Ballroom Dancing

Did you realize Adrienne once taught Ballroom Dancing?

Cannonball Awards nearly tied up.

Don't let the title fool you - this isn't about Theology of the Body.

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I just found out Kat's awards were never meant to be serious - they were really just intended to be a send up on the other real awards. I never take any blog awards seriously anyway - but some people do, and they devote entire posts as to why they don't - sound confusing - it is. (Just imagine how happy Fr. Z is about all of this - he was excluded from competition you know. A case could be made here that the awards started out serious. LOL!)

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All-rightey then.

Status and class... kinda.

Oprah.

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I watched Oprah yesterday when I got home - I know! I'm low-class. Although I tell people I'm a pop-cultural anthropologist some days, and I must monitor television shows for my research - fact checking purposes and all of that you know. Mizz Oprah's show was on class, upper-class, middle-class, lower-class, and places in-between. (Such topics were the subject of many an acid trip when I was a very young man.)

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Oprah's discussion centered around the recession and the impact it is making upon the classes; lower-upper-class dropping to upper-middle-class, middle-class dropping to lower-class and so on.

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Two things apparently agreed upon which determine class are money and education, to be upper class one needs both, although one could make it with just education, or a profession, and not have to rely on money alone. That is why people like initials after their name. Money alone doesn't usually make someone upper-class however. Case in point, Rodney Dangerfield's character in Caddy Shack, although he did go back to school in another film I think.

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The recession and the subsequent unemployment of many, really is a wake up call for the pretentious. And who in the United States isn't pretentious? Probably a Carmelite nun, but very few others.

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Similar to a guest on Oprah, I have an acquaintance who owned a successful hair salon in an upscale part of town. (Not in Minnesota.) He is married with two children, living in an affluent suburb, in an over-sized house, 3 cars, well designed interiors, and so on. The family recently celebrated a wedding for one of the daughters, the price tag was in the 6 figure range. The family dressed in designer clothes, dined at the most fashionable restaurants, and entertained lavishly. Mr. X had arrived, all because he cut and styled the hair of the local elite. Indeed, the family considered themselves to be part of the upper class, until the business went bust due to the credit crunch and those wicked Wall Street losses. They had been living beyond maxed-out on credit cards, and they lost the house because they defaulted on their mortgage and home equity loans - the same story with the business.

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The hairdresser had imagined himself on the same level as his truly upper class clients who suddenly disappeared from his social calendar. Similar stories are coming out from many of the professions and classes.

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On the other hand, some people seem to be moving up. One of Oprah's guests was a Deli worker, who moved out of the ghetto into a middle class suburban apartment. Oprah really came off putting down the woman's under-class former neighborhood, and congratulating the woman for movin' on up. The woman's apartment was nicely furnished, but I had to wonder if she did it on credit, seeing that she was only able to get the apartment through Government subsidy. If she loses her deli job, I have to imagine she will lose the apartment as well.

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So what is my point? Very simple. Oprah likes that class differential. She contributed to the illusion by congratulating the deli employee for moving on up. She is perpetuating the myth.

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What we own, how much money we have, where we live, or how many degrees we posses mean nothing in the end. True riches are within, it is not what we have, but what we are that matters.

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Hopefully, the recession will help more people come to their senses. But do pray for those who are suffering the effects.

Sex and the City of God

Schindler's list...

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"Continuing the reaction to Catholic speaker Christopher West’s ABC interview on the Theology of the Body, prominent theologian David L. Schindler has said that despite West’s fidelity to the Church and his positive results for many Catholics, his approach significantly misrepresents Pope John Paul II’s thought and is “too much about sex and too romantic.”

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Schindler, who is also an editor of the international Catholic review “Communio,” emphasized that he agreed West intends to be a faithful Catholic. In fact, Schindler said he believes the speaker “would throw himself in front of a bus for the Church.”

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Though remarking that West has had “positive results” in drawing many Catholics, Schindler said good will is not synonymous with sound thought.

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“West’s work seems to me to misrepresent in significant ways the thought of John Paul II,” he wrote at HeadlineBistro.com.

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Schindler cited several instances where he said West was not only “vulgar and in bad taste” but also suggestive of “a disordered approach to human sexuality.”

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He claimed that West has suggested spouses bless their genitals before making love, has blessed the ovaries of women in his classes, and has advised young men in college and the seminary to look at their naked bodies in the mirror daily “in order to overcome shame.”

