Thanks sis!

My sister sent this paper clipping to me. I think it does present a little something many people have forgotten about:


Perhaps, we would do well to change our "drug"s in 21st century and restore what was lost? What do you think?

I am unsure...

... should I feel scared or comforted? Hmmm....

The war...

There are many things to be worried about with the war. War is never a good thing. Consider this interview with this gentleman who is thought to be one of the foremost experts on Osama Bin Laden:



There are many things today to be worried about. For some, however, such worries are no longer so troublesome. One such person is my half-sister, who died yesterday morning at around 10:00am. I am edified to know that a chaplain at the hospital had arrived before she passed. Requiescat in Pax Domini. My mom is there in California now, and some time in the near future I hope to be able to go to my sister's funeral. That is all I want to say today, becuase death - whether unnecessarily of soliders or of my sister, Christina - is never a good thing.

Mary, Our Mother...

Perhaps you were not aware that there has been, for a number of years, a movement to have a 5th Marian Dogma defined. Already we have Mary: 1) Mother of God, 2) Perpetual Virgin, 3) Immaculate Conception, and 4) having received Assumption. The propsed dogma would be in the vein of Mary "Mother of all grace, Co-redemptrix, and advocate." We must understand that by "Co-Redemptrix" we are not saying Mary was equal to the redeemer, but rather that the Latin derivitive is here meaning "along with." What the movement hopes to see defined is that Mary was integral to God's plan of Salvation and thus was with the Redeemer as a necessary part of God the Father's plan of salvation.

Here is recent article about this movement from Zenit.org:

Cardinals Hoping for a 5th Marian Dogma

To Declare Mary as Mother of Humanity

ROME, FEB. 11, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Five cardinals have sent a letter inviting prelates worldwide to join them in petitioning Benedict XVI to declare a fifth Marian dogma they said would "proclaim the full Christian truth about Mary."
The text, released last week, includes the petition that asks the Pope to proclaim Mary as "the Spiritual Mother of All Humanity, the co-redemptrix with Jesus the redeemer, mediatrix of all graces with Jesus the one mediator, and advocate with Jesus Christ on behalf of the human race."

The signatories of the letter are five of the six cardinal co-sponsors of the 2005 International Symposium on Marian Coredemption, held in Fatima: Cardinal Telesphore Toppo, archbishop of Ranchi, India; Cardinal Luis Aponte Martínez, retired archbishop of San Juan, Puerto Rico; Cardinal Varkey Vithayathil, major archbishop of Ernakulam-Angamaly, India; Cardinal Riccardo Vidal, archbishop of Cebu, Philippines; and Cardinal Ernesto Corripio y Ahumada, retired archbishop of Mexico City.

Cardinal Edouard Gagnon, who died last August, was the sixth cardinal co-sponsor of the 2005 conference. He was the president of the Pontifical Council of the Family from 1974 until he resigned in 1990.

The secretariat of the five cardinal co-patrons released the English translation of the letter, which includes a translation and the original Latin text of the "votum," or petition, that was formulated in 2005 and presented formally to the Pope by Cardinal Telesphore in 2006.

The petition states: "We believe the time opportune for a solemn definition of clarification regarding the constant teaching of the Church concerning the Mother of the Redeemer and her unique cooperation in the work of Redemption, as well as her subsequent roles in the distribution of grace and intercession for the human family."

Ecumenism

Pointing to ecumenical concerns, the petition continues: "It is of great importance [...] that people of other religious traditions receive the clarification on the highest level of authentic doctrinal certainty that we can provide, that the Catholic Church essentially distinguishes between the sole role of Jesus Christ, divine and human Redeemer of the world, and the unique though secondary and dependent human participation of the Mother of Christ in the great work of Redemption."

The text adds that the move would be "the ultimate expression of doctrinal clarity at the service of our Christian and non-Christian brothers and sisters who are not in communion with Rome."

In a press statement released along with the letter, the cardinal co-sponsors reiterated the same ecumenical concern and said the proclamation of a fifth Marian dogma would be a "service of clarification to other religious traditions and to proclaim the full Christian truth about Mary."

The statement added, "This initiative also intends to start an in-depth worldwide dialogue on Mary's role in salvation for our time. [...] Should this effort prove successful, a proclamation would constitute a historical event for the Church as only the fifth Marian dogma defined in its 2,000-year history."

