Jerry Sandusky: Guilty.

Sports - the 'gay antidote' - worked for Jerry.

And gay.

Who knew.

Yep - a man having sex with male teenagers and young men is gay sex. 

Sandusky story here.

Jeopardy answer:  What is pederasty, Dottie?

Gay Pride: They glory in their shame... No, seriously, they do.

Philadelphia Freedom.  2012

Right in front of kids - the kids are so not all right.

Call me an old fashioned Bible banger, but this disgusts me...

June is gay pride month - even the President celebrates it.  Photos of his guests at the White House giving the finger to former President Reagan's portrait marked the occasion.  Who would want friends like that?

At the reception, Mr. Obama told the attendees that the day is

approaching when gay citizens will enjoy full equality in America.

“We’ll get there because of every man and woman and activist and ally

 who is moving us forward by the force of their moral arguments,

 but more importantly, by the force of their example,” Mr. Obama said.

I know!

So this is gay pride?

Really?

The online definition of gay pride is as follows:

Main Entry:	gay pride
Part of Speech:	n
Definition:	a sense of dignity and satisfaction involved in the public admission of one's homosexuality

In other words, gay people pretty much define gay pride as the antonym of shame. 

St. Paul writes about shame...

"Unfortunately many go about in a way which shows them to be an enemy of the cross of Christ... Their god is their abs and their glory is in their shame." - Philippians 3:19

"Brothers, watch out for those who cause dissension and scandal... Such men serve, not Christ our Lord, but their own bellies, and they deceive the simpleminded with smooth and flattering speech." - Romans 16:17-19

Anyway - that's what comes to my mind whenever I see photos of gay pride parades and entertainment.  The Christian on the other hand, may only boast in Christ and him crucified:

May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. - Galatians 6:14

If you see it another way, may God clarify the difficulty for you. - Philippians 3:15 

One-a-Day: Greatest hits.

Local priest Fr. Mike Tegeder seems to have a lot of power...

Tegeder

Hello Goodbye

It is no secret he dissents from Church teaching and speaks out against Archbishop Nienstedt - especially concerning Catholic teaching on sexuality.  He is one of the subjects of a local publication speaking out against Nienstedt and the Minnesota Bishops support of an amendment to the constitution to safeguard traditional marriage.  It strikes me that Tegeder may have something "on" the Archdiocese - some dirt perhaps?  Consider this statement for example:

"Nienstedt is just so rigid about these things," Tegeder continues, growing animated. "But, you know — just let go of it. What are we trying to defend? Marriage? Has the Catholic Church protected marriage? I mean, [Nienstedt] has a priest who impregnated one of his staff members, broke up their marriage, and the guy's still functioning! ... Why don't we take care of our own issues before we start imposing views onto other people who don't have the same religious beliefs?" - City Pages

Not too many people knew about that BTW. 

What's more, a friend sent me a list of all the 'gay friendly' - read accommodating - Catholic parishes in the Metro area.  Churches with gay friendly pastors as well.  It strikes me as inconsistent.

This morning at Mass - the first day of the "Fortnight" nothing was mentioned about the Fortnight.  No prayers were offered for the intention.  Curiously, the visiting priest-celebrant used different readings and offered Mass in honor of St. Paulinus of Nola - a married bishop BTW.  The priest can do that of course, both St. Paulinus and John Fisher/Thomas More are optional memorials - but this priest is from one of the 'gay-friendly' parishes, which made me wonder.  Like I've said before - I have yet to hear any marriage prayer from the Archbishop recited at any of the churches I've attended Mass at.

It seems to me the Archbishop is not well supported in his Archdiocese.  I would urge everyone to pray for him.  He's a courageous man, a good shepherd.

I'm also saddened that Michael Bayly, a local gay activist has taken such an aggressive stand against the Archbishop and Church teaching.  The City Pages article concludes with this statement from Bayly:

"I think this whole issue of homosexuality is the last one the bishops still have any sort of control over, and they see that going," Bayly says. "And that's why they're putting up such a huge fight. Because after that's gone, there's nothing left in the realm of sexuality that people will listen to them about."  - City Pages 

I'm not pretending when I say that makes me sad - I continue to pray for him, no matter what. Not for this or that to happen - but simply that he will be sanctified and saved.

