The Deposit of Faith

Most agressive inarticulate Generation

2010-01-24T20:37:00.001-05:00

Got this from the CMR-blog and thought it was funny AND true.

Typography from Ronnie Bruce on Vimeo.

Hitler Finds out Scott Brown won Mass. Senate seat

2010-01-21T21:33:00.001-05:00

This is Hilarious!

Father Barron on Bill Maher's "Religulous"

2009-11-23T13:50:00.001-05:00

Father Barron gives an awesome definition of belief/faith at around 5:30

"You ever have one of those days?"

2009-11-19T20:20:00.002-05:00

I got this from Patrick Madrid's blog...oh man.

St. Dominic

2009-11-17T09:33:00.003-05:00

This is a Saints project that I did for Catechetical Methods. The idea is to produce a learning device that would be used to teach a particular saint of your choice. I Chose St. Dominic. I got an A!!!

Here it is:

Credit goes to:
Jordan Matchen (my roommate) as the Narrator
Theresa Smith (Lovely Girlfriend) as Midwife and Virgin Mother
...and if you didn't catch it, I played St. Bernard...a (horrible) attempt at a french accent. It's ok, you can laugh.

Tim Hawkins - The Government Can

2009-11-16T09:36:00.001-05:00

Got this from Hizzle...hilarious AND true.

Tenor Fail

2009-11-10T23:42:00.001-05:00

HAHAH!!! This is Hilarious! I had trouble hitting the high notes this evening in choir and my director assured me was not as bad as this...

Dad, you will love this. :)

Missa Cum Jublio

2009-07-28T13:25:00.002-04:00

This is the Mass that the Schola Cantorium of Franciscan University will be using for the up coming year.

"American capitalism gone with a whimper"

2009-07-19T11:40:00.005-04:00

An Article in the Russian Newspaper PRAVADA, English edition.

American capitalism gone with a whimper

It must be said, that like the breaking of a great dam, the American descent into Marxism is happening with breath taking speed, against the back drop of a passive, hapless sheeple, excuse me dear reader, I meant people.

True, the situation has been well prepared on and off for the past century, especially the past twenty years. The initial testing grounds was conducted upon our Holy Russia and a bloody test it was. But we Russians would not just roll over and give up our freedoms and our souls, no matter how much money Wall Street poured into the fists of the Marxists.

Those lessons were taken and used to properly prepare the American populace for the surrender of their freedoms and souls, to the whims of their elites and betters.

First, the population was dumbed down through a politicized and substandard education system based on pop culture, rather than the classics. Americans know more about their favorite TV dramas then the drama in DC that directly affects their lives. They care more for their "right" to choke down a McDonalds burger or a Burger King burger than for their constitutional rights. Then they turn around and lecture us about our rights and about our "democracy". Pride blinds the foolish.

Then their faith in God was destroyed, until their churches, all tens of thousands of different "branches and denominations" were for the most part little more then Sunday circuses and their televangelists and top Protestant mega preachers were more then happy to sell out their souls and flocks to be on the "winning" side of one pseudo Marxist politician or another. Their flocks may complain, but when explained that they would be on the "winning" side, their flocks were ever so quick to reject Christ in hopes for earthly power. Even our Holy Orthodox churches are scandalously liberalized in America .

The final collapse has come with the election of Barack Obama. His speed in the past three months has been truly impressive. His spending and money printing has been a record setting, not just in America 's short history but in the world. If this keeps up for more than another year, and there is no sign that it will not, America at best will resemble the Weimar Republic and at worst Zimbabwe .

These past two weeks have been the most breath taking of all. First came the announcement of a planned redesign of the American Byzantine tax system, by the very thieves who used it to bankroll their thefts, loses and swindles of hundreds of billions of dollars. These make our Russian oligarchs look little more then ordinary street thugs, in comparison. Yes, the Americans have beat our own thieves in the shear volumes. Should we congratulate them?

These men, of course, are not an elected panel but made up of appointees picked from the very financial oligarchs and their henchmen who are now gorging themselves on trillions of American dollars, in one bailout after another. They are also usurping the rights, duties and powers of the American congress (parliament). Again, congress has put up little more than a whimper to their masters.

Then came Barack Obama's command that GM's (General Motors) president step down from leadership of his company. That is correct, dear reader, in the land of "pure" free markets, the American president now has the power, the self given power, to fire CEOs and we can assume other employees of private companies, at will. Come hither, go dither, the centurion commands his minions.

So it should be no surprise, that the American president has followed this up with a "bold" move of declaring that he and another group of unelected, chosen stooges will now redesign the entire automotive industry and will even be the guarantor of automobile policies. I am sure that if given the chance, they would happily try and redesign it for the whole of the world, too. Prime Minister Putin, less then two months ago, warned Obama and UK 's Blair, not to follow the path to Marxism, it only leads to disaster. Apparently, even though we suffered 70 years of this Western sponsored horror show, we know nothing as foolish, drunken Russians, so let our "wise" Anglo-Saxon fools find out the folly of their own pride.

Again, the American public has taken this with barely a whimper...but a "freeman" whimper.

So, should it be any surprise to discover that the Democrat controlled Congress of America is working on passing a new regulations that would give the American Treasury department the power to set "fair" maximum salaries, evaluate performance and control how private companies give out pay raises and bonuses? Senator Barney Frank, a social pervert basking in his homosexuality (of course, amongst the modern, enlightened American societal norm, as well as that of the general West, homosexuality is not only not a looked down upon life choice, but is often praised as a virtue) and his Marxist enlightenment, has led this effort. He stresses that this only affects companies that receive government monies, but it is retroactive and taken to a logical extreme, this would include any company or industry that has ever received a tax break or incentive.

The Russian owners of American companies and industries should look thoughtfully at this and the option of closing their facilities down and fleeing the land of the Red as fast as possible.. In other words, divest while there is still value left. The proud American will go down into his slavery without a fight, beating his chest and proclaiming to the world, how free he really is. The world will only snicker.

Stanislav Mishin© 1999-2009. «PRAVDA.Ru». When reproducing our materials in whole or in part, hyperlink to PRAVDA.Ru should be made. The opinions and views of the authors do not always coincide with the point of view of PRAVDA.Ru's editors.

Dang!

2009-07-16T20:32:00.004-04:00

BES: The Establishment of the Administration in the Kingdom

2009-07-12T13:56:00.005-04:00

In Mark 6:7-13 we see that Jesus begins to set up an administration for his Kingdom. This administration will be based on 12 officers. He chooses them and then sends them out.

So you now may ask, where did this idea of an administration come into play and why I am suggesting it here? Well If we go back to 1 Kings 4:7, we find that Solomon set up a kind of administration for his kingdom; he chose 12 officers or viceroys over all Israel. Jesus being the Son of David and the new Solomon, is continuing the pattern of his royal ancestors by setting these 12 viceroys over the house of Israel.

Solomon’s choice of 12 officers over Israel was itself inspired by the concept of the 12 tribes of Israel, each with its own father or patriarch. The 12 tribes originated from the 12 sons of Jacob. Solomon himself was recapitulating the patriarchs over the 12 tribes. So likewise the 12 apostles too are 12 new sons of Jacob. And around this center, Jesus is going to reassemble the true people of Israel, the people of God.

It is interesting that some Jewish Literature of Jesus’ day like a certain document that we still have, called the testament of the 12 patriarchs which dates back to the time of Jesus, maybe even before. In this text we see that when the messiah came, it was expected that the 12 patriarchs would rise from the dead.
-Now here we have the coming of the Messiah: We have the charism of Elijah that resides with John the Baptist and we also have the 12 apostles with the charism of the 12 patriarchs.

Even though this is not ground breaking or incredibly enlightening, it is always good to see God's plan as a whole and that everything about salvation history is tied together and builds upon the past in order to mold the future into something greater: an elevation of nature towards grace.
It amazes me that we can soon forget that God's plan isn't really all that intricate and that He probably threw it all together at the last minute; that he doesn't really have a well thought out plan for us. Well, we have to remember that God is not a lazy, unkempt college student that plays video games and puts off the really important tasks till the very end. I do this, not God. God has and always will be very attentive to the details (God is in the Details), and he will make everything worth discovering and not be a chain of unrelated events; for everything in salvation history is connected with an intrinsic unity and points to a final end. May we be blessed enough to see the entire whole so that we may fully appreciate the our final destination.

God Bless us all

Neil Patrick Mueller

Happy 4th from 4 days ago, TODAY!

2009-07-08T17:56:00.002-04:00

I know the 4th of July was last weekend but I just had to share this.

Pixar and Caritas in Veritate

2009-07-08T13:01:00.002-04:00

Watch this....

Then Go Here. This is a really awesome connection between this Pixar short and Pope Benedict's latest encyclical Caritas in Veritate!

Richard Dawkins

2009-06-30T19:42:00.000-04:00

BES: Corpus Christi Part 2

2009-06-27T20:10:00.009-04:00

(This is a two parter, so be sure to read part one first)

I know I originally pulled readings from Mark, but since Mark is the root of Matthew (Called the Marcean Priority: Majority accepted theory), I may as well get the best of both worlds and pull directly from Matthew.

In verse 28 in Matthew's Gospel, Jesus says "This is my blood of the Covenant." The last time these words were mentioned was at Mount Sinai Exodus 24:6-8,

"If you keep this covenant you will be a royal priesthood." He then sprinkles the blood on the people and the alter and says this is the blood of the Covenant that God has made with you."

AMEN! the people say.

Now Jesus is saying this IS the blood of the covenant here, his blood! By that Jesus is implying, "what I am doing here, it replaces what Moses did at the foot of Sinai. This is every bit significant as the Sinai covenant, yet it is more significant. Jesus is the new Moses and surpasses Moses. Moses used the blood of goats, Jesus used his own blood to establish the new covenant.

In verse 29: "I tell you I shall not drink again of the fruit of the vine until the day I drink it new with you in my Father's Kingdom. And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the mount of olives."

This is very unusual if you know the Traditional Passover Liturgy; there were 4 cups of wine to be drunk in the traditional Jewish Passover.

The 4 cups in the Jewish Passover

1. Cup of Holiness or sanctification: It ceremonially sanctifies or ‘sets apart’ the Passover Ceremony at the express command of Yahweh (Ex. 12:14)

"This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord; throughout your generations you shall observe it as an ordinance for ever."

2. Cup of Praise: a remembrance of joy of the plagues that Yahweh performed against Egypt on the behalf of Israel, its apex in the Red Sea crossing. Yahweh made a way for Israel to go, where there was no way. This parallels the Way God made for us to dwell with Him forever, by the sacrifice and resurrection of His Son.

3. Cup of Blessing also known as the cup of redemption:
(Jesus doesn't finish the Passover: I shall not drink again of this fruit of vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's Kingdom mat 26:39)

4. Cup of Consummation (consumatio, completion)

After the drinking of the third cup, you sang a hymn which was part of the ritual. From verse 29-30 Jesus drinks the 3rd cup and sings a hymn, but instead of completing the Passover, they go out to the mount of olives, after Jesus says, "I tell you I shall not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's Kingdom." He basically says he will not complete the Passover. Why?

If we add in other information from the other Gospels this makes more sense: Luke records two cups of wine being drunk at the last supper, one before the meal and one after the meal; that which would be cup number two and three. Then like Luke, Matthew has the third cup used as the Eucharistic cup, where Jesus says "this is the my blood of the new covenant."

Now St. Paul records some very interesting words when he talks about the cup of the Eucharist (Blessing). St. Paul says "the cup of Blessing which we bless, is it not a participation (communion) in the blood of Christ?" (1 Cor 10:16), (most all commentators identify the cup of blessing with the Eucharistic cup).

Then when they go out into Gethsemane, in the Garden Jesus begins to pray and to be sorrowful. The words Jesus pray are very interesting. In verse 39, it says "And going a little father he fell on his face and prayed, 'My Father, if it be possible, let this chalice (or cup) pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou will.'"

And again in verse 42: "My father if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done."

The theme of "drinking the cup" extends into the Garden of Gethsemane. So what exactly is he going to do? Where does this "drinking of the cup" happen?

In Chapter 27 verse 32, "As they were marching out, they came upon a man of Cyrene, Simon by name; this man they compelled to carry his cross. And when they came to a place called Golgotha, they offered him wine to drink, mingled with gall; but when he tasted it, he would not drink it." Why wouldn't he drink it? Keep reading...

Now in verse 45, "Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, 'Eli, Eli, la'ma sabach' -tha'ni?' that is, 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?' This is called the "Cry of Dereliction." It is true that Jesus is suffering here, but yet this is NOT a cry of complete abandonment. This comes from the first line of Psalm 22, where if you read the whole thing, it ends with, "The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek him shall praise the Lord! May your hearts live forever! All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord; and all the families of the nations shall worship him." This is not a psalm of defeat, but one of victory and triumph! Yes, he suffered, but Jesus knows that there is redemption at hand!

Now in verse 48 "One of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with vinegar. and put it on a reed, and gave it to him to drink." This is very interesting, because what is vinegar? Vinegar is basically just soured wine; it is the fruit of the vine. OK! Now, Matthew's Gospel isn't clear on whether or not Jesus actually drank, but another Gospel nails it down for us. In John's Gospel (19:28-30), Jesus says, "I thirst." Jesus then is offered the vinegar on a sprig of Hyssop which was held up to his mouth. When Jesus receives the vinegar, he says what?! "It is finished" or "it is Consummated"!

So why does Jesus say that he will not drink until he enter his Father's Kingdom? Because the Kingdom is here! What Jesus has done is, when he drinks of the vine from the cross, he is completing a liturgy that has been in suspension since the Upper Room! The bloodless sacrifice of the upper room and the blood sacrifice of the cross are one liturgical act. This is the liturgical act we present in Mass. It is the liturgical act that helps us to enter into the Kingdom of God. When present in this liturgical act, we are drinking the cup with Jesus in the Kingdom of God! The Kingdom of God has arrived!

