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Showing posts from February, 2009

Why We Fast

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Today on Catholic Fire February 27, 2009

Lenten Quote of the Day Spanish Couple could be third one to be canonized AIDS Anyone Against Abortion, Raise Your Hand Obama Starts Process of Removing Doctors' Protections Catholic Carnival 213... "Catholic" Universities Celebrating Porn, Promiscuity? St. Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows

Lenten Quote of the Day

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"Nothing, how little so ever it be, if it is suffered for God's sake, can pass without merit in the sight of God." ~ Thomas a Kempis

Spanish Couple could be third one to be canonized

Cardinal Rouco opens cause of canonization for Spanish couple

AIDS

Anyone Against Abortion, Raise Your Hand

Obama Starts Process of Removing Doctors' Protections

Washington, DC -- The White House quietly announced on Friday that President Barack Obama is starting the process of overturning protections President Bush put in place to make sure medical staff and centers are not forced to do abortions. The move is the latest that will add to Obama's growing pro-abortion record. Existing federal laws already make it so doctors and hospitals are not required to perform abortions. Because those laws aren't always followed, the Bush administration added additional protections. Now, the Obama administration is starting the process to remove them. Full story here. What will he think of next to promote the culture of death?

Catholic Carnival 213...

is up at Sanctus Christopher. Be sure to stop over there and read all the great Lenten posts.

"Catholic" Universities Celebrating Porn, Promiscuity?

MANASSAS, VA, ( LifeSiteNews.com ) - As Christians worldwide kneel in prayer to begin the holy season of Lent, students at three Jesuit Catholic universities are busy celebrating extramarital sex, homosexuality, cross-dressing and pornography, the Cardinal Newman Society has revealed. From February 23 to 28, Georgetown University is hosting "Sex Positive Week," sponsored by feminist and homosexual student clubs. On Monday, the event "Sex Positive … What's That?" featured a speaker from Black Rose, an organization "which provides a forum for the many different expressions of power in love and play. This can include dominance & submission, bondage & discipline, fetishism, cross-dressing, to name a few." Yesterday's talk, on Ash Wednesday, "Torn About Porn?" was advertised to include "discussion about arguably alternative forms of pornography that are not supposed to be exploitative, but rather radical and empowering." On S

St. Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows

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Also known as Gabriel of the Sorrowful Mother; Gabriel Possenti; Francis Possenti; Francesco Possenti Francis Possenti was the eleventh of thirteen children born to Agnes and Sante, a well-to-do professional and respected Catholic family, in Assisi, Italy on March 1, 1838. He was baptized in the same font in which St. Francis of Assisi had been baptized. His later life would mirror that of Francis -- as he turned from the pleasures and excesses of this world to the glory of the next. Francis grew up in a household where devotion to Our Lady of Sorrows was a part of his everyday family life. He lived the life of a typical teenager, becoming popular for his warm and outgoing personality, his love of dancing, hunting and the theater. During a procession of an icon of the Mother of Sorrows, Francis heard Our Lady speak to him and tell him that he was not meant to live in the world, but God desired him to become a religious. On the night that his father had arranged for him to become engage

Today on Catholic Fire - February 26, 2009

The Mystery on the Hill - Updated Win a Free Book for Lent! Lenten Quote of the Day A Pro-Life Prayer for Our President and Public Officials Lent begins with Ash Wednesday tradition at Aventino Practices of Lent Video: Marriage Culture of Life Quote of the Day Novena begins for Proposition 8 legal case

The Mystery on the Hill - Updated

A mystery is brewing over the appearance of Sen. Sam Brownback’s John Hancock on an inflammatory letter questioning the religious bona fides of prominent pro-abortion-rights Catholic Democrats, including Nancy Pelosi, Ted Kennedy and John Kerry. The missive — signed on official-­looking letterhead that reads “United States Senator Sam Brownback (Republican-Kansas)” — takes issue with Catholic Dems who support the Freedom of Choice Act, which would codify Roe v. Wade. “Real Catholics need a new voice — not the likes of Ted Kennedy and Nancy Pelosi who have campaigned as Catholics while voting to undermine the values we hold most dear,” Brownback (apparently) wrote in a fundraising appeal on behalf of the conservative Catholic Advocate newspaper. Read the Rest at Politico. If Brownback did write that, all I have to say is good for him! I couldn't agree more! Isn't it odd that when someone speaks the truth it's described as "inflammatory"? Let's all continue to

Win a Free Book for Lent!

