R-E-S-P-E-C-T

We always talk about self-respect. The only reason a person deserves respect from themselves is because they are human. If, therefore, they deserve respect for themselves simply because they are human then it follows that those around them deserve respect at least for the same reason. And on top of deserving respect simply because one is a human being a person may also earn respect due to their age, position, or actions. Problems arise when we do not give to others the respect they are due. For example we should be respectful enough of one another to not curse and tell dirty jokes. Our job as Catholics is to help each other (not meaning just other Catholics but all humanity) to get to Heaven. St. Paul says, in his letter to the Romans, "judge this rather, that you not put a stumbling block or a scandal in your brother's way". Curses and dirty jokes, even if they don't seem to affect you, can lead others to sin. St. Paul has made it clear that our first thought should be for those around us. Christ Himself said "It is impossible that scandals should not come: but woe to him through whom they come. It were better for him, that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should scandalize one of these little ones." I didn't say it, Jesus did. The most popular excuse for a sin is that "I'm not hurting anyone". A sin is a sin specifically because it is hurting someone whether physically, emotionally, or spiritually. The greatest sin, as Christ made clear, is that which leads another person to sin, thereby estranging them from God. It is bad enough to pull yourself away from God but to bring another with you at least doubles the crime. I had a group of friends who were obsessed with dirty jokes and after spending alot of time around them I found myself thinking about things that I don't want to think about. Now I've been led to a state of sin which I am having a long hard struggle with simply because my friends did not respect me as a friend and as a human being.

Stop the Planned Parenthood Bailout

Tired of bailouts?

Well they aren’t going away anytime soon. Now the abortion industry wants one!

We all knew that Planned Parenthood was going to have a special seat at the table in the Obama administration. Well it hasn’t taken them long at all to roll out their extreme agenda.

Abortion groups have submitted their 50 page proposal to the Obama-Biden transition team. At the top of the list? More taxpayer dollars for abortion organizations like Planned Parenthood. How much more? Over 1.5 billion dollars more!

The Abortion Bailout Package:
· $1 BILLION dollars in taxpayer funding for International Abortion Groups like UNFPA, an international aid organization connected to coercive abortion as part of China’s coercive one-child policy
· $700 million in taxpayer funding for “Title X” Health Clinics (aka your local Planned Parenthood affiliate)
· Repeal the Hyde Amendment – Vastly expanding federal taxpayer funding for abortions
· Include Abortion coverage in any taxpayer-subsidized national health care program
· Expand taxpayer-funded abortions through the Peace Corps program
It is an outrage for Planned Parenthood to expect you to give your hard earned dollars to fund the destruction of innocent life.

Join citizens across our great country in telling their Senators to keep your tax dollars out of the abortion provid ers. Tell them to Stop the Abortion Bailout!

Sign the Petition today!

Tell your Senator today that Planned Parenthood should not get a bailout.

~Marjorie Dannenfelser
Susan B. Anthony List President

China Frees Pregnant Mom After International Outcry

China Frees Pregnant Mom after International Outcry
by Steven W. Mosher

A young mother pregnant with her third child has been freed after narrowly escaping a forced abortion at the hands of Chinese authorities, according to Radio Free Asia (RFA). Arzigul Tursun, who is six-months pregnant, was scheduled to be given a lethal infection today that would have resulted in the death of her unborn child, according to the Uyghur Human Rights Project.
Instead, she was allowed to return home unharmed, at least for now, because the case had attracted international attention and widespread outrage. In an interview with RFA, Tursun said, "I am all right and I am home now." The young mother, who is a member of a Turkish minority called the Uyghurs, was originally slated for an abortion because authorities told her that she had violated China's population control policies by conceiving a third child. China's minorities are generally allowed to have two children before being sterilized.

The last-minute reprieve marked the third time that Tursun had narrowly escaped with her child's life. Twice earlier she had been captured by China's population control cadres and sent to the hospital under guard. Twice she had managed to escape and regain her freedom.
Her husband told RFA that the last time she fled local officials had threatened to confiscate his house, crops and fields if he didn't reveal his wife's whereabouts. China's population control police routinely destroy homes and confiscate property of those who refuse to comply with their orders to abort. The police later tracked Tursun down where she was hiding at the home of a relative and took her into custody.

U.S. Congressmen Chris Smith and Joe Pitts were among those who publicly condemned the actions by the Chinese government and called for Tursun's release. Smith remarked, "Is the Chinese government really going to forcibly abort a third-trimester baby, after the mother's desperate efforts to save her child have become a global news story?"

Conspicuously silent, however, was the U.N. Population Fund, which has been actively supporting China's one-child policy for many years. Despite the continued victimization of many women like Arzigul Tursun, the UNFPA persists in providing support to the Chinese agency in charge of implementing this oppressive birth limitation policy. Even worse, the US taxpayer under President-elect Obama may very soon resume funding the UNFPA without any change in their behavior.

The US government has in the past withheld funding from the U.N. agency because of its complicity in China's coercive population control program. A 2001 PRI investigation in China documented that forced abortions, forced sterilizations, and other abuses were occurring in China with the UNFPA's foreknowledge and implicit consent. As a result, the U.N. agency has lost around $240 million in the years since, with President Bush annually invoking the Kemp-Kasten Amendment that denies funding for any organization supporting or participating in forced abortion or involuntary sterilization programs.

The latest determination from the State Department that UNFPA is ineligible for funding because of Kemp-Kasten was made in June, 2008. Yet, according to Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), President-elect Barack Obama intends to funnel millions of dollars to UNFPA despite their cooperation with the Chinese population control program. In fact, during the election campaign President-elect Obama promised to restore federal funding to the UNFPA, and this pledge is also contained in Democratic Party's 2008 platform. The UNFPA denies that its work in China supports coercive population control practices, saying that it is instead "designed to demonstrate that voluntarism and informed choice are key to successful family planning programs," with an aim of reducing the number of unplanned pregnancies and abortions. It has also claimed that it has eliminated coercion in certain parts of China.
Tell that to Arzigul Tursun. The UNFPA has been operating in China since 1979(!), and the barbarity of the Chinese population controllers continues apace. As for Arzigul Tursun and her unborn baby, the Chinese government has blinked--for now. But they are by no means safe from reprisals. Even if Tursun is allowed to continue her pregnancy to term, there is still the risk that her baby will be killed by lethal injection at birth, a not uncommon occurrence in China. Moreover, it is virtually certain that she herself will be sterilized at that time.