Now to recap here, these four cups represent Exodus 6:6-7, where it says,

"Say therefore to the sons of Israel, 'I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of Judgment, and I will take you for my people, and I will be your God'..."

So we see clearly the four cups right there:

"I will bring you out" = 1st cup (God wanted them to be a holy nation, holiness in a sense is to be 'set apart' or 'consecrated to God')

"I will rescue you" = 2nd cup (Praising God/remembrance of Joy: Israel is Rescued from Egyptian bondage, not only because they were slaves to be beast of burden, but being slaves to worshiping the Graven images, idols and multiple gods that the Egyptians worshiped.)

"I will redeem you" = 3rd cup (the blood of the new covenant)

"and I will Take you = 4th cup (It praises God for his completed work of Redemption. The Eucharist gives us the Kingdom of God. When we receive him in the Eucharist, its not that we receive him, but that he receives us! He takes us for his people and we take him for our God.)

Matthew then gives us signs of the Kingdom as soon as Jesus gives up his spirit in verse 50. In Verse 51,

"And behold, the curtain of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom..."

The Curtain of the Temple was this HUGE thing made up of squares of fabric that were two inches wide, woven together with metal (silver) thread (This is no bathroom shower curtain), that you could not cut without MAJOR tools. So this was the divine hand tearing this beast of a thing down, ripping it in two. It took hundreds of men to handle it and lift it into place. This divided the Holy of Holies from the rest of the Temple, so you could not get past into the direct presence of God. But with the death of Christ, the way into the Holy of Holies has been opened for us all!

In the book of Hebrews 9:8, it gives us some insight into this; "By this the Holy Spirit indicates that the way into the sanctuary is not yet opened as long as the outer tent (Tabernacle) is still standing which is symbolic for the present age."

Then in Verse 11, "But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent, not made with human hands, that is, not of this creation, he entered once for all into the Holy Place, taking not the blood of goats and of calves but his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption."

The Author of Hebrews agrees here that Jesus' death is the means for opening up the Holy of Holies for us.

Continuing on in Matthew, in verse 52, "the tombs also were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many." Here we have a "mini" Resurrection; a foretaste of the resurrection, which again is a sign of the arrival of the Kingdom of Heaven.

The Kingdom of Heaven is now and it is with the Catholic Church!

oh man...now I'm tired. Hope this was helpful. This could really have been 3 parts...oh well. Thanks for Reading!

Glory be to the Father, to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and forever shall be, world without end! Amen.

Neil Patrick Mueller

99 Balloons

2009-06-24T18:25:00.001-04:00

Elliot's Story:

Update:If you use Google Reader, it may not show up, so you will have to go to the blog itself.

Biblical Exegesis Sunday....errr from last Sunday

2009-06-20T21:46:00.005-04:00

Corpus Christi Part 1

I was a little distracted this week from posting this when I wanted to...better late than never.

Ok so last week's Gospel readings were from Mark 14, which records the passover before Christ's Passion and the institution of the last supper.

In Mark 14:13, Jesus asks the disciples to go and Prepare for the last supper.
Now In Luke there is greater detail that is revealed here: Luke records that it was Peter and John who were sent by Jesus to find a man carrying a Jar of Water. They were to follow that man to his home and there they would prepare the last supper. Now This might not be strange to us for a man carrying a jar of water, but in 1st century Jerusalem, that was very unusual; because carrying water was "woman's work." The Men who would carry water were men who were in a circumstance of not having any women folk around, so they had to do it for themselves. The only men who didn't have women folk around were celibate male Essenes. The Essenes were the only branch of Judaism that practiced celibacy. These Essenes lived in community and did their own "woman’s work." So when Jesus says go to a man who is carrying water, there is no mistake that this is an Essene.

(The Essenes were of the Qumran Community, whom which the Dead Sea Scrolls are affiliated with.)

Archeological Evidence: The traditional site of the upper room is found in the Essene quarter of Jerusalem.
-Jesus celebrated the Passover with his disciples in the upper room located in the Essene quarter of Jerusalem with the Essenes.

There was something different in the way the Essenes celebrated the Passover. The Essenes regarded the Temple to be defiled for the same reasons Jesus did, (Unseemly buying and selling in the Temple courts, corruption on various levels of the Temple bureaucracy, and particularly the High Priest had the wrong lineage/wrong genealogy. High priest placed by the Romans [Gentile pagans should not have appointing the High Priests]). So with this the Essences saw the Temple being corrupted and all the sacrifices were invalid. This put the Essences in a real pickle if they wanted to offer animal sacrifices, because they had to sacrifice in the Temple, yet the Temple was defiled.

Their solution to this problem was to not offer sacrifices at all, not even for the Passover. When they celebrated the Passover, they did it without a Lamb. They celebrated a vegetarian/Lamb-less Passover; no blood, no meat in their entire liturgy (again, no proper place to celebrate the Passover). When the messiah came, then they would have a place to sacrifice the Lamb once more. When the Messiah came, he would bring a new Temple that would come out of Heaven from God. How prophetic is this?! The Essenes made manifest in their actions what was to be done in the kingdom of God! A proto-Eucharist!

The Institution of the Eucharist: Jesus’ words here are no doubt powerful indeed, but even more powerful when you know that there was no meat/Lamb at the table. It becomes clear that he is providing himself as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. They don't have a lamb, they offered bread and wine. (Essenes only used bread and wine for the Passover, they said that God would provide the sacrifice), Jesus offered himself. Who is copying who here? Jesus obviously knew about the Essenes and about their practice of the Passover; they were somehow guided by the Spirit to prefigure the Eucharist of the New Jerusalem. Only here did the Passover of the old Israel and Jerusalem connect with the New Jerusalem and the Kingdom of God!

This is one of the problems for The Essenes: if they couldn’t offer sacrifices, their sins wouldn’t be forgiven. According to the Law of Moses you had to offer sacrifice for your sins to be forgiven. What did they do? They developed a theology that their sins were washed away by the power of the Holy Spirit which lived in their community and particularly applied through the washing with water. Their ritual washing with water mediated to them the forgiveness of their sins by the Holy Spirit. Again we see another prefigurement of the New Jerusalem in the form of Baptism.

In light of all of this, it is clear that even in the corruption of the temple in the 1st century, God still had a plan to fulfill, and his plan would be seen and actualized. His divine pedagogy always reflects his willingness to reveal himself to his people in order that a relationship would be established; not just any relationship, but a familial bond that can only happen through the Paschal Mystery of his only Beloved Son. So again even in such straits as the Jews were in, God makes the mystery known, through these celibate men who were truly devoted to the truth and to God, who gave up social acceptance to give their hearts completely to God; to wait for the Lamb of God who would take their sins away and to establish the Kingdom of God through the everlasting sacrifice of the Lamb, the blood of whom was spilled for the world due to an everlasting/eternal love that is incomprehensible.

Pope Benedict XVI mentions the Qumran Community (Essenes) during a homily of the Lord's Supper

Tomorrow I will try to get out Part 2, which consists of the Passover and Christ's passion in continuity with it.

Till Next time!

For the sake of his sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.

Neil Patrick Mueller

Portsmouth Sinfonia

2009-06-16T13:39:00.004-04:00

I was just recently reawakened by an interesting phenomenon known as the Portsmouth Sinfonia. Now the thing that is so interesting about this group of players is not that they play well, but that they "try." The group themselves were formed out of mere satire, by an English composer named Gavin Bryars in 1970. Now these are accomplished musicians from Portsmouth School of Art in England, yet they are asked to not play the instruments they are familiar with. The product is as such that you have violinists playing trumpet and the a trombonist playing the Clarinet...and so on and so forth. What you end up getting are not the sweet and tranquil sounds of professional musicians, but instead you get a terrifying array of splats and shrills of utter chaos that would make the most tone deaf of persons running for the exits; That's assuming that it isn't meant to ensure tears of utter hilarity. Watch this youtube video to see what I mean. This number is called "Also sprach Zarathustra" you may know it as the theme from 2001: a space Odyssey.

Another one:

Hilarious

Biblical Exegesis Sunday

2009-06-14T13:35:00.002-04:00

In order to to keep myself fresh in Scripture and Catechetics, every Sunday I plan on giving a little Biblical Exegesis on the Sunday reading for the week. I will try to get it out before Sunday morning mass/service for mine and perhaps your own edification.

This Sunday's topic reflects on the readings for the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, where in Mark's Gospel it records the Passover and the Institution of the Last Supper. Within these 14 verses, there is a rich and thick layer that is revealed through knowledge of 1st Century Jews and the Passover itself; it gives us knowledge of where this imagery is coming from and especially where it is pointing.
This one might have to be a "two parter," because like I said, its thick! I should have it available later today....hopefully.

Stay tuned!

Pro-Life Protesters Arrested on ND Campus to Return to South Bend to Face Charges

2009-06-13T10:07:00.001-04:00

An Article from LifeSiteNews.com

SOUTH BEND, Indiana, May 22, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Dozens of pro-life protesters arrested at the University of Notre Dame on May 17 for protesting President Obama's commencement speech will be heading back to Indiana in coming weeks from all across the country to stand trial. While Notre Dame had pro-life demonstrators summarily arrested for "criminal trespassing," witnesses say that pro-Obama demonstrators were given free roam of the campus - a fact that the pro-lifers' attorney says violated the Equal Protection clause.

Among those arrested that day was Karen Torres of Virginia, who told LifeSiteNews.com (LSN) how, after getting lost trying to reach the highway from Notre Dame, she and her husband stumbled upon what appeared to be President Obama's motorcade route. The couple parked at the Notre Dame Federal Credit Union, pulled out a sign that read "Shame on Notre Dame," and headed toward the sidewalk, but a South Bend policeman quickly ordered them to leave.

Unaware that the Credit Union was part of Notre Dame's campus, Karen decided to stand her ground, and was arrested and charged with criminal trespass. Karen's husband, who stayed behind to call relatives, says the area where Mrs. Torres had been arrested was soon "filled with people holding pro-Obama signs," who were permitted to remain at the curb near the motorcade route to cheer the president.

The couple told LSN that when they asked why the other people were not getting arrested, the policeman "just shrugged and ... said that you refused to leave."

"So basically, I got arrested for holding the wrong kind of sign," said Mrs. Torres. The couple says they had been the only pro-life protesters they could discern in the area.

Mrs. Torres was later released after posting bail. The couple will return to Indiana on June 3 for an arraignment.

This is not the first time the Torres have made waves in the pro-life world: they are the parents-in-law of Susan Torres, the Alexandria woman who in 2005 attracted headlines around the world by miraculously giving birth after three months on life support, following a cancer-induced stroke.

Concerning Notre Dame's conditions for criminal trespass, Torres explained to LSN that pro-lifers were warned during the commencement that they were only allowed to enter the campus if they carried no signs. "We could not go in with any signs or any t-shirts or anything that spoke badly of Notre Dame or Obama," he said.

Most of the pro-lifers arrested that day purposefully entered campus grounds to be arrested, carrying symbols including a large cross, photographs of aborted children, and images of Mary.

Catherine Wilson, the media relations director at the South Bend prosecutor's office, told LifeSiteNews.com (LSN) today that none of the charges against those arrested have been dropped. Wilson declined to give further information on the cases, citing "ethical restrictions."

Notre Dame Spokesman Dennis Brown did not return a request for comment from LSN.

Attorney Tom Dickson, who will represent the cases, told LSN that, "It's a constitutional law question."

In the 1886 case Yick Wo v. Hopkins, the attorney noted, the Supreme Court ruled that selectively arresting individuals violated the Equal Protection clause. Dickson also pointed to the 1946 Marsh v. Alabama case, in which it was decided that to the degree that a private institution opens its grounds to the general public, its right to curb their free speech activities is limited.

"Those are both issues that are going to be fully aired in these cases, if the matters aren't properly disposed of," said Dickson.

Dickson confirmed that all his clients have returned to their home states, including New Mexico, Colorado, Oklahoma, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Florida, and Texas, but will have to return to Indiana in coming weeks for their trials.

Asked whether Notre Dame had been involved in the cases, Dickson said: "the only response I got from Notre Dame was that they weren't interested in sitting down and trying to discuss these matters, that they were ... out of their hands."

While Obama addressed Notre Dame's commencement and received an honorary law degree, over 40 pro-lifers were put in jail or police custody for trespassing. Among those arrested were Norma McCorvey, the "Jane Roe" of Roe vs. Wade, Alan Keyes, and Fr. Norman Weslin, the Founder of Lambs of Christ.

Does God exist?

2009-06-02T17:08:00.001-04:00

Goings on'

2009-05-27T12:47:00.004-04:00

I haven't written on this in a long while...

Right now I am trying to graduate Grad School before all of my youth has left me. To do this, I am taking summer classes which are quick, fast, and hard. I am about to finish the "mini-mester" which is less than 3 weeks long, 3 hours a day and 5 days a week. Everything that I am learning is primo, yet a full semester of info shoveled into my brain in 3 weeks is a bit much. Almost done though; Friday is the last class. I then will be taking Metaphysics and Christian Moral Principles for the next two slightly longer Summer sessions, which are only 2 hours long. And THEN I get to come home for 3 weeks in August! W00t!

Over the 3-day weekend I went to Wisconsin to visit my Girlfriend Theresa (who is now graduated and at home) and her family; Incredibly awesome people! I had a wonderful time with everyone and I'm pretty sure they don't hate me. ;) I plan on going back during the 4th of July for the weekend, and I will try not to scandalize them by setting my hands on fire or anything of that nature.

