Blog: Abps. Tobin, Wuerl, Dolan, Burke lead the Church Against Gov't Sponsored Depravity & Debauchary

Mr. Buchanan combines the recent actions of American bishops as they protect the human community from the onslaught of various government sponsored programs and policies.

With the House debate on health care at its hottest, the U.S. Catholic bishops issued a stunning ultimatum: Impose an absolute ban on tax funds for abortions, or we call for defeat of the Pelosi bill.

Message received. The Stupak Amendment, named for Bart Stupak of Michigan, was promptly passed, to the delight of pro-life Catholics and the astonished outrage of pro-abortion Democrats.

No member was more upset than Patrick Kennedy of Rhode Island, son of Edward Kennedy, who proceeded to bash the Church for imperiling the greatest advance for human rights in a generation.

As Rhode Island is our most Catholic state, Kennedy went silent and got this parting shot from Tobin: "Your position is unacceptable to the Church and scandalous to many of our members. It absolutely diminishes your communion with the Church."

The clash was naturally national news. But Tobin's public chastisement of a Catholic who carries the most famous name in U.S. and Catholic politics is made more significant because it seems to reflect a new militancy in the hierarchy that has been absent for decades

Archbishop Donald Wuerl of Washington, D.C., just informed the city council that, rather than recognize homosexual marriages and provide gays the rights and benefits of married couples, he will shut down all Catholic social institutions and let the city take them over. Civil disobedience may be in order here.

Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York sent an op-ed to The New York Times charging the paper with anti-Catholic bigotry and using a moral double standard when judging the Church.

Dolan singled out a "scurrilous ... diatribe" by Maureen Dowd "that rightly never would have passed muster with the editors had it so criticized an Islamic, Jewish or African-American" faith.  ... Dowd, said Dolan, reads like something out of the Menace, the anti-Catholic Know Nothing newspaper of the 1850s.

 The new spirit was first manifest last spring, when scores of bishops denounced Notre Dame for inviting Barack Obama, a NARAL icon, to give the commencement address and receive an honorary degree.

In his May address to the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast, Archbishop Raymond L. Burke said, "In a culture which embraces an agenda of death, Catholics and Catholic institutions are necessarily counter-cultural."

Our new battling bishops may be surprised to find they have a large cheering section among a heretofore silent and sullen faithful who have been desperate to find a few clerical champions.


Excerpts from Is the Church Militant Back?  by  Patrick J. Buchanan   11/27/2009  http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=34595&page=10#c1

Blog: Making work meaningful and elevating it to the greatest of human activities

Chatting with a former pupil, I learned that he was living a life of quiet desperation.  He lost his family and is feeling like a robot who mechanically does nothing of consequence day after day.

To help, I searched the web and  tried to recall what I've learned about work but all those were about how things should be.  But most workers have little or no control over that.  So I thought of my own reasons and ways.

First I think of why I work.  A picture of my 4 little kids and wife can make anything bearable.

Then I think how it can get worse.  I look at what others do and things start to look better.  See http://blog.compassion.com/the-dignity-of-work/

Finally and most importantly, I make my work a prayer, an act of worship and adoration by offering it to God.  I pray a morning offering to start my day and short prayers during breaks like, "Lord I offer this to you."  And I know that I am like a monk who is constantly praying and in the process, doing the greatest thing that a man can do.

Blog: "What will make you happy?" asked my 6 year old daughter.

Last Sunday, my kids and I built a leaf pile that they tore into by 
jumping in it, burrowing under it, 
throwing the leaves at each other, 
putting it inside their clothes and 
chasing each other around it. 

While this was

going on, I taped the event then sat on the swing to rest.

My 6 year old daughter walked up, looked me in the eye and asked, "Are you happy Dad? I said I am. Unconvinced

she continued, "What will make you happy Dad?" I

answered spontaneously, "If you and your brothers get 

along and are happy, then I'll be happy." "What if you played with us?" she persisted. "I'm a little tired right  now" 
I said.  So, she talked to her siblings and soon they all came bearing leaves to shower on me." I just smiled.