Cardinal Aponte Martínez, one of the cardinal co-patrons said: "I believe the time is now for the papal definition of the relationship of the Mother of Jesus to the each one of us, her earthly children, in her roles as co-redemptrix, mediatrix of all graces and advocate.

"To solemnly proclaim Mary as the spiritual mother of all peoples is to fully and officially recognize her titles, and consequently to activate, to bring to new life the spiritual, intercessory functions they offer the Church for the new evangelization, and for humanity in our serious present world situation."

I don't get it...

If you "Google" the New World Order or Trilateral Commission or Council on Foreign on Relations - all of which appear to be real organizations - you find all sort of conspiracy theories about how there is a movement to towards a one world government. If you think about how all of our news comes from a few sources, one must begin to wonder whether this is true or not. Most important, however, is whether the 50 United States of America are truly having their power consolidated into the Federal Government's hands. It seems clear with the Patriot Act, the establishment of the Department of Homeland Security and other recent legislation that this would appear to arguably have some legitimacy.

In one of the Republican Presidential debates, Dr. Ron Paul even touched on this issue and put it into the context of an ideological war:



Nevertheless, I think what we Catholics must understand is that there is truly a conspiracy against us - and by "us" I don't mean the United States, but the Catholic Church. But whom am I accusing of being against us? Well, actually I am not even saying something new, but what has been handed to all of us. It is precisely this: "Put on the armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm against the tactics of the devil. For our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens (Ephesians 5:11-12)."

But Holy Mother Church further makes the point: "The joys and the hopes, the griefs and the anxieties of the men of this age, especially those who are poor or in any way afflicted, these are the joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of the followers of Christ. Indeed, nothing genuinely human fails to raise an echo in their hearts. For theirs is a community composed of men. United in Christ, they are led by the Holy Spirit in their journey to the Kingdom of their Father and they have welcomed the news of salvation which is meant for every man. That is why this community realizes that it is truly linked with mankind and its history by the deepest of bonds (Vatican II's Gaudium et Spes, #1)."

There is a conspiracy, therefore, not just against the Church, but against all of Mankind. Led, foremost, by Satan, his demons and his minions. Unfortunately, not many people know who Pope Leo XIII was talking about when he spoke of the "implacable enemy of Christ and the Church" and who Br. Charles Madden, O.F.M., Conv. spoke of when he subtitled his book "Mankind's hidden Enemy." As Catholics who desire to be serious about our faith we must understand who are the enemies of Holy Mother Church, and to what teachings they hold. In this regard, I would encourage every Catholic to read two letters, in which Pope Leo XIII sounded the charge against the impending onslaught of these men and their inimical ideology of indifferentism and syncretism. These letters are Inimica Vis and Custodi Di Quella Fide.

Let us recognize that these onslaughts have not stopped and yet continue in the darkness of this present world. A darkness which only the Light & Truth of Jesus Christ has already conquered, and which we must bear and fight by means of it in the world. Let no one be misled into comfort or false security. Our hope is not in this world, but in the world to come, for only then will the fruit of our hope be enjoyed - union with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

As the Our Holy Father Pope Leo XIII stated then, (and must now be upgraded to quadrupling or quintulpling our efforts):

"20. Beloved children, faith and state speak to you at this time through Us. Listen to their cry, arise together and fight manfully the battles of the Lord. May the number, boldness, and strength of the enemy not frighten you, because God is stronger than they; if God is for you, who can be against you?

21. Redouble your prayers so that God might be with you in a greater abundance of grace, fighting and triumphing with you. Accompany your prayers with the practice of the Christian virtues, especially charity toward the needy. Seek God's mercies with humility and perseverance, renewing every day the promises of your baptism."

Why I am sympathetic....

I do not endorse any candidate, let me be clear, but I am, as has been said before, sympathetic to Ron Paul. Why? Listen to his talk at CPAC yesterday. It comes in three parts:







To me this makes a lot of sense. It is also consonant with much of what I have understood in the Catholic Social Teaching. Moreover, I have found the answer that I have been very concerned with. Many of our candidates belong to the CFR, the so-called Council on Foreign Relations - which appears to be a Masonic if not Illuminati organization. The Freemasons are called, by Pope Leo XIII, the "implacable enemy of Christ and the Church." There is a very real threat to America and the world which 13 Popes called to mankind's attention over 245 years. There are videos showing other candidates involvement with this group, but Ron Paul has flatly denied being involved with this group.



