Bishop of DC needs to discipline pro-abortion lawmakers

To grow in the spiritual life, one needs direction. General spiritual guidance is provided in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Specific guidance needs to be arranged with a director preferably with a priest because of his training. The specific guidance is absolutely necessary when discerning a calling or making decisions like supporting a certain law. It is required for priests and religious.

When I was at the order and had to take classes in different schools, I changed directors every year. It is cheaper than making long distance calls and also the non-verbal communication is essential during the session.

That may sound like common sense, but not when one considers the position of the Archbishop of the nation’s capital. In a statement, he says that the spiritual direction for Catholic politicians who publicly support abortion, “can best be made by the bishop in the person's home diocese with whom he or she presumably is in conversation.” It is like the politician from CA who works in DC for a year is suppose to be guided by her bishop in CA even if she commits scandal in DC - like supporting abortion despite the explicit prohibition of the Pope himself.

The problem with the right to life issues is that only one party is considered and others are overlooked e.g. the mother but not the child and in this case the visiting politician but not the resident parishioners.

Correct me if I am wrong, but what some bishops don’t get or refuse to understand is the impact of the politician’s reception of the Eucharist to the faith community. The politician who defies the bishops’ and pope’s teaching, guidance and orders about defending life goes and receives the Communion as though she did nothing wrong or was unaware of any wrongdoing scandalizes the community.

There is a pastoral approach to help the politician by tolerating that until she sees the light. But what about the pastoral approach to the faithful who are confused and scandalized into wrongdoing. They would think, “The bishop allows her to receive communion even if she supports abortion, so abortion might not be that bad. Then, they go and procure it themselves or advise others of the moral relativity based on that praxis. And all this from the perception that the local bishop gave when he relegated the duty of spiritual guidance to another bishop and worse when he neglected his pastoral responsibility to control scandal in his local faith community.

I have emailed my bishop about this at chancery@adw.org and have not received any response. When I searched the web, I saw his position and I doubt whether I will ever get a response. But, I will give him a chance. If he does not follow the Pope’s orders, then I shall stop donating to my diocese. I shall encourage others to do the same. If this still does not work, the I shall appeal humbly to the Holy Father and suggest that my bishop be replaced by Cardinal Justin Rigali, Bishop Joseph Martino, Bishop William Murphy, Archbishop Joseph Naumann, Archbishop Charles Chaput or some other bishop or priest who is faithful to the Pope, the Church and ultimately the Lord in defending the life of the unborn.

We need apostles in the Church, not politicians – even if the Church is at the nation’s capital.

Saving the mother and her child from abortion

These are friends from a prayer group who tried to save the mothers and their children from abortion. On many Saturdays, we stood and prayed at the entrances of the abortion mill hoping to change the mother's choice. We know that the mother herself is a victim; probably abandoned by the boyfriend. We just want her to consider options before she makes matters worse. Women have been known to go nuts on the anniversary of their unborn child's demise. We showed a picture of a fetus at 8 weeks to inform the mother that it is a child and not a mass of undifferentiated cells. She's not popping a zit but killing her son or daughter. During those days:

Cars passed and honked in support; others yelled in disapproval.

A lady turned around, stopped at a convenience store & bought us bottled water. "It's the least I can do", she said.

A tough looking guy who looked at me menacingly as he stood close by. I glanced at my duffle bag when he did. He probably thought I had a weapon, so he left.

A fender bender happened in front of us and the drivers came out to get our names as witnesses.

An entire family came and yelled in our faces. When I shouted back, I got threatened with a lawsuit. Then, they went to the parking lot to copy our plates.

There was a kindly man who offered us $50 just to go home and make love to our spouses.

The scariest one was when a man gave us leaflets with the names of alleged abortionists. The leaflet had biblical quotes and a suggestion to have the list published in the newpaper. As soon as he left, I gathered the leaflets and instructed the group about not taking any action. That is one of the few times when I felt evil personified.

The Church needs courage not compromise, fortitude not political savvy.

