St. Jude RE & RCIA Director's Blog

Parting thoughts...

2009-04-30T10:21:00.006-06:00

My heart hurts.

What a joy this parish has been to work for. I cannot say that I have not been wounded and even feel beaten up because of the manner in which I was laid off from St. Jude. There are many things that one must question about why I was let go. Nevertheless, that is not for me to expound on here.

Rather, I want to focus on a few things: 1) I am profoundly struck by the many people who have stopped me this last week to offer their thanks for all that I have done and tried to do at this parish. One of the most striking was when an elder lady of our parish mentioned to me that "you have brought a real sense of a Catholic identity to this parish." WOW! If that is not a compliment, then I don't know what is. But when one stops to think about it, one begins to question: of what significance is this of the parish before I arrived, and of what after I leave? Now, please don't get me wrong. I am not so prideful as to think I have been some kind of savior, if anything has been done through me then I give all praise to Christ Jesus, My Lord and My God. However, why is it that lay people recognize that another layperson has done something to bring "being Catholic" back to the center of this parish?

Could it be that the unorthodox elements of this parish have been laboring and suppressing the practice of the Catholic Faith in some way? Perhaps. Could it be that the laicized priest who preceded me had suppressed the wonder and awe due to the Holy Catholic Faith since he himself had to have been jaded or at best felt guilty and hypocritical for teaching the demands of the Holy Catholic Faith, especially since he was charged not to when he was laicized (as I understand the official letters of discharge to say)? Perhaps. Its hard to say in the end. But perhaps the fact that the shackles of fear have emerged at our parish as our nation's economy continues to plummet, also might have something to do with it.

All I know is that I hope "Ben", who I understand to be my replacement in the Children's religious education, will help to restore some vigor and passion to the children's program for the sake of the parents who are coming to receive the Catholic Faith. So many of the people teaching Religious Education in our nation tend to ignore the Integrity and the Mystery of the Holy Catholic Faith, and prefer to focus on "social justice" or "social interaction." This, of course, was the philosophy also of Anthony Gallegos, and many people at this parish were disgusted (it seemed) by it because it was uncomfortable to actually be Catholic and to teach the teens to actually defend and live up to the challenging adventure that is the Holy Catholic Faith.

2) I am deeply impressed, given all that I have said above, by the people who have actually heard what I have been teaching for the past 5 years and taken it to heart (which has been nothing more than explaining what is in the Catechism or in the Sacred Tradition of the Catholic Church). Many of the RCIA participants and some parents have actually been moved to compunction - that is, to actually repent, to be restored to grace and to take up their cross and follow after the Lord Jesus. Unfortunately, with so much confusion and misinformation about the Catholic Faith out there, and at times having been taught here at St. Jude, one begins to see why Catholics are so half-hearted that they can't even understand why we should be OUTRAGED that our Pro-Abortion President is on the verge of receiving an award from our nation's premiere Catholic University. My hope is that in the near future, someone will also stand up and, whether from the pulpit or from the pews, help push to restore the proper worldview we should have as Catholics at the Parish of St. Jude.

This parish is entrusted to the Patron of Impossible Cases, and I have been struck how many people come from all over the city to pray to St. Jude here at our parish. How awesome that Fr. Schaffer wisely put up the relic of St. Jude for people to come and to storm heaven for their needs with the Apostle to whom Our Archbishop has continued to entrust us! May we all turn to heaven for our parish and especially for our parish leaders, who have many decisions to make and every one of them they will have to stand before the Gates of Hell to answer for why they did what they did, as one of my University professors used to point out us. For this reason, let us pray for them and for their desire to seek Christ above money, above popularity, and above their own way of doing things.

3) Every year, for the last 5 years - since I started on July 12th 2004, I have chosen a scripture verse to be the focus of the Catechetical Year. I haven't pushed it much on the parish, but more importantly I have tried to make a point of it to the catechists (though I don't know how I well I did with that), to the parents, and to the children (though this only in a general way). Not least of all of these, I always chose a scripture that spoke to my heart and where I was at, as this it seems to me is at the heart of a Catholic leader. Unless I have been living out my Catholic Faith, and continuing and enduring the struggle to be a disciple of Jesus, then I have no ability to witness to what this means. To put it another way, "One can not give what one does not have." Or to put it in Papal terms, so to speak, "Modern man listens more willing to witnesses than he does to teachers, and if he listens to teachers it is because they are witnesses."

My scripture verse for the year, which has allowed me to endure many things this year with peace and some solace, is this: "Indeed, I count EVERYTHING as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as [REFUSE], in order that I may gain Christ and be found in Him (Phil 3:8-9)." Now, I have tried to live up to this all year. Not focusing on money, on popularity, on pleasure, but to focus entirely on Christ. Perhaps I have not lived up to this entirely, but I have tried. Nevertheless, what I find so heart-wrenching is the fact that I also have realized much more that in the Church, the faithful of Christ, lies the joys of working for the Church. There is a famous story of St. Lawrence the Deacon who was asked to bring the treasure of the Church before the Emperor, and he went away and came back with the poor people of Rome. He said, "Here is the treasure of the Church." Too true. My heart is saddened to leave Christ who is present in every parishioner of St. Jude, even those who reject him by holding positions contrary to our Holy Mother Church.

The Letter to the Hebrews is quite clear: "Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you forgotten the exhortation which addresses you as sons? - "My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor lose courage when you are punished by him. For the Lord disciplines him whom he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives." It is for discipline that you have to endure. Fos is treating you as sons; for what son is there whom a father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons." As Catholics, we must learn the obedience that our Lord and Master learned in his humanity. This is what is left for us, all of us - from layperson, deacon, priest, bishop, or Pope. We must learn to find the joy of living in the discipline of Holy Mother Church; and by that I mean, trying to understand what her wisdom is in her teachings and not presuming we know better than her!

I have a heavy heart. Am I excited for my new job? Somewhat, and I am sure tomorrow on May 1st, the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker, I will be much more excited, when I realize I will soon have a job again. But for now, to live in this moment of my life, to enjoy the present as it should be enjoyed, my heart is heavy with sadness.

Today is also the Feast of St. Pius V, who established the so-called "Tridentine" Mass or what we call today "the Extraordinary Form" of the Mass or even more popularly "the Old Latin mass" as valid in perpetuity. I find that somehow fitting for my last day at St. Jude. I have been told, through the grapevine, that someone had mentioned how they thought that I was laid off from this parish because I was "too Catholic." I don't know about that, but it is comforting to know that the Church will carry on in perpetuity, regardless of what happens at this parish, there will always be a Catholic Church until the end of time. The complimentary question, which has been the question I have been about the business of getting people to answer in thier own lives in my time here at St. Jude, is whether we will choose to remain Catholics until the end of each of our time on earth.

I pray, as you have endured this last post, that you dear reader will find that joy and the comfort that allows you also to endure. May you be hidden in and defended by the prayers of our foster-father and the Universal Patron of the Holy Catholic Church, St. Joseph, the Terror of Demons. If you would like to follow my adventures after tomorrow I invite you to keep an eye on my new Website and Blog that will eventually be on there: http://www.terrorofdemons.com

With every hope for you to be spiritual enriched and to find great comfort in losing everything that you may find Christ, I remain yours in Christ,

The (former) Director of RE & RCIA at St. Jude Catholic Church (2004-2009)

What is in the dark...

2009-04-27T22:47:00.004-06:00

One has to wonder at this point whether we are seeing a raw transformation of our country. Michael Savage, who appears on KNUS from 9:00-12:00pm and who I enjoy listening to, has been suggesting there is a real possibility that this is a bio-terrorist attack, manifested through the most useful target: illegal mexican nationals crossing the border.

Now I am of mexican descent, and I do agree that all people deserve basic human respect, but I also agree with Pope Benedict XVI's assessment that every nation has a "responsilibity to protect" its people, as he said in his address to the United Nations.

What I find incredibly interesting is whether this new Avian-swine-human virus may just be something even more heinous. I don't understand what to make of this article from 2004 that the CDC was already trying to manufacture these types of viruses! What does it mean? Why is Janet Napolitano, head of the Department of Homeland Security, not so worried about this possible pandemic? Could it be that there is something more sinister going on? I don't know. But one wonders... After all, Margaret Sanger, who founded Planned Parenthood, was demonstrably a racist who sought to destroy all people of color. Now, as a policy, our "leader" Barack Obama has diverted a lot of money to Planned Parenthood and their mission, while continuing to divide the Catholic Church by turning the knife in the back of the mystical body of Christ by promoting disobedient so-called "pro-choice" Catholics who embrace the pro-abortion, pro-articifical contraception, and so on and so forth, positions that reject the Church's teaching.

The modernist desire to unite the Church with the pro-abortion lobby forces one to wonder whether Satan is laughing his head off all the way to the bank. Not that Obama is Satan, but he sure seems to have a clear understanding of his position which seeks to divide the Church further by means of those who are already endangering their souls by rejecting Holy MOther Church's teaching.

May God have mercy on our country.

By the sweat of our brows...

2009-04-22T11:17:00.006-06:00

If you are not aware of it, then you may have missed the chill put on by laypeople, by priests, and by unfortunately even a few bishops in the last 40 years. Since people began to not hear the teaching of Holy Mother Church and focusing on the so-called "Spirit of Vatican II" - read a spirit of rebellion or revolution - some of the older Catholics who fill the pews, unfortunately have allowed themselves to fall into disobedience. The Letter to the Hebrews is quite clear that we should keep ourselves from this sin of Adam. Rather, as with Adam & Eve, we should have the wisdom and faith to abandon and entrust ourselves to the Holy Catholic Faith. Why? Well, obviously because a bunch of old dudes got together and made it all up, right? Certainly, these merely human mythic old dudes could come up with something that would last for 2000 years, longer than any other institution on the face of the planet earth.

Or could it be that the Holy Spirit of God promised by Jesus has maintained the Sacred Tradition of the Church in handing on the Deposit of Faith in every generation.

Perhaps, as one gentleman who has published a heretical book from St. Jude has said, "the Church must change with the times." NO! Of course not!

Why do we humans have such an aversion to believing and then believing fully. Paul told his listeners in Hebrews, "For whoever enters God's rest also ceases from his labors as God did from his. Let us therefore strive to enter that rest [which God provides], that no one fall by the same sort of disobedience (Heb 4:10-11)." We so often want to tell God how things should be run, that we forget that the salvation and redemption wrought by Jesus on the Cross was a free gift!

This gift freely given, however, calls us to a new way of life. This is why Jesus told his disciples, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching to observe all that I have commanded you; and behold I am with you always until the close of the age (Mt 28:19-20)." You are NEVER going to come up with the Catholic Faith by watching "Meet the Press" on Sunday Mornings, or watching "American Idol", or any other TV program or doing anything else. The Holy Catholic Faith is something that must be learned, and even to be studied. In short, the whole of the Holy Catholic Faith is a free gift to be received with great joy. As Jesus puts it, "Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will NEVER enter the kingdom of heaven (Mt 18:3)."

We have the ability as humans, by our freewill, to receive God or to reject God. Yet, what is best for us? As Paul again says in Hebrews, "About this [i.e. the mystery of Jesus] we have much to say which is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need some one to teach you again the first principles of God's word. You need milk, not solid food; for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their faculties trained by practice to distinguish good from evil (Heb 5:11-14)."

Unfortunately, in my experience so many of our elderly brothers and sisters in the Catholic Church today have NOT been taught the Holy Catholic Faith. They have been taught opinions and conjectures and lies. Is this not why Jesus called Satan the "Father of Lies" though? How else would he draw Christ's faithful away from Him who has said of Himself that He is "the truth, the way and the life (Jn 14:6)." Brothers and Sisters in Christ, whoever may read this humble post, flee to Christ! Read the Catechism of the Catholic Church! Ask questions of those who speak Christ's Truth: good solid Priests, Deacons and Catechists, and theologians who love Jesus and serve Jesus!

"How will I know them?" You might ask, Jesus already told us: "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly they are revenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathed from thorns, or figs from thistles? So, every sound tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears evil fruit. A sound tree cannot bear evil fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will known them by their fruits (Mt 7:15-20)."

IF all of us can get "weaned" from Holy Mother Church, in order that we learn how to pick up our cross and follow after our Lord Jesus Christ, then Christ will finally have the means to change the face of the planet earth by first establishing his kingdom in us! We can only do this when we abandon ourselves fully to the Holy Spirit who gives us every grace to accomplish our tasks assigned to us by God. As St. Paul put it in Ephesians, "We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them (Eph 2:10)." And could it be that some of our Catholic brothers and sisters are already awakening to the Holy Ghost from the slumber of faithlessness and doubt sown, largely, by ravenous wolves after Vatican II?

Micheal Voris puts this into perspective in his most recent commentary over at RealCatholicTV.com. I, for one, agree with him. Let us also awake, for our salvation draws near!!!

WARNING: video may be INAPPROPRIATE for minors

2009-04-20T20:06:00.004-06:00

Are you kidding me...

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

This video is ridiculous. Why is this particular man deciding a beauty contest on political grounds? Who cares what a beauty contestant believes about this political issue. And why is this so-called reporter completely siding with this man? He argues that she would represent all Americans, and yet she is not going to be a political activist she would have been a beauty queen!!! Is this what passes for objective questions these days... on second thought that was going to be a question, but it is a statement: THIS IS what passes for journalism... Thanks NBC for brainwashing the country, and not staying objective.

So what if she misspoke about the legality of same-sex marriage? Why would one even ask the question!!!? Why is this political issue now being pushed on a beauty pageant, which by the way I could care less about anyway. Nevertheless, this "man" also is verbally beating up a woman. He says that she was "instantly divisive" and yet he is the one who poses a political question at a beauty pageant. Fair enough. But what was his response. He says nothing about how she stated her opinion, rather - listen carefully when he says, "I was not upset or frustrated about her disagreeing with me about gay marriage." In other words, she wasn't able to state her opinion without already being prejudged. Why is supporting traditional marriage ostensibly the reason this guy voted against her? In other words, why is a beauty queen being discriminated against for her thoughts? And further, this "man" is calling her a "B****" and a "C***" (apparently) because she "disagrees" with him. Is THIS what a passes for as a "man" these days? If women wonder why chivalry is dead, you need look no further than this woman reporter who basically implicitly is saying, "you are right."

This demonstrable political activist should have been banned from asking about this topic, it seems to me. I watched this "show" for about 4 minutes, and only because I was connecting my new DTV box. I couldn't bring myself to watch this ridiculous contest for too long anyway, but this definitely puts the nail in the coffin of my ever even thinking about watching it ever again.

One last note, why is this "celebrity blogger" even a judge? Is that the last leg this contest is on? You couldn't get someone who is even known, maybe a national commercial ad extra? Sorry Mr. Trump, but perhaps you should stick with "The Apprentice" and Real Estate.

I know, I know...

2009-04-19T20:44:00.002-06:00

Ok it is the last day of Easter, but it is STILL Easter! I love being Catholic! In case you might have missed it, here is the Pope's Message to the city and the world. It is incredible to be a part of this...

Why I chose Franciscan University...

2009-04-13T16:41:00.003-06:00

Every year I show new parents to our Children's program a video which helps to make clear the role of Secular Humanism in the public state-run schools. Many people were originally offended by that, but it is demonstrably clear this is happening in our state-run schoools. Nevertheless, it was quite clear to me growing up, and it has been demonstrated by the kids in the program here at St. Jude who have already been indoctrinated without their knowing it. And now, it is becoming more mainstream to recognize this problem. Enter a new film:

As happened with the Movie "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed," produced by Ben Stein, I really hope many people, but more importantly we Catholics, become aware of the problems in today's state-run schools. If we aren't aware that the small persecutions of teachers telling kids they can't write "B.C." but that they have to write "B.C.E." as happened to one of the 5th graders here at the parish, then we are already losing another generation of Catholics by their Secular Humanistic indoctrination.

Well.. why bother now...

2009-04-01T12:11:00.001-06:00

I have never seen the Movie "Kill Bill," but in one minute there is need to bother... even if you never wanted to...

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Doesn't seem so exciting now does it... hmm...

Old McDonald had a farm...

2009-04-01T11:35:00.003-06:00

with a conspiracy theory here, with a conspiracy theory there, here a theory there a theory... everywhere a theory theory...

