Gay marriage evil, abortion terrorism: Vatican - washingtonpost.com

It's astounding to me how Pullella can make it sound as if it is Archbishop Amato and Pope Benedict "coming up" with these truths about evil.  A true Catholic will understand that we must hate the sin and love the sinner (I now that sounds corny but it is true).  But to not call a sin a sin is to not only endanger the eternal soul of the sinner but to endanger the soul of the person who is not educating the sinner.  We cannot condemn our fellow man, only God can do that, but we will be held accountable for our actions, or inactions, that lead to God condemning our fellow man. 

The Vatican's second-highest ranking doctrinal official on Monday forcefully branded homosexual marriage an evil and denounced abortion and euthanasia as forms of "terrorism with a human face."

Source: Gay marriage evil, abortion terrorism: Vatican - washingtonpost.com

Cardinal Hails Court's Abortion Ruling

Cardinal Justin Rgali is sounding very optimistic about today's Supreme Court ruling.  In this ZENIT article he quotes language in the decision that is surprisingly prolife which would give reason for prolife Americans to be optimistic.

I however believe that the opposition has just begun the fight.  This is something too important for the Culture of Death to taking lying down.

The cardinal, who is archbishop of Philadelphia, added: "Especially welcome is the court's explicit recognition of certain key facts: that abortion is the taking of a human life, and that government has a legitimate interest in protecting and preserving this life at every stage."  

In the quote below he is pleased that the court recognizes the devastating affect that abortion has on many facets of society.  I'm sure that he was mindful of the absence of the mention of men and how being involved in the killing of their child may affect them.  That may be too difficult of a leap for the court right now as it would strengthen the idea of a family having two parents, male and female.

He further praised the court's recognition "that 'respect for human life finds an ultimate expression in the bond of love the mother has for her child'; that abortion may also cause grief and sorrow for women, which is only made worse when the reality of the procedure has been withheld from them until it is too late; and that the ethical integrity of the medical profession, as well as the fabric of our society, is threatened by the acceptance of practices that are difficult to distinguish from infanticide."

I have not read the text of the actual decision, but I plan on it. 

In the mean time the best course of action is still to pray, fast and do penance.

Link to ZENIT News Agency--The World Seen from Rome

Legal victory for abortion opponents

Celebrate, but only a little! 

It should be painfully obvious to everybody now that a so called 'right' to kill an unborn child is never going to go away by depending upon legislation alone. 

Until we change the hearts and minds of an entire nation we will be continually pulled from one extreme to another.  As the winds constantly change from political conservatism to liberalism the volume of innocent lives taken and people ravaged with the aftermath will decrease or increase.  Americans will change their value system based upon the last election or as in this case nine individual judges.

The 5-4 ruling, which upheld the federal Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003, marks a significant shift to the right by the US’s top court on one of the country’s most divisive issues.

All people who respect life should feel a cold chill in there blood when reading the quote below by Justice Ginsburg.  What have we done as a society when we have made the taking of an innocent life so mundane that in her words it is a central part of a woman's life?!  We must pray and fast for those that hold this as a "centrality" of their life.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who wrote a dissent on behalf of the court’s liberal wing, called the decision “alarming”. She said it “cannot be understood as anything other than an effort to chip away at a right declared again and again by this court – and with increasing comprehension of its centrality to women’s lives”.

Never forget, the right to kill unborn children was brought to you via Roe v Wade in 1973 by the same institution that brought America Dred Scott v. Sandford in 1856.  Both decisions have cost millions of lives and incalculable suffering and division.  That is NOT something that more legislation can fix.

Pray, fast and do penance!  The war is far from over.

Link to FT.com / World - Legal victory for abortion opponents

ADAM'S ALE: OF CROWN, MITERS, AND HOT DOGS

While not exactly denying His kingship, they instead ridicule His claim to kingship; make light of it, denying that it has any meaning. They do not listen or debate His ideas, they make fun of the man and destroy His message.

That is exactly what our Legislatures try do do here in Colorado every chance they get. Currently SB 124 is being pushed through our State Legislature and it will redefine what marriage in our state means. This is in direct conflict with Amendment 43 passed by the voters last November. In one of her typically elitist statements House Majority Leader Alice Madden, D-Boulder stated that Representative Kevin Lundberg, R-Larimer "did not live in the real world" because he opposed changing what marriage means and respecting the will of the people as expressed in the overwhelming passage of Amendment 43. I often wonder what "real world" Ms Madden lives in that allows her to change the will of the people simply at her whim and the with the support of her special interests.

Alice Von Hildebrand stated, “(Ridicule) was, for example, the poison tool used
against Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard, making him the butt of cruel
jokes. His noble message was doomed.”

I think Alice Madden would have been right at home with the soldiers as they crowned our Lord with thorns and destroyed His message.

