clear. Interestingly I spoke to lots of people who said, "Oh gosh I had that too (last fall or last winter or a month ago). It was horrible and lasted forever." I didn't take a poll, but I'm bettting that some of those "it lasted forever" folks went to the doctors and were treated with antibiotics, etc. And they still were sick for weeks. I treated myself with lots of hot tea with lemon and honey, vicks on my chest, breathing in a "tent" over a steamy kettle, and extra sleep. And everything has its benefits. I lost five or six pounds.

Happy Anniversary to my Pastor!

My pastor celebrated his 18th anniversary of ordination today. Congratulations, Father!

May is the traditional month of both First Communion and Ordination. It's fitting that these two sacraments come together since, without our priests we wouldn't have the Eucharist, and without the Catholic faithful there would be none to receive it. So a special bond exists between our priests and us. They are indeed the good fathers who give us our "daily bread." Congratulations to all the priests celebrating their ordination anniversary this month.

My pastor gave a terrific homily this morning that can be summed up by a bumper sticker I once saw -- Heaven: Don't Miss it for the World.  Father talked about choices: little choices, bigger choices, and the biggest choice of all. The biggest choice is, of course, eternal salvation. Where will we spend eternity? While we may say heaven is our goal, many of the choices we make along the way jeopardize it. Do we approve of abortion and vote for pro-abortion politicians? Do we practice contraception? Do we receive the Eucharist in mortal sin, committing sacrilege? Do we decide for ourselves that certain choices are okay for us even when the Church (articulating the law of Jesus Christ) condemns them as seriously sinful?

Father's homily provided food for serious reflection. Life is all about choices and in life's cafeteria there are multiple stations marked morally neutral, morally good, morally excellent, sinful, and grievously sinful. The Catholic striving to choose according to God's will, tries to avoid all the food stations that jeopardize his immortal soul and runs to Confession quickly when he eats something morally poisonous -- to neutralize the poison and avoid addiction.  The "cafeteria Catholic" has no problem gorging at any station that appeals to him regardless of the Church's warning label. He insists his conscience, based on his own judgment, is the final arbiter of what foods are "good" for him. After stuffing himself with poisonous choices, he often becomes spiritually blind and stupid, the inevitable side effects of sin.

God loves everybody in the cafeteria regardless of the choices they're making. But he won't protect people from the consequences of their decisions. He gave each of us an intellect and free will so that we could listen and learn and choose what's good. And he gave us guides, our priests, and a manual, the deposit of the faith, to help us make spiritually healthy choices. But he won't stop those who, in their obstinate defiance, insist on eating the poison because it tastes so good. One can only hope that, like the prodigal son, these folks will come to their senses at last (as many of us have done) and return to the Father. He waits with open arms. Those of us firmly rooted in the faith must pray diligently for the lost to be found and resist the temptation to be like the older brother who refused to attend the banquet and share in the fatted calf. That rejection would, indeed, be eating the poison of unforgiveness, a most deadly one since we are promised forgiveness to the degree we exercise it.

Once again, happy anniversary to all our priests! Let's offer Masses and prayers for them during the rest of May, asking the Blessed Mother to hold and guide her spiritual sons as she did with the first apostles. Mary, Mother of the Clergy, pray for them.

There Be Dragons: Go See It!

My husband and I went to There Be Dragons yesterday with my brother and sister-in-law and all of us found it fascinating. The movie depicts the early life of St. Josemaria Escriva and the horrors of the Spanish Civil War. I wondered how much of the movie was based on fact and how much was fiction so I went searching on the internet later. Unfortunately, the central story about the relationship between Josemaria and his friend Manolo is completely fabricated and the movie focuses heavily on the fictional character. I wonder what a more factual story about the saint might have produced.

History is definitely not the focus of this movie. If you think you'll get a sense of what the Spanish Civil War was all about, forget it. There is little mention of the fact that it pitted anti-religious Marxist Communists in collusion with Russia against traditionalists and Catholics, i.e. the fascists. The one political scene shows a charismatic leader of the Republicans giving a typical Communist speech calling for class warfare, you know the exploited workers against the bourgeoisie. While you see a little of the deliberate destruction of the churches and the attack on the clergy, it is mild compared to the reality of what took place during the war. Monasteries and convents were burned and their inhabitants summarily executed and buried in mass graves by the Republicans (the Communists). Churches were systematically destroyed. Catholic laity were martyred. Atrocities took place on both sides, but in our politically correct world, it is Franco, the Nationalist, who is vilified while the Marxist atrocities are often overlooked.

