Sent: Wednesday, February 25, 2009 12:58 PM
Subject: What Does The Prayer Really Say?»Blog Archive » QUAERITUR: removing holy water during Lent
QUAERITUR: removing holy water during Lent
CATEGORY: ASK FATHER Question Box — Fr. John Zuhlsdorf @ 3:54 pm
I have had a couple questions via e-mail already about dopey plans in some parishes to empty holy water fonts during Lent and even dopier plans to replace the holy water with sand or dirt.
Anyway, some time ago I wrote an Ask Father response to this which I now repost.
_________________
Lately I have read some items about the blogosphere that the , persists in some places.
Q: Our Sunday bulletin states that Holy Water will be removed from Ash Wednesday on during Lent to remind us that we are in a desert. What is the latest rule for removing Holy Water? It used to be done on Good Friday.
A: Good question! Thanks for asking this. No doubt thousands.. maybe millions of people will be subjected to all kinds of rubbish during Lent. One day I should relate the stupid things we had to endure in seminary about this very thing of sand in the holy water stoup.
Any way… This is a response from the Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments about this question. Enjoy.
The emphases are mine:
Prot. N. 569/00/L
March 14, 2000
Dear Father:
This Congregation for Divine Worship has received your letter sent by fax in which you ask whether it is in accord with liturgical law to remove the Holy Water from the fonts for the duration of the season of Lent.
This Dicastery is able to respond that the removing of Holy Water from the fonts during the season of Lent is not permitted, in particular, for two reasons:
1. The liturgical legislation in force does not foresee this innovation, which in addition to being praeter legem is contrary to a balanced understanding of the season of Lent, which though truly being a season of penance, is also a season rich in the symbolism of water and baptism, constantly evoked in liturgical texts.
2. The encouragement of the Church that the faithful avail themselves frequently of the [sic] of her sacraments and sacramentals is to be understood to apply also to the season of Lent. The "fast" and "abstinence" which the faithful embrace in this season does not extend to abstaining from the sacraments or sacramentals of the Church. The practice of the Church has been to empty the Holy Water fonts on the days of the Sacred Triduum in preparation of the blessing of the water at the Easter Vigil, and it corresponds to those days on which the Eucharist is not celebrated (i.e., Good Friday and Holy Saturday).
Hoping that this resolves the question and with every good wish and kind regard, I am,
Sincerely yours in Christ,
[signed]
Mons. Mario Marini [Now the Secretary of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei]
Undersecretary
One of these days I will tell you about the hijinx over holy water in Lent we had in seminary, the infamous Saint Paul Seminary, in Minnesota, where I did a couple years of hard time. But that’s another story.
About the holy water thing.
Holy water is a sacramental.
We get the powerful theology of its use in the older ritual in the prayers for exorcism of the water and salt used and then the blessing itself. I wrote about this in an article for the WDTPRS series and it is on this blog.
The rite of blessing holy water, in the older ritual, is powerful stuff. It sounds odd, nearly foreign to our modern ears, especially after over 30 years of being force fed ICEL pabulum.
Holy Water is a power weapon of the spiritual life against the attacks of the devil.
You do believe in the existence of the Enemy, ... right?
You know you are a soldier and pilgrim in a dangerous world, ... right?
So why… why… why would these liturgists and priests REMOVE a tool of spiritual warfare precisely during the season of LENT when we need it the most??
Holy water is a sacramental.
It is for our benefit.
It is not a toy, or something to be abtained from, like chocolate or television.
http://wdtprs.com/blog/2009/02/quaeritur-removing-holy-water-during-lent/#comment-120082
Showing posts with label Christian. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christian. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Friday, February 20, 2009
account of the meeting of Pope Benedict and Speaker Pelosi…
Sent: Friday, February 20, 2009 4:44 PM
Subject: What Does The Prayer Really Say?
Finally an account of the meeting of Pope Benedict and Speaker Pelosi… sort of…
CATEGORY: SESSIUNCULA — Fr. John Zuhlsdorf @ 9:41 am
The site of National Review has a great account of Wednesday’s conversation between pro-abortion Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), and his Holiness Pope Benedict XVI.
The Corner
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Speaker in Rome [NRO Staff]
This just in: A fictional account of what may have happened this morning from an imaginative journalist who has covered the pope and the Vatican.
On Wednesday February 18, 2009, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and fellow Democrats, Rep. George Miller, Rep. Anna Eshoo, Rep. John Larson, Rep. Rosa DeLauro, Rep. Edward Markey, Rep. Michael Capuano, and Rep. William Pascrell Jr. had an audience with Pope Benedict XVI. The Vatican released only this description of the meeting:
His Holiness took the opportunity to speak of the requirements of the natural moral law and the Church’s consistent teaching on the dignity of human life from conception to natural death which enjoin all Catholics, and especially legislators, jurists and those responsible for the common good of society, to work in cooperation with all men and women of good will in creating a just system of laws capable of protecting human life at all stages of its development.
This is what might have transpired:
Speaker Pelosi: (Draped in a floor length mantilla, clutching rosary beads) Your Holiness, it is an honor to be with you again.
Pope Benedict: God bless you.
Pelosi: (Pulling a “Obama/Hope” holy card from her purse): The president sends his greetings. (Near shouting) My colleagues and I wanted you to have this as a memento of the historic election of our new president.
Pope: (Faintly smiling): Ah, yes. How thoughtful of you.
Pelosi: (Rep. Rosa DeLauro and Rep. Edward Markey move forward with a huge framed photograph) And this, Holy Father is a little something I thought might look nice here in the library. It’s a picture of me taking the gavel as Speaker of the House of Representatives. (Shouting again) I am the first woman to do so in American history.
Pope: Another historic memento . . .
Pelosi: It really is.
Pope: (Pointing at the portrait) And who are all these children surrounding you? [A pointed comment!]
Pelosi: These are my grandchildren, here. And these are the children of members. Members of Congress. (Loudly) The legislative, elected body that I lead. I’m sort of the pope of Capitol Hill. Uh-ha. Though I wear white only occasionally . . . uh-ha ha ha.
Pope: (Sarcastically) All of these children must be a terrible burden on the states and the federal government? [LOL]
Pelosi: (Beaming) Why yes, Holy Father, they can be. It is interesting that you should mention that as I was trying to make that . . . the point to George Stephanopoulos — he’s Greek Orthodox I believe — that children can be a real drain on states during this fiscal budget crisis and that contraception . . .
Pope: I am quite familiar with your statements, Madame Speaker. I have attempted to examine them carefully.
Pelosi: Well, I’m glad we are in agreement. I AM an ardent, practicing Catholic and I myself have studied all of these issues very, very carefully.
Pope: Perhaps this will aid your studies. (The papal secretary hands the Pope a book). Some light reading for your flight home. It is the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which I edited. Do you have a copy?
Pelosi: No. I mean — not one that I have read. (Nervously looking to Rep. George Miller for help) Yes, I have a copy that is still in its cellophane wrapper.
Pope: I have taken the liberty of marking a few passages for you. I believe this section which reads, “Human life must be respected and protected from the moment of conception,” might interest you.
Pelosi: Excuse me your Holiness, but . . . I, I, I don’t have to read that, I’ve been studying this issue for a long time. The National Catholic Reporter, and the New York Times, also, each had wonderful pieces on this back in the early 80’s, I believe. [!] And over the centuries the Church has not been able to define when life begins. You know — when it actually starts.
Pope: The Church does not need to define such a thing; science has defined it for us. Regardless of one’s belief: Life begins at conception, Madame Speaker. This is a fact.
Pelosi: I knew you were going to say that. And I have to protest — uh . . . We are in a new era in America, your Holiness. It is a time of change. With President Obama’s election we are rediscovering many things . . .
Pope: Has there been some new discovery regarding when life begins?
Pelosi: Well, whatever it is — the Church — Senator, uh, Saint Augustine said it was three months. Life begins at three months. We just don’t know. But whenever it is, it has no bearing on a woman’s right to choose.
Pope: Right to choose what?
Pelosi: Right to choooooose.
Pope: Choooooose what? [LOL]
Pelosi: Well, to terminate the . . . uh. The abortion. The fetus. The control of our bodies to terminate the choice . . . abortion.
Pope: To abort one that does not yet exist? Didn’t you just say life didn’t begin until three months after birth?
Pelosi: I knew you were going to say that. I said, the Church has not defined when life begins.
Pope: Science has definitively proven that life begins at conception. This is not matter of faith, but of fact.
Pelosi: Well, I have free will, you know.
Pope: I can see that. [!]
Pelosi: In the United States we want abortions to be safe and rare and reduce the number of abortions.
