More Thoughts on Fr. Guarnizo and the Funeral

There's an interesting discussion of the Fr. Guarnizo/Barbara Johnson funeral controversy at The Deacon's Bench (TDB) with additional information about what happened. (See: There's More to This Story) Presuming the email sent to TDB was accurate, and it's certainly plausible, Fr. Guarnizo:

1) Talked to the woman before Mass. She made it clear she was a lesbian living with her "lover" and he told her she should not approach for Communion. 

2) Father was, in fact feeling sick which explains his leaving the altar and not going to the grave. He arranged for someone else to accompany the body for internment, a fact omitted in every news and blog report

3) Barbara Johnson apparently presented a seriously distorted version of what happened to make Fr. Guarnizo look as bad as possible and went all out for the publicity making herself the victim and trying to destroy this priest's ministry.

4) Unfortunately, and not surprising, the Cardinal threw the priest under the bus, one more example of persecuting a good priest.

Prior to this additional information about what actually happened last Saturday, which is less sensational and more believable than the hysterical reporting, there was another discussion at TDB that I found deeply troubling. It included some comments about Canon Law 915 from canon lawyer Ed Peters whom I respect. He believed, according to the news reports which were obviously and on their face incomplete and sensational, that the priest was wrong. Since, according to Barbara Johnson, Fr. Guarnizo had just learned about the situation, how could she be said to "obstinately persist in manifest grave sin?" was his main point as I understand it. That seemed to be splitting hairs to me. The Church's position on active homosexuality is well known and Johnson's situation, which she shoved in the priest's face, fits by its nature the plain truth of persisting in "manifest grave sin." The woman didn't, after all, ask Father to go to Confession before the funeral. And there was obviously no intention to leave the sinful situation.

But that's not my only concern. Nowhere in the TDB discussion did anyone mention the scandal. Certainly if Barbara Johnson introduced her "lover" to the priest, that's how she introduces her to others. Many at the funeral must have known the situation. No doubt there were active homosexual friends in the congregation. Compare this to the Rainbow Sash movement that announces their active homosexuality and tries to receive Communion on Pentecost Sunday wearing the rainbow sash. Barbara Johnson did the same thing except that she wore a verbal sash almost daring the priest to do anything. Not only would she have committed a mortal sin of sacrilege by receiving Communion, but a mortal sin of scandal as well. Whether she had the complete knowledge of her actions only God can judge  (It's hard to imagine she didn't given her background.),  but certainly the other two requirements for a mortal sin were there: it was a grave sin and she gave full consent to it. Fr. Guarnizo spared this woman from her own sinful presumption at great personal cost.

Now how exactly did we end up in this situation where a parish priest is put in a position like this and is punished for what was, indeed, a pastoral action? Once again the moral responsibility falls at the feet of our bishops. They have failed to preach the truth. They have muddled the teaching of the Church and allowed "gay liturgies" that imply acceptance of the active homosexual lifestyle. They have failed to discipline renegade priests and nuns like Fr. Robert Nugent and Sr. Jeannine Gramick unless Rome intervenes. They have permitted gay advocacy groups like Dignity and New Ways Ministry to flourish in their dioceses. They have done nothing about gay parishes like Most Holy Redeemer in San Francisco, St. Joan of Arc in Minneapolis, Our Lady Queen of Peace and St. Francis in my own diocese of Arlington, and scores of others around the country. Yes, the bishops gave us this latest Catholic-bashing crisis and it's a wake-up call to every priest in the country. Who will be next? Cardinal Wuerl's reaction doesn't surprise me. He had a reputation in Pittsburgh for advancing the gay movement and persecuting the orthodox. So it must have come easy to throw the priest under the bus.

In closing, I have a few questions for Barbara Johnson. If you didn't want controversy at your mom's funeral, why did you inject your disordered relationship by introducing your lesbian partner to Fr. Guarnizo as your "lover?" Why did you make a point of going to Communion after he told you not to knowing you would probably be refused? Who turned this into a media event and a witch hunt to end the ministry of a good priest?

The best thing anyone can do for this poor woman and her "lover" is to fast and pray for their conversion. And please pray for Fr. Guarnizo whose head is being demanded as the price of his integrity

Crucifixion by Thumbtack

Most of us will never die a bloody martyr's death like the North American martyrs or the Catholic victims of the French Revolution or those crucified like Jesus. But life is filled with little opportunities to die to self - ducking the slings and errors of the culture of death.

It's been a tough couple of months, I won't go into the reasons. Living in this "vale of tears" is physically and emotionally exhausting - so many reasons to want to hide under the bed. It's particularly difficult to watch the suffering of those who revel in their sins all the while shouting that they are great and those trying to live by God's laws evil. They are the saddest and most deluded souls on earth.

One of my sisters calls modern life "crucifixion by thumbtack." And there are plenty of folks out there eager and waiting to push in the pins if you dare to speak the truth they don't want to hear. What a blessing if we can offer our small pains for their conversion.

I was fortunate enough to go on retreat with Fr. John Hardon several times before his death in 2000, and he always urged his retreatants to speak and write the truth. "Millions of people live in a dream world," he told us. He urged us not to fall into that trap. I thought of that recently when someone wrote a comment on a blog post about how the world is getting brighter (because the culture is celebrating homosexuality). Well, in some respects the writer was correct. As sin becomes darker and engulfs the world, the opposing light of truth shines even more brightly against it. And it's comforting to think that dark is nothing - only the absence of something: LIGHT. It only takes one small candle to dispel darkness. And we are called to be that light.

So I'm determined to offer my little sufferings, the "crucifixion by thumbtack," for the intention of lighting candles in the darkness. May this Lent shine with many small flames, symbols of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on our sad and sinful world.

Fr. Marcel Guarnizo: The Latest Priest They Love to Hate

Fr. Marcel Guarnizo, the associate pastor at St. John Neumann in Gaithersburg, is all over the internet for denying Communion to an active lesbian named Barbara at the funeral of her mother last Saturday. It would be interesting to see a video of the funeral. The mother apparently was supportive of her daughter's bad choices - sad but not surprising. So many parents would rather enable their children's sin and risk their loss of heaven rather than than risk alienation from their children in this world.