The late Ferdinand Marcos was having lunch with the late Cardinal Sin. He started small talk to the Prelate by saying, "You should admire the Americans. Hours after the election, they already know who won." The Cardinal nonchalantly responded, "You need to admire your people more. Even before the election, they already know who won." Sin had kept normal relations with Marcos even if the latter's regime has been accused of murder, corruption and fraud. He did not withhold Holy Communion from Ferdinand probably because none of the accusations stuck. I do know that Sin ended his Masses saying, "We are not afraid to face the firing squad..." His courage was contagious. When the opposition barricaded themselves in a fort & were about to be massacred by government's troops, the cardinal called on the faithful to form a human shield and separate the combatants. More than a million stood in harms way - kneeling on the streets, praying the Rosary, holding the Bible and singing Christian hymns.

Courage is a basic habit of moral or decent men - just like justice, prudence & temperance. The word comes from"cor" or heart - the common metaphor for the source of love. Love makes one brave. Consider a mother charging into a burning building when she sees her child in there. Another word for it is fortitude, which comes from "fortis" meaning strength. To have fortitude is not to be a push over, is to be immovable or relentless.

Unfortunately, there seems to be a recession of love nowadays and because of that there is little courage. The unborn are now more than ever so easily murdered with all the legal protections and funded by the American taxpayers. Doctors are forced to murder at the risk of being sued. And since these babies cannot vote and are unwanted by their very own mothers, then they are summarily condemned by the choice of their mothers.

However, there is One who continues to love them and that is their Creator. And that is why God's people struggle to protect them. A few bishops discipline politicians who support abortion. But there are others who remain silent.

But I would not be surprised because there were US bishops who simply relocated pedophile priests who then continued to rape, sodomize or sexually molest children. So, if they did not care for the children then, why would they care for infants now? I hate to bring that up, but the lesson from that tragedy is that bishops and priests need to be watched, reported and corrected by the laity. If they do not fulfill their responsibilities, they need to be replaced just like any officer in an organization.

The laity are confirmed to be prophets, priests and kings. The bishops and priests minister to the layman through the sacraments, teaching and leadership. If the clergy fail to do their jobs, the laity need to do something for the sake of the Church - the Mystical Body of Christ otherwise, they’re just as culpable. They can submit petitions, emails or simply phone the clergy. Then they can stop donating to their diocese. If there is still no reform, then one can finally report them to the Vatican for possible replacement. One can get a young and holy priest who is not yet jaded and cynical, more importantly who is not yet compromised to the world and its powers.

Here’s the contact info:

His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI

00120 Vatican City Sate, Europe

E-mail: benedettoxvi@vatican.va

(For issue with bishops)

Giovanni Battista Cardinal Re

Prefect, Congregation for Bishops

Piazza Pio XII, 10

00193 Vatican City Sate, Europe

Phone: (011) 39-6-6988-4217

Jesus in the Holy Eucharist

When I heard of an alleged apparition of our Lady in Conyers, GA, I went there but saw nothing.

Come to think about it, there is something more than an apparition and that is the transubstantiation of ordinary bread into the living Lord.  At the last supper when Jesus said, “This is my body.”  He did not say, “This is like my body” or “This is a symbol of my body.”  So, while the look and feel, “accidents”, of the bread stays the same, the substance has changed from bread to the Lord.  Over the course of history, there have been numerous miracles to confirming this – like bleeding hosts.  Just scour the web and see.

How much more intimate can one get with the Lord than to absorb and assimilate Him bodily.  And in the process, one receives the life of God, grace, to get transformed into the Lord.  That part is not automatic; it requires our disposition and cooperation.    To this end, St. John Bosco encouraged his students to receive Communion frequently i.e. daily.  That practice has produced 29 canonized saints or candidates for canonization.

What if the Lord had limited the power of consecrating the Eucharist to St. Peter on Holy Thursday?  People will save the whole year just to afford the fare to go to Rome that day and receive Him.  But the Lord knew how much we needed him so he had given that power to priests, even sinful ones, so that he can nourish us spiritually.

