Cosmos-Liturgy-Sex

Here is the Third Sunday of Easter reflection, the last for this particular series.

You Are Witnesses to These Things

Rev. Msgr. Stuart Swetland, S.T.D.

Third Sunday of Easter, April 30

Acts 3:13-15; Psalm 4:2, 4, 7-8, 9; 1 John 2:1-5a; Luke 24:35-48

Today’s Gospel reading begins with two disciples explaining to the rest gathered in the upper room, how in the breaking of the bread, they had recognized the risen Christ who had joined them on their journey to Emmaus. All of the disciples had gone from anguish with Jesus’ death, to amazement and confusion with Mary Magdalene’s announcement that Jesus was alive and with Peter’s and John’s discovery of the empty tomb. Jesus met up with these two as they had walked, though they did not recognize Him. Still unknown to them, Jesus explained to them those Scriptures that had predicted the Messiah must die. However, they did not yet recognize him. It was not until Jesus gave thanks and broke the bread during supper that they realized who he was.

As the disciples in the upper room are listening to this second testimony that Jesus is alive, Jesus appears to them all and announces “Peace be with you.” Peace is a common oriental greeting; however, this peace is God’s shalom. Shalom is something real and substantial; if it is not received it will return to the giver (cf. Mt 10:13). It is shalom the world cannot give because it is real communion with God through the Holy Spirit (cf. Jn 14:25-27). Jesus had promised them this peace before he died, and he now confirms in their presence that his promise is fulfilled. The disciples’ response is one of terror; they still do not understand what all of this means. They do not yet receive this peace.

Jesus reassures them by showing them his wounds and by taking and eating some fish, confirming to them he is no ghost. Emotions in the upper room go from sheer terror to unbelievable joy, yet they still do not fully understand. Luke points out that it is not until Jesus opens their minds to the Scriptures that they come to understand. The first step was openness and trust in the Person of Christ. The second step is the reception of God’s grace. The understanding that comes from faith cannot be taken, it must be received as a gift. But this gift of grace ought not to lie fallow. John Paul II explains that faith is one of the few things that increases as you give it away.

St. Luke immediately connects this understanding of faith to the gospel proclamation: that the Christ had to suffer and die so that repentance and the forgiveness of sins might be preached to everyone in the world. The disciples “are the witnesses of these things.” In other words, they are the ones who are to spread this “good news” to everyone. It is not accidental on this Third Sunday of Easter, that the Gospel reading connects the first post-Resurrection Eucharist celebrated with the disciples on their way to Emmaus with the mission of the Church to take the gift of grace she has been given to go and preach to the nations.

We sometimes call our celebration of the Sacrifice of the Mass the Resurrection Feast. Christ’s death and resurrection is what we celebrate during this Easter season in a special way. Now, the term Mass comes from the Latin said at the end of the liturgy, ite missa est for “it is the dismissal.” Scholars find that this phrase was very early on connected to the understanding that the grace we receive through the Sacraments is meant to strengthen us in holiness but also such that we might be strengthened to go out and share the truth of the gospel with those in the world. Thus when they heard “dismissal,” these Latin speaking Christians heard not so much that the Mass was ended but the charge of a mission. We all are sent forth to give witness by word and deed.

This Sunday at Mass, remember that we are being given the grace to open our minds so as to understand the meaning and reality of the “good news.” We ought to take this grace with us, go out into the world, and bear witness to this truth. After all, we “are witnesses to these things”!

After a couple of weeks dedicated to Holy Week and Easter, B16 has picked up again his new catechetical series on the Church. This series, if you recall, is aimed at correcting the all too common but mistaken Christian individualism which desires a relationship with Christ without His Church. Benedict shows that this is an impossibility. Scripture, the early Church and the entire Christian Tradition demonstrate that the Church is the extension and prolongation of the Incarnation. In other words, if you want Jesus you have to accept the whole Christ–which is His Mystical Body.

His audience this week continues the theme of communion with Christ in His Church through the Holy Spirit. However, B16 moves on to the topic of Tradition. Tradition, coming from the Latin traditio which in the biblical sense means that which is handed on, has negative connotations for many Western Christians who have been raised in the polemics of the Reformation communities. I will leave aside showing that Sola Scriptura is unbiblical, unhistorical, and illogical as there are a plethora of resources for this and more importantly B16 does not directly address it in this audience. Instead, I will focus on his positive affirmations.