Obviously the daughter had to be flaunting her relationship. Otherwise, how would Father know she was a lesbian? Was she there holding hands with her lover? Did she talk at the wake about how grateful she was that her mother accepted their relationship? Was the "eulogy" for her mother (when the priest walked out) really a celebration of lesbianism? "Gays" tend to be narcissistic and it wouldn't surprise me at all if the entire funeral became all about celebrating the disordered relationship.

The comments on blogs discussing this have been the typical bash-the-Church, Jesus would never be so mean, Father is so judgmental and hate-filled, etc. ad nauseum. These folks have deluded themselves into believing that Jesus is the Pillsbury Doughboy waiting to give them all cinnamon buns on Judgment Day. That God might actually expect people to avoid the seven deadly sins or go to hell seems completely alien to them.

One wonders whether the folks who are so quick to condemn Fr. Guarnizo would expect him to be silent and do nothing if the lesbian had brought a can of black spray paint and started defacing all the statues in the Church. Such an act is NOTHING compared to the sacrilege of receiving Jesus, Body-Blood-Soul-Divinity, in the state of mortal sin. And since everybody in the Church apparently knew about this woman's lifestyle, the scandal would also have been mortally sinful and on the priest's head for allowing it. The Bible is crystal clear on the responsibility of the shepherds to blow the warning trumpet.

I want to publicly thank Fr. Marcel Guarnizo for his courage. We have all seen the hateful retaliation and "jamming" (viciously attacking) against anyone who disagrees with the homosexual agenda. (I have personally experienced it often in blog comments with the writers hoping I die a miserable death because of my "hate.")  Fr. Guarnizo is in the crosshairs at present. Pray for him and you might consider going to the parish website and leaving a message of encouragement. Fr. Guarnizo speaks the truth against some of the greatest moral evils of our time. He deserves our thanks and admiration. Please fast and pray for him this Lent for those who vilify him. May they come to understand that he is trying to save them from the abyss.


Germantown - 40 Days for Life - Fr. Marcel from Michael Martelli on Vimeo.

FOR ADULTS ONLY: The Dirty Adults at Planned Parenthood

American Life League has issued a new video to replace the one pulled because some girl claimed a copyright infringement. Don't let your kids watch it. Planned Parenthood is sick and the evidence exposed will make you feel sick as well. They not only kill babies waiting to be born, but they engage in the deliberate corruption of the children who made it through the pre-birth gauntlet. That the government is funding this sewage is appalling but not surprising. After all, money makes the world go round. Kathleen Sebelius, head of HHS, was well-supported by the abortion industry. All the liberals. Work to defund Planned Parenthood!

Administration Lied About Military Attitudes on "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"

Is anyone surprised to find that the administration lies to get their desired results? The Navy is being sued over false data showing that most military favored DADT (Don't Ask, Don't Tell). It simply wasn't true and anyone with an iota of common sense suspected the books were cooked. Check out the pot: Navy Sued Over Manipulation of 'Gay' Data. 

Hate Crimes Against Catholics

Vandalism at Catholic Church Called Hate Crime

Brain Death or How to Kill Living Patients to Procure Unpaired Organs

Brain death is a medical sham that allows the transplant industry to harvest unpaired essential organs from patients who aren't really dead. Read about it here. If any medical professional asks to do the "apnea test" on your loved one whose been brain damaged in an accident, ask what benefit there is to the patient. The apnea test is performed by turning off the ventilator for up to ten minutes to see if the patient will breathe on his own. It's the prelude to declaring the patient "brain dead" at which point the medical team turns the ventilator back on to keep the organs fresh for harvesting. There is absolutely NO MEDICAL BENEFIT to the patient from the apnea test. Rather it represents another assault on the patient guaranteeing his condition is irreversible. Then they put the pressure on the family to donate the organs.

God help us!

Sometimes Poetry Helps the Healing

I love William Blake. Some say he was crazy, but isn't that what they always say about visionaries?

There have been four deaths in our family in the past few months. One had lived a very long life, one was middle aged, one was about my husband's age (young senior), and one lived a life much too short. It seems so out of the order of things for parents to bury their children.

I was looking for something to make sense, if that's possible, of the death of the young. When I read Blake's poem, it made me think of Aslan in C.S. Lewis' Narnia stories. The little girl appears to be in danger, but, in the end, there is no fear and her parents find her asleep and safe in the lion's palace.

O Lord, let it be so for all those who grieve for lives cut short. Their number is legion. One of the ladies serving the funeral luncheon today told me her work there today had been a great healing to her because she lost a daughter herself years ago. We cried together for the family experiencing so painful a loss and her own personal tragedy from the past. All the way home I reflected that this is, indeed, a vale of tears. May God give us all hope, strength, and courage as we pass through it on our journey. And may the poets speak a universal language to our hearts to bring comfort.

THE LITTLE GIRL FOUND

All the night in woe

Lyca's parents go

Over vallies deep,

While the desarts weep.

Tired and woe-begone.

Hoarse with making moan,

Arm in arm seven days

They trac’d the desart ways

And You Think Your Home is Your Castle?

Has your child ever drawn a picture of a gun? Better watch out. Big Brother is asking the cops to invade your home. This happened in Canada, but things just as goofy have happened here.

MADNESS AFTER GIRL, 4, DRAWS GUN PIC AT SCHOOL

This article really hit home. I have some grandkids who are afraid of the dark and worry about monsters in the closet. What I often do is tell them we have a special friend named St. Michael who has a big sword to protect them and that I have one too. Then I take a pretend sword out of my pretend scabbard and run it under the bed to kill and chase away all the monsters. Sometimes I give the frightened child the pretend sword and tell them they have nothing to fear....  But suppose I gave them a pretend gun and told them it had magic bullets that were like monster sensors and when they shot the gun it would kill the monsters. Don't you think that child might draw a gun in a picture and say, "My Gramma has a gun that kills monsters and sometimes she gives it to me." 

This is one more example of a culture out of control that makes parents the bad guys by default. The people in charge have no sense, common or otherwise. And, as far as I can see, it's one more reason to home school and get your kids as far from these psycho-babble folks as possible. These are the same people who have little kindergarten boys arrested for sexual harrassment because they kiss girls on the playground. 

