Happy 4th of July everyone

To add to what my bother said in his blog-post here, let's not forget out fighting men and women who still under difficult situation brought on by the enemy abroad and politicians at home continue to fight for our freedom.

Let's imagine where we would be both as a nation and a planet were it not for those who fertilize the tree of freedom with their blood and sacrifice.

Without them we would probably be speaking English with a British accent and suffering under their socialized medical system much sooner, My 10 year old may not have made if through her difficult birth because some heartless bureaucrat would have decided she was not worth the effort.

Without them we would have ended the peculiar institution of slavery much latter thus prolonging the say when the Supreme court and our president would be of African Decent.

Without them My native land of Puerto Rico would still be under Spanish control rather than a Commonwealth of the United States.

Without them we and Europe would be speaking German and the Third Reich would be a major world Power, Jews would be all but extinct as a people as well as Christianity.

Without them Millions of Muslims, from Kosovo, to Iraq and Afghanistan would still be oppressed rather than being a self determining people and the light of freedom would have been to dim for the People in Iran to even consider rising against their oppression in spite of our current leadership.

Without them Communism and it's close cousin Fascism would be the dominant political systems in the world rather than systems in decline.

Without them we would have undoubtedly been attacked perhaps even worse than 9-11.

It may be them that save the American Experiment despite our best efforts to end it.

The Men and Women who make up our armed forces are not uneducated brutes, but educated men and women who often give up lucrative careers in the civilian world to serve, such as Pat Tillman and the sons and daughters of many politicians including John McCain and Vice President Biden.

So today as you celebrate our freedom (sometimes without realising) please remember to give thanks to that veteran in your midst. Chances are there will be one in your celebration whether from current wars or previous ones.

Thoughts on the Passing of Michael Jackson

First Let me start by saying that the death of Michael Jackson is tragic on many levels. I pray for his soul and his loved ones.

That having been said I believe that as tragic as his death is, the real tragedy is his life. There is doubt that Michael Jackson was supremely talented, it is sad that his talent on stage was so marred by a lifestyle that can only be compared to the Titanic. Like the Titanic which began it's voyage full of promise, Michael's career was full of promise. Like the Titanic who wanting to run faster than all other ships in the sea ignored warnings of danger, so too Michael's personal life showed early signs of danger. Both Michael and the Titanic ended with cries for help and tragic loss of life because while the outside was glamorous the inside of both Michael and the Titanic were weak and in dire need of re-engineering.

The other thing that came to mind was the coverage. The death of Michael has been covered thus far completely ignoring the less desirable aspect of his life, in contrast recall the coverage of another Icon, in John Paul II. Even before he died no report was complete without mentioning some controversial aspect of church history of teaching such as the child abuse scandal or celibacy and women Priest. Given the coverage one would think it was Michael who lived a life of heroic virtue and dignity and JPII who had the tragic life.

These are my random thoughts on the death of Michael Jackson

Today may mark the day when the American Experiment Fails

Article If this legislation is passed by the Senate American Capitalism as we know it will come to an end.

I will wager that the baby killers and the media will ignore this

The baby killers for whom abortion is the sacrament will ignore science (as they accuse those of us that have morals) and continue to push for the advancement of their religion which requires the sacrifice of innocents at the altar of sin without consequences.

Article

Remember the Out-Cry when a right wing Cadidate Visits the Supposedly Anti-Catholic Bob Jones University.

I post this as yet one more proof of the lefts hipocracy. The left pretends to be sensitive to Catholic sensitivities when a right wing politician makes a Speech at Bob Jones University, Article. Yet as a practiving Catholic I am more offended when a leftist, militant pro-Abortion politician makes a speech at what once was a respected CAtholic Institution. Bob Jones is a protestant University and I expect their theology to reflect and anti-catholic biase. At least they stand by their principles. The University at South Bend was once Catholic and invited a politician whose views are anathema the our faith, and Gave him an honorary degree to add insult to injury.

