Condemn the Obama Administration's Promotion of Human Trafficking of Children

It is unbelievable that anyone can justify the human trafficking of the Obama administration using children as pawns to overwhelm our system and increase the government bureaucracy. CNS News has a very disturbing story that includes this:

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) told the committee that he'd just received a report from an immigration advocacy group at the University of Chicago Law School describing the ordeal of two unaccompanied children: 

"Samuel and Emily are siblings; amazingly, ages 3 and 6 -- 3 and 6. They got here from Honduras. I don't know how," Durbin said. 

"When they initially arrived in the United States, they were very quiet and they didn't open up. They were clearly victims of trauma. After two months of care and custody of these 3- and 6-year-old children by HHS, Emily revealed that both children had been raped by members of a local drug cartel. 

"I think about those children when I think about this debate. Are they the exception? God, I pray they are. But I'm afraid there are many more with similar stories."

Three and six years old! Those are the ages of two of my little granddaughters. What mother in her right mind would let those little ones travel thousands of miles alone with a bunch of barbarian coyotes? It is time to close the borders instead of letting people think there's a magic land in the north where money grows on trees and the roads are paved with gold.

Obama and his administration are guilty of the trafficking of these children, some of whom are dying on the trip like 15-year-old Gilberto Ramos. And then there are the reports of children's bodies washing up on the banks of the Rio Grande.

And why are we not securing the borders? It's all part of the community organizing strategy to overwhelm the system. Read about it here. Obama promised to transform America and he's keeping that promise in spades. What his supporters didn't realize is that he wanted the U.S. to collapse so he could remake us into the latest socialist, government-run country where the people are slaves of the state. Is that what you want for your children and grandchildren?

Trouble in Obama's Paradise

See more here.

Now shouldn't Chicago be heaven on earth? After all, community organizer Obama was there a few decades ago agitating for Utopia. And his clone, Rahm Emanuel is the mayor. So things must be A-okay. On the other hand, 4th of July weekend saw a rash of violence and most of the victims were black or Hispanic. Emanuel is in trouble according to the Washington Post.

So what are the Feds doing to help Chicago? Sending them hundreds of illegal immigrant children. Does anyone not see something bizarre about claiming we must allow the deluge of unaccompanied children into the U.S. because their countries of origin are "violent" and then sending them to Chicago? We are living in the land of Oz with a little pretender behind the curtain using his teleprompter and pretty soon there will be no country to go home to!

I'm betting this angry woman is post-abortive....Warning - graphic language!

...Please pray for her and for the courageous pro-lifers who often meet this kind of abuse when they stand up for life on the public sidewalk.



A few things to consider in this video. First, the woman denies the truth of the abortion signs which are incontrovertible. Listen to her continuously insist, "It's a clump of cells at 12 weeks...no hands are showing at that time." Really? A baby at 10 weeks has a well-formed body. At 11 weeks all organ systems are functioning. Here are several photos from webmd.com with their descriptions:

Does this look like a clump of cells?

Development at 8 Weeks:
The baby is now a little over half an inch in size. Eyelids and ears are forming, and you can see the tip of the nose. The arms and legs are well formed. The fingers and toes grow longer and more distinct.

No hands are showing?

Development at 12 Weeks: 

The baby measures about 2 inches and starts to make its own movements. You may start to feel the top of your uterus above your pubic bone. Your doctor may hear the baby's heartbeat with special instruments. The sex organs of the baby should start to become clear.

This poor woman may just be spouting lies she was told at an abortion mill. Her anger is misdirected at those who are showing her the painful truth. Grief and guilt are common after abortion. And people will feel anything before they will deal with those emotions. Pray daily for babies in danger of abortion and mothers suffering from having killed their children. May God have mercy on them and bring them to healing. 

Spiritual adoption prayer

Healing after abortion

Face the Truth, America

Sidewalk counseling

A Homily on Catechesis and Critique of YouCat by FSSP Priest

It's interesting that this priest requested that his name be withheld when the homily was put online. Wonder why? In view of what happened to Fr. Justin Wylie, I think he's prudent. As you listen to the homily think about his comments on the heretical Dutch catechism published in 1969. No one involved in that scandalous, heretical work was disciplined or fired or prevented from saying Mass. But Fr. Wylie who preached a politically incorrect sermon is banned from saying public Mass in NYC, one more outrageous act from the Cardinal of New York. But back to the issue at hand, bad catechisms.