But the movie bypasses these issues almost completely (none of the leaders on either side is ever mentioned). It focuses instead on the friendship between Josemaria Escriva and Manolo who follow very different paths, one the priest, the other the disillusioned Catholic agnostic. One of the problems with the movie, pointed out by Steven Greydanus, a reviewer with the National Catholic Register, is Manolo:

a fictional character futilely charged with carrying the dramatic burden of a film he is patently unable to carry, while a far more charismatic and intriguing historical figure stands off to one side, like young David glowing with promise and purpose while King Saul flails impotently, drowning in his own deficiency.

The difference is that where Saul eventually quits the stage, leaving David to assume the spotlight, Manolo staggers to the end of There Be Dragons with the weight of the narrative firmly on his shoulders. Josemaría stays on the sidelines and eventually slips away, almost unaware of the drama not quite intersecting his story....

At times one can see a serious epic trying to emerge from the muddled proceedings. One can even feel the hand of the director of The Mission, a far better historical drama also contrasting a heroic priest and a flawed soldier. There are flashes of real religious feeling, particularly from Cox, who projects genuineness and openness. Merely to see St. Josemaría and Opus Dei sympathetically portrayed is refreshing. Alas, it’s precisely these glimpses of the film There Be Dragons might have been that make its failure, and the lost opportunity it represents, all the more disappointing.  See more here...

When you get right down to it, the story wasn't primarily about Josemaria Escriva at all, although you get the impression it is from the opening scene depicting the priest's death. No, it is mostly about the relationship between Manolo's son, Roberto who is writing a book about the priest, and his father who has a dark secret lurking in the background that's only revealed late in the film. The nature of fatherhood is a thread weaving the film together, but the film left many loose ends about the, to me, most  interesting father in the story, Josemaria.

Don't get me wrong, I still liked the film and, in fact, found it so gripping and intense I whispered to my husband at one point, "We need some comic relief like Shakespeare put in his tragedies." But I wish we had seen more of the reality of the saint. I suspect Josemaria's real story is even more interesting than the fiction.

P.S. Derek Jacobi was great in a small role as the manager of the chocolate factory owned by Josemaria's father.

Dr. Terry Lakin Released From Prison

Yesterday Dr. Terry Lakin, the army medical doctor who challenged Obama's eligibility, was released from prison after six months. While his military career is dead (and his pension null and void), this patriot still has much to offer his country. Pray for him and his family. See more here...

A Great Blog Post from Austin Catholic New Media

Some of my favorite people live in Austin, TX -- namely my son, his wife, and five of our grandchildren. I'm really proud of Martina for studying and defending the faith so articulately and to my son, Neil, for inspiring her with the example of P90X. Go for the gold!

My Priest, My Coach

Two years ago my husband made the decision to take control of his health by doing P90X, a ridiculously intense workout system that takes 90 days to complete. Instructor Tony Horton invaded our home for three rounds {9 months, give or take}. He then moved onto Insanity with Shaun T. and has recently started Insanity – The Asylum. If you think I’m promoting these programs, you’d be wrong. I look at Tony and Shaun and see that while they are the guide for the program, you have to be a willing participant and follow it to a “T” if you are going to get the maximum benefit. They are unchanging in their approach because they have a tried and true method. They are unapologetic. They want you to “Bring It” or “Dig Deeper.” Anything short of that is a waste of your time.

So, you can imagine how the following exchange would go between Shaun T. and one of the participants on the video:

Participant: “Um, so, I was wondering if you could be nicer to me and expect less because I have no reason to ‘dig deeper.’ I just want to do this program my own way…except I want the same results that you obviously work hard for.”

I won’t even answer for Shaun T. because I imagine it would be lots of yelling and ugly words, followed by suicide drills. Lots and lots of suicide drills.

How does this really tie into our Faith?  See more here...

Indiana Bill Cuts Planned Parenthood Funding by Two Thirds!