My New House

I just moved under a new roof and its fairly suitable for my needs. The house itself is over 100 years old and it looks pretty scary on the outside. Around town its affectionately called the "Bordello." Yet its kinda nice on the inside, then again I'm pretty simple. At one time it did have rats...but the landlord says there is no longer a problem. I don't like rats. Also I might have a problem with a poltergeist or diabolical activity in the house, especially the creepy basement. Example: My water needed to be switched on a week ago, so a city rep came and did it for me when I wasn't home. But I guess one of my faucets were on so he turned it off so it wouldn't flood my apartment. I figured this is what happened so I went down to turn it on myself. When I went back upstairs to test the kitchen faucet, I heard a weird noise and then the pipes stopped running. "What the crap?" I exclaimed, so then I went down again to investigate and the valve had been turned off. Even though I just turned it ON not more than 2 min before. I recited the whole "lefty loosy, righty tighty" to myself just to make sure I wasn't crazy. There was no logical explanation. I then Got my but outta there and said a Rosary. So I plan on having the place blessed before long.

Other then that, everything is pretty Good! Can't complain none.

Pray for Pope's safety

2009-04-28T21:49:00.001-04:00

This was on Patrick Madrid's Blog; we need to seriously ask God to watch over him during this visit to the Holy Land.

The Choral Public Domain Library

2009-03-23T07:52:00.002-04:00

Another Gem from Mr. Jeffrey Tucker at The New Liturgical Movement.

Last month, the number of choral scores available at the Choral Public Domain Library passed the 10,000 mark. This is a massive music library, and a spectacular one not only for its price ($0) but also for the huge range available that does not exclude the very music named by the Second Vatican Council as proper to liturgy.

How sweet is this!?

Obama Suddenly Panicked After Gazing Too Far Into Future

2009-03-12T16:03:00.002-04:00

Another Gem from The Onion

"MADISON, WI—Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) fell deathly silent in the middle of a speech on education before the Wisconsin Teachers Union Tuesday, his failure of words reportedly a result of the Democratic nominee's forward-looking tendencies suddenly bringing him a harrowing glimpse of a future world shaped by madness and horror. "And that is why we must all strive to make our own tomorrow together," Obama said to resounding applause before stopping abruptly, breaking into a cold sweat, and bringing his trembling hands to his blanched face. "Oh, God, no. They're sentient. Every last one of them is sentient!" While spokespeople from the Obama camp have suggested that the candidate's recent comments about magnets being "our only hope for survival" were taken out of context, they did confirm that he has canceled all future appearances in New Mexico, especially those taking place during the month of October."

Hahah!

The Human Experience

2009-03-08T22:45:00.002-04:00

Franciscan University just gave a screening of the Grassroots Film "the Human Experience." It took my breath away. Its about two brothers trying to figure out the human experience and to do that they try and live in solidarity with the invisible of society and the world. Their path ranges from the streets of New York living homeless for a week to spending time at a Leprosy Colony in Ghana.

This film really accentuates the dignity of the human person: young and old, the helpless and the infirm. And at the end ties it all together with the importance of the human family.

It was Beautiful! I cried at the end.

If you have a chance to see it, do it!

Jabba Cat

2009-03-04T10:12:00.004-05:00

I laughed so hard when I saw this...

Just in case...

2009-03-02T18:02:00.002-05:00

Now I know, and knowing is half the battle.

GEEEEEEIIIIIIIIII-JOOOOOOOOOOOE!!!!

The Privileged Planet

2009-02-26T17:46:00.002-05:00

If you haven't seen this little documentary on intelligent design, you should. Its narrated by John Rhys-Davies or Gimli from the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Here it is on YouTube.

The Privileged Planet 1
The Privileged Planet 2
The Privileged Planet 3
The Privileged Planet 4
The Privileged Planet 5
The Privileged Planet 6

Global Warming: A Step in Modern Human Degradation

2009-02-25T22:31:00.005-05:00

In the study of the first chapter of Romans, we see that Paul is making an account of man's fall from God; this is constant through salvation history. In verse 18 Paul says, "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and wickedness of men who by their wickedness suppress the truth." They knew God and it was plain to them; all creation is a mirror to God's eternal power and deity. God can be know by things that are made. They knew God and yet did not worship him or give him honor because "they became futile in their thinking and their senseless minds were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal men or birds or animals or reptiles" (Rom 1:21-23).

In Paul's day they actually made images of animals such as birds and reptiles and worshiped these images. They worshiped created things. Sacrifice was a common form of worship whether it be pagan or Jewish. In most cases in pagan worship sacrifice meant human death. They would sacrifice their own children on the alter of their pagan God's.

In our day we still worship creation. In our popularized atheistic culture, What issue excites a moral passion of these people who have given up on a theistic world view? Global Warming! This says that we have to be carbon neutral. The first and greatest commandment is thou shalt be carbon neutral in order to preserve creation, now that there is now no creator. Man is always going to worship something because we are homo religiosus, its in our nature, we are designed to worship. So turning away from God we worship creation; Global Warming.

What causes Global Warming? The use of fossil fuels and who uses those fuels? People. So apparently, we got too many people. So what do we need to do? Abortion/Contraception, to avoid children at all costs. We have to sacrifice our children on the alter of our God, creation. This is modern paganism alive and well.

The Quest to Eliminate Bad Music

2009-02-18T20:14:00.003-05:00

The Church Music Association of America has been publishing a guide called "Catholic Church Music" by Richard R. Terry for quite awhile now and i think can still be useful today.

The author Richard R. Terry was the great English choirmaster, director of music at Westminster Cathedral, and polyphony scholar of the late 19th century. This is his primer on Catholic church music. It covers rubrics, makes a case for the old styles, explains what is wrong with contemporary music (in 1907!), provides a model for forming and training a choir, details the use of the organ, and provides fascinating historical detail to what happened to polyphony during the reign of Elizabeth.

Just a little tid-bit about it if anyone is interested in helping jump start a sacred music choir or schola in their area.

The OCP Changing its Colors?

2009-02-07T23:47:00.002-05:00

This is from The New Liturgical Movement by Jeffrey Tucker, That pertains to the new publishing of the Novus Ordo Missae (fully sung!) by an unlikely publisher: OCP...yeah I know. Providing an instructional CD for the Ordinary Form in latin. Its called Inclina Domine and its quite beautiful(so I hear). I thought I was having a seizure when I read this.

Three things that Tucker makes out from this:

1. It is the ordinary form in Latin. For most people who listen, it will be the first time they have ever heard the Roman Rite in the modern form sung in its normative form. The new Missal has been around nearly 40 years and yet because of vernacular permissions, culture upheavals, and other factors, it is hardly ever heard in the way that accords with the teaching of the Second Vatican Council. For this reason alone, this recording serves an extremely important purpose. It shows us what might have been and what might yet be.

2. This is an important CD for priests who aspire to sing the Mass. This recording provides all the dialogues, readings, and priest's parts, expertly sung. Any priest can use it as a tutorial.

3.Thirdly, it is massively significant that OCP itself (Say WHAT!?) is responsible for the production and distribution of this CD. The liner notes alone provide an important tutorial in truth. They are beautifully written.

Oh buddy! Considering OCP's monopoly on music liturgy in America (about 2/3), this very well could be a turn in American Catholic music! Lets hope.

Blue Angels Hold First-Ever Open Tryouts

2009-02-06T11:51:00.003-05:00

This is Hilarious! This is a "story" that comes from TheOnion

"87 Dead, 243 Injured in Day 1 of Weeklong Event

PENSACOLA, FL—Harold Enderby's friends say that when he first saw the Navy's televised announcement that the Flight Demonstration Squadron, better known as the Blue Angels, would be holding open tryouts for the first time in its history, the lifelong aviation buff turned to his fellow sanitation workers at Doug's Dugout Bar-N-Grill and said, "Mark my words—I'm going to be a Blue Angel if it's the last thing I do."

And this Sunday, that dream came true for an incredible 43 seconds, as Enderby got the chance to fly the famed Blue Angels' F/A-18 Hornet directly into the tarmac during the first day of the Navy's most dramatic—and colorful—audition program ever.

Since 1946, the Blue Angels have recruited only elite military fighter pilots. But this week and this week only, the Navy is giving the public a rare treat: allowing ordinary, everyday citizens a chance to try out for the world's premiere stunt flying team. Memorial services for Enderby, along with five other late aspiring aviators and 81 others from the assembled crowd and surrounding communities, will begin Friday and continue throughout the month.
Enlarge Image Blue Angels

Crowds line up for the chance to fly a supersonic jet.

"Some of these folks may not have worked their way through four years of the Naval Academy, 10 years of flying missions as a naval aviator on three different carriers, two sessions at the fighter school at Miramar, and another 18 months of special aerobatics and flight operations here at Pensacola—like I did—but they sure had spirit," Blue Angel member Johnny Krewsh said. "They gave it their all and that's what counts. My hat is off to them, and to their surviving family members."

With would-be pilots lining up by the thousands and crowds predicted to grow even larger over the next six days, the excitement and death toll are both expected to rise.

"It was quite a sight to see so many citizens arriving at the airbase entrance just hours after the initial announcement," said Lt. Cmdr. Maxfield Walton, the officer in charge of registering and interviewing the excited applicants, as well as contacting their next of kin. "Who knows? Your old math teacher, a cab driver, the guy in the next cubicle who can't seem to do anything right—anybody could be the next Chuck Yeager. Now this is their chance to strap themselves into a† $41 million 1,200 mile-per-hour airplane and show us what they can do."
Enlarge Image Blue Angels List

By mid-afternoon, the Blue Angels had whittled down the list to an elite, still-breathing few.

Though some of the amateur Angels got into the cockpit, suddenly realized they didn't know what they were doing, and jumped right back out, Navy officials said all who put aside their fears or lack of experience or physical disability to climb aboard a fighter jet were stars today.

The once-in-a-lifetime tryouts will continue throughout the week. But long after the flames resulting from this unique recruiting experiment have died—which FEMA personnel said should happen within 10 days—the fire of these plucky applicants' enthusiasm will shine on.

The enthusiasm of Erin Rappaport, a Springfield, IL eighth-grader who played flight simulators on her PlayStation and impressed Naval flight teams when she sat in the F/A-18 Hornet's cockpit for the first time and already knew, or could guess,† the functions of many of the jet's 188 different controls.

"That sounds just like Erin," said Rappaport's math teacher, Janice Billingsly. "We'll miss her very much."

Erin wasn't the only special person who flew here today; she wasn't the only female, or the only person to crash into Pino's Pizza on Grove Avenue, or even the youngest. But, witnesses said, she displayed incredible grit and a can-do attitude to her classmates who were inside eating pizza when she tried to fly by and wave.

Officials also singled out the determination of San Dimas, CA's Alfred K. McAllister—affectionately described by Blue Angels flight instructor Harmon Links as a "hell of a tough old guy"—who took off and just kept going.

"We almost couldn't find enough phone books for him to sit on, and he decided against the helmet because it knocked off his glasses," Links said. "But what a trooper. He never once looked back. Radar finally lost track of him about 200 miles out over the Atlantic, still climbing."

"I think he thought he got to keep the plane!" Links added. "If we ever locate and recover the wreckage, we hope to give him the proper burial he deserves."

Others noted the beaming face of Peter Collsworthy, a foreman at an Akron, OH cement plant for the past 25 years, who got the biggest roars from the crowd by far.

"He may have flunked the 'near-miss' part of the high-speed aerobatic pass, caused the death of a man with 17 years' flight experience when he sheared the wing off of Cmdr. Hickock's plane, vomited into his helmet, panicked, inverted the aircraft with the throttles maxed, and hit Mach 1 just before crashing into bleachers full of spectators with almost a full load of fuel," Blue Angels commanding officer Brock Saxon said. "But he nailed the steep climb and the steep dive, and he certainly had showmanship. If there's one thing I keep telling my cadets, it's that you can't teach enthusiasm. I think we all learned a little something about the power of raw enthusiasm here today."

"That crowd was rocking out to 'Danger Zone' when he plummeted into them at the speed of sound," said Lois Collsworthy, Peter's widow. "That would have meant a lot to him. He always loved that song.""

Free Music Composition Software!

2009-02-04T20:59:00.004-05:00

I have just recently discovered an Open Source Music Composition and Notation software that is pretty decent. I mean its not Sibelius, but it will do. Its called MuseScore and did I mention its free?

Anyways, for all you music people that are as poor as I am, this will certainly serve your needs adequately. Also it doesn't have any Sound fonts with it, only Piano. So to get more MIDI sounds you have to follow a few steps.

New Look!

2009-02-02T21:41:00.002-05:00

I decided that I hated the look of my blog; too cookie-cutterish. So I started to Twiddle with the HTML and before I knew it, I spit this out. This being a product of my very limited knowledge of html, I thought it turned out pretty good. The main thing is that you can actually read it without it hurting your brain. Its not utterly fabu, but it will have to do...for now. (I love to rhyme)

Anywho, to celebrate the new look, I will now show a clip of a funny-classic that Mr. Tom Herring loves so much, about a member of the German Coast Guard who needs to brush up on his English.

"Happy Birthday"

2009-02-02T13:12:00.004-05:00

I would like to revisit a classic pro-life message from an unlikely place; a rapper named Flipsyde. If you don't know of it, this is a beautiful song about his or some others' dealing with abortion and how it was a mistake. The lyrics themselves are very sorrowful and repentant: "Choosing our life over your life meant your death"

Here are the awesome lyrics to the song which I never really stopped to listen too. You'll be happy you did.