Here's the email I received from a priest friend:

Priest is FSSP. (he's not kind to the YouCat - I found more passages than he cites that were vague and misleading in it, esp. on sins against the 6th/9th Commandments, against which our youth struggle the most today and on which they most need clarity, "YouCat" doesn't IMO give it.

Catechetical Nightmares: What Religious Books Should I Use?

 

		Catechetical Nightmares: What Religious Books Should I Use? Catechetical Nightmares: What Religious Books Should I Use?: preached on 2014-06-28 and available at AudioSancto.org, a source of sermons in plain English on Catholic dogma, doctrine, and devotion.
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The Bishops Need to Read St. Thomas Aquinas on Immigration

There's a good article at Spero Forum addressing the opinions of St. Thomas Aquinas on immigration. Here are a few paragraphs that sum up some essentials:

These are some of the thoughts of Saint Thomas Aquinas on the matter of immigration based on biblical principles. It is clear that immigration must have two things in mind: the first is the nation’s unity; and the second is the common good. 

Immigration should have as its goal integration, not disintegration or segregation. The immigrant should not only desire to assume the benefits but the responsibilities of joining into the full fellowship of the nation. By becoming a citizen, a person becomes part of a broad family over the long term and not a shareholder in a joint stock company seeking only short-term self-interest. 

Secondly, Saint Thomas teaches that immigration must have in mind the common good; it cannot destroy or overwhelm a nation. 

This explains why so many Americans experience uneasiness caused by massive and disproportional immigration. Such policy artificially introduces a situation that destroys common points of unity and overwhelms the ability of a society to absorb new elements organically into a unified culture. The common good is no longer considered.

Right! And many of our bishops are primary culprits in enabling the destruction of our country and the common good. It's unfortunate that so many nations have corrupt governments that exploit their people. (Like ours doesn't?) But the answer is not to destroy what little unity we have in the U.S. by flooding the country with illegals, many of whom have no interest in assimilating but simply want to cash in on government handouts bankrupting communities and stealing from the taxpayers.  (Attention, bishops, stealing is a sin!) Pray for our bishops! Many of them are blind guides drawing their flocks to error and sin. Never forget that prudent Catholics test the spirits.

Home from Retreat and Rejoicing in God's Blessings

I'm giving thanks today for the blessing of another grace-filled retreat. The Spiritual Exercises provide such an intense course in meditation. And my "backup book" was St. Louis de Montfort's Secrets of the Rosary. The stories and meditations on the mysteries of the rosary were the perfect accompaniment to the exercises.

And the setting was absolutely beautiful. San Damiano retreat house is lovely. Take a look and consider how such a setting lifts one's heart and mind to God. Have you made a retreat lately? Don't forget to set apart time for God. Think about it... you can't love someone if you don't know him. And you can't know someone if you don't spend time with him.

Remember one of the first questions in the Baltimore Catechism. "Why did God make me?"

"God made made me to know him, to love, him, and to serve him in this world and be happy with him in the next." Make a retreat with the Lord. If you can only spare a day, there are days of reflection. If you have a weekend, even better. God will not be outdone in generosity. If you give him time, he will bless you abundantly!

You Know Not the Day or the Hour! Pray Not to Die an Unprovided Death.

Well, I'm back from a five-day silent retreat...and what a return to the "real" world (or is it the unreal world) this afternoon was.

My daughter went on retreat with me after her family came for a fourth of July visit. To let them avoid having to bring two cars, my husband and I offered to drive our daughter to meet her husband and family in Cumberland, MD which is halfway between their house in a Pittsburgh suburb and ours in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. But, oh my, what a trip! About twenty minutes up I-81 from Winchester we came to a full stop that lasted two hours.

When it became clear we weren't going anywhere soon, my daughter and I decided to walk up to the next exit (three miles) and along the route we found out there had been a violent, localized downpour. (We didn't see a drop of rain ourselves!) Someone in a small compact heading southbound lost control, went across the median, and struck an SUV travelling north head-on. Two people were killed at the scene. I don't know whether it was both drivers or a driver and passenger. According to another bystander there was also a helicopter that medevacked someone to the hospital. I guess we'll read about it in the paper tomorrow. I haven't been able to find a thing on the internet. So sad for the families involved and especially the victims who may have experienced what the Church calls an "unprovided death" where they are not spiritually prepared.