Pope: By permitting more of them? [!]
Pelosi: Yes. Uh. Legal and rare. We want them to be (raising her voice, the mantilla slipping) reduced. We want the numbers of abortions to reduce.
Pope: And to reduce abortions you are dedicating more money to pay for abortions?
Pelosi: Yes. No. We reduce the people by paying for more abortions. But we leave that choice to the woman.
Pope: The choice to murder her child?
Pelosi: I don’t see it that way.
Pope: (Opening the Catechism once more) There is a fascinating section . . . Ah, here it is: “Since the first century the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable.” (Eyeing the assembled) Politicians who publicly and manifestly support such a grave moral evil should not present themselves at communion. Have you read that anywhere?
Pelosi: I told you mine is still in the wrapper. And you should know Holy Father, I am an ardent, practicing Catholic in good standing in my diocese. [indeed] I present myself with a clean conscience every Sunday.
Pope: I am sure you present yourself, my child . . .
Pelosi: It is really my choice.
Pope: Abortion or communion?
Pelosi: Communion! (Dead silence. Uncomfortable silence. Then in a sheepish voice, she reaches down to pick the mantilla off the floor) I really am an ardent, practicing Catholic. (She crosses herself. More silence) Holy Father?
Pope: (The papal secretary hands him a few typed pages) Being an ardent scholar, Mrs. Pelosi, I think you will be very interested in these citations from the Canon Law of the Church. I will put them in the back of your book. They speak of ways and means by which a Catholic, even a public official, can incur certain penalties for causing scandal or for publicly leading others astray. Suppose an elected official said foolish, heretical things on television for millions to hear? Well, that person might be endangering their soul and could be barred from the sacraments.
Pelosi: (Grabbing the book and curtseying as she backs out) It has been wonderful meeting you again your Holiness. I will read your latest catechism book. Do you need a blurb or anything? I’ll have my office contact your secretary. This has been a historic moment for my colleagues and myself — uh, me.
Pope: Madame Speaker, it has been truly hysterical. I will keep you all in my prayers.
Pelosi: Thank you, Holiness. (She and the congressional delegation move toward the door) Go! Rosa, stop looking at the ceiling and go.
Pope: (Turning to his secretary) Was she smiling or grimacing as she left? Her expressions are hard to read, no?
http://wdtprs.com/blog/
Subject: What Does The Prayer Really Say?
Finally an account of the meeting of Pope Benedict and Speaker Pelosi… sort of…
CATEGORY: SESSIUNCULA — Fr. John Zuhlsdorf @ 9:41 am
The site of National Review has a great account of Wednesday’s conversation between pro-abortion Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), and his Holiness Pope Benedict XVI.
The Corner
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Speaker in Rome [NRO Staff]
This just in: A fictional account of what may have happened this morning from an imaginative journalist who has covered the pope and the Vatican.
On Wednesday February 18, 2009, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and fellow Democrats, Rep. George Miller, Rep. Anna Eshoo, Rep. John Larson, Rep. Rosa DeLauro, Rep. Edward Markey, Rep. Michael Capuano, and Rep. William Pascrell Jr. had an audience with Pope Benedict XVI. The Vatican released only this description of the meeting:
His Holiness took the opportunity to speak of the requirements of the natural moral law and the Church’s consistent teaching on the dignity of human life from conception to natural death which enjoin all Catholics, and especially legislators, jurists and those responsible for the common good of society, to work in cooperation with all men and women of good will in creating a just system of laws capable of protecting human life at all stages of its development.
This is what might have transpired:
Speaker Pelosi: (Draped in a floor length mantilla, clutching rosary beads) Your Holiness, it is an honor to be with you again.
Pope Benedict: God bless you.
Pelosi: (Pulling a “Obama/Hope” holy card from her purse): The president sends his greetings. (Near shouting) My colleagues and I wanted you to have this as a memento of the historic election of our new president.
Pope: (Faintly smiling): Ah, yes. How thoughtful of you.
Pelosi: (Rep. Rosa DeLauro and Rep. Edward Markey move forward with a huge framed photograph) And this, Holy Father is a little something I thought might look nice here in the library. It’s a picture of me taking the gavel as Speaker of the House of Representatives. (Shouting again) I am the first woman to do so in American history.
Pope: Another historic memento . . .
Pelosi: It really is.
Pope: (Pointing at the portrait) And who are all these children surrounding you? [A pointed comment!]
Pelosi: These are my grandchildren, here. And these are the children of members. Members of Congress. (Loudly) The legislative, elected body that I lead. I’m sort of the pope of Capitol Hill. Uh-ha. Though I wear white only occasionally . . . uh-ha ha ha.
Pope: (Sarcastically) All of these children must be a terrible burden on the states and the federal government? [LOL]
Pelosi: (Beaming) Why yes, Holy Father, they can be. It is interesting that you should mention that as I was trying to make that . . . the point to George Stephanopoulos — he’s Greek Orthodox I believe — that children can be a real drain on states during this fiscal budget crisis and that contraception . . .
Pope: I am quite familiar with your statements, Madame Speaker. I have attempted to examine them carefully.
Pelosi: Well, I’m glad we are in agreement. I AM an ardent, practicing Catholic and I myself have studied all of these issues very, very carefully.
Pope: Perhaps this will aid your studies. (The papal secretary hands the Pope a book). Some light reading for your flight home. It is the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which I edited. Do you have a copy?
Pelosi: No. I mean — not one that I have read. (Nervously looking to Rep. George Miller for help) Yes, I have a copy that is still in its cellophane wrapper.
Pope: I have taken the liberty of marking a few passages for you. I believe this section which reads, “Human life must be respected and protected from the moment of conception,” might interest you.
Pelosi: Excuse me your Holiness, but . . . I, I, I don’t have to read that, I’ve been studying this issue for a long time. The National Catholic Reporter, and the New York Times, also, each had wonderful pieces on this back in the early 80’s, I believe. [!] And over the centuries the Church has not been able to define when life begins. You know — when it actually starts.
Pope: The Church does not need to define such a thing; science has defined it for us. Regardless of one’s belief: Life begins at conception, Madame Speaker. This is a fact.
Pelosi: I knew you were going to say that. And I have to protest — uh . . . We are in a new era in America, your Holiness. It is a time of change. With President Obama’s election we are rediscovering many things . . .
Pope: Has there been some new discovery regarding when life begins?
Pelosi: Well, whatever it is — the Church — Senator, uh, Saint Augustine said it was three months. Life begins at three months. We just don’t know. But whenever it is, it has no bearing on a woman’s right to choose.
Pope: Right to choose what?
Pelosi: Right to choooooose.
Pope: Choooooose what? [LOL]
Pelosi: Well, to terminate the . . . uh. The abortion. The fetus. The control of our bodies to terminate the choice . . . abortion.
Pope: To abort one that does not yet exist? Didn’t you just say life didn’t begin until three months after birth?
Pelosi: I knew you were going to say that. I said, the Church has not defined when life begins.
Pope: Science has definitively proven that life begins at conception. This is not matter of faith, but of fact.
Pelosi: Well, I have free will, you know.
Pope: I can see that. [!]
Pelosi: In the United States we want abortions to be safe and rare and reduce the number of abortions.
Pope: By permitting more of them? [!]
Pelosi: Yes. Uh. Legal and rare. We want them to be (raising her voice, the mantilla slipping) reduced. We want the numbers of abortions to reduce.
Pope: And to reduce abortions you are dedicating more money to pay for abortions?
Pelosi: Yes. No. We reduce the people by paying for more abortions. But we leave that choice to the woman.
Pope: The choice to murder her child?
Pelosi: I don’t see it that way.
Pope: (Opening the Catechism once more) There is a fascinating section . . . Ah, here it is: “Since the first century the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable.” (Eyeing the assembled) Politicians who publicly and manifestly support such a grave moral evil should not present themselves at communion. Have you read that anywhere?
Pelosi: I told you mine is still in the wrapper. And you should know Holy Father, I am an ardent, practicing Catholic in good standing in my diocese. [indeed] I present myself with a clean conscience every Sunday.
Pope: I am sure you present yourself, my child . . .
Pelosi: It is really my choice.
Pope: Abortion or communion?
Pelosi: Communion! (Dead silence. Uncomfortable silence. Then in a sheepish voice, she reaches down to pick the mantilla off the floor) I really am an ardent, practicing Catholic. (She crosses herself. More silence) Holy Father?
Pope: (The papal secretary hands him a few typed pages) Being an ardent scholar, Mrs. Pelosi, I think you will be very interested in these citations from the Canon Law of the Church. I will put them in the back of your book. They speak of ways and means by which a Catholic, even a public official, can incur certain penalties for causing scandal or for publicly leading others astray. Suppose an elected official said foolish, heretical things on television for millions to hear? Well, that person might be endangering their soul and could be barred from the sacraments.