Verse 1:
Please accept my apologies, wonder what would have been
Would you've been a little angel or an angel of sin?
Tom-boy running around, hanging with all the guys.
Or a little tough boy with beautiful brown eyes?
I payed for the murder before they determined the sex
Choosing our life over your life meant your death
And you never got'a chance to even open your eyes
Sometimes I wonder as a foetus if you faught for your life?
Would you have been a little genius in love with math?
Would you have played in your school clothes and made me mad?
Would you have been a little rapper like your papa da Piper?
Would you have made me quit smokin' by finding one of my lighters?
I wonder about your skintone and shape of your nose?
And the way you would have laughed and talked fast or slow?
Think about it every year, so I picked up a pen
Happy birthday, love you whoever you woulda been
Happy birthday...

Chorus:
what I thought was a dream (make a wish)
Was as real as it seemed (happy birthday)
What I thought was a dream (make a wish)
Was as real as it seemed

I made a mistake!

Verse 2:
I've got a millon excuses to why you died
Bet the people got their own reasons for homicide
Who's to say it woulda worked, and who's to say it wouldn't have?
I was young and strugglin' but old enough to be your dad
The fear of being my father has never disappeared
Pondering frequently while I'm sippin' on my beer
My vision of a family was artificial and fake
So when it came time to create I made a mistake
Now you've got a little brother maybe he's really you?
Maybe you really forgave us knowin' we was confused?
Maybe everytime that he smiles it's you proudly knowin' that your father's doin' the right thing now?
I never tell a woman what to do with her body
But if she don't love children then we can't party
Think about it every year, so I picked up a pen
Happy birthday, love you whoever you woulda been
Happy birthday...

Chorus:
What I thought was a dream (make a wish)
Was as real as it seemed (happy birthday)
What I thought was a dream (yeah, make a wish)
Was as real as it seemed

I made a mistake!

And from the heavens to the womb to the heavens again
From the endin' to the endin', never got to begin
Maybe one day we could meet face to face?
In a place without time and space
Happy birthday...

From the heavens to the womb to the heavens again
From the endin' to the endin', never got to begin
Maybe one day we could meet face to face?
In a place without time and space

Happy birthday...

Chorus:
What I thought was a dream (make a wish)
Was as real as it seemed (happy birthday)
What I thought was a dream (make a wish)
Was as real as it seemed

I made a mistake...!

Ice Cream! Gimmie Gimmie!

2009-01-29T22:10:00.002-05:00

This is a forward I received from my mother and I thought it was a pretty accurate analogy.

"From a teacher in the Nashville area.

Who worries about "the cow" when it is all about the "Ice Cream?

The most eye-opening civics lesson I ever had was while teaching third grade this year.
The presidential election was heating up and some of the children showed an interest.
I decided we would have an election for a class president.

We would choose our nominees. They would make a campaign speech and the class would vote.
To simplify the process, candidates were nominated by other class members.
We discussed what kinds of characteristics these students should have.
We got many nominations and from those, Jamie and Olivia were picked to run for the top spot.
The class had done a great job in their selections.

Both candidates were good kids. I thought Jamie might have an advantage because he got
lots of parental support. I had never seen Olivia's mother.

The day arrived when they were to make their speeches Jamie went first.
He had specific ideas about how to make our class a better place. He ended
by promising to do his very best.

Everyone applauded. He sat down and Olivia came to the podium. Her speech was concise.
She said, "If you will vote for me, I will give you ice cream." She sat down.

The class went wild. "Yes! Yes! We want ice cream." She surely could say more. She did not have to.

A discussion followed. How did she plan to pay for the ice cream? She wasn't sure.
Would her parents buy it or would the class pay for it? She didn't know.
The class really didn't care. All they were thinking about was ice cream.

Jamie was forgotten.

Olivia won by a landslide.

Every time Barack Obama opened his mouth he offered ice cream and fifty-two percent of the people reacted like nine year olds. They want ice cream.

The other forty-eight percent of us know we're going to have to feed the cow and clean up the mess."

The Sacred Heart of Jesus

2009-01-27T23:04:00.002-05:00

A Catechesis by Neil Mueller

The Sacred Heart of Jesus is the ultimate manifestation of God’s love. Through His life, passion, death and resurrection Jesus who is the only begotten son of the Father, has and will always love us with a human heart. A Human Heart that came from a virgin who felt heat, cold, suffered hunger, thirst, fatigue and hardships; the very same Heart which was pierced for our sins. It is the Chief sign and symbol of God’s love. It is through this Heart that we see God’s infinite love which cannot be fully encompassed with our human understanding but at the same time is a very efficacious sign of how God loved the world.

“For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven; by the power of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate of the Virgin Mary and was made man.” In order to fully understand the Sacred Heart of Jesus, we must understand that Jesus was very much human as much as he was divine; we get this through the Incarnation. The incarnation took affect at the instant the Virgin Mary’s Fiat left her lips amongst the presence of the Angel Gabriel. It was through her supreme “yes” that allowed the stage for God’s plan to be set. “The Word became flesh” (Jn 1:14) or in other words the Son of God who is the Living Word or the Eternal Word, assumed human nature for the sake of our salvation (ccc461). This was a pivotal moment in salvation history, for no where does God make himself more manifest to mankind than he does with the incarnation of Jesus. The Word became flesh in order to reconcile us with God (457); to save us from ourselves so that we can at last be in communion with the Most Holy Trinity. The Word became flesh so that we might know God’s love (458); a love that is everlasting and life giving. The Word became flesh so that we might follow the example of holiness that is Jesus (459); holiness which guides us to be Christ-like; a holiness which was in God‘s plan from the very beginning of salvation history. The Word became flesh to ultimately make mankind partakers of the divine nature (460); to reconcile the sins of our first parents and return to being adopted sons and daughters of God in communion with the Trinity.

Now we must take into account of what the Church wants to clarify about the incarnation. Mother Church says that when God became man, He wasn’t just part man or part divine, nor was He more divine or less human. Jesus is fully God and Fully man for the “substantial image of the Father became incarnate; without losing his divine nature (while) assuming human nature (479).” Therefore Jesus cannot be half human and half divine. If one says that there is an even mix of the two, then you run the danger of saying that Jesus’ passion was only half human; he only gave himself half of the capacity of a human being. Therefore his love was not fully expressed and the act of the passion would have been only half-hearted. This is not a full extension or expression of God’s love. This is a heresy that the early church fought called Docetism, which was opposed through the first ecumenical council of Nicaea in the year 325. This is where we get the part in the creed that the Son of God was “begotten, not made”: begotten meaning “of the same substance as the Father.” Jesus is true God and True man in the unity of his divine person (480). “The son of God worked with human hands; he thought with a human mind. He acted with a human will, and with a human heart he loved (470).”

After understanding Christ’s true nature, we must touch on how God loved us. The passion of Jesus Christ culminates the depth of God’s love for us by completely submitting his body and his will to the will of the Father. The paschal mystery (which is Christ’s passion, death, resurrection and ascension) stands at the core of the Good News that the Apostles and the Church are to proclaim to all nations (571). Nothing about Jesus’ passion and death was accidental or a coincidence for “this Jesus was delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God (Acts 2:23).” “By sending his only Son in the form of a slave, in the form of a fallen humanity, on account of sin, God ‘made him to be sin who knew no sin, so in him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Cor. 5:21)’ (602).” This is not saying that Jesus himself sinned; He assumed us in the state of our willfulness of sin. Having then established unity with us sinners, God “did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all (Rom 8:32),” so that we might be “reconciled to God by the death of his Son (Rom5:10).” (603) Jesus suffered greatly for the love of mankind. “For Jesus was scourged, crowned with thorns, was crushed with blows and overwhelmed with affronts and outrages, endured thousands of insults, spits, lacerations and other unheard of cruelties. He suffered bitterly when the Jews nailed his Sacred Hands and Feet to the Cross by blow after blow with big blunt nails, and not finding him in a pitiable enough state to satisfy their rage, they enlarged his wounds and added pain to pain, and with indescribable cruelty stretched his Body on the Cross (from the Prayers of St. Bridget).” It is love “to the end (Jn 13:1)” that gives Christ’s sacrifice weight and value for being redemptive and reparative; it gives atonement, for Christ knew all of us and loved us all when he laid down his life (616). For sacrifice without love is unbearable, but Love without sacrifice is impossible.

God’s infinite love is pivotal in describing Jesus’ Sacred Heart. First of all, God’s most descriptive title of being is that He “(God) is love (1 Jn 4:8)” (214,221). This is the simplest name of God and of who he is. The Catechism states that “God himself is an eternal exchange of love, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and has destined us to share in that exchange (221).” There is only one reason why God choose to reveal himself to us: we were created for him and to love him, not because God needs it but because we need it. Even though man has a tendency to forget God or reject him, God never stops to call upon every man’s heart to seek him in order to find life and happiness (30).We see this throughout salvation history with the Israelites. Even with their constant folly and unfaithfulness to God’s statutes, God never ceased to show “his sheer gratuitous love (218).” He is “abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness (Ex 34:6).” Through the fullness of time, God “shows us his love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us” (Rom 5:8). Out of love, God died for all mankind: “There is not, never has been, and never will be a single human being for whom Christ did not suffer for (605).” Jesus invited all mankind which included sinners to the table of the kingdom: “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners (Mt 2:17).” He invites all to conversion of heart, for without conversion, it is impossible to enter the Kingdom of Heaven (545). Jesus having a fully human Heart suffered the passion out of pure love, “for God so loved the world, that he gave His only begotten son…(Jn 3:16).” He loved us so much to the point of death, death on a cross (Phil 2:8).

We can now accurately discern the doctrine of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Jesus knew each and ever one of us and loved us all throughout his agony and his passion, through which he endured for our sake: “the son of God…loved me and gave himself for me (Gal 2:20).” God so loved us with a human heart to where he (his heart) was “pierced by our sins and for our salvation.” It is rather fitting to consider that the Sacred Heart of Jesus is the “chief sign and symbol of that love with which the divine redeemer continually loves the eternal Father and all human beings without exception (478).” The prayer of the Church adores and honors the Sacred Heart of Jesus similarly as is calls upon Jesus’ holy name. Through prayer our Christian hearts should follow our savior on the Way of the Cross to unite ourselves to Christ’s sufferings through which He endured with his human heart (2669).

The Sacred Heart of Jesus has it’s highest point of our modern devotion from St. Margret Mary in 1647. For God said to her, “Behold this heart that has loved so much and has received so little love in return.” Yet this was not the very beginning of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. For this notion was present and began before our understanding. The Sacred Heart of Jesus comes from Zech 12:10 where it is said “They will look upon him whom they pierced.” His heart that was pierced for the salvation of all which prefigures John 19:37 at Jesus’ crucifixion.

The Sacred Heart has a very prominent role in the most Holy Eucharist or rather the Eucharist points to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Christ in the Eucharist gives us the promise of glory with him. As we participate in the Holy Sacrifice of the Alter, it helps us identify with Christ’s Heart which makes us long for eternal life and unites us to the church in Heaven with the Blessed Mary and all the Angles and the Saints (1419).

The Prodigal Son can also be related to the Heart of Jesus towards the process of conversion and repentance. The merciful Father that welcomes his wayward son lovingly back into his arms is a taste of the penitent being embraced back into the bosom of the Church. “Only the Heart of Christ who knows the depths of the Father’s love could reveal to us the abyss of his mercy in so simple and beautiful a way (1439).” It is felt in the Heart of Jesus for us to return to him when we go astray. For it is only through love that God gave us a means to remove our guilt. It is through love that we have such a wonderful thing as the Church herself to supply such gifts to confer grace to help us reach our ultimate goal: Heaven.

The Sacred Heart also urges us to lead a moral life. Christ died for our sins through the goodness and mercy of his human heart. He so loved us even when we were drowning deep within our own sinfulness. He then asks us to love as he loves. Not only to love our neighbor but to love those people who hate us (1825). For some might say that God endured the bout of sufferings which no other man in history has ever suffered on earth and yet he did it out of unconditional love even for those who hated and despised him. Through his Sacred Heart, he asks us to do the same.

The Sacred Heart of Jesus is the pivotal example of how God loved the human race. The imagery and reality of how Jesus loved us with a human heart; a human heart that was pierced by our sins for our salvation; a heart that comes from a fully human and fully divine being brings about a tangible efficacy that is only found in the Catholic Church. The Church that was established for the love of His people, to bring us closer to Him and bring us ever closer to our divine home.

Gregorian Missal Online

2009-01-21T12:32:00.002-05:00

This is from a newsletter from MusicaSacra

All musicians in the English-speaking world are deeply grateful to the monks of the Solesmes Abbey for permission to offer a free download of the Gregorian Missal. This extraordinary book provides the sung propers attached to the 1970 Missal, for Sundays and Feast Days, along with English translations. It is the most useful book for any Catholic music working within the framework of the ordinary form of the Roman Rite. This is a tremendous gift to the entire world. The Church Music Association of America is pleased to host this file for the monastery.

For many musicians, this will be the first time they have seen the actual music of the Roman Rite and how it is embedded within the structure of the Mass and the liturgical year.