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Schindler also claimed that West has used “phallic symbolism” to describe the Easter candle, has criticized “flat-chested” images of Mary in art, and has claimed there is nothing wrong with an unnatural act as marital foreplay.

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An “objective distortion” in approaching sexuality is not eliminated simply because of theological overtones, Schindler wrote." - Read more.

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Friends through thick and thin.

Yesterday I had lunch with a couple of friends from my group - we have all been friends since grade school. I consider them to be my very close friends, closer than family: Married with children, Catholic, and Italian. Just a couple of us are single, and white. It was fun to get together with them, but the time went way too fast.

Come Holy Spirit, Who fillest the universe.

Come, O Creator blest! And in our souls take up Thy rest.
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St. Teresa of Avila wrote of the soul as the interior castle, I like to think of it as an interior universe.

Novena for Pentecost

Today the Church enters into the solemn Novena for Pentecost. The day after the Solemnity of the Ascension is the day we begin our prayer and preparation for the coming of the Paraclete. The novena begins regardless if the Solemnity has been transferred to the following Sunday or not; although in part, this is the reason why the faithful and many liturgists prefer that the celebration of the Ascension be observed on its proper day. The novena is a spiritual participation in the the first novena made by the Apostles and Our Lady. Today the whole Church retreats as it were, to assemble in prayer, anticipating the coming of the Holy Spirit. The liturgical offices and Mass comprise the novena prayers, although any approved prayers may be used as well.
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“Holy Spirit, inspire me.
Love of God consume me.
Along the true road, lead me.
Mary, my good mother, look down upon me.
With Jesus, bless me.
From all evil, all illusion, all danger, preserve me.” - Blessed Mary of Jesus Crucified
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Visit here for additional novena prayers.

The Indwelling of the Holy Spirit

"The spirit of the world consists essentially in the denial in the supreme dominion of God, a denial which is manifested in practice by sin and disobedience; thus it is principally opposed to the spirit of Christ, which is also that of Mary." - The Secret of Mary

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"You, I am sure, as I am, are faced often with very dark moments.

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We live in a scary era.

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My heart quails sometimes.

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The Rosary, with its glorious mysteries, can be of help.

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In reading the great liturgist Romano Guardini in The Rosary of Our Lady, actually on the third glorious mystery, I found this… just as an illustration of how we are not in fact trapped within the prison of the world: The Holy Ghost is also sent to us. Through his coming we are no longer orphans. He is with us, if only we ourselves will stay with him. He leads our lives through all that is concealed, but we must leave our hand in his. If we beseech him and open ourselves up to him with heart and soul, he shows us how to know Christ, and in Christ ourselves. But where darkness prevails – because our earthly life is hardened – he gives us a divine “nevertheless,” as Paul says, “testimony to our spirit that we are sons of God,” and the certainty that “for those who love God all things work together unto good” (Rom 8:16, 28)”. - Source

The Irish Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse Report.

Catholic Church scandal redux.

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Last evening I was so completely scandalized, I couldn't even respond to the newly released report on the Irish Church Scandal. I tried, but like my response to the Weakland memoir, it is better not to post in anger, so I removed it. (For instance, on earlier post I said Weakland's book should be burned - that was hyperbole - I guess only homophobes engage in such extremist language, and we all know gay people never do that. I left the post up however. Maybe I'll get jail time.)

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Anyway, I hope priests and bishops will make haste to speak to the report for the sake of the faithful. The Catholic League issued a statement on the report, and while it would be an understatement to say Donohue's position is open to criticism, I believe he has a point in defining the initial reaction to the report as "hysteria". I was pretty upset by it. Yet I think as the Irish report is analyzed, we will get a more balanced picture of what actually went on. In many of the cases Christian Brothers and Mercy Sisters were the perpetrators, not priests.

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"Reuters is reporting that “Irish Priests Beat, Raped Children,” yet the report does not justify this wild and irresponsible claim. Four types of abuse are noted: physical, sexual, neglect and emotional. Physical abuse includes “being kicked”; neglect includes “inadequate heating”; and emotional abuse includes “lack of attachment and affection.” Not nice, to be sure, but hardly draconian, especially given the time line: fully 82 percent of the incidents took place before 1970. As the New York Times noted, “many of them [are] now more than 70 years old.” And quite frankly, corporal punishment was not exactly unknown in many homes during these times, and this is doubly true when dealing with miscreants.

