DE GAUDIO - on eternal happiness

TOB Blog

2006-12-26T20:18:00.000-05:00

Recently, a few of the Missionaries of the Eucharist and myself started a blog to discuss Theology of the Body topics.

Here it is : Theology of the Body in the Federal City (http://tobdc.blogspot.com)

Fin

2006-08-09T10:19:00.000-04:00

So the walk for the summer is over. Third year in a row, but this time, I'm not taking time off before RA training. It's time to move to the real world. After graduating this past spring, it's time for me to find a job. Luckily, I already have an interview set up for this week.

But, what's really important is the edification of the souls of those who read this. So in an attempt to do that, I hope to blog more regularly.

Right now, though, my best piece of advice is read the Theology of the Body by Servant of God John Paul the Great (or any work that tries to explain it). I just spent two months trying to spread the message that it exists so it's only natural that I would try here to do so as well. To learn more of what I did this summer, check out www.missionariesoftheeucharist.org. It was a great summer!

"One less pagan"

2006-07-02T00:03:00.000-04:00

To quote the great Fr. Byrne, "Now there is one less pagan running around."

In a sense of humor, I am proud to announce that my neice, Emma Cathleen, who was born in April (see below) was baptized into the Catholic faith yesterday, Saturday, at noon in Atlanta, GA. As her godfather, I was flown down from the walk to participate and witness the glorious first sacrament.

Please pray for my brother and sister-in-law, Matt and Ali, respectively, as they bring her up in the fullness of truth.

St. Dominic, pray for us.

Sorry about the delay

2006-06-20T06:32:00.000-04:00

Sorry about the delay in posting this, but again this summer, I am walking throughout the Northeastern United States to promote a Gospel of Life, but this year, we've added the Theology of the Body to our repetoire. So please pray for us as we help the world understand itself better and as we cry out in amidst the darkness trying to bring hope to a world that badly wants it.

Missionaries of the Eucharist

Missionaries of the Eucharist blog

Baby Niece

2006-04-26T08:49:00.000-04:00

I am happy to report that at 3:57 pm on April 25, Emma Cathleen Yungwirth finally was born. She weighed in at 7 pounds, 9 ounces and is 19-1/4 inches tall.

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Insert picture of really cute baby here

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Both "Emma Cate" and Ali are doing very well.

As soon as I get a picture, I'll put it up.

Sweet Movie

2006-04-25T22:39:00.001-04:00

A good friend of this blog sent me a link to a movie called "Fishers of Men." It's pretty sweet, and I give it two thumbs up. Good work NYC!

http://www.grassrootsfilms.com/clip/trailer_fishersofmen_large.html

Assist the Pro-Life Movement

2006-04-22T13:13:00.000-04:00

Please support this in any way that you can:

This is a proposed project to help mothers & babies in the Maryland/DC area. This property is in Montgomery County. It will serve as a home for unwed mothers and a retreat center for post-abortion. See info: http://www.lifeprinciplestrust.org/index.html

AN URGENT MESSAGE REGARDING RACHEL’S FIELD, SACREDNESS OF LIFE CHAPEL AND MOTHER’S HOUSE

We are working against the clock to purchase this beautiful 22 acre site in the Nation's Capital, Washington, D.C. Metropolitan area. It is also unique in that it is strategically located adjacent to the prominent and historic Union Cemetery.

To be developed as a cemetery-type memorial park, Rachel's Field will consist of individually deeded grave-size plots where the lot owner may erect a permanent memorial stone of their choice dedicated to the memory of their pre-born child.

The vision of Rachel's Field and Sacredness of Life Memorial Chapel promises to rise as a significant landmark in our Nation's Capital in the struggle against the Culture of Death. This has the potential inspire pro-life groups in other areas to establish a Rachel's Field for their respective states as well.

First We Must Secure the Property:

This irreplaceable property consists of 22.5 acres, four houses, a barn and outbuildings, and is the ancestral farm owned by the late parents of Forest Grauel. Mr. Grauel is a 1/4th beneficiary of the estate and has committed both the entirety of his 1/4th beneficial interest plus cash, essentially half a million dollars, and additionally has assigned his exclusive right to purchase the property to Life Principles Trust. Until the quickly approaching date of May 4th, the exclusive purchase price at which Life Principles Trust can purchase is locked in at the appraised value as of the death of Mr. Grauel's mother which was January of 2004. The appraised value as of that date was one million five hundred fifty thousand dollars ($1,550,000.00). We were told by an appraiser that the property is now worth in excess of $2,200,000.00.

The real estate portion of the family estate is being administered by the Trust Department of Sandy Spring Bank of Olney, Maryland. In just days, on May 4th, Mr. Grauel's right to purchase at the appraised price expires, a developer stands ready to purchase, and we are told the Trust Department will sell it for a development of upscale homes.

One of two things must happen to come up with the funds needed for Life Principles Trust to acquire the property. First, of course, a benevolent donor or several benevolent donors could fund the purchase. Absent of that we need a lender whose heart is in pro-life and is willing to hold a first mortgage on the property of one million dollars for five years at 8% interest.

Join With Us In This Historic Endeavor:

For more INFORMATION Contact Forest L. Grauel flgrauel@smart.net or 301-793-5463 concerning the progress toward making Rachel's Field, Sacredness of Life Memorial Chapel and present and future generations. Pass along this beautiful brochure to a person of means who has a heart for the sacredness of life and could help make this a reality. See a copy of the brochure at www.itsalife.net/forest.html. You can download the front & back. It may be hard to print, though, as it’s 8.5 x 22 when laid out flat.

We are seeking individuals or organizations who would like to leave word that they can make direct CONTRIBUTIONS. We are also seeking individuals or organizations willing to join in with a group of fellow lenders who would collectively be first mortgage holders to finance the project. The Mortgage terms are for either three or five years, at 8% interest and is fully secured by a first Mortgage. Further details are available upon request. Contact Richard Retta dickretta@comcast.net (301) 424-4225 or Bill Luksic (301-461-9282) billluksic@comcast.net

Rachel’s Field, Sacredness of Life Memorial Chapel and Mother’s House have the full endorsement of Right to Life Of Montgomery County, W.A.K.E.-U.P., Each K of C Council contacted, and others.

Warning for 06/06/06

2006-04-22T12:45:00.000-04:00

I got this e-mail from a friend in NYC. Scary and possibly true:

There are MANY MANY Satanic cult such as: The Church of Satan (tickets to their black mass have been sold out), Free Masons, Luciferians, The order of Amaranth, Odd Fellows, Buffalos, the Druids, Foresters, Orange, Elks, Moose, Eagle Lodges, KKK, the Grange, the woodman of the world, Riders of the Red Robe, the nights of Pythias, the mystic order of the veiled prophets of the enchanted realm, the women's orders of the eastern star, the white shrine of Jerusalem, and ESPECIALLY Diane Vera and her group who reside somewhere around St Patricks in NYC.

ALL practice the BLACK ARTS in some way including BLACK MASSES.

In a few weeks the Day 06/06/06 will come. These anti-Christ's manage to get a hold of consecrated Eucharists to desecrate it.

I ASK that you ALL mark this day on your calendar and PRAY for the protection of the Eucharist.

PLEASE GO TO THIS WEBSITE and PRAY THE WARFARE PRAYERS
http://www.catholicwarriors.com/pages/warfare_prayers.htm

Pray particularly for unborn life because these groups utter blasphemies against non-aborted unborn children in order to corrupt them.

Extra prayers of thanksgiving and praise to the Most Holy Trinity and the Immaculate Virgin so that our prayer compesate for thier blasphemies.

For the protection of the church, clergy and bishops and the church's FAITHFULL who will also be blasphemed.

INVOKE ST MICHAEL, ST JOSEPH, MOTHER MARY!!!

Paschal Triduum

2006-04-17T11:39:00.000-04:00

I had originally planned on attending the Triduum at the Dominican House of Studies in DC, but I was asked to serve at the Triduum at the Catholic Student Center, and I was told that I would get to wear a cassock and surplice. So naturally I chose to serve my own community, realizing that there will be plenty of time in the future to partake of the Triduum at the Dominican House and only one last chance to serve my community before I graduate. Serving at the CSC was amazing, and I still got to go to the Easter Mass (Easter Sunday) at the Dominican House. When I was there, one of the Brothers (Br. Gregory) showed me a picture of the Great Easter Vigil Fire, which is awesome. Br. James Brent e-mailed me that picture with some others. Enjoy (and keep praying for vocations to the Dominicans, especially the St. Joseph Province (Eastern US).

Maunday Thursday :

Good Friday:Great Easter Vigil:

Sorry about the delay

2006-04-15T01:22:00.000-04:00

Sorry about the delay of the picture, but check out these palm branches! On Holy Saturday, we should remain hopeful that the Lord will rise and open the gates to eternal life. Praise be to Jesus Christ...now and forever!

Why Confession?

2006-04-12T08:58:00.000-04:00

I couldn't have said it better myself:

Reasons for Confession by Br. James Brent, O.P. (a great friend)

If you've ever wondered what Confession is all about, read the article. It's well written and does a great job to explain what Confession is such a beautiful sacrament.

This is appropriate for the time of the year. Catholics are required to go to Confession at least once a year, and it is often encouraged that they go during the Lenten Season so as to prepare for Easter. Easter, being Sunday, is quickly approaching, and so it's now a great time to take advantage of the Sacrament of Confession.

University of Maryland students - Penance Service, 6:o0 PM, Catholic Student Center, today (April 12);
- if you can't make it then, call Fr. Bill at 301.864-6223 or e-mail him at frbill@catholicterps.org to set up a time to go to confession.

"Devils Be Damned"

2006-04-07T23:40:00.000-04:00

What a wonderful title to an article in our school newspaper, the Diamondback. After our women's basketball team won the National Championship this week, our school paper titled one of the articles "Devils Be Damned" (we beat the Duke Blue Devils in the National Championship game).

I can do nothing but commend our paper for laying the smackdown on evil spirits. Get back Satan! I wonder if there are St. Benedict medals all over the Diamondback office ("Drink your own poison Satan!")...hmmm...only one way to find out.

My only guess is that the Catholic Terps who work for the Diamondback have been evangelizing so much that the staff finally decided to use this chance to call out Duke for having a mascot from hell.

I was just reading Evangelii Nuntiandi by Pope Paul VI, and his comments on evangelization seem very appropriate here:
"In the dynamism of evangelization, a person who accepts the Church as the Word which saves normally translates it into the following sacramental acts: adherence to the Church, and acceptance of the Sacraments, which manifest and support this adherence through the grace which they confer." (EN 23)

So if there was a true conversion of heart, then the attendence at Daily Mass should be going up soon. Or else, it was a fluke choice of words that don't really involve any full conversion of heart. Of these two choices, I prefer to ponder on the first.

Infant of Prague

2006-04-04T23:44:00.000-04:00

My sister is spending the year in Prague, and she finally went to see the Infant of Prague! Here's what she said:

"i saw the infant of prague... it was ... elaborate. haha the clothes are something else. there are also little souvenier figurines to buy everywhere"

Not much there, but she still went to see Him!

Meeting with a bishop

2006-03-29T11:21:00.000-05:00

So this morning, I....met with a bishop!

Sweetness.

Here is the account that I put up on the Missionaries blog:

Lauda Deum!

This morning, Missionaries Lacy Howard and Patrick Yungwirth met with His Excellency Martin D. Holley. He gave his approval of our organization and the need for the spread of the Theology of the Body in today's culture. (He has even been speaking with one of his priest friends about it for the past few weeks.)

Not only that, but he mentioned that he is pretty sure that the Cardinal supports us (officially) too. That is pretty amazing. May the Lord continue to bless these, his shepherds, and all Bishops throughout the country and the world. May we continue to support them in all our efforts.

(A letter from the Bishop should be coming in the mail soon. It will be put on the website.)

Irreverent or Pointed?

2006-03-27T14:28:00.000-05:00

I was sent the link to the following post in light of my recent affection for random Chuck Norris facts. I was surprised by the following article and almost felt it was irreverent at first. But, after reading through the descriptions of 5 new bishops, I think that it is a pointed statement of the appointing of new bishops.