Petition to stop Tax-payer funding for Abortion

2009-01-08T11:56:00.004-05:00

This petition is from the Family Research Council

"As the new Congress convenes this week, twenty-term Congressman David Obey (D-Wis.) is chairman of the key House Appropriations Committee. This committee will play a key role in deciding the fate of 20 laws (called "riders") that ensure that U.S. taxpayers are not forced to hand-over their hard-earned dollars to pay for and promote abortion on demand.
Join us in petitioning Chairman Obey to keep these 20 riders intact in any funding bills that come through his committee. Action is needed now as a broad (omnibus) spending bill must be enacted by Congress before March of this year. Please sign the attached petition to Chairman Obey and forward this email to your friends and family so that they can sign too.
The list of these pro-life laws, which reduce abortion and protect the conscience rights of everyone from health care personnel to taxpayers, is long and includes provisions that have stood for three decades. Even the Hyde amendment, which was offered and defended year after year by the late Rep. Henry Hyde (R-Ill.), is threatened. Repealing it would open the floodgates for forced taxpayer funding of abortions on poor women targeted by "family planning" groups like Planned Parenthood.
Chairman Obey has the most power of any member of Congress to prevent the repeal of these wise and settled laws. He has served in Congress for 40 years and worked on ethics reform, education and many other issues that form the core of a four-decade legacy. In this difficult environment when the American people want and need action on jobs, health and education, it is hard to imagine that Mr. Obey would want his legacy to be known as that of an "abortion czar" who killed the Hyde amendment, conscience protections, and so many other reasonable policies.
Sign our petition to Chairman Obey today. FRC will deliver the petitions to his office on January 23, 2009 to express the desire of the American people not to be forced to be complicit with abortion. After you've signed, forward this petition to friends and family so that they can add their names. Let's keep Congress - and us taxpayers -- out of the abortion business.
Thank you for taking action today and God bless you."

From President Tony Perkins

Sign the petition here

*Update: The website keeps changing the link to the petition page; it keeps giving you a screen that lets you know that your cart is empty...and that you should fill it with something. I'm done trying to fight it. Get to the petition sign page through the main link up top.

Snow...week

2008-12-22T16:18:00.007-05:00

Here I am at my parents home in Gig Harbor, trapped by over a foot of snow. Attempts to leave for anything, including Mass, have been futile. After copious amounts of television, I decided to do something, and by that I mean building another friend...out of snow.

This is Mr. Belvedere

That is a Top Hat on his head if you were wondering.

Best Friends Forever!

Here is the scene from the front of the house

Anywho, its been fun regardless, even with my near-death experience.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

An Open Letter to Praise and Worship Musicians

2008-12-06T00:05:00.003-05:00

This is a post by Jefferey Tucker from the Blog The New Liturgical Movement. He addresses the issue of Praise and Worship and Chant in the Divine Liturgy. Its kinda long, but he makes a really good point. You decide.

You are part of a Catholic generation that has chosen music as a path of spiritual discovery and expression within Catholicism, and music has been central to your own path toward greater understanding of the faith and its place in your life. You are using this gift to give to others, precisely as St. Paul instructed the Corinthians to do. You do this in retreat settings but, more and more, in worship settings, including Mass, as a means of helping others find what you have found.

You are not unaware that the style of music you have chosen has no liturgical precedent in the history of the faith. It is not that you have overtly rejected tradition in favor of innovation. Many of you have written to me that you would greatly appreciate a parish setting in which Gregorian chant and polyphony (the only two musical forms explicitly cited at Vatican II as proper to the Roman Rite) were sung as part of Mass.

But this is not the parish setting you inherited and it doesn't seem like an option now. The historical context here is everything. You were the third generation raised after the major changes following the Second Vatican Council. When your parents were very young, the standard music was new and innovative, but by the time you heard it, it had grown old and tired.

And there didn't seem to be much of it: the same few Glorias and Holy Holys, and about twenty or so songs sung again and again, most of it suggestive of half-hearted attempts at folk music of some sort. This was what was considered "traditional Catholic music," and it didn't seem to mean much to young people by the time you were coming of age.

The music problem reflected a larger problem. In your childhood and early teen years, you were part of a parish structure that had settled into a kind of routine that you found to be uneventful and static, even faithless. The catechism materials used in your CCD classes, even for confirmation, were unchallenging and cliché. The adult teachers and leaders in your parish lacked enthusiasm.

Even Mass, as much as you tried to throw yourself into it, began to seem blasé. There were new and odd names for everything: confession behind a screen became face-to-face reconciliation, CCD became CFF, Mass became the "Eucharistic celebration," processionals were "gathering songs," and you knew nothing of traditional devotions like Holy Hours and novenas. The ghosts of the Catholic past were everywhere in movies and popular culture: people kneeling for communion, priests in black for Requiem Masses, Latin, elaborate vestments, stories of rigorous server training, incense, and tough nuns in schools – but you knew none of this. In many ways, the world in which you grew up had already been thoroughly de-Catholicized, and this was tragically true even of your own parish.

Gregorian chant was the same. It variously became popular on the radio and in bestselling CDs but it was sung by monks in far-off lands. It wasn't the music of the parish. Even such common tunes such as Pange Lingua and Adoro Te—the last remnants of a repertoire of tens of thousands of chants—were finally put to rest sometime in the 1980s. No one in the parish knew a thing about chant, and neither did there seem to be a way to find out more.

It was your misfortune that you inherited what can only be described as a desert, and you can vaguely recall being bored with the whole thing. At some point in your teen years, that changed with a retreat or a parish mission or possibly World Youth Day or some other occasion. There was a spiritual awakening in your life, and it centered on the realization of the powerful presence that Christ can have in your life. It brought you back to the confessional you had long neglected, and gave you a new appreciation of the Real Presence in the Eucharist, as well as the power of the Rosary and of features of Catholic life. This was a transforming event in your life.

This event was tied to the form of music called Praise and Worship, with its characteristic repeating phrases and dramatic beats and sounds. You could hear it on the radio. You bought the CDs. You followed the Catholic bands of the new generation. And yet in your own parish, the music was very different. It was then and still largely remains that "traditional Catholic music" from the 1970s that had made such a splash in the years immediately following the Council but didn't inspire you in the same way.

This was when you decided to apply your own musical skills to making a difference, usually for a Mass set aside as Life Teen or the Youth Mass. No one said that there was anything strange about this. Sure, some people objected to the style of music, that it was more like rock music than sacred music. But this really an argument about taste. Why should you be expected to adopt the tastes of your parents and their parents? Their music too was based on the style of their times, and it doesn't speak to your generation. This new Praise and Worship music connects with your time and your own religious revival. To sing it for Mass is only a matter of sharing your gift with others, in response to the call for evangelization.

What about Gregorian chant? You grant that there is an appeal here. You among many have the impression that choosing a chant rather than a Praise and Worship piece is merely a judgment call, a choice based on resources and timing. It is possible to sing Adoro Te instead of something else. In so doing, you are doing what Vatican II called for. All the better, perhaps, is to add some good chords and rhythm underneath it and sing it in a more familiar style.

What is truly tragic is that no one has alerted you to the real significance of chant. It goes far beyond using a chant as one of the four songs you can pick for Mass. The Gregorian chant grew up alongside the Mass itself, one step at a time. Some might date from the early Church, which sang the Psalms exclusively. The tradition developed as the liturgy developed over the next one thousand years as the parts of the Mass were organized and systemized into a liturgical year. There was music to go with the prayers. It was sung by martyrs and saints and heard in all times and all nations where the faith thrived.

The essential musical structure of the Mass as it emerged in the middle ages had an Entrance prayer that was set to chant. This is called the Introit. Sometimes you hear the first word of the chant used to describe the Mass of the day. This is where we get the terms "Gaudete Sunday," "Laetare Sunday," and "Requiem Mass." What is called the "gathering song" or the "processional hymn" is really a replacement for this Introit.

When Vatican II said that the chant should have primacy, what it means is that this Introit should be sung, and that when it is not possible to sing it, the preference for chant still remains.

It is true with other parts of the Mass too. The Offertory is not a musical intermission but the name of a real prayer that is set to music. The same is true of Communion. These are gorgeous chants. Even the Psalm has a melody in the chant books. The more you get to know these treasures, the more it strikes you just how unified the text and the music are. Their assignment is not at all random.

Often the melody clearly reflects the story of the text, so that the melody goes up when speaking of Heaven and down when speaking of humility. The complexity of them can be enrapturing the more you study them. You find beautiful presentations of Gospel narratives and parables. Each chant serves a particular musical function. The Introit and Offertory are processional chants, for example, so they have a forward motion with less elaborate musical expression on individual words. The Psalm chants are more for reflection, so they are long and elaborate.

The chant, then, is not just one choice among many. It is the music of the Mass itself, and the only form of music that truly qualifies by definition. The chants mentioned above are called "propers" and they change week to week. There are also chants for the "ordinary" of the Mass, so-called because their text remains the same. There are parts for the people: Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Agnus Dei. You have heard a few of these, most likely the ones people have started to sing for Lent. But the Church has given us fully 18 sets of these pieces of music, and you can see from their structure that they are intended for everyone to sing.

In the experience of our parish, people can pick up these ordinary chants rather quickly. They love singing them. They don't need accompaniment. They use the human voice alone, the very instrument that God has given all of us. This way there is an absence of elitism in this music. It needs no specialists who know how to play piano and guitar and drums. Actually, you don't even need the music really. In fact, for the first thousand years of Christianity, the chant was sung without being written out in a way that could be widely distributed. It was learned and carried forward by frequency of use, the way people learn "Praise and Worship" music today.

There are other marks of chant that make it distinctive. It lacks a regular beat-style rhythm such as that we hear in rock, country, soul, blues, or any other style. It is what is called plainsong, so there is an underlying pulse but it doesn't cause you to want to tap your toe or dance. What it does do is draw the senses upward toward the Heavens. It assists in the goal of all liturgy, which is to take us out of time and help us pray and listen to eternal things. In contrast, music with a beat keeps us grounded and internal.

Another feature of chant is its humility. A major problem with Praise and Worship music is that it tends to focus everyone on the person doing the performing. The bands are featured in the front of the church. The band members are showered with complements. The singing style elicits a kind of egoism that probably makes you uncomfortable but is integral to popular styles. Chant is completely different because it does not seek to put the talent of the singer on exhibit. Instead, it is all about community prayer. The ego is buried. It doesn't unleash the self but rather requires a submission of self to holiness. In this way, it is like the faith: as St. John Baptist said, let me decrease and let him increase in me. This is what the chant does – what the chant requires.

You are right to suspect that chant requires a substantial change of pace. It is not just a matter of substituting one song for another. The chant leads the embrace of a completely different approach to liturgy itself. The music serves the liturgy and the liturgy serves God. Where does that leave the singers and the community? Precisely where we should be: not as consumers but as servants.

You are all too aware that you were cheated out of a robust form of Catholicism when growing up, not by design but merely because of the unfortunate timing. These were difficult days. In the same way that many aspects of the faith were not well presented to you, the music of the Church has not been presented to you either. But you were born into these times, as a musician, for a reason. Perhaps you are being called to make a difference.

The Pope has made the restoration of sacred music a centerpiece of his liturgical goals. He speaks about the issue often, and has written so much about it. Perhaps it is time to consider that he is onto something profoundly important here.

The Pope speaks of "two fundamental types of music." One he associates with Apollo, the ancient mythical god of light and reason. "This is the music that draws senses into spirit and so brings man to wholeness. It does not abolish the senses, but inserts them into the unity of this creature that is man. It elevates the spirit precisely by wedding it to the senses, and it elevates the senses by uniting them with the spirit. Thus this kind of music is an expression of man’s special place in the general structure of being."

The other type of music he says is Dionysian: "It drags man into the intoxication of the senses, crushes ra¬tionality, and subjects the spirit to the senses." Rock music may have merit outside of liturgy but in liturgy, the Pope writes that it is "in opposition to Christian worship" because its musical structure encourages people released from themselves by the experience of being part of a crowd and by the emotional shock of rhythm, noise, and special lighting effects. However, in the ecstasy of having all their defenses torn down, the participants sink, as it were, beneath the elemental force of the universe.

Where does Praise and Worship fit into this divide? Be honest with yourself and consider that it tends more toward Dionysius than Apollo. Every Pope since the earliest years has made a similar distinction between the sacred and the profane, and it was Pius X who stated so clearly that the standard by which all music at Catholic liturgy must be judged is the chant.

That doesn't mean that chant is the only music appropriate for Mass. Renaissance composers sought to elaborate on the chant with new forms that retained its spirit, and many modern composers are doing the same. There is also a place for English chant and for newly composed Psalms. What the chant provides in these cases is a standard to measure its suitability. It is essential that it remain the foundational song of the Catholic Church, for if we don't know or understand the foundation, it is impossible to make any judgment at all.

If the enterprise of learning something completely new sounds daunting, keep in mind that no one can become completely familiar with all chant. That would take several lifetimes. We are all in a state of relative ignorance on this subject as compared with the mind of the Church and the experience of tradition. It is the same with Catholic theology: no one can know it all. But that should not stop us from learning what we can, practicing what we can, and doing our part to hand on the tradition to the next generation.

We have a job to do, a job that we have been assigned. We are not the first to have been given this task. At other points in history, the chant was nearly completely lost, buried in the confusion over passing musical fashion. It returned again and against through the prayerful efforts of faithful musicians who were willing to give of themselves to bring the beauty back and make it live in our parishes in glorious ways.

The first step is to encounter the chant and consider is beauty. "The encounter with the beautiful," writes the Pope, "can become the wound of the arrow that strikes the heart and in this way opens our eyes, so that later, from this experience, we take the criteria for judgment and can correctly evaluate."

Perhaps the chant will touch you as it has touch me and millions upon millions of others since the earliest years of the faith, and will continue to touch people until the end of time. If it does, you too might enter into the stream of living persons who have sung the chant and played some role in bringing to the world the most beautiful music this side of heaven.

Christian Prayer Group Sexually and Physically Assaulted by Homosexual Mob

2008-11-22T15:26:00.002-05:00

San Francisco Castro District residents seek vengeance for vote on Proposition 8

By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman

SAN FRANCISCO, November 18, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A mob of homosexuals sexually and physically assaulted a group of Christians praying together in the city's Castro District last week, in apparent retaliation for the recent defeat of homosexual marriage in California.

The Christians, a group of Evangelical Protestants who regularly go to the predominantly homosexual Castro District to sing songs and pray with passers-by, say they were holding hands and singing "Amazing Grace" when a angry mob began to shove and kick them, steal their belongings, pour hot coffee on their faces, and sexually assault them.