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The new Mary Moments is up. If you haven't had a chance to visit, today's the day to get on over there ! You can win a book by leaving a comment, and you get a second chance to win if you link to the Mary Moments from your blog ( Just leave the link in the comments over there). The chance to win a book, however, isn't the primary reason to visit. Like Mary Moments of the past, this one has links to many posts and articles that are helpful, Mary-centered, and inspiring. The theme is Lent and Easter and this is a wonderful way to begin the season of Lent.

Lenten Quote of the Day

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The more we have denied ourselves during the day, the nearer we are each evening to the heart of our Lord. ~ St. Madeleine Sophie Barat

A Pro-Life Prayer for Our President and Public Officials

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Lord God, Author of Life and Source of Eternal Life, move the hearts of all our public officials and especially our President, to fulfill their responsibilities worthily and well to all those entrusted to their care. Help them in their special leadership roles, to extend the mantle of protection to the most vulnerable, especially the defenseless unborn, whose lives are threatened with extermination by an indifferent society. Guide all public officials by your wisdom and grace to cease supporting any law that fails to protect the fundamental good that is human life itself, which is a gift from God and parents. You are the Protector and Defender of the lives of the innocent unborn. Change the hearts of those who compromise the call to protect and defend life. Bring our nation to the values that have made us a great nation, a society that upholds the values of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for all. Mary, the Mother of the living, help us to bear witness to the Gospel of Life

Lent begins with Ash Wednesday tradition at Aventino

May Lent, a time marked by the frequent listening of the Word of God and intense prayer be a stimulus for conversion and true love toward our bothers, especially the poor and those in need.This was the reflection offered by Benedict XVI during the Eucharist that opened Lent with the rite of the blessing and the distribution of the Ashes after the penitential procession from the church of St. Anselm to the Basilica of Saint Sabina (Aventino).During the homily the Pope traced out the features of Lent in reference to the Pauline year, the bi-millennia anniversary of St. Paul's birth. LENT, A TIME FOR MORE INTENSE PRAYER AND PENANCE

Practices of Lent

Video: Marriage

Culture of Life Quote of the Day

"Sexuality is the maximum expression of love between two persons of the opposite sex and that maximum expression means total and absolute donation of one person to another; one person to another forever. And that is called marriage, which in turn, is the origin of the family. For this reason to play around with sexuality is to play around with the source of life, and to therefore destroy the family, which is the source of society, and in the end, to destroy society as well." ~ Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragan, President of the Pontifical Council for Health Care

Novena begins for Proposition 8 legal case

The San Francisco-based group Catholics for the Common Good has announced a novena of prayer and fasting for the seven California Supreme Court justices who are considering three lawsuits filed to overturn Proposition 8. Catholics for the Common Good describes itself as “a new Catholic Action based on the social teachings of the Catholic Church.” It is different from the Washington, DC-based group Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good. The novena began on Ash Wednesday and will last through Thursday, March 5, when the California Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on the lawsuits challenging Proposition 8. Article You can find the Novena for the Protection of Marriage here.

Today on Catholic Fire -- February 25, 2009

Judge Rejects Motion to Dismiss Charges Against Tiller Notre Dame Ethics Prof Reveals Groundbreaking Pro-Life Academic Program in the Works LENTEN MEGA-LINKS Photographic Exhibition Dedicated to John Paul II Vatican Spiritual Exercises Underway March 1st Lord and Giver of Life Conference Featuring Fr. John Corapi Ash Wednesday -- Into the Desert

Judge Rejects Motion to Dismiss Charges Against Tiller

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Wichita, Kansas, Kansans for Life -- Today Sedgwick County Judge Clarke Owens rejected motions to dismiss 19 charges against late-term abortionist George Tiller. Kansans for Life Executive Director, Mary Kay Culp breathed a sigh of relief. "This is a judge who has examined everything both sides had to offer and remained convinced the prosecution was proper. We can only hope that the state Supreme Court will not again open their door to Tiller when he comes knocking this week for extraordinary intervention, as we predict he will do." The trial is scheduled to begin March 16. About a year ago, Tiller’s attorneys made a motion to dismiss all the charges against Tiller. The attorneys called witness after witness including two former Attorneys General. They questioned every document and questioned every witness until all options were exhausted. They made several implications, innuendos, and suppositions about the charges trying to detract from the actual evidence. Judge Clark Owen