Ron Paul and Mitt Romney in Cahoots?

Okay all you Ron Paul supporters out there. What gives? Is Ron Paul really teaming up with faux conservative Mitt Romney?

Ron Paul - Mitt Romney Alliance?

The Big Lie about Catholic Women and Contraception

Would anyone be surprised to find that Planned Parenthood was "cooking the books" in order to support their big lie? The 98% claim about Catholic women using contraception comes from the Guttmacher Institute, Planned Parenthood's research arm. Anyone with a little knowledge of the history of the abortion movement knows that statistics were made up and disseminated with the assistance of a sympathetic media. Nothing has changed except the lies get bigger and bolder.

Cooking the Books, Disparaging Catholics

A History Lesson From Thomas Sowell

The Bleak Legacy of "Progress"

Here's a taste of Sowell's critique of progressives Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson (both of whom were also supporters of the early eugenics movement to cleanse the race):

If this headstrong, busybody approach [to government] seems familiar because it is similar to what is happening today, that is because it is based on fundamentally the same vision, the same presumptions of superior wisdom, and the same kind of lofty rhetoric we hear today about “fairness.” Wilson even used the phrase “social justice.”

Woodrow Wilson also won a Nobel Prize for peace, like the current president — and it was just as undeserved. Wilson’s “war to end wars” in fact set the stage for an even bigger, bloodier and more devastating Second World War.But, then as now, those with noble-sounding rhetoric are seldom judged by what consequences actually follow. 

The same presumptions of superior wisdom and virtue behind the interventionism of Progressive Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson in the domestic economy also led them to be interventionists in other countries.Theodore Roosevelt was so determined that the United States should intervene against Spain’s suppression of an uprising in Cuba that he quit his post as Assistant Secretary of the Navy to organize his own private military force — called “Rough Riders” — to fight in what became the Spanish-American war.

The spark that set off this war was an explosion that destroyed an American battleship anchored in Havana harbor. There was no proof that Spain had anything to do with it, and a study decades later suggested that the explosion originated inside the ship itself. 

But Roosevelt and others were hot for intervention before the explosion, which simply gave them the excuse they needed to go to war against Spain, seizing Puerto Rico and the Philippines.

Some things never change. Progressives (i.e., big government supporters), no matter what their party, look for excuses to expand the reach of the tyrannical central government. They stand for the antithesis of what Thomas Jefferson expounded, a weak central government controlled by sovereign states. Here's what Jefferson wrote to a foreign correspondent years after he served as our third president:

But the true barriers of our liberty in this country are our State governments; and wisest conservative power ever contrived by man, is that of which our Revolution and present government found us possessed. Seventeen distinct States, amaalgamated into one as to their foreign concerns, but single and independent as to their internal administration. 

Well, it's a long time since our "independent" states sold out for the federal dollar. We need to do what we can to strengthen their role and help them once again become "barriers of our liberty" protecting us from the draconian reach of Big Brother. If you're not involved in local politics, you need to be.

The Root Evil is Contraception

Many people want to paint contraception as a positive good, but the evidence indicates otherwise. I can't count the number of people over the years who argued with me that they are against abortion, but....their contraceptive failed. So it isn't their fault and they needed an abortion. Contraception is the root of the poisonous plant. And the evil it has done in terms of the death of the least ones in the womb, the devastating impact on women's health and fertility, the degradation of men's attitudes toward women making them nothing but recyclable sex toys, etc. is massive.

Pray for a spiritual revival. It appears that the heavy hand of government coercion will continue to do all it can to annihilate the good and crush opposition. Many of us may end up in jail or in the new catacombs. And while the persecution goes on, we need, more and more, to touch hearts and bring about conversion.

The Blessed Mother said at Fatima that most people go to hell for sins of the flesh. Sadly, most people don't believe in hell and their idea of God is similar to the Pillsbury Doughboy. (Whatever happened to that stern judge that used to be the bogeyman?) The truth is that God loves us unconditionally but will never violate our free will even when it is taking straight down the primrose path to the cliff and the deadly abyss. "Penance, penance, penance" as the Blessed Mother begged and "Pray for poor sinners" as Jacinta said. I think this Lent I will especially pray for those caught up in the deadly lie of contraception.

Thought for the Day

Hat tip to In Caritate Non Ficta

What One Priest Thinks of the Contraception Mandate

Two thumbs up for this priest. I hope we hear more from him.

Outrageous Act by Washington State High School and Planned Parenthood

"No laws were broken," the County says. Isn't that comforting? A 15-year-old is put in a cab and sent to the abortion mill. Whose there advising her? The Planned Parenthood worker. If this girl had her uterus perforated and was sent to a local hospital, you can be sure the parents would be called. And yet, this vulnerable kid was abandoned. How dare a school health clinic make a decision to have a kids aborted without informing the parents? I hope this family sues the school, the health care worker and Planned Parenthood. You can be sure when this kid suffers the trauma of the abortion, it won't be the school counselor or the PP worker sitting and crying with her.

All you PP propagandists out there, how would you feel if it was YOUR DAUGHTER?

Women, Does the Obama Administration Speak for You?

Helen Alvare is building a list of women who are speaking out in opposition to the Obama administration's attempt to portray their pro-abortion, pro-contraceptive stance as reflecting all women. They sure don't speak for me. Go here and read the letter and join the many women who love life by signing. Don't allow the culture of death to claim to speak for you!

Our Emperor in Chief

I could hardly believe it when I read that the Obama administration is giving Russia seven strategic islands in the Bering Straight off the coast of Alaska. The problem was created by the Clinton and Bush administrations by drawing the maritime boundary in such a way to put the islands on the Russian side. However, the treaty was never ratified. If Congress doesn't do anything to stop this giveaway of the islands, what use are they to the American people?

OBAMA'S GIVEAWAY: OIL-RICH ISLANDS TO RUSSia

The HHS Contraception Controversy

My friend Fr. Tom Collins brings up some serious considerations about the HHS mandate. I hope you'll give them prayerful consideration. 