What happens if we lose religious freedom?

Bl. Jacinta

“My godmother, pray much for those who govern! Woe to those who persecute the religion of Our Lord! If the government left the Church in peace and gave freedom to the holy Faith, it would be blessed by God.” - Blessed Jacinta to M. Godinho shortly before she died.

The Hermitage Online.

Once, while visiting a Camaldolese hermitage, a venerable old father spoke to me about the vocation of a hermit.  He told me about a novice who ran to the window of his cell each time someone passed by, likewise, whenever he heard a vehicle drive up, the monk looked out to see who was coming.  "He was greatly interested in what was going on in the world."  The young monk was eventually sent away. 

I was just thinking about that story last night as it relates to 'living online':  Always checking emails, tweets, comments, blog posts, reading news sites, counting stats and donations, and so on.  How does it affect prayer and recollection?  If a hermit or contemplative, and more especially - a novice, is frequently online, isn't that similar to the  Camaldolese novice's experience?  Is the online hermit really a hermit or just a virtual hermit?  Did he really leave the world?

I don't know.

Blogs and Reality TV

Observing behaviour.

A work in progress... blogger interrupted...

Though we discuss our personal issues, sins and failings, achievements, etc., publicly, online and in other people's comboxes, or in an online 'magazine. or e-book, it's just "our" version of things, isn't it...  Not unlike Reality TV, it's played out with an audience in mind.  And like Reality TV insta-stars, some get to be minor-celebrities. 

Just a thought... 

One-a-Day: Greatest hits.

The BEST of the BEST!

Hits and Stats

I love me some you

It's not you - it's ME!

Several of my online friends** have noticed they aren't getting the hits they are accustomed to.  It's summer sillies.  Who wants to be reading blogs when they are so busy tweeting from their vacation and happy spots?

Yet they will complain when everyone else seems to be getting traffic.  Or complain about blogomerates.  Or just complain.  I do it too - but I have Attention Deficit Disorder and don't remember.  Anyway - we all claim not to be a slave to our stitemeters, stats page, and number of comments we get in our comboxes - or the linky-links on news portals and other sites.  And yet when New Advent, ThePulpit, Patheos, Vox Nova, Fr. Z, Spirit Daily, Washington Post, and other 'celebrity' sites link to us we pee all over ourselves and think, "OMG!  I am the greatest evangelist since Fr. Crappie!" 

And then... and then... when you don't get picked up by those revenue producing blogomerates, and you realize you're not so hot and never going to make it big, you then decide you're gonna quit blogging.  I've been doing that ever since I started blogging.*

Hahahahahaahahaaaaaa!  You're insane and addicted to seeking fame and millions of online friends - you've become Stepford-Octomoms and filthy internet whores.  (The internet is the whore of Babylon you know.  Did you know calling someone 'baby' pays homage to that Whore?  What?)

Hahahahahahahahahaaaahahahahaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!  Insane laughter.  Lighten up.

Just blog if you want to say something - but say something original.  And stop looking for affirmation and praise from people you don't know.  The people who drop you are people who were never really your friends in the first place.

*The big difference between you and me is I never take down the blog, or continually start up a new one after I decided not to blog any longer.   When I decide to stop blogging - I get more honest - no concern about winning friends or influencing people.  There's a good lesson there.  Advertising, donate buttons, links to news portals, followers app, friend connect - it's hard to be honest when you are juggling all that crap.  It's hard to stay offline and get a life when you are trying to up your stats or make money on your thoughts you lifted from another source.

**Yes my friends, you inspire me. 

This post is so NOT about you!  Listen to this:  I won't be breakin' your heart!  (Well, not you.  Kidding!  Just kidding!  What?)

Litigious Lesbians.

Gay Rights.

Lesbians suing a Catholic institution for same sex benefits?  Surprised?  Such litigation is a form of gay political activism focused upon changing law and morality - forcing - demanding the acceptance of LGBTQueer upon culture.  Don't be fooled. 

A lesbian employee of St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Westchester County filed a class-action lawsuit on Tuesday claiming that her spouse is entitled to the same medical coverage as the spouses of heterosexual employees.