If Obama restores funding to the UNFPA, his administration will be knowingly funding such tragedies as these with tens of millions of taxpayer dollars. Both the American and the Chinese people deserve better.

Steven W. Mosher is the President of the Population Research Institute and the author of Population Control: Real Costs and Illusory Benefits

We Are Made For These Times

Being a bit of a history buff I've often looked into the past and said "I wish I had lived in that time period". It is very tempting, particularly when we are faced with tough decisions, to look back and say "I'm living in the wrong time, I was meant to live in the 1800's," or the Middle Ages, or whenever. But the fact is that God doesn't make mistakes. He put you in this age for a reason. If you were meant to be an abolitionist you would have lived during the Civil War. But you didn't. You're living now. Which means that God wants you to face today's challenges. There is no point looking back. We must look first at the present, we must identify the problems facing our world today and then we must look to the future and decide what we will do about them. You were not called to be a martyr in the Coliseum. But you may be called to go to jail in defense of the unborn. You were not meant to fight for the freedom of slaves. But you are meant to fight for the lives of the unborn, the elderly, and the disabled. God made us for these times; to fight the good fight now. It is easy to look into the past and condemn. It is easy to say "If I had lived then I would have done what was right". But you're not living then. You're living now. And are you doing what is right?

"A Call To Prayer - For Life"

"It’s time to face facts. Americans are a people inclined towards action. This has served us well, but there is something else that must be the foundation of our actions if we are to be successful in any spiritual battle. This is the Power of Prayer, and especially, the Power of the Rosary. Our Lady is the Patroness of the United States under the title of the Immaculate Conception, and Our Lady of Guadalupe is the Patroness of the Americas. It is to Our Lady under these titles that we direct our prayers, to ask for her intercession for the triumph of the Culture of Life.
The ultimate goal is a lofty one - 68,000,000 rosaries said for the triumph of the Culture of Life in our country. Why 68,000,000? 68 million is roughly the number of Catholics in our country, and it’s also very close to the number of people who voted for Barack Obama in the recent election. Therefore, there are at least 68 million reasons to do penance. If Catholics would pray and act as they should, the Culture of Death would be put to rout in our country. This battle is primarily spiritual warfare, and it’s time we finally get organized as an army.
The first initiative of Rosaries for Life is going to be the Inauguration Day Rosary Novena. This Novena is going to last for 72 days - it consists of 4 sets of mysteries 9 times for the intentions, followed by 4 sets of mysteries 9 times in thanksgiving = 72 days of praying 5 decades). The novena will begin on November 10th, the feast of St. Leo the Great (as well as the first day of the USCCB meeting) and end on January 20th, Inauguration Day.

There are five specific intentions. You may specifically pray a specific mystery for a specific intention, or simply pray the whole rosary for all of the intentions. If possible, pray the rosary in front of the Blessed Sacrament. The intentions are these:

* For the triumph of the Culture of Life in the United States of America.

* For President-elect Obama, and for all of the leaders of the United States of America, that they will be led personally to Jesus Christ and His truth, and that they will lead our country in a positive direction. Or in other words, as Archbishop Wuerl said, “That our nation’s new leaders be guided in their decisions with wisdom and compassion and at the heart of all of their decisions may there be a deep respect for and commitment to the sanctity and dignity of all human life and support for the most vulnerable among us.”

* For the hearts, minds and SOULS of the American people, that they will be turned back towards Jesus Christ and the “least of His brethren”.

* For a renewal of the virtues of purity and self-control, especially among our youth.

* In reparation for the scourges of abortion, Embryonic Stem Cell Research, euthanasia, cloning, artificial contraception, and all manifestations of the Culture of Death, and especially in reparation for the support and/or complacency that we as American Catholics have shown to these evils.

I Timothy 2:1-2 -First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intecessions, and thanksgivings be made for all men - for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life, godly, and respectful in every way.

Ephesians 6:11-13 - Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand."

http://rosariesforlife.wordpress.com

Pray for Hannah

http://news.aol.com/health/article/uk-teen-wins-right-to-refuse-new-heart/244516?icid=100214839x1212856409x1200846736

Pray for this girl!!

McCain's Greatest Speech Ever

Part 1


Part 2

Human Rights

In Wednesday night's presidential debate Democratic candidate Barack Obama said that "We have to stand for human rights". This is coming from a man who voted to deny medical treatment to infants born after botched abortions, a man who voted against the partial birth abortion ban, a man who ardently supports Roe vs. Wade. This man thinks "we have to stand for human rights".

To see Senator Obama's record on abortion and other issues visit:
http://www.ontheissues.org/Barack_Obama.htm