Pelosi: (Grabbing the book and curtseying as she backs out) It has been wonderful meeting you again your Holiness. I will read your latest catechism book. Do you need a blurb or anything? I’ll have my office contact your secretary. This has been a historic moment for my colleagues and myself — uh, me.
Pope: Madame Speaker, it has been truly hysterical. I will keep you all in my prayers.
Pelosi: Thank you, Holiness. (She and the congressional delegation move toward the door) Go! Rosa, stop looking at the ceiling and go.
Pope: (Turning to his secretary) Was she smiling or grimacing as she left? Her expressions are hard to read, no?
http://wdtprs.com/blog/
Monday, February 2, 2009
NBC Sacks Super Bowl Ad Celebrating Life's Potential
Sent: Monday, February 02, 2009 10:22 AM
Subject: EWTN.com - NBC Sacks Super Bowl Ad Celebrating Life's Potential
NBC Sacks Super Bowl Ad Celebrating Life's Potential
CHICAGO, Illinois, JAN. 29, 2009 (Zenit.org).- An ad that promotes the potential of all life will not be shown on NBC during the Super Bowl on the grounds that it involves "political advocacy or issues."
After several days of negotiations, an NBC representative in Chicago advised CatholicVote.org on Wednesday of it's decision not to run an ad that features President Barack Obama and concludes with the tagline, "Life: Imagine the Potential."
Brian Burch, president of CatholicVote.org said there was "nothing objectionable in this positive, life-affirming advertisement."
He then noted the irony that while NBC refused their ad for being advocacy-based, an ad of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals -- an advocacy group -- was rejected because it depicted "a level of sexuality exceeding our standards." The organization was then given a detailed list of edits that would make the spot acceptable.
“NBC claims it doesn’t allow advocacy ads, but that’s not true. They were willing to air an ad by PETA if they would simply tone down the sexual suggestiveness,” said Burch.
“The purpose of our new ad is to spread a message of hope about the potential of every human life, including the life of Barack Obama,” said Burch. “We are now looking at alternative venues to run the ad over the next several weeks.”
The ad aired on BET in Chicago on Inauguration Day. It has become an Internet hit with over 700,000 views in seven days. The ad was in the top 10 "most viewed’" category on YouTube on Inauguration Day, Jan. 20.
http://www.ewtn.com/vnews/getstory.asp?number=93463
Subject: EWTN.com - NBC Sacks Super Bowl Ad Celebrating Life's Potential
NBC Sacks Super Bowl Ad Celebrating Life's Potential
CHICAGO, Illinois, JAN. 29, 2009 (Zenit.org).- An ad that promotes the potential of all life will not be shown on NBC during the Super Bowl on the grounds that it involves "political advocacy or issues."
After several days of negotiations, an NBC representative in Chicago advised CatholicVote.org on Wednesday of it's decision not to run an ad that features President Barack Obama and concludes with the tagline, "Life: Imagine the Potential."
Brian Burch, president of CatholicVote.org said there was "nothing objectionable in this positive, life-affirming advertisement."
He then noted the irony that while NBC refused their ad for being advocacy-based, an ad of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals -- an advocacy group -- was rejected because it depicted "a level of sexuality exceeding our standards." The organization was then given a detailed list of edits that would make the spot acceptable.
“NBC claims it doesn’t allow advocacy ads, but that’s not true. They were willing to air an ad by PETA if they would simply tone down the sexual suggestiveness,” said Burch.
“The purpose of our new ad is to spread a message of hope about the potential of every human life, including the life of Barack Obama,” said Burch. “We are now looking at alternative venues to run the ad over the next several weeks.”
The ad aired on BET in Chicago on Inauguration Day. It has become an Internet hit with over 700,000 views in seven days. The ad was in the top 10 "most viewed’" category on YouTube on Inauguration Day, Jan. 20.
http://www.ewtn.com/vnews/getstory.asp?number=93463
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Eating Meat on Fridays
Sent: Saturday, December 20, 2008 11:54 AM
Subject: Eating Meat on Fridays | Catholic-Pages.com
I think sometimes you guys think I make this stuff up:
Meat on Fridays
Most Catholics think that Vatican II did away with the requirement of not eating meat on any Friday of the year. Most think it is now just Ash Wednesday and the Fridays of Lent that we cannot eat meat.
This is what the new Code of Canon Law brought out in 1983 says about the matter:
Canon 1251
Abstinence from meat, or from some other food as determined by the Episcopal Conference, is to be observed on all Fridays, unless a solemnity should fall on a Friday. Abstinence and fasting are to be observed on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.
Canon Law still requires that Catholics not eat meat on Fridays!
Of course, most Episcopal Conferences have determined that, instead of abstaining from meat, Catholics may perform an act of penance of their choosing. But, do you ever remember to abstain from a particular food or do some other penance on Fridays? And, at any rate, the main rule is still to abstain from meat on Fridays, the performance of another penance instead is an optional alternative.
It's very interesting to note that the National Conference of Catholic Bishops (the United States' Episcopal Conference) is currently debating whether to rescind the determination and require all Catholics to abstain from meat on all Fridays of the year. The Bishops are considering that a return to meatless Fridays for all Catholics would be of benefit because:
It is an expression of one's Catholicity; and
In reparation for the grave sin of abortion.
Subject: Eating Meat on Fridays | Catholic-Pages.com
I think sometimes you guys think I make this stuff up:
Meat on Fridays
Most Catholics think that Vatican II did away with the requirement of not eating meat on any Friday of the year. Most think it is now just Ash Wednesday and the Fridays of Lent that we cannot eat meat.
This is what the new Code of Canon Law brought out in 1983 says about the matter:
Canon 1251
Abstinence from meat, or from some other food as determined by the Episcopal Conference, is to be observed on all Fridays, unless a solemnity should fall on a Friday. Abstinence and fasting are to be observed on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.
Canon Law still requires that Catholics not eat meat on Fridays!
Of course, most Episcopal Conferences have determined that, instead of abstaining from meat, Catholics may perform an act of penance of their choosing. But, do you ever remember to abstain from a particular food or do some other penance on Fridays? And, at any rate, the main rule is still to abstain from meat on Fridays, the performance of another penance instead is an optional alternative.
It's very interesting to note that the National Conference of Catholic Bishops (the United States' Episcopal Conference) is currently debating whether to rescind the determination and require all Catholics to abstain from meat on all Fridays of the year. The Bishops are considering that a return to meatless Fridays for all Catholics would be of benefit because:
It is an expression of one's Catholicity; and
In reparation for the grave sin of abortion.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Keep Christ in Christmas
Sent: Wednesday, December 10, 2008 8:31 PM
Subject: Re: Re:
> as far as I knew I thought we were Catholics celebrating the Lord's birthday
>
> Why a need to combine/ destroy CHRISTmas? People are trying to secularize
> Christmas and everything else sacred. They want culture of death not life.
>
> People can celebrate what they want--I am all for that but dont blur
> Christmas in with the other holidays which takes place now. Send Christmas
> cards to those celebrating Christmas and send Ramadan to those celebrating
> Ramadan--I have no idea who is celebrating Kwanza and ill end that there.
>
> Do people celebrating Ramadan, whatever else is being celebrated this month
> want polar bears, snowflakes, snowmen, or whatever that is supposed to
> represent a secular Christmas on there Ramadan card?
>
> It seems we dont want to offend the 10% of Americans not celebrating
> Christmas--so that is 90% of people here are celebrating Christmas in some
> fashion. Who are these with a war on Christmas? They dont want to be
> offended and thus want us to celebrate happy holiday or season greetings???
> I am insulted as a Catholic by people trying to remove Christ from
> Christmas.
>
> Keep Christ in Christmas
> Gerry
Subject: Re: Re:
> as far as I knew I thought we were Catholics celebrating the Lord's birthday
>
> Why a need to combine/ destroy CHRISTmas? People are trying to secularize
> Christmas and everything else sacred. They want culture of death not life.
>
> People can celebrate what they want--I am all for that but dont blur
> Christmas in with the other holidays which takes place now. Send Christmas
> cards to those celebrating Christmas and send Ramadan to those celebrating
> Ramadan--I have no idea who is celebrating Kwanza and ill end that there.
>
> Do people celebrating Ramadan, whatever else is being celebrated this month
> want polar bears, snowflakes, snowmen, or whatever that is supposed to
> represent a secular Christmas on there Ramadan card?