What all these conspiracy theorists and Mr Hannity don't get is that there has always been a conspiracy theory. The thing is it has always had less to do with money or politics, these are only symptoms of what has always been the case, and which our first Pope made very clear: "Be sober, be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking some one to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experience of suffering is required of your brotherhood throughout the world (1Pet 5:8-9)." Not only that but Pope Clement XII and Pope Leo XIII made it clear that the Freemasons have been plotting to blot out Christ's Holy Catholic Church from their inception. This is ulitmately the whole point of the only conspiracy that matters to all mankind, because it is Satan's plan.

Now I know some of you who happen to be non-Catholics and/or atheists may not buy that, but whether you buy it or not it is the truth. At end of our lives we will know it fully, but now it is already true in the midst of our lives. May we learn to fight those would destroy free humanity best hope, namely the Holy Catholic Church that gives us True freedom from sin and the oppressive thinking of the world upon our souls!

Too bad they can't just dislike us a lot...

2009-03-31T12:54:00.008-06:00

With the way modern TV has become (see above), I am quickly becoming very supportive of Michael Voris, executive producer of RealCatholicTV.com. He has had some brilliant commentary on the Obama at Notre Dame Debacle as I posted here a few days ago. But now he has come up with a very intensive reflection for our last week of Lent.

Unfortunately, many Catholics will blow this off. Some priests, deacons, and lay people alike may laugh off his position as being "extremist" or "overly traditional" or "being too Catholic." I, for one, think he couldn't be more right. If you read through the Letters of St. Paul he clearly said, "I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake, I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as "refuse" [which in the original Greek really means "poop"] in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him (Phil 1:8-9)."

With relatively recent surveys that have up to 60% of Catholics, if not more, NOT believing in the Real Presence of Our Lord Jesus in the Holy Eucharist, one wonders what will become of Christ's Holy Catholic Church which we have been entrusted with to promote and to grow. If only more priests and deacons would preach on the fact that everyone in the parish is, whether they know it or not, part of the RCIA team at each and every Parish! Every one of us is already giving the witness of the importance and persistent practice of our Catholic Faith... or we aren't. The question we must ask ourselves is can we say everything else in our life, even our own earthly desires - including our desire to see the Church transformed the way we want to see it go, have been crucified with Christ, so that in Christ I meet God's way of living, God's way of thinking, because in our baptism we have already been made his adopted sons and daughters!!!

Let us be like the littlest children, and obey God with childlike love by means of the teachings of his Holy Catholic Church - though we may disagree with our priest or our deacons, never let us forget that they are not our Catholic Faith. Our Catholic Faith comes in the teachings of Holy Mother Church (which can be found summarized in the Catechism of the Catholic Church). We should never let a priest, deacon or lay person lead us astray or cause us to lose faith, though they are human they are still our brothers and sisters in Christ and we should obey Him who gave them pastoral authority over us (namely God our Father), as hard as it may be sometimes.

In fact, one of my students at the Biblical School asked me this morning if Paul really meant in Romans 13:1 "Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore he who resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of him who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain; he is the servant of God to execute his wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be subject, not only to avoid God's wrath but for the sake of conscience. For the same reason you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay all of them their dues, taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due (Rom 13:1-3)." The answer is YES, he did mean it! We must be faithful citizens, but to be faithful citizens means to honor Christ above all things, otherwise we aren't even faithful to being what we are!!!

The question, in the Notre Dame Scandal, is whether our President is due an honorary Doctorate by a Catholic Institution. The answer, demonstrably, is "No!" ON the one hand, we due owe respect to the office of President. On the other, if we are to serve Christ first above all things, even the President cannot be held in honor by a University claiming the glorious title "Catholic."

As I said, Michael Voris has a great point and each of us should also consider our own lives and whether each of us - priest, deacon, or lay person - are also worthy of having others consider our life and ascribe to us that same glorious title of being "Catholic." Even if people are annoyed by us, at least he has a point.

What if your ALMA MATER DID IT?!

2009-03-27T22:25:00.005-06:00

Michael Voris over at RealCatholicTV.com is nothing if not gutsy! He is turning up the heat by calling for the resignation or at least to put the pressure on Fr. Jenkins, current president at Notre Dame, for the outrage of disobeying the Bishops of our Country. You can find his latest commentary on the subject either by subscribing at RealCatholicTV.com or by following this link.

In fact, as he says in the video link above, he has now also posted a survey for those of us who wish to make our voices heard, as he himself is tied into the University as an alumnus. Please visit his site and add your voice to the many other faithful Catholics who are speaking out. You can find it here: http://www.realcatholictv.net/ndobama/survey.php

Let us join this man who is standing up for the Church and for those innocents whose lives are being destroyed in our country. God bless you Michael Voris!

This is NOT FUNNY!!!!

2009-03-23T23:06:00.007-06:00

You have got to be kidding me! Will the "desecrating Sacrilege (Mt 24:15)" be appearing again? I am just asking the question, mind you...

PLEASE READ THIS IF YOU ARE A CATHOLIC!!!

http://media.www.ndsmcobserver.com/media/storage/paper660/news/2009/03/23/News/Jenkins.Obama.honored.University.By.Accepting-3679015.shtml

What's sad is Fr. Jenkins, may God have mercy on his soul, can't see a difference between this president and the whole line of other presidents prior to him. What happened to so-called Academic Freedom that is supposed to "cause us to think"? I guess thinking with the heart of the Church is out of the question, hunh?

The Number to call to tell the President of Notre Dame to stop "our President" from giving a commencement speech at the University of Notre Dame, effectively approving the policies of his administration then please call: 574-631-5000.

If only I could show you the Vortex on www.realcatholicTV.com (which I can't get to post on here), there is a brilliant commentary on this outrage by Michael Voris who not only is a practicing Catholic, but also an alumnus of Notre Dame. The best I can do is give you his petition, which also has a pretty good summary on it.

UPDATE: Ok, though I can't post it here, please follow this link as it is that commentary I mentioned above!

I am sorry... I just can't help laughing... is it because of my cynicism, or is this really funny?

2009-03-21T22:51:00.003-06:00

Who is in to going with me? http://www.miketheheadlesschicken.org/index.php

Well... he has a point...

2009-03-19T10:06:00.004-06:00

The only problem is, and it is arguably the fundamental dilemma of our country, is not that we have power of our own sake. For as Our Lord taught us, "You would have no power over me, unless it was given to you from above." In fact, what seems to sound so good in the above video should cause some disturbance to us as Catholics. Not because we are not citizens or something like that, rather Thomas Paine was himself a Freemason, who inherently was also led to reject the Catholic Church and her teachings. Although we live in a country in which we are encouraged to be very patriotic, we must remember that, as Catholics, we have a more important citizenship - and it is NOT to the VATICAN ITSELF, but to HEAVEN!!! We are already citizens of Heaven and citizens of the United States, but we must never let the latter overtake or usurp our need to live out our citizenship to the Kingdom of Jesus Christ.

I just can't help it...

2009-03-18T10:39:00.007-06:00

How in the world am I supposed to ignore this recent report that the State of Missouri is now on the lookout for Ron Paul & Chuck Baldwin supporters? I am definitely opposed to "Abortion on Demand." And I have been an advocate for the vision of Dr. Ron Paul, though not an official endorser, due to being aware that I am associated with the Parish. Certainly, as you read through my posts, I have not been about the business of promoting Dr. Paul, for purely political reasons, but always through the lens of the implications towards the Catholic Faith. In fact, as a matter of service to and for the sake of the education of the Catholic Parish of St. Jude, I have also added to my links the website for the Constitution Party - entitled "Consider whether this 3rd Political Party "jives" with our Catholic Faith..."

Nevertheless, it appears one of united States, namely Missouri, would consider me a "terrorist." I am not now, nor have I ever been a terrorist... though there was that one time when I was bein' a lion...

but beyond that... nothing, I swear. (...and anyway that picture is grainy, and you can't even really tell it was me.)

I am seriously concerned for our country if this is where we are heading to call political parties near-criminal and seemingly towards the outlawing of political ideologies people don't like. Why? Precisely because not many people like the Catholic Church, and we have to be very aware of that. Nevertheless, St. Paul reminds us, "For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God (1Cor 1:18)." We know, as well, that Jesus taught us who follow him, "If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you (Jn 16:19)."

As a Catholic Church we must remember that we strive to follow after Jesus Christ, not because he is one among many options, but because he IS the Truth, and the only Truth. While we must be sensitive and apologetic (though never apologizing) for our Holy Catholic Faith, let us never allow ourselves to think we are merely one denomination among many for Christians. Jesus established one Holy Catholic Church for the sake of humanity to understand all that God wants us to know, and it is fully given in the Catholic Faith. The world continues to plot to attack the Church, but for now the world is seeking to destroy the right of mankind to have free speech and to voice one's disagreement with the current government. I for one will not shut up, I will not give up my faith - so help me God!

As Chuck Baldwin points out this egregious attack on free American Citizens affects us all, but in particular the Catholic Church. Specifically for the "abortion on demand" element of this, which may, as Mr Baldwin points out, have already broader reaching effects possibly in the sharing of these criteria for terrorists in other states, and possibly with a Federal implementation. The money quote, as they say comes from the Martin Niemoeller who was a decorated U-Boat Captain and pastor of great distinction. Who, at first, supported Hitler's policies, but in the end saw the implications too late. He is attributed as saying:

"They came first for the communists, and I did not speak up - because I was not a communist; And then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak up - because I was not a trade unionist; And then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak up because I was not a Jew; And then they came for me - and there was no one left to speak up."

Ron Paul is a flash in the pan, in the end; albiet an important one, I would argue. But the enduring liberty and, more importantly, the inalienable rights that have established the United States government directly effect our Holy Mother Church in these same United States. Let us then be leary of these encroachments that will culminate in the persecution of the Church - for where the defense of unborn life is seen as an act of terrorism, the Church will not back down now. As one of my friends used to say, "If loving the Lord is wrong, I DON'T WANT TO BE RIGHT!" And, if all of us are faithful, St. Ignatius of Antioch may prove his wisdom once again when he said, "The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church!"

Could this be true...

2009-03-18T09:12:00.002-06:00

Our Catholic Faith will be under attack soon, if the government is truly going this way, because the Socialists hate the Catholic Church, since we actually promote the education and self-sufficiency of each human being. May the Lord Jesus Christ bless America!

Need a new kind of update...?

2009-03-14T11:57:00.003-06:00

I recently had the opportunity to hear Mr. Michael Voris give an incredible talk on the fundamental reality of evil in the world and the Church's reality and call to push back the darkness in the world.

Mr. Voris was actually a newscaster for a good number of years and he eventually, in spite of working for the newsmedia, came back to his Catholic Faith. Because of this, he has more recently has started a new endeavor. It is called RealCatholicTv.com, and it is awesome. You can get free Catholic news updates that are quick and very informative, but did I mention it is FREE!

But perhaps you need a good laugh from a Catholic perspective? Well, Mr. Vories is Irish and the sterotype is true (at least here) he is pretty funny, as I experienced at his talk at the Living the Catholic Faith Conference back on March 13-14. You might enjoy his humor in his commentary on modern culture known as the Vortex. It is the drywit humor that you can't help but laugh at. For example, watch this old video here.

If you might be interested, definitely go the website for RealCatholicTv.com and sign up for the free website and watch it daily. You get news, commentary and a Daily Saint! FOR FREE... AND IT IS CATHOLIC, really CATHOLIC! Real Catholic TV! I am trying to watch it more frequently as well. Care to discuss?

UPDATE on classes

2009-03-13T17:34:00.003-06:00

It appears that everything is ready for the children to begin classes in the Community Center beginning on Sunday. When parents come the Community Center Liz will be able to direct everyone to their proper location. Mostly everyone will be down in the Lower Level, though we will need to have one class in the Church basement. We will look forward to seeing you all on Sunday or next week on Tuesday or Wednesday.

How could one be so ignorant....

2009-03-13T17:27:00.003-06:00

I don't get it. If you were the President of the United States, you would think you would be an educated man. Yet it appears that at least one of our former presidents doesn't even get the basic reality that an embryo, as defined by science - even atheistic scientists, is already fertilized! For this reason, since it is no longer merely an egg, and already a real human person in reality the Church continues to maintain that the destruction of these human beings is intrinsically evil. But apparently our former President is either for changing basic scientific definitions or is completely ignorant of some basic biology:

This comes from a great website my wife sent me today, which you can find here.

How do you know...

2009-03-11T15:29:00.006-06:00

I got an email from one of my students today at the Catholic Biblical School that I loved. It is such a beautiful question: "How do we know we are doing God's will?"

Why is it so beautiful? Precisely, because it is "the song" of the heart of one who is in love! St. Thomas Aquinas noted that to love someone is "to will the Good of the other." And this is precisely at the heart of this question.

It does not seem like there is much that can be withheld when one loves then, eh? If you would will God's will, then you desire your whole life to be at his service. But how did I respond may be your next question....

Well I began with what is recently becoming one of my favorite scriptures, because it has applied for me (especially given my previous post): “Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit, do not despise prophesying, but test everything; hold fast what is good, abstain from every form of evil.”

The problem when it comes to God's will is that we have to remember what Isaiah taught first the Israelites and then us Gentiles who have been brought into the living family of God and the Ark of Salvation, known as the Catholic Church. Particularly, in Isaiah 55:8-9, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." In other words, we have to know that God thinks with an eternal perspective and with an eternal plan of salvation.

As I responded: "It is necessary to ask for God’s will because, at times, we have a last minute God (especially since there is NO watch big enough for him to receive on Father’s day). Our plans can be all laid out, and things may not go as we expect or hope. Jesus himself said, “Father, if you are willing, remove this chalice from me; nevertheless, not my will but yours, be done (Lk 22:42).” So Jesus, at least in his humanity, had the idea that God’s will could still be different than what he had come to understand. And why? Why would he hold out this hope? For you and I to realize that God is a God of love, but one who asks we love with childlike obedience to trust Our Father. We see things from such a limited perspective. We only have our fluctuating emotions and our desires, good and bad, and our human experience to make the decisions we make, yet God sees things wholly (or holistically – as people like to say these days), from an eternal perspective and with His perfect plan for our greatest joy – but as the Catechism says, “The way of perfection passes by way of the Cross. There is no holiness without renunciation and spiritual battle. Spiritual progress entails ascesis [i.e. spiritual purification] and mortification [i.e. bodily training] that gradually lead to living in the peace and joy of the Beatitudes. (CCC #2015)” Why? Because we must learn to collaborate with God as his children, growing into the full stature of Christ, desiring only God’s will as our own because He has already manifestly and persistently shown his love for us."

Let us always seek his will, because for us who have received Him with Faith, as manifested in our Baptism, we now have our True Father who is in heaven. As Jesus taught us, "What is born of flesh is flesh, what is born of Spirit is Spirit (Jn 3:6)."

Things could always be worse...

2009-03-10T17:02:00.003-06:00

After I found out on November 6th that I would have a week to move the whole Holy Family House into the Youth Center so that our business administrator's wife, Tammi, could start her preschool in the Holy Family House, people would ask me how are you doing, and I would say, "I could be worse." It was sad to learn that some people had brought their kids to the Holy Family House 26 years before. Hopefully the sacrifice of the children's space will be a real bolster to the parish though when the new preschool starts.

It turns out things could get worse for me though, after our having moved out in a week in November of last year, I was just informed today at 2:30 that I would be moved out of the Youth Center this Friday March 13th from the Youth Center into the Community Center. I hope this move will also help the parish when Tammi starts her Summer Day camp in there, after it has been renovated to help the space she needs.

As a result of this, as I wrote to most of the parents, we will begin classes next week in the Community Center starting next Sunday. This means quite a busy weekend to do make sure this will be done by Sunday when classes start, and I had plans with my wife, with the kids at my parents... ah well. I guess it is Lent, after all.

And anyways... it could be worse...

Danger Will Robinson, DANGER!!!

2009-03-09T07:25:00.004-06:00

Pray.

It turns out the anti-Catholic Bias is now not being kept in the halls of abortion clinics and on Bill Maher's show anymore. It apparently is preparing to go governmental. PLEASE READ THIS!!!

I guess the question becomes: is this true? ANd if it is, then we should all be worried for we are soon to see more American Martyrs.

UPDATE! After checking out the Bridgeport Diocese website it is true, and we must consider how to best support our Brothers and Sisters now being persecuted.

