Category Archives: Christianity

by | October 15, 2013 · 6:26 am

Pro-Life News Update

Saturday, October 12, 2013: Pro-Abortion Thugs @ March for the Babies 2013 – Melbourne, Australia

Saturday, October 12, 2013: As police refused to help the peaceful marchers participating in a planned event, more than a thousand pro-abortion activisits mobbed, menaced and physically assaulted pro-life advocates and a member of Parliament at the Australia March for Life.

Bryan Kemper reported he and other pro-lifers were hit, stepped on, and had things have been thrown at him by pro-aborts, who blared loud heavy metal rock music, blew air horns and shrill whistles and pounded on drums to keep pro-lifers from being heard. They also took over the stage and ripped down the banners. Later, a member of Youth for Life Australia received this angry, shrill phone call: “I saw you at that march on Saturday, you’re nothing but a pro-life bigot, child f**ker, you molestering as***le, I know where you live and I’m coing to burn your house down.”

But one woman who came to participate in the anti-life protest said afterwards, “I came to this rally and watched both sides with curiosity. I have to admit I was planning to join the ‘other side’ and I was pretty excited, it was to be my first ever rally. I got the shock of my life when I saw how ugly they were and I had to sit down to stop myself trembling. I am having triplets, cancelling my abortion on Monday morning. Thank you. My heart has been changed.”

Sunday, October 6, 2013: On the eve of the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary

Faye Arellano stood quietly outside a Catholic church in Toronto, holding up a pro-life placard and a rosary. Her peaceful protest suddenly turned ugly when an unknown bystander grabbed her by the hair, smacked her to the ground, kicked and punched her repeatedly, then pulled a knife. A good samaritan helped shield her from the knife as police arrived and arrested the attacker. Faye, who sustained a concussion, says she lost her placard during the assault, but when she was rushed to hospital, she still had her rosary in her hand. “Holy Mary Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of death. Amen.”

In womb surgery at 18 weeks

Monday October 14, 2013: Another abortion clinic in Ohio has shut down

The Cleveland Center for Women’s Health, owned by late-term abortionist Martin Ruddock, is the third abortion clinic in Ohio to close its doors in the past six months. Ruddock has a history of running afoul of state health regulations. Upon inspection in 2006, Ruddock’s clinic was cited by the Ohio Department of Health and closed temporarily for failing to meet basic health standards, such as checking a patient’s vitals before performing a late-term abortion. The permanent shut-down is due in part to Ohio’s law prohibiting abortions late in pregnancy.

The “save the life of the mother” exception is a lie

Way back in 1972, when abortion’s legality was still being debated, the medical director of the Pittsburgh Planned Parenthood, Dr. Rose R. Middleman, was quoted as saying: “It’s extremely rare, if nonexistent, for a physician to have a medical reason to abort a woman in the 7th or 8th month.”

The reason is that no matter what, the mother must deliver the child, either via labor and delivery or via a C-section, The only difference between a late abortion and an early birth is whether the child is killed or cared for.

Dr. Middleman’s statement “It’s extremely rare, if nonexistent” was in 1972! Since then, medical science has advanced tremendously, with younger and younger premies surviving. My brother’s triplets were all 2 to 3 lbs and nearly died shortly after birth. They’re all college graduates now.

How much MORE true is it now that “late abortion to save the mother” is nothing but a political slogan?

Sources:

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by | October 9, 2013 · 9:07 am

LAFD: The cross is always left standing

After reading/blogging about how Obama Democrats are denying death benefits to Gold Star families while forking over half a billion dollars to Big Bird … I really, really needed to see this! I hope it soothes your soul as well. My country may be going to Hell in a Democrat hand basket, but I’m going to Heaven forever and ever.

2013_10 08 Cross is always left standing

Source:

http://twitchy.com/2013/10/08/amazing-photos-the-cross-is-always-left-standing/

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by | October 7, 2013 · 11:32 pm

Sin

CAT bed grumpy

The secular view of sin and evil seems almost absurd the moment it is removed from the self-centered, pleasure-seeking environment that sustains and encourages it.

Sin is obvious in the external actions of humanity throughout history and it would be lovely if we could gather up all the evil people and put them together on one island, leaving them to self-destruct in their collective sinfulness.

But that is not possible because sin is also deeply psychological and emotional. The line that separates good from evil is not out there somewhere, but inside the heart. It is cast down the center of my heart and yours.

The battle is within. The question is, are we willing to fight the battle?