>
> It seems we dont want to offend the 10% of Americans not celebrating
> Christmas--so that is 90% of people here are celebrating Christmas in some
> fashion. Who are these with a war on Christmas? They dont want to be
> offended and thus want us to celebrate happy holiday or season greetings???
> I am insulted as a Catholic by people trying to remove Christ from
> Christmas.
>
> Keep Christ in Christmas
> Gerry
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
20 Tips For Making A Good Confession
Sent: Wednesday, November 26, 2008 10:59 AM
Subject: What Does The Prayer Really Say?
Fr. Z’s 20 Tips For Making A Good Confession o{]:¬)
We should…
1) ...examine our consciences regularly and thoroughly;
2) ...wait our turn in line patiently;
3) ...come at the time confessions are scheduled, not a few minutes before they are to end;
4) ...speak distinctly but never so loudly that we might be overheard;
5) ...state our sins clearly and briefly without rambling;
6) ...confess all mortal sins in number and kind;
7) ...listen carefully to the advice the priest gives;
8) ...confess our own sins and not someone else’s;
9) ...carefully listen to and remember the penance and be sure to understand it;
10) ...use a regular formula for confession so that it is familiar and comfortable;
11) ...never be afraid to say something "embarrassing"... just say it;
12) ...never worry that the priest thinks we are jerks…. he is usually impressed by our courage;
13) ...never fear that the priest will not keep our confession secret… he is bound by the Seal;
14) ...never confess "tendencies" or "struggles"... just sins;
15) ...never leave the confessional before the priest has finished giving absolution;
16) ...memorize an Act of Contrition;
17) ...answer the priest’s questions briefly if he asks for a clarification;
18) ...ask questions if we can’t understand what he means when he tells us something;
19) ...keep in mind that sometimes priests can have bad days just like we do;
20) ...remember that priests must go to confession too … they know what we are going through.
http://wdtprs.com/blog/
Subject: What Does The Prayer Really Say?
Fr. Z’s 20 Tips For Making A Good Confession o{]:¬)
We should…
1) ...examine our consciences regularly and thoroughly;
2) ...wait our turn in line patiently;
3) ...come at the time confessions are scheduled, not a few minutes before they are to end;
4) ...speak distinctly but never so loudly that we might be overheard;
5) ...state our sins clearly and briefly without rambling;
6) ...confess all mortal sins in number and kind;
7) ...listen carefully to the advice the priest gives;
8) ...confess our own sins and not someone else’s;
9) ...carefully listen to and remember the penance and be sure to understand it;
10) ...use a regular formula for confession so that it is familiar and comfortable;
11) ...never be afraid to say something "embarrassing"... just say it;
12) ...never worry that the priest thinks we are jerks…. he is usually impressed by our courage;
13) ...never fear that the priest will not keep our confession secret… he is bound by the Seal;
14) ...never confess "tendencies" or "struggles"... just sins;
15) ...never leave the confessional before the priest has finished giving absolution;
16) ...memorize an Act of Contrition;
17) ...answer the priest’s questions briefly if he asks for a clarification;
18) ...ask questions if we can’t understand what he means when he tells us something;
19) ...keep in mind that sometimes priests can have bad days just like we do;
20) ...remember that priests must go to confession too … they know what we are going through.
http://wdtprs.com/blog/
Thursday, October 9, 2008
HBO: Real Time with Bill Maher: New Rules
Sent: Thursday, October 09, 2008 9:36 AM
Subject: HBO: Real Time with Bill Maher: New Rules: October 3, 2008
And --and finally, New Rule: You can't be president if you practice a violent Middle Eastern religion and worship a genocidal desert god. Which is why Sarah Palin can't be president.
Now, all the churches that Sarah Palin has attended --and she's been to almost as many churches as she has colleges--have one thing in common: a belief that the Bible is literally true. She's not "Country First," she's "Bible First." And not just the New Testament. That's the happy half of the Good Book: the baby in the manger, Jesus doing magic tricks, long, romantic walks on the water that turn into fishing trips with the guys. And a generally positive message. Jesus, after all, preached love and forgiveness, not shooting wolves from an airplane.
The problem is, "Governor Avon Lady" --she takes the Old Testament literally, too. And in that one, God is an insecure, rage-filled hybrid of Bobby Knight and Suge Knight. He's been alive forever and he has anger issues. He's like John McCain if McCain could fart hail.
He's pro-slavery, pro-polygamy, and homophobic, and he'll kill you for masturbating. More people get stoned in the Old Testament than in my Jacuzzi. Not that I have to tell you guys.
If there was --if there was a video of Barack Obama standing in front of his congregation being healed by a black witch doctor, this election would be over. But there is that video of Sarah Palin.
So, ask your witch doctor if exorcism is right for you.
And, I don't say "witch doctor" because he's black. I say it because when you're rebuking witches, you're a witch doctor. Witch doctor, folks! This is our country. We've got to get it back from the forces of organized superstition!
People like Bush and Palin simply cannot think clearly because they're in a big, scary, brainwashing cult, and it warps their thinking so much that they're actually horny for the end of the world. And that is not someone I want with the nuclear codes. So, remember that video, and remember that Sarah Palin said --and I quote --"I think I will see Jesus come back to earth in my lifetime."
To which I say, "Hasn't Jesus suffered enough?"
http://www.hbo.com/billmaher/new_rules/
Subject: HBO: Real Time with Bill Maher: New Rules: October 3, 2008
And --and finally, New Rule: You can't be president if you practice a violent Middle Eastern religion and worship a genocidal desert god. Which is why Sarah Palin can't be president.
Now, all the churches that Sarah Palin has attended --and she's been to almost as many churches as she has colleges--have one thing in common: a belief that the Bible is literally true. She's not "Country First," she's "Bible First." And not just the New Testament. That's the happy half of the Good Book: the baby in the manger, Jesus doing magic tricks, long, romantic walks on the water that turn into fishing trips with the guys. And a generally positive message. Jesus, after all, preached love and forgiveness, not shooting wolves from an airplane.
The problem is, "Governor Avon Lady" --she takes the Old Testament literally, too. And in that one, God is an insecure, rage-filled hybrid of Bobby Knight and Suge Knight. He's been alive forever and he has anger issues. He's like John McCain if McCain could fart hail.
He's pro-slavery, pro-polygamy, and homophobic, and he'll kill you for masturbating. More people get stoned in the Old Testament than in my Jacuzzi. Not that I have to tell you guys.
If there was --if there was a video of Barack Obama standing in front of his congregation being healed by a black witch doctor, this election would be over. But there is that video of Sarah Palin.
So, ask your witch doctor if exorcism is right for you.
And, I don't say "witch doctor" because he's black. I say it because when you're rebuking witches, you're a witch doctor. Witch doctor, folks! This is our country. We've got to get it back from the forces of organized superstition!
People like Bush and Palin simply cannot think clearly because they're in a big, scary, brainwashing cult, and it warps their thinking so much that they're actually horny for the end of the world. And that is not someone I want with the nuclear codes. So, remember that video, and remember that Sarah Palin said --and I quote --"I think I will see Jesus come back to earth in my lifetime."
To which I say, "Hasn't Jesus suffered enough?"
http://www.hbo.com/billmaher/new_rules/
Saturday, September 6, 2008
the Delorius Passion?
Sent: Thursday, September 04, 2008 9:48 AM
Subject: Marian Catholic Family Forum - Olympics - Powered by ForumCo.com - The Forum Company
BTW... John is your quote from the Delorius Passion? Wasn't this book so problematic (the problems attributed to much creative elaboration on the part of the translator) set aside as unreliable? I'm no scholar on this (so please feel free to correct me), but I do not believe anything in the Delorius Passion is binding in anyway on the faithful.
http://mariancatholicforum.forumco.com/topic~TOPIC_ID~1575.asp
Subject: Marian Catholic Family Forum - Olympics - Powered by ForumCo.com - The Forum Company
BTW... John is your quote from the Delorius Passion? Wasn't this book so problematic (the problems attributed to much creative elaboration on the part of the translator) set aside as unreliable? I'm no scholar on this (so please feel free to correct me), but I do not believe anything in the Delorius Passion is binding in anyway on the faithful.
http://mariancatholicforum.forumco.com/topic~TOPIC_ID~1575.asp
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
For an 'Obamacon,' Communion Denied
For an 'Obamacon,' Communion Denied
By E. J. Dionne Jr.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008; A15
Word spread like wildfire in Catholic circles: Douglas Kmiec, a staunch Republican, firm foe of abortion and veteran of the Reagan Justice Department, had been denied Communion.