"We'd been there for a couple of nights just singing worship songs, people would come up and stand with us and join us, we got to pray for some people," said one participant in an account filmed at the International House of Prayer in Kansas City (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsxojbyAQGI), "but on Friday night it just was different."

"We started worshipping, it was kind of like you would walk into someone's living room, and people are just hanging out with a guitar, worshipping Jesus, just really peaceful," she continued. "And a man came up after we'd been there for a little while and just began yelling and swearing at us and commanding us to get out of the Castro District, and our leader went up and he said 'why are you here?' and she said 'we're here to worship God and we're here because we love you'."

The words enraged the man, who was soon followed by others. Although the group did no preaching, the mere presence of Christians praying in the Castro District was enough to provoke a frenzy of violence.

"A few men came and they brought a large piece of cloth and covered us with cloth and cornered us into a corner, and they started swearing at us and yelling at us and just filled with hatred, and the crowd grew larger and larger and larger until it ended up being a few hundred people and the bars had emptied out, and we're completely surrounded by people yelling at us," the participant recounted.

"And all of a sudden, me and another friend had hot coffee poured on our faces, and I thought they were pouring boiling water on us until I could smell the coffee, and the girl next to me, someone reached in and took her Bible and she went and said 'I'm sorry that's mine, can I have it back please?' and he hit on her head with the Bible, pushed her onto the ground and began kicking her."

According to the account, members of the crowd began to shove the group and blow whistles in their ears. They took photographs and said "we know who you are, we're going to kill you". The group made a circle with the women protected inside. That was when "it got bad, it got perverse," the participant said.

Although the videotaped participant did not elaborate, a YouTube member who posted a video of the violence included anonymous testimony from a participant claiming that "they were touching and grabbing me, and trying to shove things in my butt, and even trying to take off my pants - basically trying to molest me. I used one hand to hold my pants up, while I used the other arm to hold one of the girls. The guys huddled around all the girls, and protected them."

After police arrived in riot gear, the mob reportedly became even more agitated, and began to violently lunge at the prayer group, seeking to go between the officers, who had formed a protective line. That was when the videotaped participant said she thought she was going to die.

The police then reportedly insisted in escorting the group out of the Castro District, stating that it was necessary to preserve the lives of the prayer group members. A video on YouTube records the final minutes of the escort, showing angry homosexuals screaming curse words, threatening the Christians, and attempting to force their way through the protective line of police (see video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrRxFoBSPng - photos on this page taken from the video).

San Francisco's KTVU reports that one opponent of Proposition 8 claimed that "their rights were respected. They got a chance to go ahead and pray on the sidewalk and I had the opportunity to express my freedom of speech which is telling them to get out of my neighborhood."

The television station explicitly attributed the anger of the homosexual mob to the recent victory of Proposition 8, the California referendum that defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman.
Peter LaBarbera, President of Americans for Truth About Homosexuality (AFTAH), told LifeSiteNews that America is beginning to see the real face of the homosexual movement in the aftermath of the Proposition 8 victory in California.

"Basically I think what we're seeing is that the homofascist element of the larger gay movement is coming out of the closet, and they're emboldened by what they perceive as injustice, but I'm hoping and I'm praying that their antidemocratic behavior educates America and helps Americans wake up to what this movement is all about," LaBarbera said.

"If you do a little logic test and flip it around and if you had a video of a bunch of Christians or let's just say conservatives, sexually molesting and chasing some gays out of a city, you'd better believe there would be a national outcry," he added.

LaBarbera said that his website continues to receive more page views as interest grows in his organization, which is exclusively committed to combating the homosexual political agenda in the United States.

Related Links:

Testimony of Prayer Group Participant
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsxojbyAQGI

Video of Mob Assault of Christian Prayer Group
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrRxFoBSPng

Story From LifeSiteNews.com

"Star Wars" - an a cappella tribute to John Williams

2008-11-14T09:58:00.003-05:00

This is hilarious and awesome!

'Hate preachers' must prove they renounce extremism or face UK ban

2008-11-06T12:10:00.002-05:00

The UK have decided to put a ban on people that enter the country who are extremists and "Hate Preachers," which extends to "anti-abortionists, animal rights extremists and neo-Nazis as well as extremist clerics." On the surface this looks pretty good, yet I can see where this could go and go quickly. Will praying in front of the clinics be a hate crime? Maybe a liturgical procession through the streets will be a hate crime.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2008/oct/28/terrorism-uksecurity

The Coming Election

2008-10-31T17:50:00.004-04:00

Here is a few Words from John Martignoni from the Bible Christian Society about what is at stake in this election. This is from his newsletter: "Apologetics for the Masses"

What I have tried to do in the past two newsletters is simply provide information pertinent to the upcoming election. I have given you information regarding what the bishops have said – as a group and individually – regarding Catholic moral teaching and how it relates to this, or any, election. I have given you the positions of the two main candidates for President on pro-life issues – the issues that should be the most important, bar none, to any Catholic who believes that God is the Author of life. And, I have told you how I, personally, am going to vote.

In this newsletter, I would like to ask you to ponder a few questions that I believe get to the heart of what is at stake in this election, and hopefully make it crystal clear what you are voting for this Tuesday, regardless of how you vote:

1) If Adolf Hitler said that electing Barack Obama would result in the gassing of more than one million Jews per year, could you still vote for Obama, in “good conscience,” even if you agreed with his position on the economy, the war, welfare, education, and so on?

2) If the Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan said that electing Barack Obama would result in the lynching of more than one million blacks per year, could you still vote for Obama, in “good conscience,” even if you agreed with his position on the economy, the war, welfare, education, and so on?

Now, I want to be clear in that I am not comparing Barack Obama to Adolf Hitler or to the Grand Wizard of the KKK. The point I am making with these two questions is this: If someone who has knowledge of, and a vested interest in, the gassing of Jews, or the lynching of blacks, says that the policies instituted by another person will result in the killing of millions of Jews and blacks…do you think they might know about that of which they speak?

Which leads me to my third question: 3) If the abortion industry said that electing Barack Obama would result in the killing of more than one million unborn babies per year, could you still vote for Obama, in “good conscience,” even if you agreed with his position on the economy, the war, welfare, education, and so on?

And, guess what? The abortion industry has said just that. The abortion industry has stated that the restrictions that a majority of states have put on abortion – parental consent laws, 24-hour and 48-hour waiting periods, informed consent laws – have all worked to reduce the number of abortions by a few hundred thousand per year over the last several years. Plus, the abortion industry has further stated that the lack of federal funding for abortions has “forced” women to carry more than a million pregnancies per year to term. In other words, more than one million babies per year are being born, that wouldn’t be born, if we had federal funding for abortions.

Now, Barack Obama has vowed to do two things that are relevant to these questions. He has vowed to sign the Freedom of Choice Act, which will eliminate all of the restrictions on abortion that have been enacted by the states; and, he has vowed to repeal the Hyde Amendment. The Hyde Amendment currently prohibits federal funding of abortion. In other words, Barack Obama has promised to do the very things that the abortion industry has stated will result in a million or more additional abortions per year.

So, if you answered, “No,” to the first two questions above, then to be morally consistent, you should answer, “No,” to the third question. But, there are any number of people who call themselves “Catholic,” who have no problem answering, “Yes,” to the third question. How can that be?

How can one not vote for a man if they know his policies would end up killing a million or more Jews per year, or killing a million or more blacks a year; but they can vote for that man even if they know his policies will kill an additional million or more unborn babies each year?

I’ll tell you how: Catholics, or any one else, who would not vote for Barack Obama if he was going to institute policies that would kill Jews or blacks, but they are more than willing to vote for Barack Obama knowing that he will institute policies that will indeed kill unborn babies, have de-sensitized themselves to what an abortion actually is. They speak of killing babies in terms of a woman’s “right to choose,” or a “woman’s reproductive freedom,” but they never think of abortion in terms of a baby getting sliced into pieces which are then removed, piece-by-bloody-piece, from their mother’s womb. They never think of abortion in terms of a baby being literally burned to death through saline poisoning within its mother’s womb and then being expelled from its mother’s womb by induced labor.

That is why I challenge anyone who plans to vote for Obama, but especially those who call themselves Catholic, to go to this website and view this short video on what an abortion actually is. If you’re going to vote for a man whose policies will result in the killing of an additional one million human beings, then by golly you have the moral responsibility to take a good long look at what it is your vote will allow to happen.

And, if you cannot bring yourself to look at this video, because something in your gut is telling you that what you will see will be too horrible for you to stomach, and will cause you to lose sleep at night, then how in the name of all that is holy, can you vote for a man who is promising to visit this horror upon a million or more babies each year?!

If you do not watch this video, yet you go on and vote for Barack Obama, then I call you a coward and a hypocrite and I ask you what, pray tell, will you say to the Creator of Life when you stand before His Judgment Seat with the blood of millions of unborn babies dripping from your hands? Will you say, “I didn’t know?” Or, will you say, “But I was worried about my tax bill?” May God indeed have mercy on your souls.

Now, if you are all in favor of increasing the number of abortions in this country; or if you don’t believe in God and that God will have the last say in regards to the horror of abortion; or if you believe the killing of millions of unborn children is just one issue among many that you need to consider…well, it is clear that you need to vote for Senator Obama and I am happy to offer this newsletter as an informational source that will help you to solidify your vote.

In Conclusion

Please pray for God’s will to be done in this election on Tuesday, and may God have mercy on us, every one!

My Pumpkin this Year

2008-10-28T00:20:00.003-04:00

I think it turned out pretty good. What do you think?

Bobby Schindler (Terry Schiavo's Brother) at Franciscan

2008-10-27T11:52:00.007-04:00

Bobby Schindler on Euthanasia
Franciscan University
10/22/08

Bobby Schindler, brother of Terry Schiavo, speaks at Franciscan University about his sister’s case and the steep decline of our county’s/world’s morals and conscience; fueled by the secular bias of the Media.
Father Terence Henry, President of FUS, introduced the issue by saying, “For the first time in American history an innocent person is put to death legally. A person who had every right to live. A person who was depending on our society and culture to keep them alive. A culture’s justice is measured by its compassion for those who are most vulnerable, to those who are most in need. When that culture turns against those kinds of people, no where in the human spectrum is life safe.”

Father turns to the verse from Matt. 25:35 and makes it all hit home in a profound and efficacious way.

“When I was Hungry, thirsty, or in need…the reaction of those who were going to Hell was simple, ‘we did not know that it was you Lord. But we should have known!’ They should have known it was Him in the sufferings of others.”

A little History:

In 1990 Terry Schiavo Collapsed in her home and injured her head. The collapse and injury momentarily deprived her brain of oxygen. At first she needed a breathing tube but later could breath fine on her own. Terry was never dieing. All she needed was basic care from others. Food and water was all that she needed. She couldn’t swallow on her own, so she required a feeding tube. Some doctors thought that she would recover and learn to swallow on her own with therapy. Terry was quite responsive and was in control of most of her faculties. Against popular belief she was not a vegetable nor was she brain dead. Brain Death means that all of your bodily functions would have to be maintained and ran by machines. Once the machine is unplugged, the person would die in a matter of minutes (It took Terry 14 days to die). All Terry needed was a feeding tube and maybe a wheelchair. Yet due to her husband’s (Michael Schiavo) “compassion” for Terry’s condition, with the help of the Media, Terry was reduced to a vegetable and dehumanized.
In 1990 after Terry’s Accident, Michael Schiavo was made her legal guardian, hence everything was controlled by him. Everything had to be approved through Michael such as rehabilitation and visitation from the family. Terry received no therapy or rehabilitation in more that 13 years before her death.
Days before Terry’s death, in order for Bobby Schindler and family to see Terry, they had to go through three check points of armed guards. (Bobby notes that over 50 people were arrested for trying to give Terry water, also that they had Snipers positioned on the rooftops.) The First Check point they had to show their Ids even though the guards knew perfectly well who they were. The second was the same as the first, with the addition of a full search. The third check point was right outside Terry’s room where they were checked and searched again. Terry’s family entered her small room supervised, to find her skin discolored, bleeding from her eyes and lips, and breathing like she just ran a marathon. They were told if they tried to give Terry ice chips or any type of water, they would be arrested. The judge ordered not only for her feeding tube to be removed but also that no comfort care would be given to Terry. Food and Water which used to be considered basic care, now are listed in the law as extraordinary/artificial life support.
Michael’s attorney lied about Terry’s appearance at her death at a press conference. He said, “Frankly when I saw her she looked beautiful, and of all the years of seeing Mrs. Schiavo, I have never seen somebody with so much peace and beauty upon her.” When in fact it was the most grotesque and barbaric sights Bobby had ever seen.
Michael Schiavo wrote a book describing the case from his point of view. Here is a quote from his book about the night when Terry died: “That evening in the hospice we ordered pizza and salad with the police and for several hours, him his brother and his attorneys watched as terry’s breathing became more laden. They pulled some chairs together to put there feet up and waited.” So they felt that this event called them to order pizza and salad and put their feet up on chairs to watch Terry die. His experience of terry dying.

The Direction of Our Health Care system

“We have drugs for people with diseases but these drugs can not treat the main problem, the disease of being unwanted.” -Mother Teresa

Mr. Schindler then turns toward the nations Health Care system and its direction of redefining bio-ethics. Doctors and Nurses are being desensitized and finding it less and less necessary to treat or help the infirm that might be considered a waste of treatment. Or in this case when doctors refused treatment of a woman who swallowed antifreeze for fear of being sued. She asked not to be treated, she wanted to die (even though she was the one who called for an ambulance). The doctors said they feared being charged with assault. They worried about their own skins instead of doing their job and saving her life. In Wesley J. Smith’s book “Culture of Death” he discusses the shift of the medical community’s mindset: judging what is quality of life? This is what we have to look forward to.

