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Does it Count? Here's the Bottom Line on Sunday Obligation

Most Catholics find themselves, from time to time, feeling a little blasé about fulfilling their “Sunday Duty.” No, that doesn’t refer to getting coffee and donuts on the way home from Mass, it refers to going to Mass. Sometimes Catholics slip into a minimalist mindset about their Sunday obligation of going to Mass, wondering to themselves, “What’s the absolute minimum of time I have to put in to ‘make it count’?”

Do you feel that showing up for weekly Mass is often no more than a roll call? And when it does feel that way, then are the spiritual goods still evident in your life? Do you ever find yourself asking, “Does it Count?” Do you struggle with some of the “requirements” of being Catholic? Come on . . . not even with one or two? Aha! That’s what I thought. So check out this very helpful Envoy Magazine article by Eric Scheske . . .

We Are At War! Are You Ready to Fight the Good Fight?

Bishop Robert Finn recently declared: "We are at war!" I couldn't agree with the good bishop more, and in response to his rallying cry, I have devleoped a plan to help Catholics everywhere get into high gear as the "Church Militant." Please click the banner to see how you can take part in this new apostolic project to combat error with truth and darkness with light. Join me!

Extreme Home Makeover — Depression Edition

I’m a California native, born & raised, and lived there most of my life. I never imagined I would ever see anything like this. Could it be a bizarre portent of worse things to come? I am starting to become inclined to think so. I hope I'm wrong. What do you think?

More Proof that Contraception & Abortion Are Killing Our Culture

For years, I've been giving lectures at parishes and conferences warning about the dire demographic consequences we are going to experience as a result of the blight of contraception and abortion. Here's a good depiction of what I've been saying, with a twist.

Extreme Shepherding

Israel Security Agency Expresses Concern About Assassination Plot Against Pope Benedict

As Pope Benedict's long-awaited visit to Israel nears, a new worry has emerged in the Israeli press about what some security experts fear will be an attack on the Holy Father during his stop in Nazareth.

The Pope will be in Bethlehem and Nazareth on May 13, the date which marks two important anniversaries in the Catholic Church: First, the 92nd anniversary of the first apparition of Our Lady of Fatima, on May 13, 1917; and second, May 13, 1981, the date on which Muslim hitman Mehmet Ali Agca attempted to assasinate Pope John Paul II in St. Peter's Square.

In 2000, I co-hosted the EWTN coverage of Pope John Paul II's Holy Land visit. I recall our being very alert to the possibiliy of an attack on the pope during that trip — keep in mind that this was pre-9/11 — and many were praying especially for his safe travel. Thank the Lord, nothing terrible happened.   

The Israeli newspaper Haaretz posted an eyebrow raising article on its website yesterday, saying:  

The Shin Bet security service does not want Pope Benedict XVI to use his so-called pope mobile in Nazareth next month, saying it may not be enough against any attack by radical Islamic groups. Tourism Minister Stas Misezhnikov will discuss the issue at Sunday's cabinet meeting.

The Holy See told the Israeli government that the pope wants to get as close as possible to his followers, so the Vatican hopes the pope will use the vehicle.

But the Shin Bet opposes this, citing pamphlets in Arab towns in the north calling for demonstrations during the visit. Other pamphlets by radical Islamists allegedly call for physical attacks on the pope. (read article)

Pope Benedict XVI Could Really Use Your Prayers

Click the image to open the PDF of this prayer. Please share it with your friends & family.

My Newest DVD Now Available: The Persecution of the Catholic Church in Mexico

Father Jenkins' Continued Descent Into Madness

Notre Dame Prez Father John Jenkins seems to have lost all touch with reality, at least if his latest comments about the impending visit of Dear Leader to address the university's 2009 commencement audience are any indication: 

"We are very proud and honored to welcome the first African-American President of the United States in a few weeks as our commencement speaker. . . . This is a tremendous event for us.  We're tremendously proud. . . . President Obama clearly could have chosen any university in the country to give a commencement address, and they would have been just delighted to have him, but he's coming to Notre Dame, and we're exceptionally proud."