His sin? Kmiec, a Catholic who can cite papal pronouncements with the facility of a theological scholar, shocked old friends and adversaries alike earlier this year by endorsing Barack Obama for president. For at least one priest, Kmiec's support for a pro-choice politician made him a willing participant in a grave moral evil.
Kmiec was denied Communion in April at a Mass for a group of Catholic business people he later addressed at dinner. The episode has not received wide attention outside the Catholic world, but it is the opening shot in an argument that could have a large impact on this year's presidential campaign: Is it legitimate for bishops and priests to deny Communion to those supporting candidates who favor abortion rights?
A version of this argument roiled the 2004 campaign when some, though not most, Catholic bishops suggested that John Kerry and other pro-choice Catholic politicians should be denied Communion because of their views on abortion.
The Kmiec incident poses the question in an extreme form: He is not a public official but a voter expressing a preference. Moreover, Kmiec -- a law professor at Pepperdine University and once dean of Catholic University's law school -- is a long-standing critic of the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision.
Kmiec, who was head of the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel in the late 1980s, is supporting Obama despite the candidate's position on abortion, not because of it, partly in the hope that Obama's emphasis on personal responsibility in sexual matters might change the nature of the nation's argument on life issues.
Kmiec has drawn attention because he is one of the nation's leading "Obamacons," conservatives who find Obama's call for a new approach to politics appealing. Kmiec started life as a Democrat. His father was a soldier in the late Mayor Richard J. Daley's Chicago political machine, and Kmiec's earliest political energies were devoted to Robert F. Kennedy's 1968 campaign.
But like many Catholic Democrats, Kmiec was profoundly attracted to Ronald Reagan. For him, five words in Reagan's 1980 acceptance speech summarized the essence of a Catholic view of politics: "family, work, neighborhood, peace and freedom."
In an interview over the weekend, Kmiec argued that 35 years after Roe, opponents of abortion need to contemplate whether "a legal prohibition" of abortion "is the only way to promote a culture of life."
"To think you have done a generous thing for your neighbor or that you have built up a culture of life just because you voted for a candidate who says in his brochure that he wants to overturn Roe v. Wade is far too thin an understanding of the Catholic faith," he said. Kmiec, a critic of the Bush administration's Iraq policy, added that Catholics should heed "the broad social teaching of the church," including its views on war.
Kmiec shared with me the name of the priest who denied him Communion and a letter of apology from the organizers of the event, but he requested that I not name the priest to protect the cleric from public attack.
The priest's actions are almost certainly out of line with the policy of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. In their statement"Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship," issued last November, the bishops said: "A Catholic cannot vote for a candidate who takes a position in favor of an intrinsic evil, such as abortion or racism, if the voter's intent is to support that position."
The "if" phrase in that carefully negotiated sentence suggests that Catholics can support pro-choice candidates, provided the purpose of their vote is not to promote abortion.
Already, Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann of Kansas City has played an indirect role in the 2008 campaign by calling on Kathleen Sebelius, the popular Democratic governor of Kansas who has been mentioned as a possible Obama running mate, to stop taking Communion because of her "actions in support of legalized abortion."
But because Kmiec is a private citizen and has such a long history of embracing Catholic teaching on abortion, denying him Communion for political reasons may spark an even greater outcry inside the church.
Kmiec says he is grateful because the episode reminded him of the importance of the Eucharist in his spiritual life, and because he hopes it will alert others to the dangers of "using Communion as a weapon."
postchat@aol.com
By E. J. Dionne Jr.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008; A15
Word spread like wildfire in Catholic circles: Douglas Kmiec, a staunch Republican, firm foe of abortion and veteran of the Reagan Justice Department, had been denied Communion.
His sin? Kmiec, a Catholic who can cite papal pronouncements with the facility of a theological scholar, shocked old friends and adversaries alike earlier this year by endorsing Barack Obama for president. For at least one priest, Kmiec's support for a pro-choice politician made him a willing participant in a grave moral evil.
Kmiec was denied Communion in April at a Mass for a group of Catholic business people he later addressed at dinner. The episode has not received wide attention outside the Catholic world, but it is the opening shot in an argument that could have a large impact on this year's presidential campaign: Is it legitimate for bishops and priests to deny Communion to those supporting candidates who favor abortion rights?
A version of this argument roiled the 2004 campaign when some, though not most, Catholic bishops suggested that John Kerry and other pro-choice Catholic politicians should be denied Communion because of their views on abortion.
The Kmiec incident poses the question in an extreme form: He is not a public official but a voter expressing a preference. Moreover, Kmiec -- a law professor at Pepperdine University and once dean of Catholic University's law school -- is a long-standing critic of the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision.
Kmiec, who was head of the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel in the late 1980s, is supporting Obama despite the candidate's position on abortion, not because of it, partly in the hope that Obama's emphasis on personal responsibility in sexual matters might change the nature of the nation's argument on life issues.
Kmiec has drawn attention because he is one of the nation's leading "Obamacons," conservatives who find Obama's call for a new approach to politics appealing. Kmiec started life as a Democrat. His father was a soldier in the late Mayor Richard J. Daley's Chicago political machine, and Kmiec's earliest political energies were devoted to Robert F. Kennedy's 1968 campaign.
But like many Catholic Democrats, Kmiec was profoundly attracted to Ronald Reagan. For him, five words in Reagan's 1980 acceptance speech summarized the essence of a Catholic view of politics: "family, work, neighborhood, peace and freedom."
In an interview over the weekend, Kmiec argued that 35 years after Roe, opponents of abortion need to contemplate whether "a legal prohibition" of abortion "is the only way to promote a culture of life."
"To think you have done a generous thing for your neighbor or that you have built up a culture of life just because you voted for a candidate who says in his brochure that he wants to overturn Roe v. Wade is far too thin an understanding of the Catholic faith," he said. Kmiec, a critic of the Bush administration's Iraq policy, added that Catholics should heed "the broad social teaching of the church," including its views on war.
Kmiec shared with me the name of the priest who denied him Communion and a letter of apology from the organizers of the event, but he requested that I not name the priest to protect the cleric from public attack.
The priest's actions are almost certainly out of line with the policy of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. In their statement"Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship," issued last November, the bishops said: "A Catholic cannot vote for a candidate who takes a position in favor of an intrinsic evil, such as abortion or racism, if the voter's intent is to support that position."
The "if" phrase in that carefully negotiated sentence suggests that Catholics can support pro-choice candidates, provided the purpose of their vote is not to promote abortion.
Already, Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann of Kansas City has played an indirect role in the 2008 campaign by calling on Kathleen Sebelius, the popular Democratic governor of Kansas who has been mentioned as a possible Obama running mate, to stop taking Communion because of her "actions in support of legalized abortion."
But because Kmiec is a private citizen and has such a long history of embracing Catholic teaching on abortion, denying him Communion for political reasons may spark an even greater outcry inside the church.
Kmiec says he is grateful because the episode reminded him of the importance of the Eucharist in his spiritual life, and because he hopes it will alert others to the dangers of "using Communion as a weapon."
postchat@aol.com
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Kiva
Name Loan Amount Loan Term/Start Date Country/ Partner You Loaned Paid Back Loan Status
Amenze Marian $500.00 8 months
Jan 11, 2007 Nigeria
Lift Above Poverty Organization (LAPO) $25.00 $25.00
Aboubakar Youssouf $1,125.00 12 months
Feb 17, 2008 Togo
FECECAV $25.00 $4.18 Active
Rin Den $1,000.00 18 months
Feb 17, 2008 Cambodia
CREDIT MFI -- World Relief $25.00 $2.80 Active
Brenda Elizabeth Estrada Campos $600.00 6 months
Feb 17, 2008 Mexico
Admic Nacional $25.00 $8.33 Active
Alexander Kochnev $1,200.00 8 months
Feb 06, 2008 Ukraine
HOPE Intl- Nadiya Ukraine $25.00 $6.25 Active
Amenze Marian $500.00 8 months
Jan 11, 2007 Nigeria
Lift Above Poverty Organization (LAPO) $25.00 $25.00
Aboubakar Youssouf $1,125.00 12 months
Feb 17, 2008 Togo
FECECAV $25.00 $4.18 Active
Rin Den $1,000.00 18 months
Feb 17, 2008 Cambodia
CREDIT MFI -- World Relief $25.00 $2.80 Active
Brenda Elizabeth Estrada Campos $600.00 6 months
Feb 17, 2008 Mexico
Admic Nacional $25.00 $8.33 Active
Alexander Kochnev $1,200.00 8 months
Feb 06, 2008 Ukraine
HOPE Intl- Nadiya Ukraine $25.00 $6.25 Active
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
The Hottest Place in Hell is......