“We are morally obligated to care for these people, there is no Choice.” -John Paul II

The Media

“Truth is truth, regardless if everybody, only some people, or even nobody believes it.”
-Fulton Sheen

Mr. Schindler then discusses the secularized media and their bias on pro-life issues. He says that the media is stuck on pinning all pro-life issues on being just a republican and religious issue. He says that the media constantly brings up the Terry Schiavo case and tries to rationalize and justify it. “The Sentinel”: May 2008. A reporter in a story said Terry was brain dead. Bobby quickly asked for a correction from the Sentinel. They basically said that “we will not issue a retraction because we see it as a valid description of the Terry Schiavo Case and are appreciative of your (bobby’s) point of view.” They would continue to use the phrase "brain death" regardless of its error. Brain Death is a very powerful image and it worked. This is just one example of the Media reflecting the secular bias in this case. The Huffington Post in September of this year stated: “Terri Schiavo was a woman in a vegetative state induced by her own unfortunate bout with anorexia. (What!?) Her husband wanted to let her die with dignity. She had already been in a coma for 15 years. Her parents wanted her to stay that way even longer.” (emphasis added) Terry has never suffered from anorexia nor was she ever in a coma. (Look how fanatical they make this family sound)
Here is another article (including the article above) that says that this is a republican view, and is strictly Pro-Life with Christian involvement. This however is not true. Half of the Democrats that voted, put their vote in favor of Terry’s case. As far as this being just a religious concern, there were more disability rights groups than Pro-Life groups fighting and giving support in favor of Terry.
Our country is still in a better spot than some others in the world. In Switzerland, along with Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, are the only European countries where authorities will not prosecute those who assist with suicide. Remember Dr. Kevorkian and what he did? What he did is now being tolerated in Europe. I can load the gun and help you pull that trigger, I can make sure those knots on that noose are nice and tightly secure to the rafters, I’ll even give you that really wobbly chair to stand on, heck! I’ll drive you to the canyon so you can do a Peter Pan right off the Dam and not be held accountable. Do you see what our mindset is turning into? Only Lord knows what it will become next.
We are getting to the point where we need to sign a “Will to live” (especially with some death with dignity initiatives being passed like I-1000 in Washington State) in order to protect ourselves if we are unable to speak at our defense. If I become paralyzed or fall into a coma, what is to stop my health care provider from pulling the plug or refusing treatment? What costs more: Artificial life support (which is now considered food and water) or a lethal injection?

This is a battle…

and we are losing.

Know what you are voting for!

In Him,

Neil Patrick Mueller

2008-10-15T11:09:00.002-04:00

For those of us who need extra help...
http://www.engrish.com/2008/08/the-only-antidote-to-beer-goggles/

Christ as the Center of All Catechesis

2008-10-12T11:45:00.007-04:00

Christ is the center of all catechesis. He is our one teacher. It is through Christ alone that we, the Church, are to be taught and to bring Christ’s teachings in its entirety “to all nations,” (mt 28:19) for “the Church exists in order to evangelize.”1 This is only possible with the preservation of an unending succession of the apostles who “by their oral preaching, by example, and by the observances handed on what they had received from the lips of Christ, from living with him, and from what He did.”2

First and foremost, we must know who Christ is and why God sent his only son to us. Throughout salvation history, “in his goodness and wisdom God chose to reveal Himself to make known to us the hidden purpose of his will. [Ultimately through the fullness of Revelation that is] Christ, the Word made flesh, man might in the Holy Spirit have access to the Father and come to share in the divine nature.”3 Christ gives us salvation. “This gift of God is liberation from everything that oppresses man but which is above all liberation from sin and the Evil one, in the joy of knowing God and being known by him, of seeing him, and of being given over to him.”4

It is through Christ alone that we find the truth and ultimately the proclamation of the Kingdom of God. Pope Paul VI says, “the whole mission of Jesus” is to “proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom of God (Lk. 4:43).”5 “This is so important that, by comparison, everything becomes ‘the rest,’ which is ‘given in addition.’ (Mt. 6:33) Only the kingdom therefore is absolute, and it makes everything else relative.”6 For this alone was he sent: “to carry out the will of the Father, Christ inaugurated the kingdom of heaven on earth.”7

Christ was a teacher. He transmitted the word of God in everything he did. As John Paul II says, “the whole of Christ’s life was a continual teaching: his silences, his miracles, his gestures, his prayer, his love for people, his special affection for the little and the poor, his acceptance of the total sacrifice on the cross for the redemption of the world, and his resurrection are the actualization of his word and the fulfillment of Revelation.”8 From the beginning of his ministry, Jesus Christ taught “everywhere and at all times, teaching in a manner and with authority previously unknown.”9 Scripture says, the “Crowds gathered to him again; and again, as his custom was, he taught them; and they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority.”10 Christ is the continuation and fullness of the Divine Pedagogy. For there is nothing about his life or death that we must not imitate.

Being the Body of Christ, we must teach Christ to all nations. Christ must be at the center. Catechesis, which is the handing on of the Deposit of Faith, is unavoidably Christocentric. Pope John Paul II says, “The primary and essential object of catechesis is “the mystery of Christ”. 11 “It is to seek to understand the meaning of Christ’s actions and words and of the signs worked by him. [Christocentricity] is intended to stress that at the heart of catechesis we find, in essence, a person, the person of Jesus of Nazareth, the only son of the Father, full of grace and truth, who suffered and died for us and who now, after rising, is living with us forever.”12 Christocentricity means there must be a purposeful intention not to convey your own personal instruction or teaching, but the teaching of Jesus Christ, the truth that he teaches and the truth that he ultimately is.13 Therefore in catechesis it is Christ, the incarnate word and Son of God, who is taught; everything else is secondary. It is Christ alone who teaches. Anybody else who teaches, acts as “Christ’s spokesman” and allows Christ’s words to be voiced through His lips.14

Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh, is the Word of the Father who speaks through his Spirit to the world. “Jesus constantly refers to the Father, of whom he knows he is the Only Son, and to the Holy Spirit, by whom he knows he is anointed. He is the way that leads to the innermost mystery of God.”15 Jesus leads us to the Holy Trinity. Christocentricity is unavoidably Trinitarian. “Christians at Baptism, are configured to Christ, ‘One in the Trinity,’ and constituted ‘sons of the Son,’ in communion with the Father and the Holy Spirit.”16 “The mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is the central mystery of Christian faith and life.”17 To teach one without the others and abandon their close relationship is to miss the proper nature of the Christian message.18 “The works of God reveal who he is and the mystery of his inner Being throws light on all of his works.”19 The more deeply we know Him, the better we understand what he does.20

This is the epitome of God’s expressed desire: for us to know him. God gives us the final piece into establishing a relationship with him. John Paul II continues: “Catechizing is in a way to lead people to study this mystery in all its dimensions.”21 He quotes Ephesians 3:9,18-19 by saying, to catechize is “to make all men see what is the plan of the mystery…comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth…know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge…(and be filled) with all the fullness of God.”22 As catechists we must take this permanently to heart, for “the fundamental task of catechesis is to present Christ and everything in relation to him.”23

We as catechists must be perfect to the word of faith, otherwise “unfaithfulness on some point to the integrity of the message means a dangerous weakening of catechesis and putting at risk the results that Christ and the ecclesial community have a right to expect from it.”24 We must be faithful to the Gospels, which narrate the life of Jesus. They are central to the message of Catechesis. They are unmistakably catechetical in structure.25 “The four gospels occupy a central place [in catechesis] because Christ Jesus is their center.”26 “Sacred Scripture and sacred Tradition make up a single sacred deposit of the Word of God, which is entrusted to the Church.”27 Unity with Christ means unity with the Church.

We also must remember the true purpose of our vocation. St. Therese of Lisieux says, “My vocation is Love!”28 We find that the Catechism of the Catholic Church agrees wholeheartedly:

“The whole concern of doctrine and its teaching must be directed to the love that never ends. Whether something is proposed for belief, for hope or for action, the love of our Lord must always be made accessible, so that anyone can see that all the works of perfect Christian virtue spring from love and have no other objective that to arrive at love.”29

Christ is that very love that never ends which we see so clearly from the lesson of the Cross. John Paul II says “The crucifix is one of the most sublime and popular images of Christ the teacher.“30 Christ gave us his all for our sake through the will of the Father. We would do well to imitate him and to be directed by the love of God: to realize that the Deposit of Faith is “not our own but his who sent me.” (Jn. 7:16)

In these present times of the church, all workers of catechesis, relying on her intercession, turn to the Blessed Virgin Mary, “who saw her son grow ‘in wisdom, age and grace’ (Lk 2:52).”31 Mary lived the extent of faith in a way that was most perfect. “She is the purest realization of faith.”32 “Mary is a ‘living catechism’ and ‘the mother and model of catechists.’”33 “We find in her the spiritual model for carrying out and strengthening the renewal of contemporary catechesis, in faith, hope and love.” “Through the intercession of the ‘Virgin of Pentecost,’ there is born in the Church a new power, generating sons and daughters in the faith and educating them toward the fullness of Christ.”34

“The definitive aim of catechesis is to put people not only in touch but in communion, in intimacy, with Jesus Christ: Only He can lead us to the love of the Father in the Spirit and make us share in the life of the Holy Trinity.”35

In Him,

Neil Patrick Mueller

Citations:

1 Evangelii Nuntiandi: Evangelization in the Modern World, Pope Paul VI (1975): paragraph 14
2 Dei Verbum: By his holiness Pope Paul VI - Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation: Chapter 2, paragraph 7
3 Dei Verbum: By his holiness Pope Paul VI - Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation: Chapter 1, paragraph 2
4 Evangelii Nuntiandi: Evangelization in the Modern World, Pope Paul VI (1975): paragraph 9
5 Evangelii Nuntiandi: Evangelization in the Modern World, Pope Paul VI (1975): paragraph 6
6 Evangelii Nuntiandi: Evangelization in the Modern World, Pope Paul VI (1975): paragraph 8
7 Lumen Gentium: By his holiness Pope Paul VI - Dogmatic Constitution on the Church: Chapter 1, paragraph 3
8 Catechesi Tradendae: Catechesis in Our Time by Pope John Paul II, paragraph 9
9 Catechesi Tradendae: Catechesis in Our Time by Pope John Paul II, paragraph 9
10 Catechesi Tradendae: Catechesis in Our Time by Pope John Paul II, paragraph 7 (Mk. 10:1, Mk. 1:22)
11 Catechesi Tradendae: Catechesis in Our Time by Pope John Paul II, paragraph 5
12 Catechesi Tradendae: Catechesis in Our Time by Pope John Paul II, paragraph 5
13 Catechesi Tradendae: Catechesis in Our Time by Pope John Paul II, paragraph 6
14 Catechesi Tradendae: Catechesis in Our Time by Pope John Paul II, paragraph 6
15 General Directory for Catechesis: paragraph 99
16 General Directory for Catechesis: paragraph 99
17 CCC: 234
18 General Directory for Catechesis: paragraph 100
19 General Directory for Catechesis: paragraph 100
20 General Directory for Catechesis: paragraph 100
21 Catechesi Tradendae: Catechesis in Our Time by Pope John Paul II, paragraph 5
22 Catechesi Tradendae: Catechesis in Our Time by Pope John Paul II, paragraph 5
23 General Directory for Catechesis: paragraph 98
24 Catechesi Tradendae: Catechesis in Our Time by Pope John Paul II, paragraph 30
25 General Directory for Catechesis: paragraph 98
26 CCC: 139
27 Catechesi Tradendae: Catechesis in Our Time by Pope John Paul II, paragraph 27
28 Teaching the Faith: Reflections On Catechesi Tradendae by Msgr. Eugene Kevane, Ch. 3 paragraph 5
29 CCC: 25
30 Catechesi Tradendae: Catechesis in Our Time by Pope John Paul II, paragraph 9
31 General Directory for Catechesis: paragraph 291
32 CCC: 149
33 Catechesi Tradendae: Catechesis in Our Time by Pope John Paul II, paragraph 73
34 General Directory for Catechesis: paragraph 291
35 Catechesi Tradendae: Catechesis in Our Time by Pope John Paul II, paragraph 5

Arrested at Thomas More Cathedral

2008-10-09T17:02:00.002-04:00

Catholics getting arrested for handing out pro-life voting material in the parking lot of St. Thomas More Cathedral in Va. It doesn't say who called the cops, but it insinuates that it was the Cathedral that made the call, hence the office of the Bishop. Goodtimes.

http://www.catholic.org/politics/story.php?id=29937

ARLINGTON, Va. (Catholic Online) - Randall Terry, the Founder of Operation Rescue and convert to the Catholic Church,has issued the following Press Release:

"It is with great grief that I report to you that I, Randall Terry, along with Brian Sherwood and Joseph Landry, were arrested on Respect Life Sunday, October 5, at St. Thomas More Cathedral in Arlington, Virginia. We were charged with trespass, held by the police for four hours, then released.We were arrested for handing out a pro-life brochure on the church parking lot entitled, Faithful Catholic Citizenship. Faithful Catholic Citizenship is based upon quotes from John Paul II from Evangelium Vitae (The Gospel of Life.) Read it at www.humbleplea.com. (See link for Faithful Catholic Citizenship.)

The reason certain bishops find this literature alarming, is because it actually names Obama as a die hard supporter of child-killing. The argument is simple: since Obama would extend the murder of the innocent, a Catholic cannot vote for him with a clear conscience in this election. Certain bishops are hamstrung with the fear of losing their "tax-exempt status" if they name a candidate in an election cycle. So the name "Obama" is off limits, and so is any literature that names him.