Benedict XVI begins his discussion by emphasizing that there is an authentic communion that unites the universal Church throughout the world today (synchronic) but this communion also transcends time, past, present and future, and unites Christians throughout all time (diachronic) as well. This is effected by Jesus’ work of salvation and is made effective in time through the Spirit making use of the Tradition left by Christ. He says:

The Spirit appears as the guarantor of the active presence of mystery in history, who assures its realization through the centuries. Thanks to the Paraclete, the experience of the Risen One, made by the apostolic community in the origins of the Church, will always be able to be lived by successive generations, in the measure that it is transmitted and actualized in faith, in worship and in the communion of the People of God, pilgrim in time. And, in this way, we, now, in Eastertide, live the encounter with the Risen One not only as something of the past, but in the present communion of the faith, of the liturgy, of the life of the Church.

Benedict has shown that Jesus left Another Paraclete and also a Church, the latter of which is now led by successors to the apostles with sacramental means of conveying saving grace. All of these things are the Church’s Tradition. All of this was handed on by Christ and continues to be handed on to believers through the successors of the apostles vivified by the Holy Spirit. B16 shows, especially using the Acts of the Apostles, that there is a certain fusion of the action of the Holy Spirit with St. Paul in administering to the Church the salvation won by Christ. He indicates that God has chosen to work through His visible Church to apply the grace of the Cross to believers in time. This is authentic Tradition; it is the patrimony handed on by Jesus Christ by which salvation is applied throughout time. Tradition is not some dead letter:

Concluding and summarizing, we can therefore say that Tradition is not the transmission of things or words, a collection of dead things. Tradition is the living river that unites us to the origins, the living river in which the origins are always present, the great river that leads us to the port of eternity. In this living river, the word of the Lord that we heard at the beginning from the lips of the reader: “And behold, I am with you always, until the eng of the age” is fulfilled again (Matthew 28:20).

Understanding Tradition in this way, one recognizes it as a living breathing reality that, because it is a gift from our Savior, ought to be loved and cherished as we do Sacred Scripture. It is the means of effecting Our Lord’s presence in a salvific manner. Tradition is nothing less than the means to eternal life in Christ through the Spirit.

Here is a story that provides more motivation for those who are on the fence but still somewhat trust public schools and the NEA to educate their children.

In many places education is more like indoctrination. Take Estabrook Elementary School in Lexington, MA where the second grade children were read the pro homosexual “marriage” book King and King.

When children came home talking about the book some parents were livid, as one might expect. What were the principal’s and school board’s reaction?

Principal tells parents (1) they cannot opt out (2) there will be no parental notification despite state law and (3) “I will not guarantee that something like this won’t happen again”.

It seems on this and so many more issues the government believes it knows better than parents. For example, when and how children ought to be taught about sex, and whether children should have access to birthcontrol or have an abortion without their parents knowledge or consent. Of course, there are limits. Schools still will not give an aspirin or bandaid without parental consent.

Source (including pictures from the book that was read):

Last Tuesday night’s lecture/discussion on natural philosophy and intelligent design, that I had posted about a couple of weeks ago, was quite insightful. Below is my summary taken from the lecture, subsequent discussions with the speaker and others, and further personal cogitation.

Again, it was given by a PhD in experimental neurobiology, concentrating in the area of the genetics of behavior. In addition to his specialty in neurobiology, he also has a very solid academic background in classical philosophy and Catholic theology.

The first half of his lecture was aimed at putting the issue into context by explaining the classical understanding of science and natural philosophy, and how these relate to modern science. The speaker used a definition of modern science equivalent to what Aristotle termed techne (though he did not use techne, he later confirmed this in subsequent discussions). Aristotelian techne is the knowledge of particular instances applied for the purpose of modifying and controlling the world. For Aristotle techne is a partial knowledge. True knowledge comes from understanding the four causes (formal, final, material, and efficient).

The speaker described the classical view of knowlege, as that in which common sense experience is ultimately the method required in order to penetrate and understand the totality of being. It is ironic that today common sense experience is generally eschewed as a false sense of reality. Rather, we have a sort of gnostic perspective that holds that the ability to know the “really real” is limited to those of the knowledge class–the scientists. For example, we have those who assert that only those who have access to genetic information can really know the difference between a dog and a human being. This reductionist, in fact, bifurcated view of reality is really what turns out to be the crux of the Intelligent Design debate.

