Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Gratitude


As the year 2008 comes to a close, I am reflecting a great deal on the blessings of this year, and how I've gotten to where I am today. I watch Mina as she falls asleep in my arms and tears well up in my eyes at this beautiful gift of new life. As she sleeps peacefully, I think of her journey ahead of her. I think of the journey I've had thus far, the things I want to share with her, and mistakes I want to keep her from making. I am filled with an overwhelming sense of gratitude to our Lord, because, despite the mistakes I've made, He has brought me here.
I look around at all of us, and how we've all grown together over the years, and I'm just amazed. Several of us have been blessed with children this year, others of us living out vocations in careers of ministry, leading others closer to Christ in their work. We have all come so far from when we all began attending STM Lifenights.
The Lord continues to give us Himself each day in the Eucharist, and today, we celebrate His birth into our world. How beautiful that moment must've been to see the Divine infant open his eyes for the first time, and gaze at our grace-filled Blessed Mother. How honored must St. Joseph have felt to have the Lord wrap His tiny hand around just one of his fingers. I bet there were many times that baby Jesus tugged at his beard while learning how his hands worked. I wonder if Mary had to learn to put up some sort of a wee-wee blocker while changing his diaper. All of these moments which seem so mundane, yet our Lord, humbled Himself to be a tiny, helpless, newborn, just as we all were once.
We are blessed, and I am immensely grateful that He has given me the gift of knowledge of Him and His church so that I might love him more, the graces He's provided, and the people He's placed in my life, including my wonderful girlfriends.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a goodnight!

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Jesus' Helper


Check out this beautiful, heart-warming story about a modern-day "St. Nick" from Virginia. This parishioner is teaching children the real meaning of Christmas, and Santa Claus.


One Week until Christmas!


In officially one week from today, we will wake up to find Christmas morning! I can hardly wait! Being my husband and I's first Christmas together (as a married couple), I have been starting to think about my favorite traditions that I would like to carry over with our new family. Christmas eve mass followed by a gift of new pajamas is at the top of my list. And I don't think it would feel right without waking up to carols and the smell of sweet cinnamon buns in the oven...


What about you? What are your favorite Christmas traditions?? Be careful, I may just borrow some good ideas...

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

"Having children is selfish"

Sorry for no picture but I wanted to share this article:

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/21115130/

This guy is part of a growing minority of men getting vasectomies before 30. It's a small population that has decided they don't want children (or responsibility)...

I have to say, at least he is up front with women he dates and tells them what he's done and that he's not having kids instead of wasting their time and other such things. So sad.

Live Action Video


I posted a similar story about this subject last month. Here once again, a pro-life group went undercover in a Planned Parenthood clinic.


It breaks my heart to think about the effect that Planned Parenthood must have had on so many young girls. We can even ignore the issue of abortion, and it is still very clear how hurtful this organization is to women. Young girls who are clearly in trouble are being misguided and their serious issues are being "hid under the rug", rather giving them a safe haven and helping them find appropriate help. As women, do we not have more value than this?? We truly need to stand up together against this kind of behavior and treatment. On top of everything, our society considers this a "charitable" organization! Let's pray for young women faced with unexpected pregnancies as a result of abusive relationships and rape, that they may find appropriate counseling and help.


To watch the video:



For a list of businesses that support planned parenthood, visit http://www.cogforlife.org/ppsupporters.htm. In many cases it is very difficult to avoid consumption of their products/services, but we can all do our part to shop elsewhere if possible, and/or write letters pleading them to stop supporting Planned Parenthood.

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Sad but True News

Msgr. Dale Fushek Excommunicated

I received this from my sister-in-law earlier today. Let us pray for Msgr. Dale, and Fr. Dippre, as well as Bishop Olmstead. I'm sure it was a very difficult decision to take serious action and required great fortitude. I have met him several times and he is a very sweet man and solid Bishop. 

Let us pray that his example of courage might be an example for other Bishops out there. We do not pray for excommunications for we should want others to be holier than us provided we become as holy as we should (from the Litany of Humility), but we should pray for justice in all cases of the misconduct of priests.


A Novena for Christmas!


Begin on Dec. 16

Divine Infant,
after the wonders of Your birth in Bethlehem,
You wished to extend Your infinite mercy to the whole world
by calling the Wise Men by heavenly inspiration to Your crib,
which was in this way changed into a royal throne.
You graciously received those holy men
who were obedient to the divine call
and hastened to Your feet.
They recognized and worshiped You as Prince of Peace,
the Redeemer of mankind,
and the very Son of God.