The hubris at work here is simply breathtaking. The fact that, to date, nearly 50 U.S. Bishops have publically denounced his decision to invite a notorious pro-abortion politician to address the graduates and receive an honorary doctorate from the university seems not to have fazed him in the least. And the fact that over 325,000 other Catholics have signed a petition denouncing his actions seems lost on him.

He doesn't seem to realize that, with each new self-congratulatory utterance he makes about this debacle — e.g., "To welcome the first African-American president will be . . . gratifying for all of us" — he only confirms the suspicions of scores of bishops and hundreds of thousands of other Catholics; namely, that he is incompetent and clearly the wrong man for the high position he's been entrusted with. His ability to polarize and antagonize is stupendous.

It's no wonder that the "replace Father Jenkins" train is swiftly gathering momemtum.

Anyway, pop some Tums if you want to read the latest twist in this tortured Notre Dame saga. And let's not forget to pray, pray, pray for this man. Let's remember him in our Mass intentions and pray the rosary for him.

 

Wikipedia, of All Things, Finally Destroys the Culture of Death!

This is so absurd. And funny. And irritating. 

Most Rev. Robert J. Carlson Named New Archbishop of St. Louis

The wonderful, long-anticipated news is breaking this morning. And I am particularly happy about Archbishop-elect Carlson's elevation to the See of St. Louis because he has been a long-time member of the episcopal advisory board of Envoy Magazine, the Catholic journal I publish. 

Check out this early info available at the St. Louis Catholic blog. Here's a snippet:

The Holy See announced today that the Most Reverend Robert J. Carlson, Bishop of the Diocese of Saginaw, MI, has been chosen to succeed Archbishop Raymond L. Burke as Archbishop of Saint Louis.

His Excellency until recently had not been mentioned on the usual lists of rumored candidates for the vacant See. Archbishop Carlson's name began to be discussed in earnest after the appointment of Bishop Stika to the See at Knoxville, TN.

Archbishop Carlson, who will turn 65 in June, has been Bishop of the Diocese of Saginaw, MI since 2005. Before that he served as Bishop of Sioux Falls, SD for about ten years, and prior to that was Auxiliary Bishop of Minneapolis-St. Paul.

His Excellency's episcopal motto is "Ante crucem nihil defensionis," or "Before the cross there is no defense."

Fr. John Hardon: The Strategy of the Devil in Demonic Temptations

It was divinely providential that Christ allowed Himself to be tempted by the devil at the beginning of His public ministry. He is teaching us one of the most important lessons we need to learn in life. If He, the living God in human form, was tempted by the evil spirit, then we must expect to be tempted as well. In order to imitate Christ, we must resist the devil as Christ, Himself, resisted the devil.

As St. John tells us, we are tempted from three sources: by the world, the flesh, and the devil. The world is the attractive sinful conduct of other people. The flesh is our concupiscence, the natural inclination that we now have after the fall of the human race, to follow what appeals to us even though it is displeasing to God. The devil is, in some ways, the most powerful enemy we have in the spiritual life.

If there is one thing we learn from the masters of the spiritual life it is to expect to be tempted by the evil spirit. It was the evil spirit who tempted Eve and brought on the fall of the human race. As we reflect on temptations by the devil in our own lives, we must keep in mind who the devil is. He is the evil spirit. Spirit because he is not sensibly perceptible. We cannot hear him with our bodily ears or see him with our bodily eyes. He is an evil spirit whose number is legion and who has been phenomenally successful in seducing untold numbers from their allegiance to God.

St. Ignatius has a key meditation in the Spiritual Exercises on what he calls the Two Standards. The Two Standards correspond to the two leaders in the world who are drawing people to follow them. One leader is Jesus Christ, who inspires believing Christians to dedicate themselves to the extension of His kingdom throughout the world. The other leader is Satan, who is trying to seduce people to follow him for the extension of his demonic kingdom, which, in the words of St Augustine, is the City of Man, which is in constant conflict with the kingdom of Christ. The devil knows that you get nowhere alone, you inspire others to follow you. Then you train your followers and disciples and they will carry on your work. The devil trains his followers to seduce not just people or cities, but whole nations. . . . (continue reading)

Looking for Love in China and Not Finding It

Communist China's "One Child Policy" isn't just stupid, it's extra-strength stupid, as more and more panicked Chinese parents are discovering.