Pro-Life Victory in Indiana

"Truth Lights Up the Mind"

One more on-target message from Mike Voris to annoy my anti-Voris readers. What's not to like about this articulate young man who says Real Catholic TV and St. Michael's Media's only goal is providing material to help save souls? I want to be part of that! That's why I'm a subscriber to Real Catholic TV.

Remember all that cheering over Egypt? The Christians sure aren't cheering now!

It seems whenever there is a rebellion against a repressive government, the cheering from the hawks and the neo-cons begins. Obviously, rebellion is a good thing in their opinion and will bring in a new and friendly democratically-leaning government.

Well...maybe not. Salafi Muslim mobs have been attacking coptic Christians in Egypt and torching their churches since the overthrow of Mubarek.  (See here...)  Twelve Christians were killed recently and over 200 injured in attacks on four churches in Cairo. The Salafists follow the ultra-fundamentalist Wahabbi teachings that also influence Al Quaeda and they've unleashed their terror against the coptic Christians. Mubarek's security forces kept them in check. Now there is nothing to protect targeted Christians and, in fact, the police, for the most part, ignore the attacks and seem to be in cahoots with the mobs. According to FrontPage Magazine:

If the new regime in Egypt is not actively encouraging persecution of the Christian community, it’s certainly not doing anything to discourage such outrages either. The Coptic Bishop of Giza, Anba Theodosius, took the government to task for abandoning Egypt’s Christians. “These things are planned,” he said. “We have no law or security, we are in a jungle. We are in a state of chaos. One rumor burns the whole area. Everyday we have a catastrophe.”

After the U.S. invaded Iraq and overthrew Saddam Hussein the same thing happened to Christians in that country who continue to flee the increasing persecution from Muslim extremists. Check out the aftrmath for Christians described in this video.

Watch the full episode. See more Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly.

Saddam Hussein and Mubarek may have been bad guys, but sometimes the devil you know is better than the devil you don't know. What will happen to the Christians in Egypt? That they will flee the terror is inevitable. And does the U.S. which is so quick to intervene to "make the world safe for democracy" care a hoot over the annhilation of the Christians in the Middle East? Seems not. In fact, U.S. intervention is almost a guarantee for Christian persecution which is one more reason for Catholics to oppose our increasing involvement in every war abroad. We have no business being the world's policeman and there's pretty clear evidence that what we have become is the enabler of anti-Christian extremists in the Middle East.

RU 486: More Dangerous than Surgical Abortion

The contraception/abortion juggarnaut always tries to convince unsuspecting women that their products are oh-so-safe. When the original pill came out in 1960, it reportedly was 100% effective with no side effects. That was before women began dying and having major complications from the high estrogen pill. So researchers began playing drug combo roulette to maintain the pill's effectiveness (at avoiding or eliminating babies) but reducing the death/complication rate for women. (Interesting that so little research goes into birth control pills for men. Because most researchers are men, perhaps?)

And now fifty years later we have the wonderful alternative to surgical abortion called RU 486 which is turning out to be pretty dangerous for the women who take it. Here's some info from a recent Australian study reported by LifeSiteNews:

Drs. Ea Mulligan and Hayley Messenger examined approximately 7,000 abortions, which the Australian reports were carried out in the state of South Australia in 2009 and 2010.

The study found that 3.3 percent of women undergoing the RU-486 abortion process (which uses the drugs mifepristone and misopristol) in the first trimester sought emergency room help, compared to 2.2 percent of women who had first trimester surgical abortions.

The Australian also noted that the study found that a massive 5.7 percent of women undergoing RU-486 abortion, versus 0.4 per cent of women who had surgical abortion, were re-admitted to the hospital for post-abortion treatment.

The study also found that the risk of women suffering severe hemorrhaging was one in 3,000 in surgical abortion. But the risks rose to one in 200 for women getting chemical abortion.

The rate of hospital admission for infection was one in 1500 for surgical abortion, but one in 480 for chemical abortion. See more...