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Regarding sexual abuse, “kissing,” and “non-contact including voyeurism” (e.g., what it labels as “inappropriate sexual talk”) make the grade as constituting sexual abuse. Moreover, one-third of the cases involved “inappropriate fondling and contact.” None of this is defensible, but none of it qualifies as rape. Rape, on the other hand, constituted 12 percent of the cases. As for the charge that “Irish Priests” were responsible, some of the abuse was carried out by lay persons, much of it was done by Brothers, and about 12 percent of the abusers were priests (most of whom were not rapists).

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The Irish report suffers from conflating minor instances of abuse with serious ones, thus demeaning the latter. - Source

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I realize that just the idea of Donohue calling other people hysterical because of their reactions to the Irish Report is kind of funny, knowing how hysterical he can sound sometimes, he may have to eat his words some day. The Catholic League statement comes off rather dismissive of the victims, some of whom are in their 70's today. He refers to a good portion of them as miscreants and delinquents, as if they deserved what they got; after all, several of these schools were designated "reform schools". Although corporal punishment was common within such institutions, religious or State run, the treatment was indeed abusive. However, such facts do not make it right or excusable, it only explains why it seemed so commonplace.

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Remarkably, the descriptions of abuse and neglect parallel several of my own experiences of abuse as a child, which may explain why I tend to react so strongly to this type of story. However what I experienced was domestic abuse and neglect. Although at least one school sister who taught me could be somewhat cruel with her humiliations and occasional slaps with a pointer, her behavior wasn't all that unusual, and it never damaged my faith. On the other hand, I can tell you sexual abuse by strangers along with physical and mental abuse within the home, left a few scars. Nevertheless, I have learned a great deal through the experience, I no longer blame the perpetrators, and I believe I have forgiven them, and so on. In other words, I've moved on - yet reports such as the Irish one, or news stories about similar abuse elicits a strong reaction from me.

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That said, I do not want to devote a great deal of time to this issue right now, but in the next week or so I will post a few reflections on this and related topics, especially as more expert analysis is forthcoming. I hope and pray that the Vatican, especially the Holy Father will once again address these issues, but more particularly the issue of homosexuality. The faithful are indeed confused and scandalized - and they need definitive instruction.

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The homosexual scandals, which encompass the misdeeds of the infamous Archbishop Weakland and his fellows who cling to gay culture, seem to me to confirm why men with deep-seated homosexual inclination should not be ordained. As for homosexual priests who have abused minors, I think Pius V had it right; they ought to be defrocked and handed over to the civil authorities. Perhaps due to the general corruption of morals and confusion in the Church, that sort of discipline fell by the wayside in the 20th century.

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Always keep in mind that the Church sex abuse scandal is NOT limited to pedophilia, it is predominately a homosexual problem; homosexual relations between a boy and a man is called pederasty, which is homosexuality - just ask the deviants at NAMBLA. And no - not all homosexuals are pederasts or pedophiles, nor do all victims of childhood abuse turn out to be homosexual, or sexual predators. And yes, by the grace of God a man can be converted.
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Of course, anyone who says or believes such things is immediately labeled homophobic by gay rights advocates. Homophobia is a neologism adapted to label persons who possess strong moral and civic reservations as regards the normalization of homosexual behavior; ss marriage, the gay subculture, etc. It is a political term without any basis in psychology - there is no clinical diagnosis for homophobia. Gay activists use the term to politically to equate homophobia with racism and sexism. Nevertheless, resistance to GLBT issues cannot always be blamed on a phobia - in other words, it is not always based upon any irrational hatred or fear, although many gay activists insist the mere disapproval of homosexuality is to be condemned as homophobia or "straight supremacy".
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Link to the official report on the Irish Church Abuse.
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Photo: The Austrian Seminary Scandal.

"To mislead, if possible, even the elect." (Matthew 24)

Change: A new gospel too?

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President Barack Obama's speech at Notre Dame Sunday held out as a central thesis a false theology of faith; a false theology contradicted by the Bible, by ancient Christian writers and by the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

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A central point in the President's speech was "faith" and its supposed inherent "doubt." Obama told the students: "Remember, too, that the ultimate irony of faith is that it necessarily admits doubt. It's the belief in things not seen. It's beyond our capacity as human beings to know with certainty what God has planned for us or what He asks of us … And this doubt should not push away our faith. But it should humble us. It should temper our passions, cause us to be wary of too much self-righteousness. It should compel us to remain open and curious and eager to continue the spiritual and moral debate."