Again OUr President shows more respect for Muslims in Cairo than for Catholics in South Bend

Text of Cairo Speech, Text Of the South Bend Speech.

This is what happens when passion overcomes vocation

I have posted on Father Alberto Cutie's sad situation in which what had been a good priest with much to offer via his media access.

Today I sadly report that the apostasy and self-excomunication is now complete.

Article

Father Albero should know better. He took a vow of chaste celibacy when he was ordained a priest. Yet the church knows that often the passions of a Man is often stronger that his vows, so it has a mechanism by which a priest who desires to Mary can. All he had to do was petition his Bishop to be laicised at which point he can marry and live tha life of a lay person. With his media contacts he would have lived a very comfortable life and continued to serve God and the church in that capacity as a married man. He shoose instead to create scandal and lead many astray by his very public breack with a vow and by taking the path of least resistance, he choose to become an episcopal priest, thus he can have his cake and eat it too. In the process he, by this act, endoresed the practices of homosexual, and female priests as well as church supported abortion. All of which goes against the teachings of the church Father Cuties sayd to have loved.

Pity.

Know your leaders

If the Notre Dame scandal is a portent of a great apostasy within the church or even The Great apostasy as prophesied in scripture then the time may come when we must know who to turn to for eartly leadership in our easthly struggle against the apostate leader, this article may help. As I mentioned before I am not a left behind person who sees the book of revelation coming true in every headline type of Christian. Yet I do believe as scripture teaches that Jesus is coming and that there will be signs, amonst which will be a great apostasy within his church. I do know that as a Christian I am commanded to be ever vigilant for scripture says there will be signs but at the same time the second coming will come as a thief in the night when we least expect it. So I will not despair of the coming but will join the the strugle against the enemies of his Catholic Church both from outside in the form of secular and religious opposition and from some of those same forces that have infiltrated the church. Already one agent in the form of Father Jenkins has been brought to the light. I could name others but they are Bishops and Cardinals and Mother Angelica was admonished for taking one of them to task (some readers may know who I am talking about)

Are our actions recruiting more terrorists

A favorite accusation of the anti-War and anti-American left is that we create more terrorists by housing them in Guantanamo or by such actions as enhanced interrogations. They like to point to pictures as those of so called abused (as opposed to decapitated) detainees as being recruiting tools for terrorists. As is most often the case with the accusations of the left the truth is the exact opposite of what they say.

It was our running with out tails tucked between our legs from Somalia after they killed and dragged one our soldiers through their streets that prompted Bin-Laden to label the U.S. a paper tiger. It was the myriad of attacks during the 90’s including the first WTC attack without response that served to cement that notion in the minds of our enemies that was the real recruiting tool for terrorists. It was the application of a strong arm by General Petraeus in Iraq that virtually eliminated terrorist attacks and rather than recruit enemies served to befriend the locals and turn them into allies against a common foe. It is therefore the left and their tactics that are the best recruiting tools for the terrorists not Guantanamo and our pretense in Iraq

I think I know why our president thinks he can dialogue with the Iranian president

They are both former community organizers and run simmilar presidential campaigns.


poli

Be careful what you wich for....

The Irony in this article is delicious. I truly do not know if to laugh, that these chplains were so succesfull at preaching relativism or cry at the fact that they were so sucessfull at preaching relativism they are now irelevent in the eyes of the school body

Only in the Mind of a secular leftist is this not Ironic.

Am I the only one that sees the Irony in the fact that the History Channel is having a special on the Movie "Angels and Demons" purportedly to separate fact from fiction with the Movie itself being the sponsor for the program. It this were a right with religious show sponsored by a similarly friendly entity the content would be ridiculed on that basis alone, regardless of how accurate the content of the show was.