Notre Dame Ethics Prof Reveals Groundbreaking Pro-Life Academic Program in the Works

LifeSiteNews.Com -An innovative academic program designed to equip the next generation of pro-life advocates is one of the initiatives in store for the University of Notre Dame's new Human Life Fund, said Dr. David Solomon in an interview with LifeSiteNews.com (LSN) yesterday. Professor Solomon, a deeply pro-life philosopher who has been teaching ethics for over forty years, is the founder and head of the Notre Dame Center for Ethics and Culture. He told LSN that pro-life associates at the university had been brainstorming for about a year on how to energize pro-life activity at the most prestigious Catholic school in America, before they arrived at the idea of the Fund and the academic program. "Our big plan, which I think is very exciting - we want to start a two-year volunteer program at Notre Dame, where students can volunteer to do pro-life work in a crisis pregnancy center, or work for a diocese or a Catholic school, and we would give them three summers of training - l

LENTEN MEGA-LINKS

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Lenten Posts from Catholic Fire : Ash Wednesday -- Into the Desert Ash Wednesday: Entering into Intimacy With God 40 Days for Life begins on Ash Wednesday Lenten Reading 2009 Favorite Quotes for Lent Lenten Ideas 2009 Adrienne's Catholic Corner post "Ash Wednesday" contains some great links for Lent. Jimmy Akin shares his comprehensive list of Lenten links in every category imaginable in his "Welcome to Lent" post. In My Daily Domestic Diigolet 02/25/2009 , Elena at My Domestic Church shares several great posts for Lent. The Anchoress is compiling her own list of Lenten links. (Check the bottom of the post.) A must read is Marcel at Aggie Catholics' mega-post "Lent 2009". If you have a Lenten post, feel free to share the link in the comment box below.

Photographic Exhibition Dedicated to John Paul II

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A photographic exhibition entitled "Karol Wojtyla: Faith, Journey and Friendship; Excursions with Friends" was inaugurated in the Church of the Holy Trinity in Fatima, Portugal. The proposal was made to the Shrine of Fatima by the Polish Embassy and the Portuguese Catholic University. It was inaugurated on February 13th, commemorating the day of Sister Lucia's death. Attending the inauguration were Dr. Katarzyna Skórznska, Ambassador of Poland in Portugal, António Marto, Bishop of Leiria-Fatima, Father Virgílio Antunes rector of the shrine, and many pilgrims. “It portrays the life of Karol Wojtyla, who later became pontiff of the Church, during the years 1952 to '54 while he was responsible for pastoral activity at the University of Krakow. It is thematically organized in four journeys. The first is dedicated to the long walks that the one who would become Pope used to go on with the youth. Another is about skiing, a third dedicated to canoeing and, finally, a section

Vatican Spiritual Exercises Underway March 1st

The priest encounters Jesus and follows him: this is the theme that will guide the spiritual exercises at the Vatican, in which Pope Benedict XVI will himself participate. A period of spiritual meditations and intense prayer will be guided by Cardinal Francis Arinze, prefect emeritus of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. The exercises begin March 1st in the Redemptoris Mater Chapel of the Apostolic Palace with the celebration of Vespers, the introductory meditation, and Adoration and Benediction of the Eucharist. The retreat ends Saturday, March 7th with the final sermon and blessing. All pontifical audiences are suspended during these days.

Lord and Giver of Life Conference Featuring Fr. John Corapi

On August 15th, 2009, Father Corapi will return to Buffalo, NY for a one day conference. This is the only scheduled personal appearance of Fr. John Corapi in the year 2009. EWTN's Raymond Arroyo will also be giving a presentation at this rare event. Seating is limited, and we expect this conference to fill up fast! Father Corapi will be preaching four sermons entitled: 1. Theology of the person and power of the Holy Spirit 2. The Gift who contains all Gifts 3. "The Holy Spirit is given to those that obey!" 4. "The Spirit we have is no cowardly spirit!" For more information, go here.

