St. Joseph, A ‘Man´s Man’

Since we are on this topic, I also want to pass along this article from Catholic Exchange:

8 Tips for Catholic Men

This link gives men 8 concrete steps they can take to grow in their faith and more closely follow the example of humility and holiness that we see in St. Joseph.

St. Joseph pray for us.

Architect of Betrayal?: WH Exposes Obama as Provocateur of Catholic Dissention

National Catholic Reporter Joins Nuns in Backing Health Reform

These stories should come as a surprise to no one.  He is really just continuing what he started at the Notre Dame commencement last year, by trying to convince Catholics that they can reject the teachings of the Pope and Bishops and instead follow Obama as their guide on moral and ethics.  This is not as far fetched as it sounds. According to the article above, Obama is actively using the endorsements of the dissenting LCWR and the CHA to convince Catholic lawmakers to change their vote and follow him.  The White House spokesperson clearly said that the president views this division in the Catholic Church as important to his agenda:

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs revealed to reporters today that President Barack Obama actively promoted the Catholic Health Association’s public break with the American Catholic bishops to support his health care legislation.

Gibbs also suggested that the CHA and the Leadership Conference of Women Religious’ (LCWR) break with the U.S. Bishops has provided legitimate political cover for pro-life Democrats to switch their votes from “no” to “yes.”

“I think over the past twenty four hours we have seen strong indications from those in the Catholic Church that support our belief that the legislation is about health care reform, and that it shouldn’t and doesn’t change the existing federal law [on abortion]. The Catholic Health Association and the order of nun’s support is very important,” Gibbs told reporters on the White House lawn for Thursday’s press conference.

Of course this debate wouldn’t be complete without the usual betrayal of the faith from the folks at the National Catholic Reporter. These dissenters quickly jumped with their praise of Obamacare and the LCWR and the CHA. This following quote is just a small sample of the garbage that passes for hard facts at the NCR:

the nearly 60,000 women religious who endorsed the measure yesterday, even as their congregations face scrutiny from Rome on other matters, should be applauded.

Let’s take a closer look at this magical number of nearly 60,000 women religious. To repeat what I said in my previous post, this number is a total fabrication. 60,000 nuns DID NOT sign a letter endorsing this bill.  According to a press release from the USCCB:

Network’s letter, about health care reform, was signed by a few dozen people, and despite what Network said, they do not come anywhere near representing 59,000 American sisters.

The letter had 55 signatories, some individuals, some groups of three to five persons.  One endorser signed twice.

There are 793 religious communities in the United States.

The math is clear. Network is far off the mark.

It looks to me that the White House, mainstream media, and the NCR have all been caught in a blatant lie. They have all deliberately distorted the truth to further this health care bill. Now it stands to reason, that if they are lying about the number of nuns actually supporting this bill, the odds are very high that they are lying about other matters as well, such as no tax dollars for abortions in this health care package.

Fortunately, several more prominent Catholic authorities have also issued statements  to counteract the confusion and lies spread by the Obama supporters mentioned above:

Vatican Newspaper: U.S. Bishops Speaks for Church on Health Bill

Bishops of Northern Colorado warn against pro-Obama Catholic organizations

Fr. Pavone to Nuns: Right to Life at Heart of Social Justice

Here are some great quotes from the three above links:

“The CHA’s position does not reflect in any way the convictions of the United States Bishops Conference….The health care bill approved by the US Senate is not acceptable,” he noted. “It cannot be supported and the moral objections raised by the project cannot be postponed for a later moment.” – Marco Bellizzi, L’Osservatore Romano, ( Official Vatican newspaper )

“Regrettably, groups like Network and the Catholic Health Association have done a grave disservice to the American Catholic community by undermining the leadership of the nation’s Catholic bishops, sowing confusion among faithful Catholics, and misleading legislators through their support of the Senate bill,” the bishops write.