Dante Alighieri’s warning is also pertinent: “The hottest
place in Hell is reserved for those who remain neutral
in times of moral crisis"
place in Hell is reserved for those who remain neutral
in times of moral crisis"
Friday, June 15, 2007
Father's Day
Sent: Friday, June 15, 2007 3:19 PM
Subject: Catholic Exchange - Your Faith. Your Life. Your World.
Good and interesting article for Catholic Father's day
The Catholic Origins of Manliness
http://www.catholicexchange.com/node/62481
Subject: Catholic Exchange - Your Faith. Your Life. Your World.
Good and interesting article for Catholic Father's day
The Catholic Origins of Manliness
http://www.catholicexchange.com/node/62481
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
What's your theological worldview?
http://quizfarm.com/run.php/Quiz?quiz_id=7095
A couple weeks back I was looking for a new church/ parish--I guess according to this quiz I should have been looking for a new Church? I thought I answered the questions pretty 'Catholic' as well.
Gerry
What's your theological worldview?
You scored as a Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan
You are an evangelical in the Wesleyan tradition. You believe that God's grace enables you to choose to believe in him, even though you yourself are totally depraved. The gift of the Holy Spirit gives you assurance of your salvation, and he also enables you to live the life of obedience to which God has called us. You are influenced heavly by John Wesley and the Methodists.
Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan
93%
Roman Catholic
86%
Neo orthodox
68%
Fundamentalist
64%
Charismatic/Pentecostal
43%
Modern Liberal
39%
Reformed Evangelical
36%
Classical Liberal
18%
Emergent/Postmodern
18%
A couple weeks back I was looking for a new church/ parish--I guess according to this quiz I should have been looking for a new Church? I thought I answered the questions pretty 'Catholic' as well.
Gerry
What's your theological worldview?
You scored as a Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan
You are an evangelical in the Wesleyan tradition. You believe that God's grace enables you to choose to believe in him, even though you yourself are totally depraved. The gift of the Holy Spirit gives you assurance of your salvation, and he also enables you to live the life of obedience to which God has called us. You are influenced heavly by John Wesley and the Methodists.
Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan
93%
Roman Catholic
86%
Neo orthodox
68%
Fundamentalist
64%
Charismatic/Pentecostal
43%
Modern Liberal
39%
Reformed Evangelical
36%
Classical Liberal
18%
Emergent/Postmodern
18%
Using Lord's Name in Vain
Sent: Tuesday, June 05, 2007 4:21 PM
Subject: Catholic-Pages.com | Discussion Forum - Lord's Name in Vain
I hear constant cries to limit violence/ sex/ cursing and lately even smoking on screen/ tv/ video games and the like but one of my pet peeves is the constant using the Lord's name in vain. I realize some may not be aware of it but it seems at least to me to be running rampant. Even the 'oh, my G__' bothers me. Something I watched over the weekend--perhaps the Soprano's was filled with this stuff. I even notice when the kids are watching their shows--Disney Channel, etc that those shows are filled with these as well.
Once again where is the reverence? In Old Testament times you could be put to death for just saying His name. I think it is Father Larry Richards on one of his cd's whom addresses this as sins.
Gerry
http://www.catholic-pages.com/forum/topic.asp?topic_id=11571
Subject: Catholic-Pages.com | Discussion Forum - Lord's Name in Vain
I hear constant cries to limit violence/ sex/ cursing and lately even smoking on screen/ tv/ video games and the like but one of my pet peeves is the constant using the Lord's name in vain. I realize some may not be aware of it but it seems at least to me to be running rampant. Even the 'oh, my G__' bothers me. Something I watched over the weekend--perhaps the Soprano's was filled with this stuff. I even notice when the kids are watching their shows--Disney Channel, etc that those shows are filled with these as well.
Once again where is the reverence? In Old Testament times you could be put to death for just saying His name. I think it is Father Larry Richards on one of his cd's whom addresses this as sins.
Gerry
http://www.catholic-pages.com/forum/topic.asp?topic_id=11571
Friday, May 18, 2007
Bill Maher
I generally watch his show on HBO on Friday nights but wonder why he spews so much against God/ religions/ especially Catholicism, etc. He seems boastful of this fact that those of us whom believes are the cuckoos. At least with the 'Gospel of Oprah' you have some tinge of spirituality/ perhap some Christian message but he preaches an anti-gospel. Now, I am also sure he only gets a fraction of the audience Oprahs gets so I guess this is good.
http://www.foxnews.com.pssht.com/bill_maher_anti-religion.html
Losing his religion
Maher, 48, grew up Roman Catholic, attending weekend catechism classes, and weekly Sunday mass with his father and sister. His father was Catholic, his mother Jewish.
When he was 13, his father pulled everybody out of church.
"It was like V-J Day in my room," Maher says, laughing. "I couldn't have been more thrilled.
"My father, God bless him, became very disillusioned with the pope at the time, which was Pope Paul [VI]. He loved Pope John [XXIII]. He was the liberal pope, 1958 to 1963. So my father, as an Irish-Catholic American, was in his glory in the early 1960s. He had an Irish president. He had a liberal pope, whom he loved. But Pope Paul obviously rubbed him the wrong way."
This explains, at least in part, why today Maher has no religion. And no middle name.
When his family left the Catholic Church, he was preparing for the sacrament of confirmation.
"I was dreading it because that's where you get your middle name, and mine would have been Aloysius," he says. "It's actually a very common, Irish, Catholic, horrible name. So that's why to this day I don't have a middle name. I got off the hook right at that moment."
Aloysius is the patron saint of teens.
On last weeks show he couldnt stop slombering over the author Christopher Hitchens and his recent book titled: God is not Great:
http://www.amazon.com/God-Not-Great-Religion-Everything/dp/0446579807
From Publishers Weekly
Hitchens, one of our great political pugilists, delivers the best of the recent rash of atheist manifestos. The same contrarian spirit that makes him delightful reading as a political commentator, even (or especially) when he's completely wrong, makes him an entertaining huckster prosecutor once he has God placed in the dock. And can he turn a phrase!: "monotheistic religion is a plagiarism of a plagiarism of a hearsay of a hearsay, of an illusion of an illusion, extending all the way back to a fabrication of a few nonevents." Hitchens's one-liners bear the marks of considerable sparring practice with believers. Yet few believers will recognize themselves as Hitchens associates all of them for all time with the worst of history's theocratic and inquisitional moments. All the same, this is salutary reading as a means of culling believers' weaker arguments: that faith offers comfort (false comfort is none at all), or has provided a historical hedge against fascism (it mostly hasn't), or that "Eastern" religions are better (nope). The book's real strength is Hitchens's on-the-ground glimpses of religion's worst face in various war zones and isolated despotic regimes. But its weakness is its almost fanatical insistence that religion poisons "everything," which tips over into barely disguised misanthropy. (May 30)
http://www.foxnews.com.pssht.com/bill_maher_anti-religion.html
Losing his religion
Maher, 48, grew up Roman Catholic, attending weekend catechism classes, and weekly Sunday mass with his father and sister. His father was Catholic, his mother Jewish.
When he was 13, his father pulled everybody out of church.
"It was like V-J Day in my room," Maher says, laughing. "I couldn't have been more thrilled.
"My father, God bless him, became very disillusioned with the pope at the time, which was Pope Paul [VI]. He loved Pope John [XXIII]. He was the liberal pope, 1958 to 1963. So my father, as an Irish-Catholic American, was in his glory in the early 1960s. He had an Irish president. He had a liberal pope, whom he loved. But Pope Paul obviously rubbed him the wrong way."
This explains, at least in part, why today Maher has no religion. And no middle name.
When his family left the Catholic Church, he was preparing for the sacrament of confirmation.
"I was dreading it because that's where you get your middle name, and mine would have been Aloysius," he says. "It's actually a very common, Irish, Catholic, horrible name. So that's why to this day I don't have a middle name. I got off the hook right at that moment."
Aloysius is the patron saint of teens.