Modern science/techne, arising from the bifurcation of knowledge into the “subjective” (opinion) and “objective” (empirical fact) spheres, has limited itself to consideration of material and efficient causality. This turns out to be true to some extent, even for some who admit of aspects of formal and final causality–such as those who do admit of these as causes but deny them active principles. In the end this results in material and mechanistic presuppositions, even for those who philosophically reject materialism and mechanism. Ironically, the approach of Intelligent Design succumbs to the same reductionism as modern science. Both neo-Darwinists who deny design and ID folks who find it, in the end, have no room for (active) formal causality: neither are looking for a design but a Designer.

They both assume that there must be an efficient cause to account for the order that they see. The neo-Darwinist “philosophers” are looking for a secondary efficient cause and, finding none, they attribute order to the–now fairly widely acknowledged as failed–mechanisms of random genetic mutation and natural selection (which is random or not depending upon who you listen to and when they said it). ID also assumes that order requires an efficient cause and finding the natural, secondary efficient cause of neo-Darwinism wanting, suggests there must be some other efficient cause (though many creationists have opted to collapse the secondary efficient cause into the Primary Cause, which is the source of much of the heat in the debate).

The question arose, of course, whether ID is a science. Well, it is not pure techne (which, by the way, does not itself include mathematical models), but neither is most of what we call science. ID shares the same methodology of many disciplines which are considered science today: SETI, systems biology, and some aspects of anthropology. In fact, there are some fields accepted as science that make clearly “a-scientific” presuppositions, such as sociobiology which presupposes the selfishness of the organism (a moral presupposition!).

The question about falsification came up after the talk. It was pointed out that almost no philosophers of science hold this old Popperian theory any longer. It is held by some scientists, who play philosophers on television, and at least one jurist. There are problems with falsification. For example, some have shown that the theory of evolution itself cannot be falsified because it happens too slowly. Additionally, others have shown that one can falsify aspects of ID; in fact many scientists are trying to falsify claims of irreducible complexity. But the main reason falsification is meaningless is that while it appears to shut the front door on some issues, it really open the back door wide to many others, to include clearly pseudo-sciences as sciences, such as astrological claims which can be falsified.

However, the real question comes down to whether ID should be taught in schools. The answer is that what rather needs to be taught in schools is a systematic foundation in classical philosophy to include natural philosophy. ID, warts and all, could be taught here. Real gains need to be made to overcome the fragmentation in knowledge that makes us think that there is no interconnection between the knowledge of modern science and of philosophical speculation and common sense experience. The epistemological bifurcation which results in the prevailing scientism of our day is much more dangerous than ID. While the methods may vary somewhat, though there is much overlap, the scientism that supposes only modern science is authentic knowledge must be debunked. If the ID debate can be a catalyst in this direction then it will have served a good purpose.

ID_Series

The Eleventh Beatitude

Second Sunday of Easter, April 23

Acts 4:32-35; Psalm 118:2-4, 13-15, 22-24; 1 John 5:1-6; John 20:19-31

There are more than eight beatitudes. In fact, Jesus gives at least ten during his public ministry. There are the traditional eight beatitudes of the Sermon on the Mount (Mt 5: 1-12). Then there is the beatitude that Jesus gives when he teaches the crowd what it means to be part of his family: “Blessed are they that hear the word of God and keep it.” (Luke 11:28). Jesus’ admonition on watchfulness is the tenth beatitude: “Blessed are these servants whom the Lord when he comes shall find watching” (Luke 12:37).

Today, the Resurrected Lord gives witness to the continuity between his earthly ministry and his resurrected life when he pronounces another beatitude: “Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed” (John 20:29). What Jesus is teaching the disciples, and through them, all of us, is that a real, living experience of the power of the Resurrected Lord is available to all who would “see” with the eyes of faith.

During Holy Week, Fr. Johndamaseni Zilimu, a Tanzanian priest studying at the University of Illinois, made an important distinction that to him was much clearer in our English language than in his native Swahili. I am referring to the distinction between “of” and “to” in these statements: “The disciples were witnesses of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.” And “The disciples became witnesses to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.” Fr. Johndamaseni’s point is that being a witness of something is to be able to report that it has happened, but being a witness to something (in this case to someone!) is quite different. It means being able to convey its meaning because one has a lived experience of the essence and reality of the event.

The disciples were witness of Jesus who became witnesses to Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit. We, who were not witnesses of Jesus’ public life, are called though to be witnesses to his life, death, and resurrection. This is possible by our lived experience of the power of the Resurrected Lord in our own hearts, minds, and lives.

This genuine encounter with the Risen Lord does for us what it did for the early Church. Through our relationship with him fear is overcome, peace is experienced, genuine community is formed, and we are set forth on a mission. With fear overcome and out of a strong and powerful communion, we are able to carry on the mission of Jesus to reveal to the world the merciful love of the Father.