Ash Wednesday -- Into the Desert

What the Church Says Catechism of the Catholic Church, No. 1438: “The seasons and days of penance in the course of the liturgical year (Lent, and each Friday in memory of the death of the Lord) are intense moments of the Church’s penitential practice. Fridays, Lent and Year Round Canon 1250: “All Fridays through the year and the time of Lent are penitential days and times throughout the entire Church.” U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Penitential Practices for Today’s Catholics: “Fridays During Lent — In the United States, the tradition of abstaining from meat on each Friday during Lent is maintained. “Fridays Throughout the Year — In memory of Christ’s suffering and death, the Church prescribes making each Friday throughout the year a penitential day. All of us are urged to prepare appropriately for that weekly Easter that comes with each Sunday.” Ash Wednesday, Good Friday Canon 1251: “Abstinence from eating meat or another food according to the prescriptions of the conference o

Digest of Posts for February 23 - February 24

40 Days for Life begins on Ash Wednesday Lenten Reading 2009 New NY Archbishop Receives Phone Call from Obama Shrove Tuesday New EWTN series for troubled marriages Tiny miracles performed on hearts smaller than a pea CINO, Pro-abort Kmiec Criticizes Holy Father Slumdog Millionaire Review Archbishop Timothy Dolan becomes new Archbishop of New York US Senator Questions Obama Eligibility The Simple Woman's Daybook ST. POLYCARP OF SMYRNA, BISHOP AND MARTYR

40 Days for Life begins on Ash Wednesday

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40 Days for Life begins tomorrow, on Ash Wednesday. There are 135 cities that will be participating from February 25 - April 5. Most are in the United States, five are in Canada, two are in Northern Ireland and one is in Australia. In addition, there are similar prayer campaigns going on in Central and South America. The campaign for human life involves: prayer, fasting, and a peaceful presence at abortion mills. To learn more, visit the 40 Days for Life website . This is a wonderful project to take part in this Lent!

Lenten Reading 2009

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What will you be reading this Lent? Here's a taste of some of the books I will be reading: The Seven Last Words by Fulton J. Sheen My Catholic Women's Bible (New American) by Fireside Press The Magnifcat Lenten Companion Numerous books on the saints -- too many to mention here. Here are some recommended reads for this Lenten season: 1. Imitation of Christ -- Thomas a Kempis 2. Introduction to the Devout Life -- St. Frances de Sales 3. Journey to Easter by Pope Benedict XVI 4. 12 Steps to Holiness and Salvation -- St. Alphonsus Liguori 5. Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ -- Anne Catherine Emich 6. Kisss from the Cross -- Ronda de Sola Chervin 7. Back to Virtue -- Peter Kreeft 8. Live Well, Die Holy -- St. Robert Bellarmine 9. Self - Abandonment to Divine Providence -- Fr. J.P. De Caussade, S.J. 10. Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius -- St. Ignatius of Loyola 11. The Virtue Driven Life -- Fr. Benedict Groeschel, CFR 12. City of God -- St. Augustine 13. Confessions -- S

New NY Archbishop Receives Phone Call from Obama

Yonkers, N.Y., Feb 24, 2009 / 02:46 pm ( CNA ).- After being appointed the new archbishop of the Archdiocese of New York, Archbishop Timothy Dolan received a phone call yesterday from President Barack Obama who congratulated him and assured the prelate of his prayers. Dolan told the Associated Press that the president’s call was “extraordinarily gracious” and that the two discussed the country’s financial problems. The archbishop also invited Obama to his installation ceremony in April. MORE

Shrove Tuesday

Shrove Tuesday is the last day of what traditionally was called "Shrovetide," the week preceding the beginning of Lent. The word itself, Shrovetide, is the English equivalent for "Carnival," which is derived from the Latin words carnem levare, meaning "to take away the flesh." (Note that in Germany, this period is called "Fasching," and in parts of the United States, particularly Louisiana, "Mardi Gras.") While this was seen as the last chance for merriment, and, unfortunately in some places, has resulted in excessive pleasure, Shrovetide was the time to cast off things of the flesh and to prepare spiritually for Lent. Actually, the English term provides the best meaning for this period. "To shrive" meant to hear confessions. In the Anglo-Saxon "Ecclesiastical Institutes," recorded by Theodulphus and translated by Abbot Aelfric about AD 1000, Shrovetide was described as follows: "In the week immediately before L