Judge for Yourself

Obama Without His Teleprompter


57 States

Fireproof

Gardasil

FEDS' WARNING SHOT
GARDASIL CANCER VACCINE PROBED FOR LINK TO 18 DEATHS

By SUSAN EDELMAN and BRUCE GOLDING

GARDASIL - a new cervical-cancer vaccine heavily marketed to young girls in ubiquitous ads on TV and in movie theaters - is under investigation for possible links to paralysis, seizures, and 18 deaths.
Federal health officials have logged 8,000 "adverse events" in girls and women injected with the Merck & Co. vaccine introduced two years ago, more than 500 of them from New York.
And lawyers last month filed the first two claims on behalf of girls with ailments blamed on Gardasil under a federal program to compensate victims of vaccine-caused illness, The Post has learned.
Both girls got the injections at their middle schools.
One is Jesalee Parsons, now 15, of Oklahoma, who began vomiting the day she got a Gardasil shot and developed pancreatitis, her claim says.
"It makes me mad because they're saying how great it is, but they never mention how many people have been hurt by it," Jesalee told The Post.
Healthy all her life, her family says, Jesalee has been hospitalized on and off for more than a year. She restricts her diet, takes pain pills and misses many school days.
"I'm pretty sick all the time," she said.
The other claim was filed for Jessica Vega of Nevada, who came down with Guillain-Barré Syndrome, an immune-system disorder, at age 14 - a week after her second Gardasil shot.
Thirty others have reported the syndrome after getting the vaccine.
JESSICA'S mom, Rhonda Vega, says the girl's lower legs and arms were paralyzed, but she's learned to walk again. "Protecting girls against cervical cancer is a fabulous thing, but if this is what's going to happen, they need to research it more," she said.
In Florida, the mother of 13-year-old Brittany LeClaire said her daughter suffered headaches and lethargy after a Gardasil shot last Aug. 13. On Sept. 2, Brittany's left leg became paralyzed. After months on a walker, she limps.
Her pediatrician "highly recommended" the vaccination, mom Christina Bell said. "He told me it was a cancer preventative. I thought it was the right thing to do. You see it advertised on TV every 15 minutes."
Brittany's case is one of six being prepared for filing by Boston vaccine lawyer Kevin Conway. He said other cases include "paralysis, seizures and brain damage."
Gardasil was licensed by the Food and Drug Administration in June 2006 for females ages 9 to 26. Sold worldwide, it's been given to more than 8 million US girls and women, Merck says.
The vaccine is aimed at warding off strains of the human papillomavirus, or HPV, which can lead to cancer. The vaccinations cost a total $360.
Securities and Exchange Commission documents show Merck made $1.5 billion in Gardasil sales last year. (my emphasis)
ONE doctor who helped conduct clinical trials on Gardasil told The Post the vaccine has been aggressively marketed to girls too young to need it.
"There's a huge push for giving this to girls 11 and 12 years of age," said Dr. Diane Harper of Dartmouth Medical School. "There's no hurry. You can give it to someone who is 20, 25 or 30 and still have the same level of protection."
The Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, run by the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has collected thousands of reports of health problems after Gardasil shots.
The fatalities include:
* A 17-year-old New York girl who collapsed and died on Feb. 22 this year, two days after the last of three Gardasil injections. An autopsy could not pinpoint the cause, but doctors suspect a heart-rhythm disorder.
* An 11-year-old who suffered a heart attack in May 2007, three days after a Gardasil shot. The nurse who reported it said a doctor blamed it on "an anaphylactic [severe allergic] reaction to Gardasil." The feds could not confirm the case.
* A 12-year-old girl with no prior medical problems who died in her sleep on Oct. 6, 2007, three weeks after a Gardasil shot.
DR. John Iskander, the CDC's acting director for immunization safety, said a review of 10 confirmed deaths found no common thread. Officials "concluded to the degree of certainty possible" that Gardasil wasn't to blame.
"It's tragic that young, apparently healthy people, do die," Iskander said.
But he added that doctors hold special meetings weekly to review new cases, and compare them to prior ones.
Fainting is the main symptom linked to Gardasil, he said.
Merck spokeswoman Kelley Dougherty said the company "actively monitors" reports of side effects.
"An event report does not mean that a causal relationship between an event and vaccination has been established - just that the event occurred after vaccination," she said.
A Post analysis of adverse- event reports filed through April 30 found that about 20 percent followed injections of Gardasil, plus up to seven other vaccines at the same time - including shots to prevent flu, chicken pox, hepatitis and tetanus. Almost 6,300 cases involved Gardasil alone.
Under a federal law passed in the late 1980s, victims of vaccines may file a claim under the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, but cannot sue the pharmaceutical.
Last year, the government added HPV to a list of vaccines, including polio, hepatitis and measles, granted immunity from suit.
If victims prove a vaccine likely caused injuries, the program pays a maximum $250,000 for death. The average payment for injury has been $1 million.
susan.edelman@nypost.com




MY GIRL DIED AS 'GUINEA PIG' FOR GARDASIL
By SUSAN EDELMAN
TRAGIC: Jessica Ericzon collapsed dead days after receiving a shot of the cervical-cancer vaccine Gardasil.

Posted: 4:26 am
July 20, 2008

She loved SpaghettiO's, pepperoni, lilies, listening to her iPod and making her pals laugh.

In her senior yearbook, she wrote, "The best things in life aren't things, they're friends."

Now that's the quote chiseled into her gravestone.

Jessica Ericzon, 17, was "an all-American teenager," as described by one of her upstate LaFargeville teachers.

Last February, she was working on her softball pitches, getting ready for a class trip to Universal Studios in Florida and hitting the slopes to snowboard with her older brother.

Then one day, the blond, blue-eyed honors student collapsed dead in her bathroom.

It started with a pain in the back of her head.

On the advice of her family doctor, Jessie had taken a series of three Gardasil shots.

The vaccine, marketed for females ages 9 to 26, is the first found to ward off strains of the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus, or HPV, which can cause cervical cancer.

Jessie got the first injection in July 2007.

After her second shot in September, she complained of a pain in the back of her head, fatigue and soreness in some joints, said her mom, Lisa.

On Feb. 20, while on winter break from school, she got her third and final dose of the vaccine.

The next night, "she told me the spot on the back of her head was bothering her again," her mom said.

The next morning, Feb. 22, Lisa, a hospital technician, left for work just after 5 a.m., leaving Jessie asleep.

Jessie never showed up for the class she was taking at Jefferson Community College.

When her mom got home at 3:20 p.m., she found Jessie sprawled on her back on the bathroom floor, with blood spots on her head where it had hit a flowerpot.

Jefferson County Medical Examiner Samuel Livingstone is stumped.

"She was essentially dead by the time she hit the floor. Whatever it was, it was instantaneous," Livingstone said. His autopsy found no cause.

He speculates she suffered a cardiac arrhythmia, or irregular heartbeat, extremely rare in young people.

Jessie had been on birth-control pills for a year to treat acne, records show.

Livingstone reported Jessie's death to the federal Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System.

Run by the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it has collected 8,000 reports of problems after Gardasil shots, including paralysis, seizures and miscarriages.

Seventeen other deaths following the vaccine have been reported since Merck & Co. introduced it in 2006.

Officials have confirmed 11 of the reported deaths so far, said CDC spokesman Curtis Allen.