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The Christian vision of faith, however, excludes doubt about the articles of the faith and does not admit it as Obama suggests that it "necessarily" does.

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The Bible, in the book of Hebrews, defines faith as "the substance of things to be hoped for, the evidence (or certainty) of things that appear not." (Hebrews 11:1)

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The Catechism of the Catholic Church notes specifically: "Faith is certain. It is more certain than all human knowledge because it is founded on the very word of God who cannot lie. To be sure, revealed truths can seem obscure to human reason and experience, but the certainty that the divine light gives is greater than that which the light of natural reason gives."

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John Henry Newman, while admitting intellectual difficulties with articles of the Christian Creed, he never doubted the doctrines attached to them. He said famously: "Ten thousand difficulties do not make one doubt."

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Christians need never doubt the evil of abortion, or the immorality of sexual relations between two persons of the same sex. These are absolute and unchangeable truths taught by faith but also knowable by human reason - and therefore doubly certain. - Source

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H/T to Paula.

Reminder on hate crimes.

I've written about this before, only now I come to find out Andrew Sullivan recognizes what is going on as well.

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"The real reason for hate crime laws is not the defense of human beings from crime. There are already laws against that - and Matthew Shepard's murderers were successfully prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law in a state with no hate crimes law at the time. The real reason for the invention of hate crimes was a hard-left critique of conventional liberal justice and the emergence of special interest groups which need boutique legislation to raise funds for their large staffs and luxurious buildings. Just imagine how many direct mail pieces have gone out explaining that without more money for HRC, more gay human beings will be crucified on fences. It's very, very powerful as a money-making tool - which may explain why the largely symbolic federal bill still hasn't passed (if it passes, however, I'll keep a close eye on whether it is ever used)." - Daily Dish
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Interestingly enough, some experts are now reversing themselves and saying there is no gay gene either.

Carla Bruni speaks out against the Pope.

"I imagine she's a pretty nice girl, but I wouldn't want to make her mine." - Beatles

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She claims that Church teaching on contraception is what has caused her to fall away from the Church, becoming more secular. That works if you don't know her past perhaps, but what she is really doing is taking advantage of her position as First Lady of France to attack the Holy Father and Catholic teaching.

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France's First Lady said that the Church's teachings had left her feeling "profoundly secular". She departed from her post's traditional religious neutrality to accuse the Pope of "damaging" countries in Africa with his stance on birth control.

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The Italian-born former supermodel risked angering believers in France and beyond by declaring that the Pontiff's proclamations showed that the Church needed to "evolve". "I think the Church should evolve on this issue. It presents the condom as a contraceptive which, incidentally, it forbids, although it is the only existing protection," she told Femme Actuelle, the women's magazine.

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The comments will cause Mr Sarkozy embarrassment in a country where, despite the separation of Church and State, a majority of the population was born Catholic. André Roux, a constitutional historian said: "It's unprecedented for a first lady to criticise the Pope. Charles de Gaulle's wife was very Catholic and would never had taken up position, remaining very discreet. The same was true of Bernadette Chirac, who never gave her opinion on religion or international affairs. "Even Danielle Mitterrand, the wife of François Mitterrand who was not a believer and aired her political views, never attacked the Pope. - Source

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C'est dommage.

Prayer and penance.

Something about Fatima...

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I read somewhere that Our Lady of Fatima's message was a call to prayer and penance, prayer first, leading to penance. Actually, that isn't entirely correct. Prayer and penance are the fruits of repentance. Our Lady actually came to call souls to repentance and amendment of life, in accord with the message of the Gospel, "Repent and believe." She asked that we cease offending God who is already so grievously offended. When Lucia asked favors of her for this or that person, Our Lady said they must "amend their lives and ask for forgiveness of their sins" first. Sixth Apparition

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Indeed the Holy Virgin asked at each apparition that the prayers of the Rosary be prayed every day, for the conversion of sinners and for an end to the war. The Blessed Virgin appealed first to the children, and through them to all of the faithful: "Pray, pray a great deal and make many sacrifices for sinners, for many souls go to hell because there is no one to offer sacrifices and prayers for them." - Fourth Apparition

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It is true that "prayer is the trap door out of sin", as St. Teresa of Avila said, therefore prayer of some sort is necessary to obtain the grace of repentance and amendment of life, and for this the prayers of the Rosary are invaluable. Depending upon temperament, some people are not able to pray an entire Rosary in one sitting, and therefore they may break it up, reciting a decade here or there. In some cases the mere recitation comprises an aspect of penance, or sacrifice, thus becoming a sacrifice of praise, aiding in the amendment of one's life.