Luke, today in the Acts of the Apostles, describes how this was indeed the life of the earliest Christian community (cf. Acts 4:32-35). This passage should also describe our Christian community today: a people of one mind and heart in the Lord, serving the common good especially those most in need (cf. Acts 4:32).

If we live this new “way”, this new life in Christ, we will become as individuals and as a community, witnesses to the Resurrected Lord. As the old gospel hymn reminds us: “He lives! He lives! Christ Jesus lives today! He walks with me and talks with me along life’s narrow way. He lives! He lives! Salvation to impart. You ask me how I know He lives? He lives within my heart.” In other words, people will know that Jesus is alive by our communal and individual witness to that power at work in our lives. People will indeed know Him by our love.

It seems that the secret knowledge of gnosticism has always been with us but in various manifestations as times have changed. However, Dan Brown, Ron Howard, and National Geographic are doing what they can to bring back the original version. Here is Msgr. Swetland’s response to National Geographic:

What Should Christians Make of the Gospel of Judas?

Rev. Msgr. Stuart W. Swetland, S.T.D.

On Palm Sunday of this year, the National Geographic Channel ran a program on the Gospel of Judas. This was preceded a few days earlier by a press conference announcing the results of an effort to restore, authenticate, and translate the document, written in an ancient Egyptian script known as Coptic. The tenor of the media coverage implies that this was a long suppressed Christian gospel that provides a competing view of Judas and Christ. The questions that many of my students have been asking me are “What is this document?” and “What does it mean for the Christian faith?”

Until about 30 years ago the Gospel of Judas was known only through a reference in the work of an early defender of orthodox Christianity St. Irenaeus, the Bishop of Lyon. In his book Against Heresies written about A.D. 180, St. Irenaeus called it a “fictitious history.” To understand the significance of this document, we should look at the document and who produced it.

A group of experts, assembled and financed through the National Geographic Society, have determined that the document is almost certainly a 3^rd to 4^th century Coptic translation of a second century Greek text. The Gospel is composed of 13 papyrus pages, written on both sides, and is in very poor condition, with significant segments of the text missing. There is reason to believe that the original document may have been much longer. The text begins: “The secret account of the revelation that Jesus spoke in conversation with Judas Iscariot during a week three days before he celebrated Passover.” The rest of the document generally corresponds to Irenaeus’ description and what is called gnosticism in general.

Irenaeus writes of the Gospel of Judas:

They [the gnostics] declare that Judas the traitor was thoroughly acquainted with these things [basic gnostic teachings], and that he alone, knowing the truth as no others did, accomplished the mystery of the betrayal; by him all things, both earthly and heavenly, were thus thrown into confusion. They produce a fictitious history of this kind, which they style the Gospel of Judas.

What is gnosticism? It is an ancient near-east mystery cult whose teachings and practices are very similar to much of what we call today “new age” spirituality. It took various forms, but it originates from early Greek philosophy implanted first into Judaism and then Christianity. In general, gnostics of the Christian era believed the God of the Old Testament was the evil creator of the world and that the God of the New Testament, Jesus’ Father, was the good, higher God who was in conflict with the creator. Thus, the material world was evil and the body a prison from which one was to escape through enlightenment. To these gnostics, Jesus was a gnostic teacher who came to earth to provide gnosis, a secret knowledge through which a chosen few would be enlightened and whose souls would escape to the heavenly places.

In the Gospel of Judas, Jesus is portrayed as condescending to his disciples who are not enlightened and so have no chance of being “saved” as the Gnostics understood salvation. Judas was the only one who showed he had the required knowledge. Thus, Judas alone was worthy, and so Jesus set him apart to help in his plan. However, the Gospel of Judas suggests the plan was not to save all of humanity but to help Jesus escape from entrapment in his material body by delivering him up to crucifixion. The dialogue between Jesus and Judas is aimed at undermining the authority of the Church and Christianity itself.

Thus, the Gospel of Judas certainly is no gospel. It is not “good news.” It portrays a deceptive, elitist Jesus who came only to save a few like-minded individuals. This is not a sect of Christianity; it is a completely different religion. The Apostles who witnessed Jesus’ healing ministry, His appearances after the Resurrection, and the sending of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost testified to a much different Jesus whose mission opened the way of salvation to all, not just a few. An unbroken Christian witness to this truth, through the successors of the Apostles, is what allowed St. Irenaeus and the other leaders of the early Church to confidently dismiss the gnostic Jesus as a fraud.