Let's face it. You can't fool Mother Nature or the Lord of Life. God made women's reproductive organs for one purpose -- achieving and maintaining pregnancy. When we choose to throw a monkey wrench in the works, the outcome is likely to be problematic, like putting maple syrup in the gas tank of your car. Sometimes the problems are immediate; sometimes, like breast cancer, they don't show up for years. But the reality is, aside from the moral consequences, there are physical consequences to sin. If women realized the ultimate price they pay for "solving" their problem, most would never do it. It's only because the devil dresses sin up in a beautiful package that he can seduce us into choosing it.

Grandma Gruesome Peddles Suicide Kits

UPDATE: I've removed the link to the article to avoid giving this woman free publicity.

At 91 you would think a persons is contemplating the afterlife and where she might spend it. But this geriatric gargoyle is busy sewing up suicide kits to kill people. What do you think the Lord will say to her on judgment day?

As for her being "compassionate," that's a masquerade. Usually the people these folks want to spare from suffering are themselves. I was with both my mom and dad when they died. They both had terminal cancer. It wasn't pleasant, but the pain was manageable with the meds and they both knew that suffering has value. Daddy used to tell us he was getting souls out of purgatory.

There is one kind of suffering that has no value at all -- hell. This lady is likely to find that out personally if she doesn't repent.

Cardinal Burke Leads Prayer Rally at the Largest Abortion Mill in the World -- In Houston!

God have mercy on us for tolerating this monstrous evil in our country.

Planned Parenthood: Encouraging Men to be Male Chauvinist Pigs

The man writing this article is obviously a male chauvinist pig! Don't think of her as a person. You're both just animals having animal sex. What kind of animal is his "girlfriend?" Maybe she's just an inanimate object, a board (or broad) with a hole in it. Romance anyone? Rebel against this disrespectful attitude toward you, Girls! Go for courtship and marriage! It's what smart women do. Refuse to be a guy's all day (and all night) sucker, and I do mean sucker! If you want to find real men out there, stop keeping them little boys by being their snuggly blankie and pacifier!

Stop thinking of her as a person’: a page from Planned Parenthood’s dating playbook

The problem with Catholic Charities

What does it mean to be Catholic? Would you trust somebody to administer a Catholic charity who worked for abortion and gay marriage? I wouldn't and yet we see it all the time. The exposure of the Catholic Campaign for Human Development has demonstrated that many of those working in the Church bureaucracy don't believe what the Church teaches. They demonstrate their non-belief by their actions.

Let me introduce you to Brian Cahill who was the head of Catholic Charities in San Francisco from 2000 to 2008. While in that position he partnered Catholic Charities with the "gayest adoption agency in the country." He wants to see same-sex marriage legalized and contributed $1,000 to the failed effort to defeat Proposition 8 in California that recognized marriage between one man and one woman. He's publicly lambasted orthodox bishops and promotes Catholics for Equality, a group working to normalize all things homosexual in the Church.

Read more about Brian Cahill here.

It's people like Brian Cahill who demonstrate why Catholics cannot trust Catholic charities which are often Catholic in name only. That's why a friend of mine is trying to start an international Catholic charity run by faithful laity that takes no government funding, operates on true Catholic principles, and hires only faithful Catholics who accept the teachings of the Church. Pray for Jon that he is successful. In view of the scandals coming out Catholic Charities, Catholic Relief Services, CCHD, etc. his vision is sorely needed.

If you thought you were about to die, what would you do?

I hope I'd be collected enought to pray the Act of Contrition. But how would the experience of almost dying...and surviving...change the way you live your life?

How safe is our food supply? Are you eating glued meat?

One of the advantages of living in the country is being able to buy our beef from a local Mennonite farmer. It's grass fed and not pumped full of antibiotics and hormones. But we get our pork and chicken at the grocery store. This video is almost enough to make me a vegetarian. Genetically modified vegetables anyone? Now don't you think we have a right to know when we're buying this?

Makes one wonder if things have changed much since Upton Sinclair exposed the horrors in the meat packing industry of the early 20th century. Let's have consumer labeling on this "glued meat."

It's not just LGBTQ any more -- Australia recognizes 23 genders!

At what point do we draw the conclusion that there's not only something rotten in the state of Denmark, but something seriously nuts as well?