Bishop Chuck Norris

Mary’s Silence: An Annunciation Meditation

2006-03-27T13:11:00.000-05:00

Here is an article by Br. Hugh Vident, O.P. It's a meditation on the Annunciation. Enjoy!

St. Bernadette...

2006-03-23T12:01:00.000-05:00

Still incorruptible...after 122 years!

"I thirst"

2006-03-14T00:15:00.000-05:00

In John's Gospel, Christ proclaims, "I thirst" from atop the Cross. The soldiers mistakenly thought that meant he was thirsty. But, when we look at Psalm 42 "As the deer longs for running streams, so my soul longs for you my God."

When reading through Psalm 42, you can clearly see that as Christ said, "I thirst," he must have remembered Psalm 42. Just read through the Psalm. You'll see that Christ is in agony on the Cross. "Eloi Eloi..." In the same manner, Psalm 42 speaks of a man "My soul is downcast within me." It is so wonderful to think that even in this time of agony, Christ was understanding that the Father's will was being completed. He was acknowledging that God didn't want this cup to pass but that He was to take it up and offer it back to the Father.

In this time of Lent, read through Psalm 42, and think about the Passion. It might just help answer that question of why would Jesus cry out to God in "despair"? Anyone who asks that questions obviously didn't remember to read the rest of Scripture in an effort to understand the Gospels better.

Stop Planned Parenthood

2006-03-08T15:21:00.000-05:00

The title of this post should probably be "Stop Planned Barrenhood," but then some people who aren't super pro-life might not have heard of that term. Anyway, if you want to stop tax money from going to Planned Parenthood (there is more money under this administration than ever before), then sign this petition.

Schismatic Showdown

2006-03-08T09:14:00.000-05:00

In case you ever talk to anyone who tells you, "The Novus Ordo Mass is not Biblical. They (mainly Pope Paul VI) took a deformed Bible to make the Mass, and if you go, you're not going to a valid Mass. What a shame for the world," you can tell him that he's wrong. Not only just because the Novus Ordo Mass, the Mass of Vatican II, is approved by the Church, but also for all these reasons mentioned in this article. Enjoy.

No Abortion in South Dakota?

2006-02-23T18:04:00.000-05:00

Will there be any more abortions in South Dakota?

Read my commentary on the Crusade blog.

Da Vinci Code "Protest"

2006-02-21T11:16:00.000-05:00

I heard about this idea a few days back, and I got an e-mail about it yesterday. I think it's a great way to protest the Da Vinci Code movie, and it hopefully will get some thoughts turned in Hollywood. Read on:

"May 19th is the date the Da Vinci Code movie opens. A movie based on a book that wears its heresy and blasphemy as a badge of honor.

What can we as Christians do in response to the release of this movie? I'm going to offer you the usual choices -- and a new one.

Here are the usual suspects:

A) We can ignore the movie. ........The problem with this option: The box office is a ballot box. The only people whose votes are counted are those who buy tickets. If you stay home, you have lost your chance to make your vote heard. You do nothing to shape the decision-making process regarding what movies will make it to the big screen.

B) We can protest. ........The problem with this option: It doesn't work. Any publicity is good publicity, after all. Protests not only fuel the box office, they make all Christians look like idiots. And again, protests and boycotts do nothing to help shape the decisions being made right now about what movies Hollywood should make (or shape the decisions away from what we might prefer).

C) We can discuss the movie. We can be rational and be ready with study guides and workshops and point-by-point refutations of the lies promulgated by the movie. ........The problem with this option: No one's listening. They think they know what we're going to say already. And once again, nothing changes if this is the response we opt for.

But there's a fourth choice.

On May 19th, you should go to the movies....Just go to another movie.

Save the date now. May 19th, or May 20th. No later than Sunday, May 21st -- that's the day the ballot box closes. You'll get a vote, the only vote Hollywood recognizes: The power of cold hard cash laid down on a box office window on opening weekend.

Use your vote. Don't throw it away. Vote for a movie other than DVC. If enough people do it, the powers that be will notice. They won't have a choice.

Right now there's only one other studio movie scheduled for release, the DreamWorks animated feature Over the Hedge. Based on the early trailers, my kids already want to see it. Let's all go see it. (Or another just-opened movie of your choice, pending the final release schedules.)

Let's rock the box office in a way no one expects -- without protests, without boycotts, without arguments, without rancor. Let's show up at the box office ballot box and cast our votes. And buy some popcorn, too.

May 19th. Spread the word. Post this on your own blog, send it to friends on your e-mail lists. And let's all go to the movies. "

Why would I post this

2006-02-20T11:12:00.000-05:00

Normally, I would never post anything that seemed almost irrelevant in the greater scheme of things. But, since I do like to enjoy a good laugh (God has a sense of humor too), I thought I'd post this to celebrate the joy of living, and chili. So here is a great story I got in an e-mail (it's funniest if you have someone read it to you):

Texas Chili

This is anactual account as relayed to paramedics at a chili cook-offin Texas.

For those of you who have lived in Texas, you know how true this is. They actually have a Chili Cook-off about the time Halloween comes around. It takes up a major portion of a parking lot at the San Antonio City Park.

Judge #3 was an inexperienced Chili taster named Frank,who was visiting from Springfield, IL.

Frank: "Recently, I was honored to be selected as a judge at a chili cook-off. The original person called in sick at the last moment and I happened to be standing there at the judge's table asking for directions to the Coors Light truck, when the call came in. I was assured by the other two judges (Native Texans) that the chili wouldn't be all that spicy and, besides, they told me I could have free beer during the tasting, so I accepted and became Judge 3."
Here are the score card notes from the event:

CHILI # 1 - MIKE'S MANIAC MONSTER CHILI...
> Judge # 1 -- A little too heavy on the tomato. Amusing kick.
> Judge # 2 -- Nice, smooth tomato flavor. Very mild.
> Judge # 3 (Frank) -- What the bliz blam, what the hell is this stuff? You could remove dried paint from your driveway. Took me two beers to put the flames out. I hope that's the worst one. These Texans are crazy.

CHILI # 2 - AUSTIN'S AFTERBURNER CHILI...
> Judge # 1 -- Smoky, with a hint of pork. Slight jalapeno tang.
> Judge # 2 -- Exciting BBQ flavor, needs more peppers to be taken seriously.
> Judge # 3 -- Keep this out of the reach of children. I'm not sure what I'm supposed to taste besides pain. I had to wave off two people who wanted to give me the Heimlich maneuver. They had to rush in more beer when they saw the look on my face.

CHILI # 3 - FRED'S FAMOUS BURN DOWN THE BARN CHILI...
> Judge # 1 -- Excellent firehouse chili. Great kick.
> Judge # 2 -- A bit salty, good use of peppers.
> Judge # 3 -- Call the EPA. I've located a uranium spill. My nose feels like I have been snorting Drano. Everyone knows the routine by now. Get me more beer before I ignite. Bar maid pounded me on the back, now my backbone is in the front part of my chest. I'm getting wasted from all of the beer.

CHILI # 4 - BUBBA'S BLACK MAGIC...
> Judge # 1 -- Black bean chili with almost no spice. Disappointing.
> Judge # 2 -- Hint of lime in the black beans. Good side dish for fish or other mild foods, not much of a chili.
> Judge # 3 -- I felt something scraping across my tongue, but was unable to taste it. Is it possible to burn out tastebuds? Sally, the beer maid, was standing behind me with fresh refills. This 300 lb. woman is starting to look HOT...just like this nuclear waste I'm eating! Is chili anaphrodisiac?

CHILI # 5 LISA'S LEGAL LIP REMOVER...
> Judge # 1 -- Meaty, strong chili. Cayenne peppers freshly ground, adding considerable kick. Very impressive.
> Judge # 2 -- Chili using shredded beef, could use more statement.
> Judge # 3 -- My ears are ringing, sweat is pouring off my forehead and I can no longer focus my eyes. I farted and four people behind me needed paramedics. The contestant seemed offended when I told her that her chili had given me brain damage. Sally saved my tongue from bleeding by pouring beer directly on it from the pitcher. I wonder if I'm burning my lips off? It really pisses me off that the other judges asked me to stop screaming.

CHILI # 6 - VERA'S VERY VEGETARIAN VARIETY...
> Judge # 1 -- Thin yet bold vegetarian variety chili. Good balance of spices and peppers.
> Judge # 2 -- The best yet. Aggressive use of peppers, onions, and garlic. Superb.
> Judge # 3 -- My intestines are now a straight pipe filled with gaseous, sulfuric flames. I pooped on myself whenI farted and I'm worried it will eat through the chair. No one seems inclined to stand behind me except that Sally. Can't feel my lips anymore. I need to wipe my butt with a snow cone.

CHILI # 7 - SUSAN'S SCREAMING SENSATION CHILI...
> Judge # 1 -- A mediocre chili with too much reliance on canned peppers.
> Judge # 2 -- Ho hum, tastes as if the chef literally threw in a can of chili peppers at the last moment. **I should take note that I am worried about Judge # 3. He appears to be in a bit of distress as he is cursing uncontrollably.
> Judge # 3 -- You could put a grenade in my mouth, pull the pin, and I wouldn't feel a thing. I've lost sight in one eye, and the world sounds like it is made of rushing water. My shirt is covered with chili, which slid unnoticed out of my mouth. My pants are full of lava to match my shirt. At least during the autopsy, they'll know what killed me. I've decided to stop breathing it's too painful. I'm not getting any oxygen anyway. If I need air, I'll just suck it in through the 4-inch hole in my stomach.

CHILI # 8 - BIG TOM'S TOENAIL CURLING CHILI......
> Judge # 1 -- The perfect ending, this is a nice blend of chili. Not too bold but spicy enough to declare its existence.
> Judge # 2 -- This final entry is a good, balanced chili. Neither mild nor hot. Sorry to see that most of it was lost when Judge #3 farted, passed out, fell over and pulled the chili pot down on top of himself. Not sure if he's going to make it. Poor feller, wonder how he'd have reacted to really hot chili?
> Judge # 3 - No Report.

Encounter with a Bishop

2006-02-17T00:25:00.000-05:00

Today I received a hug from the Cardinal Archbishop of Washington. Read more here.

On the Immaculate Conception

2006-02-15T09:39:00.000-05:00

I was having a conversation last week with a "fallen away" Catholic (I don't really know if he was raised Catholic or how much that he actually believes right now) about the Immaculate Conception. Please pray for him so that he'll come to understand the fullness of Truth, including Purgatory, the Mass, the Eucharist, Confession, the Liturgy of the Hours, the authority of the Church, and so on.

Well, for one of my Reformation history classes, we have to read three of Luther's Treatises. In one of them (the one on sola fide), Luther mentions that the "Virgin Mary," as he always refers to her, didn't need to be purified, but that she went so that she might follow the appearance of the law. Essentially, she went so that she wouldn't scandalize the other Jewish women. Well, if you look at Luke 2:22, the verse of the Presentation and Purification, there is a reference to Lev. 12:2-8. If you read those referenced verses, you will find this:

"She shall not touch anything sacred nor enter the sanctuary till the days of her purification are fulfilled" (Lev. 12:4).

Now this might not seem that important, but it is actually quite important. If Mary couldn't touch anything that was pure, then she couldn't touch her Son. Keep in mind, that she knew that He was the Savior at this time, and so she knew that He was purer than the Ark of the Covenant (especially since she was the new Ark of the Covenant since she carried the Holy One of God in her womb, months before). It would have been scandalous, by the same nature that her not going for the purification would have been scandalous, to not touch, hold, and nurse her child. Mary and Jospeh were poor. She wouldn't have been able to afford a wet nurse (I don't even know if they had wet nurses at that time). So she would have nursed Christ. It would have been unthinkable for her not to. Thus, she would've have touched her child, who happened to be pure. So either Mary sins by touching something while she is unpure and then gets purified 40 days later, or she was never unpure to begin with, i.e. Immaculate Conception.