“Do not be fooled.  Nothing has changed.  The Senate bill remains gravely flawed on the issues of abortion funding, conscience protections and the inclusion of immigrants.  Unless seriously revised to address these issues, the Senate version of health care is unethical and should be firmly opposed,” the statement concludes. – Archbishop Charles Chaput and Bishop James Conley

“First of all, contrary to its claim, this statement does not represent 59,000 nuns; it represents the approximately 59 nuns who signed it. Secondly, while the bishops’ analysis of the health care bill relies on the expertise of legal analysts, it is not clear what expert analysis these signers have relied on. Third, it is absurd to advocate social justice while risking the expansion of a holocaust. The right to life is at the heart of social justice. We can’t pursue one by sacrificing the other.”  – Fr. Frank Pavone , Priests For Life

I guess since the Vatican newspaper, the Colorado Bishops, and Fr. Pavone are not giving an enthusiastic endorsement of Obamacare, these press releases will never see the light of day in the mainstream media.  Please continue to pray for the Bishops, priests, and all those working with them to stop this bill and protect the unborn.

CatholicVoteAction.org has also put together the website Stand With Stupak where you can sign a petition, that will be sent to D.C., supporting Rep. Bart Stupak and the other pro-life Democrats in the healthcare debate. I urge you all to visit the site, sign the petition, and spread the word to others. Please watch the video below produced by the people behind Stand With Stupak.

Finally, I just wanted to highlight an example of the garbage and propaganda that we typically see from a mainstream media source such as the Boston Globe.

Catholic opposition to health bill fades

The Boston Globe reporters must have been as giddy as a bunch of school girls to report this:

Roman Catholic opposition to the health care overhaul package is crumbling, with some church officials and lawmakers concluding that their long-sought goal of health care overhaul trumps the desire to adopt the severest restrictions on abortion funding.

A coalition of 59,000 nuns released a letter yesterday calling on Congress to approve the overhaul, defying the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, which opposes the measure. The Catholic Health Association, which represents 1,200 Catholic hospitals, has endorsed the package, as have Catholics United and Catholic groups promoting social justice.

This whole article is a total lie. This has got to be the among the worst propaganda I have ever seen. First of all, 59,000 nuns did not call on Congress to this bill. That is a blatant lie. Click on this link and you can read the truth for yourself. Thomas Peters at American Papist points out that while there are 59,000 nuns in the U.S., the statement endorsing the health care bill was made the Leadership Conference of Women’s Religious. This group, which does not speak for all nuns, is the same group that is the subject of a Vatican investigation for its dissenting teachings regarding issues such as gay marriage, feminism, women’s ordination, and abortion. The LCWR is anything but faithful and orthodox. As you will see in the link above, a rebuttal was issued by the Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious, which support the Bishops in opposing the bill and clearly states that the LCWR is in opposition to Church teaching.

The Boston Globe is blatantly trying to undermine the authority of the Bishops by glorifying the statements of the LCWR and the Catholic Health Association. It even labeled them as “church officials”. I don’t care what positions the LCWR or the CHA may claim to have, they absolutely have no canonical teaching authority in the Church whatsoever. This belongs to the Bishops alone. What this tabloid newspaper rag, along with the rest of the media, is trying to do is to confuse Catholics by have them believe that they can oppose the Bishops because these other supposed Catholic officials have endorsed the bill. They even list several Catholic-in-name-only politicians that are supporting the bill. Let’s make one thing perfectly clear, the Bishops have clearly and emphatically stated that this healthcare bill is in direct opposition to Catholic pro-life teachings and it is the duty of Catholics to oppose it. Anyone like the LCWR or the CHA that support this bill are in direct conflict with Church teaching.

If that is not clear enough, there have been these statements recently by Cardinal George, president of USCCB and Bishop Naumann which slam the CHA for misleading Catholics on this important issue:

USCCB President Slams Catholic Health Association Support for Health Bill

Archbishop Naumann Urges Calls to Congress AND Sister Carol Keehan

Don’t hold your breath waiting for the Boston Globe to report on these statements from the Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious or the Bishops above. The Globe like most of the media, isn’t interested in the truth. There is no honesty or integrity in the media. Its all about spreading propaganda to further a particular agenda.