Since same-sex marriage became legal in New York last July, most companies in the state have extended spousal health benefits to same-sex couples. But self-insured employers, which include St. Joseph’s and other large institutions, are primarily governed by federal, not state regulations. As a result, they may deny health coverage to same-sex couples under the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman. In the lawsuit, filed in Federal District Court in Manhattan, the employee argued that it was illegal to use the Defense of Marriage Act to justify denial of coverage, because the law is discriminatory and therefore unconstitutional.

“I’m not just thinking about our particular situation,” said the hospital employee, who has filed the lawsuit using a pseudonym, Jane Roe, and spoke on condition of anonymity because she said she was concerned about the impact on her job if she complained publicly. The woman has been with her partner for 16 years, she said, and married her last autumn. 

“I’m also thinking about the folks who are behind us, the younger people in their 20s and 30s, who are thinking about getting married and who are going to have the same problem,” she said. “It’s just not socially fair.”

A number of lawsuits across the country filed by same-sex couples and their advocates are challenging the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act. At least two courts have ruled aspects of the act unconstitutional, and the matter is wending its way toward the Supreme Court. - NYTimes

 Photo:  I'm not sure that many people are willing to admit or acknowledge that there is often an underlying resentment, or jealousy - even a covetousness, many gay people experience regarding heterosexuals and heterosexual relationships.  Hence, my use of this photo.  Talk amongst yourselves.

Fortnight for Freedom

Begins today.

The fourteen days from June 21—the vigil of the Feasts of St. John Fisher and St. Thomas More—to July 4, Independence Day, are dedicated to this “fortnight for freedom”—a great hymn of prayer for our country. Our liturgical calendar celebrates a series of great martyrs who remained faithful in the face of persecution by political power—St. John Fisher and St. Thomas More, St. John the Baptist, SS. Peter and Paul, and the First Martyrs of the Church of Rome. Culminating on Independence Day, this special period of prayer, study, catechesis, and public action will emphasize both our Christian and American heritage of liberty. Dioceses and parishes around the country have scheduled special events that support a great national campaign of teaching and witness for religious liberty.

I wonder how many bishops and Catholics are aware of this promise by Our Lady of the Rosary?

You shall obtain all you ask of me by recitation of the Rosary.

After all, our nation is entrusted to the patronage of the Immaculate Conception.

  

I think something is wrong with me.

No, really, I do.

Maybe it's hypoglycemia or something.  I'm confused.  I'm not making sense of many of the blogs I'm in the habit of reading - and a few others that I wasn't in the habit of reading, until lately.
I'm absolutely amazed at how deeply people can rationalize and intellectualize and mysticate (I made that up just for spiritual people) their personal disorder(s).  What is identity?  

Maybe I should become a cabbage... and write about it.

Like a dream one wakes from... [Ps. 73:20]

One-a-Day: Greatest hits.

Totally mindless... superficial... shallow... drunk.

Dance, dance, dance.

Bishop Fernando María Bargalló and his gal pal on vacation.

Old friends: Argentine priest Fernando María Bargallo, 59, was left red-faced after footage emerged of him swimming and cuddling with the blonde at a secluded luxury Mexican hideaway.

I know a couple of priests who go on vacation with their BFF's, who just happen to be women.  I know for sure they are just friends.   

On the other hand, Bargalló - I don't know.  Although, SSA men sometimes hang out with women and go on vacation with them - thus posing no problem in the chastity department.  Like I said, I know priests who've done that.  They look to me to be more than friends.

Anyway - I found the story on Rorate Caeli first, and then found the photos here.

Rorate Caeli often insists the crisis of the Church is a crisis of Bishops.  Personally - I think it is a crisis of fidelity.  We've always had self-serving bishops.  Catholics have lost the faith.

This is your virtual life...

Digital Monastery

I watched the Frontline documentary "Digital Nation" last night.  If you spend a lot of time online, you should watch it.

I think I spend way too much time online.  I noticed it yesterday when I couldn't make a decision on what I should do next: Check email?  Check news portals for another post?  Clean the house?  Work in the yard?  Paint?  Read?  Take a nap?  Go online?  Oh wait, I was online.

Too much information.  Information overload.  Reading stuff.  Writing stuff.  Writing opinions or news other people have already written.  Re-writing things I already wrote.  Desperately trying to be funny by making fun of someone I disagree with, in order to get affirmation or praise for my: a) humor b) orthodoxy c) stats d) all of the above c) none of the above.