Here is the link

Stop the Scare Mongering

The Swine flu or the H1N1 virus as it is now called is being used by both our government and their willing allies in the media to spread a sense of panic and, I believe, as a means to promote nationalized health care. As flue viruses go this is not only mild but so far laughable. According the the World Health Organization there are about 2100 cases of the virus with 44 deaths world wide, See here. The U.S has 896 cases with 2 of those 44 deaths, see here. While all of these deaths and the potential deaths to come from this virus are tragic, they pale in comparison to the common seasonal flu with yearly affects one in five Americans or 226,000 people and kills 36,000 people in the U.S. alone, see here. If anything may possibly make the case for national health care the common seasonal flu make a better case than the swine virus.

On the other hand if one is really intent on killing the swine virus I would suggest slow roasting the pig over a pit until well cooked thus killing the virus and making a dent on world hunger at the same time.

Catholics should enjoy Angels and Demonds says Ron Howard

In a recent article, Movie Director Ron Howard is quoted as saying "Let me be clear: neither I nor Angels & Demons are anti-Catholic. And let me be a little controversial: I believe Catholics, including most in the hierarchy of the Church, will enjoy the movie for what it is - an exciting mystery, set in the awe-inspiring beauty of Rome."

I wonder if he would say that Blacks would a enjoy a movie as beeing a good story set in the majesty of the south if the story were Insulting of the Harriet Tubman story or a rewritting of the sotry of the KKK. Or if the story were a revision of the Holocaust, wouldhe say Jews would enjoy it because because it is an exiting story set in the splendor of the Bavarian country side.

The truth that it is only because it is anti-Catholic (let's not kid ourselves something that depicts lies about the Catholic church is by definition anti-Catholic) that Ron Howard can get away with making such a statement without the Media coming down on him. It is only when a Republican Presidential Candidate makes a speech at Bob-Jones University that the left sudendly becomes defensive of Catholic sensitivities.

Could this be the time of the apostasy?

In light of the Notre Dame debacle it seems that so called Catholic colleges and Universities are falling like dominoes down the path of apostassy. It would seem that the election of Benedict IV, whose othodoxy I love, did not after all result in a closed cafeteria for catholics but in the opening of a whole new and growing franshise

Article

Confession

I must confess life is taking hold of me, or better I have allowed life to take hold of me, so my postings have been space lately. but I want to continue with the series of posts I started last year on the the sacraments.

I began with a short primer on what a sacrament was and what they were here, then I expounded deeper on the sacrament of Baptism here.

Today I will talk about what is perhaps the most beautiful of Sacraments and that is Reconciliation or confession. Confession is a difficult Sacrament for even the most devout Catholic let alone the non-Catholic. The notion of going to another man, himself a sinner and perhaps even a worse sinner than me, and telling them my sins is to many like walking into the confessional and stripping naked. In truth a proper confession is a stripping naked of the soul, which is why it is uncomfortable to so many. It is also true that some of the same people that would never dream of taking their sins to a priest, will gladly spend hundreds of dollars to bear their souls to a psychotherapist only to be given advice that is morally dubious at best and being left the underlying sinful issue unaddressed and no sense of healing or reconciliation. The fact is that Jesus knew what he was doing in John 20:23 When he gave sinful men to power to forgive sins. The one who created men knew mans nature and understood that human worship involved both body and soul and that hearing the words "go in peace you sins are forgiven" would have more healing power than any psychotherapy or the latest feel good self-empowering don't sweat the small stuff fad ever could.

Sin destroys our relationship with God and in turn with is body the church, So it is God alone who can in the end forgive sins, it is however through the Church and through his duly appointed minister, the priest, the Shepperd of his body the Church , that he has chosen to grant us his forgiveness

The theology of confession like that of the other Sacraments and every other Church doctrine is far deeper than I could give it justice here, but it is my earnest hope and prayer that this will help those of you who may be struggling with this most beautiful of church treasures.

Thoughts on epiphany

I know I have been lax in postings the last few months. This is due partly to writers block and partly to daily life taking over. I have a few minutes here so I though I would posts some thoughts on epiphany, which is celebrated January 6th.