What can Christians today take away from the Gospel of Judas? Simply the confidence of this same witness and the sure knowledge that the Holy Spirit continues to work through the Church, the community of believers in friendship with God. St. Irenaeus and other Christians knew that this purported gospel was a fraud because they knew Jesus personally and intimately through prayer and the celebration of the Sacraments. Thus, they saw, as anyone can today who knows the Lord, that the Jesus of the Gospel of Judas is not the Jesus of Nazareth they know and love.

An ”artsy” horror movie which is currently being filmed in Austin Texas has some neighborhood residents concerned. The movie script has been reviewed by The Texas Film Commission which said the film is a “legitimate” movie and is expected to get an “R” rating.

“We were given script pages of the film, and we read this, and in no way does it meet the criteria of a pornographic endeavor,” Texas Film Commission Director Bob Hudgins said. “This leaves things to facial reactions, and there are acts of violence that do happen in the film, but there is not graphic sexual content in this film whatsoever.”

Hudgins says the state does not support pornographers nor do they help them make movies in Texas.

So what is so strange about this movie called, “Teeth”?

“It’s just terrible. It’s not hardcore as I would understand such a thing, but it is not fit for humans to see or children. I don’t know who the audience would be for a movie like this,” Chisum said.

“Then when I found out that it would have porno shots in it, and it going to have stimulation of ******* and that type of thing in there, nuh-huh, that ain’t gonna to get it. I was deceived,” resident Michael Hoover said.

Well, if you haven’t guessed it by now, I think it’s pretty obvious that this “coming-of-age” mainstream horror movie about a woman with teeth in her vagina. There has been no mention of a release date as of yet.

source

The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), one of Canada’s largest unions, has denied the request of a Roman catholic employee her right to exercise a collective agreement that is contained in it’s own constituion. PSAC’s committment to support the Bill C-38 to legalize gay marriage goes against Susan Comstock’s personal beliefs, and is therefore entitled a protection by the PSAC.

“It’s collective agreement contains a clause allowing a member to divert their dues to charity for reasons of religious or conscience, the union refused to grant Ms. Comstocks’ request, saying the clause did not apply to her.”

“PSAC openly supports homosexuality. The union urges all levels of government to “recognize and protect lesbian and gay relationships and families.” The union’s policy on sexual orientation, PSAC policy 31, states: “Internally, the Alliance will create a Union in which there is zero tolerance of homophobia and heterosexism.”

“Heterosexism” is defined by the union as “the presumption that everyone is heterosexual and that heterosexuality is superior to other forms of loving.”

Comstock has filed for a federal judicial review of the Canadian Human Rights Commission. This commission was to investigate her complaint against the PSAC union, but for some reason, it stopped the investigation, saying “the Catholic Church does not forbid trade union membership“. Besides this making no sense at all, I guess this line of bull is just as good as any other.

“Politicians have assured us that freedom of religion and freedom of conscience will be respected in the application of Bill C-38,” Comstock told the Catholic Civil Rights League. “My experience suggests that these so-called protections can prove very limited for those who actually try to exercise them.”

It has gotten to the point that many “officials” in Canada don’t even try to hide the fact that there is no room for tolerance towards those who think or believe differently from themselves; those heterophobic homosexists!

Source

Late as usual, but since we are still in the octave, liturgically this is still the celebration of Easter Sunday. Here is Msgr. Swetland’s reflection on the Easter Sunday readings:

Jesus Christ is Risen; He is Truly Risen!

Easter Sunday, April 16

Acts 10:34a, 37-43; Psalm 118:1-2, 16-17, 22-23; Colossians 3:1-4; John 20:1-9

Two short weeks ago we celebrated the first anniversary of the death of our beloved Pope, John Paul II. Five years before his death, during his pilgrimage to the Holy Land for the Jubilee year, Pope John Paul said Mass at Our Lord’s tomb in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem and proclaimed these words: “Jesus Christ is risen! He is truly risen!” This is the Easter gospel.

I recently returned from a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, where I too was privileged to offer the Sacrifice of the Mass in the enclosed space that surrounds the Tomb. Inside this tiny enclosure, there is an altar set up directly over the spot where Jesus’ body was laid. It is an awesome experience to celebrate Mass, the Resurrection feast, at the very physical location that saw Jesus rise from the dead.