A little bit of levity...

2009-03-04T11:24:00.002-07:00

A friend of mine sent this to me, perhaps it may brighten your spirits in the midst of our country experiencing our moral crisis manifested in an economic crisis:

Jesus and Satan arguing about the computer....

Jesus and Satan were having an on-going argument about who was better on the computer. They had been going at it for days, and frankly God was tired of hearing all the bickering.

Finally fed up, God said, “THAT'S IT! I have had enough. I am going to set up a test that will run for two hours, and from those results, I will judge who does the better job.”

So Satan and Jesus sat down at the keyboards and typed away.

They moused.

They faxed.

They e-mailed.

They e-mailed with attachments.

They downloaded.

They did spreadsheets!

They wrote reports.

They created labels and cards.

They created charts and graphs.

They did some genealogy reports.

They did every job known to man.

Jesus worked with heavenly efficiency and Satan was faster than hell.

Then, ten minutes before their time was up, lightning suddenly flashed across the sky, thunder rolled, rain poured, and, of course, the power went off.

Satan stared at his blank screen and screamed every curse word known in the underworld.

Jesus just sighed.

Finally the electricity came back on, and each of them restarted their computers. Satan started searching frantically, screaming: “It's gone! It's all GONE! I lost everything when the power went out!”

Meanwhile, Jesus quietly started printing out all of his files from the past two hours of work.

Satan observed this and became irate.

“Wait!' he screamed. That's not fair! He cheated! How come he has all his
work and I don't have any?”

God just shrugged and said, “JESUS SAVES.”

I know, I know, you have probably already read this...

2009-02-28T20:27:00.007-07:00

since some of us out there are very interested in the "goings-on" in the Catholic happenings in the world, you have already read and discussed our Archbishop's talk on Monday (Feb. 24th, the Feast of St. Polycarp)evening. For the rest of us, perhaps a very important and foundational talk was recently given by our own Archbishop Chaput this last week on Monday. If you have not read his brilliant book, perhaps this may inspire you.

This talk may, hopefully, begin a collective re-thinking of the American Catholic mind, for it is high time that we American Catholics rediscover the basics of our divinely revealed religion.

Lent & Apples

2009-02-25T14:36:00.003-07:00

We are one day into Lent. You know, I don't mind Lent... it's just that I don't like being hungry all the time. :)

Of course I am hoping to provide a little levity to your Lenten observances. Perhaps, I should just leave it to the professional though, hunh?

Well, I don't have much to write today, unfortunately. But I was up late last night with my wife finally watching "Iron Man" together. I think that is another great movie, though my wife had her doubts until she saw it. After Iron Man, I wasn't very tired and I stayed up a little later. Because of this I saw Conan O'Brien for the first time in long time on the "Late Night with Conan O'Brien." I have to admit he is still just as funny as always, if you like his awkward humor.

This morning I found this link to one of his many adventures. As an adult who grew up in the 80's I have to say, I really did love the A-Team show. So this came as a happy reminder of the lovable Mr. T:

The truth be known, though, the reason I stayed up late last night was to wait for midnight because I was starving after Ash Wednesday...

For what it is worth...

2009-02-24T22:33:00.005-07:00

I thought I was going crazy when the President of the United States tonight gave his economic plan talk, or whatever, to joint houses of congress and, when speaking of the ingenuity of America, he said that America was the country that built the first car...

Does that sound right to you? It didn't to me. I know that America first utilized the assembly line for a mass produced car, by means of the person of Henry Ford. However, after a quick Google search, I realized that our President of the United States - according to the Library of Congress - spoke a mistruth in a public address of serious impact. Check this out!

As someone in my biblical school class said, you would think that someone would have caught that...but apparently they didn't want to be as precise as the library of Congress. Oh well... just thought I would point it out, after all we are all human and make mistakes, but I thought I was going crazy.

Update: According to the Fox News transcripts, he said, "And I believe the nation that invented the automobile cannot walk away from it."

If you want to see what he says, its at the end of this.

Sherman... but not the tank...

2009-02-08T20:33:00.005-07:00

For my birthday last year, my mother-in-law was very generous in getting me a Borders gift certificate. Unfortunately, I had been trying to keep myself from books lately because our shelves are overflowing right now. However, this afforded me the opportunity to purchase some things that I wouldn't normally buy, which at the end of the day is a great gift for me. Namely, I bought some DVD's of one of my favorite TV shows... I don't supposed you guessed which one it is have you?

In fact, that is the cover there above. I love the Rocky and Bullwinkle show. It is such well written silliness that as a child I remember laughing at the Fractured Fairy tales, and Bullwinkle's incessant quest to pull a rabbit out of his hat, and one of my favorite segments was "Mr. Peabody's Improbable History." In fact, I wonder if that is where I received part of my impetus to get a minor in History (which I also wouldn't mind studying further some day).

I don't know if I could articulate the joy that I received in sharing this with my son. Especially, after an unfortunate attempt to watch the animated Underdog show with him (he found some of the villians a bit too scary).

But what surprised me most (so far) in watching season one was the background story about Mr. Peabody and Sherman that is revealed in the very first episode of the first show of the first season. For those of you who aren't familiar, the premise is quite simple. Mr. Peabody is a dog with excessive, it seems, intelligence (for a dog), and at a certain point he decides that he would like to adopt a boy. I believe the line was, "If every boy deserves a dog, then every dog deserves a boy."
In fact, in order to adopt Sherman, Mr. Peabody goes to court to attain the right to adopt a boy, though he is only a dog, but at least a wealthy one at that. I still am unsure how I feel about this. I am trying to consider the implications of all of this in my mind. Nevertheless, Mr. Peabody begins to take Sherman throughout history in a time machine he has created called the "Way-bac machine."

Now don't get me wrong, I realize it is only a cartoon, but something about this is just disturbing. In later episodes, which I never picked up as a child, Mr. Peabody will say to Sherman, "Speak Sherman," to which Sherman replies, "Hello everybody." The response of Mr. Peabody is "Good boy." Now, understand that Mr. Peabody does save Sherman from an orphange as his adopted boy. But why is a dog seen to be adopting a child, not as his father - which somehow (to me) wouldn't seem so bad - but as his owner, as if the boy were a dog himself. Gosh, is this what happens when Theologians watch cartoons? On the one hand I want to argue for the dignity of the human person over an animal. But on the other, it is pretty darn funny; it is only a cartoon; and I love their adventures in which Mr. Peabody schools the boy in history lessons by means of the "way-bac machine," albeit slightly altered from actual history.

Again, don't get me wrong, I won't lose sleep over any of this, but it is sort of fun in my mind to consider the weight of this perspective of this segment of this cartoon show. Somehow I don't think I will be able to bring my son up to speed on the philosophical implications of Mr. Peabody and Sherman for quite some time, nevertheless I love that I have the beginnings of a great philosophical conversation in my possession now thanks to my mother-in-law and my 34th birthday. Hooray for birthday gifts!

Real Hope doesn't come from a sinner...

2009-02-08T19:43:00.006-07:00

After the Knights of Columbus breakfast this morning at the parish and talking with a few people about it, I think it is appropos to mention how the possibility of a job that I am applying for came into being. It all began sometime before the end of Novemeber. A friend of mine has consistently, every year, promoted a devotion to Our Blessed Mother Mary under her title of the "The Mystical Rose." Apparently, there was a nun in Italy in 1946-1947 to whom our Blessed Mother appeared. You can find the whole story here.

My birthday is also Dec. 8th, which is the day this devotion is to take place. During the Noon hour the blessed mother asked that devotees pray the 51st Psalm and to confidently ask the Father for whatever one desires and, if it is in the will of God the Father, it would be granted. 2008 was the first time I actually remembered about this before 1:00pm (usually I am left slapping my forehead with my palm saying "D'oh" alla Homer Simpson).

Well, in this liturgical year I turned to the Blessed Mother about what was to become of me. I have had yearnings in the last year to revisit my Doctoral dissertation topic and to engage academia again. However, I have loved my time at St. Jude and love teaching the children and adults who have been willing to hear the knowledge I have been blessed to gather in studying the Faith academically for seven years.

Moreover, my class that I taught at the the Seminary in the Spring of 2008 left me with further yearnings. As well, this last year I have had the rare opportunity to teach for the Catholic Biblical School (on the Synoptic Gospels and St. Paul's letters), which has further stirred up the fire that I think is within me about completing my doctorate.

During this time of prayer on Dec. 8th in the noon hour I had felt a call to consider that the (then) new head of the Catholic Biblical School was leaving Christendom to come to Denver. As I was praying for many things, I was struck by this reality, especially the fact that this gentleman was coming from heading Christendom College's study abroad program in Rome.

Unfortunately, as I just recently wrote to all the parents at the parish, I have been laid off as of Jan. 6th, but not effective April 30th, 2009. Again, I thank Christ our Lord for the pastoral generosity and mercy of his priest and my pastor, Fr. Schaffer, in affording me this time to find a new place of employment - especially for the sake of my two children and their insurance. However, when I was told in this meeting about this unfortunate reality, it almost became immediately clear to me that this could be for God's plan, especially as offered through the prayers of our Blessed Mother, the Mystical Rose. Now, I don't have the job yet, but my wife and I are going to Virginia this Friday to receive our 2nd interview for this position. "All I know is that there is a God, and I am not him," so said some famous person. I agree. But I would add, his(and now our) mother is very good at offering us hope since she bore real Hope in her womb.

I wondered at whether I should post about this or not on my blog, but in the economic times in which we live, I think this story of hope is one that I myself may need to remember, should employment continue to elude me after this upcoming 2nd interview. So often in our lives it is easy to prepare with hope, but sometimes harder to actually see the deeper hope that comes beyond things not turning out the way we thought they were going to. The danger, of course, is that like Job in today's (5th Sunday in Ordinary Time) first reading we might find ourselves struggling with despair or at even a defeatist attitude. I will admit here and now, that I am filled with joy at the hope of returning to Rome, though I do have some wonders about how it will practically work out with two small children. Nevertheless, the joy in that is knowing that if this is by the Blessed Mother's doing she will assist us with grace to accomplish the will of her Holy Son and our Lord.

If you happen to remember, please keep my wife and I in prayer this Friday Feb. 13th as we go to this interview. Moreover, and perhaps more poignantly, please keep my parents in prayer as they care for our two kids for the first time that both of them have been away from us for two days.

Oh... and Hi Deacon Chuck!

The Miracle Man.

2009-02-06T14:20:00.004-07:00

Its funny how at times we never know what God is doing in our lives. Why funny? Well because it is like a great game of hide and seek. God hides and we are supposed to seek him in the situation. This sort of unplanned for exploration often leads into some great adventure, or some great deterrance to our joy.

I am struck by the Movie "St. John Bosco: Mission to Love" which was a movie we recently watched here at St. Jude for the St. Jude Night at the Movies. If you are familiar with St. John Bosco he dealt with some pretty unjust treatment, and yet continued to find the joy of serving his family - which he understood was really Christ's family. St. John Bosco took in thousands of young boys who no one else would take in, and offered the world a teaching philosophy that still has value even today, regardless of the work situations have changed.

Our next St. Jude Night at the Movies will take place on Mar. 15th at 5:00pm. We usually provide a Subway sub and chips and drinks for merely $3. Our last movie night brought in about 30 people. I hope to continue to build this for last last three months that I am here at the parish. I think it is great way for us to consider the lives of the Saints and to contemplate the love of God even within our own lives. The title of our next movie is "Padre Pio: Miracle Man."

For all those who read this blog in Denver, please consider yourself invited to come join with us! Tickets will go on sale on Mar. 1st at the front desk at the parish here, or they will be available the night of the movie. However, if we know numbers before hand then we can plan our food a little better, so that we don't run out. Email me or add a comment to this post, if you have any questions.

How could I help it...

2009-02-01T20:39:00.004-07:00

Now please note, I realize that I have been laid off from St. Jude recently, but that has absolutely NOTHING to do with why I like this Superbowl 2009 commercial. It is just TOO Funny! I thought, if I put it on here, I will always be able to find it! Please enjoy:

Before it takes a Tolle...

2009-01-29T13:14:00.003-07:00

I know that some people at the parish here have read Mr. Eckhart Tolle's book. But I think it is one of those modern books that should cause one to pause if one considers oneself a Catholic. Fr. Barron, who I have posted about before, offers this two-part reflection:

Here is part 2:

What many people don't realize is that the New Age movement has a very real correlation to Freemasonry, which is, again, one of the official enemies of the Catholic Church (again, not the people but the teachings). Why? Because as Mr. Fr. Barron points out, there is a vast distinction between the similar teachings of Mohammed, Buddha, and Jesus. In Freemasonry, as in the New Age movement, Jesus is reduced to his role as a teacher, and ignored as the Divine Son of God. This is a pretty serious thing to overlook and to equivocate a few men with some wise ideas with the only Son of the Living and True God who suffered and died upon a cross.

Let us be aware of this desire towards indifference in our own lives. We must be careful that anywhere we are, especially at any Catholic parish, that we aren't led into being indifferent to the person of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

"Who woulda thunk it?"

2009-01-21T12:53:00.003-07:00

A friend of mine sent the article below to me today. I don't know if it is actually true, but hey I am not quite sure how you could argue its meaning isn't true:

ATHEIST HOLY DAY - ( A MUST READ ) FLORIDA COURT SETS ATHEIST HOLY DAY!
In Florida, an atheist created a case against the upcoming Easter and Passover holy days. He hired an attorney to bring a discrimination case against Christians, Jews and observances of their holy days. The argument was that it was unfair that atheists had no such recognized days. The case was brought before a judge. After listening to the passionate presentation by the lawyer, the judge banged his gavel declaring, "Case dismissed!" The lawyer immediately stood objecting to the ruling saying, "Your honor, how can you possibly dismiss this case? The Christians have Christmas, Easter and others. The Jews have Passover, Yom Kippur and Hanukkah, yet my client and all other atheists have no such holidays." The judge leaned forward in his chair saying, "But you do. Your client, counsel, is woefully ignorant." The lawyer said, "Your Honor, we are unaware of any special observance or holiday for atheists." The judge said, "The calendar says April 1st is April Fools Day. Psalm 14:1 states, 'The fool says in his heart, there is no God. Thus, it is the opinion of this court, that if your client says there is no God, then he is a fool. Therefore, April 1st is his day. Court is adjourned."

Hmmm...I am not too sure that guys like Bill Maher would be too happy with this post.

Truly, Imagine...

2009-01-19T15:27:00.002-07:00

I am thankful for so many things... the least of which is that if you are a regular visitor to this website, I hope, that the video of John Paul II that always came on as soon as you came to this page would always start is finally moving away. I have finally enough posts to make that stop.

I am also thankful for the gift of life. This week as we mourn the Anniversary of Roe vs. Wade decision, I hope that many others might become aware of how precious life is.

I am also thankful for President Obama - oddly enough. Why? Because his life is also a gift, though with no greater or lesser dignity than all those who will be murdered today by abortion. In fact, this was just sent to me today:

Too true. Perhaps, we must first appreciate the gift of life if we ever desire to help others to learn about its dignity and its wonder. As Pope Paul VI brilliantly pointed out, "Modern man listens more willing to witnesses than he does to teachers, and if he listens to teachers it is because they are witnesses."

Would you take a swing at it?

2009-01-12T15:58:00.003-07:00

I have really been rediscovering Swing Music and my love for it. And the other day on Facebook, the social networking website, I came across one of the "superpoke" options as giving somebody Frankie Manning, which I promptply gave to everyone I am friends with on Facebook. To which one of my friends asked, "Who is Frankie Manning?" It's unfortunate that is a question. Frankie Manning is one of the people who helped to put Swing Dancing on the map as one of the integral part of American Culture (as shared by all American people regardless of race, creed or color). Particularly he was known for his days when he was part of a Lindy Hop Troupe. If you would like more info on him you can check out this website.

In the meantime, and before you go read about that here is a quick demo of the Shim Shim dance by the same Frankie Manning and friend:

And more exciting, than that basic clip from an instructional video (which I would love find and purchase!) here is another clip from the annals of TV history from some show that demonstrated some of the great things one can do with Shim Sham...

... and which I would argue begins the demise of couples dancing when Shim Shamming became more of a freestyle dance, than with one's partner. It's all about "the lead and follow!"

