Two Mothers Who Died for the Faith

I've often heard people complain that there are so few lay women who are saints. But today, the feast of Sts. Perpetua and Felicity, we celebrate two Roman martyrs, both mothers, who were killed in the early persecution of the Church (203 A.D.) under Septimus. The courageous women, one a member of the nobility and one a slave were sisters in suffering. They faced wild beasts in the arena, but the crowds called for an end after the two women were thrown by a rabid heifer. They were then executed by having their throats cut. Both left behind infants. Felicity's baby daughter was born only two days before her execution and adopted by a Christian woman. How their motherly hearts must have suffered for their children! And yet, they encouraged others to stand firm in the faith. They are the patrons of mothers separated from their children both by death and other circumstances like war and persecution.

St. Perpetua and St. Felicity, please intercede for all mothers, especially the mothers of aborted children whose separation from their little ones involved cooperating in deliberate murder. Help them to repent and to embrace Perpetua's last admonition to her brother to "stand firm in the faith and love one another." St. Perpetua and St. Felicity, pray for us.

Petty Despot Obama Cancels White House Tours

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From the Family Research Council: Petty Despot Residing in the "Peoples' House" Locks 'Em Out! Cancels tours but not his pricey vacations or his administration's boondoggles.

The Golf War
March 6, 2013 - Wednesday

Most Americans already felt locked out of the White House on an ideological level--and now they're being physically shut out too! Determined to manufacture some kind of crisis in the sequester, President Obama is canceling White House tours before D.C.'s busiest tourist season. Due to "staffing reductions," senior officials say, the White House no longer has the ability to accommodate the taxpayers footing its bills.

The decision grabbed headlines, as it was designed to do, but mainly for the pettiness motivating it. The "people's house" is now the President's pawn in a PR battle to prove that the administration wasn't exaggerating the effects of the sequester's automatic cuts. Most conservative members are blasting the move--and rightly so. If the situation is dire enough to cancel White House tours, why isn't it dire enough to cancel the President's multi-million dollar vacations or the government's extravagant conferences? The President is willing to inflict pain on eighth graders, says the Wall Street Journal, while Agriculture officials drink their way through California wine country on the taxpayers' dime. Politico found at least six times where the President stretched the truth to try to create fear about the sequester.

And at least one Congressman is sick and tired of the White House's charade. Yesterday, our good friend Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) filed an amendment that would have given the President a taste of his own medicine. As part of the continuing resolution to fund the government, or CR, Gohmert took a swing at the President's golf game by asking the House to block our "green" from the putting greens. Under his measure, no public funds could have been spent transporting the President or Secret Service to a golf course until he lifts the ban on White House tours.

Unfortunately for Louie, House leaders, who had promised a more "open Congress" than the last few, were too busy blocking all amendments to give the proposal a chance. To the disappointment of FRC and the thousands of Americans who've lost their most basic freedoms under ObamaCare, House Republicans pushed for a "closed rule" on the six-month government funding extension. That means no amendments--including Rep. Gohmert's--were considered along with the CR.

RedState's Erick Erickson was one of the many frustrated bystanders. "This is a vote that will allow Republican leaders to bring to the floor of the House of Representatives the continuing resolution without having to deal with Congressman Gohmert's amendment," he writes. "It will also prevent Republicans from being able to defund Obamacare"--or protect the religious freedom or rights of conscience of those subject to it. Instead, the GOP leadership did what it's done for the last several months: continued pushing off legislation that addresses one of their base's major concerns. And since the CR is one of the year's few must-pass bills, the leadership is offering no real pathway forward for measures like Rep. Diane Black's (R-Tenn.) Health Care Conscience Act. Attaching it to the CR would have been one way to guarantee a vote on Black's language in the Senate. Now conservatives are left wondering what options remain for language that 76% of the public support.

Fortunately for the GOP, there was at least one piece of good news from "snowquestered" Washington. Despite two tries, the President's pick for the D.C. Circuit Court, Caitlin Halligan, failed to meet the 60-vote threshold needed to consider her nomination on the Senate floor. After packing the bench with extremists, the President will be short at least one anti-marriage, anti-gun, pro-abortion activist judge. Thanks to all of you who contacted your senators and asked them to vote no on Halligan. Together, we can make a difference.

My Old Parish Continues to Outdo Itself!

We lived in Alexandria and attended St. Louis Church for about 28 years. I was the pro-life coordinator there for a long stint. All five of our children attended the school and three graduated from it. I even taught in the school for a year before deciding to home school the two youngest because of the breakdown of the family and what it was doing in the classroom.

But I loved the parish and the school and I am so pleased to see that they are still so active in promoting the faith and teaching the children about the faith in such creative ways. The photo below is on their website showing the "cardinals" in conclave to elect the next pope. Most of the boys were altar servers and perhaps one day a few may actually be wearing roman collars (and cardinals robes?). Congratulations to the pastor, principal, faculty, and parents who arranged all this -- and, of course, to the children. What a perfect teaching moment! And don't you just love the Swiss guards?

When Will the Conclave Begin?

The cardinals of the world continue to gather in Rome.

One hundred fifteen will ultimately participate in the election of the new pope, although several dozen non-voting cardinals will attend. Scotland's disgraced cleric, Cardinal Keith O'Brien has recused himself saying he will withdraw from public life and the Cardinal from Jakarta, 78-year-old archbishop emeritus Julius Riyadi Damaatmadja, SJ, will not attend for health reasons which reduced the 117 electors to 115. The start of the conclave is still undetermined as the cardinals hold preliminary meetings.