ADAM'S ALE: OF CROWN, MITERS, AND HOT DOGS

Heavy Heart

A couple days ago I received an invitation to the Ordination of a very good friend of mine to the order of Catholic Deacon!

For Bill this is one of the greatest times and days of his life. It will rank up there with his marriage and the birth of his children. A new and exciting chapter is opening up in his and his family's life. It will be the culmination of over four years of intensive study and formation and a life time of preparation.

Here is the rub, why am I so sad, almost broken hearted?

Because I feel I spent the first 40 years of my life being called to be a Deacon for the Lord, in service to His Church. I spent two years going through a intense selection process just to be allowed into a 4 year formation program. I started the program with my heart full of confidence, commitment and love of the Lord and all his people.

I struggled the first year of formation mostly because my sister became gravely sick, I became her Guardian and Conservator and her teenage came came to live with us. A son that was heavily involved in drugs and gangs. A son that was kicked out of his school for threatening another teenager with a shotgun. A son that time after time brought drugs and gang bangers into our home. That is until we finally could take no more and when he snuck out of the house one night we literally barricaded the doors and windows to our home and then had all the locks changed.

Through all that my employer had me commuting between Phoenix Arizona and my home in Denver Colorado. But still I kept up my studies, did not miss classes and worked at my spiritual life. I went through every evaluation that the Diaconate Formation Board had and I scored top scores for every one.

Then after the first year, just before a retreat all the candidates were going to go on, I received a letter telling me not to go on the retreat and that I would not be asked back to continue the following year. No explanation, no thank you for attempting to give my life to the Church; just a don't show up now or in the future basically.

My heart and my faith have been ravaged by that for years. Now men that had become like brothers to me in a short period of time are about to be Ordained.

Since being told to leave formation I had my strokes, and lost the career I trained for for 9 years. Everything has become so hard. Tasks that used to take me minutes now take me hours if I can do them at all. At one time I looked forward to attempting formation again but I can barely learn at the pace of an elementary school student. There is no way I will ever be able to keep up with graduate level work.

Maybe my weakened and damaged faith is just committing the sins of jealousy, envy and pride. I was preparing to serve my God and His Church for the rest of my life. Right now I'm going to do therapy which includes tasks I haven't done since Elementary School. But yet I can't master them!

Technorati tags: Stroke Recovery, Stroke

Catholic Group Wants Marquette Prof. Reassigned

 I suppose Daniel Maguire would argue that the Holy Spirit couldn't pass a theology exam.  It is the duty of the Churches Magisterium to faithfully and without error pass on and interpret Church doctrine in matters of faith and morals.  (CCC 890)  Mr. Maguire does not have any protection from error in his teachings.  In fact his teachings can be completely false and come from the devil himself and he and no other theologian has any charism of protection from error or inspiration by the Holy Spirit.  Come on Maguire, if you don't believe what Holy Mother Church teaches go shopping in the cafeteria and find something that better suits your current flavor of the day.

"I've always felt that candor was the better part of valor," he said. "The bishops are saying they are the only authentic teachers in the church and that all theologians are subordinate to them. But most bishops could not pass a graduate exam in theology."

Source: wfrv.com - Catholic Group Wants Marquette Prof. Reassigned

 

Technorati tags: Marquette University, Catechism of the Catholic Church

St. Odd? by Amy Welborn

Open Book

Dean Koontz used to be one of my favorite authors. Well I guess he could still be I haven't read one of his books in years. Amy, through and article written by Time Drake seem to indicate I was missing Koontz's' spirituality. As a matter of fact I probably stopped reading him because of a perceived LACK of spirituality. I guess I was as thick headed then as I am now.

ZENIT News Agency--The World Seen from Rome

ZENIT News Agency--The World Seen from Rome

From being forced to offer contraception and abortions in hospitals to
placing innocent children with homosexual "couples" Christian values are being
threatened at every turn. I think those threats are also becoming more
powerful as people try to enforce anti -Christian thinking with laws. If
we don't begin to stand up for our beliefs they are going to be legislated away
from us.

Daily Mass

 

Before I stroked I was a daily Mass goer. I know that isn't popular now days. It was obvious from how empty the church was each morning; me and only about a dozen retired parishioners. It's not hard to explain why I went. It just seemed like the right thing to do to start out the day worshiping God.
Well since my strokes I can't drive and I don't walk around by myself because I will easily get lost. So it has been hard for me to get to Mass. Today Awesome Chick took me before she went to work. It was like a homecoming for me. It was another part of my normal life that I feel I'm getting back. We talked about this and it would be too hard for her to take me every day. But she is doing to take me every Friday morning. I hope I can hook up with one of my old Mass buddies and catch a ride another morning or two.
This is also another step in my independence. I'm hoping to be able to get into some volunteer work and doing it through my parish makes sense. Before stroke I used to be involved in Catholic ministries in the jails and nursing homes in the areas. What a blessing it would be to work my way back.

Source: StrokeNet Message Board -> The Journey Back