But, and I loved the previous post on this, here is what the Lindy Hoppers where famous for, including Mr Frankie Manning:

I don't know about you, but it is quite a beautiful dance with much of the ingenuity and joy that constitutes the American lifestyle at its best... so says I. What do you say?

Every one needs a "guru"...

2009-01-06T14:14:00.002-07:00

... or not... depending how you define "guru." But at any rate, this came to me today from a friend:

I have to admit, it did brighten up my day. Why would my day need brightening? Well, I have just received word today that, due to the economy, my job here at St. Jude is now being made redundant - as the British would say. That is to say, I have been laid off. Thankfully, Fr. Darrell was very kind in giving me until April 30th. I know I am not the only one struggling with a job, and having a Pontifical License in Theology it is only just that I am paid more for my education. Unfortunately for me that means that I was an extravagance here at the parish. I have enjoyed my time here and will continue this blog for as long as I am employed by the parish, but please pray for me all you Christians who read this as I seek to find new employment somewhere in the world.

The Scourge of my generation...

2009-01-05T14:22:00.002-07:00

I recently was pointed to this video:

Two days after? That is right, on Jan.22nd, two days after president Obama is inaugurated will be the annual March for Life. I wish we had something like that here in Denver. Perhaps the time has come for me to stop wishing and start acting. There seems to be nothing more painful than feeling like our Blessed Mother who was at the foot of the Cross and watched her innocent Lord die. I feel like this when it comes to abortion. Sure, I have had my share of "pro-death choice" people tell me that I shouldn't be interrupting their way of living, even if they are able to promote the interruption of that normal human development of a child by means of an abortion.

In merely two weeks and some days, we mourn the loss of millions and millions of innocent human lives because of the "choice" many women have made. Thankfully, in the Mercy of God we all find the healing we need as a human race and as a culture. Now it is a matter of choosing grace to destroy the scourge of my generation.

Give credit where credit is due...

2009-01-04T13:09:00.003-07:00

I know some people may not be big fans of Stephen Colbert who is on the cable show called "The Colbert Report." But, as I understand it, he is a practicing Catholic and at times the respect that he shows to his faith is very much appreciated by me, even if his "schtick" lends itself to being not so Catholic. That is perhaps a debateable assessment. Nevertheless, I did laugh my head off when I saw this:

I have to give credit to the man; that is pretty funny when it comes to the Pope comments and at the same time they are respectful even if edgy!

I saw that video as I was surfing, as they say, around the internet trying to find an image for the computer at the Youth Center for the desktop. I came across this one:

That also made me laugh! I found it on this website. Which I have not perused very well, but if they are half as funny as the cat picture I am sure there must be some other gems there.

Well, anyway, I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and a brilliant New Year. I am back from Canadia, where I spent Christmas with my wife's family, and I am back at these blogs as much as I can.

Oh, and in case you were wondering, I settled on this background for today's feast of the Epiphany:

In case you couldn't get enough...

2008-12-17T13:37:00.003-07:00

I know not everybody likes the Muppets. Fair enough. But I just couldn't stop myself from sharing this:

OH MY GOSH!!! I have been giggling myself silly about this. Thank God that at some point in the History of America we used to have shows like this were the modern vices of our day never really seemed to raise their ugly heads (or at least too often). I remember enjoying the Muppet show so much as a little kid. Please God may we one day soon return to such creative and hilariously silly shows for the good of our society and our families.

***UPDATE: I can't help it, I promise that I will consider not doing another Muppet Show post, but I will need some feedback either way from you all. I hope you enjoy it either way!

In these economic times...

2008-12-16T15:37:00.004-07:00

With so much bad news in our economic situation, one must not think that the world is coming to an end. A business cycle, possibly, but our world definitely not... yet. Only Jesus, Our Lord, will come to end this world of sin. But in the meantime, this too shall pass. The Church will persevere even through this.

I am struck by the fact that when the depression hit, one would think things had gotten bad, but do you realize it was during the depression that Swing Dancing was born? That great American Tradition that carries forward to this day. In fact, I just went Swing Dancing on Sunday at the Mercury Cafe, here in Denver (on 22nd and California downtown). It is clear that times are bad, economically, but for those of us whose first concern is not treasure in this world, as Jesus recommends to us, then we may still find joy!

Take for example, this little ditty:

For the younger folks, you might enjoy this one:

Yes. I have turned to the muppet Beaker for levity in this midst of our economic times. But hey! ALL THINGS FOR THE GLORY OF GOD... even the Muppets.

Especially since, if you don't like Beaker, there is always Gonzo:

Ok... so you don't like Beaker, and singing chickens are just silly... I can appreciate that, thus for something at the heart of all Americans:

What do you remember?

2008-12-13T00:13:00.005-07:00

I have recently reconnected over the internet with my 1st grade teacher! What a blessing it is to have met her again, and to talk with her who was "mythically," for me anyway, the paradigm of all beloved teachers.

As I began to think about it, I started thinking about my earliest days that I remember on this planet earth. Remember these shows, I barely do?

Just wondered...

Remember, these are supposed to be "the good guys!"

2008-12-03T18:48:00.007-07:00

One of the parents here at St. Jude on Wednesday night asked me to repost my article about Der Krumpus. Who you may ask?

Well, you probably are aware that Santa Claus has become a syrupy sweet icon of Christmas in our modern American Society (see picture above). It is important to know that this is a, excuse the term, "bastardization" of who Santa Claus really was.

In fact, we celebrate the Feast of St. Nicholas this Saturday, and the story of St. Nicholas is far more real and far more human and far more focused on Christ. St. Nicholas, of course, was a Bishop who lived in Myra in the 4th century. His relics are now located in Bari, so he is sometimes referred to as St. Nicholas of Bari. It is the same guy. He was a man filled with passion for the Lord Jesus Christ, and because of this he has become a model of charity and care for others.

Nevertheless, other cultures have not taken to, as some would say, the "sickening-sweet-candy-cane-and-button-nose" take on the 4th Century Bishop that we have in America. Others are a little more realisitic with what it means to celebrate Christmas. Take the Austrians for example...

At the risk of boring those of you who may not have seen this post last year, I hope you enjoy this Austrian Tradition that to our eyes and ears may seem a bit odd - but as you can imagine this is all in good fun for Austrian families... somehow...

Here is the link to my December 2007 posting.

If you are in, you get it...

2008-12-01T22:19:00.003-07:00

As I have mentioned before, I am teaching at the Catholic Biblical School of the Archdiocese of Denver, but only part-time. I was preparing my lecture for tomorrow and came across this quote by St. Ambrose of Milan. I thought it was quite beautiful to think about the Sacred Scripture where Jesus was admonishing his disciples to be attentive to their own life of faith. He then speaks of "two women grinding together [I am not sure he is referring to Snowboarding or skateboarding, if you are wondering!]; one will be taken and the other left." Then the Gospel goes on saying, "And [the disciples] said to him, "Where, Lord?" He said to them, "Where the body is, there the eagles will be gathered together." At first I wondered about whether this was referring to the fact that the Eagle at one point symbolized Rome, but it turns out that apparently, that became the case after the time of Jesus! So what could it mean? Well, I found this from St. Ambrose of Milan:

Let us first speculate what the eagles are, so we may determine what the body is. Those souls of the righteous are compared with eagles, because they seek the heights, leave the depths behind, and reportedly reach great age. If we understood about the eagles, we cannot doubt concerning the body, particularly if we remember that Joseph received the body of Christ from Pilate. Does it not seem to you that the eagles around the body are Mary of Cleopas, Mary Magdalene, Mary, the Mother of the Lord and the assembly of the apostles around the Lord's tomb?

I may not know you, but if you have a propensity to the Revelation of Jesus Christ as the Son of God, then I hope you find that as beautiful as I do. If not, perhaps this further quote of St. Ambrose will do it for you:

He says concering this body, 'My flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.' Around this body, eagles fly spiritual wings. Around the body, eagles believe that Jesus has come in the flesh, because every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God. Where faith is, there is the sacrament and the dwelling place of holiness. The body is also the Church, in which we are renewed in the spirit through the grace of baptism, and the frailities of old age are restored for ages of new life.

I don't know about you, dear reader, but I love the wisdom of the saints. They just put things so beautifully in their wisdom cultivated from their love for Jesus Christ, the only Son of God!

If only you knew him...

2008-11-24T19:42:00.004-07:00

then you can appreciate the full beauty of this video:

Nevertheless, I think it shows the beauty of the papacy on so many different levels. This is no greater hope than the Vicar of Christ to unite humanity, if humanity can see that there is someone outside themselves who can bring peace into their life - name who the bible calls "The Prince of Peace." It is so worth every penny to make a pilgrimmage to Rome, if you are a Catholic, to see the Successor of St. Peter.

This comes to us from a Vatican distributor who is now promoting a 5 DVD disc set that follows the life of Pope John Paul II.

So... if anyone was looking for a Christmas gift for me... just kidding. Nevertheless, I would love to see this as I am sure it covers so many things that the world will never hear about since the world seems as if it could care less about the man who was instrumental in bringing down Communist Russia. Let us hope history will give Pope John Paul II his just place.

How serious will it be?

2008-11-19T21:46:00.002-07:00

I know some people have difficulty with my previous post from the singer in Canada. Nevertheless, I think the issue should be kept at the forefront. ANd it appears the Major Pentitentiary of the Church is not opposed. This article came out today and it is one worth considering. Nevertheless, I think it is important to see just where President Obama will place his efforts. One wonders as one hears about more Clinton appointees being appointed to President Obama's cabinent whether he will be as radical as he made himself out to be.

Nevertheless, as posted before, I think one must take President-elect Obama's speech to Planned Parenthood seriously, until he proves it otherwise.

Let us hope that cooler heads prevail on the FOCA issue, for life should be defended, and some good men actually know and understand that.

Pray for our country...please...

2008-11-10T11:25:00.002-07:00

I have never heard of this guy, but someone sent this to me on Facebook. I hope you can watch this with an objective eye and we might call a spade a spade, before we go the way of Germany in 1933, with regards to the devaluing of human life:

The Hour of Decision from Mark Mallett on Vimeo.

Let us hope he responds positively...

2008-11-06T12:45:00.003-07:00

This was published today:

Dear President-elect Obama,

I write to you, in my capacity as President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, to express our congratulations on your historic election as President of the United States. The people of our country have entrusted you with a great responsibility. As Catholic Bishops, we offer our prayers that God give you strength and wisdom to meet the coming challenges.

Our country is confronting many uncertainties. We pray that you will use the powers of your office to meet them with a special concern to defend the most vulnerable among us and heal the divisions in our country and our world. We stand ready to work with you in defense and support of the life and dignity of every human person.

May God bless you and Vice President-elect Biden as you prepare to assume your duties in service to our country and its citizens.

Sincerely yours,

Francis Cardinal George, OMI
Archbishop of Chicago
President

Let us hope that President-elect Obama listens to our shepherds, though one wonders what his position is, as a Protestant, regarding the Catholic Church.

Let us hope he is not being prophetic!

2008-11-05T15:33:00.003-07:00

Does anybody want to discuss what this man is speaking about? Could it be that it is worth something we should be looking at, as opposed to what the two-party system has pushed forward as worthy of discussion?

I don't know... but to me it sounds like something we Catholics should be concerned about, as well as all of us Americans, as those who think about what might be best for our country.

I couldn't agree more...

2008-11-04T15:43:00.002-07:00

I have been reading up at InsideCatholic.com, not a bad little website - and my one of my college roommates posts as a blogger. But this article came to my attention by Fr. Robert Johansen. I would encourage you to read it and digest it, and comment here... if you like.

If you will excuse me Mr. Buchanan...

2008-10-31T10:37:00.005-06:00

I have always liked some of the thoughts of Patrick J. Buchanan, though I have heard some who find him "ridiculous" in various ways - as I think I posted before, there are some who find him anti-semitic. Nevertheless, there are some thoughts that are worth discussing of Mr. Buchanan. Well, a friend pointed this out to me on Mr. Buchanan's website. I have been quoting this lately, and I am glad to have found the Youtube video for it. If you will excuse me Mr. Buchanan, I am going to post this video as seen on his website, because I think it is interestingly appropriate for how many people are feeling (though this, again, may not be appropriate for children):

The clip comes from the movie "Network," which is quite an interesting movie. While there is some sexuality, and quite a lot of bad language (as I remember it), there is however an interesting prophetic quality to the movie where the TV network will do whatever it can for ratings - including creating news... can you think of a time in history when this might have happened? I just find it interesting that is all.

If you have a spare hour...

2008-10-22T11:45:00.002-06:00

This is something worth watching about...

False promises and "We The People"...

...wasting our tax dollars...

...Government saving us from Nature...

...the "Farce of Campaign finance"...

...and farm subsidies...

...and who is really behind the Government?

Please comment on Mr. Stossel's presentation, I would really be interested to hear what everybody has to say on this.

Heh heh...

2008-10-21T13:43:00.001-06:00

For those who remember the good ole days... (WARNING: there is one word bleeped out! Please be aware for the kids!)...

True.

2008-10-20T12:38:00.001-06:00

This from "The Southern Avenger" whom I have found to bring forth wisdom on other occasions, such as pointing out the uniqueness and significance of Ron Paul in the Republican primaries:

What to make of it...?

2008-10-20T12:10:00.004-06:00

There are many positions being put forward in this election, neither of the two major parties - what some have termed the "duopoly" - necessarily encompass the Catholic Church's teachings and, hopefully, the Faith in them which all of us Catholics hold.

Nevertheless, many other positions remain beyond the two party system - one of the reasons I continue to advocate that as Catholics we should be abreast of all parties and their positions to come to a more informed decision for whom to vote.

However, a friend of mine sent me this article: On Global Democracy. I do not disagree for the most part with the explained problems of American Democracy, as such. I do take issue with the anti-semitic, anti-protestant and anti-jewish position found towards the end in only one paragraph. I do not think that exclusion from the society is the answer for anyone.

Nevertheless, it is historically clear that Freemasonry in particular has had its hands, since its inception, in the destruction of the Catholic influence in the world and the removal of Christ as our Societal King. The question is: are we aware of Christ as our King? Is he? Do we understand the joy, the peace, the eternal life and the cross that He invites us to live in our lives? This is the most immediate question that should be answered BEFOREwe go to vote this election! For from this reality comes every other position we will hold. Moreover, it should inform and be the basis of our position on any other issue that exists and is to be voted on. We CAN NOT allow ourselves to be duped into the two-party duopoly and merely vote because of partisanship (in spite of my affinity for Rush Limbaugh's radio show). We must vote, as Archbishop Chaput notes, with our Catholic Faith realizing "the Catholic Faith is always personal, but never private."

WOW! Perhaps, we are still living in a democratic republic..

2008-10-17T15:18:00.002-06:00

So it appears that C-span will be presenting a debate with all six of the Presidential Candidates on Sunday. If we are going to be educated on all the positions of every potential candidate, then I would highly encourage everyone to watch this debate. The Link to the story I was sent is here below:

http://www.freeandequal.org/events.php?id=7

Aren't they supposed to investigate...?

2008-10-16T11:54:00.003-06:00

This video was posted over at MSNBC, though it comes from the History Channel. I have actually had the History Channel send me a pack of videos that were, as their telemarketer told me, "great for RCIA classes." However, as I wrote them in a letter, once I had watched their content, if I were to show those videos to aspiring Catholics, then both them and I would soon be leaving the Catholic Church if we believed what they had presented. But what I wish is that these people who are putting together these videos about Catholic things would at least do some research about what they are talking about.

Again, as has been my experience, the guy in this video above begins by saying the people "worship" Saint Gennaro. Any numbskull could go to the Catechism of the Catholic Church and find the direct teaching that we do not worship the Saints as people, whether we Worship God alone, who seeks to work in every human being:

By canonizing some of the faithful, i.e., by solemnly proclaiming that they practiced heroic virtue and lived in fidelity to God's grace, the Church recognizes the power of the Spirit of holiness within her and sustains the hope of believers by proposing the saints to them as models and intercessors. "The saints have always been the source and origin of renewal in the most difficult moments in the Church's history." Indeed, "holiness is the hidden source and infallible measure of her apostolic activity and missionary zeal." (CCC #828)

What I can't understand is that people like this are paid to be investigative journalists, to do research and report the truth, yet they rely on a faulty understanding of what actually happens in the Catholic Church! These are the same type of people we are supposed to believe and trust to explain to us the candidates and their stances on the issues? Good luck America!