They have found "no pattern or connection" to Gardasil in eight deaths and are still reviewing three, he said.

Lisa Ericzon now feels her daughter was "a guinea pig" for Gardasil, and is urging parents to research the vaccine before letting their daughters get it.

"I want other mothers to know," said Lisa, the first parent of a girl who died after Gardasil to speak publicly.

"I don't want them to go through what I went through."

Jessie planned to major in psychology at SUNY Plattsburgh and pursue her greatest ambition - to become a New York state trooper.

Just six days before she died, she got to ride along with a trooper canine unit. She was ecstatic.

Her family started the Jessica Ericzon Memorial Fund to award scholarships to her classmates.



First of all I would like to point out that the only way to contract HPV is by having sex with someone who has had sex with someone other than you. So if you're not having sex YOU ARE NOT AT RISK FOR HPV!!! If there is no chance of your contracting HPV then THERE IS NO POINT GETTING THE VACCINE ANYWAY!!! If you are at risk then the best way to prevent HPV is to STOP BEING AT RISK!!! Again, if you are not having sex, you are not at risk, so there's no reason to get the vaccine in the first place. Girls - next time you go to the doctor, I am begging you, print out the two articles above, and when the doctor suggests you get the HPV vaccine, hand him or her the articles, say "This is why I refuse to get the vaccine" and walk out of the office.

It's Your Choice

Getting closer to Christ is a choice. And it's not the kind of choice where you just say "I choose to be closer to Christ". It's an active choice. You have to make the choice again every single day, and you have to work at it.

Going on retreats is great. But if you don't put anything into the retreat, you're not going to get anything out of it. You can't blame the retreat for not taking you closer to Christ if you refuse to turn off your cell phone, stop talking, and focus on the Lord.

I understand that there are people who love to talk. I understand this because I am one of them. But I also understand that sometimes I have to shut up and let God talk.

I was on a retreat this weekend and I saw something that really bothered me. I saw a person put her phone on vibrate and put it in front of herself during Mass, so she could still see, and respond to, any text messages she recieved. And then she said she wasn't getting anything out of the retreat.

I could have stolen her phone and duct taped her mouth shut for the rest of the retreat but that wouldn't have helped. She has to make that choice. The choice to turn off the phone. The choice to stop talking. The choice to focus on Christ.

Most of the people who say they can't get closer to God can't get closer because they don't want to get closer. They say they do but their actions tell us the truth. If you really want to get close to God you have to actively choose to get closer to Him.

"She Never Even Knew She Had A Choice"

"She never even knew she had a choice but that's what happens when the only voice she hears is telling her she can't"

Pro-choice. No one ever says "I'm pro-abortion" only "pro-choice". "I support the right of a woman to choose". But does she even really have a choice? Sure in theory she can choose whether or not to abort her child. But in reality it's not that simple.

Every unwed pregnant mother has people all around her telling her what to do. Many women have parents who don't want their reputation sullied by a daughter's out-of-wedlock pregnancy. Most boyfriends don't want the responsibility of a child. And the abortion industry wants her money. From all sides the unwed mother is being pressured into making a "choice" that she does not necessarily want to make.

An unwed mother may never even hear that she has a choice other than abortion.

Many women who have had abortions tell about counseling sessions at the abortion clinic in which they were made to feel that abortion was their only option. Many have said that if they had known they had another choice they would have taken it.

You can't be pro-choice if you're not offering a choice.

Ever Ever After

"Let's just admit we all want to make it to ever ever after"

Fifty years ago divorce was a rarity. When it did occur it was considered a scandal. Now divorce is commonplace, with nearly 50% of marriages ending in divorce. It would seem that with such statistics society would have become desensitized to divorce and accepted that marriage can not last a lifetime. However, all around us people are asking "can't two people stay in love forever?"

In the movie Juno the title character says "I just need to know if it's possible for two people to stay happy together forever." Far from desensitizing us divorce has made society long for and appreciate life long marriages.

What making divorce so commonplace has done is allowed us to get lazy in our relationships. Though everyone wants their marriage to last forever very few are willing to actually work at it. When divorce was a scandal couples would work to make their marriage last and would try every other option before even considering divorce. Now with divorce considered normal many couples will run to their lawyer at the first sign of trouble rather than attempting to work through the problem.

Marriage is about dying to self. Each and every day you are supposed to make small sacrifices for your spouse. And then, when it comes time to make big sacrifices, you find it's not that hard.

"Let me ask you something. If someone prays for patience, you think God gives them patience? Or does He give them the opportunity to be patient? If he prayed for courage, does God give him courage, or does He give him opportunities to be courageous? If someone prayed for their family to be closer, do you think God zaps them with warm fuzzy feelings, or does He give them opportunities to love each other?"

Reverence for the Eucharist

"Our hearts need to start burning with a deeper understanding of Who and What this Eucharist is"

I watched a movie about St. Faustina a while ago and there was one scene in which one of her fellow nuns, who was jealous of Sister Faustina, said while passing her in the hallway "Here comes the princess" and St. Faustina replied that she had just received Holy Communion and so she did indeed have royal blood flowing in her.

We seem to have lost the sense of wonder and awe at the reception of the Eucharist. Having had the concept pounded into our heads from infancy we simply take it for granted that This is the Body of Our Lord and do not stop to contemplate what that really means. And because we take it for granted we therefore do not offer Our Lord in the Eucharist the reverence that He deserves.

My dad told me that when he was in Catholic gradeschool his class was taken to Mass one day. There were no seats left so some of the boys had to stand. After Communion the boys were standing when their teacher came over and asked if they had received Communion. The boys replied that they had and the teacher immediately stated "Get on your knees!"

This teacher understood What the Eucharist is and the respect It commands.

Obesity

Back in my day cookie monster ate cookies.



This whole childhood obesity thing has gotten way out of control. You know why Americans are fat? Cuz we're lazy. It's a fact. And because we're lazy we want the government to take care of everything for us. Which is why we don't complain when New York's Nanny Mayor Bloomberg bans trans-fats in restaurants.

It is not up to the mayor to tell his constituents what they can and can't eat. It is the decision of the customer at a restaurant whether or not to care about the nutritional value of his or her food.