Excerpted from Rediscover Catholicism by Matthew Kelly, page 158

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by | October 6, 2013 · 4:51 am

UPDATE: Can priests be arrested tomorrow?

2013_10 06 Now it's up to the Senate

I have not been able to find where the Senate has taken any vote on this. But it’s the week-end. Democrats apparently don’t work week-ends … or holidays. Not even when there’s an international crisis. Remember the Fourth of July when Egypt was burning and SecState Kerry was spotted on his yacht off Nantucket?

2013_10 06 Enyart voted NO to chaplains

So … is it true that priests could face arrest for saying Mass on base while furloughed? There’s been a lot of mis-information thrown around about this, so here’s the best info I’ve found:

31 USC 1342 says “An officer or employee of the United States Government or of the District of Columbia government may not accept voluntary services for either government or employ personal services exceeding that authorized by law except for emergencies involving the safety of human life or the protection of property.”

Penalties for violating 31 USC 1342 are spelled out in 31 USC 1350: “An officer or employee of the United States Government or of the District of Columbia government knowingly and willfully violating section 1341(a) or 1342 of this title shall be fined not more than $5,000, imprisoned for not more than 2 years, or both.”

So yes, priests can be arrested if they defy the furlough and say Mass on base.

Source:

Do Military Priests Really Face Arrest? A Look At The Laws Surrounding The Shutdown

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by | September 30, 2013 · 4:31 pm

My friend was healed of cancer at Lourdes

I used to be part of the RCIA Core Team in my parish. At our end of term picnic, one of the older ladies kind of called us all to attention and said, “I’ve never talked about this publicly before, but I think it’s time. Thirteen years ago, I was healed of cancer at Lourdes.” It was an amazing story.

She had had small malignant tumors on her face removed twice, but the cancer had come back and her doctor told her the next surgery was going to leave her disfigured. She showed us the scarring from the first surgeries. On the left side of her chin, next to her lower lip was a big patch of kind of shiny skin. I’d never noticed it, but when she pointed it out, it was easy to see.

The new tumor was going to mean taking out part of her lip, yet she was apparently quite calm about it, only asking they delay the date until after she got back from a trip she’d promised to take with a friend who was nervous of traveling alone. The trip was to the Marian Shrine at Lourdes, site of numerous miraculous healings. Yet somehow, my friend never thought to go for herself, just to be a companion to her friend.

When they got there, her friend wanted her to go into the baths, which she didn’t care about doing, but again, for her friend, she went down the steps. She said they had two volunteer companions in the waters to help each person down the steps, then walk across to the other side of the pool which I gathered was about chest high on this little lady. Then they dunked her completely under, walked her back and up the steps where more volunteers waited with towels.

As she went up the steps, the ladies in the water and out were jabbering excitedly (probably in French) and pointing and poking at her. She was TOTALLY DRY. Her hair, her clothes, as soon as it rose above the level of the water, it was totally dry! Funnily enough, she didn’t think much of it!

The next morning, she was sitting on her bed waiting for her friend to finish in the bathroom. When the friend came out, she looked at this lady and screamed! “Look! Look!! Go in the bathroom and look in the mirror!!!”

Her face was totally clear of all cancer. And it never came back.

She said her friend and her doctor obviously knew. The only other person she told was her pastor at the time. She had no interest in reporting it to Lourdes because of all the fuss it would involve, producing medical records, going back to Lourdes repeatedly for examinations. She doesn’t seem to have been all that confident the cancer wouldn’t return, maybe because she felt unworthy or because it had come back twice before. I don’t know. I’m just grateful I was there the day God told her to finally tell her story.

It’s one thing when someone you don’t know stands in a spotlight and says, “Look at me! God healed me!” You just gotta wonder if they’re legit or have some angle or con going on. But I’d known this woman and her companion for years through our parish work. They were both regulars at Mass and the annual women’s retreat … those “salt of the earth” kind of people who don’t gossip or flutter around demanding attention, but do roll up their sleeves when there’s work to be done. I think the thing that struck me most in her telling of this remarkable story is now embarrassed she seemed about it all.

More about Lourdes:

http://en.lourdes-france.org/

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by | September 25, 2013 · 12:31 pm

Envy

Talk about serendipity … in today’s email I got this cartoon from Terrell and the Catholic Catechism lesson for the day … both about envy.