The recent decision by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to include a mandate
for all health care plans to include provisions for contraception, sterilization and abortion has
raised a number of concerns among Catholics and other Christians. Sad to say, such concerns
are often dismissed as inconsequential, just as the concerns about the racial segregation were
often dismissed as out of hand in the deep South one hundred years ago. Yet dismissing a
concern does not really address the issues raised by that concern. It would be helpful, therefore,
for those with open minds, to address some of the questions often suppressed in the name of
"sexual liberation". Among these questions, which the American Catholic bishops believe should
not be dismissed in such a perfunctory manner, are the following:

More on Monsanto: How to Lose Your Appetite

More and more information is coming out about the massive health risks of genetically modified food and the impact on consumer health. Here are just a few articles below to make you lose your appetite and make you want to boycott Monsanto. Avoid Roundup like the plague. I'll take weeds any day! Hey, young dandelion leaves are great in salads.

Bt Toxin DOES Harm Human Cells – Study   

Genetically Modified Soy Linked to Sterility, Infant Mortality 

Roundup and Roundup-ready crops may be causing animal miscarriages and infertility  

Monsanto's Violations in GM Maize Trials Ignored 

Catholic Hospitals and Sterilization

A doctoral student at Baylor in a study of 176 hospitals in the U.S. found that nearly half  do sterilizations. No surprise really. Federal money has undermined the Catholic church in her charities and schools -- why not the hospitals?

Half of US Catholic hospitals do sterilizations, report suggests

Read the dissertation here. 

Monsanto and Genetically Modified Food

Monsanto is in bed with the Food and Drug Administration which is good for Monsanto but not so good for consumers who believe the FDA is really interested in protecting their health. President Obama's 2009 appointment of Michael Taylor, a former executive for Monsanto, illustrates just how corrupt the system is where the fox shuffles back and forth between his den and the henhouse.

As for the genetically modified foods being produced by the corporate giant, more and more studies are showing that they contribute to chronic illness, organ damage, and cancer. As they say, "You can't fool Mother Nature." But check it out for yourself.  3 Approved GMOs Connected to Organ Damage
There is also some speculation that genetically modified crops with built-in pesticides may be impacting the collapse of bee and butterfly colonies. That should certainly be studied because it harbors ill for the future of food production. 


Think I'll put in a big garden this year.

How Many Vacations Have You Taken in the Last Three Years?

Can you match the Obamas' count of sixteen? (See here.) And do you spend 1.5 million at a pop like their Christmas vacation to Hawaii? Keep in mind that the vacation count doesn't include trips to Camp David or even the Obamas' date night in New York. It does include Michelle's African safari, ski trip to Aspen, and the trip to Martha's Vineyard among many others.

Bush spent more time away from the White House, but not taking fancy vacations all over the country and the world. He went to his ranch in Texas which was considered the western white house. He often worked from there. Frankly, I'm no Bush fan, but at least the Bushes had a sense of decorum. He wouldn't play golf because he didn't want to present a picture of a playing president while soldiers were dying in the Middle East.

But the Obamas seem completely tone deaf when it comes to image. They seem to think they can tell everyone else to tighten the belt and pony up more taxes, while "Michelle Antoinette," as one caller to Sean Hannity called her, goes off on another extravagant vacation. Even the democrats are expressing concern. When many Americans are out of work and can't afford a vacation at all, the American taxpayers are footing the bill for the jet-setters in the White House. Isn't it a little obscene? Let the Obamas pay their "fair share" by reimbursing the taxpayers for their fancy lifestyle.

Mary's Land About to Commit Anti-Marriage Abomination

I was born in Maryland so I always sigh when I see this once Catholic state sink another fathom into the abyss of immorality. The House signed a "gay marriage" bill last week and the senate is expected to follow with "Catholic" mayor O'Malley hot to sign it the minute it hits his desk. What should immediately happen after that, of course, is for Cardinal O'Brien to issue an interdict banning O'Malley from Communion until he publicly repents. One would hope the Cardinal has been in communication with the mayor informing him of the serious consequences of his actions should he sign such an immoral bill. But then Democrats in Mary's Land, Catholic or no, are notorious for dissing Almighty God in favor of the latest experiment in social depravity. What are the consequences of moral depravity? Ultimately violence. I have no doubt that we are on the road to a global war unless we imitate the people of Nineveh and put on sackcloth and ashes and repent. Pray for peace this Lent and repent. Changing the world begins with the personal conversion of each one of us. Pray, fast, and give alms -- but make your almsgiving count. Skip CCHD, Catholic Relief Services, and Catholic Charities (no rice bowl for my family). They are all in bed with the feds and have sold their souls to Mammon.

The Proposition 8 Decision Resonates in Maryland’s Gay-Marriage Vote

How Planned Parenthood Hooks Kids on Sex

American Life League recently released a video about Planned Parenthood's pornographic assault on young teens. PP's "educational" materials for kids include teaching them how to masturbate, different types of perverse sex, as well as providing graphic cartoons of genitalia and couples engaged in sex. That Planned Parenthood is targeting kids has been going on since Margaret Sanger published her booklet "What Every Girl Should Know." The only difference is the degree and amount of explicit material. Margaret would no doubt be proud of her proteges. Take a look at ALL's report here, but be forewarned. The material exposed is explicit and degenerate and it's aimed at YOUR KIDS. This is the reality of Planned Parenthood.

Join the Army and Wear -- A Fake Pregnancy Belly?

Ah...the kinder, gentler military. Train in the morning to cross a battlefield wearing 75 pounds worth of equipment and engage the enemy; train in the afternoon doing dance aerobics wearing a fake pregnancy belly. Hey, who could object? See more on this goofiness here.

Some Are More Equal Than Others

The Occupiers are shining the spotlight on the inequality of our current culture. They can set up permanent camps, commit all kinds of lewd and unsanitary practices in public and the powers that be look the other way. Or, as in the case of Pelosi and her ilk, actually laud them. But let a priest kneel in prayer outside the White House and the cops are johnny-on-spot with the plastic cuffs and fines. Read here and become enraged at the injustice. Then write a letter to the editor to protest.