New EWTN series for troubled marriages

Irondale, Ala. - The television network EWTN in March will begin airing a television series for spouses suffering marriage problems to help them renew their marriages. The series “Marriage Works in Christ: Broken and Blessed” is hosted by Fr. James Dean and Greg and Julie Alexander, the married founders of the Alexander House. After an overview episode, each new installment will feature a couple who has experienced significant turmoil in their marriage. According to a press release, the couple will first discuss how an issue strained their marriage and then share how God worked in their lives to restore unity and joy to their marital union. “We live in a society that has lost hope in the vocation of marriage,” Greg Alexander said, explaining the relevance of the series. “We want the world to see that marriage can be beautiful if we live it according to the way that God designed it. If we participate in the sacrament the way that God intended, all the grace we need is available in orde

Tiny miracles performed on hearts smaller than a pea

Dr. Lisa Hornberger doesn't want babies to be born with broken hearts. Some she can't prevent, but others she has found and saved while they're in the womb. Hornberger is a renowned fetal cardiologist recruited by Alberta Health Services and the University of Alberta last fall. She will help women whose fetuses have ailing hearts and develop a fetal cardiovascular program, as she did in children's hospitals in Boston, Toronto and most recently San Francisco. Read the rest here.

CINO, Pro-abort Kmiec Criticizes Holy Father

WASHINGTON D.C. - Professor Douglas Kmiec, the scholar who provided a justification for allowing Catholics to vote for Barack Obama, despite the president's consistent pro-abortion track record, wrote last week on Time Magazine's website that Pope Benedict XVI's words to Nancy Pelosi were "intrusive" in legal matters, because they put the whole judicial system in an impossible moral dilemma. Article What can we expect from someone who has excommunicated himself from the faith? I won't say any more about this because this man's moronic words aren't worth my time. He is a disgrace to the Catholic Community!

Slumdog Millionaire Review

Slumdog Millionaire is reviewed by Father Jeffrey, who reflects on the powerful nature of this classic love story set against the background of human squalor and degradation. No Spoilers.

Archbishop Timothy Dolan becomes new Archbishop of New York

CNA: Pope Benedict appoints Archbishop Dolan to head Catholic Church in NY City

US Senator Questions Obama Eligibility

WASHINGTON – A U.S. senator has weighed in on the continuing controversy over Barack Obama's eligibility for office by saying he has never seen proof the new president was actually born in Hawaii. "Well, his father was Kenyan and they said he was born in Hawaii, but I haven't seen any birth certificate," Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., told constituents in Cullman County. "You have to be born in America to be president." Article Why is there still so much secrecy here? Why is no one permitted to see the Obama birth certificate?

The Simple Woman's Daybook

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Visit Peggy's to see what the other women are doing and thinking today. For Today... Outside my window... bright sunshine, but very windy, in the lower 60's today. I am thinking... I wish I didn't have so much going on this week...lots of phone calls and appointments, as well as work on my book to do. However, I am so very thankful for all of it. I am thankful for... the debt that we owed that was forgiven us, as my dh is still without full-time employment. From the kitchen... I smell pork chops cooking in the crock pot. I am wearing... red today...red moleskin pants and a soft red matching top. I am reading... many books now, as I am doing research for my own book. I am hoping... to have an announcement to share with you all next week I am creating... a book. I am hearing... the hum of the computer... it's very quiet here now. Around the house... I got caught up on most of my housework this past weekend, but need to do some vacuuming. One of my favorite things... is le

ST. POLYCARP OF SMYRNA, BISHOP AND MARTYR

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St. Polycarp was one of the immediate disciples of the Apostles, in particular St. John the Evangelist. He embraced Christianity very young and was named bishop of Smyrna. He was greatly respected by the faithful, wrote many letters and formed many holy disciples. His epistle to the Philippians - the only one to be preserved - demonstrates his apostolic spirit, his profound humility and meekness, and his great charity. St. Polycarp fought against heresy. He also taught that Christians must walk in truth, do God’s will, keep all of His commandments, and love whatever He loved. Christians must refrain from all fraud, avarice, detraction, and rash judgment. They must repay evil with forgiveness and mercy. He taught that one must pray all the time, so as not to be led into temptation, fast, persevere and be joyful. During his episcopate, a violent persecution broke out in Smyrna against the Christians. During this time, though fearless, the bishop retreated to a neighboring village, spendi

Digest of Posts

Holy Father: "Physical healing is the sign of a return to spiritual health." Video Shows Why Sebelius Is “Not Fit To Serve” Pange Lingua Alan Keyes: Stop Obama... Your Inspirational Story Still Needed for New Book! St. Peter Damian: Monk, Bishop, Cardinal, Reformer, Doctor of the Church Praying with the Stars... Lenten Ideas 2009 Pelosi and the Pope...What really happened Sam Brownback: Why I voted against the Stimulus Bill What color are you? Get Ready...Here she comes!