The word epiphany means a sudden insight and or revelation. An epiphany is what happens when pagan wise men, probably Zoroastrians and astrologers, from Persia are drawn to the small town of Bethlehem (or perhaps Nazareth, the scripture passages do not say that the wise men arrived exactly at time of our Lords birth, Herod's edict to kill all children under two seems to indicate that some time had passed from the time of the Lords birth). This visit by the wise men shows that Jesus came to save all man kind, not just the Jews. The wise men represent all non-Jews or gentiles. It is interesting to note that among the Jews those called to visit Jesus were poor uneducated shepherds and from among the gentiles it was the educated and wealthy. This may indicate the contempt that God had for the cultural decay among Jews and the hope he has for the rest of the world. This is the insight we gain from these events. God reveals to us that salvation is for all mankind and that while his life is intended to fulfill the Jewish prophesies and it is from the Jews that salvation comes, the whole world now has access to the grace of God via his son Jesus.

The wise men bring interesting and symbolic gifts. Gold, Incense and Myrrh. Gold represent worldly riches and royalty indicating a recognition of these gentiles of Jesus royal lineage. Incense is used in worship in virtually all major world religions, this indicates the recognition of the wise men of the divine nature of Jesus. Myrrh indicate that the wise men were aware of the mission of Jesus to die as fitting sacrifice for all of mans sins. A mission even the most learned amongst the Jews would not recognise.

I pray that this is but one epiphany we enjoy in our walk of faith in Jesus.

Perhaps another silver lining

Obamas Election is finally forcing the Catholic church in the U.S. to address the giving of Communion to those that support abortion, either in elected office or in the ballot box.

Article, 

In what may be a little to little to late, but better late than never the Bishops are beginning to do something they have not done so in a while, 

Teach Catholic doctrine forcefully and clearly, with consequences to Catholics that fail to live up to Catholic doctrine.

Article

It is a shame it took a political disaster to get this reaction, but then Christianity is often more clearly taught in the face of persecution.

Was Obama Right?

As Mentioned in my previous post. Obama was fond of saying that McCain would have brought about a second Bush Administration. He may have been right. It is true that McCain and Bush were in legislative agreement about 90% of the time. McCain could point to the 10% of differences to point to his maverick tendencies. The fact is that Bush and McCain are not Ideological conservatives. Both were opposed to earmarks, though Bush never vetoed a spending bill. both have a pro-life view and both are foreign policy Hawks, though McCain may be a little more hawkish.

A moderate McCain administration though preferable to a Socialist Obama may have a positive side. Having McCain as the leader of the party and as president may have resulted in delaying the much needed shake up in the Republican party that is now taking place. The next republican candidate may well have been carrying the same political baggage that was carried by the party on this election cycle.

Obama seems intent on implementing a socialist economic agenda. This will only deepen the economic problems we are now facing. Obama will want to blame Bush economic policies as being so bad that his policies are taking on Bush economic policies to work. We must point that the Bush economy of the last two years is a socialist economy and that Obama is simply taking us further left. The Obama economy in essence began in 2006 with the democratic congress, Bush simply rubber stamped it. McCain may not have taken us further left but was likely to keep us where we are now with minor adjustments.

Bush was a Second FDR term.

The eight years of Bush are very similar to the FDR years. Both faced economic problems and a global War. Both presided of what at the time was the largest expansion in government in history. Both were aggressive in pursuing Americas enemies abroad and expanding social services as home. It is entirely possible FDR may have felt more at home in today's Republican party as seen the democratic party as to radical for his taste.

The problem that historically once a social program is implemented it stays. Even the great Reagan could not roll back most government programs, at best he was able to slow their growth and grow the economy to better fund them though higher revenues.

 

This is the danger of an Obama administration, he stands ready to grow government even more and create more dependency, which a conservative administration will have a hard time removing. It is worth noting that both parties have moved left with the Republican party looking like the democrats of old and the democrats in many instances voting to the left of the socialists in congress.

We must push for a radical reform of the republican party to field candidates that will promise a mayor roll back of government and hold them to it.