Perhaps, its not as bad as we think...

2008-10-15T15:11:00.002-06:00

Check out this article about a recent poll taken by the Knights of Columbus. Perhaps we Catholics are becoming more united than the media would have us believe, 106 year old nuns notwithstanding...

What do you make of this?

2008-10-15T00:47:00.004-06:00

Watch CBS Videos Online

Its unfortunate that the nun in this video is shown to be a Catholic. At 106 she is doing a great service to our country by voting and excercising her right to vote, however, what she apparently is not aware of is that she is supporting a man who would have many infants, our pre-born human brothers and sisters, murdered in their mother's womb, and if they happen to survive an attempted murder (aka a botched abortion), then Sen. Obama would have that child murdered outside the womb to protect the "right to choose" to murder an innocent child. Moreover, she is supporting the ticket that also has a vice-presidential candidate who would distort St. Thomas Aquinas in order forward his political career.

Mind you, John Mccain apparently is also a big supporter of the UN that continues to propagate abortions throughout the world.

The unfortunate thing is that many people will see this Nun's witness and think it is fine for Catholics to vote for one who propagates socialist redistribution of wealth, which is directly against the Encyclical Quadregismo Anno, and one who holds view decidedly anti-life. Perhaps, the so-called "mainstreme news media" in Rome is also promoting Sen. Obama by not explaining his positions just as they are not here in America. What is your thought?

Do you know what it all means?

2008-10-10T13:11:00.003-06:00

So here is something a friend sent me:

If you are not familiar with the idea of the New World Order, it may be useful to Google "New World Order" since things are afoot in our country, which no one seems to be able to explain. The notion of a one world government is nothing new, but one that many are not too familiar with. In fact, some people, known as conspiracy theorists actually point to the Catholic Church, which causes some confusion. The Church does not promote any conspiracy, and in fact, as recent as this last year, when the Holy Father visited the UN he called for the sovereignty of states to be guarded, naming it the "the responsibility to protect."

I pray that our country will not be subjected to a depression, but it sure sounds it is a possibility. I am not an economist, but I have been trying to learn about this stuff. This, in fact, was one of the reasons I have leaned more to Dr. Ron Paul, who is also an accomplished Economist. For some reason no one listened to him, but he has been appearing more frequently on many shows.

May God bless America...

YOU GOTTA SEE THIS!

2008-10-07T12:53:00.004-06:00

It appears a new project has begun, which seems to be quite good. I WILL be buying this for the parish, even if it must wait until next year. I would encourage all people of good will to donate and promote this, why? Not because you are being forced into becoming Catholic, though I think you should consider becoming Catholic, but more importantly the Truth must be told. For so long, as with the present election in our country, half-truths and deceptions are being promoted as "how or why it happened." It is important that this priest has the opportunity to explain the Catholic Faith from the Church's own history and from her own historical addition. Consider Fr. Barron's video that promotes his "Catholicism Project":

It is important for all of us, believers and those who want to know the truth, to allow this story to be told. If you can't provide money, then please provide prayers, for those who are so inclined to such things.

After having the chance to explore Fr. Barron's website, I found it quite moving his sincerity and his command of understanding various things from the perspective of the Church. Especially his response to the comedian, Bill Maher, who has recently put out a new film called "Religulous." We need more clergy, and even more lay people, to comprehend the reality of the Kingdom of Heaven that Jesus proclaimed so long ago, but which is present today here and now.

In fact, here is Fr. Barron's refute of the attacks of Mr. Maher:

Judge for yourself how good would his series "The Catholicism Project" be.

The Last Acceptable Prejudice

2008-10-06T21:11:00.002-06:00

There are so many things about which the world is willing to be politically correct. But, big surprise, this doesn't include the Holy Catholic Church. Thank you to Newsbusters.com who posted this interesting article. I hope every Catholic is moved to pray for those who desecrate our Blessed Lord in the most Holy Sacrament of the altar.

Proud to be a Baron Alumnus!

2008-10-02T11:18:00.003-06:00

I love my Franciscan University Education! I had someone here at the parish tell me the first week I was here that this person was worried about "how conservative Franciscan University is becoming." The first problem with that is that one ought not to apply political monikers when we are talking about being a disciple of Jesus Christ. One can hold more liberal or conservative views on certain issues, but one ought to be substantially concerned with living for Christ our King.

Living for Christ our King. This is something we have so few people doing nowadays. Nevertheless, I am proud of my fellow Franciscan students who recently attended a rally put together by three "apparent" nuns and a few priests who hold that abortion is not a problem and one should therefore be able to vote for Obama, regardless of his position on Abortion. Why would they hold this? Well they cite Nicholas Cafardi who is the second Catholic legal scholar to endorse Sen. Obama. Who among other things thinks that our Republic is dead, insofar as those who believe abortion is wrong have lost the battle.

You may read about this happening on the Inside Catholic website here.

You can read about Mr. Cafardi's position from the National Catholic Distorter, er, Reporter. Here at this page.

What is most sad about this, perhaps, is that Mr. Cafardi and these nuns miss the point that if you don't agree with Mccain (or Bush), then Mr. Obama is not the only option for their vote. Again, I would offer to you, dear reader, that as Catholics we should not limit ourselves to the two-party duopoly, but if we are to truly effect change for Christ's Kingdom, then we should consider all the options for our vote. See the links below to some of the other parties being blacklisted by the Media.

As for me, I hope my Franciscan University Barons are doing well this year in sports, but more importantly I pray that the University continues its mission to form young people to love the Catholic Faith as a gift, and not as something that we can pick and choose elements of to best suit our exaltation of our self and our own opinions.

Kind of cute...

2008-09-30T13:05:00.004-06:00

It is interesting that St. Paul speaks about not owing anything to any man. In our modern economic climate I thought this was kind of cute to understanding one interpretation of what is going on in with the curren market situation:

It is always good that we are informed about various perspectives, I would say.

This above refers to Mises.org at the end: I checked it out and here is a little gem that gave me a chuckle, in the way only the British can do, as I hope it will for you:

Well, at least we know this is true...

2008-09-29T10:26:00.002-06:00

In a few days, beginning on Oct. 5th, Holy Mother Church will convoke her shepherds in Rome for a Synod on the Holy Scriptures entitled: “The Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church.” Synods are a way for the bishops to gather together in order that they might enter deeper into discussions and explanations of various elements of Catholic life. This was one of the innovations that came from Vatican II to enhance the understanding and communication amongst the bishops.

To assist us lay people a new website has been launched to keep us up to date on what is happening there in Rome. The website may be found here. But here is the welcome video which actually sounds kind of exciting - in a history is about to be made kind of way.

I hope that you will find an occasion or two to check out what is taking place that will continue to shape the Church on her earthly pilgrimmage.

Could it be true...

2008-09-22T17:11:00.002-06:00

I know that not everybody likes Pat Buchanan. Some people say he is flat out racist or even anti-semitic. I am unsure about that, but I do know he does make a few good points beyond those charges. Take for example this recent article in which he asks whether the Republican party is actually over. One wonders about whether all the hype around Sarah Palin will be for naught if he is also correct about this position.

For us who are of a Catholic worldview, I think these should be things to consider when we place our votes in the fall. I was really struck by the video I posted earlier from CatholicVote.com that it only showed the two parties. The more I have been thinking about that the more I have been wondering how inconsistent is the message? If we are supposed to use our Catholic conscience to vote, then how can we have informed consent if we aren't even willing to consider the other parties? We Catholics must excercise our right to vote in this country. We are by some estimations as much as 1/4 of the electorate!!! THAT IS INCREDIBLY STAGGERING! Sure, many people would follow Biden into his errors that allowing the legal murder of an unborn child is peachy keen, but still the fact that if we were actually taught and were docile to being conformed to Christ then we would not value choice over life, just as Pontius Pilate did.

Pontius Pilate, as I understand it, according to Sacred Tradition is held to actually have become a saint, because he realized what he had done all to late! I wonder if some won't experience the same deception now, and, please God may they have a conversion later if that is the case. Nevertheless, I think if we are to make an informed decision then we ought to research all the parties and find those with whom we agree.

There are four that are most prevalent apparently:

The Libertarians
The Green Party
The Constitution Party
and independant Ralph Nader.

As this article points out, these parties have an invaluable role to play in our politics, even if you won't vote for one, at least consider their ideas that each of us may make an informed choice, and more importantly for Catholics, our conscience can vote in union with our Catholic Faith.

What it takes to be a Catholic man...

2008-09-19T12:30:00.003-06:00

Recently, apparently, there was a pro-abortion (or more specifically pro-death) march in Argentina. Apparently the course of the march went right by the Cathedral. What appears to be a very small group of men and women stood up to the crowd and protected the Cathedral by ... praying the Rosary. This video is incredible. It speaks volume about where we are today as a world. Please God may I have the strength to stand up for life, for Christ, and for the Church when the time comes... as it appears it may possibly be coming... At any rate reflect on the power of the witness of these young men standing up for Christ, for the Church and for life in the face of this onslaught:

UPDATE: In preparing for my lecture on Mt 11-18, I found this quote by Pope St. Gregory the Great and it speaks to the heart of what I hope for:

"What can we men [do], fully-grown, but weak, who are overcome by anger, inflated by pride, disquieted by ambition, corrupted by pleasure, when we see young women sent to the sword [or to an abortion!] to the Kingdom of Heaven? We may not be able to attain the kingdom through battle and persecution, but let us be ashamed, that we are unwilling to follow God even in times of peace. At present God is not saying to any of us, "Die for me" [yet!], but just put to death the unlawful desires within you! Would we give our bodies for the Lord in time of war, when we are not willing to subdue their desires in time of peace?" Yes, I did ad those things in brackets... so sue me, already!

Spoken like a true American...

2008-09-17T22:50:00.006-06:00

I know he is not Catholic,and therefore has some positions that I may still disagree with politically (as I apply my faith to my political positions), but Ron Paul continues to promote a vital element of our Republic. If he were a practicing Catholic, I would at least know a few more things about him than the questions that still remain about certain issues. Nevertheless, like Mike Gravel, he is at least honest. COnsider his message given a few days ago at a press conference on Sept. 10th:

If you are pro-choice, then check out all the other substantial parties so that you can truly make an informed choice, instead of just following the herd for Obama. If you are pro-life then DEFINITELY check out other parties (see Mccain's position on embryonic stem cell research below!)

I for one am sick of the hijacking of our political process.

Consider this guy's position:

After all, as Laura Ingraham is so want to say, "POWER TO THE PEOPLE!" Only we have the ability to change things, not two party bred candidates that represent the media pronounced "mainstream" thinking.

You have to love an honest man...

2008-09-17T19:09:00.002-06:00

If you have never heard of Former Sen. Mike Gravel, then you have missed out. He was quite a show in the Democrat Primaries. He definitely is a man who speaks his mind, regardless of the consequences. I think it is interesting to hear his take on the Palin interception of public discourse in America:

Again, I find myself being more moved by a third party. And I think it is high time that each of us truly understand our candidates and vote our conscience.

Nevertheless, too bad the distributists don't have a ticket, I just might be more moved there...

You know you saw it coming...

2008-09-15T23:58:00.004-06:00

How can a person of faith, knowing the reality of all I just said about Barack Obama, reconcile voting for John Mccain when he IS a "Maverick" apparently. He won't even follow the Republican Party Platform. Sucka. How in the world am I supposed to support this guy who is supposedly pro-life, as someone with religiously motivated politically conservative views?

Here it is the news you dreaded but knew was coming. COULD SOMEONE PLEASE TELL ME IT ISN'T TRUE?!

All I know is that I am seriously considering the Constitution Party, though... I have my concerns there too. I still find myself most behind the Ron Paul platform, which I wish someone other candidate truly espoused - and Chuck Brown doesn't seem too far off... for example!

What is happening to America...

2008-09-15T09:38:00.007-06:00

If found this video on Youtube (its about 20 min long):

There are many things wrong with this video. But the least of which is that Barack Obama appears to be ok with dealing with the Tragedy of a teenager becoming pregnant, but seems unconcerned with the unborn girls and boys who are being surreptitiously murdered because they have become inconvenient. The Senator appears to believe teaching kids how to have sex properly is the wise thing to do? Yet he fails to pass the common sense test which tells us that doing that is about as wise as giving a teen a firecracker and a match and saying, "Don't light it." A further shocking reality is that Sen. Obama praises Margaret Sanger, who history shows us, was an avowed racist and demonstrably set up planned parenthood to destroy black babies primarily. Take for example this article from the Life Education and Resource Network.

But here are some more truths about Barack Obama's beloved Planned Parenthood:

A friend of mine, who works somewhere in the halls of the great State of Colorado, received this - what appears to be - a newsletter. In it she was directed to this "exemplary" article entitled: "Abortion should be mandatory for pregnant teens."

What have we become in America? I am shocked that we neither know history, and have lost all common sense when certain people would have us become the Nazi state or even the Communist state of China where abortion is meant to be imposed on those over whom "we know better." What happened to freedom and responsibility?

Take for example this statement at the end of the article:

"Congress should act to protect these kids from themselves: Ban teen marriage, mandate teen abortion."

Seriously, mandate that innocent human beings be murdered? Why? Because of inconvenience? Is this not the same arguement made by the Nazi's!!!! IS ANYONE LISTENING OUT THERE!?

"Dude, have you seen my country?"

Vote your Catholic conscience...

2008-09-11T12:13:00.003-06:00

I am now reading Archbishop Chaput's new book "Render Unto Caesar." It is a very enlightening book about the need to not separate our faith from our public life. Then, a friend from Rome sent this video below to me and it struck me... primarily because of my Religious Education Scripture verse for the year:

"Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake, I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as refuse, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him (Phil 3:8-9)"

I hope that you too might watch this video from the "Catholic Vote" website, and take it to heart, dear reader:

After all, we have no rights, unless we have the right to life!

A new milestone for me.

2008-09-09T13:24:00.002-06:00

As of today, I have begun teaching for the Catholic Biblical School here in the Archdiocese. I have become an instructor in the 2nd year of that school. This, I think will feed many posts to come here on this blog.

Today, it has struck me as I began to teach on the Gospel of Matthew the idea of God's presence. I think so often we forget or flat out deny, in practice if not in faith, that Jesus is with us. JESUS IS WITH YOU!!! I wonder if we realize what we say three times in the Holy Sacrifice of Mass,
"Priest: The Lord be with you."
"us: And also with you." (which will soon be more properly translated, 'And also with your spirit.')

Of what then should we be afraid? Well, I will tell you. I think what we must be fearful of is the Lord! I don't mean "shaky in the knees" fear but "the kind of fear you had when Mom said don't run through the house with muddy shoes, and you stop halfway through the living room and realize you just came in from the backyard in the rainy and muddy ground" fear. Its the fear of Love, the fear of wounding the lover of your soul. Those of you in a marital relationship or in a dating relationship know exactly what I mean. No one wants to annoy one's beloved. This is precisely how I think the Scripture and thus Holy Mother Church is directing us towards Jesus. When Saint Paul rhetorically and significantly asks, "What will separate us from the Love of God? (Rom 8:35)" I like to think he, with a toungue in cheek attitude, is actually telling us only you and only me! He continues:

"Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered. No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in CHrist Jesus our Lord."

Let us have confidence in Christ, then. Let no matter seen by God become a moment that causes us to lose faith in the loving plan of God the Father. As one theologian put it, if we follow Jesus Christ, we must know that follow the one who said, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me." But, I would add, the one who also said, "Not my will but yours be done."

I mean, come on!

2008-09-08T15:13:00.001-06:00

Infanticide, really? Is this where we are in our country!? You have to read this article. Please post your comments here after you are done!

Thank God for the Truth!

2008-09-07T22:58:00.003-06:00

Perhaps you did not see the Democrat party's Vice-Presidential candidate and his take on abortion, conscience and faith. You should watch it:

Unfortunately, Senator Biden has joined the Madame Speaker's error:

She is patently wrong. Every Ancient Catholic written teaching starting with the Didache, chapter 2, (ca. 100AD) is explicit that abortion is evil.

It is important to hear the teaching of Bishop Robert Morlino of Madison, WI, which I would bet reflects our own Archbishop's sentiments on this matter. Take a listen here.