If Mary was unpure, and sinned by breaking the law and touching something holy, then the Gospels surely would've had something about that. Every other instance where someone breaks a law, the either die (or are severely harmed) or they repent. Both of these instances are clearly described by Scripture as to be a learning experience. Neither of these occur with Mary. She never repents, and her Son surely would've had her repent if she needed too, since everyone agrees that He did love her quite a lot. She also doesn't suffer dearly for her sins. Simeon tells her that her soul will be pierced through with a sword (cf. Luke 2:35). The soul being pierced does not have to do with atonement for sin. It is clearly a prophecy of her place at the foot of the Cross on Calvary. It would be foolish to think that it even could be her punishment for a sin of touching something unclean when she was waiting to be purified.

That leaves us with the only other option: that she was pure from the beginning. If that is so, then she must've been immaculately conceived.

The comeback of the Novus Ordo

2006-02-06T16:10:00.000-05:00

Here is a link to an article on the comeback of Latin in the Church.

Courtesy of Pio Francis

The Devil's Warfare

2006-02-06T15:49:00.000-05:00

Daughter - "Can I add an intention?"
Mother - "Sure."
Daughter - "I want to pray that the devil will leave John and Anne alone."

This is a true story, only I've changed the names.

I was speaking to a good friend, we'll call her Veronica, today, and her son is getting married on June 10th (please pray for him and his fiancee). Veronica was saying that Anne went to visit John at his Army station, and someone on John's base got ahold of Anne's scapular. This person was in to witchcraft and what not, and when Anne got home from the trip she got really sick. The doctors has no idea what was wrong and didn't know what to prescribe for her since they couldn't diagnose her. Well, John called Veronica and asked her what to do.

John said, "Mom you know I don't want to believe in that stuff. Do you think that it's real?"
Veronica - "Yes."
John - "I mean, I don't want it to be, at least not right now."
Veronica - "Look, I know you don't want to believe it right now, but just pray with her over the phone."

Well, John spoke to Anne later that night, and she asked him to pray over the phone with her.

John - "Did you talk to my mom?"
Anne - "No."

Soon after Anne got much better. I assume that she's gotten a new scapular and that the old one was burned. It was later that Christen, a very young girl, asked her mom, Veronica, if she could add the Rosary intention.

Protestant Union

2006-02-03T15:14:00.000-05:00

As far as the news of the Ecumenical world goes, two large Protestant groups are getting together to form a "mega-church." The World Alliance of Reformed Churches and the Reformed Ecumenical Council are getting together and forming the World Reformed Communion. So that's approximately 87 million Protestants who are going to agree on something? I don't mean to sound pessamistic, but if this is true, and they really are going to agree, then what are they going to agree on? Are they going to have doctrine or no doctrine (it will be a doctrine of their "church" either way)? Are their pastors going to go to seminaries that teach the same things? If not, what is the point of joining together? If so, then what are they going to believe? If they will all share the same beliefs, aren't they quickly going to find that some beliefs of one of the smaller churches that is a member are contradictory to the other churches? If this is just for the name, then what's the point of actually joining? Maybe I am too skeptical about it, but c'mon, why don't you all just convert to the Church where people are all supposed to believe the same things, where the seminarians are supposed to be taught the same things world-wide, and where we can trace our history to Jesus Christ rather than to Protestant deformers? As the article I read states:

"The member churches of the two groups trace their roots to the 16th-century Reformation led by John Calvin, John Knox and others, as well as earlier reform movements such as those of the Waldensians in the Piedmont valleys of Italy and of the followers of Jan Hus in the Czech lands."

Jesus or Calvin? Jesus or Knox? Jesus or Hus? Eucharist or wafer? Read the Bible, and you'll see that John Calvin is never mentioned in there. You'll also see that the Eucharist is Jesus Christ, Body, Blood Soul, and Divinity. Read the article here.

Pope Blessed John Paul the Great?

2006-01-30T21:21:00.000-05:00

So the first miracle of Pope Servant of God John Paul the Great might have taken place. A young nun appears to have been miraculously healed from the same type of Parkinson's that JPG had. The Vatican is intensively looking into this possible miracle. Read more here.

Second Look Project

2006-01-25T08:55:00.000-05:00

This morning, I heard a commercial from the Second Look Project about why abortion was bad on the radio on a station that plays music that fits between Motown and Hip-hop (my boss at works listens to it). I thought this was amazing. Good work USCCB.

All Saints' Vigil from the D-House

2006-01-24T22:55:00.000-05:00

Here is a link to the audio of Br. Hugh, OP,'s speech for the Vigil of the Solemnity of All Saints this past October.

Here is a link to the text of the speech.

Secular Retreats

2006-01-17T10:44:00.000-05:00

I have a job working for Resident Life at my college. This is not my RA job, but another one. This past week, the staff of Resident Life (not myself or the other assistants) went on a "retreat," I'm guessing where they got to know each other better and try to talk about things.

Now, being that I was raised Catholic and continue to hold the fullness of truth with my beliefs (that's not a cocky statement, but a Catholic belief that is actually grounded unlike any Protestant beliefs - please ask me any questions you might have), I have only experienced retreats that deal with growing closer to God. This whole "secular retreat" idea is kind of foreign and doesn't make a whole lot of sense. If anyone can shed some light on how a retreat, which is supposed to take you away from the world, can at the same time be grounded in a secular thought process, which is totally of the world, please let me know. Because, to be honest, I am not understanding how that is possible.

Answering the Phone

2006-01-13T22:04:00.000-05:00

So I was at a friend's house recently, and being that they don't ever answer the house phone, I decided that I was going to answer the phone for them.

"Happy feast of the Baptism of the Lord! How can I help you?"
"... ... ... "
Click.

Tonight was almost the same.

"Happy feast of St. Hilary, bishop and doctor of the Church! How may I help you?"
Click.

The only differences were that there was no pause tonight, and that I said more. If I learned anything tonight and the other night, I learned how to get off the phone with telemarketers.

Chinese Bishop Disappears, Priest Arrested in Hebei

2006-01-06T09:20:00.000-05:00

The Chinese underground Catholic Church, the true Catholic Church in China, is continuing to suffer persectution. Bishops and priests are being arrested and some are now missing. Please pray for the spread of the Gospel in a land that needs it so much. Read this article for more info.

WYD 2008 Theme and Date Set

2006-01-06T09:15:00.000-05:00

Pope Benedict recently announced the dates and theme for World Youth Day 2008 in Sydney, Australia:

"The theme for the 23rd World Youth Day celebration, which will take place July 15- 20, 2008...is taken from the Acts of the Apostles (1:8): 'You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses.'"

Great news for the world!

Pope to abandon idea of unbaptised babies forever in limbo

2006-01-04T12:16:00.000-05:00

Here's an interesting article on the Church's debate over the existence of limbo.

Wow

2005-12-20T23:47:00.000-05:00

So I was just looking at what books I will need for the Spring Semester, and one of them is the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius Loyola. This is amazing being that I go to school at the University of Maryland, which is so secular it's ridiculous. Click here to see for yourself.

Break Down and Build Up

2005-12-15T14:29:00.000-05:00

In trying to fully bring ourselves to a true understanding of our own place in God's great world and in His ultimate plan for salvation, it is often known that we need to rid ourselves of sin. Christ preached repentence (cf. Mark 1:15), and so we are instructed to become perfect like Christ. Granted, it will hopefully be through a cleansing in Purgatory where we are made perfect, but on this earth, through despising and leaving our sins, we can grow closer to the ideal that the Lord has in store for us.

Yet, it does not end with this. Not only do we need to cleanse ourselves from sin, but we also need to edify our souls so that we indeed take up our crosses and follow Christ. In ridding ourselves of evil, we open ourselves to the will of the Lord, and we prepare ourselves to movements of the Holy Spirit. But, when the Holy Spirit comes, if we do nothing with the movements in our heart, then what good can come about from God's gift of grace?

We need to utilize the gifts that the Lord gives us (remember the talents from the Gospel) nad grace is one such gift. If we are not striving to edify our souls and come closer to Christ through a perfection of our selves, then how much are we really living the Gospels? Yes, again, ridding ourselves of sin is the first step, but we need to do more. Just as we need grace, faith, and works, so too do we need to complete the works in our own souls. If we want to be perfect, then we need to be perfect in all things, not just void of sin. We need to do all things in Christ, for Christ, by Christ, and with Christ.

Only through through a true purgation of ourselves can we leave ourselves open for the will of the Father. And by building on this movement toward perfection, we can more fully understand what it means to take up our crosses and follow after Christ.

Crusade for the Church

2005-12-15T14:23:00.000-05:00

Being that pro-life movement needs some new blood, and the culture in which we live needs a new understanding of the human person before any real evangelization will have an effect on the openness of someone, secularized by society, to listen to the will of God, the Crusade for the Church has begun.

With a mission to take the Theology of the Body to the streets, this organization will use Pope John Paul the Great's Theology of the Body to bring about a more full understanding of the human person, especially to those who need it the most. Through activism, education, and most importantly, prayer, those associated with Crusade for the Church will seek to break down the secularization of society and build a new society focused on the true nature of the Gospel, that which is proclaimed by the Catholic Church.

Please support Crusade for the Church through your prayers. Any financial or other donations will be gladly appreciated and accepted. Yet, prayers are the most important thing as they are what will bring about and end to the culture of death and lead to a full culture of life.

For more information go to www.crusadeforthechurch.org or crusadeforthechurch.blogspot.com

Miles Christi

2005-12-05T12:20:00.000-05:00

Does anyone know anything about the religious order Miles Christi? I came across their website today and was blown away by their charism and spirituality. If you know any priest or brother who is a part or anything about their order, please let me know.

www.mileschristi.org

Pope condemns "crime of abortion," attacks on marriage

2005-12-05T12:14:00.000-05:00

Amen!

Here is his speech in Spanish. If you find an English version, please let me know.

Communism is a religion

2005-12-05T00:38:00.000-05:00

In tonight's CBS special on Pope John Paul the Great, which I have to say was much better than ABC's version last Thursday, JP the Great comments on the evils of communism at the outset of the movie. JP the Great's views, presented by ABC, on communism were a bit fruity. Tonight however, JP the Great came out and continually spoke about how communism was evil, and wonderfully enough so too did the other clerics in the movie.

I thought that it was interesting that JP the Great mentioned that communism was a religion that replaced God with the state. Last week in my Revolutionary Russian history class, a communist was trying to argue that communism was not a religion, a contradiction to what three of us had just stated. I responded by saying that the communist view of a utopian society provided the metaphysics of a belief system that, in his opinion, was required to have something be religion. After tonights movie, I think that it'll be interesting to see if I bring it up again this week. Who knows?! But, what I can say is "Down with communism! Viva Christo Rey!"

Weeping Mary

2005-11-29T20:20:00.000-05:00

Being that I've gotten two e-mail about this now, I thought that I'd post about it...

"(CBS) Outside Sacramento, at the small Vietnamese Catholic Martyrs church, a statue of the Virgin Mary appears to be crying...

'Just the fact that it's coming from the eyes, and it's a red color like blood, I would say that there's a miracle either way,' said Dave Leatherby, who visited the statue. 'Even if there's a natural explanation, it's a sign.'"

Hopefully, the true spirit of the Advent season will come about through this and help people to more fully prepare for Christmas, the Mass of Christ, the Most Holy Solemnity of the Nativity.

Christ's birth comes in 26 days. May we all prepare ourselves for that glorious day.

"Hail and blessed be the hour and the moment at which the Son of God was born of the most pure Virgin Mary in Bethlehem at midnight in the piercing cold. In that hour, vouchsafe, oh my God, to hear my prayer and grant my petition through the merits of Jesus Christ and His most holy Mother. Amen." (to be said 15 times each day during Advent)

For the Papal definition of Mary, Coredemptrix Mediatrix and Advocate

2005-11-29T20:11:00.000-05:00

Here's a site where you can submit a petition to the Holy Father to define the 5th Marian dogma.

Vox Populi Mariae Mediatrici is a lay organization seeking the papal definition of the Blessed Virgin Mary as Coredemptrix, Mediatrix of all graces and Advocate of the people of God.

from Something Catholic

Boycott Planned Parenthood

2005-11-28T14:09:00.000-05:00

Here are a bunch of groups that recently have been found to support Planned Parenthood:

AIG (financial/insurance)
Altria (Phillip Morris, Nabisco, and Kraft products, Post cereals, etc.)
Circuit City (retail electronics outlet)
Cost Plus World Market (retail stores)
Price Chopper/Mini Chopper (supermarkets/convenience stores)
New World Restaurant Group (Chesapeake Bagel Bakery, Einstein Bros Bagels, Manhattan Bagel, etc.)
Nike (apparel/footwear, etc.)
Tommy Hilfiger (apparel, etc.)
SBC Communications (AT&T, Cingular Wireless, Southwestern Bell, etc.)