VIRTUS: Never Forget It's About Protecting the Bishops, not the Kids

Chris Manion is writing about VIRTUS again, the bishops so-called "safe touch" program. Read what he says and remember that these programs are not about protecting the kids; they're about protecting the bishops from liability. VIRTUS, the "cadillac" of programs, is especially pernicious because it earns its 66 bishop stockholders big bucks while misrepresenting the abuse crisis and spotlighting parents and families as the real bad guys. And they lose good volunteers with this game. I quit as a CCD teacher because I won't play. And I know others who did the same. So now I serve the elderly -- at least until they try to make me sign up for VIRTUS for that apostolate as well.

Contraceptive Mandate Builds Solidarity Movement

I'm often critical of the U.S. bishops, but here's a piece of astounding news. Every single one of the U.S. bishops has publicly condemned the contraceptive mandate according to Tom Peters. Every one. Lots of institutions have condemned it as well. Some are suing like EWTN. And then there are the non-Catholics. Glenn Beck has launched a movement called "We're all Catholics Now!" Solidarity isn't just for Poland any more.

This illustrates how God brings good out of bad situations. It is absolutely amazing that even the "bad" bishops are on the bandwagon over this. Maybe some will actually recognize that liberalism is tyrannical by its very nature. At any rate, let us pray that Obama's act of mendacious bigotry against people of conscience will spell the downfall of his empire. He's a man who like the Roman despots of old believes he can do anything he wants including sending Christians to the coliseum. It may still come, but at least there are signs we'll go down fighting and not like lemmings.

Viva Cristo Rey!

She's Baaaa...aaack!

Sister Carol Keehan is back and shilling for Obama's contraceptive mandate just like she did with Obamacare. You'd never recognize Sr Keehan as a real nun who cares about the poor and the downtrodden (especially the downtrodden and dismembered unborn babies). No it appears what she really cares about isn't the Almighty, but the almighty dollar. God help the woman.

The Joy of Justice for the Righteous!

As a pro-life activist who's been arrested at least a dozen times over the years for trying to protect little ones in the womb, I've been shaking my head over the disparity in the treatment pro-lifers get vs. gangs like the occupiers. When the 2008 Face the Truth tour got the gestapo treatment in Bel Air, MD I wasn't surprised. But at least they were in a group and could support each other as witnesses to the abuse. But the case below involved a single pro-lifer giving out bookmark-type "flyers" at a Catholic parish fair. He ended up being converged upon by nine officers who accused him of "resisting arrest" for walking away from them when they asked for his ID (which he had no legal obligation to provide). The officers illegally held him, they beat him up, and broke into and searched his truck for "bombs" while he was in jail. Later one of the officers told him they were looking for bombs because pro-lifers "do that sort of thing." (Hmmm....does that sound like profiling?)

Nothing surprises me any more. I was called out to my car when I was working at a crisis pregnancy center because I parked in front of the abortion mill next door and had a windshield sunscreen with a pro-life message. The abortion mill complained and the officer was "concerned" because I had a bag of fertilizer in my car. Suppressing pro-life speech is a cottage industry and sadly sometimes those who are supposed to protect the rights of all take sides.

But what a joy it is to see justice is done. I laughed when I saw the article. Read what the judge said and then go to the link about the arrest. And pray for courageous souls like Pete D'Attilio who are willing to put themselves on the line for the little ones. May all the angels and saints surround him with protection. And God bless the just judge! And may he sue the badges off those officers.

Army Silences Archbishop on Contraception Mandate

Army chaplains were recently instructed to disobey their Archbishop's instruction to read a letter from the pulpit that addressed the Obama contraceptive mandate. This outrageous violation of free speech rights doesn't bode well for the future. It's just the latest outrage coming out of Obamacare. This is what happens when Congress gives unlimited power to the executive branch to define the parameters of "health care."

The Time Has Come: Proclaim Humanae Vitae

Okay, Bishops, it's time. For over 40 years, since the Pill appeared on the scene and helped spark the sexual revolution, Catholic truth about marriage and sexuality has been muzzled or muffled in a self-imposed silence. How many pewsitters EVER hear a sermon about openness to life in marriage? Despite the fact that over 90% of Catholic married couples are contracepting, timidity and cowardice rule in the pulpit.

Contraception is gravely evil and yet many Catholics embrace the sin and continue to approach the altar rail committing a sacrilege every time they receive Communion. And, for the most part, no one says a word. It's a tragedy and a betrayal. We need to hear the truth from our clergy. The obligation of the Church is to proclaim the truth. And in our sexually debased culture that obligation is crucial to saving souls.

Why is contraception wrong? Because it takes God's gift of sexuality and deliberately destroys it. If someone gave you a car and you said, well I love the car but I hate that dirty engine and ripped it out, would the car run?

Contraception Destroys Love

Read this article and reflect on the reality that those couples who use Natural Family Planning to plan TO HAVE families, experience little divorce and are often more happily married than their contracepting neighbors.

NARAL Illustrates Obama's Evil

Obama is such a good buddy of the pro-aborts, and they love to affirm his greatness as their candidate. Read NARAL's press release here. Any Catholic who supports Obama is clearly in danger of losing his soul. You can't say you are pro-life and then vote for someone who not only makes abortion a sacrament, but is determined to force everyone to pay to kill children (all chemical birth control prevents implantation all or part of the time). Many Catholics see the evil of killing children, but have not recognized the evil of rejecting God's plan for human sexuality. Contraception is a grave moral evil that makes man and woman little gods who usurp God's authority over life itself. "If your plan is for a child, God, we will not serve!"

What we are seeing here is the consequence of the failure of our Church leaders to promulgate Humanae Vitae. Abortion is the poisonous plant but contraception is the taproot. Until we have serious and continuing catechesis against contraception, the evil will continue to grow. If you have never read Pope Paul VI's encylical, read it. He predicted the evils that would come in the wake of a culture succumbing to the siren song of contraception. After you read it, encourage your bishop and your pastors to preach it. The hour is late!

The Man Behind the Curtain Pulls Another Lever

Well the O-man behind the curtain is pulling levers feverishly to fuzzy up brains with his double-talk. Today he announced an "accomodation" that will supposedly allow religious employers not to provide contraception, including abortifacients, to their employees. Just think, those with a conscience can breathe a sigh of relief because the requirement to kill babies and prevent any of the little beasties from being conceived will be shifted instead to the insurance company. So the employees of Catholics institutions will get their free drugs, not from the Church, but the insurere. Wow! Doesn't that make things better?