Gender bending: let me count the ways

To My Imperfect Mom on Mother's Day

I came across an article today celebrating the imperfect mother. Wow! Did that resonate with me. If you think you are the perfect mom, just ask your kids. They will clue you in pronto on all the ways you failed and how you messed them up. And, of course, they are not going to make all those dastardly mistakes with their own kids. (Heh-heh, just wait.)

I remember blaming my own mom. Hey, I became an adult in the 60s when it was mandatory to find somebody to blame for everything you didn't like about yourself. We were all victims of bad toilet training, or being forced to eat our carrots, etc. But then the lightbulb (finally) went on. You become an adult when you start taking accountability for yourself and stop blaming other people for your flaws. Why did it take so long for that reality to penetrate my thick skull? I guess I'm a slow learner.

Most parents are doing the best they can with the resources they have at the moment, their "lousy best" as my sister often says. Their parents weren't perfect either, after all. My mom raised ten kids amid constant change with no extended family around to help. Daddy was in the Navy and we packed up every three to four years to move to a new house in a new place -- sort of like the Mad Hatter's tea party on speed. Some kids keep milestones like what they did on such-and-such a birthday. I measure my life by the name of my street, the layout of the house, and the school of the year. At the time it seemed an adventure; in retrospect I wouldn't have wanted to rear my own children on the fly.

St. John Lateran, Mother Church of the Whole World

Fascinating video about St. John Lateran, the oldest of the four major basilicas in Rome. I'm taking a Mother's Day virtual pilgrimage to Rome. Isn't technology wonderful?

Teach Your Kids Cursive, It's Good for their Minds

I recently noticed that the Washington Post held a handwriting contest for kids. Apparently, while the schools are abandoning penmanship making kids permanent slaves to block print, The Post sees some value to cursive writing. (Only the little ones were allowed to submit print samples.)

Personally, I wonder if this is part of the deliberate dumbing down of students. Studies show that those who write in cursive express more complex thoughts and show more complex sentence structure. So cursive is good for the SATS too.

Check it out here....

Gay Teens and Suicide

Study: gay teens five times more likely to attempt suicide

Excerpt from article:

“This study documents an association between an objective measure of the social environment and suicide attempts among lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth,” concludes the study abstract, adding that the results “have important implications for the development of policies and interventions to reduce sexual orientation–related disparities in suicide attempts.”  

But Peter Sprigg of the Family Research Council pointed out that the takeaway finding from the study is not that gay teens are marginally less likely to commit suicide in a “supportive” environment, but that overall gay teens are so many times more likely to commit suicide than their non-gay peers – “a difference that far overwhelms any difference caused by the ‘social environment.’”

King and Spalding Lose Clients Over Unethical Behavior

I blogged a few days ago (See here.) about the law firm, King and Spalding, that was supposed to represent Congress in the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) case. The law firm backed out after pressure from the gay lobby. Paul Clement, the lawyer designated to fight the battle, resigned over the firm's cowardly and unethical actions. But the story isn't over. Some high profile K & S clients (the NRA and the state of Virginia) are dissing the firm as untrustworthy. Read about it and cheer! Those who turn tail and run when the going gets tough deserve nothing but a good hefty boot in the derriere to speed them along their yellow road!

Anti-DOMA law firm loses two clients

The Liberal Double Standard: On High Gas Prices

Oh, and note Obama's near contempt for the dad with ten children. What crazy people would have ten children? (Answer: My parents and my husbands parents.) What do you think of the high price of gas? Do you agree that it's a "blessing in disguise?"

House Passes Permanent Ban on Taxpayer Funding of Abortion....Except

May 7 Update: See comments. A reader noted that H.R. 3 has exceptions for rape, incest, and the life of the mother, the so-called "necessary abortions" as he puts it. So H.R. 3 actually codifies taxpayer funding for these cases. Why? Did the House try to pass the bill without it or just presume exceptions had to be included? Should babies be killed for the sins of their fathers? And why should taxpayers fund abortions in the hard cases? This taints the bill seriously and certainly makes the claim of a "permanent ban on taxpayer funding of abortion" untrue. It is, as the reader commented, one of those things that "call for tears." A

“End taxpayer complicity in abortion violence”