What I find so interesting is that everyone takes him as "insane" or "out of step," yet what most pundits seem to ignore is that he has started a movement which, at this point is beyond this campaign.

And check this out:



It stuck me so hard, when Dr. Paul asked, "What if China came and invaded America, we would certainly want them out of our country too?" What will become of our country because of this so-called War on Terror? I don't know. All I know is that Christ is my King. I will fight for Him; That does not make me a follower of Ron Paul, but I am sympathetic to Paul's way of thinking. We, each of us, should focus our attention first on Jesus Christ, if we are to be worthy of the glorious name "Catholic."

Nevertheless, Ron Paul's views make a lot of sense as one seriously considers what he says. I know not everybody agrees, but I would ask anyone, seeking to be a just and free person of good will, to give his ideas a fair shake.

Let us not be deceived by the Media and rhetoric we hear, but consider our Christian obligations first. How might we place ourselves at the service of Jesus Christ individually and as a nation? I look forward to anyone's comments - especially, as I have pointed out, as Politics are not my area of speciality, but I sure am interested - thanks to Dr. Paul, who also cured my apathy.

The Challenges of Life

I have often struggled with how much to change things here at the parish. One of the practices that has been handed down to me is that the children have been used to calling teachers by their first name. In our third grade book however, it makes the point that speaking to others who are elders with respect means calling them by their proper titles, i.e. Mr., Ms., Mrs., Fr., or Br. or Sr.

In our modern day, this is something which seems to be a struggle. In fact, going to the Franciscan University of Steubenville I often recall some of the Vocation Awareness days and we had priests, Jesuits in particular, who would show up and ask that we call them "Gary" or "Bob" or whatever. In reality, even then I knew, they are to be referred to as Father Gary or Father Bob. It is not because of Bob or Gary or whoever that I use this title of respect, rather the divine office which they have been entrusted with is the reason for the respect they ought to be shown.

Yet even in our own day we have such a witness of the lack of respect that is shown even amongst presidential candidates. If you have read my previous posts, then you are aware that I am sympathetic to Dr. Ron Paul. But regardless of this I find this YouTube video of an radio show in Florida particularly disturbing. Listen to this (but please note the Radio host uses some colorful language that may not be appropriate for kids):



There is much to say about this interview politically, but that is not my field. I do want to address the disrespect that Gov. Romney shows to a gentleman who is his elder and, as well, who is also a candidate for the United States of America. Not only does this remind me of the topic I spoke of above about using proper titles, but it also reminds me that we seem to be devolving from the respect we should show those who are our elders - especially not laughing at them, but considering that they may have some wisdom to share with us.

Along this same line, it is unfortunate the we have a candidate who would laugh at the belief of the candidate who has raised the most money from private donors and who is supported by a number of people from Gov. Romney's own Republican base. Where has respect gone in this country?

I find it interesting that a friend of mine told me that Glenn Beck, famous radio show host, was concerned when Ron Paul had said on his TV show that if we got rid of the income tax that the government would still take in what it took in 10 years ago! He was shocked, after looking into it, that Dr. Paul was absolutely right! You can find the interview here, albeit with some pretty outlandish visual additions of Sen. Clinton, but nevertheless the audio is what is important here. Mr. Beck makes his point at 4:26 in this audio track (with outlandish picture additions):



However, regardless of this reality, Mr. Romney is laughing at a position which is different than his own. I have difficulty wanting to vote for Gov. Romney when this is the case. Just as much, do I have difficulty when Sen. McCain has sneered repeatedly at the answers given by Dr. Paul throughout the debates - at least the ones Dr. Paul was actually invited to and given time to speak. Nevertheless, I at least will give, as the kids say these days, "props" to Mayor Giuliani when he can at least recognize that Dr. Paul actually won all the debates.



While I struggle with how to make St. Jude a more respectful Religious Education program and how to implement that charitably, I am encouraged to overcome my lethargy in this sign of our modern times. I know that I am not perfect, though I continue to try, its just that some battles seem harder to fight than others. I think you can probably understand this in your own life.

Regardless of all of this, I am very thankful that I have received the gift of life from the one living and true Triune God who has shown me His love in our Lord Jesus Christ. Now if only I can just get out of the way to let him work in me.