The Declaration of Independence states that there are three inalienable rights "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness". I happen to find my happiness in a chocolate chip cookie and it is not up to the mayor and certainly not up to Sesame Street to make me eat fruit instead.

The Blessed Sacrament

"We should never sever the connection between recieving the Sacrament and celebrating the sacrifice"

These words are the central message of Bishop Murphy's letter to the priests of the Diocese of Rockville Centre regarding "the proper celebration of the Eucharist and the distribution of Holy Communion".

The Bishop stated that weekday Communion services which take place outside of Mass should no longer be conducted within the diocese. The Bishop has made this decision after careful examination of Church teaching on the subject of the Eucharist. He has made a point to thank the good and holy people who have carried out these services throughout the years.

Many people have been upset about the Bishop's actions in this case. However it is necessary for everyone to be completely informed on this issue before spewing opinions. It is admirable that so many people have such a devotion to the Eucharist and I trust those people will take this as an opportunity to develop an even greater devotion.

The entire Mass is a sacrifice. Sacrifice is what Catholics are called to do every day. For Kellenberg students, since there will no longer be Communion before lunch at school, you could make an extra effort to get to the 7:20 Mass that is held in the school chapel every morning. Obviously this is difficult and you may not be able to do it. But there are other ways to honor Christ. The Bishop has encouraged reading of the Liturgy of the Hours, the "official prayer of the Church". By having to make more of an effort to receive the Eucharist daily we should be able to better appreciate the Sacrament. This whole situation should provide a wonderful opportunity for reflection on the importance of the Eucharist.

I would also humbly ask that before anyone criticizes the Bishop for his actions that they become fully informed on the issue. The Bishop's letter should be read in its entirety and can be found here: http://www.licatholic.org/news/051408/Bishop_Letter_051408.pdf In his letter the Bishop also encourages us to examine The General Instruction on the Roman Missal, Ecclesia de Eucharistia - John Paul II's encyclical on the Eucharist, Redemptionis Sacramentum by the Congregation of Divine Worship, and Sacramentum Caritatis - Pope Benedict XVI's encyclical on the Eucharist. Also helpful is this article from The Long Island Catholic: http://www.licatholic.org/news/051408/Bishop_Issues_Letter051408.html I hope you will all take this opportunity to become more educated about the Eucharist.

More Pope

Speech to the US Bishops
Part 1


Part 2


Part 3


Part 4


http://www.ewtn.com/USPapalVisit08/words/Bishops.asp

At CUA and the JPII Cultural Center


At the UN


http://wcbstv.com/seenon/pope.benedict.speech.2.703107.html

Arrival at St. Joseph's Seminary


Presentation of Religious Leaders


Kelly Clarkson singing Ave Maria for the Pope


Mass at St. Patrick's


http://www.zenit.org/article-22344?l=english

More of the Mass


At Ground Zero


Mass at Yankee Stadium


http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/homilies/2008/documents/hf_ben-xvi_hom_20080420_yankee-stadium-ny_en.html

VP Cheney Farewell Speech to the Pope


http://www.zenit.org/article-22366?l=english

The Pope's Farewell Speech


http://www.zenit.org/rssenglish-22365

Boarding the Plane

Pope Benedict XVI in the United States

For the benefit of my fellow seniors, who were in Disney when the Pope visited, and for anyone else who was unable to see the coverage, or for anyone who wants to see it again, I am compiling videos of all the Pope's events while he was in the United States. Links for the text of speeches will be underneath the video.

The Pope's Arrival at Andrews Air Force Base


The Pope's Arrival at the White House


President Bush's Welcome Speech to the Pope


http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,351467,00.html

Pope Benedict's Speech at the White House


http://wcbstv.com/papalvisit/pope.benedict.speech.2.701076.html

The Pope's Homily at Nationals Stadium


The Pope's Address to Catholic Educators at the Catholic University of America

http://www.ewtn.com/uspapalvisit08/words/Educators.asp

More videos to follow.

Where We're Going

Last week I was in Disney World on Senior Trip. On Friday afternoon my friends and I were in Animal Kingdom. As we were attempting to head back to the buses we found ourselves a little lost. On top of the stress of not knowing where we were, everyone was tired, overheated, and our feet hurt. So needless to say no one was in a good mood. Thus began an argument about how we got lost, whose fault it was, and where the heck we were.

I personally didn't care whose fault it was, I just wanted to get on the bus where it was air conditioned and I could sit down and rest my weary feet. So I grumbled at our disgruntled group that "It doesn't matter where we were, it matters where we're going!" And then I got philosophical.

And I was like, isn't that true in life?

No matter where you are in life, whether you're in a good place, a bad place, or you don't quite know where you are, what matters isn't where you were before, or how you got where you are now, that's in the past and can't be changed, what does matter is where you're going from here.

If you're in a good place, go somewhere even better. If you're in a bad place, go somewhere good. If you don't know where you are, figure it out. Then go somewhere good.

The Holy Mass

"And heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of great thunders, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord our God the Almighty hath reigned. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give glory to Him; for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath prepared herself. And it is granted to her that she should clothe herself with fine linen, glittering and white. For the fine linen are the justifications of saints. And he said to me: Write: Blessed are they that are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb."

This is from the book of Revelation. Most people read this and think that it is referring to the end of the world. But read it more carefully. Do you recognize anything?

Anyone who was commissioned as a Eucharistic Minister at Kellenberg had to memorize the phrase "This is the Lamb of God Who takes away the sins of the world, happy are those who are called to His supper." That sounds remarkably like "Blessed are they that are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb."

And if you study Church history and teaching you'll find that the Holy Mass is actually a celebration of Christ's marriage to His bride, the Church.

No marriage is considered valid unless it has been consumated, and the bride and groom have become "two in one flesh". Christ's marriage to the Church must also be consumated. This is done when we, the Church, His bride, consume the Flesh and Blood of the Bridegroom, our Lord, Jesus Christ.

Back in the day, in the time of the earlier Church, when a bishop came to celebrate Mass the church building itself would be dressed up like a bride, covered in white cloth, with a crown on top of the building.