Here are some groups that are connected to Planned Parenthood in one way or another:

The American Cancer Society
Camp Fire
The Dr. Phil Foundation
Girls Inc.
Girl Scouts
Rotary Clubs
The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation
YWCA

Prolifesearch.com

2005-11-28T12:39:00.000-05:00

Prolifesearch.com is a great alternative for a search engine than Google. It is powered by the Google search engine so it has all the same great benefits of the best search engine, plus every time you use it, money is donated to pro-life organizations. How much better does it get?

Just thought I'd share

2005-11-23T16:54:00.000-05:00

Here's a wonderful take on the whole "Happy Holidays" thing of Wal-Mart, from our good friend Pio Francis.

Sup

2005-11-23T16:51:00.000-05:00

This is so amazing: pro-lifers gaining access to abortuaries to help women in Italy. Enjoy the good news for the future.

How Pro-Life Are We?

2005-11-20T20:32:00.000-05:00

Here is a great article from Catholicexchange.com.

Cookie Molds

2005-11-20T16:49:00.000-05:00

My friend's girlfriend's mom got some sweet cookie cutters from this website. Just look through the molds, and you'll sind some great Catholic ones.

Bad News Bears

2005-11-20T16:31:00.000-05:00

Bad news from bishops in other parts of the world. Hopefully the situation will get cleaned up very quickly. Pray for the bishops that they realize that they do not need to go to extreme measures that put the faith in jeopardy to "protect" their flock.

devoted1.com

2005-11-20T16:15:00.000-05:00

So being that I have an anonymous reader, which probably means that I don't know the person, and that I was requested to post in regard to www.devoted1.com, I thought that I'd take this chance to appease that request and to once again attack mainstream society.

First, it's really hard to tell whether or not devoted1.com is a legitimate thing. There is practically no information on the website at all. And, it seems almost unlikely that the site will enlarge. On taking a first look, I thought it was a hoax, which I'm still not sure that it isn't, but for all I know it could be legit. Who knows. I guess that you'd have to buy whatever they're selling to really find out.

I want to get to one last thing before I post the rest of this. I really don't know that much about I-pods. I don't really know what they are selling. So I'm going to do my best to interpret it with what little information is on the website. But, enough criticism, let's get to the good stuff.

In trying to bring Christ into the world, we do have to be creative. Standing on a soapbox in the middle of your cafeteria and reading the 6th chapter of the Gospel of John (what else would be more appropriate at lunch that to talk about eating the Bread of Life - Jesus Christ truly present in the Eucharist?), won't always bring in the most converts. Granted, you might get someone to Mass that way, but not in all or probably even most cases. So we do need to be creative in out approach to evangelization. For this, the cross I-pod thing might be good.

As far as being just like anything else that you wear around your neck (excluding holy medals, which are most likely blessed, or a Scapular, which is a saving grace to wear), this lanyard probably won't do much good in today's culture. In a society where people think that it's a good thing to wear a Rosary around your neck, a sign of devotion such as a cross means nothing. I'm not saying that I don't advocate wearing crosses around your neck. In fact, I myself wear a Pardon Cross, which has a devotion to forgive sinners and ask for forgiveness from them and from God. But, what I do want to point out is that just because someone wears something around their neck does not mean a whole lot. It is the internal disposition that makes it worth it to wear the outer statements describing the internal vision of your soul. In other words, just because you walk the walk doesn't always mean that you will talk the talk. For the average person, for the average Christian for that matter, wearing a cross around your neck is not significant of too much. If someone thinks it's cool that you are wearing it, what difference does it make if you don't then use that situation to evangelize about Christ's Passion, Death, and Resurrection? It means nothing.

This is what I worry about with this new I-pod lanyard. People will buy it because they will think that it'll be cool to have a religious I-pod. But what does that mean if most of those people won't really use it to evangelize? If you don't take the chance to evangelize when wearing something religious, then what's the point of wearing it at all? Now, I can't say that there will be no one who will buy it with the intention of directly evangelizing someone who brings up a conversation about it. I'm sure there will be a handful of those people. But, I honestly can say that most people who will buy it will probably just wear it and nothing else. What is the point of spending your money then. If there was more information on the website about using it as an evangelization tool, then I think that I could throw it more support, but because there isn't enough information, and no mention of it as a means to evangelize, then I don't know that I can fully support it right now.

I do support its efforts to be different and evangelize through pop-culture, but how much real evangelization is actually being done through this? To that I can't say.

Finally, I would change one thing about the design itself. I would put Jesus on the Cross. What is a Cross without Jesus? A bunch of pieces of wood, or in this case, plastic.

RA Fights Continue This Year

2005-11-15T23:43:00.000-05:00

So I had gotten all the way through this year without having to defend my faith. But, it seems that that will change soon.

First, the other RAs want to have a night where they all give out condoms. I guess that not everyone in the building will get condoms. I will either not be here, or I'll make a point to sit in my room and not have my name attached to it.

Second, this might be the bigger one. I've been told twice now that I can't have an Advent Wreath Lighting because Christianity is the dominant religion. Even if the Jewish RAs can have Menorah (sp?) lightings, I can't have an Advent Wreath Lighting unless I include other faiths or non-faiths into my program. I think that I'm just going to submit my program the way it is: with just the wreath. Please discriminate against my religion. That's all I can say.

Productivity for the past two days

2005-11-12T15:21:00.000-05:00

So in the past two days, I've tried to get caught up on my e-mail responses. Here are two documents I sent out about:

Post-Abortion Stress Syndrome and
Contraception information

Enjoy.

Great blog I just found

2005-11-07T14:49:00.000-05:00

Through connections (i.e. Anne from UK Students For Life) I came across this blog: Something Catholic, which is really good. I am ashamed of myself for waiting this long to actually check it out because I've been reading the UK Students For Life blog for a while now, and Joel Haubenreich has been commenting on this blog and the Crusade blog for a while now. He even linked me on his blog ("Some guy I don't know"). So, Joel, here's your plug.

The Last Abortion Clinic

2005-11-07T13:19:00.000-05:00

It seems that the media might finally be helping the pro-life movement with the new documentary, The Last Abortion Clinic (although in light of a previous post on the Crusade blog, I think that it should be titled "The Last Abortuary" or "The Last Abortion Mill"). It will air on PBS on November 8 at 9:oo pm (or at different local times) and will go into depth about the last remaining abortuary in Mississippi. I don't know whether or not it will portray the pro-life movement in a good light, but my guess is that it will, from everything I've heard and read. So, if you are free, make sure to check it out.

St. Teresa of Avila

2005-11-06T23:25:00.000-05:00

"The goal of prayer is not that we think much; it is that we love much."

De Confessione

2005-11-06T23:24:00.000-05:00

On retreat this weekend, I wrote two things about Confession that I thought I would post here. I hope you enjoy:

"Sometimes when we look at Confession, and we wish that priests would be harder on us, we are just falling guilty to something we should be confessing: scrupulosity. It might be more easily understood that a priest is not hard on us when we confess minor sins because he is only trying, in persona Christi, to remind us of God's mercy. In his simplicity, he is fighting our scrupulosity, and so he is doing a justice to us by not acting harshly when we confessed that we yelled at our dog or didn't help that old lady carry her groceries to her car. God is just and merciful, and we have priests to thank for showing us our scrupulosity."

"'Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.' How can those words mean anything if we don't have the Sacrament of Reconciliation? And what good is it if we have access to the sacrament but don't use it? It's like having the prescribed medication but just not ever using it, even after the doctor has instructed you to do so. So too is it with Confession. The Lord grants us restored grace through absolution. This is where we receive the medication. The Lord anoints us with His oils, as the priest, in persona Christi, gives absolution. The Lord cures our soul and brings it back to its healthy state. He gives us the example, just as He washed the Apostles' feet, and so we must go out and forgive others. But, if we know not what it is like to be forgiven why would and how could we share that gift? How could we forgive others their trespasses if the Father hasn't even forgiven us our trespasses? Without frequenting the Sacrament, we won't know the importance. Why would it be important to experience the same returned grace with another person? How could we go about reestablishing a hurt relationship with another person if we have not even reestablished a relationship with God first? God gives us the grace to do all things. And, we can find this grace in the sacraments, especially the Eucharist and Confession."

Theology of the Kiss, Part II

2005-11-06T17:34:00.000-05:00

So here is the passage from Baldesar Castiglione's The Book of the Courtier (I thought that it would be much easier to copy and paste from an online version so try to enjoy the translation):

64. And bicause you may moreover the better understande, that reasonable love is more happye then sensuall, I saye unto you, that self same thinges in sensuall ought to be denyed otherwhile, and in reasonable, graunted: bicause in the one, they be honest, and in the other dishonest. Therfore the woman to please her good lover, beside the graunting him merie countenances, familiar and secret talke, jesting, dalying, hand in hand, may also lawfullye and without blame come to kissinge: whiche in sensuall love, accordinge to [Magnifico's] rules, is not lefull. For [since] a kisse is a knitting together both of body and soule, it is to be feared, least the sensuall lover will be more inclined to the part of the bodye, then of the soule: but the reasonable lover woteth well, that although the mouthe be a percell of the bodye, yet is it an issue for the wordes, that be the enterpreters of the soule, and for the inwarde breth, whiche is also called the soule: and therfore hath a delite to joigne hys mouth with the womans beloved with a kysse: not to stirr him to anye unhonest desire, but bicause he feeleth that, that bonde is the openynge of an entrey to the soules, whiche drawen with a coveting the one of the other, power them selves by tourn, the one into the others bodye, and be so mingled together, that ech of them hath two soules, and one alone so framed of them both ruleth (in a maner) two bodyes. Wherupon a kisse may be said to be rather a cooplinge together of the soule, then of the bodye, bicause it hath suche force in her, that it draweth her unto it, and (as it were) seperateth her from the bodye. For this do all chast lovers covett a kisse, as a cooplinge of soules together. And therfore Plato the divine lover saith, that in kissing, his soule came as farr as his lippes to depart out of the body. And bicause the separatinge of the soule from the matters of the sense and the through coopling her with matters of understanding may be betokened by a kisse, Salomon saith in his heavenlye boke of Balattes [Song of Songs], Oh that he would kisse me with a kisse of his mouth, to expresse the desire he had, that hys soule might be ravished through heavenly love to the behouldinge of heavenly beawtie in such maner, that cooplyng her self inwardly with it, she might forsake the body."

Catholics in the Comic World

2005-11-03T10:00:00.000-05:00

Crusadeleader sent me this link today about religious affiliations of comic book characters. There are quite a few Catholics on the list.

Theology of the Kiss

2005-11-02T08:19:00.000-05:00

I was reading a text for my class, and I came across a paragraph on the theology behind the kiss. When I get more time to type it here, I will put it up.

Discernment Builds the Soul

2005-11-02T08:17:00.000-05:00

So I just found out that a priest is going to offer a Mass for my discernment. How sweet is that! For those of you out there discerning your vocation, I think that this might be one of the best methods around. I've heard numerous stories about people having Masses offered for their friends' conversions, and it's worked in almost all the cases. How much more could it help to have our own hearts converted especially if we are seeking just that! Just a thought.

Married Priests?

2005-10-26T23:28:00.000-04:00

So I was checking out my friend's blog (Catholicae Testudines), and I came across a link to an entry about priestly celibacy that I thought was worth it to put on here too. Enjoy.

Walgreen's is the Biggest Tool Ever

2005-10-21T09:29:00.000-04:00

Walgreen's donated $100,000 to the Gay Games. It's time to boycott the place that is so much of a tool that when walking around the tissue box corner, you run into a whole unexpected set of full tool kits!

Modern Humanism

2005-10-17T12:47:00.000-04:00

With today's style of education, we can only assume that it is a modern comparison of scholasticism being lost to humanism. To get a more clear understanding, read this article about an address at Dartmouth University (which is now under the care of the St. Joseph Province Dominicans).