Let know one of us think we are above learning more about or being formed in our Catholic Faith, whether a Senator, Speaker of the House, a housewife, or a lay Catholic, for certainly gathering the fruit of the mysteries of God is something that can be done at any age. But more importantly, savoring the fruit of the Mysteries of our Holy Catholic Faith is far more necessary! Pray for Sen. Biden and the Madame Speaker that they too might savor the truth of the Church's teaching, not their own understanding of that truth.

Precisely, what is it that makes no sense?

2008-09-04T16:07:00.002-06:00

Oddly enough here is a very apolitical message from Dr. Elizabeth Lev, who is a professor in Rome, about the horror of the Born Alive infant protection act being rejected by certain high-ranking politicians. This article just came out today! Perhaps it will shed light on the barbarity of our day.

I can't understand it...

2008-09-04T10:05:00.006-06:00

There are actually Catholics that I am aware of, and I am sure others are too, who really think that Barack Obama is a good choice for president. There is no more foundational issue, though definitely not the only issue, that must be considered in making such a claim than Senator Obama's seemingly wanton desire to allow any inconvenient unborn human life to be destroyed. Consider this video:

Regardless, of politics, the desire to destroy human life is an affront to humanity - much like the German National Socialists of the late 1930's-40's, aka the Nazi's. I am NOT saying that Obama is a Nazi, but whether he is a socialist appears to be demonstrable and has purportedly been shown by people much more adept at political ideologies that me. Regardless of these political accusations and labels, one must understand that life is being destroyed at an alarming rate. The respect and dignity of human life is being subsumed under the mantle of convenience. As Catholics we cannot support mankind's murdering of innocent children under the guise of "choice." We each must inform our conscience and consider the gravity of what we are voting for. As Archbishop Chaput says in his new book, could a person who votes for such a pro-abortion candidate, such as Barack Obama, look those aborted children in the eye when they meet them at the Last Judgement?

As far as politics go, here is Glenn Beck's understanding of Obama:

If you want Obama's own words about forcibly redistributing wealth, as the Socialists would suggest we do, listen to his own words about so-called "fairness":

It is amazing to me that some Catholics will actually vote for this man. Mind you, I can't say that I am necessarily saying vote for John Mccain. In fact, I have been kind of interested in the Constitutionalist Party myself. Nevertheless, I am so disheartened once again that as a country we have allowed ourselves to be submersed into the banter of a two party system. My personal opinion is that we should have a third party (and a fourth and fifth) come forward which allows us the opportunity to vote amongst real choices. We should not settle for merely two choices, as if all of the issues fit squarely into these two parties. But such is America in these days, and if it is to change each of us must truly seek to vote our consciences rather than vote for party affiliations.

A Challenge?

2008-08-29T16:44:00.003-06:00

A dear friend of mine, who is a priest in England, has just told me about things that are afoot there. It appears Bishop Patrick O'Donaghue, Bishop of Lancaster has today (27 August) released "Fit for Mission?" In this it shows the Church offers practical guidance on how to live out the teachings of the Second Vatican Council, through challenging common misinterpretations of the key council documents on Liturgy, Revelation, the Church, and the Church in the world.

Bishop Patrick is convinced that if we regain the Catholic sense of balancing change with continuity, the life of our parishes will be energised by the gifts of the Holy Spirit given at the Second Vatican Council.

I have downloaded it, and though it is 92 pages, I am going to try to read this document and perhaps you might consider it too. We need to reconsider our faith and recommit ourselves to promoting it, if we truly desire to be disciples of Jesus Christ. Perhaps the good Bishop may give us over here on "the other side of the pond" a little kick in the pants to do it!

He makes a point...

2008-08-19T14:17:00.001-06:00

There is so much misunderstanding in the CHurch today, but this article, by my friend, is a good place to begin. Check this out.

All its cracked up to be?

2008-08-14T11:53:00.002-06:00

Apparently, the two presumptive nominees for the two media-promoted political parties in America are meeting this weekend. You might be interested to read this interesting article from the California Catholic Daily.

There is so much to be said about the obvious contradiction between Senator Obama claiming Christianity as his religion and the wholesale acceptance of Abortion on demand. How can one who claims to know the creator of life also claim to be pro-abortion - for the death of either a human baby or AT VERY LEAST a potential human (which you must admit since no human embryo ever becomes a chair or a frog!)

Regardless, of this contradiction, this talk would be interesting to watch to see how faith is integral to these to lives which are vying for the Presidency of our beloved country.

What give us the right?

2008-08-13T22:56:00.003-06:00

I just read this article which I have shared with our Music department.

I have to admit, I have wondered about this once or twice. It seems a bit odd we think it is appropriate to use the tetragrammaton "YHWH" so liberally. Praise God that the Vatican has made clear the sanctity of the Holy Name of God! May we who have ears to hear listen to what the Spirit says to the Churches.

If you are going to spend any money in this economy...

2008-08-07T10:45:00.003-06:00

Make sure it is worth spending!

I just received this forwarded email from our youth minister, Anthony Gallegos:

[snip]

Different Drummer, a company specializing in socially good and redemptive content, including films like Amazing Grace and Bella, is pleased to bring you the movie Henry Poole is Here, starring Luke Wilson, George Lopez, and Adrian Barraza, about a young man (Luke Wilson) who abandons friends and work to spend what he believes are his remaining days alone. The discovery of a "miracle" by a nosy neighbor ruptures his solitude and restores his faith in life.

The movie has the support of the National Federation of Catholic Youth Ministry, National Catholic Young Adult Ministry Association, Catholic Campus Ministry Association, Theology on Tap, National Catholic Student Coalition, Life Teen, Knights of Columbus, etc. For the movie’s opening, August 15th, Catholic organizations, youth and young adult ministries, and individuals are celebrating the Feast of the Assumption – and keeping with the spirit of the day and weekend, organizing a night out at the movies for Henry Poole’s opening weekend. Theology on Tap has provided the official discussion guide for Henry Poole is Here. This will be a great movie night event with an opportunity for substantive discussions. Listed below is all the pertinent information and promotional material for the movie. God Bless!

***HENRY POOLE IS HERE OPENS NATION WIDE FRIDAY, AUGUST 15TH***

Visit the official website for information and national theater listing (available Tuesday, August 5th): http://www.myspace.com/henrypooleishere

Download the official study guide from Renew Theology on Tap: http://www.renewtot.org/

Watch the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJHpqyVOwug

Purchase tickets the week of August 10th: http://www.fandango.com/

Group Ticket Sells: 1 877-HENRY90 (436-7990)

USCCB Review: http://www.usccb.org/movies/h/henry-poole.shtml

“This little gem of a film with its truthful emotions, likable characters, and themes of faith and community concern (even when Henry commits a desperate act) should resonate warmly with Catholic viewers.” – USCCB Film and Broadcasting

[snip]

I was kinda skeptical myself but then I checked out the trailer:

Then I realized... "Oh, it has George Lopez playing a priest!!!?? That has to be good." Just kidding. Seriously though, it seems like it is a good movie. And with these kind of endorsements, I would encourage everyone to go out and check this out. And if turns out to be a horrible movie, well offer it up to the Blessed Mother on the feast of her Holy Assumption, body and soul, into heaven.

How can you lose?

The danger of pacifism

2008-08-05T11:25:00.006-06:00

I ran across this video last night, though it is long, I would recommend it to whoever is interested in the emerging promience of Islamic culture in our modern world. For us who profess the Catholic Faith, we ought not to fear anyone who desires to destroy the Church. While many have sought to destroy the Church, none have prevailed - why? Because the Church is not made from the mere thoughts of man, but endowed and empowered by the Holy Spirit. Some would think that we should fear the oncoming onslaught talked about in this video, I for one think that while we should prepare to respond to those who would question or discuss the Catholic Faith with us, we should not fear to prepare to offer a witness, even by our death, that the Love of God is real and life-giving.

When one reads the lives of the martyrs we find that no one of them sought to gain anything in this world, except to bear witness to the Love of God in their lives as a gift to Him. This witness never sought to force anyone to anything, except that they might see in our human life that there is something worth truly living and dying for; something which must be chosen and can never be imposed. For the one thing which is not spoken of in Islam is the the freedom to love with one's whole heart, which submission can never hope for.

The Lord Jesus Christ invites us offer our lives to Him in service IN LOVE. This is the reason why people are able to wear flip-flops to Mass or to sacrilege the Holy Eucharist by not discerning their way of life in the Catholic Faith. If we receive the gift and respond most fully we can and should become saints, but if we ignore or devalue the gift of Jesus Christ, then we flagrantly ignore all that God has offered to us in the Holy Catholic Faith. I ask you to consider where are you in your Catholic Faith? Have you accepted all that the Church teaches us as a gift which will bear your greatest joy, which is what Jesus called "life more abundantly (Jn 10:10)." Or have you picked and chosen what you would believe, what is referred to today as "Cafeteria Catholicism."

How woud you know one way or another? St. Gregory of Nyssa taught how Heaven would be going "from Glory to Glory" because we will be dynamically ever-more filled with the Mystery, Love, and Glory that is God. We will be ever satiated, and yet ever more desirous at the same time! For us Catholics, all the way to heaven is heaven, as I often say in RCIA and have heard others say. The point is that if we are perseverant in Love or even obedient in love then God will fufill our desire to know. Nevertheles, there will alway be those who deny this possibility, who can't imagine that the only living God truly is merciful and loving for each of his creation, even if they reject him. The question we must respond to is: Do we reject Him or love Him?

There are many things that are worth discussing about the video above and I hope that any of you who read this blog would offer your comments.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-871902797772997781

Who doesn't need innocence?

2008-08-04T15:44:00.006-06:00

You will notice, if you are a regular reader of this blog, that I have added a new link to the right over there -->. It is to my most favorite band ever, who just so happens to be Catholic and American. I actually know a guy who is playing with them in Lancaster, PA where they are from. I hope you might take moment to check out the link and listen to a few songs. Hopefully you might like them too.

Well, here I sit watching the smoke rise up from Green Mountain, which I can see from my office window. It had gone down quite a bit, but now seems to be flaring up. I hope all are ok over there. Please say a prayer for the Firefighters who are working up there and any families who might be affected. Perhaps this one:

Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary,
That never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection,
implored thy help, or sought thy intercession,
was left unaided.
Inspired by this confidence, I fly to thee O virgin of Virgins, my mother. To thee I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not our petitions, but in your clemency hear them and answer them,
through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Watching the fire plume into the sky made me think of my favorite band, the Innocence Mission. Why? I am not really sure. I just thought about how things are so good when you are young and innocent. We parents have a grave responsibility to help our children enjoy their innocence and to promote it as they grow up. Innocence from what? Well, nothing more than sin - which we can do with the help of the Sacraments.

I often wonder how many people take the Sacraments that seriously? Hopefully, we might reconsider the Sacrament of Confession most especially since our innocence is restored in that Sacrament, while our reparations remain. Life is never easy, but if we catch hold of "the Innocence Mission" which is brough forth in our Lord Jesus Christ then we can be restored in mind, body and strength to arrive at what is most important for our lives - union with God our Father. May no one of us ever doubt that reality, since upon this lies the hope of a better life - no matter what our economic situation is!

If you love life...

2008-07-29T23:14:00.000-06:00

then enjoy it!

Baby Steps (English) from American Life League on Vimeo.

Pardon me for thinking like the Holy Father...

2008-07-24T15:17:00.002-06:00

Quite awhile ago here at the parish I published an article in the bulletin about clapping at Mass. There was a bit of a "storm" because of it, and being concerned I had somehow spoken out of pride, I searched through the Church's teaching and found nothing that supports the idea. And, in fact, found that we are adding to the Liturgy that which is not called for.

I just read this today, as directed by a dear friend, and now I feel even more strengthened in my position. Now if only someone could point me to the document which says we should not wear flip-flops to Mass...

Don't get me wrong...

2008-07-14T01:28:00.004-06:00

I mean, I really do like Frank and Dino - well there music anyway. I don't know if I would have liked them personally. I watched on Netflix, as I think I said, the Frank Sinatra show which was an hour long program in the late 50's (I think). Mostly it has a lot of Frank singing with Ella Fitzgerald joining him at the end.

Frank is Americana, isn't he? I mean can you argue that is not the case, so too with Dino. Especially in the glory of early television where sex and violence was not the norm for our "cultural barometer." My dad actually mentioned something about TV today I found quite striking. He had said that before he went to Korea the Navy showed him movies of people being killed in order to help them prepare for war - what he called "Training Videos." For my dad, modern TV is nothing less than "training videos" for war, or violence anyway.

That got me thinking, along with Frank and Dino - whose hometown I am hours from leaving for, and it made me think of a movie I have yet to see. I checked it out on Youtube, becuase I was wondering about how I heard so much about it. Consider this was in a movie in 1941 (wait for it, after the music):

The motion picture was called "Hellzapoppin," and I would love to see it. There is also a pretty incredible scene in the Marx Brothers movie "A Day at the Races," which I actually own.

All things considered, I think I have lost sight of how much I love Swing dance. I actually won a few contests as Franciscan University while I was there, and started a Swing Dancing Club. It has always struck me how much of a "folk dance" swing dancing is and yet no one promotes it this way.

As our country sinks further into consumerism, I for one will be sure to teach my kids the Great American Swing Dance! Why? Because I think it is one of those things that can be passed on without a bit of money, and you will always have fun once you learn how to do it! Dancing is a natural and integral part to most any society, and yet we are so busy in the United States we are forgetting our dances - I include in this Square Dancing too, which I always loved when I learned it in 3rd & 4th Grade [Thank you Mrs. Card!]

I mean, COME ON!!! GOD BLESS AMERICA! Let's get back to the business of enjoying ourselves without violence, shall we?

Was it a real "board?"

2008-07-11T15:45:00.003-06:00

I have to admit: I have always liked Frank Sinatra. But I was thinking about my previous post and the article put together by Prof. Nicolosi. One wonders how would things have been different if the Chairman of the board were known for his Catholic way of life, as opposed to being the "swinging hepcat" that he is known to have been. Now please notice that I am making no judgement calls on Mr. Sinatra, I hardly know that much about him. But I was watching a late late night informercial about the Dean Martin's Celebrity Roasts. I think these seemed like really funny shows, and I am saddened that I never saw them and really don't want to spend the money to get them from Gunthy Renker to get them.

But it struck me how much Frank Sinatra was seen as the hipster old guy who was a so cool. It was very odd. I really began to wonder about why, as a Catholic, he never tried to promote the faith (or perhaps he did and one just never hears about it today with all the other things being promoted by other celebrities).

I leave next week for the Franciscan University of Steubenville. Steubenville, you may know - besides being, according to Cardinal Stafford, an instrumental part of the renewal of the Church in United States - also just happens to be the birth place of Dean Martin. Every time I go there I always enjoy going to Karaoke with a friend of mine and I always sing a Dean Martin song. But reading that article also has made me think about what legacy do these two men, Dean and Frank, have? For the world they were two beloved men who entertained and shared their lives with hundreds of thousands if not millions of people over the course of their lives. But how much did they promote their belief in Jesus. Perhaps they did, as I said, but I have never found anything about it (not that I have actually looked).

On the other hand, when you watch the Frank Sinatra show (which you can watch one episode if you have Netflix) it is awesome how moral it seems to be compared with the sex, violence, apathy and cynicism we have today on the airwaves of American radio and TV.

I guess, at the end of the day, what I am getting at here is that I hope that my life will somehow help others to know Jesus. I just finished teaching two classes at the Archdiocese of Denver for the Catechetical School and it was truly an incredible experience to help (hopefully) people to know the Catholic Faith a little better.

May each of us reassess what our legacy will be for the world. Particularly, one wonders what will become of our President - and I am not taking either political side here - but a "funny" thing happened on the way from the G8 summit! And please God may my legacy be to have helped to established the Reign of Christ! Please pray for me!

A Call to Arms!

2008-07-03T14:06:00.003-06:00

There is nothing in this world that is not meant to be put at the service of our Lord Jesus Christ. Nothing. So I was working on a powerpoint presentation today when a friend of mine sent me this link.

It is quite challenging and I think we should encourage all of our children to take the Gospel into their chosen profession, but we should not be afraid to help our children to even consider whether the media arts are not a great way to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

For each of us to do this, we must first understand why there is nothing more important in life than to follow after Jesus Christ, to "pick up our cross and follow him daily." This is not as hard as it sounds, to understand this; to live it, now that is a different story. But if we can't understand it first, and understand it fully then we can never begin to help our children find the joy of life and the true joy of living. Let us not give up on life ourselves, nor give up on our quest for holiness, nor fail to regain this journey in the Sacrament of confession.