2013_09 25 Fundamentally Transforming by Terrell

See Terrell’s work and/or sign up to get his daily toon emailed directly to you @ http://terrellaftermath.com/

Day 342 – Envy

The Tenth Commandment: You shall not covet your neighbor’s goods.

What is envy, and how can you fight against it?

Envy is sadness and annoyance at the sight of another’s well-being and the desire to acquire unjustly what others have. Anyone who wishes other people ill commits a serious sin. Envy decreases when we try to rejoice more and more in the accomplishments and gifts of others, when we believe in God’s benevolent providence for ourselves as well, and when we set our hearts on true wealth, which consists of the fact that we already participate in God’s life through the Holy Spirit. (YOUCAT question 466)

Dig Deeper: CCC section (2538-2543) and other references here

http://www.catholiccrossreference.com/catechism/#!/search/2538-2543

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by | September 24, 2013 · 6:48 pm

Don’t lecture me about Christian principles

Democrats who want to shake a Bible in my face about my opposition to Obamacare would do well to open it instead.

No work no dignity

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Filed under Christianity, Obamacare, Unemployment

by | September 22, 2013 · 1:19 pm

A true tale of coffee and redemption

She Yelled And Called Me Names by Susan Basham

http://www.prodigalmagazine.com/she-yelled-and-called-me-names/#sthash.p8iIslpE.dpuf

Pulling my car into the drive-thru line at Starbucks, I wondered why it was a dozen people deep. It wasn’t raining, yet it seemed everyone was driving through today. I was transporting three dogs to the groomer, and there was no way I could leave two wild Shih-tzus and one crazy Bichon alone while I went inside for my daily dose.

Millie, the Bichon, sat on my lap licking the window.

As I peeled her away from the glass, I saw the woman.

She sat across the parking lot, leaving just enough room for a thoroughfare, as she too was waiting in the Starbucks line. I smiled, and gestured to her. It went something like this: “Are you next, or am I?” Really, I was fine either way.

She was not.

Thinking I was trying to snag her spot of next up, she gunned her Suburban, rolled down the window, and let out a string of expletives that made me blush. Millie barked back a retort.

“Go ahead, please,” I said. “I wasn’t sure who was first.” I pulled Millie back onto my lap, so she could see I had been dog-distracted and truly didn’t know who was next.

She didn’t buy it. She continued with the name calling without taking a breath. I won’t write them down here, but the main mantra shared initials with the number one social networking site.

Then something really strange happened.

Instead of getting mad or yelling back at her, a sense of empathy invaded me. I looked at her again, and this time I saw someone different, someone who wrenched my heart. Her eyes were red and puffy. Her hair was pulled back in a natty ponytail. She held her phone in her palm, glancing down at it every few seconds. And she was driving that big ole’ gas hog of a Suburban, my own car of choice when I had three kids at home and a carpool.

Dear God. I was looking at myself ten years ago. Same car, same ponytail. Same frustration.

We’ve all been there. Dog vomits on the sofa. Both kids have strep throat. The garbage disposal chooses today to break, when you are trying to disintegrate moldy fridge leftovers. Husband is mad because you forgot to pick up the dry cleaning and he’s going on a business trip. Sound familiar?

And by the way, was that him she had been talking to or texting?

She gunned forward, just to show me that she could.

I left her a wide berth, smiled at her splotchy face. She shot me a sideways scowl, mouthed the mantra again.

Pulling up to the loudspeaker behind her, I said “I want to pay for whatever the woman in front of me has ordered. And please tell her I hope she has a better day.” I meant every word.

The woman idled in front of me for a good four minutes, talking to the barista who had leaned out the window. She shook her head and handed over a bill. She drove around the side of the building slowly, this time no gunning. Hmmm.

“No takers, huh?” I said to the barista as I pulled forward.

“Nope. She said she couldn’t believe you wanted to pay for her drink after all the names she called you. She said she couldn’t allow it, and said to tell you she was sorry. She felt really bad.”

“Did you tell her I hoped she had a better day?”

“Yep. She said thanks— that she already was.”

“Good to hear.” I smiled and handed her a dollar to put in the tip jar.

As I drove away, I began to cry. Not because I had been called so many terrible names, but because God had answered my very recent prayer—which was that He would allow me to see people as He sees them, not as I see them.

That I might be able to see the hurting inside, instead of just the hurtful outside. And maybe a few tears were of gratitude and amazement that He always shows up with an answer when I sincerely ask.