Show us also Your goodness and almighty power.
Enlighten our minds,
strengthen our wills,
and inflame our hearts to know You,
to serve You, and to love You in this life,
that we may merit to find our joy in You
eternally in the life to come.

Jesus, most powerful Child,
I implore You again to help me:

(State your intention here)

Divine Child,
great omnipotent God,
I implore through Your most Holy Mother's most powerful intercession,
and through the boundless
mercy of Your omnipotence as God,
for a favorable answer to my prayer during this Novena.
Grant me the grace of possessing You eternally
with Mary and Joseph
and of adoring You with Your holy angels and saints.

Amen.

Twas the 2 weeks before Christmas


*Twas the 2 weeks before Christmas*
*When all through our land,*
*Not a Christian was praying*
*Nor taking a stand.*
*See the PC Police had taken away,*
*The reason for Christmas - no one could say.*
*The children were told by their schools not to sing,*
*About Shepherds and Wise Men and Angels and things.*
*It might hurt people's feelings, the teachers would say*
* December 25th is just a ' Holiday '.*
*Yet the shoppers were ready with cash, checks and credit*
*Pushing folks down to the floor just to get it!*
*CDs from Madonna, an X BOX, an I-pod*
*Something was changing, something quite odd! *
*Retailers promoted Ramadan and Kwanzaa*
*In hopes to sell books by Franken & Fonda.*
*As Targets were hanging their trees upside down*
* At Lowe's the word Christmas - was no where to be found.*
*At K-Mart and Staples and Penny's and Sears*
*You won't hear the word Christmas; it won't touch your ears.*
*Inclusive, sensitive, Di-ver-si-ty*
*Are words that were used to intimidate me.*
*Now Daschle, Now Darden, Now Sharpton, Wolf Blitzen*
*On Boxer, on Rather, on Kerry, on Clinton !*
*At the top of the Senate, there arose such a clatter*
*To eliminate Jesus, in all public matter.*
*And we spoke not a word, as they took away our faith*
* Forbidden to speak of salvation and grace*
*The true Gift of Christmas was exchanged and discarded*
*The reason for the season, stopped before it started.*
*So as you celebrate 'Winter Break' under your 'Dream Tree'*
*Sipping your Starbucks, listen to me.*
*Choose your words carefully, choose what you say*
*Shout MERRY CHRISTMAS ,
not Happy Holiday !*

Friday, December 12, 2008

Rules for Radicals

Hey everyone. So I came across this author, Saul Alinsky, during election time. Our president-elect actually studied this method and worked for an organization that used these tactics when we just fresh out of college. If you look at the "No on Prop 8" campaign, you will see the following rules hard at work.

First, the dedication of this book:

"Lest we forget at least an over-the-shoulder acknowledgment to the very first radical: from all our legends, mythology, and history (and who is to know where mythology leaves off and history begins -- or which is which), the first radical known to man who rebelled against the establishment and did it so effectively that he at least won his own kingdom -- Lucifer."

Anybody see a red flag?

"Some of these rules are ruthless, but they work. Here are the rules to be aware of:

RULE 1: "Power is not only what you have, but what the enemy thinks you have." Power is derived from 2 main sources - money and people. "Have-Nots" must build power from flesh and blood. (These are two things of which there is a plentiful supply. Government and corporations always have a difficult time appealing to people, and usually do so almost exclusively with economic arguments.)

RULE 2: "Never go outside the expertise of your people." It results in confusion, fear and retreat. Feeling secure adds to the backbone of anyone. (Organizations under attack wonder why radicals don't address the "real" issues. This is why. They avoid things with which they have no knowledge.)

RULE 3: "Whenever possible, go outside the expertise of the enemy." Look for ways to increase insecurity, anxiety and uncertainty. (This happens all the time. Watch how many organizations under attack are blind-sided by seemingly irrelevant arguments that they are then forced to address.)

RULE 4: "Make the enemy live up to its own book of rules." If the rule is that every letter gets a reply, send 30,000 letters. You can kill them with this because no one can possibly obey all of their own rules. (This is a serious rule. The besieged entity's very credibility and reputation is at stake, because if activists catch it lying or not living up to its commitments, they can continue to chip away at the damage.)