Many people in the Church have not taken the time to study the Church's history and teachings and therefore do not truly appreciate what the Mass is.

Every Sunday during Mass we say the Great Amen. You may not have ever heard of this. You may have absolutely no idea what I'm talking about. But I swear there really is a part of the Mass where the entire congregation says the word Amen. Amen is the Latin word for "I believe". The entire congregation is proclaiming that they believe that this is the Flesh and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. But you'd never know it. Even the people who are saying this word don't realize they are doing it.

In another chapter of Revelation St. John says: "And all the angels stood round about the throne, and the ancients, and the four living creatures; and they fell down before the throne upon their faces, and adored God, saying: Amen. Benediction, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, honour, and power, and strength to our God for ever and ever." This is what St. John was seeing: the Great Amen during the Holy Mass. But we haven't quite lived up to that have we?

It's up to us to bring this vision to life. Not just in the Amen but in every aspect of Mass.

Flip through Revelation sometime. See what other allusions you can find to the Holy Mass.

Divided We Fail

I saw this commercial and I felt compelled to remind everyone that God created red and God created blue. He did not create purple.

Working together is fine. But there's a line that you don't cross. Voters can not compromise on moral issues and doing so in the name of unity is only helping the other guy.

But Wait - There's More!

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2008/03/18/2008-03-18_gov_david_paterson_admits_to_numerous_af.html

"Gov. David Patterson admits to numerous affairs"

Can we please have leaders we can be proud of? I was positively giddy over Governor Spitzer's downfall and of course I'm always happy to see morons fall flat on their faces but enough is enough. I'm ready for the United States to have respectable leaders, leaders that I, as an American, can be proud of.

The United States is too great a nation to be made a fool of by our idiot politicians.

The United States was made a laughing stock when Bill Clinton's affairs came out. New York is now a laughing stock from Governor Spitzer. And though New Yorkers may be willing to overlook Governor Patterson's behavior in the name of unity, I'm sure the rest of the country is only laughing the harder at us.

All I know is I'm tired of laughing. It's not funny anymore. I said in my post about Governor Spitzer that if a politician can't keep the most important promise of his life, the promise, before God, to be faithful to his wife, than he's not gonna keep his far less important campaign promises. If you can't keep the most important promise of your life then you don't deserve to be in politics. You do not represent me and my beliefs. And no one has the right to make a laughing stock out of the country that I am proud of, the country that our soldiers have fought and died for. Our nation deserves better than that.

Love Client # 9

The continueing saga of Eliot Spitzer.

The Arrogance of Power

Governor Elliot Spitzer (D-NY) was today accused of hiring prostitutes from the "call-girl business" the Emperors Club VIP.

Hiring prostitutes is a crime in New York State. Elliot Spitzer was the Attorney General of New York and is now the Governor. While other politicians have love affairs, while doing nothing technically illegal, Governor Spitzer, the chief law enforcer of the state of New York, blatantly defied the law, commiting a crime that, almost certainly, would be found out.

Governor Spitzer's actions were discovered through federal wire-tappings in which he arranged a meeting with one of the prostitutes.

Having been Attorney General, and having used wire-tapping to its full potential, Governor Spitzer ought to have known what a precarious situation he was placing himself in. However in his characteristic arrogance the governor once again believed he could get away with it simply because he is Elliot Spitzer.

"Mr. Clean" as the governor has been called told the people of New York during his campaign for governor that he would be the one to clean up Albany, to get New York's government out of scandal. However, from his first day in office, Governor Spitzer's administration has been bogged down with scandal and the arrogance of power which he so perfectly characterizes.

Governor Spitzer in his remarks today stated that "I do not believe that politics in the long run is about individuals, it is about ideas, the public good, and doing what is best for the state of New York." He furthermore referred to this as a "private matter" and said that "I apologize to the public, whom I promised better".

Mr. Spitzer promised us many things during his campaign. Many would say, as Governor Spitzer said, that politics is not about "individuals" but "about ideas, the public good, and doing what is best for the state of New York". That is what politics is about. However, if a politician can't keep the most important promise of his or her life, the promise, before God, to remain faithful to his or her spouse, why should the public trust them with their far less important campaign promises?

Since being elected governor Mr. Spitzer has shown absolute contempt for the promises he made during his campaign. He has not, as he promised to do, cleaned up Albany. On the contrary, Albany is dirtier than ever.

If Mr. Spitzer had any decency left in him he would have resigned immediately.

We've all heard of people asking their local drugstore cashier "Has this product been tested on animals?" Most cosmetic companies now make it a point to state clearly on their packaging that "This product has not been tested on animals." But have you ever seen on a bottle of hand cream "This product contain the parts of aborted babies."? Cuz you should.

The leading 12 shampoos and 5 hand creams in your local drugstore contain human collagen, a "gelatinous substance found in connective tissue, bone, and cartillage" which also happens to have a wonderful moisturizing effect. And guess where they get it from? Aborted babies.

Mary Kay and Hask Cosmetics have both sent out statements assuring their customers that their collagen comes only from animals. Other cosmetics companies are not so humane.

Next time you're out buying you're makeup check the bottles. Unless the label specifically says that the product contains animal or bovine collagen it most likely comes from dead children. Don't support these companies!

http://www.skepticfiles.org/mys2/deadbaby.htm

I Love FUS!

Yesterday Bill Clinton held a campaign rally for Hillary in Steubenville, Ohio, nearby to Catholic college Franciscan University of Steubenville. Members of the college's Students for Life organization attended the rally. As has become characteristic, Bill Clinton lost his temper with them:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XfmJeIJpns

"Tell the truth . . . Tell the truth . . . If you were really pro-life you would want to put every doctor and every mother as an accesory to murder in prison and you won't say you want to do that cause you know you wouldn't have a lick of political support." - Well he's half right. We certainly wouldn't mind seeing every abortion doctor put in prison for murder considering that's usually what you do with murderers. But the mothers are as much victims of the doctors as the children are and we have always treated them that way. What does Clinton think all our pregnancy centers are for? One of the largest groups at the March for Life is always the Silent No More women, the women who have had abortions and regret it. We recognize that the women are victims who have been lied to by people like Bill Clinton.