On last weeks show he couldnt stop slombering over the author Christopher Hitchens and his recent book titled: God is not Great:
http://www.amazon.com/God-Not-Great-Religion-Everything/dp/0446579807
From Publishers Weekly
Hitchens, one of our great political pugilists, delivers the best of the recent rash of atheist manifestos. The same contrarian spirit that makes him delightful reading as a political commentator, even (or especially) when he's completely wrong, makes him an entertaining huckster prosecutor once he has God placed in the dock. And can he turn a phrase!: "monotheistic religion is a plagiarism of a plagiarism of a hearsay of a hearsay, of an illusion of an illusion, extending all the way back to a fabrication of a few nonevents." Hitchens's one-liners bear the marks of considerable sparring practice with believers. Yet few believers will recognize themselves as Hitchens associates all of them for all time with the worst of history's theocratic and inquisitional moments. All the same, this is salutary reading as a means of culling believers' weaker arguments: that faith offers comfort (false comfort is none at all), or has provided a historical hedge against fascism (it mostly hasn't), or that "Eastern" religions are better (nope). The book's real strength is Hitchens's on-the-ground glimpses of religion's worst face in various war zones and isolated despotic regimes. But its weakness is its almost fanatical insistence that religion poisons "everything," which tips over into barely disguised misanthropy. (May 30)
EPHESUS
I always thought if I could have one 'spiritual gift' Id probably like to be able to visit baby Jesus in the manger in Bethlehem.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiritual_gift
Also known as the "manifestation gifts" or "miraculous gifts". Some limit the term "spiritual gifts" to just the charismatic gifts. Cessationism claims that these gifts ceased to operate (through individuals) early in Christian history. Its counterpart continuationism claims that they still operate today. They are believed by some to be transmitted through the laying on of hands.
* word of wisdom / message of wisdom, 1Cor 12:8
* word of knowledge / message of knowledge, 1 Cor 12:8
* faith, 1 Cor 12:9
* gifts of healing, 1 Cor 12:9, 12:28
* miracles / miraculous powers, 1 Cor 12:10, 12:28
* prophecy / prophesying / prophets, 1 Cor 12:10, 1 Cor 12:28, Rom 12:6, Eph 4:11
* discernment of spirits / distinguishing of spirits, 1 Cor 12:10
* speaking in tongues / varieties of tongues / speaking in different kinds of tongues, 1 Cor 12:10
* interpretation of tongues, 1 Cor 12:10
"Speaking in tongues" and "interpretation of tongues" are sometimes viewed as one gift, "tongues". The TNIV footnote has "languages" as a possible translation for "tongues".
And while that remains one of my top choices--I am thinking it would be pretty spectacular to be in Ephesus during the couple of years St. Paul was preaching in the 50's. I heard Dr. Scott Hahn's speech a few weeks back on EWTN where he spoke how great that epistle was.
http://catholiceducation.org:80/articles/apologetics/ap0105.html
But look at this, in Ephesus Paul taught for two years and three months every day in a public lecture hall. Can you imagine that? I would love to study under Cardinal Ratzinger or Professor Joseph Pieper or some great giant of this day, but not nearly as much as I would love to study under St. Paul himself. The Ephesian believers had two years of straight theology from St. Paul himself, every day presumably for hours and hours. No other place could Paul stay so long. No other place could Paul teach so much. So no other place was so well prepared for Paul's loftiest theological thought as the Ephesians.
That's why I believe in the book of Ephesians we have Paul's book. Paul pulls out the stops; he's really able to communicate to them what really is in his heart and what's on his mind. He's past the ABC's; he doesn't have to go back to justification by faith like he does with the Galatians. He doesn't have to review the relation of Jews and Gentiles as he does with the Romans whom he never met. Here he can really just kind of soar straight to the stratosphere and teach the deepest truths of the Christian faith and the Catholic Church. And he does for two years.
Can you imagine showing up at Mass with a few friends and saying, "Over there's the beloved disciple, St. John. St. Paul's celebrating Mass today and, oh yeah, wait, who's that coming in with the beloved disciple? Oh, it's the Blessed Virgin Mary, the mother of Christ." Tradition has her in Ephesus as well. What a line up, a hall of fame: Apollos, Priscilla, Aquila, Paul, John, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and just for good measure, Paul sends Timothy to stay there after his two year, three month ministry was finished. So the Church in Ephesus not only receives the book of Ephesians, but First and Second Timothy are also addressed to the Ephesian believers as well. Unbelievable what privileges they received! Unbelievable what lofty truths they heard! Listen to the book of Ephesians. The mystery of Christ as all scholars agree is really the main theme.
Print this off if you havent read it yet and enjoy
“Everyone needs thirty minutes of personal prayer time each day, unless they are too busy to pray—in which case, they need an hour!”
Saint Francis de Sales
Topic
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiritual_gift
Also known as the "manifestation gifts" or "miraculous gifts". Some limit the term "spiritual gifts" to just the charismatic gifts. Cessationism claims that these gifts ceased to operate (through individuals) early in Christian history. Its counterpart continuationism claims that they still operate today. They are believed by some to be transmitted through the laying on of hands.
* word of wisdom / message of wisdom, 1Cor 12:8
* word of knowledge / message of knowledge, 1 Cor 12:8
* faith, 1 Cor 12:9
* gifts of healing, 1 Cor 12:9, 12:28
* miracles / miraculous powers, 1 Cor 12:10, 12:28
* prophecy / prophesying / prophets, 1 Cor 12:10, 1 Cor 12:28, Rom 12:6, Eph 4:11
* discernment of spirits / distinguishing of spirits, 1 Cor 12:10
* speaking in tongues / varieties of tongues / speaking in different kinds of tongues, 1 Cor 12:10
* interpretation of tongues, 1 Cor 12:10
"Speaking in tongues" and "interpretation of tongues" are sometimes viewed as one gift, "tongues". The TNIV footnote has "languages" as a possible translation for "tongues".
And while that remains one of my top choices--I am thinking it would be pretty spectacular to be in Ephesus during the couple of years St. Paul was preaching in the 50's. I heard Dr. Scott Hahn's speech a few weeks back on EWTN where he spoke how great that epistle was.
http://catholiceducation.org:80/articles/apologetics/ap0105.html
But look at this, in Ephesus Paul taught for two years and three months every day in a public lecture hall. Can you imagine that? I would love to study under Cardinal Ratzinger or Professor Joseph Pieper or some great giant of this day, but not nearly as much as I would love to study under St. Paul himself. The Ephesian believers had two years of straight theology from St. Paul himself, every day presumably for hours and hours. No other place could Paul stay so long. No other place could Paul teach so much. So no other place was so well prepared for Paul's loftiest theological thought as the Ephesians.
That's why I believe in the book of Ephesians we have Paul's book. Paul pulls out the stops; he's really able to communicate to them what really is in his heart and what's on his mind. He's past the ABC's; he doesn't have to go back to justification by faith like he does with the Galatians. He doesn't have to review the relation of Jews and Gentiles as he does with the Romans whom he never met. Here he can really just kind of soar straight to the stratosphere and teach the deepest truths of the Christian faith and the Catholic Church. And he does for two years.
Can you imagine showing up at Mass with a few friends and saying, "Over there's the beloved disciple, St. John. St. Paul's celebrating Mass today and, oh yeah, wait, who's that coming in with the beloved disciple? Oh, it's the Blessed Virgin Mary, the mother of Christ." Tradition has her in Ephesus as well. What a line up, a hall of fame: Apollos, Priscilla, Aquila, Paul, John, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and just for good measure, Paul sends Timothy to stay there after his two year, three month ministry was finished. So the Church in Ephesus not only receives the book of Ephesians, but First and Second Timothy are also addressed to the Ephesian believers as well. Unbelievable what privileges they received! Unbelievable what lofty truths they heard! Listen to the book of Ephesians. The mystery of Christ as all scholars agree is really the main theme.
Print this off if you havent read it yet and enjoy
“Everyone needs thirty minutes of personal prayer time each day, unless they are too busy to pray—in which case, they need an hour!”
Saint Francis de Sales
Topic
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Saturday the Evangelizing Day?
Sent: Wednesday, May 16, 2007 1:12 PM
Subject: another blog entry
Perhaps just a beautiful weather day for all sorts to be out and about? Neighborhood streets always filled with people buzzing about to get to next yard sale, but also a big turn out of Jehovah Witnesses and the customary guys in white shirt and tie on their bikes (Mormons). I had to get home to hitch up my Vatican flag. The JW's are pests and usually the Mormons are at least fun to speak with.
There was another group (also wearing white shirts and ties) as well up to something--selling some merchandise behind some religious cause, which reminded me of the Seinfeld episode with the Sunshine Carpet Cleaners--where they 'abduct' Mr. Wilhelm and he changes his name to 'Tania.' And I felt a little like George when they got bored with me and quickly left as soon as I told them I was Catholic.
It sure was a beautiful day to be out and about--how come the Catholics to stroll around neighborhoods proclaiming how great the Truth really is?
Gerry
Subject: another blog entry
Perhaps just a beautiful weather day for all sorts to be out and about? Neighborhood streets always filled with people buzzing about to get to next yard sale, but also a big turn out of Jehovah Witnesses and the customary guys in white shirt and tie on their bikes (Mormons). I had to get home to hitch up my Vatican flag. The JW's are pests and usually the Mormons are at least fun to speak with.