The left-over are put in the tabernacle.  The lighted votive lamp indicates the presence of the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament.  And that is why St. John Bosco encouraged his students to visit the Blessed Sacrament many times during the day – to meet the Lord.

 

The Church has built rules so that the Eucharist will be respected appropriately.  No one in grave sin is allowed to receive the Lord without prior reconciliation.  That is why some bishops have suggested to pro-abortion lawmakers to stay away until they repent and reverse their positions. 

 

This Lent, I’ve resolved to go to an extra Mass and receive the Lord.  Then I’ll take my son along.  The life of God, grace, given in this sacrament will help us both to follow the Lord faithfully and grow into his likeness.

 

 

Encouraging Bishops to Deny Holy Communion to Pro-abortion Lawmakers

Yesterday Bishop Joseph Martino issued an order that in his Scranton, Pennsylvania diocese, "Those whose unworthiness to receive Holy Communion is known publicly to the Church must be refused Holy Communion in order to prevent sacrilege and to prevent the Catholic in question from committing further grave sin through unworthy reception."  Though no names were identified, it is impossible to overlook the fact that  the Scranton diocese also posted on the same day an open letter from Bishop Martino of Pennsylvania Senator Robert Casey, in which the bishop reminded the Catholic lawmaker of his moral obligation "to oppose abortion and other clear evils."

Catholics in government service are ordered to oppose any law that attacks human life. Otherwise they are “obstinately” persevering “in manifest grave sin” and “are not to be admitted to Holy Communion.” - Per Canon 915 of the Code of Canon Law.

Other bishops like those in Colorado Springs, Camden, N.J., LaCrosse, Wis., Lincoln, Neb. and St. Louis, Mo., will enforce this. Eighteen other dioceses have bishops who have suggested the same.  The Most Rev. Raymond L. Burke pointed out that while he has the duty to care for your soul, he has a more fundamental obligation to protect the unborn from being murdered.

But others tolerate pro-choice lawmakers following the Gospel principle of the wheat and the tares where certain evils are allowed because a greater evil will ensue from efforts to stop it. For example, when the bishops criticized Hitler, he started closing churches and that prevented the Church from saving the Jews, so the bishops toned down their rhetoric.

In the case of the pro-abortion lawmakers, I wonder what the greater evil is.  Perhaps the IRS might remove the exemption of the Church because the Church is meddling with the affairs of the State.  If the Church is poor, then there is nothing to tax.  If there is something, then the Church should not mind – after all it is only money.  I think the bishops fear turning the others away if they struck a hard line.  I wonder if they will lose more by being timid instead of speaking the truth clearly and consistently.

You might be a gentleman if...

1. your female co-workers do not award you 

with the male chauvinist pig icon

2. you don't use your 

spittoon when others 

are around

3. your woman lets your child live

4. others? Feel free to add.

And on a spiritual note, before one can be a

good Christian, 

one needs to be a good man first.

God's dog must be a Wheaten terrier

This fluffy breed, a Wheaten terrier, is rated as the best for kids, babies even.  She doesn’t shed.   She took the phobia away from my boys who were afraid of dogs before.  I never heard her growl even when she’s bothered while eating.  Sometimes, my kids accidentally step on her.  She’d yelp then limp away.  But after sometime, she'd be back ready to play again.  She’s obedient even if  she has a mind of her own.  When I come home late, she’d wake from her slumber & stagger to check who’s coming in.  She's usually more enthusiastic & energetic to meet us.  Then, she’d  contently rest at my feet.  She doesn’t get bored nor find the need to entertain herself when I am around.  When we leave, she stays by the door awaiting our return.  She hate baths.  I have to hold her by the leash then hose her down.  But she settles down & accepts her fate by the time I lather her with shampoo. 

Weeks ago, there’s a post about a dog saving another after a traffic accident.  The post commented on how the dog taught brotherly love.  My dog made me think of the love of God.  If I were the dog & God was me, will I await His coming longingly?  Will I be content to stay still in His presence?  Will I accept the baths and purifications?  Will I guard His house and wake from my slumber whenever something happens?  Will I forget the hurts that His children inflict on me and always come back to serve?