"You can't name me anybody presently in politics that did more to introduce policies that reduced the number of real abortions" - as opposed to fake abortions. On Bill Clinton's third day in office, January 22, 1993, he signed a series of executive orders undoing the Reagan-Bush "Mexico City Policy". This policy required that any non-governmental agency that was recieving Federal funds could not perform nor promote abortion in other nations as a method of family planning. The rescinding of this policy by Bill Clinton was a total slap-in-the-face to pro-lifers particularly considering that he chose to sign these orders on the 20th anniversary of Roe vs. Wade. These orders would certainly have increased the number of "real" abortions. President Clinton also vetoed a bill that would have banned partial-birth abortion - and if partial-birth abortion isn't "real" abortion than I don't know what is.

"This is not your rally" - well it is now.

It looks like Bill Clinton is the one who needs to learn to tell the truth.

Good job Franciscan University!

So I saw the movie Juno today and there was one scene that particularly struck me. When she first tells her boyfriend that she's pregnant he asks her what she's gonna do. And she says that she's probably gonna get an abortion. The way she says this is almost pleading. The way she looks at him is begging him to tell her not to do that. But he doesn't want to tell her what to do, so he tells her to do whatever she wants.

So many unwed pregnant mothers just want to hear someone say "It'll be alright." Juno looked at her boyfriend and pleaded with him to tell her that he would be a good father, that they could do this, that she didn't have to go through with the abortion. But men have been taught by our society that they should never try to tell a woman what to do. This is a woman's choice and you have no say in it.

All this when what most women need is a man to stand up and take responsibility. How many babies could be saved if men would act like men and take responsibility for their actions.

My teacher once told us that "women don't know how to be women and therefore men don't know how to be men." If the women of this world would act like women with expectations of their men then the men of this world would be far more willing to stand up for the well-being of their woman and child.

However in this culture if a man tells a woman she shouldn't get an abortion he is a sexist and the pro-life movement is once again labeled as "a bunch of men telling women what to do."

It's Not Sexism - It's Hillaryism

"Americans just aren't ready for a woman president."

Americans don't care that she's a woman what bothers them is that she's Hillary.

We took a poll in my history class today of how many people hate Hillary Clinton. About 75% raised their hands. About half of them were girls.

I'm not a sexist - I'm a Hillaryist.

In Preparation for Lent

Every year for Lent Catholics are expected to make some sort of sacrifice in preparation for the death of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

In the past several decades there has been less of an emphasis on the traditional fasting of Lent and more on "doing something". There is nothing wrong with doing something special for Lent but it seems to have become more of a fad than anything and we have forgotten what the point of this really is.

For thousands of years before Jesus was born fasting was used as a discipline, to deny the body of food in repentance for sins and to cleanse the soul. The Church has traditionally had fasting during Lent to cleanse our souls in preparation for the Resurrection of Jesus. Previously Catholics were only allowed one meal a day and absolutely no meat during Lent. Now we are only asked to give up one item, not necessarily a food, which we enjoy and to abstain from meat on Fridays, Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday.

If you don't want to give something up you also have the option to "do something". Most people hear this and are like Oh great I'll just resolve to do all my homework, when everyone knows that you're not actually gonna do that and two days later when it doesn't work you're like "oh well guess that didn't work" and that's the end of it.

There's a couple problems with this. Number 1: When the Church says you can "do something" they mean something spiritual. There's nothing wrong with doing all your homework but it has nothing to do with God. "Doing something" means saying a rosary every day, or spending a half hour in the chapel, or going to Communion before lunch, something that is going to bring you closer to God. This isn't a New Year's Resolution. It's an attempt to prepare yourself for the death and resurrection of Christ.

Number 2: If, for example, you decide to give up cookies for Lent and you accidentally eat a cookie one night, that doesn't mean you should give up and go ahead and eat all the cookies you want since you already messed up. Same for if you decided to say a rosary every day and you forgot. It just means that you have to try a little harder. This is exactly the point of confession: you mess up but that doesn't mean it's over. You confess your sins and try harder. (I don't think you hafta go to confession for accidentally eating a cookie, I'm just making a comparison)

Whatever you decide to do, whether it is give something up or do something spiritual, you should make a conscious effort to do it, and if you mess up you say, I guess I'll just have to work a little harder at this. It's not supposed to be easy guys. This is all about sacrifice whether it's a food or something you like, or if it's your time, and sacrifice is always hard.

I think the Easter Bunny should have a rule, similar to Santa's naughty or nice rule: if you really tried to stick to your sacrifice during Lent and you made a conscious effort to prepare for the death of Our Lord then you get candy. If you gave up after two days then you don't.

What I Need is Truth Will Someone Tell Me That for a Change?

The media, meaning news stations, newspapers, etc., are supposed to tell the public the truth. The job of the media is supposed to be to deliver to the public an unbiased report on what is taking place in the world. I would be astounded if anyone were able to find a truly unbiased, mainstream media, newspaper or news station.

Today I read in Newsday an article entitled "Pregnant Pause" focusing on the new pro-life movie Juno. Newsday is known to be biased to the liberal side along with being anti-catholic and pro-abortion. As such their article on Juno was, unsurprisingly, less than enthusiastic.

Newsday's article spoke not only of Juno but of other movies involving pregnant women such as "Bella", "Knocked Up", "Waitress", Romanian film "4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days", and "The Business of Being Born". Also mentioned in the article was "the copious fawning over celebs and their "baby bumps" (Halle Berry on the cover of In Style magazine; 16-year-old Jamie Lynn Spears on the cover of everything else)".

Newsday points out that in the movies listed the "'A' word" (abortion) is hardly ever used. They state that of the 5 movies the only one in which the pregnant woman enters an abortion clinic is Juno. Maybe Newsday missed the heartwrenching flash-forward in Bella in which Nina not only enters the clinic but continues all the way into the operating room. As for the women not using the "'A' word" this is true to real life. Women seeking abortions almost always use words such as "the procedure" and place a taboo on the word "abortion". Knowing this it is not at all unrealistic to suppose that "In 'Waitress', Keri Russell's character cuts her doctor off before he says it". This avoidance of the word, therefore, is much more truthful towards real life than Newsday seems to care to be.