There was another group (also wearing white shirts and ties) as well up to something--selling some merchandise behind some religious cause, which reminded me of the Seinfeld episode with the Sunshine Carpet Cleaners--where they 'abduct' Mr. Wilhelm and he changes his name to 'Tania.' And I felt a little like George when they got bored with me and quickly left as soon as I told them I was Catholic.
It sure was a beautiful day to be out and about--how come the Catholics to stroll around neighborhoods proclaiming how great the Truth really is?
Gerry
BIBLE/ Scripture Study
Not sure if any interest out there but like to start a Bible study/ Classic book study
I really like the Acts and the 1st C Church
Heard a great talk from Dr Hahn especially on Ephesus--and St. Paul's 2 years spent there preaching and teaching. Neat to relive that!
I really like the Acts and the 1st C Church
Heard a great talk from Dr Hahn especially on Ephesus--and St. Paul's 2 years spent there preaching and teaching. Neat to relive that!
The catwalk of catastrophe
Sent: Tuesday, May 15, 2007 9:57 PM
Subject: excerpt of article about Tweens
The catwalk of catastrophe
It’s hard to imagine that tween girls – ages 8 to 12 – would find their value in sex appeal, but when one looks at the world around her, there is no doubt about it. From pre-teen lingerie to sexy dolls to nearly naked pop stars, young girls are being bombarded with sex. Their role models are the pretty faces of naughty girls Britney Spears, Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan – a.k.a. the “Brit Pack.”
MSNBC reports that a recent Newsweek poll “found that 77% of Americans believe that Britney, Paris and Lindsay have too much influence on young girls.”
The Telegraph, a British newspaper, claims that Britney has been sexualized since childhood, and as a result she is now a 25-year-old divorced mother who has apparently hit rock bottom.
“That is a tragedy,” said the Telegraph article, “but there is an even bigger one unfolding: the generation of girls prematurely sexualized by the cynical manipulation of Spears and performers like her.”
One L.A. mother believes this generation of girls is being raised as, what she calls, “prosti-tots.”
Instead of Holly Hobbie or Strawberry Shortcake, young girls are now playing with Bratz – dolls with oversized facial features and who come dressed in mini skirts, fishnet stockings and feather boas.
Courtney wrote in a blog posting at www.vickicourtney.com that tweens spent $1.6 million on thong underwear in 2003. Also popular among the tween and teen crowds are Abercrombie and Fitch screen-print T-shirts that display phrases like, “Who needs brains when you have these?” “Anatomy Tutor” or “Available for Parties.” And don’t forget the sexually explicit lyrics found in songs such as “My Humps” by the Black Eyed Peas and “Candy Shop” by 50 Cent. These lyrics – although too graphic to print here – speak volumes about the state of society.
“One thing is not in doubt: a lot of parents are wondering about the effect our racy popular culture may have on their kids and the women they would like their girls to become,” reported MSNBC.
The APA suggests that “Parents can play a major role in contributing to the sexualization of their daughters or can play a protective and educative role.”
http://www.afajournal.org/0507mom_power.asp
Subject: excerpt of article about Tweens
The catwalk of catastrophe
It’s hard to imagine that tween girls – ages 8 to 12 – would find their value in sex appeal, but when one looks at the world around her, there is no doubt about it. From pre-teen lingerie to sexy dolls to nearly naked pop stars, young girls are being bombarded with sex. Their role models are the pretty faces of naughty girls Britney Spears, Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan – a.k.a. the “Brit Pack.”
MSNBC reports that a recent Newsweek poll “found that 77% of Americans believe that Britney, Paris and Lindsay have too much influence on young girls.”
The Telegraph, a British newspaper, claims that Britney has been sexualized since childhood, and as a result she is now a 25-year-old divorced mother who has apparently hit rock bottom.
“That is a tragedy,” said the Telegraph article, “but there is an even bigger one unfolding: the generation of girls prematurely sexualized by the cynical manipulation of Spears and performers like her.”
One L.A. mother believes this generation of girls is being raised as, what she calls, “prosti-tots.”
Instead of Holly Hobbie or Strawberry Shortcake, young girls are now playing with Bratz – dolls with oversized facial features and who come dressed in mini skirts, fishnet stockings and feather boas.
Courtney wrote in a blog posting at www.vickicourtney.com that tweens spent $1.6 million on thong underwear in 2003. Also popular among the tween and teen crowds are Abercrombie and Fitch screen-print T-shirts that display phrases like, “Who needs brains when you have these?” “Anatomy Tutor” or “Available for Parties.” And don’t forget the sexually explicit lyrics found in songs such as “My Humps” by the Black Eyed Peas and “Candy Shop” by 50 Cent. These lyrics – although too graphic to print here – speak volumes about the state of society.
“One thing is not in doubt: a lot of parents are wondering about the effect our racy popular culture may have on their kids and the women they would like their girls to become,” reported MSNBC.
The APA suggests that “Parents can play a major role in contributing to the sexualization of their daughters or can play a protective and educative role.”
http://www.afajournal.org/0507mom_power.asp
Monday, May 14, 2007
'Mass Police'
Sent: Monday, May 14, 2007 3:33 PM
Subject: Catholic-Pages.com | Discussion Forum - Lectors in Sanctuary during Lit of the Eucharist
I dont mean to be a pest and surely dont need to be the 'Mass-police.' But, my parish has been driving me batty. I'd consider the pastor, a product of the 1960s: very social and likeable--not one to make waves. The associate is a good guy and traditional is his priestly ways.
But been an active member of this parish for a while and chose it a while ago as my parish. It most likely has my favorite daily Mass especially when younger priest is celebrating and doesnt mind giving a full homily even during the week. I consider this a special treat. But, Sunday Mass has grown to be almost a pain with very little reverance.
Perhaps the laity have been given or taken much authority. We have the greet your neighbor before Mass along with the standard kiss of peace during Mass. It seems the congregation enjoys the protestant-like (the other sects) priestly mimicking with hands raised during Mass. Hand holding for Our Father is a favorite. Altar servers wearing sneakers/ lectors on sanctuary the whole Mass/ EME: well not sure how much they are doing in accordance with church teachings. Id think if they removed the younger priest since he is too much with Rome--I am not sure how it would be different than some protestant churches?
I have been emailing or calling the priest/ pastor/ lay member responsible for these ministries and feel like I am spinning my wheels.
Today, the woman responsible for the altar servers laughed when I asked why are the servers allowed to wear sneaks and she gave me: 'priest/ deacons wear the same,' 'it is today's leisurely culture,' and 'we instruct them to wear leather shoes but what can we do if they dont?' Id think if I called the people responsible for EME and lectors id most likely get the same flippant responses.
Am I making too much of a big deal out of these abuses/ neglects? Or are these just indicative of the some of the changes from back in the 1960's which continue to snowball? If my concerns are legit is my next step the bishop?
Gerry
Subject: Catholic-Pages.com | Discussion Forum - Lectors in Sanctuary during Lit of the Eucharist
I dont mean to be a pest and surely dont need to be the 'Mass-police.' But, my parish has been driving me batty. I'd consider the pastor, a product of the 1960s: very social and likeable--not one to make waves. The associate is a good guy and traditional is his priestly ways.
But been an active member of this parish for a while and chose it a while ago as my parish. It most likely has my favorite daily Mass especially when younger priest is celebrating and doesnt mind giving a full homily even during the week. I consider this a special treat. But, Sunday Mass has grown to be almost a pain with very little reverance.
Perhaps the laity have been given or taken much authority. We have the greet your neighbor before Mass along with the standard kiss of peace during Mass. It seems the congregation enjoys the protestant-like (the other sects) priestly mimicking with hands raised during Mass. Hand holding for Our Father is a favorite. Altar servers wearing sneakers/ lectors on sanctuary the whole Mass/ EME: well not sure how much they are doing in accordance with church teachings. Id think if they removed the younger priest since he is too much with Rome--I am not sure how it would be different than some protestant churches?
I have been emailing or calling the priest/ pastor/ lay member responsible for these ministries and feel like I am spinning my wheels.
Today, the woman responsible for the altar servers laughed when I asked why are the servers allowed to wear sneaks and she gave me: 'priest/ deacons wear the same,' 'it is today's leisurely culture,' and 'we instruct them to wear leather shoes but what can we do if they dont?' Id think if I called the people responsible for EME and lectors id most likely get the same flippant responses.
Am I making too much of a big deal out of these abuses/ neglects? Or are these just indicative of the some of the changes from back in the 1960's which continue to snowball? If my concerns are legit is my next step the bishop?
Gerry
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