Meanwhile,

Bury the Dead, A Corporal Work of Mercy

In Lent we remember the passion and death of Our Blessed Lord. Somehow, funerals during this time seem to me to share in a special way in the death of the Lord. That's how I felt this morning at the funeral of a dear man who was a deacon at our parish until he retired a few years ago. He was 87 and a veteran of World War II and the Battle of Iwo Jima. The closing hymn from the service was taken from the Navy Hymn, the verses relating to Marines. I heard that same hymn at my own father's funeral in 1985. He also was a World War II veteran and a survivor of Pearl Harbor. These two men were linked across the years by their service to God and country. It is comforting to think of the veterans meeting together to share stories and pray for their families still on earth. Daddy never knew our deacon, but I'm certain they would have liked one another because they were both honest men without guile like that true Israelite Nathaniel whom Jesus saw under the fig tree.

To bury the dead is a corporal work of mercy; to pray for the dead a spiritual one. Tonight I'm offering my rosary for the repose of the soul of the deacon and the comfort of his wife and family. I pray that he will be welcomed into the heavenly banquet where he and my dad will sing the Navy/Marine hymn together. "Eternal Father, strong to save...have mercy on them."

Remember Fr. Kunz

When Fr. Kunz was murdered he was working with Roman Catholic Faithful fighting the homosexual cabal in the Chrurch. Please pray that his murder may finally be solved. He was a good and faithful priest. More here.

Hmm...First Lightning, Now an Earthquake? What are you waiting for?

It begins to look like a real shake-up of the Church! And perhaps a last call for the world!

Earthquake Strikes Near Castel Gandolfo

First lightning strikes St. Peter's dome the day the pope announces his abdication. Now an earthquake between Rome and Castel Gandolfo. What next? Are these the "signs and portents" described in Acts of the Apostles when our first pope preached to the people of Rome on that first Pentecost?

It shall come to pass in the last days, says God that I will pour out a portion of my spirit on all mankind....I will work wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below: blood, fire, and a cloud of smoke. The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of that great and glorious day of the Lord. Then shall everyone be saved who calls on the name of the Lord.

Are you calling on the name of the Lord? If not, what are you waiting for? None of us knows the day or the hour of our last opportunity to repent. Remember the people at the time of Noah who were eating and drinking and marrying up til the day of the flood. There's no time to lose. God is calling and watching eagerly for our return  like the Father of the prodigal son. Let's not keep him waiting.

By the way, the full moon the other night was bright red as it rose over the Valley.

Oh Dear....

The Queen of England is in the hospital with a stomach bug. Can one even think of a world without her sitting on the throne of England? I was only 5 or 6 when she became queen. During her reign we have had six popes: Pius XII, John XXIII, Paul VI, John Paul I, John Paul II, and Benedict XVI. It's likely she'll see a seventh ascend the chair of Peter since her illness doesn't seem to be life-threatening, although at her age (86), any illness is potentially serious. So pray for the queen and for the Catholic Church in her poor country which, like the Church in ours, is under assault, especially from Judases within.

The Supreme Court Pegged It: Obamacare is a Giant Tax Increase

And who do you think will pay the premiums? Do corporations and businesses pay taxes? Heck no! They pass them on to the consumer. And that's exactly what's happening with Obamacare which is a giant tax increase. Already, insurers are being dunned for billions of dollars and they are...guess what...passing those increases on to the insured! Read about it here. And now you know why Obamacare included hiring beaucoup IRS agents as one of its provisions. It was NEVER about healthcare.

And while we're talking about Obamacare consequences have you heard about the 29ers and the significance of 49? Well, folks, employers must offer health insurance to employees who work 30 hours a week or pay severe penalties. So...many businesses are now hiring part-timers, especially fast-food franchises which have a very small profit margin. It's a question of necessity: cut employee hours or go out of businesses.

Other businesses that might expand are keeping their roles at 49 employees, because they are exempt until they hit the threshhold of 50 workers.

So what does all this mean? Small businesses will not expand and offer more jobs and many businesses will eliminate fulltime employees. Thank you, Obama, for killing jobs, hurting workers, and raising the cost of health insurance. The average family will see an increase of $300 this year with an even bigger increase next. And you liberals thought Obamacare would be free. But...maybe you can still get a free cell phone.

Senior Boomers Take Note! The Chickens Come Home to Roost!

Hospital Readmissions Penalized

All the seniors who voted for Obama because of health care promises will be getting some very rude surprises! Seniors are among patients most likely to be readmitted to hospitals after major surgeries and other conditions. But hospitals are on notice that they'll be penalized for readmissions and some are already experiencing it. How eager do you think those facilities will be to readmit seniors for a complication related to a previous admission no matter how sick they are? (Take two aspirins and go to bed and call the local funeral home.)

I am tempted to ask, shouldn't decisions about treatment be between a patient and her doctor? Why should a government board have any right to look over the doctor's shoulder? But let's face it, Obamacare is not about what's best for the patient -- it's about imposing socialized medicine on the country. And some patients will be more expendable than others. Better take your vitamin D3 and stay healthy, because it's "Sayonara, Seniors!" for you if you get sick.

Ah well, it was the baby boom generation who welcomed the sexual revolution, feminism, the drug culture, and the ridicule of godliness and patriotism. Those chickens are now coming home to roost. Repentance anyone?