Holy Father: "Physical healing is the sign of a return to spiritual health."

Video Shows Why Sebelius Is “Not Fit To Serve”

From Operation Rescue : Video Shows Why Sebelius Is “Not Fit To Serve” As HHS Secretary Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius has been named a frontrunner for the cabinet position of Secretary of Human Services. If nominated, Operation Rescue has vowed to oppose her confirmation. Below is a video with powerful excerpts from “The O’Reilly Factor” which aired on May 30, 2007. O’Reilly takes Sebelius to task for her support of late-term abortionist George R. Tiller, who now faces criminal charges for having committed illegal late-term abortions. He states, “She is not fit to serve.” Also included are photos obtained by Operation Rescue that show evidence of a party hosted by Sebelius in April, 2007, in honor of Tiller’s entire abortion clinic staff. Open records receipts and statements from a source who attended the party, Sebelius’ excuses for the party simply cannot be believed. ( Read a written analysis with documentation .) Watch this “must see” video and learn why Gov. Sebelius is “unfit to

Pange Lingua

This hymn is exceedingly sublime in its expression of faith in Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. The latter part of this hymn is mandated by the Church for use at Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. The last two stanzas, known as the Tantum Ergo, is usually sung at the beginning of the last part of Benediction; after any period of silence and before the priest blesses the congregation with Our Lord Himself. Even today this hymn is widely known and used frequently. It is one of the most famous chants in existence. It was written by St. Thomas Aquinas, the Angelic Doctor. He is known as the Common Doctor of the Church. His angelic purity and holiness brought him very close to God. He wrote the hymn Pange Lingua (of which the Tantum Ergo is the last two stanzas) for the feast of Corpus Christi. A fellow priest and close friend attempted this task at the same time. When St. Thomas finished, he shared it with the priest, who was awe-struck at its sublimity and expression. He was so moved

Alan Keyes: Stop Obama...

Your Inspirational Story Still Needed for New Book!

A Great Lenten Project Are you married? Are you Catholic? Do you have a devotion to the saints? Have you and your spouse or a family member experienced hope and healing as a result of prayer to a saint or saint(s)? This is your chance to evangelize and it makes for a wonderful Lenten project as well. I am looking for dramatic conversion stories as well as stories of trials and tribulations (for example, financial difficulties, addictions, the birth of a child with a medical problem) overcome or that you learned to cope with better through the intercession of a saint or saints and the grace of God to publish in a new book meant to inspire and encourage married couples. In order to be published: Your story must name a saint or saints. It must be at least 1800 words, but not more than 2000 words. Email your submission to me no later than March 15, 2009. jean.heimann@gmail.com

St. Peter Damian: Monk, Bishop, Cardinal, Reformer, Doctor of the Church

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Peter was the youngest child born to a large family in Ravenna, Italy in 1007. His parents both died when he was young and he was placed in the care of one of his brothers, who treated him like a slave. His eldest brother, a priest in Ravenna, rescued him and sent him away to study. Peter was quite brilliant and excelled in his studies (theology and cannon law) and later returned to Ravena as a professor. In his late 20's, he joined a group of Benedictine monks, who were living in northern Italy, where he became prior at the young age of 36: a position he held unto his death. Peter performed austere penances to the extent that he developed near permanent insomnia and was forced to modify them. Although living in a cloister, Peter kept close watch on the Church and worked for her purification. He wrote to the pope, urging him to deal with the scandals of the Church in Italy. In 1051, Peter published his treatise on the vices of the clergy, "Liber Gomorrhianus". He fought

Praying with the Stars...