Obama is determined that the evil he desires will be forced on all, no dissent allowed. Yeats described Obama and crew to a T -- "The worst are filled with passionate intensity." Obama-Pelosi-Sebelius: they all act with the zeal of a Nero or a Diocletian, intent on imposing their wills no matter what it takes.

The Church Militant must resist!

The Truth: The Assalt on Religious Liberty Just Got Worse

Thinking About Lent

Lent begins in less than two weeks. So...how will I spend those six weeks? It seems to me that one of the best things I can do is turn off and tune in. I hope to turn off the TV for six weeks, reduce computer time, and tune in to what really matters -- getting to know Jesus, His Mother, and His friends better.

Sad to say, as old as I am, I have never been a good faster. But I hope to, once again, try to keep the old Lenten fast of two small meals a day that don't equal the main meal. I confess that, even when I fast well, I treat Sunday like "little Easter" and take a day off. But I guess a lazy Lenten fast is better than no fast at all.

Now it also seems to me that the shortest way to Jesus is through Mary and I have an entire shelf of Marian books. I hope to begin working my way slowly through several, along with being completely faithful to the daily rosary. My husband is a great help as we two "gather together" to pray.

As for almsgiving. I not only want to give financially but the gift of time. When I bring Communion to the nursing home every week, I hope to really focus on those dear lonely souls who wait eagerly for visitors. May I never be in a hurry to leave and get on with "important" things.

I expect to be beating my breast often as Lent progresses, asking the Lord to help me to be more faithful in my attempts to draw closer to Him. It is always a challenging journey. But I'll make a deal with you. Let's pray for each other. Every day I'll say at least one Memorare and Hail Mary specifically for all those who read and visit my blog that you will have a holy Lent. Please pray for me too.

God bless you all this Lent. May it be the best six weeks of your life so far!

Bishop Loverde's Pattern of Persecuting Priests

This story is the lead article in the Winter issue of the Les Femmes newsletter. It won't go on-line at the website for several weeks, but I decided to post it now. Pray for the bishop and for all the priests in the Diocese of Arlington. They are all vulnerable, especially the orthodox, to be punished for anything or nothing.

Bishop Loverde's Pattern of Persecuting Priests

     Bishop Paul S. Loverde recently made his ad limina visit to Rome to meet with Pope Benedict XVI, the first since 2004 when he met with the seriously ill Pope John Paul II. The bishop presented Pope Benedict a 300 page state-of-the-diocese summary prepared by Mark Herrmann, the diocesan lawyer-chancellor. It included, according to the Arlington Herald, "everything from population statistics and evangelization efforts to child protection programs and the status of diocesan vocations." One of the things definitely excluded was a description of the pattern of persecution in this diocese against faithful priests and laity. Since Bishop Loverde's installation in Arlington in 1999, at least a dozen priests that I know of have experienced persecution in one form or another, often for minor infractions of diocesan rules or deviating from the bishop’s preferences. I have written about some of these cases previously. Read more here....

Too True and Too Funny!

Although this could have shown a laywoman in a veil for Mass or, let's face it, a man in a suit. The only thing missing on these two are the tattoos. Check out the Sword of Peter website.

Messianic Rabbi Warns of Coming Judgment on America

These videos carry a prophetic warning. Are all these events coincidences? It hardly seems likely. The question is, will America listen like the people of Nineveh responding to Jonah's warning or will we continue to shake our fists at God? Rabbi Cahn reminds me of John the Baptist exhorting with a message of repentance. "Reform your lives." Turn back to God.

Will we listen?

Read Isaiah 9:9, the prophecy that shows the obstinacy of heart of the Israelites. You will hear these same words in the video from John Edwards as a presidential candidate and Tom Daschle as Speaker of the House. Even Obama will echo the message of rebuilding what has been torn down in judgment.

And all the people of Ephraim shall know, and the inhabitants of Samaria that say in the pride and haughtiness of their heart:
"The bricks are fallen down, but we will build with square stones: they have cut down the sycamores, but we will change them for cedars."

What was left after the 9-11 attack? The little chapel of St. Paul's at the edge of Ground Zero where George Washington and the first government of the U.S. consecrated the country to God. Its survival was called a "miracle." But is it really a warning?

Nothing is hopeless. God Himself gave Solomon the message of hope to the Israelites' infidelity. In 2 Chronicles chapter 7 God tells him:

"If my people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their evil ways, then will I hear from heaven, I will forgive their sins, and I will heal their land."

Pat Buchanan, Ron Paul, and Mary's Peace Plan

Read Pat Buchanan's article here.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that we can't afford to continue being the world's policeman. Besides, we're not doing a very good job. As a matter of fact, we have a record of taking a bad situation and making it worse, often much worse. What happened in Iraq after we pitched out Hussein? The Christians have almost disappeared. The neo-cons said we were bringing western democracy to Iraq, but where is the evidence they want democracy? The country continues to be rocked by violence and chances are we have left them to duke it out in a civil war.

So what did we get for our billions? A more stable Middle East? Hardly. A more democratic Iraq? Not likely. But there are some results. Civilians killed: over 100,000; Military deaths: several thousand; Wounded and disabled vets? Several hundred thousand; Cost of the war? Over $800 billion and that's only a fraction of the true costs when you consider medical and disability expenses that will be ongoing for years.

So let me ask again -- how did the Iraq war benefit the taxpayers of the U.S.? Does anyone actually believe that Iraq represented a threat to the U.S.?................. Anyone?.............Anyone?............I'm waiting...........(sigh).

But have we learned anything? Watch for the big push to go after Iran next. The Neo-Cons never rest in their imperialistic goal to create a secular World Democracy. They're delusional!

Pray the rosary for peace as the Blessed Virgin asked at Fatima.  And consecrate yourself and your family to her Immaculate Heart. That is our only hope for a real and lasting peace.

So...You Think We Can Trust Romney?