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I think the call of Fatima, as the Popes have indicated, is the call of the Gospel, it is a call to conversion and amendment of life. The prayers of the Rosary accompanied by our personal sacrifices or penance may be said to give evidence of that reform (Matt. 3:8), obtaining for us grace and mercy, as well as the conversion of sinners and the Peace of Christ. That said, the primary call of Fatima is for people to repent, to "amend their lives and ask for forgiveness of their sins".

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Devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, the recitation of the Rosary, along with the devotion of the Five First Saturdays are the means given by Heaven to make reparation for sins committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary and to obtain the conversion of sinners. In effect, Fatima makes us responsible for sinners whose salvation can be said to depend upon our prayers and sacrifices. We are responsible for one another.

Spaulding get your foot off the boat!

That's what I say!

A friar minor...

The littlest Cappucinno.

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May 18 is the feast day of St. Felix of Cantalice, an illiterate lay brother. St Felix of Cantalice (1515-1587) was the first Capuchin saint, who joined the Order at the age of 29. He lived in the friary of St Bonaventure in Rome, where for 40 years he befriended the poor as the friar who begged alms for the community. He used to say he knew only 5 letters: the 5 wounds of Christ crucified. A favourite saying of his was: Fiddle diddle, I talk a great deal but I do very little! Our Lady gave him the privilege of holding the Child Jesus in his arms, which is why he is known as the protector of children

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"Felix normally spoke little outside the friary. Even within the friary, what he had to say was more often than not an exhortation for others to give good example. His style was frank and direct. He might tell someone, "I want to correct you." He often reminded Capuchin preachers, "Preach in order to convert people, not to make a name for yourself." At times he would quote Brother Giles' quip: "Bo, bo, bo, assai dico e poco fo!"-"Tsk, tsk, tsk, a lot of talk, but no action."

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St. Felix died on May 18, 1587. His remains are enshrined in the Capuchin church of the Immaculate Conception on Rome's exclusive via Veneto." - Source

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I have squandered my life. St. Felix pray for me.

Monday, Monday

I was going to be offline but obviously I'm not.
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Just a couple things...
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The national shrine of St. Rita was vandalized this past weekend, an outdoor shrine protecting the Saint's statue was damaged, and the statue disfigured. Vandalism of this sort has been occurring with greater frequency lately, and I'm sure it will continue. This form of anti-Catholicism reminds me of anti-Semitic attacks when vandals spray paint swastikas on synagogues, and even the vandalism and harassment of Jewish businesses in Nazi Germany.
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Joe Biden. What is with this guy? He's sharing classified information publicly. He revealed the location of the 9/11 bunker Cheney used. This Administration is totally irresponsible.
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That's all.

Totalitarianism? Obama? The United States?

"A Belgian human rights expert who is a member of three Vatican academies warns strongly that President Barack Obama’s pro-abortion stance threatens to lead the United States into totalitarianism.
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President Obama's enacting policies that threaten the lives of the unborn is “dragging the law into a process of regression that is altering the democratic nature of the society that elected him," Monsignor Michel Schooyans said during a prestigious Vatican conference at the Pontifical Academy for Social Sciences this month.
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A society that calls itself democratic but whose leaders are invoking subjective "new rights" that permit the elimination of some categories of human beings “is a society that has already set out on the road of totalitarianism,” Schooyans said.
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He also predicted that the administration’s pro-abortion position will lead “sooner or later” to abortion's becoming a human right at the United Nations.
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The Belgian priest predicted there will “no longer be any room in the law for conscientious objection” on pro-life issues, and warned that other subjective "new rights" would become part of the government’s program, such as “euthanasia, homosexuality, unilateral divorce, and drug use.” - Source
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Seriously - it won't be long.

Zoli Adok / Tánclépés-Dance With Me (EBT Hun-Eng Radio Mix) Eurovision 2009 - Hungary - audio

This guy placed in the finals at Eurovision - Cathy loves to dance to this.

The Internet is the Beast!

WARNING!

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I've been trying to tell people, but they wouldn't listen. Al Gore knew all about it when he invented the Internet. Why do you think the Pope had never heard that Bishop Williamson was a Holocaust denier and British?