Please sign the Stand with Stupak petition. Please contact your local representatives and senators and tell them that we will not forget how they voted on this bill when it is our turn to vote at the next election. Finally, please pray for our Bishops in this fight and for our leaders that they protect the unborn in any type of health care reform that may become law.

 I know I am a day late with this. But now that the usual madness associated with St. Patrick’s day is over, I felt it would be a good time to reflect on what this great saint truly believed and what he accomplished.

Click on this link to visit Catholic Encyclopedia where there is a great article on the life of St. Patrick . I have also included below an excerpt containing the powerful Breast Plate prayer of St. Patrick.

Pray that all Catholics follow his example of faith and courage especially in the face of the scandals and other problems plaguing our Church today. St. Patrick pray for us.

Thanks to Patrick Madrid and Catholic Encyclopedia.

The beautiful prayer of St. Patrick, popularly known as “St. Patrick’s Breast-Plate”, is supposed to have been composed by him in preparation for this victory over Paganism. The following is a literal translation from the old Irish text:

I bind to myself today
The strong virtue of the Invocation of the Trinity:
I believe the Trinity in the Unity
The Creator of the Universe.

I bind to myself today
The virtue of the Incarnation of Christ with His Baptism,
The virtue of His crucifixion with His burial,
The virtue of His Resurrection with His Ascension,
The virtue of His coming on the Judgement Day.

I bind to myself today
The virtue of the love of seraphim,
In the obedience of angels,
In the hope of resurrection unto reward,
In prayers of Patriarchs,
In predictions of Prophets,
In preaching of Apostles,
In faith of Confessors,
In purity of holy Virgins,
In deeds of righteous men.

I bind to myself today
The power of Heaven,
The light of the sun,
The brightness of the moon,
The splendour of fire,
The flashing of lightning,
The swiftness of wind,
The depth of sea,
The stability of earth,
The compactness of rocks.

I bind to myself today
God’s Power to guide me,
God’s Might to uphold me,
God’s Wisdom to teach me,
God’s Eye to watch over me,
God’s Ear to hear me,
God’s Word to give me speech,
God’s Hand to guide me,
God’s Way to lie before me,
God’s Shield to shelter me,
God’s Host to secure me,
Against the snares of demons,
Against the seductions of vices,
Against the lusts of nature,
Against everyone who meditates injury to me,
Whether far or near,
Whether few or with many.

I invoke today all these virtues
Against every hostile merciless power
Which may assail my body and my soul,
Against the incantations of false prophets,
Against the black laws of heathenism,
Against the false laws of heresy,
Against the deceits of idolatry,
Against the spells of women, and smiths, and druids,
Against every knowledge that binds the soul of man.

Christ, protect me today
Against every poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against death-wound,
That I may receive abundant reward.

Christ with me, Christ before me,
Christ behind me, Christ within me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ at my right, Christ at my left,
Christ in the fort,
Christ in the chariot seat,
Christ in the poop [deck],
Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks to me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

I bind to myself today
The strong virtue of an invocation of the Trinity,
I believe the Trinity in the Unity
The Creator of the Universe.

Now here is where I may get in trouble with those that prefer the Traditonal Latin Mass over the Norvus Ordo or post Vatican II mass. I was born in 1971 and grew up with mass as we see it today, in the vernacular and with the priest facing the people. Even after attending a Latin Mass, I was a little surpised to feel that I still have a preference for the Norvus Ordo mass. It is not only more familiar to me, but I also feel that I am participating more in this Mass as I understand the language and can hear the priest as he recites the prayers of the Consecration, whereas these prayers are said inaudibly in the Latin Mass. It helps me connect to the Mass and the community and realize that I am part of something much bigger than our senses realize. I am not saying one form is better than the other. I am just stating my opinion which you may or may not agree with.