Romney Told Catholic Hospitals to Administer Abortion Pills

Occupy Wall Street Unmasked

You think this group cares about the economy and fairness and all that jazz, especially the rights of the poor? Nope, they are funded by leftists and one of their objectives is abortion and all the immoral positions that go with it. That's why they attend pro-life events to shout down anyone who disagrees with their Soros-funded, radical agenda. Isn't it interesting that a group that demands its right to gather, protest, defecate in the street, etc. has no problem violating the rights of others? Do you think they can spell H-Y-P-O-C-R-I-T-E-S? Here are some quotes from the article at LifeSiteNews: 

Demonstrators from the Occupy Wall Street movement threw condoms on Catholic schoolgirls, refused to allow a Catholic priest to give a closing prayer, and shouted down a pro-life speaker at a Rhode Island right to life rally on Thursday, according to its organizer. The event marked the third time protesters associated with the movement have disrupted a pro-life meeting in a week....
They gathered around speakers at the podium, shouting them down or otherwise jostling them and members of the audience....
Members of the Occupy movement, which putatively focuses on economic and financial issues, have begun aggressively demonstrating against those who advocate for the rights of the unborn.
Approximately 15 protesters from Occupy D.C. disrupted the March for Life Youth Rally in the nation’s capital last Saturday evening.

Margaret Sanger in Her Own Words

Margaret Sanger is often portrayed as a secular saint. The reality is that she considered many people "degenerates," particularly among the poor. I'm going to start a page on Margaret Sanger and include quotes from her own writing as well as materials she edited which obviously had her approbation. This particular article was written by Sanger herself and titled Birth Control and Woman's Health. The quote below follows a number of excerpts, ostensibly from desperate women writing to her. What I find ironic (and somewhat suspicious) is that all the letters are highly articulate and, of course, heartbreaking and yet, these are the people she labels "degenerate" in the paragraph below because it's their children she believes should never have been born.

"We  are  dealing with  peculiar facts today,  so far as the health of  the race is concerned  In the early history of  the race, so-called 'natural  law'  reigned undisturbed Under its pitiless and unsympathetic  iron rule, only the strongest, most  courageous could live  and  become  progenitors  of  the race  The  weak  died   early,  or  were  killed.   Today,  however, civilization   has brought sympathy, pity, tenderness and other lofty and worthy sentiments, which   interfere with  the law of  natural selection  We  are now m a state where our charities, our compensation acts, our pensions, hospitals and even  our drainage and sanitary equipment  all tend to keep alive the sickly and weak, who are allowed to propagate and in turn produce a race of  degenerates." (American Birth Control Review, December 1917.)

This is not an unusual theme for Sanger, that philanthropy has caused too many unfit individuals to survive, although her statement about the "history of the race" and natural selection isn't backed up with any facts.  Sanger's elitist philosophy hides under a veneer of compassion for poor women forced to be "breeders" by the lack of birth control information. This fits in later with her belief that certain people, the feeble-minded (whoever they are in her judgment), should be kept in camps and not allowed to reproduce. More on that later.

The Video that Exposes Planned Parenthood

The video below reveals Planned Parenthood in ways they sure didn't intend. First, note that the "superhero" is black. Why? Because PP has always targeted minorities and they want to appeal to them first of all. Margaret Sanger was hot to eliminate as many "human weeds" as possible and she considered poor minorities, Catholic immigrants, and other "undesirables" as fodder for her birth control machine. "More from the fit; less from the unfit," was her eugenic motto. She even wanted to enlist black pastors to sell abortion to the population she most wanted to reduce. PP targets minority neighborhoods. Hello! This organization was founded by a WASP elitist.

Note also in the video that the "superhero" aims a gun, shoots at and kills the sidewalk counselors (portrayed as zombies) outside the abortuary. Fact is, PP folks are the violent ones, not pro-lifers. They are the ones ripping babies limb from limb and demanding the right to stab near-term babies in the head and suck out their brains. The pro-life movement is the most peaceful civil rights group in history.

Next, see how the abstinence speaker is portrayed and don't miss the misinformation about STDs. Chlamydia, the most common STD, is transmitted by skin contact, and condoms don't protect against it. Many young women who believe the PP mantra of "safe is sexy" are likely to end up sterile as a result of chlamydia infection. It causes pelvic inflammatory disease, damage to the cervix, increased likelihood of life-threatening ectopic pregnancies, etc. Here's what Berkeley Wellness says about it and Berkeley is hardly a bastion of pro-life conservatism. There are 3 million new cases of chlamydia every year. That's a lot of damage to a lot of women! And what does this "superhero" tell the kids to call her? Dionysus, the name of the God of drunkenness and revelry.


The scene with the Senator is particularly interesting. It's PP who hate freedom of speech and the rule of law. The only way they could get abortion on demand was through activist judges ignoring the law and making it up. Note how the senator is dipped in the cauldron by the superhero/witch and comes out presumably as a pig with an apple in his mouth, but he sure resembles a baby. PP are the real life enemies of the poor depicted in Jonathan Swift's satire about eating Irish babies and that scene illustrates it.  


Note the Starbucks ad. The rainbow is there for good reason. They are big advocates of buggery as well as PP abortion supporters.

Last of all. Take a look at the demon horns that appear every time the "super-hero" Dionysus is seen from the back. Was that an accident or is Satan so bold he wants to take credit for his diabolic activity?

Check out PP's hate-filled video. Are these the kinds of people any parent should want teaching their children about the meaning of human sexuality?  I blogged earlier today about what makes the happiest wives. PP's strategy is sure to frustrate happiness for both women and men.  In their philosophy women are nothing but recyclable sex objects and babies are trash for the landfill. As for "men" -  they are enabled as sexual predators who use women for pleasure and cast them off. PP's cultural message is misogyny. They hate women and their fertility. We need to expose them for what they are.

More on Komen: Let's use this to go after Planned Parenthood!

Tom Peters has an interesting blog post at Catholic Vote pointing out that Komen may not be "caving" just protecting the organization by trying to depoliticize the debate. Hmmm....I'm thinking about that.

Planned Parenthood, like the mafia thugs they are, threatened to destroy Komen. The question will become more clear in the future when we see whether Komen gives new grants to PP. What IS clear, however, is that PP cares nothing for women's health only for their own continued mission of destroying unborn babies. They would happily destroy Komen for their own selfish ends.