How can you believe when you accept praise from one another? [John 5:44]

Get ready.

Fr. Z - again.

I know!

I'm not at all making fun of Fr. Z or his precautions for people to have some sort of disaster preparedness for themselves.  The other night I had a power outage - and I was happy I had battery powered lighting.  The power was out for about 3 hours.  No big deal - except I missed the rest of "Zen" - and there were only 3 episodes to begin with!  What if it lasted 3 days, or 3 weeks?  Not "Zen" but the power outage. What if I had to evacuate for some reason?

Fr. Z is not talking Armageddon, just common sense preparedness.  Like he indicated, "Remember Joplin."  You know, that town blown off the map in last year's tornado.

 Get a kit. Make a plan. Be informed.

I have been talking about this sort of thing for a while.

Please, dear readers, I implore you… make plans for bad things that can happen.

Plan how to meet up or where to go. Plan how to get your kids to a safe place. Plan how to eat and have drinking water, how to do basic first aid, stay warm, and protect yourselves.

Get serious and make a plan.

Confess your sins regularly. - WDTPRS

Good advice.  I'm not sure where to start.  Maybe the liquor store?

Who is the faithful, far-sighted servant...

Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection

He knew fully his call to
love God
in everything he did,
and this he tried to do
faithfully.
But in this he needed no spiritual director
to advise him;
He did need a confessor to assure him of
sins forgiven.
He knew his faults very well
but did not permit himself
discouragement over them.
He confessed his sins,
never asking God to excuse them;
then went right on
loving and adoring God
and with peace in his heart. - The Practice of the Presence of God

Blessed are you Father, Lord of heaven and earth, to you I offer praise; for what you have hidden from the learned and the clever you have revealed to the merest children. [Mat. 11:25]

Blessed are the little saints of Carmel, "who must smile on us from heaven, hearing us" debate "on a plane on which they lingered so little, and to which they never had any pretensions.  Neither philosophers nor theologians, they aspired only to know and love God - to become saints." [Pere Marie-Eugene] These achieved their goal - God himself - each corresponding to the grace bestowed. 

"The greater the perfection one desires, the greater the dependence on divine grace." - Br. Lawrence of the Resurrection

One-a-Day: Greatest hits.

This was actually sort of a conversion song for me... I can still feel the pain... hear the near-despair... and still experience the longing.  Sometimes I would play it over and over.

Separate the wheat from some chaff
Oh, and I feel ...
Like I owe it, yeah ... to someone

Michael Voris' RealCatholic TV no longer Catholic.

I know!

Story here.

You'll never believe what happened to me….it was ghastly!

We had to call the whole thing off. Well, it was ghastly. Well, it was just ghastly.

It was just after nine o'clock last evening, as I went about catching up on the day's emails and planning to post something for today, when the lights suddenly flickered and the power went off, just for a second or two.  I wondered, 'what was that all about, Agnes?'  Agnes is my cat but she was in the other room.  Once again, the lights flickered, and the power went off - AGAIN.  The neighborhood went black.  There were no storms, no strong winds - 'what was it?'  I asked myself this time since Agnes was clearly ignoring me.

I promptly went to the kitchen and dug out my emergency lanterns, lit a few candles, and once again there was enough light by which to make my way around the house.  The very first thing I did was to call the energy company - only to find out that the power would be out until 12:51 tomorrow.  I immediately assumed PM - thus believing the power would be out until 12:51 PM today.  I was aghast.  I was convinced this had all been planned in advance, without benefit of warning the customers.  "What an imposition!" I told Agnes. 

Oh!  Oh!  As I went outside to get another lantern, I noticed that the people next door were in their 1950's style 3 season porch which overlooks the Jewish cemetery, with their torches lit - yet when they noticed my torch they immediately extinguished their own - pretending not to be there.  Can you imagine?  And the mosquitoes were really bad too.  I know!  What if it had been a medical emergency and my neighbors pretended they didn't see me?

Anyway.  The lights came back on at 12:45 AM.  Though I was pleased power returned and relieved that I did not have to wait until this afternoon, I'm still a little embarrassed that I forgot there is a 12:51 AM - every day.

Imagine!  Of course, one has to stay up late to know that.

One-a-Day: Greatest hits.