With an increase in persecution against Christians, we can see that what our country was founded upon (a Christian understanding of God as the director and politicians as those who aided God by protecting life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness) is too oppressive for some, and so it happens that it often offends those who would even call themselves Christians. Christianity is too oppressive for some? (That is another topic for another day.) But Hinduism, Buddhism, and the like are not? Is it because Christianity, or more specifically Catholicism, as the epitome of all religions, has too many "rules and regulations?" Or, is it because people just want to do something new and different, against the flow?

In the Renaissance when Humanism was chosen as an "evolved" form of scholasticism, it varied in one key aspect: a lack of logic. While humanism started to look at literary devices to help understand the Bible, a good thing, the scholastics worried that since the humanist studies did not include logic, it wouldn't matter how many chiasmi you could find in the Gospels. If you didn't understand it correctly in the first place, then no matter how much you look at the poetic devices found in the Bible, it would all be for naught. The Protestants revolutionists fell in to this by interpretting the Bible in their own method, which just so happened to contradict 1500 years of understanding the Sacred Scriptures.

But, even with humanism lacking logic, it wasn't void of God. Many of the humanist authors still held to the Church's teachings (at least in thought). Many repented when they realized that some things they wrote might have been heretical. Boccaccio tried to recall his Decameron because he realized how scandalous it was. Humanism wasn't void of God; it just didn't understand Him correctly.

But, the new way of things is the change from humanism to secular humanism, a change that is possibly even more ill-forsaken. This change not only misunderstands God and misinterprets His Divine Word, but also it seeks to destroy Him completely. It seeks to separate all that is held sacred by the Christian faith and make it the scapegoat. It seeks to repel the Word of God if it infringes upon one's "freedom of conscience." It is a good thing that Benedict XVI is the Pope to battle this unfortunate skewing of nature. Yes, Christianity is natural. It makes logical sense (and with logic gone from the humanist studies, it is not hard to see how the secular humanists don't even think that logic is logical). It works with natural law. It works with reason. It works with human emotion. It makes the mind, body, and person's self (a more complete understanding of this would be a person's soul) become more perfect; perfect as can be while still living on this earth. It is real and makes sense. Yet, people feel threatened? It is a sad, sad day when reality becomes unreality.

"Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil, who change darkness into light, and light into darkness, who change bitter into sweet, and sweet into bitter!" (Isaiah 5:20)

Right to Life Act

2005-10-15T20:18:00.000-04:00

So I will spare the time that it would take to make sure that the text flows onto subsequent lines after copying and pasting by just putting a link to great news that I just found through an e-mail today.

Rep. Duncan Hunter has introduced the Right to Life Act of 2005 to the House!

Pray that it goes through because this is huge!

St. Athanasius

2005-10-15T15:37:00.000-04:00

It seems that I haven't posted in a while. I guess I need to work on that...or I'll just keep working on my schoolwork like a good senior in college.

Anyway, I took a quiz that I got from a friend's profile about "Which Saint Are You?" I knew that with all the hammering of heretics type answers that I would be someone cool. But, I never suspected that that would be the Doctor of Orthodoxy, St. Athanasius himself! Here is what my answer was:

You are Athanasius! You are willing to fight a losing battle, just to make sure that the truth is told. But don't get discouraged; sometimes it takes more than one lifetime for truth to triumph.

And here is some more info on Saint Athanasius.

Science vs. Reality

2005-10-10T19:57:00.000-04:00

Shouldn't science and reality agree? Hasn't natural law been established by the Prime Mover for a reason? In this day and age, where we are becoming much more scientifically enabled than we were 800 years ago, you'd think that people would begin to believe in the absolute truth more. After all, aren't we absolutely able to prove more things are the way they are for a certain reason? Aren't we able to show that there is order to things? It seems, however, that quite the opposite is going on. It seems that in a day and age where science is at its high for the history of the world, that there are more people who won't agree that the fence behind them actually exists. It seems that with the dawn of the age of science, that there has been more moral relativism and more existentialism. Likewise, it seems that there is less of an understanding of natural law. In coming to understand the ways of nature, wouldn't it make sense that natural law would be understood better? I would think so, but maybe that's because I believe that there are real, unchanging truths, not just whatever I feel like at the time.

Planned Parenthood

2005-10-09T21:20:00.000-04:00

I wish that I could come up with the best argument in the world as to why Planned Parenthood is sick (they kill babies), but as for right now, I think a sub-argument is that people misunderstand them so much that someone actually came into my room today, saw a poster on the wall that says, "Planned Parenthood Steals Souls" and asked me if I was into Planned Parenthood. Now, mind you, this guy knows that I'm a devout Catholic, or at least trying to be. It's a wonder why so many people think that you can be a Catholic and still like Planned Parenthood. I also wonder why he didn't think that I didn't like them considering what the sign says. Is stealing souls a good thing now?

Put on a Wedding Dress

2005-10-09T20:30:00.000-04:00

Put on a wedding dress, or tux if you're a guy. That's right, in today's Gospel, Christ instructs us to wear wedding attire when going to the feast. Most directly, the feast is heaven, which is very true, but we can also think of the feast as the Mass. Since the Mass is heaven on Earth, we must wear nice outfits when going to Mass. Now, it's good on Sunday to wear nice clothes, but the Gospel is speaking more directly about our souls. They need to be clean from all impurities, especially mortal sin. We cannot approach the dinner table with a giant stain on our clothes. Otherwise, Christ will throw us out into the street where there will be "wailing and grinding of teeth." So, if you have mortally sinned, go to Confession before you receive next. God's mercy is endless, but so is His justice. Don't mess with something such as the Eucharist. In other words, don't mess with God, truly present in the Eucharist for if you do, you "eat and drink condemnation upon yourself." Which is easier, going to Confession or spending all time in Hell? You tell me.

Darwin Loves You...?

2005-10-03T20:09:00.000-04:00

While I was driving back to my dorm today, I noticed a bumper sticker that said, "Darwin loves you." Now, this is a really odd bumper sticker. I'm used to seeing the Jesus fish with legs and the word "Darwin" inside. And being I don't agree that Darwinism is the evolution of Christianity, I find it extremely hard to believe that someone might be misled to believe that Darwin loves them.

Yes, I will concede that Darwin probably loved someone in his life, but looking at Darwinism in its most extreme form, extreme evolutionism, it is hard to see how someone with that belief can truly love a person in the most real sense of the word "love." Now, that might have been a bold statement, but let me explain.

When looking at extreme evolutionism, one must understand that it hinges on the fact that all has evolved and that is the basis for all that is around us. In believing that God was not the factor, but rather than the random chance of events causes how things have evolved through the ages, how can one have a vested interest in the human person? If random chance is the author, then what is love based on? If God doesn't have any relevance to the way things are, then how can we know what love is; what is there to compare it to? A human emotion? Still, we must compare it to something to know what it is not. In doing this we then boil down to what things are, and we get into a debate over what is real or not. This only leads to determining whether or not there is an absolute truth in anything. Through this all, we haven't been able to prove one bit that Darwin loves us. All we've been able to go to is the question whether or not there is an absolute truth. If the answer is yes, then working backwards from our questions leading up to the question of absolute truth leads us to the question of what love is and whether or not there is a God. If the answer is no to God's existence, then we can only go in circles, being that we have established that absolute truth exists. If the answer is yes to God's existence, then we look at what evolution actually means. And that leads us to what Darwin was trying to prove. Granted, Darwin might not have been trying to prove what people have taken his teachings to mean, but his views led to the belief that God is not important in the development of all creation. If evolution is placed under the guidance of the hand of the Lord, then we ar presented with a much different idea, and Darwin might actually be able to love people. If evolution is void of God's guiding hand, then there is no way that Darwin could have loved us because the human person would be nothing more than a random chance of organized cells creating a being in place solely to keep itself alive. What love is there?

The Vocation to Religious Life

2005-10-02T15:24:00.000-04:00

I've been thinking a lot about vocations recently, and I came up with a question that I don't quite have the answer to yet, but it is something to ponder.

Often, you hear that that priesthood is the highest of the vocations (priesthood, religious life, marriage, single). And so with looking at that idea that for men, the priesthood is a higher vocation than marriage, could you also say that religious life is a higher vocation than marriage for women? If you think about it, the woman in religious life is married to Christ. Since Christ is the greatest man ever, wouldn't a woman in religious life then be married to the greatest man that she could possibly marry? That might be something of a rhetorical question, but when you think about it, a woman in religious life becomes more and more one with Christ through their marriage. The two become one flesh. How much more could you be like Christ than becoming one flesh with him? And just thinking about people like St. Catherine of Sienna, you can't pass up her visions of her marriage with Christ. Modern psychology would say that she had a case of repressed sexuality. But when you really think about it, she had far from that. She actually understood her sexuality more and was willing to give more to Christ as His bride. She was able to become closer to Him than most married people are with each other. Repressed sexuality?...I think not...How about hightened sexuality. And, if a woman can undergo this, then is her vocation higher than that of marriage?

I don't know the answer to this, but it is something to ponder.

Please feel free to voice any opinions on this.

Catholics vs. The Bible

2005-09-30T09:40:00.000-04:00

It often seems that there is a stereotype that Catholics don't study the Bible and don't know it as well as our Protestant brethren. While I will agree that often, the Bible is not adequately taught to Catholics, and we indeed don't study it enough, I think it is an overstatement to take the next idea that because Catholics aren't as fluent in quoting Sacred Scripture, the Bible must be a Protestant book.

This is clearly wrong for many reasons. Firstly, it was the Catholic Church that finished the Bible. The New Testament writers were all Catholics. It was the Catholic Church that put the finished Bible together. It was a Catholic who first printed the Bible. The only claim that the Protestants have over the Bible is that they took books out. What kind of positive thing is that? They got rid of 7 books. So obviously, the Bible can't be a Protestant book because they don't even respect it enough to leave it in one piece.

Secondly, a large reason why Catholics don't read the Bible as much as we should is because we have so many different books by saints to read. We have the correctly interpreted Word of God through the minds and pens of the men and women who have given us the best example of what it means to be a Christian. With so much of this to read, it's not a wonder why so many Catholics aren't fluent in quoting scripture. Many, if not most, priests and religious are quite adept with the Bible, but the average layman often doesn't know as much as he should about the Word of God.

Lastly, the Catholic Mass is the best way that anyone can understand the Bible. So in reality, Catholics do know the Bible much better, in some aspects, than many Protestants do. Or at least, we have a much better understanding of what actually goes on in Sacred Scripture because we get to see the Bible lived out every day in the Most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Think about it, the Last Supper and the Crucifixion every single day in the Mass. Plus, the Book of Revelation and everything else that is thrown in there. How much more of the Bible could you throw in their.

Besides the Mass, the Catholic Church also uses the Liturgy of the Hours, or the Divine Office, to study Sacred Scripture. This daily prayer consists mainly of the Word of God. And as Catholics, we are blessed to have it set up so that we can pray all 150 Psalms every four weeks. This is not to mention all the other scripture that is contained within all the Hours. Again, the Catholic Church is using its tradition to amplify Sacred Scripture.

Then there's the Rosary. Properly understood, we should use the Rosary as a method to understand the Scriptures. We should use it as a means to meditate on the Word of God in the events of the lives of Christ and Mary. Again, something that the Catholics have and the Protestants don't.

So it seems that while Protestants might be able to quote a few passages from the Bible, they do not have the raw understanding of certain extremely important events in the history of the Church. On top of that, you'd be surprised at how many Catholics can actually quote the Bible too. Just ask them to say the Lord's Prayer, the first half of the Hail Mary, or any part from the Mass. Talk about craftier? It's right there.

Selling Credit Cards

2005-09-28T08:02:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, someone approached me asking if I wanted to register for a credit card. There was a group of three people there pushing for people to sign up, and when I said "No." The guy then said, "She'll flash you," to which I just shook my head. The girl whom the guy was talking about then proceeded to say, "I'll make out with you." Again, I merely shook my head and started to walk away. Then the guy with one last effort yelled out, "You need the credit card anyway, and you're turning down looking at her boobs too. C'mon." As I was walking away, I heard the girl yell out, "Why doesn't anyone want to look at my boobs?"