Later that night, I asked my wife if she put her up to it. 
"No", my wife answered. "But I always tell them that they 
will make us happy if they are obedient and don't fight 
each other." So it truly came from my daughter.

She's the one whom I've blogged about from time to time because of her temper. But now she's growing fast, 
becoming perceptive and truly loving. I confess that in my life that is what I consider as the purest act of love that has been bestowed upon me; I felt like kneeling to thank God for it. It was enough to make me dump all my baggage so 
that I can focus on her instead and love her in return.

Video: Spiritual realities shown by ghost captured on tape.

Please be warned that the images in the video have reportedly driven people to insanity or suicide.  So please consider this warning before watching.

The video shows ghost(s) that may or may not be real.  I'll leave it up to you.  I think it is real and I posted it to convince people of the spiritual realities.  Others ignore that aspect of life and plan to cross the bridge when they get there.  However, it may be too late by then if they ended up being and doing evil.  So, to wake people up here it is.  Again if you tend to be frightened easily, then you may want to skip this.

Source http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EnyqbYvrzU or click here

Video: Rape Victim - survived, recovered, forgave, thrived

At 16-years-old Kelly Putty was kidnapped and raped. But after she became a Christian, she was able to forgive her attackers and energetically help others to find their own healing in Christ. See her testimony of forgiveness. The Christian Broadcasting Network. To see more testimonies from CBN and The 700 Club , go to http://www.cbn.com

Click here for direct link or type http://www.blogger.com/publish-confirmation.g?blogID=4375505699500077798&postID=8841593465744458131&timestamp=1259027957065&javascriptEnabled=true

Rep. Patrick Kennedy practically excommunicated as bishops bans him from Holy Communion.

Bishops getting more courageous in upholding the faith. Rep. Patrick Kennedy has been practically excommunicated for pro-abortion positions! Banned from communion by RI bishop who requested him to not receive Holy Communion. Read the entire account here or at http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091122/ap_on_re_us/us_ri_bishop_kennedy

Blog: Don't ask what the priest said at Confession, How I encouraged spiritual reading, St. John Bosco's novel approach to Confession

Don't break the seal of confession
Last week, the parents of the first communicants were required to attend a lecture from the pastor about the sacraments.  It reminded me not to ask my kids about what the priest would say to him because, that is a violation of the seal of Confession.


St. John Bosco made saints by confession
One of the novelties of St. John Bosco's method is that he encouraged his boys to go to confession as ofter as the church allows i.e. once a week.  That was a novelty back then and is even now.  But it works because there are over 30 people on the way to canonization because of this.  The theology is that you get grace every time you receive the sacrament.  So, would you rather get it once a week or less frequently?


Spiritual reading for my boys
My boys, 10 & 7 yr. olds, keep asking me for jobs to earn money because they do not have an allowance.  I give them extra jobs on top of their chores like weeding the garden or mopping the house.  Tonight I saw my 10 year old boy finish a 100+ pages of Harry Potter and that gave me an idea to encourage spiritual reading.  I offered all of them a penny per page for extra reading  and 2 cents if it is about the saints or the Bible.  I told my son not to read about witches but try the Hardy Boys instead.  He is open to the idea.


Not martyr material yet
During our marriage preparation classes, I recall being told that sometimes you have to pull back from your kids to recharge yourself.  On Saturdays, I function as the butler/dad to my 4 kids - specially with my 2 year old.  Today was a little hard as she would pull me from bed to the dinner table.  After I have served her with a glass of milk, a bowl of cereal, a banana and some juice, she still pulls me beside her as though she wanted me just to stand next to her.  But I was really exhausted - mentally, emotionally and  physically.  I recalled the lesson and took some time for myself to recover by locking myself in the bedroom to take a nap.  Later, I told my wife about it and she said that my daughter might be missing me a lot.  She does call me at work during the day and babble.  She's 2.