It's common knowledge that the government forces abortion on couples who cross the line and conceive more than the one child legally allotted to them. This disastrous stricture, combined with socio-economic factors, has resulted in a disproportionate number of abortions of female babies, in favor of males.

This Asian behemoth huddles in the shadow of the culture of death — a shadow that in great part it is responsible for casting — because its institutional family planning policies have turned China into one of the lonliest of all lonely hearts clubs.

Let's start with the money quote from this article, as it points out the key reason why these Chinese parents are getting really jittery about their adult sons' inability to find a wife:

"As a result of the one-child policy introduced in China in 1979 and a cultural predisposition for males that has lead to forced abortions and female infanticide, there is a disproportionate number of eligible young men in the country.

In the year 2000 there were 117 boys for every 100 girls – and that ratio is believed to have grown.  Worrying about your child’s marriage prospects has long been a major part of Chinese culture, but the striking statistics have compounded the issue."

BEIJING – On Sunday afternoon thousands of people gathered near Beijing’s Bird’s Nest stadium for a mass blind date.

But the scene was not the usual one of young swinging singles mixing and mingling; rather, it was full of anxious parents looking for love for their still single adult children.

At the entrance a billboard with heart shaped signs gave attendees instructions: "If you are a parent of a son looking for a girlfriend, please wear a blue ribbon. If you are a parent of a daughter looking for a boyfriend, please wear a red ribbon. If you are a single, please wear a tag [saying] ‘I’m looking for you!’"

Parents strolled around hunting for different colored ribbons, striking upconversations and asking for details such as "How old is your daughter?" or "How tall is your son?" They exchanged information, complete with pictures and resumes, in the hope of finding their son or daughter the perfect spouse. . . 

(continue reading)

All Information Highways Lead to Rome

This is the true story of a young woman who abandoned the Catholic Church of her upbringing and careened through a spiritual wilderness for years. With stops at abortion, contraception and Evangelical church-hopping, she was finally guided back home to Christ's Church and His sacraments by, of all things, the signposts on the information superhighway.

A cradle Catholic, I'd spent my early years in an Irish-American ghetto in inner-city Boston. Here, during the pious '50s, I'd developed an awed fascination with Catholic culture. I loved its mysterious milieu: the statues, votive candles and stained glass...the Latin hymns, May processions and novenas...the dimly-lit churches filled with incense during High Mass and Benediction. I eagerly read Lives of the Saints, borrowed from the public library's bookmobile. And like many little girls of that era, I dreamed of becoming a nun.

But after we moved to the suburbs when I was eight, the Catholic influence faded. My mom, who'd always inclined toward skepticism, gradually withdrew from parish involvement. By my teens, I too had become a skeptic. I stopped attending Mass and drifted into unreflecting agnosticism.

Then, in my late teens, something happened. After a disastrous semester at an "experimental" college, I was living at home, listlessly looking for a job. On weekend nights, my hippie friends and I hung out at a "coffeehouse" sponsored by the local Congregational church. Soon several friends invited me to a Bible study at the home of a local lady who'd helped organize the coffeehouse. I had nothing better to do, so I tagged along. In the weeks that followed, as we plowed through the Synoptic Gospels, I found myself powerfully attracted to Jesus.

I argued, balked, objected; but I kept coming back for more. Finally, our hostess took us for an overnight trip to a Christian coffeehouse in western Massachusetts. There, when the youth ministers asked if I was ready to receive Jesus, I surprised myself by saying yes. The next morning, on the trip back home, I felt elated, freed. I knew little about the faith I'd just embraced, but I did know I'd passed a turning point. Everything seemed fresh and new.

A few months later, when I returned to college, I discovered that some of my classmates had also "accepted Jesus." But after flirting with Pentecostalism, these friends had hankered for a richer, more liturgical tradition. Now they were attending a local "high church" Episcopal parish. Under their influence, I too journeyed from Fundamentalism to Anglicanism -- and eventually back to Catholicism. . . . (continue reading)