I like this by Jay Kay - yet it is second to the Bobby Ebb original.

Interview:  Terry, could you tell us why you like Jay Kay so much?

Me:  I suppose I could... well, for one thing... if I sang - or recorded, actually - I would sound exactly like Jay Kay - only I'd be a nicer person and wouldn't get in fights with people.

Men's Blogs

Someone asked me to post my impression.

... no country for old men ...

An aged man is but a paltry thing,

A tattered coat upon a stick...

One-a-Day: Greatest hits.

Today would have been my dad's 89th birthday.

For some reason I thought he would have been older than that.

I always wondered what happened to him as a kid.  Who hurt him?  Who, what made him do the stuff he did.  He always said he couldn't talk about it.

Sixty years on...

The king must die.

No man's a jester playing Shakespeare
Round your throne room floor
While the juggler's act is danced upon
The crown that you once wore

And sooner or later
Everybody's kingdom must end
And I'm so afraid your courtiers
Cannot be called best friends

Caesar's had your troubles
Widows had to cry
While mercenaries in cloisters sing
And the king must die

Some men are better staying sailors
Take my word and go
But tell the ostler that his name was
The very first they chose

And if my hands are stained forever
And the altar should refuse me
Would you let me in, would you let me in, would you let me in
Should I cry sanctuary

No man's a jester playing Shakespeare
Round your throne room floor
While the juggler's act is danced upon
The crown that you once wore

The king is dead, the king is dead

Women's blogs...

Yes... but, what are the ramifications of this?

What?

Have you ever just said whatever comes to mind in the middle of a conversation?  Something which makes no sense or has no relationship whatsoever to what is being discussed?

That's what my blog posts have become.

Dad's Day Rained Out.

It has rained all day here...

The Father's Day parade was cancelled, as were the fireworks I had planned for all the dads in the neighborhood.  I had to drink all the beer all by myself and eat all the food.  Just me and the rabbits. 

Put no trust in princes, in mortal men who cannot save. - Ps. 146:3

Act of Confidence in God

Saint Claude de la Colombière

My God, I’m so persuaded that You watch over all who hope in You and nothing can be lacking to those who await from You all things, that I have determined to live from now on without any concern, letting go and giving You all of my anxieties. I will sleep and rest in peace because You, O Lord, and only You, have secured my hope.

Men can deprive me of possessions and reputation; illnesses can take away my strength and means to serve You; I myself can lose Your grace because of sin; but I will not lose my hope; I will conserve it until the last instant of my life and all the efforts from demons trying to take it away from me will be useless. I will sleep and rest in peace.

May others expect happiness in their richness and talents; some may lean on the innocence of their lives, or the rigor of their penitence, or above all on the amount of their good works, or the fervor of their prayers. As for myself Lord, all my confidence is my confidence itself. Because You Lord, only You have secured my hope.

No one has been deceived by this confidence. No one who has waited in the Lord has been frustrated in their confidence.

Therefore, I am sure that I will be eternally happy because I firmly hope to be; and because You, Oh, My God, are in Whom I expect all. In You I hope Lord, and never will I be confused.

I know very well . . . too well that I am fragile and inconstant, I know well the power of temptations against the most firm virtue; I have seen thestars fall from heaven and columns from the firmament; but none of this can frighten me. As long as I maintain firm my hope, I will be conserved from all calamities; and I am sure to hope always, because I hope the same in this unchanging hope.

In conclusion, I am sure that I cannot hope in excess in You and that I will receive all that I would have hoped for in You. Therefore, I know You will sustain me on the most rapid and slippery slopes, that You will strengthen me against the assaults and make my weakness triumph over the most tremendous enemies.

I hope You will always love me and I will love you without interruption; to take once and for all my hope as far as it can reach. I hope in You and only in You! Oh, My Creator! In time and for all eternity.
Amen.

Gay dads.

Happy Father's Day.

They are dads too.  Think about it.

Prayers and best wishes.


Art: Knight, Eleanor Fortescue Brickdale, from The Book of Old English Songs and Ballads.

BREAKING:  Study shows having 2 moms (lesbians) is worse for kids.  I can see that. 

What?

Mass Chat: Not much to say, really.

A priest is a priest is a priest is a priest.

One-a-Day: Greatest hits.

Happy Father's Day y'all!  [Extended version]