We decided that our presence near the accident scene was providential since we were there "by mistake." We usually go through Berkley Springs, WV, but my husband missed the exit off 81 and decided to continue north on the alternate route. As a result of us being there, however, we prayed the Chaplet of Divine Mercy for those who died and then prayed the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary for them.

Our retreat was based on the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius which begin by contemplating sin and its devastating impact -- Original Sin that drove Adam and Eve out of the garden of Eden and robbed them and their children of God's friendship and then personal sin. Retreatants meditate on the fact that many people have died and gone to hell for committing one mortal sin and then each of us reflects on why I have not been lost for my many sins. Why has God given me more time to repent and get my life in order when others have been taken so precipitately? Big question when one comes face to face with sudden death.

We prayed that those who died this afternoon were ready to face their maker. They certainly had little time to prepare in those split seconds before impact. No doubt they did not consider this morning that they were embarking on their last day on this earth. Please pray for all accident victims who died today. May God have mercy on their souls, especially those who were least prepared.

As the retreat ended we prayed for all those travelling home and Father gave us a travelers' blessing. I hope all eighteen of us are safely in our beds tonight. But my mind is buzzing with thoughts tonight about the insecurity of life and the need to be vigilant about our final end. What a tragedy to lose an eternity of heaven for the short life here on earth. Which brings me to a final question.

What would you do differently if you knew you would die today?

Lives of the Saints and St. Joseph de Clairval Abbey

St. Ignatius' conversion began with an injury on the battlefield that left him laid up in bed for months. The only reading material he had was Scripture and the lives of the saints. He preferred the romances of the time about knights and their adventures, but when he compared the fleeting entertainment of those stories with the examples of true love and courage reflected by the saints, he was changed forever.

On retreat we listen to readings at meals from the Imitation of Christ and the lives of the saints. What a blessing to be filled with true examples of those who conformed their lives to Christ and became living witnesses to His love.

I receive a monthly newsletter from Saint Joseph de Clairval Abbey in France that each month features a particular saint (or saint in the making). Some are well known like the children of Fatima or St. Damien or St. Therese of Lisieux, but many of those featured are lesser known. Their stories are inspiring and often riveting. If you want wonderful bedtime reading, ask to be put on their mailing list. Think of going to bed contemplating the life of men or women who loved Christ enough to give their lives completely to Him. Each story is short, only four pages, but a wonderful introduction to a hero or heroine. Here's an example of a favorite saint of mine, Margaret Clitherow, one of the English martyrs, a wife and mother executed for nothing other than loving the Mass and letting priests say it in her home. You can read about her here.

I regularly have masses said for my loved ones at the Abbey. Their newsletters have been such a gift to me that I want to return the favor by supporting them.

Ignatian Retreat and the Spiritual Exercises

The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius are famous for changing lives. Many saints made them during their lifetimes. In fact, all the Jesuits make them as part of their formation for the priesthood. Think of these great Jesuit heroes of the past and the part the Spiritual Exercises played in their sanctification:

the North American martyrs who suffered incredible torture and abuse at the hands of the Iroquois Indians; the many English martyrs like St. Edmund Campion, St. Thomas Garnet, St. Robert Southwell, and St. Philip Evans who died brutal deaths by being hanged, drawn, and quartered, or beheaded. You can read about these Jesuit saints here and consider the impact the Spiritual Exercises had in forming their characters to the extent they were willing to follow Jesus to the cross -- literally. 

Yes, the Spiritual Exercises are saint-makers. Please Lord, help me this week to cooperate with all the graces of the retreat that I might be willing to follow in the footsteps of your saints, especially the martyrs who were willing to give up all, even life, for love of You.

What Are the Spiritual Exercises?

There are many types of retreats, but the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola are unique. They represent a formal pattern based on four "weeks" of meditations beginning with God's love for us and our own attachment to sin that hinders us from responding. Most of the retreat involves meditating on the life of Christ from the Incarnation to the passion to the resurrection. Each "week" involves praying for a particular grace -- for example the grace of sorrow and tears as we reflect on Christ's passion and what our sins cost the Lord of the Universe, and the grace of great joy at our Salvation as we ponder the resurrection and Christ's opening the gates of heaven. You can read more about the Spiritual Exercises here. And if you are interested in more there's a wealth of information here. I hope you go browsing to learn more about this great spiritual method of growing closer to the Lord through meditation and contemplation on the life of Christ. St. Ignatius, pray for us.