UPDATE: The link appears to have failed above, but here it is again: http://www.cuf.org/Laywitness/LWonline/mj08nicolosi.asp I hope you can find it!

May not be for kids...

2008-07-01T14:19:00.002-06:00

I have been laughing over this video for quite a few minutes. I know this has nothing to do with anything, but perhaps it may provide a laugh for those of you with an appreciation of dealing with major coporation call centers. It is quite funny, but perhaps may not be the most appropriate thing... depending on how you take the dialogue. I wrestled with whether I should put this one here, but oh when my friend sent it to me I have been laughing ever since... so here you go:

Compelling, I think so...

2008-06-25T16:00:00.001-06:00

At first I couldn't figure out what the point of this was... then it struck me...

Sex, Lies and ... the Bible.

2008-06-25T14:35:00.005-06:00

I have recently received an email-update from the website for the Population Research Institute. Though I am not sure how I got on their mailing list, I am thankful for some of the articles they send me. Today's article included this:

"Margaret Sanger is one of the pro-choice movement's iconic figures. She is extolled as a pioneering feminist, health worker, and woman's activist. Her quotes on these subject are treated as scripture. But she was also an outspoken supporter of eugenics, who wanted more children from the fit and sterilization, even segregation, for the unfit. The infamous Negro Project, which targeted Blacks for contraception and sterilization, was one outcome of this.

Planned Parenthood, of course, does not want you know these facts. So the organization works hard to burnish Sanger's reputation, and goes into damage control mode whenever questions are raised about her more unsavory views. At the same time, however, they continue to quietly practice what she preached."

I am struck by Margaret Sanger, who my wife has studied more extensively that I have. Ms. Sanger worked tirelessly to kill as many babies (or according to her thinking mere embryos) as she could and to leave a legacy that is sustained by her disciples. One wonders if each of us who call ourselves Christians will have such an impact?

The whole problem, of course, begins in the MZarital Act itself, of course. Without the virtue of chastity you have the problem of so-called "unwanted pregnancy." This is so striking because the problem of abortion begs the question of why does mankind feel the need to promote sex outside of a marriage where a baby would be wanted? I am also reading this month's This Rock magazine, in which there is an article entitled, "If you want Justice, work for Chastity." The basic premise of which is that the human body is not a mere instrument to be used for pleasure, but has our actions - especially our sexual actions - bear a more profound meaning of who we are as people. Particularly, the author notes, as regards our chastity. This is not something promoted or even mentioned in our modern culture - the virtue of chastity.

Chastity is seen as a hindrance to pleasure, when it is in fact the key to living a life of integrity. It is virtue that allows us to live more intensely and more intently. Chastity, however, is often reduced to mere control of lust which demeans the idea of it being a positive virtue. In other words, the virtue of chastity actually gives us more life, rather than merely restricting our sexuality. It is unfortunate that Ms. Sanger saw the world in terms of race and death, such that people were seen to be a hindrance to happiness, as Jean-Paul Sartre held.

For us Catholics, we must realize and strive to live the reality that sexuality is meant to be used in the appropriate avenues granted by God. Why? Because he is some mean guy who forces us to do things we don't want? No. It is because he is a loving Father who has revealed to us the truth about who we are, and how we can best come to fulfillment as human beings, but we must choose this narrow path. Jesus once said, "Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is easy, that leads to destruction, and those who enter it are many. For the gate is narrow, and the way is hard, that leads to life, and those who find it are few (Mt 7:13-14)." I think this is no where more clear than in the area of sexuality.

In our modern world, the lie that our bodies are a mere instrument of who we are has become the norm. Modern media promotes the idea that our body should be used as an instrument of our desire, when the wisdom of mankind - let alone the Catholic Faith for a second - tells us that we are more than mere desire. We have the ability to give ourselves to another with full purpose and intent, and the lessening of this makes us disintegrated and disheveled in our souls. Our Catholic Faith, however, fully helps us to appreciate the great gift of unity that God has revealed for us in Jesus Christ. That man and woman can unite fully in the Sacrament of Marriage is an incredible gift, and unfortunately, for those with homosexual desires, one which can not be fulfilled in same-sex relationships. God desires to consummate his love with our souls in the Holy Eucharist, similar to how a man and woman consummate their marriage and have the ability to bear children because of it. Our souls bear the gift of grace in the world however. Again, we must choose this narrow road. We must desire and seek Christ, and to live fully for him - even if this is an ongoing project.

May we never succumb entirely to the lie that the Catholic Church is outdated in her glorious teaching of our sexuality, for never will man be more fulfilled than in her sacred teachings which she has taught since the time of the apostles. Praise God that we should have such a rock to turn to! And finally, as I prepare to teach for the Catholic Biblical School here in Denver, I am struck by the incredible faithfulness of God which is revealed in the book of the Sacred Scripture. Just consider its been around for so long, and we have a chance to see God's heart by means of the writings there! May you seek him there!

Every hour of EVERY day...

2008-06-16T11:38:00.003-06:00

At a time when so many people have gotten such a false impression of the Catholic Faith, one who loves Christ and the Holy Catholic Church must rejoice when good things are happening. Check this out, if you feel like you have been down on your Catholic Faith of late.

UPDATE: Shoot, well i guess I can't link to the video I was hoping you might check out, but you can find it at the above link and scroll down to the bottom where you see three pictures. Click on the one that says Epic. It is quite good!

Funny or True?

2008-06-10T09:57:00.004-06:00

My sister is big on the email forwards. I personally don't like 'em. I think they are annoying and ususally I don't spend much time reading them. But then this one came today, which I must say I found quite funny!

1. At Lunch Time, Sit In Your Parked Car With Sunglasses on and point a Hair Dryer At Passing Cars. See If They Slow Down.

2. Page Yourself Over The Intercom. Don't Disguise Your Voice!

3. Every Time Someone Asks You To Do Something,ask If They Want Fries with that.

4. Put Decaf In The Coffee Maker For 3 Weeks Once Everyone has Gotten Over Their Caffeine Addictions,Switch to Espresso.

5. In the Memo Field Of All Your Checks, Write "For Marijuana."

6. Skip down the hall Rather Than Walk and see how many looks you get.

7. Order a Diet Water whenever you go out to eat, with a serious face.

8. Specify That Your Drive-through Order Is 'To Go'.

9. Sing Along At The Opera.

10. Five Days In Advance, Tell Your Friends You Can't Attend Their Party Because You have a headache.

11. When The Money Comes Out The ATM, Scream 'I Won! I Won!'

12. When Leaving the Zoo, Start Running towards the Parking lot, Yelling "Run For Your Lives! They're Loose!"

13. Tell Your Children Over Dinner, "Due To The Economy, We Are Going To Have To Let One Of You Go."

14. And The Final Way To Keep A Healthy Level Of Insanity

Send This E-mail To Someone To Make Them Smile.

It's Called ... THERAPY

Not everyone will appreciate this, and that is ok, but if at least one person got a chuckle that is already accomplishing a lot in these days. Anyway, I am sure at least one of these is probably illegal, and a couple of others will probably seriously cause some need for therapy for your kids!

Totally who's?

2008-06-09T15:28:00.007-06:00

One would like to think that as we come to understand who Jesus Christ is that each of us would learn to give assent and to abandon ourselves to our Holy Catholic Faith. The incredible reality of the Catholic Church helps us to consider that there is no other religion like the Catholic Faith. Why? Because only the Catholic Church historically is proven to have been founded by Jesus Christ. You can decide for yourself whether you believe Jesus was the only Son of God who was eternally begotten and was sent by the Father for the sake of our Salvation, but you can't argue historically that Jesus established the Catholic Church.

It takes faith to do what I do. My job sustains my family, but I am not making a living that is extremely comfortable given the growing size of my family and what most Americans are striving own in our modern world. This doesn't bother me too much; though, I think some sort of change may be coming eventually. At any rate, I am struck again by the Totus Tuus team that is hear this week at St. Jude. Their devotion to serve the parish and to serve the Mystical body of Christ is once again very edifying. As with years past, you can see their desire and their faith for the Lord Jesus in their mannerisms and chosen words.

I think it disarms us "adults" in the modern world, where we seek so many things, to meet these young people who are dedicated to spreading the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Many are the things that invite us to place our faith in the World, many are the things that tempt us to focus on ourselves and our own desires, but these young people give us a great witness of seeking only to do God's will by their devoting an entire summer to serve our Lord Jesus Christ. Sure, they will eventually move on from this summer program and finish their college degrees and seek other things too - jobs, families, success, etc. But it is striking to know that there is an abundance of young people who are building the kingdom of Christ in this world, and when our current team moves on, there will be more young people to take their place. It reminds one of the Catholic notion of family: we parents procreate in order not only to propogate the human species, but also to pass on the joy of the reality of our Catholic Faith. In both ways, teaching and procreating, God blesses those who truly put the effort and sacrifice to pass on these incredible gifts of our Holy Catholic Faith and life, respectively.

I am struck by the edification which this team provides me. Totus Tuus. It's Latin for "Totally Yours" and it is inspired by Pope John Paul II's papal motto (which actually comes from St. Louis De Montfort). These Totus Tuus team members truly have given themselves TOTALLY to Christ for this summer, and hopefully for their whole lives. You can see this if you ask them about how they are doing. In the midst of the light amounts of sleep and rest and time for themselves, they exude the joy of serving Jesus Christ with their whole minds, whole bodies, and whole strengths. Sure they aren't perfect, but their desire to be sure shows.

Whether you have a child in the Totus Tuus program or not, I encourage you to check out the Totus Tuus website. It can be found here. But most importantly, I hope every parishioner at St. Jude will consider joining us for the potluck on Wednesday to meet these young people and to be edified by their desire to serve Jesus Christ. These are the future of our Holy Mother Church!

The Return of Ron Paul...

2008-06-07T01:03:00.003-06:00

at least to my blog anyway. History will reveal anything further.

However, I found this little video that is quite compelling:

The groundswell of support which Dr. Paul receives continues to interest me. I just finished his most recent book, "The Revolution: A Manifesto" and I would recommend it. He does lay out some serious arguements, which it is true that no one else is putting forward in today's political climate.

Again, I do not and will not recommend voting for any candidate, however I am entitled as an American Citizen to freely declare my sympathies. If you are a disgruntled Republican because of the presumptive nominee of your party, you might also be interested to know that there is still a movement afoot to redirect the Republican Party, which I had not heard of until I checked out this website (link here).

What an incredible time to live, hunh? The divisiveness within the Democratic Party, and the potential for a "rEVOLution" in the Republican party - which appears to be a mere return to party roots? These are interesting times indeed.

Finally, I checked out the whole "Google Trends" and Mr. Day is right! You can see it here.

Requiescat in Aeternum Gaudium

2008-06-03T15:29:00.007-06:00

Today, marks the one year anniversary of my classmate from Rome, Fr. Ragheed Aziz Ganni, being martyred in Iraq. After celebrating Holy Liturgy according to the Chaldean Rite, with three deacons, he was shot while getting into a car outside a Church. May he enjoy his reward for his faithfulness and may we also be found worthy to die well for Jesus.

I can't but stop and think with fond memories of the many times when Fr. Ragheed, my beloved wife, and I all sipped Irish Tea and had "cornettos (Italian croissants, basically)" at the Irish College in Rome. Ah... may he enjoy his eternity, and may we be there with him when the Lord Jesus calls us home.

The Glory of Latin

2008-06-03T12:51:00.002-06:00

Today, I just found this little gem by our Holy Father, Pope John Paul II:

We address especially the young people: In an epoch when in
some areas, as you know, the Latin language and the human values
are less appreciated, you must joyfully accept the patrimony of
the language which the Church holds in high esteem and must, with
energy, make it fruitful. The well-known words of Cicero, "It is
not so much excellent to know Latin, as it is a shame not to know
it" [Non tam praeclarum est scire Latine, quam turpe nescire
(Brutus, xxxvii.140)] in a certain sense are directed to you. We
exhort you all to lift up high the torch of Latin which is even
today a bond of unity among peoples of all nations.

This quote comes from a speech given to the Latinitas Foundation given on Nov. 27th 1978. Unfortunately it is only found online in its entirety in Italian here.

Requiescat in Pax Domini Jesum Christum.

To the point...

2008-06-02T15:05:00.008-06:00

Again, Mr. Masonic Traveler has seen fit to comment, and perhaps it is well for certainly there is a much needed clarification that must be given.

First, while Mr. Traveler appears to have a Protestant understanding of Christianity, which is betrayed by the very implied notion that one can come up with belief by sitting on their couch at home while flipping through the channels. One sees this in the accusation that the Church is causing a "manipulated interpretation of telling one how to believe." This comment seems to prefer the notion of "Sola Fides," which is not supported by the Sacred Scriptures. Notice that even in the Gospel of Matthew, as Jesus is sending his apostles out into the world he doesn't say, "go out and affirm everybody in what they already believe because they are really close to the Kingdom of God, just by believing in the Great Architect of the Universe, whose name is really Jah-Buh-Lon... or don't, because they are good right where they are at." Rather the Lord and Savior, the only Son of the one living and True Triune God, Jesus Christ, teaches, "Go therefore and MAKE disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, TEACHING them TO OBSERVE all that I have commanded you; and behold I am with you always, to the close of the age (Mt 28:20)." However, perhaps I am not entirely clear to what Mr. Traveler is referring to as "that"?

Further, Mr. Traveler's incoherent notion of Gnostic Faith being already something integral to early Christianity is again untenable. Notice that Jesus in the Sacred Scriptures, written by the first Catholics - Jesus' own Apostles, did not teach, "You are God within you. All you need is a little light from an angel or something that will help you understand what it means to be truly good." Rather, Jesus Himself taught one of the Pharisees, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, that which is born of the Spirit is spirit (Jn 3:5)." Clearly, one must enter into the teachings and belief of the Christian dispensation, which continues to remain most fully in the Holy Catholic Faith. For what other reason would Jesus say to St. Peter, the first Pope, "You are the rock upon which I will build my Church (Mt 16:18)." I know for me that when I finally accepted the free gift of God's mercy, my life has changed and continues to change as I continue to try to live entirely for the Jesus who continues to save me from Sin (when I am not stupid enough to flee from him). Knowing and teaching people who desire to give up everything in this life in order to follow Jesus Christ is an incredible blessing when one realizes what St. Paul says, "For me, to live is Christ, and death is gain (Phillipians 1:21)." St. Paul continues, "But whatever gains I had, these I have come to consider a loss because of Christ. More than that, I even consider everything as a loss because of the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have accepted the loss of all things and I consider them so much "rubbish [the Greek word here is "skubala", which literally means poop!]", that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having any righteousness of my own based on the law but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God, depending on faith to know him and the power of his resurrection and (the) sharing of his sufferings by being conformed to his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead (Phil 3:7-11)."

While the association of Jesus with the Essenes is disputed, certainly Jesus - who if he was truly God (and I believe and know he was) - would not establish a Church which would immediately condemn the very Gnostic notions that were already proposed within the time of the Apostles. This we already find hints of in the Book of Revelation, where this gnostic or hidden knowledge or the so-called "deep things of God" where already proposed by the Nioclaitans (cf. Rev 2:6, Rev, 2:15 and Rev. 2:24 - where this doctrine is called "the deep things of Satan").

Mr. Traveler would try to pin on me the belief that Freemasonry doesn't hold all religions as valid. However, I do accept this point, in spite of this accusation, and have not tried to dispute it, since this is precisely the problem. One can not fit the square pegs of other religions into the round hole of Catholicism, to use an analogy. While one can fit Protestant Christianity, with much delusion of its adhereant, into the Masonic mindset, since there is no centralized belief or authority within Catholic derived Protestant theologies. There are few denominations of Christanity, particularly of the Reformation derivations, which do not fit into the understanding of Masonry for this reason - particularly if one has ignored or is not aware of the scriptures teachings about Masonic ideologies. However, why is it that in an upper degree of the Scottish Rite, 32nd if I am not mistaken, that the Mason is meant to step on the Triple Crown and declare, "Down with the imposture!" Certainly, one who understands that the Triple Tiara is a clear symbol of the Papal Tiara will not dispute the rejection of the validity of the Catholic Faith. This certainly fits within the Protestant understanding that with "Sola Fides" one need not have an authority, since one can interpret Christianity for one's self. Further, it fits within the understanding of "Liberty, Equality and Fraternity" as understood by European and particularly French Masonry which rejected both King and Pope.