The biggest complaint many people have about the Norvus Ordo mass is the so-called creativity and innovations some priests and liturgical committees insert into the mass. I totally agree that the mass is not the place for experimentation and entertainment. I have been blessed to know several priests that faithfully abide by the rubrics of the Church when celebrating the ordinary form of the mass. These priests convey a sense of holiness and reverence towards the mass. From the use of appropriate music to patens during communion, they have taken measures to ensure the mass is conducted respectfully and correctly. In my opinion, this is the way that Vatican II intended this new mass to be done, and not like the “creative” free for all atmosphere that so many see today.

In keeping with this topic, I have included a great video clip of Cardinal Arinze discussing the Latin Mass and the Norvus Ordo Mass. I completely agree with the Cardinal’s statement that the problem with the ordinary form of the mass is not the mass itself but the priests who abuse it by not following it properly and respectfully. We don’t need another reform of the mass, but a reform of these priests. Cardinal Arinze also said that both forms of the mass should be freely available to all so that we can attend the mass that we feel brings us closer to God. Amen to that. I couldn’t agree more.

Notre Dame Campus Newspaper Refuses To Publish Dr. Rice’s Biweekly Column Upholding The Church’s Teaching on Homosexuality

The Notre Dame campus newspaper, the Observer, has refused to publish Dr. Charles E. Rice’s biweekly “Right or Wrong” column on the topic of Catholic teaching on homosexuality. Dr. Rice has been writing this column for the campus newspaper since 1992. He is Professor Emeritus and a member of the law school faculty.

Mr. Gamber, the newspaper editor further stated that: “In the future, if you would like to examine this topic, we thought it might be beneficial to do so in a point-counterpoint format, perhaps with an author of an opposing or differing viewpoint. That way, each ‘side,’ to speak, would have the opportunity to present relevant facts, evidence and analysis to define its position.”

The last time I checked the Church’s teaching on homosexuality is crystal clear and not open for debate. By proposing the idea to discuss this topic in “point-counterpoint” format just proves that this newspaper has no intent of correctly presenting Church teaching as the absolute truth. It wants to portray concrete moral teachings as something that is open to interpretation. In other words, it is the poison of relativism that Pope Benedict XVI has been warning us about.

If this institution was really interested in upholding the Faith, the administrators would tell this editor to publish the article with an apology to Dr. Rice or resign from the paper. But don’t expect that to happen in the same university where the Obama-adoring Fr. Jenkins had pro-life Catholics arrested for protesting the disgusting bestowing of an honorary degree to Obama at the last commencement.

I really think its time the University was given a new name. My choices would be the University of Notre SHAME or the Judas Iscariot Institute of Anti-Catholicism.

Please take the time to watch this video. It frightening to see the predictions made by President Reagan 50 years ago come true today.

Citing same-sex marriage bill, Washington Archdiocese ends foster-care program

Barber: Shame on DC council

Same-sex marriage leads Catholic Charities to adjust benefits

Gay Mob Protests Wedding Vow Renewal at Chicago Cathedral

Gay Activists File Complaints against Dutch Priest over Communion Refusal

Protests against priest who refused communion to gay “prince”

Besides obviously being about gay marriage and gay advocates, these stories are also about the spiritual war unfolding right in front of us all. In each of these stories, the Church is being attacked because it dares to take a stand against the growing sexual licentiousness in this world. This isn’t about rights or “equality in marriage”. This is about a vocal group that seeks to punish or at least silence any who oppose it. 

These incidents illustrate the insanity of this gay agenda. In Boston and now DC, the Catholic church was forced to end adoption services because it believes that each child deserves a mother and a father. The Diocese in DC is also forced change its employee medical coverage just because it believes in traditional marriage. In Chicago,  gay mobs protest outside the Cathedral because the Church dares to oppose gay marriage. In Europe, angry gays have filed complaints with local authorities and protested a courageous Catholic priest because he defended 2,000 year old Catholic doctrine by not giving Communion at a recent mass to an openly gay man in a sinful gay relationship. 