I'd like to comment on a couple of things here. And trying to always find something good in every situation, it's good that they are devoted to their job.

...

Yeah, that's it. That's the only good thing for them about this entire situation. It is good that other people weren't looking either, but I assume, at least at my campus, that they aren't because they don't want to sign up for a credit card. I have a feeling that there are a lot of guys who would've said yes to a peep if there was nothing attached. But, as Catholics we should assume the best so I'll make the point that I really hope that people weren't looking because they have better morals than that. Anyway, it is a good thing for others that they weren't looking.

Secondly, or thirdly - I'm not sure which, it is a sad state of the person when you decide to undress yourself for a job. Can anyone say porn stars or pole dancers? Not to say that this girl is either or those, but what kind of state of mind must a person be in to be willing to expose their breasts to a complete stranger(s) just so that you will sign up for a credit card. Mind you, there were lots of cars around, and I wouldn't have been the only who saw. But, how bad have things gotten when you are that willing to do almost anything just to sell something, a credit card too? I'm not really sure, but I do know that we need to pray for that girl that she has a conversion of heart, and so that she begins to see that she too is a child of God and worth something. Maybe she's fighting that right now. And, prayer is all that it'll take for her to have a conversion of heart. Maybe the guy is telling her that she is a better girl by being "free" top expose herself; that she is going against the status quo of being a "proper lady." Well, he needs prayers if that is the case, but also to go against the status quo on a liberal college campus is to do the opposite and not reveal yourself, even to your boyfriend.

It seems that as time goes on, and people become more and more relativized, they will be willing to do most anything for most any things. We need to work extra hard in the coming years to bring people back to the Lord so that they can see that they are worth something in His eyes and not just pieces of meat built on emotions and pleasure sensors. We are rational beings with a soul unique to our species. Yes, we are animals, but we have a higher understanding of our nature, and so it is an accomplishment to conquer ourselves and not just let ourselves go. We should rule our minds and our bodies, leading ourselves to a higher understanding of the human person. By degrading ourselves to the level of a normal animal is to degrade our nature. How is that a positive thing? I don't know. But, I do know that change is possible, and that hope still exists for all things are possible with God.

Crusade For Life Blog

2005-09-26T08:53:00.000-04:00

So, the Crusade For Life now has a blog. Let's hope that it can accomplish its goal of reaching out to millions with the message that "You can't be Catholic and Pro-Abortion!"

Knights of Columbus on the Move

2005-09-25T15:04:00.000-04:00

As a member of the Knights of Columbus, it is partly my responsibility to protect women and children. And being that this year the college councils for the Knights of Columbus are focusing on pro-life issues, our council felt that it would be a good thing to spend some time this past weekend out front of an abortion clinic praying for the women and men who went inside to either get contraceptives or have an abortion. Assisted by sidewalk counselors, our mission was successful. Granted, there were no saves that morning, but as always, we know that the Lord heard our prayers, and hopefully we laid the seeds that the Lord will help grow into a better understanding of what the celebration of life really entails. We will continue to pray for these men, women, and children.

Following this, most of us went to protest the War on the Unborn in the midst of the march against the war. Fortunately, there were a lot more pro-life people there than expected, but at the same time, unfortunately, there were also a lot of people with anger residing deep down inside. Their attacks, jests, and pointed fingers really brought about a better understanding of the Beatitudes especially, "Blessed are ye when they shall revile you, and persecute you, and speak all that is evil against you, untruly, for my sake: be glad and rejoice for your reward is very great in heaven. For so they persecuted the prophets that were before you" (Matthew 5:11-12). Through it all, we continued to proclaim the truth and try to educate those in most need.

One moment stands out (besides the two already mentioned in the previous posts: The Crusades of the Medieval World and Whose World is Overpopulated?). Al Sharpton decided to show up with a large group of his buddies, and when we presented him with a Rosary and some information on abortion and how 80% of abortion clinics are in underprivileged neighborhoods, especially majority black neighborhoods, he didn't really seem to care especially since he meerly handed the literature to another person and didn't even make eye contact. Hopefully his friend will read the information and talk to him about it.

All in all, it was a worthwhile experience, and we're all glad that the Knights could make a presence.

Whose World is Overpopulated?

2005-09-25T09:46:00.000-04:00

So I was just discussing the world's "overpopulation." We were talking about two things specificially on how those who think that we should have abortion and stem cell research are worried about the world's population. Firstly, if you support abortion as a deterent for the "threat of overpopulation," then do you also support women in China being forced through sex selection to abort their female babies? Or do you support a woman not having a choice if she wants her children or not because she already has a child, and the government doesn't think that they can handle more children?

Secondly, if you are worried about the overpopulation of the world, which is a myth in and of itself being that the world population is "scheduled" to max out at somewhere around 11 billion in 2050 and then significantly drop off, then why do you support embryonic stem cell research? Why do you support stem cell research at all? All it's going to do is increase the world's population. By having more people be able to remain alive through science's aid, then the world population is going to increase. But, maybe you actually support it because the cells have been seen to revert to their original form and actually cause cancer in the patient, thus creating a life threatening situation. So if you know that to be true, then maybe your support of embryonic stem cell research would at least be consistent with your choice to kill babies in the womb. But, I doubt you read that study from Britain. So what does that mean? I don't really know.

All I do know though is that the world is not overpopulated, and you can fit the entire world's population in Texas with the density of New York City. How much other land does that give us? A whole heck of a lot.

On Compassion

2005-09-24T21:55:00.000-04:00

Compassion. That word looks similar to the Latin cum passio. Oh wait, that's because that is the root of compassion. In Latin cum passio means "with suffering." Hmmm. That's interesting. Compassion is just English for "with suffering." So I guess that changes everyone's idea of what compassion really entails. We must suffer to understand what a person goes through. So hence, from the meaning of the word compassion, suffering is a good thing. It helps establish empathy. It helps one understand that good can come from evil. For example, when you are helping someone through a problem that you've already gone through, then good (your help) is coming from bad (the original suffering that you went through). So why do we want to get rid of suffering? Do we want to have a culture void of compassion? I don't. I like suffering.

The Crusades of the Medieval World

2005-09-24T21:24:00.000-04:00

In discussing the Crusades and the conquistadors with some people today, I realized one thing. If you're going to blame the Catholic Church for either of these, then you must blame the Protestants as well. Firstly, there were no Protestants during the Crusades. Everyone was Christian, and all of the same faith. Secondly, Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1942, and the first conquistadors arrived in the New World in 1512. These are all before Luther's 95 Theses were "nailed" to the Castle Church in Wittenburg in 1517. So it seems that everyone was Catholic at that time too. Hence, you can't just blame the Catholic Church. These actions were the responsibilities of all Christians. So why not blame the Christians?

Here's why. When looking at the Crusades, you really have to look at what happened. And being as that I can't explain it as well as others, here is an article by Crusade Historian, Thomas Madden. Read it; you might just learn something. And when looking at the conquistadors, it must be noted that at least 9 million Aztecs were converted by the Catholic Church ending their mass human sacrifices. The disease that was brought over by the Europeans was not a planned attack on the native population. And Queen Isabel, Prince Ferdinand, and the Pope all condemned the unjust actions of the conquistadors (just as was done during the Crusades by the Popes). None of these show that the Catholic Church is to blame for the situation of death in the New World. Heck, Queen Isabel's beatification and canonization are being pushed forth, being thatshe was the Converter of the Americas.

If you just can't simply believe that I'm defending the Catholic Church in these events, first think about whether or not you're Protestant. If you are, then you are culpable to your own attacks. Secondly, regardless if you're Protestant or not, read up on the topic. And don't just get your information from books like Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Remember that figures such as St. Louis the King and St. Bernard of Clairvaux existed during the Crusades, and that Columbus opened the other half of the world up to international commerce and trade. Read real history books where historians try there darndest to be unbiased. Look at history objectively, not through the eyes of Hollywood.

St. Louis the King, St. Bernard of Clairvaux, Christopher Columbus, and Queen Isabel...pray for us

The Worship of the Most Blessed Sacrament

2005-09-19T14:39:00.000-04:00

Someone the other day spoke of going to a Protestant service for worship.

While, there is "worship" at Protestant services, worship through the vocal words of all present directed at Christ, there is not worship in the sense that the Catholic Church contains. And while some Protestants think that they worship the bread and wine at communion, their bread and wine is just that: bread and wine. And so they are write in part of their assumption that the bread and wine don't become the Body and Blood of Christ. They are only right in the sense that at their service, the species of bread and wine DO NOT transubstantiate. And the consubstantiation of the Lutheran church and others like it also do not actually become the Body and Blood of Christ as well as still resemble a sign of that, as much as they might tell themselves. Without a valid ordination, a Catholic ordination, no Protestant minister can have the authority from Christ to consecrate the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ. I'm sorry, but that's the objective truth. No matter how much you convince yourself otherwise, that's the truth; just as it is the truth when Christ said, "This is my Body...this is my Blood." Truth.

And furthermore, it is because of this truth, and the fact the Catholic Church holds the whole truth passed on from Christ to the Apostles and down to the modern day bishops through apostolic succession, that the Catholic Mass is far different than a Protestant service. Again, while Protestants go to worship, they are far from maximizing their worship of the Lord. Why would you sacrifice the true worship of the Body and Blood Christ which are truly present after the moment of consecration upon the altar. That is Christ. Adoring the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament and then receiving His gift of Himself to us through the reception of Most Holy Communion...what could be better adoration? What could be more the epitome of adoration than staring up at the Body and Blood at the elevation and then bowing your head in due reverence of heaven having just come down to earth. That is Christ in the priest's hands! What better way to worship than to adore the Lord and participate in the eternal sacrifice that the Letter to the Hebrews speaks of? There is none. None at all. The Mass is the highest point of our lives. As the Catechism states, it is "the source and summit of the Christian faith." This goes for all Christians, whether Catholic or not. In fact it goes for all people around the world. Whether or not you believe the Gospel, it objectively has become truth just as the Word became Flesh.

There is no worship greater than the Mass. No Protestant service will ever come close. Christ didn't establish the Protestant churches, nor did He establish the Protestant services. At the Last Supper, He gave us the Mass. Then He died for us the next day on Calvary. This death was the sacrifice of all time, the sacrifice where He gave His Body and Blood to the Father in atonement for our sins. He consumate His marriage to the Church through the cross on Calvary in the same way that He had done the night before in the upper room. Why should we not look to that for our example of the Mass, the Eternal Sacrifice?

In my opinion, while Protestant services might help a soul get closer to God, they will never compare to the Mass. If you're going because the preacher is good (while that is good too), then you don't understand worship. If you're going because it makes you feel happy (while that is good too), you don't understand worship.

"We come to adore Him." These words of the Magi are so important. That is the purpose of our attending Mass: to adore the Lord and sit at the foot of the Cross as Mary, Mary Magdalene, and John did. Let us imitate them.

Eamus adorare Eum.

Conversion is Sweet

2005-09-18T10:07:00.000-04:00

In light of today's Gospel, I think something needs to be pointed out. After reading it, I immediately thought of those who convert to the faith away from the incomplete truth of their old faith. It shows that the Lord loves the converts just as much. And in fact, it gives much hope to those who convert because the Lord tells them that He is willing to give much to them for coming into His vineyards to work. Jesus loves converts! And so too does the Church. If you're feeling a pull, don't hesitate: come into the vineyard, even if it is late in the day. You will be given what is just.

Mary Around My Neck

2005-09-16T09:47:00.000-04:00

It might seem that I have a lot of pent up blogging. And while I am blogging quite a bit right now, it's only because everything came up yesterday. Maybe it's a gift from our Lady for the feast of her sorrows that I've had to comment on unfortunate things from yesterday (minus most of the last blog). But, the sorrows don't end there. Anyway...

Unfortunately, I knew that people wore Rosaries as necklaces. But still, it upsets me to have seen this again (although I don't know that it upsets me as much as the Bob Marley scapular). And today it happened. I saw a woman walking around with a bunch of necklaces, one of which was a Rosary, and I guess that it's been so long since I've last seen it that I didn't really know what to say. But, like a lot of situations, I figured out afterward what should have been my move - explain the Rosary to her. I guess for situations where I am running from one class to another, a verbal dialogue is not my best option. So what I hope will be the best option is to carry Rosary guides on me, and when I see someone else with this "fashionable necklace" on, I will hope to help educate them on why the Rosary is really important.