The great irony is that we were arrested at St. Thomas More Cathedral. St.Thomas More was arrested, tried, and beheaded because he believed that the authority of the Church is not subject to the state.A greater irony still is that St. Thomas More refused to follow the English bishops in their servitude to Henry VIII. Those bishops betrayed God and the successor of St. Peter by their silence and obedience in the matter of Henry VIII's divorce, remarriage, and his hellish proclamation that he was the Supreme Head of the Church.

The parallels between those English bishops and American bishops today are disturbing and glaring to any student of theology and history.In exchange for silence and obedience, English bishops saved their lives. In exchange for silence and obedience, American bishops save their tax exempt status.But oh! Behold the horrifying fruit of cowardice in English bishops! Millions of the faithful were led astray, and the Church of England is now reprobate – embracing a multitude of heresies and abominations.

And oh! Behold the horrifying fruit of the silence of American bishops! Millions of the faithful are so poorly formed in conscience that they believe it is no sin against God or innocent babies to vote for a man committed to slay millions of children. The bishops keep their tax exempt status, while the faithful lose their way, and the innocent lose their very lives. One can at least sympathize with -- though never honor -- the fear of English bishops. To speak against Henry's marriage and his claim to supremacy over the Church would have cost them their lives -- as it did St. John Fisher -- the only English bishop to oppose Henry VIII.

By contrast, American bishops face no prison, no torture, and no execution. It is the lives of others they forfeit, not their own.If American bishops had a portion of the courage of St. Thomas More and St. John Fisher - and followed the church's history and pattern of naming the names of heretics, scandalous evildoers, and tyrants - what would it cost? Bishops would face a few rocky years of bad press and annoying litigation. (See Matt 5:10-12) But in the end, with a little nerve, and a united front with Catholics and evangelicals that groan under this unholy yoke, the IRS bit and bridal would be stripped from the mouths of prelates and preachers alike. This gag would be thrown to the ground and trampled into the earth. And no – the Church would not go broke.

Some well-meaning souls believe that we can submit to the IRS -- and not name Obama's name -- and yet remain faithful to God and the Church.They are mistaken.It boils down to this: who is Lord of the church? Our Lord Jesus Christ, or Uncle Sam? Who is the supreme head of the Church on earth? The successor of St. Peter, or the IRS?
If Moses, Elijah, Jeremiah, St. John the Baptist, St. Justin Martyr, St. Catherine of Siena, St. John Fisher, and a host of others would have simply held their tongue and not named names, none of them would have been hunted, or scorned, or martyred. And the tyrants of their day would have prevailed.I close with the words of St. Thomas More recorded in a "Man for all Seasons." Their echo fits our current crisis:

"The indictment is grounded in an act of Parliament which is directly repugnant to the law of God and his holy Church - the supreme government of which no temporal person may by any law presume to take upon him.This was granted by the mouth of our Savior, Christ himself, to St. Peter and the bishops of Rome, whilst he lived and was personally present here on earth. It is therefore insufficient in law to charge any Christian to obey it….Nevertheless it is not for the supremacy that you have sought my blood but because I would not bend to the marriage!"

Our "crime" is that we will not join our Bishops in their silence; we will not abandon the babies for money; and we will not "bend to the marriage" between U.S. Bishops and the IRS. We will uphold the authority and freedom of the Church, we will defend the lives of the innocent, and we will resist the slayers of mankind by name - even if they won't."

Randall Terry
Founder, Operation Rescue
www.humbleplea.com

Pope Benedict XVI's Prayer Intentions for October

2008-10-03T09:49:00.001-04:00

VATICAN CITY, 1 OCT 2008 (VIS) - Pope Benedict XVI's general prayer intention for October is: "That the Synod of Bishops may help the pastors and theologians, the catechists and promoters who are engaged in the service of the Word of God to courageously transmit the truth of faith in communion with the entire Church".

His mission intention is: "That in this month dedicated to the missions, through the promotional activities of the Pontifical Missionary Works and other organisms, every Christian community may feel the need to participate in the Church's universal mission with prayer, sacrifice and concrete help".

Being Scammed part Deux

2008-10-02T00:07:00.003-04:00

So here we go with our continuation of Mr. Scott and his hidden ulterior motives.
We last left off with me still pushing the money back to him due to my religious obligations. I asked him about this "Official reason" of why he couldn't reverse this whole process and start over. He got back to me with this:

Well you really have a point. but the official reason is this.... once the payment have issued out in your name and later found that there was a mistake by sending over payment in your name, a round table discousion have been taken and it is agree for. That was why i give you full assurance that go ahead and get the money cashed to day and deduct the money of your item and going to the nearest western union in your outlent there and wire the rest back to my daughter, here is her info

And he gave me info to send "his" $1000 dollars to his daughter somewhere in Massachusetts. Sounds simple enough. But even a crazy person would smell and probably wouldn't miss this rotting corpse hanging from the rafters. This made me realize how desperate this man is. This is where it got tricky for me. My intent was to see how far I could string this poor man along. Yet thankfully my conscience kicked in. I realized that being a jerk to this guy was probably not gonna benefit anybody. I followed with this change of tune:

"Dear Mr. Scott,

I would like to finally put this to rest. I would like to confess that I have known about your illicit intentions from the very beginning. I know that you have no need for my computer, only to scam me of my hard earned money. I know the check is stolen and I know they won't press charges due to it not begin cost affective. I am NOT writing this to try and get you arrested. With all seriousness, my dear brother, I am concerned about you. Why are you looking for money in the wrong places? And for that matter why are you looking for happiness where it is fleeting? Why is it you think that scamming people is a healthy and moral act? This path will only lead you to a place where you will not want to go, and you will find it much more difficult to dig yourself out. If you fail to get your money from me and others, where would you go then? Know that is will only get worse. Stealing from hard working people just so you can live the way you wish without conscience or concern for your fellow man, will not get you anywhere. It will only continue to fuel the world with hatred, distrust, and selfishness. I tell you this with a sincere heart and mind. I really do care what happens to you.

I will not presume that I know you or know where you come from, but I do know that hard times lead us all to do stupid things. I ask you to search your own heart and ask God to guide you. He is the way, the truth and the life! Always seek the truth and you will find Him. It is not too late to turn your life around. Please I beg of you, do the right thing. If you trust in his mercy and his love, He will give you all that you will ever need! Be still and be patient. It will be hard but know that He is always with you; he is just waiting for you to come to him. Know that I am here if you need me. I will keep you in my prayers."

He responded rather quickly with this:

"I will firstly thank you for the word of almighty God you share with me, may wish of the Lord turned my way, and i will live all this shit i found myself over night. i will love to confence though you don't know me, niether hear my voice but i know you are a man of God and God really love you. The only things i need from you is this keep praying for me so that i will not die in sin, i have scam many people but ask me what is the reward? everything gose as it come. i wish to know you more and have me in mind one day we gonna be together in joy, you make me so crying and i pray to God to forgive me.

Thanks."

I will not presume that what I said will not have an affect on him, nor will I presume what he said was not sincere. I really do hope my words planted a seed and I really do pray for him. Interesting how I went from wanting to throw him in jail to just messing with him to actually caring for him.

How often does society look for ways to put salt on the wounds of the people (celebs, personalities. etc.) who are just really lost. Downgrading their dignity for the sake of satire and entertainment. We see this in the media, gossip circles and at the check-out line in the supermarket. Its hard to see a human being when looking through the filthy and distorted lens of the norms of society. We see it and we laugh and we just think its good fun. But really what is the point? We find it harmless, until it hits closer to home.

This came all to clear for me with my dealings with this man. He didn't need my sarcasm or my ingenuousness. Whether he knows it or not he needs me to treat him like Christ. To show him love and kindness. And above all Truth.

So I really screwed up on this one. But at the same time I am glad it was a learning experience that hopefully I can transcribe to other parts of my life and how I interact with people.
From now on, I'll just write about theology and Catechetics.

Neil

Being Scammed...should be fun!

2008-09-24T22:17:00.008-04:00

So I decided to put my computer on the Facebook marketplace application to try and sell it. I got a bite about two weeks ago about 3 months after originally posting it. This man seemed really interested with my computer so hence in interests in having extra money in my pocket, I was thrilled. So I start to lay my terms: $650 for the computer (even though I was originally asking for $500 in the ad) and he would come and pick-up. Seems like a really good deal so far right? Well, I started to see a red flag when his grammar and spelling showed signs of, well incompetence. Here is an example:

Sorry for the late response, i do busy with work for a couple of days. i do agree with the price and condition of this item, i want you to get back to me with your full name and contact address plus your phone number so that i can forward your details to my secretary for the the issuance of the payment hope to read from you today. Take care of yourself and have a wonderful day.

david

He seems really nice. So at first I kind of let it go....until I got this one about his eagerness to send a check:

Alright.... i got the info you sent to me and it was well understand, i do appreciate this from you.... okay i will forward your details to my secretary for the issuance of the payment..okay hope to read from you as soon as you got the payment. and i will keep you updating till end of this transaction. thanks and have a wonderful day.

DAVID

Ok now its like he's not even trying. But anyways I decided to see where this would go, so I told him to send the check to my parents in Gig Harbor, Wa. So he did.....only the check (a personal business check)was for a thousand dollars more than our original agreement! So my dad is staring down this $1650 check made out to him....for a moment there he started to salivate. Now keep in mind I thought this guy was in the area of at least Washington due to my ad being only subject to the network it belongs to. Wrong. This guy gave me a check from Mill Valley Soccer Club in California (interesting). Signed from and mailed from two unknown people (his name was not on anything). So now I'm damn sure its a scam. So as not to allude to anything, I kindly asked him to restate our agreement just to be sure, because obviously $1ooo more is kinda a big mistake. This is what he sent me in response:

Hi Neil
Thank for your fast response, I want to make a comment on the recent payment issued out to you by my secretary, my secretry just notify me that he discovered there was an error on the payment he issued out on your name , he sent an over payment check to you and it has to be account for, its a very huge mistake, but he has already mail it out , at this junction i want you to go and cashed the money so i won't put stop on payment cos this transaction, has take long while and considering the fact that i already told you to consider this item sold to me and this transaction has taking a little while .I want you to take the check to your bank and get the check cashed out today, After that get back to me so that we can finalize this transaction in a timely manner. Hope to read from have have a wonderful day.

David

Wow...What a nice guy! He is so concerned with this expedience of this transaction, on my behalf I'm sure. Of course he didn't answer any of my questions regarding...well anything. He was only concerned with getting me to cash that check and getting on with the transaction. So now we are just flogging a dead horse at this point. I know what this guy wants, but me being a good christian, I couldn't possibly bring myself to accept such a generous offer. So replied with this:

Dear Mr. Scott,

I appreciate your generosity in this matter, yet if its all the same, I would like to send you back this check and please only ask for the $650 from our original agreement. Don't worry about the delay. I would also insist that the check be a Cashiers check, not from a personal account. I appreciate your willingness to finish this transaction, but I would like to honor our original agreement. Thank you and I will await to hear back from you.

God Bless,

Neil

So I await a reply. From his eagerness to finish this transaction, I would assume he would have no problem with conforming to my demands, because of course my computer is this uber computer that is coveted among many tribal nations of gaming nerds. Lets forget the fact that he could have spent the same amount, if not less on a better computer with the money he so generously decided to throw away in the name of convenience. My computer is special damn it!

Oh well....this should be fun. Lets see how far he is willing to go shall we? :)

Neil Patrick Mueller

If you wanna read about a Nigerian Prince Scam, this one is hilarious! They just keep screwing with this poor guy who has no clue. Enjoy!
http://www.419eater.com/html/joe_eboh.htm

Beginnings

2008-09-21T22:25:00.000-04:00

From a moment of insanity, I decided to follow the rest of the lemmings and start a blog of my own about my experience here at Franciscan University (like I don't have enough to do).

The Deposit of Faith is defined as The Word of God and Sacred Tradition coming together. Jesus Christ who is the Word in whom the fullness of revelation is led to completion, commissioned the Apostles to preach to all men. The Apostles therefore needed to preserve this "mirror in which the pilgrim church on earth looks to God" -the deposit- "...by an unending succession of preachers until the end of time." (Dei Verbum 7-8) Dei Verbum can say it better than I can: " Therefore the Apostles handing on what they themselves had received, warn the faithful to hold fast to the traditions which they have learned either by word or by letter (2 thess. 2:15), and to fight in defense of the faith handed on once and for all."

My choice to call it the Deposit of Faith is for the fact that it is essentially my life now; the choice to become a catechist. I must eat and sleep the Deposit for without it, I am no better than those that taught me. I plan to take this mirror in which we see God and teach what I was never taught myself. My catechesis was so poor and incomplete that my knowledge of the faith and ultimately God was that of a blind-deaf-mute-paraplegic child trying to figure out how to respond to his earthly parents' love. Some people who taught me I know had a good heart and did what they could; yet there was others especially the Bishops and the priests not being vigilant and sometimes sabotaging the Deposit of Faith in order to put their own spin on Christianity.
Times are changing. The anger and determination I see in myself, I see all over this campus. Obviously I'm not the only one who had a questionable Catechesis. This whole campus is willing and eager to learn the truth in its fullness to counter act the falsehoods that plagued them in their childhood. Together we are determined to put an end to ignorance of the faith and ultimately the truth especially when it comes to catechizing children. Far be it from me to have a millstone moment: "but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to stumble, it would be better for him that a huge millstone should be hung around his neck, and that he should be sunk in the depths of the sea." Matthew 18:6

This is why I am here and I will hopefully use this blog to communicate recent discoveries that I have made about theology (Faith seeking understanding) and use it as a comprehensive studying tool, and to describe my life and experience here on this Campus.

In Him,

Neil Patrick Mueller