This war against Christianity is being carried out by the same people who claim to want equality and tolerance.  It already as obvious as the obnoxious rainbow banners they wave, that this is not about equality. Deep inside they know the gay lifestyle is wrong, destructive, and dangerous. But they refuse to admit it to themselves. They find it easier to blame others such as Christians for their problems. Rather than admit that they are wrong, they want to force everyone else to change their personal and religious beliefs to accommodate their disordered lifestyle.  If this was really about tolerance, then the Church wouldn’t be forced to end adoption services and gay mobs wouldn’t be harassing a Catholic priest for defending Church doctrine.

This war is about replacing God’s law with man’s laws. This is a battle to distort and deform the natural order rather than accept it. There is an evil and demonic presence in this gay agenda as it seeks to supplant the true God, who made man in His image and likeness, with a false god made in the image and likeness of man. I know that my words here may sound controversial or harsh.  But it’s time that we all stop kidding ourselves about gay rights and gay marriage.  This has become another weapon that Satan is using to attack us as the Body of Christ.  There is no denying this after you read the articles above. Our Church is under attack by a dangerous foe. Now is the time to arm ourselves with prayer and the sacraments, and to stand our ground with the Chruch.

Finally, regardless of how badly the enemies of the Church attack us, we should never let it weaken our faith.  Instead let the words of Christ in Matthew 16:18 set your faith on fire:

And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.

Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Denver recently described, in a powerful speech in Houston, just how wrong Kennedy was and the damage he caused.

JFK speech on faith was ’sincere’ but ‘wrong,’ Archbishop Chaput states

Please take the time the entire arctile above. Archbishop Chaput clearly hit a home run with this one. I included a few key quotes from his speech below.

“It was sincere, compelling, articulate – and wrong. Not wrong about the patriotism of Catholics, but wrong about American history and very wrong about the role of religious faith in our nation’s life.”

“And he wasn’t merely ‘wrong,’” the archbishop continued. “His Houston remarks profoundly undermined the place not just of Catholics, but of all religious believers, in America’s public life and political conversation. Today, half a century later, we’re paying for the damage.”

“To his credit,” he noted, “Kennedy said that if his duties as President should ‘ever require me to violate my conscience or violate the national interest, I would resign the office.’ He also warned that he would not ‘disavow my views or my church in order to win this election.’”

“But in its effect, the Houston speech did exactly that. It began the project of walling religion away from the process of governance in a new and aggressive way. It also divided a person’s private beliefs from his or her public duties. And it set ‘the national interest’ over and against ‘outside religious pressures or dictates.’”

Archbishop Chaput then clarified that although “John Kennedy didn’t create the trends in American life that I’ve described,” his speech “clearly fed them.”

Archbishop Chaput brilliantly stated what many refuse to see. JFK  “disavowed” his church and “walled religion away”.  He contributed to the problem we continue to see in society today: religion is pushed away and its influence is minimized. We then try to make important decisions, not based on Judeo-Christian principles, but based on our own desires and “feelings”. The result is the moral decline we see in our world today all for the sake of progress.

Thank you Archbishop Chaput for again standing for the truth.

Devout Catholic Kathleen Kennedy Townsend still pushing church buttons

Here is a sample of the garbage that this woman said while lecturing at St. Mary College in California:

“I think if you’re in love, you should get married,” the eldest daughter of Robert Kennedy said Tuesday when asked for her thoughts on same-sex marriage. “I think that’s what Christ preached — love. “… So, Hallelujah for the lucky people in California that got the chance to be married.”

“The churches have failed America because they’ve narrowed faith to three issues: abortion, same-sex marriage and stem cell research,” Townsend said. “And I thought that my faith tradition was we should care about the least among us. We should care about the poor, health care, immigration.”