Beauties of Renaissance Society

2005-09-16T09:22:00.000-04:00

On a totally unrelated note, my Renaissance history class yesterday also revealed some of the beauties of the Church dealing with marriage. It turns out that the dowries were actually the inheritance given to women by their fathers. Granted, this was then given to their husbands. But, in Italy and some other areas of Europe, at the heart of Christianity, if the husband died, then the woman got that dowry back. And people say the Church represses women?

Furthermore, men were accustomed to provide beautiful gifts to their new wives during the first two years of their marriage. Again, granted the Church repressed this. But, it wasn't because of trying to suppress women. It was trying to deal with the inflation of expensive living prices and in an effort to get men to marry earlier so that the marriage would be more unitive and fruitful. Plus, right after the black death, when the prices were getting expensive and men were marrying later, they were able to conceive, with their wives, less children. The population was falling short of its repopulation rate. And so in an effort to counter this, the Church wonderfully preached that people should live simpler lives to correct all of these problems. See, the Church does care about the future of society.

Even moreso, the Church's teachings on marriage, in contrast to the secular world view of the sacrament, were amazing. The secular view of marriage was a union that would advance the status of the male and female. In reaction to this, the Church preached that the purpose of marriage was to bind to people in a "great spiritual institution," and that it was a "blessed state in which men and women enter," as my professor said. It mirrored, and still does today, Christ's love for the Church.
The Church also sought to end the practice of endogamy, where a person would marry into his family, probably a fourth or fifth cousin. It taught that exogamy, marrying outside of the twelfth line of lineage would be better for society. This was partly due to the fact that people were marrying to keep wealth in the near family, and the Church realized that this was corrupting the holy sacrament of matrimony. So it tried to right the wrongs of the world and make marriage something truly special.

Finally, there was a question asked about prostitutes who had given up their jobs and converted their hearts. The student asked that if the woman had been deflowered, then how was a man supposed to marry her. And, the professor mentioned that the man who took in a reverted prositute was often, if not always, seen as charitable and actually esteemed for his good work and his imitation of Christ's forgiveness. In this day and age, Mary Magdalene was seen as a great example because she was that prostitute whom Christ forgave. And the Church promoted her veneration as a witness that conversion from the life of a prostitute was indeed possible.

How amazing is that?

Ignorance Plagues Society

2005-09-16T09:08:00.000-04:00

What strikes me with my Renaissance history class is noth my professor's disgust for the Catholic faith (which I expect at this school), but rather the ignorance of many of my fellow classmates. At the outset of class for the semester, there were a lot of people who knew a lot about the general stuff that was introduced to the class. But, as the class has moved on, there are people asking, "Isn't the Pope supposed to be a virgin?," or "How many Popes had relations with women?" While I wish that all Popes were virgins, the Church teaches that they should be celebate, as all priests should. And with 265 Popes, it would be very hard to know exactly how many had been unfaithful to the Lord. I would at least like to hear some intelligent questions, if they plan on bashing the Church. But, I guess it goes to show that those who really don't understand the Church are the ones who hate it the most.

The Seven Sorrows of Milk

2005-09-15T21:15:00.000-04:00

In honor of the feast of the Seven Sorrows of Mary, I tried to make sure that I was eating food in honor of her title as the Most Sorrowful Mother. Hence, for breakfast I ate the blackest cereal I could find at the South Campus Diner: Count Chocula (sp?). And as I was eating it, and the milk was turning blacker, it made me think about how during Mary's life, the sorrows that St. Simeon foretold just just adding onto each other one at a time. And, as I ate my cereal and the milk turned blacker and blacker, I couldn't help but think that this is just one of those examples of how Mary had to suffer more and more. But, when I finished my cereal, and all that was left was the milk, it made me realize that no matter how much suffering we endure, a martyr's death would make it all worthwhile. And so, I drank the black, black milk!

Mater Dolorosa...ora pro nobis

2005-09-15T09:00:00.000-04:00

Today is the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows, and it would be attrocious for me, as a Crusader to not put something up about this often forgotten feast of our Blessed Mother, being that she is one of the Crusade's patrons. I would like to write up something fantastic talking about her sorrows, but my words will never capture the essence that St. Alphonsus evoked through his writing on her. In case you are wondering where this feast day comes from, then click here to find out.

And one last thing on our Blessed Mother of Sorrows. A while back on my old blog, I wrote an entry on her seven sorrows comparing them to the seven horrors of having an abortion. Not that I am saying that our Blessed Mother sinned in any way, but trying to look at the horrors of both instances, and seeing that there is a redemptive nature in our suffering: it is through the suffering that one can come to understand the full destruction in the act of abortion. It is this suffering that can bring a soul back to the truth. I don't know if I explain that in my other entry. Hence, I just explained it. Enjoy.

Help the Hurricane Victims

2005-09-12T12:46:00.000-04:00

I found a great article about how pro-lifers are being utilized in the Hurricane Katrina devestation zone to help with the situation. CPCs (Crisis Pregnancy Centers) were used as makeshift maternity wards after babies were delivered in the hospitals. Some CPCs actually delivered babies too. Please send them any resources that you can to help.

Our Lady of Perpetual Succor...pray for us.

Going Home

2005-09-11T14:52:00.000-04:00

In light of some recent conversations and some that have been perpetuating for a while, I figure that I should try to explain something as best I can.

In the quest for heaven, we might liken it to the pathway to our house from a distant land. When we are on this path, we should stick to the path and not wander off. Yes there are times when we might get distracted and go in search of something off the path. But, if you are trying to get home because you want to go there, not just because you need to, then why waste your time by walking off the path. If you really want to get there, shouldn't you be running the whole way? I mean think about it. If you really want and desire to get home, then you would most likely go as quickly as you could so that it would come faster, and then you could be filled with more true joy and peace.

This is like our actions in the world. If we make a mistake, we still need to get back on the path, that is if we do want to go to heaven. If we really love God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit as much as we claim, then it would only make sense that we would want to stick to the path and get home to our Father's house as quickly as possible. Why would we want to go off the path? If we get distracted, then why wouldn't we look back to the path and realize that it will be a far greater joy to make it home than to spend a few moments on the side path. Furthermore, why would we reason with ourselves that our actions, which are clearly objectionable, are still okay because of some sort of societal norms or some development of the world.

There is an ultimate Truth, and this is found at the end of the path. No matter how much we try to convince ourselves of what we are doing is okay, if it's not, then you are on that side path and need to get back on the main road. Usually if you have to rationalize something, it is not something you should be doing anyway. It's that simple. Each of us has a conscience that guides our actions, and if you're looking off the path and trying to rationalize with yourself that you have enough time to get off the path and back and still make it home in time, then you are only fighting with your conscience.

This is where the scary thought comes to play: relativism. Once you have rationalized with yourself that something is okay, then it becomes easier and easier to do it or even something worse the next time. Let's look at an example - foul language. When you say a foul word, something less than the f-bomb, and tell yourself that it's okay, it's only a matter of time, before you will have convinced yourself that it's okay to say something worse and then something worse until it gets to the moment when you can drop the f-bomb. No matter how much you rationalize and relativize your lifestyle, it's not okay to drop the f-bomb. I don't care if your saying it to grab attention of not. Firstly, you shouldn't be trying to grab the attention anyway. That I think you could say would be a minor case of pride and an issue with self-esteem. Secondly, you could use a word like "Bliz-blam." It's a word that commands as much attention, deosn't offend anyone, and is funny in a clean manner. Go ahead, try it. Get back on the path, and stop trying to tell yourself that it's okay to be off the path.

Just because your company has wondered off the path doesn't mean that it's okay for you to do so too. It is your job to pull them back on the path. God asked Cain, "Where is your brother?," to which Cain replied, "Am I my brother's keeper?" (cf. Genesis 4:9). St. Paul's answer is yes (cf. 1 Corinthians 5:1-13) and so is Christ's (cf. Matthew 18:15-17).

Weird Comments, Part II

2005-09-10T15:37:00.000-04:00

So I write about prayer, and people put in weird comments, again. So here are the latest, and they happen to be the funniest I think so far (altough they're not that funny). For the record, I don't consider any of the weird comments about Hurricane Katrina to be funny at all.

"An internet mall with an ATTITUDE! It is our attitude that the customer is always right. We offer you a "personal shopper" service to help you find the perfect merchandise at your preferred price, whether for yourself or a gift. In our categorized departments we are proud to partner with some of the nation's finest merchants. If you are shopping for home accessories or any other items, let us know and we will tell you the various stores who offer the item(s) for sale. We will also point out the price comparisons. Give us a price range, time constraint, and occasion. We will do the work for you. All we ask in return is that you sign up for our monthly Newsletter. Your information is 100% private. We are a shopping portal with a service to offer! Get to know us and we think you will come back."

"Do you know about this speaking it Canada website that pretty much covers speaking it Canada related stuff. You could by to check it out, when you get the time. They have good stuff!!"

"Your blog is thorough If you have a weight issue, I'm sure you'd be interested in gastric bypass pursuing gastric bypass."

What do any of these have to do with prayer? ...... Deleted forever.

Knock, and it Shall Be Opened

2005-09-10T15:08:00.000-04:00

I love prayer. I mean, come on. How cool is it that we get to take part in something so much bigger than us, something that transcends space and time as we pray for the Holy Souls in Purgatory and participate in the neverending sacrifice of the Mass?......Way cool!

But in looking at prayer, I have one thing to comment on: "Knock and it shall be opened unto you" (Matthew 7:7). Just think about this in context with the idea that no prayer goes unanswered. Keep in mind that God does not always answer every prayer the way that the pray-er wants it to be answered, but they are still always answered.

For instance, if I am praying for my friend Wendy's newly born baby, Madeline, and I am praying that the Lord is preparing a great guy in his infancy now for her, and she's called to be a religious, my prayers will still be heard. Even if I am praying that she marry a Catholic man, and it so happens that that Catholic Man is Jesus, then my prayer is being heard, just not the way that I expect it.

Likewise, when we pray for women who enter the abortion mill, the more and more that we pray for them, the more and more God will hear the prayers. In our knocking (praying), God is opening some sort of door. Neither He nor we, in our feebleness, can force that woman to go through the door, but God has opened it for her to see. Every time we say a prayer for her, He either reopens that door, if she just closed it, or opens it wider, if she has yet to close it. Think how much good it can do for a person who is unsure about their decision to have an abortion. If God continues to manifest Himself to her as a response to our prayers, then she very likely will just change her mind and walk out. If we keep praying, and the door gets so wide that the woman cannot miss it, then we've succeeded in bringing her closer to Christ and saving both she and her baby.

The beauty of prayer is that no matter how often we pray, the good Lord will keep opening doors for people (talk about chivalry). In that light, we must realize that we must continue to pray for people, especially those obstinate sinners who appear un-convertable. They need the prayers the most, and when the Lord constantly is opening doors for them or making the opening bigger, the can't ignore it for all their life. Pray, and the door shall be opened.

If we can assist in the conversion of the most obstinate sinner through our prayers, imagine what we can do for the person searching for the light of Truth.

Our Lady, Help of Christians and Exterminatrix of Heresies...pray for us.

The New Barabbas

2005-09-10T12:16:00.000-04:00

"And Pilate, calling together the chief priests, and the magistrates, and the people, said to them: 'You have presented unto me this man, as one that perverteth the people; and behold I, having examined him before you, find no cause in this man, in those things wherein you accuse him. No, nor Herod neither. For I sent you to him, and behold, nothing worthy of death is done to him. I will chastise him therefore, and release him.' Now of necessity he was to release unto them one upon the feast day. But the whole multitude together cried out, saying: 'Away with this man, and release unto us Barabbas:' who, for a certain sedition made in the city, and for a murder, was cast into prison." (Luke 23:13-19)

Isn't it weird that the Jewish people wanted to have a murderer released to them? When you think about it, the scribes rallied the people to have Christ crucified, and they were even willing to accept Barabbas as the exchange. The people willingly took a murderer back from jail onto the streets. They felt so threatened by the Truth that is Christ, that they took a murderer in exchange. It sounds kinda weird doesn't it?