RULE 5: "Ridicule is man's most potent weapon." There is no defense. It's irrational. It's infuriating. It also works as a key pressure point to force the enemy into concessions. (Pretty crude, rude and mean, huh? They want to create anger and fear.)

RULE 6: "A good tactic is one your people enjoy." They'll keep doing it without urging and come back to do more. They're doing their thing, and will even suggest better ones. (Radical activists, in this sense, are no different that any other human being. We all avoid "un-fun" activities, and but we revel at and enjoy the ones that work and bring results.)

RULE 7: "A tactic that drags on too long becomes a drag." Don't become old news. (Even radical activists get bored. So to keep them excited and involved, organizers are constantly coming up with new tactics.)

RULE 8: "Keep the pressure on. Never let up." Keep trying new things to keep the opposition off balance. As the opposition masters one approach, hit them from the flank with something new. (Attack, attack, attack from all sides, never giving the reeling organization a chance to rest, regroup, recover and re-strategize.)

RULE 9: "The threat is usually more terrifying than the thing itself." Imagination and ego can dream up many more consequences than any activist. (Perception is reality. Large organizations always prepare a worst-case scenario, something that may be furthest from the activists' minds. The upshot is that the organization will expend enormous time and energy, creating in its own collective mind the direst of conclusions. The possibilities can easily poison the mind and result in demoralization.)

RULE 10: "If you push a negative hard enough, it will push through and become a positive." Violence from the other side can win the public to your side because the public sympathizes with the underdog. (Unions used this tactic. Peaceful [albeit loud] demonstrations during the heyday of unions in the early to mid-20th Century incurred management's wrath, often in the form of violence that eventually brought public sympathy to their side.)

RULE 11: "The price of a successful attack is a constructive alternative." Never let the enemy score points because you're caught without a solution to the problem. (Old saw: If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem. Activist organizations have an agenda, and their strategy is to hold a place at the table, to be given a forum to wield their power. So, they have to have a compromise solution.)

RULE 12: Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it." Cut off the support network and isolate the target from sympathy. Go after people and not institutions; people hurt faster than institutions. (This is cruel, but very effective. Direct, personalized criticism and ridicule works.)"

Newseek says the Bible supports gay marriage

Surprise! I guess every Christian church out there and every believer in the Word of God has just been reading and interpreting the Bible wrong.

Oi. If this is not the work of Satan I don't know what is. This woman, who doesn't seem like she is a Christian or has read more than the passages she read to write this article is totally twisting the Word of God to her own agenda. Actually, it's kind of funny and sad how badly it's twisted.

One of my favorite arguments is that the Bible is silent on lesbian "sex" so therefore its ok. Riiight. I guess she forgot to read about what happened in Sodom and Gomorah (sorry if the spelling is off. baby's napping and I don't have time to look it up).

Anyways just thought you should know what's going on.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/172653

Dignitas Personae


Dignitas Personae, or The Dignity of a Person, has been released by the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith. The document addresses ethical issues regarding biomedicine and provides guidance on how to respect human life and human procreation during our scientific age. Although I personally have not tackled it yet, Dignitas Personae is said to encourage medical progress while defending the life of unborn human beings. Issues include embryo adoption, pre-implantation drugs, gene therapy, designer babies, human/animal hybrid embryos (what??) and more...


So read up girls! Dignitas Personae can be found here: http://www.usccb.org/comm/Dignitaspersonae/.


Happy Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe


"Hear me and understand well, my son the least, that nothing should frighten or grieve you. Let not your heart be disturbed. Do not fear that sickness, nor any other sickness or anguish. Am I not here, who is your Mother? Are you not under my protection? Am I not your health? Are you not happily within my fold? What else do you wish? Do not grieve nor be disturbed by anything." — Our Lady to Juan Diego




Our Lady of Guadalupe, Patroness of the Americas, Pray for us!

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Attention All Chocolate Lovers...

You absolutely have to try this. I definitely will! It sounds too good to be true.

Papal Advent Reflection



"But in the original text we read 'in' the coming -- 'en te parousia' -- as if the coming of the Lord were, more than a future event, a spiritual place in which we already walk in the present, during the wait, and in which we are perfectly vigilant in every personal dimension," the Holy Father explained. "In effect, this is exactly what we live in the liturgy: celebrating the liturgical seasons, we actualize the mystery -- in this case the coming of the Lord -- in such a way as to be able, so to speak, to 'walk in it' toward its full realization, at the end of time, but already drawing sanctifying virtue from it from the moment that the last times have already begun with the death and resurrection of Christ."