Peters presents an interesting point of view which is debated int he comments section. I'm not sure I agree, but it's worth considering. In the meantime, a message to Komen that you are disappointed with their action, but especially shocked at PP's vicious attack on women suffering from breast cancer, would be worthwhile.

Komen Wimps Out: Says they will Change Regs to Allow PP Grants

Well it didn't take long for Komen to bend to the agents of the evil one. They have rescinded their decision to drop Planned Parenthood. How pathetic! They couldn't even stand firm for a week. Well...back to the boycott, folks. Here's the news from AP.

Komen drops plan to cut Planned Parenthood grants

Candidate Comparison Based on Candidates Stated Positions

If your interested in a side-by-side comparison of the four Republicans still standing go here.

Want to be Happy in Your Marriage?

Have children and go to Church together.

The happiest wives in America

Gosh did I need a study from UVA to tell me that? Larry and I enjoy each other's company and our cross-country trip last fall illustrated that we could be together constantly 24/7 and still enjoy each other's company after seven solid weeks. I think after 42 years our relationship has stood the test of time and we would fit solidly in the ranks of this study that showed that families who had four or more children and went to Church together weekly were among the happiest.

Fr. Patrick Peyton, the rosary priest, who is up for canonization could have explained it without a study. "The family that prays together, stays together."

Let's Hear More From Allen West!

Former Army Lieutenant Colonel Allen West stands for conservative values. We need to hear more from him. Check out his brief message at the March for Life last month and view his voting record on abortion here. If you like what you see, why not send him a contribution.

Fr. Tom Pegs It Again! Challenging the HHS Mandate

It isn't enough to exempt the Church from HHS Mandates. As Fr. Tom writes below, that concedes government's "right" to force institutions and individuals to participate in the butchery. Is protecting human life really only a "Catholic" or "religious" question? Was slavery only an issue for people of faith? It's time to defend the civil rights of unborn babies. Stop the genocide of pre-born humans!

From Fr. Tom Collins:

   It will be interesting to see whether the USCCB will be content with an HHS exemption for Catholic institutions from the requirement to provide contraception, abortion and sterilization "services", thus conceding that the HHS has a legitimate "right" to mandate such butchery, just so long as we Catholics do not have to soil our hands by directly participating in it.

In view of the fact that HHS has sought to "rub our noses" in the bloody remains of mutilated babies, the USCCB should demand a full apology for its attempt to violate our basic rights, which are guaranteed by the First Amendment. Likewise, our own bishops in Virginia should demand an apology from both Sen. Warner and Sen. Webb, since they participated in violating our Constitutionally guaranteed rights by giving HHS unbridled legal "power" to redefine the nature of conscience, so as to be permitted to force
us to violate our consciences in direct violation of the First Amendment. Without such clear apologies, the USCCB will be de facto agreeing with the fundamental provisions of Obamacare. This, combined with the ongoing de facto degradation of so much of our catechesis and Church discipline, will perpetuate
the gradual "evolution" of thought among Catholics, to the point where many will also embrace the "compassionate solution" of euthanasia for our infirm and elderly.

Satan's one "virtue" is patience. And so, with the passing of time and with the continuing portrayal of perversion as "sex education" to our youth, Catholics will gradually be "enlightened" (Lucifer means the "bearer of light") to accept the "wisdom" of our government. And, as we live by that "wisdom", we will see it "confirmed" by the unchallenged sacrilegious abuse of the the Eucharistic Christ - in a way that is perceived by most Catholics as a ratification of the "utopian agenda" of the Culture of Death and its unholy trinity of contraception, abortion and euthanasia.

Ironically, while such attacks on innocent human life are increased, the Culture of Death will be increasingly scrupulous about protecting the lives of the guilty from the death penalty.

May God enlighten and strengthen us by the true Light of the World, Jeus Christ, so that we may decisively proclaim the whole truth of His saving Word.

In Christ,
Fr. Tom  

Family Funerals

Larry and I just returned from a funeral for the father of nine of our nieces and nephews. The wake and funeral Mass were testaments to the love and respect these young adults had for their dad. And, as is so sadly true, it provided the infrequent opportunity to connect with extended family. Some of the grand nieces and nephews we had never met (the tiny ones) and most of the others we don't know very well. With our own immediate family numbering ten adults (not counting us) and twenty children, we are doing well to keep up with them. Since we both come from large families, the extended family (just counting our siblings, their children, and grandchildren) is in the hundreds. Whew! I wish I had the time, proximity, and energy to know them all better. But it was a delight to see them, even briefly, and touch each others' lives for that brief time.

Funerals have a way of focusing the mind on what is really important -- dying in God's grace so we can be happy with him in heaven. I was grateful the priest did not canonize the deceased but talked about how we all seek happiness, often in the wrong places, and need God's mercy. Only Mary, and perhaps a few saints who died young (Maria Goretti, St. Therese of Liseux, St. Dominic Savio, and Blessed Francisco and Jacinta come to mind) did not deserve the fires of hell. And we are all subject to original sin, except the Blessed Mother. Thank God for the grace of Baptism that reconciled us to God.

If I were not so aware of the mercy of God, I would spend my days trembling in fear and hiding under the bed. But God is good and he is there when the priest anoints the dying with the oil of salvation, hears his confession, and gives him Viaticum. I pray for that provided death and trust, through the intercession of the Blessed Mother and St. Joseph, I will not go without the sacraments.

It's good to reflect on death regularly because it is one of the few absolute certainties in this life. Every  year when I go on retreat the priest reminds us of a gravestone he once saw that read: "As you are, I once was. As I am you will surely be." Apparently, this was once a common quote on tombstones used by the Puritans. We would all do well to remember it and think of the only thing that matters -- where we will spend eternity. 

Please pray for Larry Schadegg. His body lies now where we all are headed. But his soul... ah...that is another story. My nieces and nephews can be at peace knowing their dad died in the hope of Christ surrounded by Christ's Church and having received the sacraments that offer the best hope of eternal salvation. Requiescat in pace, Larry. "May the divine assistance remain always with us, and may the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen."

Susan G. Komen Nixes Planned Parenthood

Komen To Stop Funding Abortion Giant Planned Parenthood

Didn't last long; they folded to pressure on 2/3. See AP article.