The bill still has to pass the Senate and Obama promises a veto if it lands on his desk. It's unlikely the votes are there to override a veto. But the exercise puts the abortion extremists on record. There is no more important issue to them than requiring taxpayers to pay the hit men that kill babies. Evil is never content with committing evil. Evil demands that everyone call it good and participate in it. And there is nothing more evil than murdering the innocent. The little ones in the womb are only waiting to be born, to be welcomed into our human family. Instead, for many, it's open season. The most dangerous place in the world today is a mother's womb.  Pray for all moms considering abortion today and for their endangered little ones. You can spiritually adopt an unborn baby by praying the prayer written by Fulton Sheen: "Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, I love you very much. I ask you to spare the life of [name] the unborn baby I have spiritually adopted who is in danger of abortion." Imagine the joy of meeting that child merrily in heaven one day.

Obama Meets with 9/11 Family Members

Interesting video interviewing the sister of the pilot of the hijacked plane that flew into the Pentagon. She asked Obama about Eric Holder's pursuit of criminal charges against the CIA agents who conducted the enhanced interrogation of the terrorists and gained the information to find Osama bin Laden. Will they be prosecuted? They were instrumental in the success of the mission. What next?

Notre Dame Drops Charges -- Finally!

About time....

Charges Dropped Against Notre Dame-Obama Speech Protestors

Viewpoint Discrimination Against Christian Teacher

All over the country kids are being taught about the tenets of Islam, how to pray like a Buddhist, not to mention being exposed to anti-religious messages from atheists. But if you're a Christian teacher, watch out!

According to California Catholic Daily, the Poway Unified school district in San Diego:

allowed religious classroom displays by other teachers, including displays of a 35- to 40-foot string of Tibetan prayer flags with images of Buddha; a poster with the lyrics from John Lennon’s anti-religion song “Imagine;” a poster with Hindu leader Mahatma Gandhi’s “7 Social Sins;” a poster of Muslim leader Malcolm X; and a poster of Buddhist leader, the Dalai Lama.

What they won't allow is a series of patriotic banners such as "In God We Trust" displayed by high school teacher Brad Johnson for the past 25 years. Hey...some viewpoints are politically correct and protected by the schools, like the approval of same sex marriage, and some viewpoints are politically incorrect and anathema in the public schools, like the historical fact that our nation was founded on Christian principles.

Soooo....history must be rewritten and politically incorrect voices must be silenced. The teacher won the case at the lower level, but the school district appealed and it is being heard today before the notoriously liberal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. C-Span will be broadcasting the case at a later date.

Where will the antagonism against Christian teachers in the public schools end?

See the complete article here...

Now if only U.S. Catholics Would do the Same!

Catholic vote makes difference in Conservative victory

“The Church in English Canada sees itself much more as an expression of civil society,” Zucchi said. He noted that a Conservative majority augers well for the Church in terms of limiting government encroachment on religious freedom.

"Most Outcast" Members of Catholic School are Catholics!

St. Mary's College of California graduating senior, Michael Bruer, writing at The Collegian On-Line describes his experiences as a Catholic on campus. Like so many self-identified "Catholic" colleges, St. Mary's is anything but. And as Bruer states, the "most outcast members of the school are the Catholic students, professors, and faculty."

Now why would any serious Catholic parent pay to send a child there?

 Editorial: My years at Saint Mary's College

Egypt Looks to be Going the Way of Shariah!

With citizens protesting in the streets, liberals gleefully anticipated the rise of democracy in Egypt. Well, their optimism may have been premature. Islamic fundamentalism appears to be the winner and the Christians are fleeing for their lives. Sometimes, like the Bible story of the expelled demon who comes back with others more wicked than himself to repossess the man, the end result is worse than the beginning. Pray for the poor Christians in the Middle East, an endangered and disappearing minority.

Egypt: Christians fleeing as Sharia state approaches

Don't the Feds have anything better to do?

Feds sting Amish farmer selling raw milk locally

My husband and I have been drinking raw milk since we moved out to the country. We own a share in the cow and pay the farmer a milking fee. We've been to the farm and seen the operation and trust this family's handling of their product implicitly. Their operation is likely cleaner than the local dairy farm down the street. We're getting milk from grass fed cows that aren't injected with hormones and antibiotics. Now exactly what business is it of the government to tell me we can't buy and drink this milk?