"Advent is the spiritual season of hope par excellence, and in this season the whole Church is called to be hope, for itself and for the world," he said. "The whole spiritual organism of the mystical body assumes, as it were, the 'color' of hope." Pope Benedict XVI

Monday, December 8, 2008

Standing up for Life


In our politically-correct culture where relativism and politeness often override the truth, many priests stay away from certain topics during homilies, in order to avoid persecution. During yesterday's refreshing Sunday mass homily, a visiting priest from an Natural Family Planning Outreach ministry fearlessly spoke to the congregation about God's BEAUTIFUL plan for marriage, family and life.

I was amazed that despite how absolutely essential these teachings are to living our faith, I have never once heard a homily even mention issues such as cohabitation, divorce and contraception. How many sacramental marriages are missing out on the amazing blessing of our Church's teachings about their vocation? How many couples are hurting because they learn about marriage from our media and culture, rather than from our Creator Himself? What couple would not want to know that their marriage is a reflection of the Trinity itself?? Perhaps my newlywed giddiness is starting to shine through these thoughts, but I truly can't image marriage any other way.

May God bless our pastor and the priest who made an effort to better educate and guide their flocks this past weekend. Let's pray for more priests to be strengthened in their vocations and spread the truth, and for Catholic married couples to have the courage share the good news with other couples.

Feast of the Immaculate Conception


Today we celebrate our Lady's feast, recognizing her title as the Immaculate Conception. Her special role in our salvation's history cannot be ignored, especially during this special time of Advent. Similarly to the importance of being in a state of grace when receiving our Lord in the Eucharist, it was important to God that Jesus was born of the most pure and beautiful human vessel ever created. Having been conceived without sin, Mary's hands were most worthy of holding our child Savior, her lips were worthy of kissing his face, and her womb was most worthy of housing His Majesty.


There is no woman, or human being, more beautiful than the Immaculata. As young women, let's look to her and ask her for the strength to imitate her beauty and her unwavering love for her son, so that we might one day receive Him in everlasting life.

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Celebrating Advent


I never considered how much the consumer "Holiday Season" clashes with the proper celebration of Advent. Why is it that we never even consider singing the "Alleluia" during Lent, yet during Advent we decorate our homes and trees, celebrate and party every weekend, and sing songs about Christ's nativity? In many cases, we get so tired of celebrating Christmas, that by the time the epiphany arrives, our decorations are down and our lives are back to normal.


We need to make an effort to preserve the liturgical season of Advent. I am not saying that it will be easy to turn down the radio next time my favorite carol comes on, and I do still plan on baking many cookies and doing some shopping in preparation for Christmas. Nevertheless, the Church has given us Advent for a reason, and it is up to us to preserve it. Let's be counter-cultural, and celebrate CHRISTmas the Christian way ;).

It All Started with a Mouse


Fr. Jamison, the Abbot of Worth in West Sussex blames Disney for our materialistic culture. He “has accused the corporation of "exploiting spirituality" to sell its products and of turning Disneyland into a modern day pilgrimage site.” In his new book, titled Finding Happiness, Fr. Jamison “warns that society is in danger of losing its soul because of growing consumerism and the decline of religion.” (No way..!)


Fr. Jamison “suggests that many people have become obsessed with work, sex and eating in an attempt to ignore their underlying unhappiness, and criticises corporations and industries that have benefited from promoting false notions of fulfilment.” He uses Disney as the “classic example” of how consumerism is being sold as an alternative to finding happiness in traditional morality. In fact, society now sees a need to buy disney products as a prerequisite to being a “good and happy family”.

Being a fan myself, and having spent time as a “cast member” at Disneyland, I can attest to the fact that the company has created a "cult" culture unlike anything I have ever experienced, and in many ways Disney does parallel a religion. It has idols, language, pilgrimages and unique rituals. I also have no doubt that many Southern California families spend their Sundays at Disneyland, rather than going to mass, or church. Is it possible that just now, a few generations after Mickey Mouse’s inauguration, we are starting to see the effects of our pop culture? A correlation is very likely, though I would need to see much more evidence because I would claim it as “the cause”. Regardless, seems like this book might be worth reading! I will have to follow up with a blogger book report…