In our day and age, it wouldn't seem the same. Looking from the outside, one can see that our culture desires to have the same thing each and every day, and that's why there is still abortion. The pro-aborts of the nation desire to have their incomplete and false "truth" of choice that they are willing to sacrifice their babies in the name of "freedom." They are so afraid of what the Christians have to say that they are separating all Church from the state. They are ordering Christ's crucifixion in this day and age again. They are calling for Barabbas to be released by desiring more and more abortion doctors that are killing day-in and day-out. The modern culture that openly supports abortion is desiring to have murderers roam the streets because they feel oppressed by the truth of the Gospel.

I do know one thing. After Christ was crucified, the veil was torn in the temple, and the temple was destroyed about 40 years later. It's only a matter of time before the Church Militant will take up its arms and this battle for the preborn will be over. Once again, the veil will tear in two, and the temple will be destroyed. Not by modern weapons, but by the weapons of the spirit and soul. Christ will triumph again. Viva Christo Rey!

Weird Comments

2005-09-09T09:06:00.000-04:00

It seems that a lot of people think that if they tell me that I have a nice blog, then I will allow their comments. This is the case if the comment is actually about my blog. In fact, I'll let comments stay up that attack my blog as well. That is of course if the comment is actually about the blog and not just a cover up to plug their credit card company, their loan company, or their astrological sign reading company (that was the worst of all them).

I've found that as of late, being in the past two weeks, that there are a lot of people who try to plug their companies through my blog. Now, I don't know how many people actually read this blog, but I don't think it is enough to help their company.

The worst is when they do it in the name of the relief efforts for Hurricane Katrina. I let one stay up a while ago because it was a link to site to find missing people. But, when they say something about "I'll tell other people about your blog, and please pray for the people affected by Hurricane Katrina and let them know how they can get free credit cards. Check out such-and-such a site." That is disgusting. It is painful for me to take away their comment, but they have the wrong idea of relief efforts (just as Planned Parenthood does). If you are really trying to help the relief efforts, then don't worry about plugging your company, worry about how people are going to live. And don't use me as a medium to do so (unless you are trying to help provide people with the necessities of life - this does not include condoms or credit cards).

Being that today is the feast of St. Peter Claver, the Apostle to the Slaves in the West Indies, we need to keep in mind that many, many people were affected by the hurricane, not just the rich or poor, but everyone. We need to continue to pray for their health (physical and spiritual) and well-being. Continue in any way to support the relief efforts. And continue to pray for them.

St. Peter Claver...pray for them.

So long (for now) to Catholic Girl Talk

2005-09-09T00:14:00.000-04:00

Well, an odd turn of events took place today in the blog world. It seems that Mary of Catholic Girl Talk has signed off for the time being. Being that Lacy, Sierra, and Anne, don't post on their blog, it will most likely be inactive for a while. But, please keep Mary in your prayers as she gears up for the final year of college.

Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception...pray for us who have recourse to thee.

For your mercies' sake, O Lord my God, tell me what you are to me. Say to my soul: "I am your salvation." So speak that I may hear, O Lord; my heart is listening; open it that it may hear you, and say to my soul: "I am your salvation." After hearing this word, may I come in haste to take hold of you. Hide not your face from me. Let me see your face even if I die, lest I die with longing to see it. The house of my soul is too small to receive you; let it be enlarged by uou. It is all in ruins; do you repair it. There are thing in it - I confess and I know - that must offend your sight. But who shall cleanse it? Or to what others besides you shall I cry out? From my secret sins cleanse me, O Lord, and from those of others spare your servant. Amen. (St. Augustine's Act of Hope)

St. Augustine: the Theologian of Predestination?

2005-09-08T21:25:00.000-04:00

In class today, my professor said something that really worried myself and Catholic Girl Talk's Mary, who is also in my class. Well, I spoke to our hopefully future Dominican friend Thomas A. from Catholicae Testitudines, and he came up with the answer we needed. Here is his answer.

CFR's Spreading the Word

2005-09-05T17:36:00.000-04:00

One of last year's Crusaders, Phil, sent me an e-mail with a link to a letter by a CFR. The very end of it is awesome if I do say so myself considering "the crusade for life must never end."

The Cult of the Saints

2005-09-05T17:16:00.000-04:00

I just finished reading a book for my class at Catholic University called "The Cult of the Saints." It had a lot of nothing in it at various points, but it was also full of reasoning regarding the importance of the saints in the growth of the early Church. There are three particular quotes that I love so here they are:

"In a relic, the chilling anonymity of human remains could be thought to be still heavy with the fullness of a beloved person. As Gregory of Nyssa said,
'Those who behold them embrace as it were, the living body in full flower: they bring eye, mouth, ear, all the senses into play, and then, shedding tears of reverence and passion, they address to the martyr their prayers of intercession as though he were present.'"

"...the Christian Church, from an early time, had encouraged women to take on a public role, in their own right, in relation to the poor: they gave alms in person, they visited the sick, they founded shrines and ooorhouses in their own name and were expected to be fuly visible as participants in the ceremonial of the shrines."

"...it is precisely the detachment of the relic from its physical associations that summed up most convincingly the imaginative dialectic we have described. For how better to suppress the fact of death, than to remove part of the dead from its original context in the all too cluttered grave? How better to symbolize the abolition of time in such dead, than to add to that an indeterminacy of space? Furthermore, how better to express the 'inverted magnitudes,' by which the object around which boundless associations clustered should be tiny and compact?...The disparity of sizes further emphasized the magnificence of God's mercy, falling in such clear, tiny drops 'like the gentle dew from Heaven.'"

I'll just pray at home

2005-09-03T16:20:00.000-04:00

Good grief! Today, I was praying outside of the Planned Parenthood in Washington, DC (we pray there every Saturday morning for an end to abortion), and a thought hit me about everyone who says that they don't need to go to a place of worship (or in this case death) and pray because they can always pray at home.

Normally to combat this subtle apathy, I make the conversation comparison. Think about it this way: you can talk to your friend no matter where they are. If he is across the world, you can e-mail him and talk to him about anything. If he is across the country, you can call him and talk to him. If he is in the room next door, you can yell through the wall to talk to him. But, if he is in the room, you can talk to him face to face. Now which of these is preferable (based on the fact that the two of you are on good terms)? Obviously: face-to-face. So I usually argue this point when trying to get people to go to adoration, Mass, or something in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament.

But, today brought about another thought. While at the abortion mill, I realized that for Catholics who are apathetic in their actions, they are suffering from the cultures view that we don't need works, just faith. Martin Luther is still corrupting society by influencing people to think that their beliefs are theirs, and they can't even talk about them to others because that might infringe on their freedom of religion. Firstly, that's a bunch of garbage. You do not infringe on someone's right by voicing your opinions. Secondly, Martin Luther is much more guilty than the medieval Popes realized. He is still infecting society with his sola fide approach to faith. This "only faith" (being faith only, not works) misunderstanding of the Gospel can now be seen as affecting Catholics who think that they can pray for the women at the mill when they are at home. While this is true, it lacks sooooo much. Yes, you can pray for their conversion in the comfort of your own home, but religion is not supposed to be comfortable. We are called to pick up our cross and carry it to our death. So, for all you Catholics out there who are sleeping in on Saturday morning, stop! Get up and go pray outside at the abortion mill or something. Do something with your faith. Perform some works and stop being so apathetically "Protestant."

Apologies to all Protestants reading this, but if you are one of those sola fide Protestants, please reread your Bible. Read the Letter of Saint James. Martin Luther hated this Epistle and almost threw it out. Nowhere in the Bible does anyone say anything about faith only. All those quotes from St. Paul are firstly misunderstood and secondly refuted by St. Paul himself when he says that we need works AND faith. The Bible CANNOT contradict itself because it IS the Word of God, and God CANNOT contradict Himself. So if were offended by my comment above, please understand that I am not blasting you, but rather your faith which was flawed from the beginning. Just look into it, you'll realize that the true faith of Christ is in the Catholic Church, and He wants you to come back. Just ask Him.

St. Vibiana...ora pro nobis

2005-09-02T11:10:00.000-04:00

So in trying to search for information on Our Lady of the Angels, I came across the Cathedral in Los Angelos. I've never been a fan of its modern design. I don't know if I am being too harsh or not, but isn't the design of a church supposed to edify your soul? Looking at this Cathedral, I wouldn't even know that it was a Cathedral. In fact I even asked other people if they could tell at all that it looked anything like a Cathedral, and the answer was a big fat, "No." The tower might make you think that it is a Church, but not a Catholic one. It is probably the first of its kind in the world. Again, I hope not to sound too harsh, but I also hope that it's the only one.

On top of that there is the statue of the Blessed Virgin above the entrance to the Cathedral. Is it just me, or does she not look at all like the Blessed Virgin? I've heard of this statue as referred to "Man-hands Mary." In my opinion, the Cathedral of Our Lady Queen of the Angels should have a statue of Mary, veiled, with arms covered, with hair down over the shoulders, and with Angels. There is a reason why she has been depicted that way for so long: because it is beautiful. That's what the example of woman should be: beautiful. Not manly. If we are supposed to separate ourselves from this world, then why are we using its ways as a template for our Cathedral Churches? I am not really sure. And modern art is supposed to be beautiful?

But, in looking at the old Cathedral, I am even more sadened because it is beautiful. It elevates your eyes to the heavens, and on the way, you run into the cross. The cross is at the apex, as it should be, not in the middle of the wall to get lost in the glass. And you know that looking at the bell tower on the rear of the cathedral, that the main altar is right underneath. You can see the cross on the outside and the place of crucifixion on the inside. What more do you want out of a simple cathedral? Not to mention that it being turned into a performing arts center.

St. Vibiana...ora pro nobis

"Help" for the Needy

2005-09-02T10:16:00.000-04:00

So one of the Crusaders sent me a link from an article by LifeNews.com. It seems that Planned Parenthood thinks that handing out emergency contraceptives to the disaster ridden area of Lousiana. Essentially, if you are a refugee, you can now get free hormones to counteract you superhigh adrenaline, all courtesy of Planned Parenthood. If you ask me, this most likely is horrible for a woman's body. She is already going through a high stress time, and any extra chemicals added to the body are bad policy.

Planned Parenthood...you wanna help? Then start helping the women who have children and need food, clothing, and shelter. What about the women who have already "planned" their parenthood and have their children already? What kind of help are you giving them?...Free birth control? How heartless are you? These people need the necessities. I guess that since you tell us that birth control is a necessity and a right, that goes for everyone. Well, in times of utter disaster, you should rethink your idea of necessity and support those in need with what is important: staying alive!

Please, have some compassion for the needy. Go down to New Orleans and see what the people need. Ask them what you can do to help. Give them what is really a necessity in life: food and water. Clothing and housing. Help them out and show that you really care. If you want people to like your organization then show real compassion, not just the temporary kind. Are people going to remember when they are old that you gave them emergency contraception, or are they going to remember that you gave them a clean place to stay? I think we all know the answer to this.

The Classes Begin

2005-09-01T14:41:00.000-04:00

So, if any of you have read my old "blog" on livejournal.com, especially the entries about my Biblical History class (i.e. Disproof of the Most Holy Bible?, The Beauty of Miracles, and Divinely Inspired Words of the Lord), you might see that I haven't the best luck with classes and good teachers. Well, things might be changing this semester...hopefully.

I am currently taking a class at Catholic University of America calles "Medieval Pilgrimages." This class is all about saints, relics, Rome, the Church, and everything awesome. Today we talked about how the veneration of saints helped to spread the Church across the world. One of the authors we had to read talked about saints as being heaven united with earth in that their souls are in heaven, while their bodies are on earth, and their miracles are signs that they are still with us even if they are currently witnessing the beatific vision. How much cooler does a class for a student at the University of Maryland get than that? Not to mention the fact that there is a Crucifix on the wall in the classroom and the fact that our teacher had to leave class early because she was part of the procession in the opening Mass starting Catholic U.'s school year. Hopefully she will be on par with the Church and the magisterium.

Sts. Giles et Alberte Magne...orate pro nobis