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Adoro is right - the web awards are evil... Blogger, Twitter and Facebook - It is all EVIL!**

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Look at the lives that have been destroyed by online addiction. Monks have left their Abbeys, priests frolic on beaches - "Keep your hands to yourself Cutie!" Nuns get ordained, Bishops go gay.

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Catholic wives post pin up boys on their blogs that promote marital sex acts no self respecting... you finish that sentence Ward! I'm too worried about the Beaver.

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People go online, get a blog, maybe even 2 or 3 of them, and they quit their jobs without any prospect for another - and they are out on the street, drunk, twittering all over town, hangin' out with old men who ought to know better.

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Then there are those Internet pirates - sneaking around, cutting and pasting stories just so they can have multiple posts a day and pass themselves off as a news blog.

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I've seen lawyers stop people on the street, asking them to pose in provocative poses while they took shameful and many times racist photos of them - just to have something different for their blogs and Facebook profile.

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Some people have been driven to insanity and are now completely lost in cyberspace someplace over Australia... I can't tell you Jeffrey's name though.

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I just heard of a woman blogger turned stalker, calling fellow bloggers and harassing them - just like Beverly Sutphin in "Serial Mom"! (REAL WARNING!!! DO NOT click on the link if you are offended by bad language.) This very same person warned me of the duplicity of bloggers who call and email one another, gossiping about fellow bloggers. How insane is that.

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Not a few have willfully gone over to the dark side, actually compromising their integrity by marketing their blogs for the Whore of Babylon: Paypal, Google ads, donate buttons, and so on.

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The Internet has turned others into compulsive automatons, driving deluded mixed-up-Catholic-nun-wanna-be-orthodox-single-mothers to such lengths as inventing awards so that their stat counters shoot through the roof - just because people have to return, day after day to place a vote.

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We have all heard how the Internet traps some people into pornography, and so when we see Catholic dads posting and reading Catholic blogs, Marge Simpson says things like, "Oh. Isn't he good. Evangelizing on line." NO! He's addicted to fame - "Fame! I want to live forever..." you know the lyrics. Maybe he was in the seminary and so now he thinks he should be preaching - pretty soon he will want to be ordained and get a TV show! The wife becomes an Internet widow and the kids video game orphans, all because he's always online. The upshot? The Internet is breaking up families.

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IT'S A MONSTER PEOPLE AND IT IS EATING US UP!

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Don't forget to vote for Fr. Eric Richsteig over at Cannonball Run.

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**Actually, Adoro didn't really say that, and this post is just a joke - none of it is true, Al Gore did not invent the Internet, and Mrs. Cleaver is very nice, prim and proper. Can't vouch for the others however.

And no - I did not do the drawing.

3rd RFTS S02 E09- My Mother the Alien (1/3)

Okay - so people have read my take on Angels and Demons and seem to think I hated it.

No.

I said I liked it, it was entertaining, and parts were funny. I said if you suspend belief, it was fun to watch - and most Americans seem to have no trouble suspending their belief - since so many support ss marriage, abortion, voted Obama into office and think he is great.

Yeah. So. I like 3rd Rock From the Sun too - but I don't believe it is a true story.

Get it?

The 13th Day

A new film on Fatima.

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Watch the trailer here - it is excellent.

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Speaking of...

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I watched a piece on John Paul II on EWTN last night. I forgot how much he suffered from Parkinson's at the end of his life, just to watch footage of him continuing to fulfill his duties as Pope is heartbreaking. His devotion to Our Lady of Fatima definitely corresponds - in every detail - to the visions Our Lady permitted the children, especially Jacinta's. The Holy Father kneeling very sad before a table, while countless people surround him. That scenario was clearly played out at the consecration of Russia, when the statue of Our Lady was brought from Fatima to Rome. If you know the story of Fatima - the documentary shows how everything fits with John Paul II. The scene of Our Lady's Pope, standing with a candle in hand at the top of the stairway in the Apostolic palace, greeting Our Lady's statue as it was carried up the stairs, was exactly what every sincere Fatima devotee had hoped to see in their lifetime.

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I said it before, but it needs to be stated again: The conspiracy theorists who make things up regarding JPII and Sr. Lucy do great damage to the Church and Our Lady's message, which remains especially relevant to our times.

St. Paschal Baylon

One of my patrons. Read about him here.