Newsday furthermore makes the case that there is an avoidance of abortion as a whole in these movies. Again perhaps Newsday missed the fact that both Nina (the "heroine in Bella") and Juno consider abortions to the point that they enter a clinic. However Newsday does raise a valid question in regards to "Knocked Up" when they state that the lead character "may fret over whether she should pursue a relationship with the slacker, but there's no question she's having the baby". While I agree with Newsday that it seems rather unrealistic that "an aspiring TV journalist pregnant after a drunken one-night stand with a goofball" would have absolutely no qualms about bringing her child to birth Newsday does not choose the best defense of their position.

To prove that very few women would carry an unintended pregnancy to term Newsday quotes the Guttmacher Institute, a liberal organization affiliated with Planned Parenthood, the largest abortion provider in the United States. If Newsday had any interest in conducting honest reporting they would certainly not have chosen as their source of information an institution with vested interests. If however Newsday insists upon using the Guttmacher Institute it would be only fair for them to report that the Institute is affiliated with Planned Parenthood and known to lean to the left on issues such as abortion, since they noted that The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which did not place abortion film "4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days" in their top five picks for best foreign film, as "a group of voters known to skew older and more conservative".

Newsday followed up "Pregnant Pause" with another article ironically entitled "Truth (and consequences)". In this article Newsday interviews several girls who attend Brentwood High School. One of the girls states that "She hears other girls admiring their baby bumps, predicting how chubby their newborns will be and cooing about the cuddly baby clothes they can buy." I don't know what's up with girls in Brentwood cuz any unwed pregnant teen I've ever met sure isn't admiring her baby bump. Newsday uses this quote, and several more, to segway into a discussion of fantasy versus reality in terms of what life is like with a child. From what I'm seeing Newsday seems to be dealing more in fantasy than anyone else.

There is a fantastic song by Matt Maher entitled Void. There is a line in this song in which he says "What I need is truth, Will someone tell me that for a change?" That's what I'd like. A little truth. A little truth from Newsday and the entire mainstream media. Save the opinions for the columnists and stick to reporting the facts.

"I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through me."
-John 14:6

What the Media Won't Report

It was Tuesday morning. I was walking with my uncle and cousins to the Youth Rally prior to the March for Life in Washington D.C. It was seven o'clock a.m. and FREEZING cold out. We approached the Verizon Center where the rally was being held and saw hundreds of teenagers standing outside and then, to our horror, a sign that said Rally Closed. We went to the man holding the sign and inquired as to what was going on. He informed us that the Verizon Center, which holds 20,000 people, was completely packed and they could not allow any more of the hundreds standing outside into the building. Those of us who could not get in were sent to a nearby church for a Mass that would coincide with the one being held at the Verizon Center. However by the time our group reached the church that too was overflowing and so, many of those who had planned to go to the rally spent the morning sightseeing and eating Burger King.

I tell this anecdote to try and impress upon you just how many people go to the March for Life. These 20,000-plus people only represent the Catholic youth. By the time you get to the actual March you have older Catholics and people of all ages from all different faiths. It is impossible for me to even estimate how many people attend the March.

At one point during the March my cousin and I sat down to rest for about 15 minutes. The people just kept coming! Even when the crowd appeared to be thinning out more and more kept coming! It was never-ending! There were

representations from colleges, religious groups, parishes, you name it! But the most moving

group was the hundreds of women at the front 0f the March with signs proclaiming "I Regret My Abortion".

And then you think of all the people who couldn't make it to the March. Students who have midterms, people who are sick, people who can't take the day off from work, who live too far away, whatever. There must be thousands more pro-lifers who can't even make it to the March. Imagine if we could get every single pro-lifer in the country to D.C. on that day. We would completely take over Washington!

And isn't it ironic that 9 unelected judges can disregard the wishes of all these millions of people? 9 unelected supreme court justices can decide to throw away the constitution and show absolute contempt for the will of the people which is what this entire country is founded on.

P.S. - possibly the most amazing experience of the entire day, however, was when we were leaving St. Joseph's Church where the Diocese of Rockville Centre gathered after the March. We were about two blocks away from the church when we turned around and saw a rainbow spanning the entire sky ending right over the Church. See picture below.

-------------------------------------------->>>>

"God added: 'This is the sign that I am giving for all ages to come, of the covenant between me and you and every living creature with you: I set my bow in the clouds to serve as a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth, and the bow appears in the clouds, I will recall the covenant I have made between me and you and all living beings, so that the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all mortal beings. As the bow appears in the clouds, I will see it and recall the everlasting covenant that I have established between God and all living beings - all mortal creatures that are on earth.'"

Feminazis - Putting women back in chains

Feminists often accuse the pro-life movement of being a bunch of men telling women what to do. Feminism is supposed to be about giving women equal rights with men. The first suffragettes, women like Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Alice Paul, etc., had to spend much of their time first convincing society that women could think for themselves and did not need to be told what to do by men. However today's feminists seem to want to portray the image that only the women who think the way they do are able to think for themselves. The rest of us are indeed what patriarchal societies for thousands of years portrayed us to be, poor, simpering creatures who need men to tell them what to do. I flatter myself that I am quite capable of thinking for myself and don't need anyone to tell me what to do.

Now, if you look at this situation objectively, you will find that, ironically, the feminists often seem to be the ones who are telling women what they should think. Perhaps because they are not men they think this makes it all right but I for one see no difference between a man telling a woman what she should think and do and a woman telling another woman the same thing.

The feminists should be encouraging us women to think for ourselves, to look at evidence, consider facts, become informed citizens. They should encourage us to have self-esteem, to value ourselves and our bodies. Instead they tell us to treat our bodies as trash as long as we use a condom. And if that doesn't work (36% of the time) they send you to get an abortion.

Feminists have trained today's females to treat their bodies like trash. They have trained us women to believe that unless we do as they tell us we are not thinking for ourselves (does anyone else catch the hypocrisy in that?). And finally they are denying hundreds of thousands of women the greatest right of women, the right to be a mother.