What a pleasant surprise! Go here to learn more. H/T: Esther

Lenten Ideas 2009

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What is Lent? "Lent is a retreat that the Church gives us in order to re-focus on what should be first in our lives. The purpose of Jesus' life was to glorify the Father and save the world. ..Lent is not first a time of giving up but a time to re-choose to be the victim of Christ, the Lamb. It is a time to live the Beatitudes.” (Fr. Dominique, OSJ) “Each year, Lent offers us a providential opportunity to deepen the meaning and value of our Christian lives, and it stimulates us to rediscover the mercy of God so that we, in turn, become more merciful toward our brothers and sisters. In the Lenten period, the Church makes it her duty to propose some specific tasks that accompany the faithful concretely in this process of interior renewal: these are prayer, fasting and almsgiving.”( Pope Benedict XVI from MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI FOR LENT 2008.) Lenten Ideas for Adults Fasting Fast from watching TV one night a week so that you can spend time on a Lenten practice, such

Pelosi and the Pope...What really happened

Fox News: Pelosi, Pope Have No Meeting of the Minds George Weigel's Account: Were They at the Same Meeting? I especially like this part of what George Weigel has to say about Nancy: As her performance on Meet the Press prior to last year’s Democratic national convention made painfully clear, Pelosi is deeply confused about what her church teaches on the morality of abortion, and why. She may have come to her bizarre views on her own; it’s far more likely that she has been un-catechized, so to speak, by Catholic intellectuals and clerics who find Catholic teaching on life issues an embarrassment among their high-minded friends and colleagues of the progressive persuasion. Whatever the source of her confusion, Pelosi has now been informed, and by a world-class intellectual who happens to be the universal pastor of the Catholic Church , that she is, in fact, confused, and that both her spiritual life and her public service are in jeopardy because of that. My favorite fictional and fu

Sam Brownback: Why I voted against the Stimulus Bill

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Last week, the stimulus bill passed both the House and Senate and was signed into law by President Obama on Tuesday. Kansas Senator Sam Brownback voted against it and explains why here: "I voted against the stimulus bill because a huge increase in government spending is not the answer our economy needs. There are some good provisions in this bill, but not nearly enough to outweigh the overwhelming bad. This stimulus package threatens to be the beginning of our next bubble – a big-government bubble, where we try to use debt and leverage to spend our way into prosperity. We are considering an amount of spending that, even when adjusted for inflation, far outstrips the New Deal, the Louisiana Purchase, the Marshal Plan or the Moon Race." The stimulus package has a $787 billion price tag. It is the single biggest increase in the deficit in American history. The bill increased the debt limit to an all-time high of $12 trillion, and represents 5.5% of the GDP. "The hastily c

What color are you?

BLUE You give your love and friendship unconditionally. You enjoy long, thoughtful conversations rich in philosophy and spirituality. You are very loyal and intuitive. Find out your color at QuizMeme.com! Via Alexandra.

Get Ready...Here she comes!

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It's not official yet, but fasten your seat belts..... Obama Will Likely Pick Pro-Abortion Gov. Kathleen Sebelius as Health Secretary Washington, DC -- While House officials say President Barack Obama will name pro-abortion Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, who has been criticized for refusing to limit late-term abortions, as the Secretary of the Health and Human Services Department. Once official, her selection would add to Obama's growing pro-abortion record as president. Go here for the full story. Obama advisors are already notifying the media that it will be Catholic In Name Only pro-abort Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius for Health Secretary and I am sure she will be thrilled to go -- more power , more prestige, more money, more power -- she's the "Tim Taylor" of politics -- I can hear the growling now. Not only will she be able to help late-term abortionist George Tiller murder more babies and more women, but she will be able to help all abortionists get a

Digest of Posts for February 17 - 18

Report: Fetal stem cells trigger tumors in ill boy New Catholic Fiction Blog: Your Stories Needed What a Man! Pope Benedict on St. Bede the Venerable Catholics Hold Vigil for Obama's Conversion on FOCA Pope Strongly Rebukes Pelosi over Abortion More Parents Refusing Vaccines for Kids Picture Emerging on Genetic Risks of In Vitro Fertilization Catholic Carnival 212: Diversity in God Nationwide Petition Launched to Deny Communion to Pelosi, Biden, and other Pro-aborts A.L.L.'S JUDIE BROWN HOPES TO SEE PELOSI IN CONFESSION LINE Baby born alive and left to die at Florida clinic Sarah Palin: Obama Should Veto Stimulus Bill Sign the Petition to Investigate Gardasil Vaccine Deaths Now

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