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by | September 20, 2013 · 1:49 pm

About that Pope Francis interview

After six months in the papacy, Pope Francis gave his first extensive interview. Liberals are wetting themselves over how he supposedly gave the GOP “what for” and the Democrat Party “two thumbs up.”

Sheesh. Only in Liberal Bubble World would the leader of a GLOBAL CHURCH take sides in the partisan politics of a single nation.

Leftists know so little about Christianity in general or about the Catholic Church in particular. For example, they’re crowing about how the Pope is supposedly backing off on abortion, gay marriage and birth control.

What he said was, “We cannot insist only on issues related to abortion, gay marriage and the use of contraceptive methods.”

There’s no change in doctrine here.

What he said was that these issues don’t need to be discussed to the exclusion of all others. He was talking about the church not being too turned in on itself, too obsessed with rules. He said the church needs to be more of a field hospital, where people can feel cared for.

He also said, “I have never been a right-winger.”

I don’t know what “right-wing” means to an Argentinian, but I would hazard a guess it cannot be translated into American partisan politics to mean, “Jesus was a Democrat.”

Pope Francis has affirmed church teaching on abortion and euthanasia.

“We should commit ourselves to ‘eucharistic coherence’, that is, we should be conscious that people cannot receive holy communion and at the same time act or speak against the commandments, in particular when abortion, euthanasia, and other serious crimes against life and family are facilitated. This responsibility applies particularly to legislators, governors, and health professionals.”

“In Argentina, a child conceived by the rape of a mentally ill or retarded woman can be condemned to death.”

“In Argentina there is clandestine euthanasia.  Social services pay up to a certain point; if you pass it, ‘die, you are very old’.  Today, elderly people are discarded when, in reality, they are the seat of wisdom of the society. The right to life means allowing people to live and not killing, allowing them to grow, to eat, to be educated, to be healed, and to be permitted to die with dignity.”

Pope Francis has affirmed church teaching on homosexuality.

He has said that men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity and that every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided.

But he said their pursuit of equal rights is the devil’s work. He strongly opposed legislation introduced in 2010 by the Argentine Government to allow same-sex marriage, calling it a “real and dire anthropological throwback.” In a letter to the monasteries of Buenos Aires, he wrote:

“Let’s not be naïve, we’re not talking about a simple political battle; it is a destructive pretension against the plan of God. We are not talking about a mere bill, but rather a machination of the Father of Lies that seeks to confuse and deceive the children of God.”

Pope Francis has rejected Socialism:

Pope Francis spent a good deal of time in Argentina fighting against the modernist reforms of the government. Moreover, within the Church the spectre of liberation theologies that conflate Christ’s justice with Marxist principles was (and still is) a constant presence in Latin America.

“To those who are now promising to fix all your problems, I say, ‘Go and fix yourself.’ . . . Have a change of heart. Get to confession, before you need it even more! The current crisis will not be improved by magicians from outside the country and nor will [improvement] come from the golden mouth of our politicians, so accustomed to making incredible promises.”

Good comments from Twitchy:

  • Liberal rodents love to show off how little they know about religion and how bad they are at self-awareness.
  • The Holy Father is not an ally of the slime that ridiculed God.
  • God a Democrat? Lay off the opium, pal.
  • People have wondered how Latin American social democratic philosophies would play in the Vatican. It seems its more Libertarian than anything. De-emphasize rules. Emphasize core values. Jesus is our savior. The Church is here to help us know, love and serve God so we can be happy with Him forever.
  • Only self-obsessed libs think everything is about them.

Sources:

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Filed under Abortion, Catholic Church, Christianity, Euthanasia, Life Issues, Pope Francis

by | September 16, 2013 · 4:12 am

Hearing the voice of God

Deut 4 29 Seek me with all your heart

God created us with legitimate physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual needs.

When we hear these needs calling to us, we hear the voice of God.

Similarly, the good dreams and desires that fill our hearts are placed there by God and stirred by the Holy Spirit, to call us along the path of salvation.

When we hear these deepest desires calling us forth, we hear the voice of God

Finally, in creating us, God endowed us each with certain talents and abilities as tools for life.

When we hear our talents calling us forth, we hear the voice of God inviting us to fully participate in the adventure of salvation.

It is through prayer, reflection, the scriptures, the grace of the sacraments, the wisdom of the church, and the guidance of the Holy Spirit that we each can discover and walk the unique path that God is calling us to walk.

The world and all it has to offer can never content the human heart.

Only God can.

Excerpted from Rediscover Catholicism by Matthew Kelly, pages 50-51.

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