It is unfortunate that Mr. Traveler appears to not have bothered to watch the video I attached to my last post, which clearly shows Grand Commandmer Albert Pike's contention that Lucifer is also God: "Yes, Lucifer is god and unfortunately adonay [The hebrew God of the Bible] is also God ... the true and philosophical religion is the belif in Lucifer, the equal of Adonay [Nothing could be further from the truth, as Lucifer is but an angel created by God, and who choose to reject God]; ... but Lucifer, god of light and god of good, is struggling for humanity against Adonay, the God of darkness and of evil." . Further, it shows in Morals and Dogma, p. 819, how the leaders of Freemasonry are intentionally deceiving their fellow "brothers." How can this be disputed when your own teachers and books themselves make the case?

Syncretism is not such "a remarkable pot," as Mr. Traveler suggests. In fact, it is quite a "natural" pot, since man does not desire obedience to anyone but seeks freedom from both God and Church. This disobedience is not true freedom, but more properly licentiousness. And why is this? Precisely because of the Original Sin, from which all sin derives its existence. Man has such a difficulty, as does Satan, to serve the one and only true God, the God whom St. John says is Love and whose only begotten son is Jesus Christ. The reason why man flees from love are manifold, however, suffice it to say that man need only accept and believe in the Love of God manifested in Jesus Christ and then also to begin to live that received love and in this will man be drawn to the obedience of love found most fully in the Catholic Church. Again the position that such a teaching creates "exclusivity rather than a tolerant community, and really only builds walls" also clearly ignores the reality that absolute Truth itself exists. Again I ask, how can man believe in the "Masonic religion" when man is expected to deny Jesus Christ as any different than Buddha, or Mohammed, or other religious personages. Clearly this ignores the fundamental truth, as my original post pointed out, "There is no salvation through anyone else, nor is there any other name under heaven given to the human race by which we are to be saved (Acts 4:12)." In other words, tolerance without Truth is useless. To tolerate the actions of Hitler and Stalin is not necessarily a wise course of action, as history has shown. Tolerance must be guided by Truth, or it risks destroying the very mankind it is meant to help. But who can define Truth? Well, as a Christian I have come to believe and know that the only absolute Truth begins in Jesus Christ, who himself said, "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life."

It appears you ignore the possibility, as many do, that believing what the Holy Catholic Faith believes is the truth. Why so? If Jesus, the only Son of the living and True God {which is not Jahbulon, by the way) established only one Church and guides it with His own Holy Spirit then why wouldn't I believe in it fully? Why would I believe the masonic ideology which forces me to overlook the distinct differences that do exist in various religions, even if some points are similar. Why would it not be more tenable that there is but one Truth and man has gotten it wrong in various ways, just as the many 26,000+ types of Protestantism show.

This again is the problem of Masonry, as my original post pointed out. In the video, we are meant to believe that "The truths you learn as a Mason are personal and private, but the values echo the past..." Logically, Truth can not be a private issue, since Truth affects all men. How can a religion or philosophy which purports to help men find the Truth not proclaim that truth publically. Rather in Masonry it is reserved for men who climb by rungs to "ascend to truth" and who effectively allow themselves to become their own savior, since Truth is manifestly intended to be nothing more than personal opinion? Mr. Traveler and I agree that in the end it comes down to faith. I, however, perfer to believe the words of Joshua: "
Now, therefore, fear the Lord [read Adonai] and serve Him completely and sincerely. Cast out the gods your fathers served beyond the River [read in this Baal!] and in Egypt [again read Osiris, Mithras, Set, etc,], and serve the Lord. If it does not please you to serve the Lord [again we are talking about Adonai here], decide today whom you will serve, the gods your fathers served beyond River or the gods of the Amorites in whose country you are dwelling. As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord (Joshua 24:15-15)." One cannot serve "the divine figure of antiquity" and seriously claim to be a Christian, as I have pointed out. To equate Christ our King to be "a light bearer" on par with Mohammend or Buddha is as syncretistic as it gets.

Having studied the notion of "Masonic Charity" to some degree, I would note that it is quite interesting that Mr. Traveler seems to think that charity is the result "of the practice and teachings of the fraternity." And yet, does not Freemasonry itself in the 3rd degree oath impose upon the Mason to inherently prejudice against the non-Freemason. Is not the mason intended to come to the aid of another mason before the non-mason? Is this not what one commonly calls "prejudice?" Perhaps, I am wrong, but I do not see such an integral practice as charitable to all mankind, but charitable to the fellow mason first. Hence the very notion of fraternity in Masonic thought.

Again I would invite any one who is interested to review the video below called "Freemasonry: From Darkness to Light" (which by the way is produced by a Protestant outfit, and yet hits the salient points) or to consider Pope Leo XIII exposition on the Church's stance against the Freemasonic religion or to read a copy of John Salza's book "Masonry Unmasked." There are numerous other resources, but one must truly desire the Truth and not merely accede to the teachings of Masonry. As the humorous thinker G.K. Chesterton once wrote, "Merely having an open mind is nothing. The object of opening the mind, as of opening the mouth, is to shut it again on something solid." There is, I would argue, nothing more solid than the Church of Jesus Christ which He himself built upon the Rock of St. Peter.

To return to a theme...

2008-06-02T09:55:00.002-06:00

I have gotten one comment from a person known as "Masonic Traveler" on my last post on Freemasonry. You can find it here.

Unfortunately, it appears one misses the point by noting that Freemasonry is not "against" the Church. Particularly, since the very texts of Freemasonry themselves reject Jesus Christ as the Savior of the World. Instead, they accept Lucifer, aka Satan, as the "God of good." Further, as is pointed out by Mr. Traveler, Freemasonry's insidious tendency is to unite all religions into one, namely to practice syncretism. In which case, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God and the only savior of mankind, becomes equal to Buddha or to Mohammed. This is something which the Christian Faith cannot tolerate since it betrays ignorance and half-heartedness, for which Christ would spew one out of his mouth (Rev 3)! Buddha himself said, "I am not God." Jesus, however, said, "I am the way, the Truth and life. Nobody comes to father but through me." Freemasonry, due to its indifference to Christ, cannot - if one is honest with oneself - accept one religion over another precisely because the focus of freemasonry IS unity. But this unity comes to the exclusion of Truth! This is the unfortunate thing about this Masonic Religion.

Where Masonry presumes it is taking up the slack by offering "charitable works" for its members, it unfortunately removes itself from the "sola fides" (faith alone) which is required of Protestant Christians - as Mr. Traveler points out at the end of his comments. For Catholics, however, faith and works are not and can not be divorced as such. Rather for Catholics we already live the universal life of both faith and works, that is to say, our faith informs our works. We need not believe in both the Holy Trinity and "the Great Architect of the Universe" (i.e. the God of the Masons). Rather, we only need to love as Christ loves in our daily lives - a great challenge to be sure.

No Catholic should be involved with Freemasonry because it seeks to build what the Holy Faith of St. Peter and St. Paul cannot support: a brotherhood of man devoid of the Savior of mankind. One would effectively, as Masonry itself purports, make oneself their own savior if one believed that by merely gathering men together peace can be established among men without Christ the Lord, who heals us of our sin.

If one need more explanation I would encourage any one to consider this video:

To prove the point, notice that one of freemasonry's tenents is that no man shall have authority over another, and yet what shall one make of Christ the King, true God who has become true man?

Do you know why?

2008-05-29T11:08:00.003-06:00

I have been interested in the Catholic Church's position about the Freemasons for quite some time now. It is perhaps one of the most forgotten and even ignored positions of the Church. The Freemasons are seen by the Church as the official "enemies of the Church." Why? Not because the Church hates the men and, apparently, few women who are involved. Rather because the ideology which this organization espouses is particularly anti-Christ. "What sort of inflammatory statement are you making here?" you might ask. But check out this video and see if you find any problems or incompatibilities with this masonically produced video and the Catholic Faith:

There are a few things we must notice. First, one should have noticed that at 7:14-7:25 the narrator notes that all men are seen as the same. Now, while that corresponds to the Church's understanding of the equality of all men on the one hand, it also denies the priesthood, established by our Lord Jesus Christ. Since certain men are given the gift of the priesthood, they are meant to guide all mankind to Christ and are given special grace to do it. Moreover, and more importantly, the Pope himself is granted the ability to guide and maintain the Church by his teachings. This is fundamentally rejected by the Masons, since no man is seen as above another. In every day human life, no less, we have a great example of why this is wrong within our families. A dad or a mom cannot act or be equal to their children because the children are learning from their parents. I could only imagine the havoc our house would become if I let my son and daughter play and I only played with them, instead of guiding and correcting them. This is essentially what the consistent practice of this ideology of equality without respect for complementary differences between people yields. This, in part, demonstrates what the Popes have referred to as indifference.

Secondly, at 9:35-10:02 the gentlemen describes that on the altar in Japan one found the (Bhagavad) Gita - a Hindu text, the Koran, and the Bible. At first this sounds quite nice, until we realize that as Catholics we recognize that, according to the teaching of our First Pope, St. Peter, "There is no salvation through anyone else, nor is there any other name under heaven given to the human race by which we are to be saved (Acts 4:12)." The second element of Freemasonry that presents a serious problem is the idea of syncretism, which seeks to make all religions essentially into one. By placing the Koran and the Hindu text next to the bible, the essential claim being demonstrated is that the words of Jesus are "just as important" as the words of Mohammed and the words of the Hindu text. If we believe that "God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life (Jn 3:16)," then we must realize that neither the Koran nor the Hindu religions can offer what Jesus offers. If you reject Jesus Christ, then one can legitimately make such a claim. However, one would also be implicitly rejecting the same claim practically, since you would deny one religion is also equal to others!

The gentlemen then speaks of the teachings of Freemasonry being "universal," which is quite interesting considering that the Greek word "Catholicos" means "universal." Essentially, the Freemasonic ideal is such that the Catholic Church be ignored and/or destroyed by "making" all men equal, rather than accepting that they are. This is the whole purpose of belonging to this organization, to come to equality. In fact, certain documents of the Freemasons demonstrate that non-Masons or "rough ashlars" are not equal to Masons, since the mason takes an oath to care for other masons before non-masons.

The final element of this video I hope you, dear reader, will consider is located at the end of it. At 14:26 the gentlement says, "The truths you learn as a Mason are personal and private, but the values echo the past..." Again, if you are not a Christian, this is a fine statement for a non-Christian religion. However, for the Christian, and even more so for Catholics, how can we speak of "truth being personal and private?" Jesus told us, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life (Jn 14:6)." If we believe in Jesus Christ, how can we seek any truth beyond him? In fact, he is the one who reveals God the Father to us! For us who believe this, then, we cannot see any truth as being hidden or merely personal. This, it seems to me, is what Jesus says when he teaches the Apostles, "All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age."

I do not dislike the Masons as people, however, it is clear from Scripture, History, but even more so from Holy Mother Church that mankind suffers in manifold ways when we reject or, worse, become indifferent to the only Savior of Mankind, Jesus Christ. The question then becomes how seriously do we take our devotion to the Son of God made man, who died, and was resurrected from the dead for our sake? Do we become indifferent in our own lives, because it is not only the Masonic ideology that makes us indifferent to Jesus! It is a serious question which each of us ought to consider.

Is it better or not?

2008-05-28T22:10:00.003-06:00

My beloved family and I have just taken the leap to the 21st century and we now have, thank you Qwest, high-speed DSL internet service at home. We got sick of paying the $10.95 to the company we had dial-up with. Luckily, thanks to my Catholic Social Teaching class [Hi Guys!], I was able to build my own computer! That is quite an experience, but I have to say that it was not as harrowing as I thought it might be... I mean sure you can shock yourself, but if you have a good friend show you how to do it I don't think it is as bad as I thought it would be.

I think I might be comfortable with building another one on my own. The problem of course is knowing what to buy, thankfully when you have a couple of good friends who are self-proclaimed "computer geeks" it is easy enough to find parts that are good - or as one friend who helped me put it, that are "smoking."

At any rate, I have a feeling this means I will be blogging a lot more. Hopefully, I can put it into my schedule each day to blog. I wonder how wise a choice this was, to be honest, because I think I will probably spend a lot more time blogging. OFten as I am reading books, I find myself pondering things... and now, faithful or new reader, you too will be connected to my brain... scary thought.

At any rate, we shall see whether this pans out for more blogs entries or not. I have a feeling it will. But we shall see...

Please pray for me as I try to balance the desire to always be blabbing away here about theology, with continuing to serve my family as the Father and Husband. After all, its tempting to be writing all the time since I have paid for the stupid internet and now my blog just sits here and calls to me... Its free to be typing away, but is it really? As I was reminded today, there is no such thing as a free lunch... as attractive as it sounds...

Miracles.

2008-05-28T10:05:00.004-06:00

Is there anyone among us who won't admit to restricting God in our lives. Yesterday my son and I watched the video "The Day the Sun Danced":

This very well done movie shows what happened at Fatima, Portugal way back in 1917. There were so many incredible messages given from the Mother of God to those children. Watching this movie with my boy, I was struck by the fact that, as a Catholic, few people that I am aware of seem to discuss about the Blessed Mother's apparition in Fatima.

Now, we must be clear: no one MUST believe in any PRIVATE apparition, since nothing in such an apparition holds anything that will make our salvation any more real from our Lord Jesus Christ. However, as Holy Mother Church encourages us, when an apparition is approved, such apparitions can help to increase our spiritual life, that is, our growth in holiness.

Why? Often it is because these messages from heaven give us some way to reconnect with our faith in a very personal and real way. Our Lady or our Lord or some saint is usually calling us to recommit ourselves to God and to reject sin. Who doesn't need that kind of encouragement!? Even more, however, the messages often give a deeper spiritual appreciation of where our society or a person's spiritual life is lacking. For example, at Fatima, the Blessed Mother, by God's grace, showed the children a vision of hell. They were allowed to see the poor souls who send themselves there because of their indifference to God - especially in the Holy Eucharist. To combat this indifference, the angel who came before Mary to the 3 children gave them a prayer which was often encouraged for all Catholics to say before mass. As a 33 year old man, I am very aware that I don't even know this prayer by heart. It was never encouraged for me, however, I think the time has come for me to learn it.

There are so many things that God gives us as signs to reveal his love for us. The least of which was the great miracle of the Sun in Fatima. I was all interested in this great miracle as it is said that 70,000 people including Freemasons, Atheists and Communists all saw this miracle and I always see movies with people filming the event as it happened and I was wondering if any such film actually exists today. I found these pictures on Youtube:

Nevertheless, I know there are other miracles that have happened and continue to happen every year around the face of the planet. It surprised me, though, I must admit to find this one:

Is it real? I believe it is. Could it be doctored? It probbably could be, but I would prefer to believe the miracle until someone disproves this. Whether this is real or not, will it change my faith? No. Why would I believe before being skeptical? Because I am "some moron who rejects science?" No, because I know that God exists and actually does communicate to all mankind and, as the Scripture says, He acts in mysterious ways. Why must he do what we think is right or what shows us what we envision or understand God to be? As a good Father, as Jesus reveals Him, God knows what we need to help us to grow in love for mankind and for the one living and true God. Do people doctor pictures like this or fake them? Yes. In fact, there have been apparitions, such as in Bayside, New York, where people claimed to have seen "divine things" and later it was proven to be a hoax. Nevertheless, the love of God is real, and like our American system of judicial law, I prefer to believe the miracles that are presumed to be of God are real until proven false. And if they are proven false, fine. It won't change my belief in the one living and true God just because man was trying to imitate God by creating some false miracle. Rather, I would prefer to believe in the goodness of God and forgive man's idiocy in doing such things.

Why? Becuase I know who loves me, and who died for me, and who has restored my soul with the peace and joy that this world has never offered me in the midst of all the sins I have wallowed in. At the end of the day, miracles are periphery; they are the icing on the cake of the greatest reality that God is real, the God cares about me even in the midst of all I have made myself, and he calls me to abandon myself to Him in love. For only in finding and living His love will I or you or any human soul find our greatest joy and peace.