The church has struck back, denying her speaking engagements at Catholic schools in her home diocese of Baltimore.

“But that happened a while ago and I just realized they are afraid of women,” she said with a chuckle. “And it took them 300 years to realize that Galileo was right.”

Townsend uses the typical liberal social justice rhetoric of caring for the “poor, health care, and immigration”. She even has the audacity to criticize the Church on abortion and then quote the Gospel of St. Matthew by saying the Church should be ”caring for the least among us”.  This is proof that she either doesn’t understand her faith or chooses to warp it to fit her personal agenda. While poverty, health care and immigration are important issues, the Church is crystal clear that nothing is more important and more sacred than human life.  If we turn a blind eye to the unborn, the truly least among us, then our efforts to help the poor or immigrants are shallow and hypocritical.  We cannot  callously allow millions of children to be murdered every year while claiming we are working for social justice. The greatest social injustice in history is abortion. 

Townsend also couldn’t resist defending gay marriage. Again, she feels the Church spends too much time on this issue and not enough on social justice causes. What she fails to grasp is that the Church believes in the undeniable truth that the traditional family is the foundation of a healthy society.  The Church also believes that having a mother and father, according to God’s design, is critically important to the healthy development of every child. Anything other than this causes irreparable harm to the child and society.  If this isn’t a true social justice issue, then I don’t know what is.  Townsend needs to ask herself this question: What good is health care reform or immigration reform if society continues to regress to where human life and family lose all meaning and value? 

You may have noticed earlier in the post I said Townsend’s lecture was given at St. Mary’s College in California. I did a little research to learn more about this school and to find out if it was indeed Catholic.  Sadly, it is another example of a Catholic College openly defying Church doctrine.  I came across the article about some of the school’s recent activities:

St. Mary’s College in Moraga names poetry scholarship in honor of Planned Parenthood director, volunteer

According to this article, this supposedly Catholic school has a scholarship in honor of a Planned Parenthood director and volunteer. It has also invited terrorist and Obama supporter Bill Ayers to give a lecture on campus. St Mary’s also offers internships for its students at Planned Parenthood. A faculty member has received an award for fundraising and volunteer work for Planned Parenthood.  Besides all of this, the college’s newspaper published ads for condoms in 2008.  This blatantly anti-Catholic behavior all courtesy of a college that claims to be Catholic and following the example of St. John Baptiste de la Salle founder of the Christian Brothers who currently are the administrators of the school.  I believe that great saint would be deeply hurt and outraged to see what has become of his order and this school.

Given this school’s history, its easy to see why Townsend would be invited to lecture there. It is also easy to see the sad state of Catholic higher education today. Not only is the Church fighting against a increasingly hostile secular world, it is also fighting an enemy from within. It should come as no surprise to anyone that so many Catholics fall away from the faith while attending these Catholic-in-name-only colleges. Only someone in total denial would fail to see that there is a crisis in Catholic higher education. 

I thank God for the many truly authentic and faithful Catholic colleges. But I also pray that the leaders of these fallen away Catholic institutions open their eyes and see the true damage they are causing to the Body of Christ.  I also pray that more Bishops have the courage to stand up for the true faith and take action against these dissenting institutions.  Bishops have the authority to strip a college in their diocese of its Catholic designation. This would mean that the college could no longer promote itself as Catholic.  This is the very least that should be done to a school like St. Mary’s College. I personally would like to see these schools either change their ways or shut down permanently.  As Catholics it’s up to all of us to take a stand against the evil that has permeated our Catholic colleges and universities.  We can start by contacting our local Bishops.  Also, alumni, parents of students, and benefactors of these wayward schools can contact the college administration and demand that they clean up these schools and return to the true Catholic faith. I think these administrators would be very willing to listen if enough faithful Catholics contacted them and threatened to withhold all donations to the school until corrective action is taken.