Our reading from John’s Gospel recounts the discovery by Mary Magdalene, and subsequently, by Peter and the Beloved Disciple, that Jesus’ tomb was empty. The state of the empty tomb was such that it had a profound effect on St. John, the Beloved Disciple. John reports that upon viewing the arrangement of the burial cloths, he saw and believed. Scholars differ on exactly what the Greek text suggests about their arrangement, but it is clear from the context that when the Beloved Disciple saw them, he believed that Jesus had risen from the dead.

Jesus’ resurrection is the fundamental truth of the Christian faith. St. Paul says that if Jesus has not been raised, then our faith is in vain; we are the most pitiable of all men (1 Cor 15:16-19). While John came to believe in this truth from the empty tomb, the other disciples required additional proof. Except for Thomas, they saw Him in the locked upper room. Thomas even demanded to see and touch Jesus in the resurrected flesh before he would believe.

Eventually, the early Church did come to understand and believe in the fact of Jesus’ resurrection. The Easter event is proof that what He promised has indeed come true. The resurrection reveals His victory over Satan, over sin and over death, the ancient enemies of mankind. Through the Cross and Resurrection, we are made whole. The first disciples and other early Christians were so convinced of this truth that they risked death in order to witness this Good News to the rest of the world. Many of them willingly embraced suffering and martyrdom in this cause.

Today, we do not have the physical evidence of Jesus’ resurrection that He made available to the Apostles, but we do have the unbroken succession of professing Christians who for 2000 years have born witness, some in their blood, to this astonishing truth. God became Man, died, and rose from the dead in order to rescue mankind from the eternal death ushered into the world with sin. Christ died for our sins and was raised for our justification.

We stand here, two millennia later, taking our places in this unbroken line of witnesses. We too have died with Him and have been raised with Him through baptism (cf. Col 3:1-4). We share in His victory as we recommit ourselves to Him today in the renewal of our baptismal promises. This Easter Sunday, we contemplate this awesome truth for ourselves and proclaim it from the housetops. He is risen! He is risen indeed!

I saw this story on the Prolife With Christ website and thought how well it represented so many activist nuts in the feminist abortion industry. Sally Jacobsen who is a professor of women’s studies at the University of Northern Kentucky was “dismissed from her post” after she lead a group of students who vanadlized and destroyed a campus approved pro-life display. In all of her wisdon, Jacobsen felt justified by her destructive impulses because she became “emotional” and angered over something that she compared to Nazi displays. These horrid things were not the images of bloody Planned Parenthood victims. What she saw that unleashed the gates of hell in her gut was a field of white crosses that symbolized a cemetery for aborted children. Truth has a way of doing that to people who live their own world of lies and deception.

Any violence perpetrated against that silly display was minor compared to how I felt when I saw it. Some of my students felt the same way, just outraged,  Jacobsen said.

Pulling up the crosses was similar to citizens taking down Nazi displays on Fountain Square, she said.

Jacobsen admitted to inciting students: I did, outside of class during the break, invite students to express their freedom-of-speech rights to destroy the display if they wished to. She said the crosses were a  slap in the face to women who might be making the agonizing and very private decision to have an abortion.

Are you kidding me? Logic is apparently not the strong suit of those whose will to power includes snuffing out the lives of the innocent. According to this educated professor, our freedom of speech includes vandalism and repressing the rights of others. Since when is TRUTH “a slap in the face”, but that is an unfair question for Jacobsen since she won’t recognize truth if it “slapped her in the face”.

The Northern, an independent Student Publication of Northern Kentucky University reported:

Approximately 10 students accompanied Jacobsen to the crosses and helped her to remove them. The group knocked the crosses down and piled them in trashcans around the plaza, and removed the “Cemetery of Innocents” sign.

Police arrived at 7:15 p.m. and found the crosses in trash cans throughout campus, according to David Tobergte, an administrative sergeant with the University Police. Tobergte said once those responsible for the vandalism of the crosses are identified, they could face felony theft charges. If those responsible for the vandalism are students, then they will also face university sanctions.

Media Credit: Sarah Loman

Klan Parenthood (the hood in parenthood) WARNING EXTREMELY GRAPHIC- Truth isn’t always easy to look at, that being said, this site is NOT for everyone.

A federal judge ruled Tuesday that abortion clinic doctors and other professionals are not required under Kansas law to report underage sex between consenting youths. From what was stated in the article, I gather that underage sex should be reported only with children age 11 and under. That’s reassuring, I’m sure there are a lot of “hot and bothered” 12 year olds out there that just so happen to be sexually active and have the maturity to make a decision as to whether or not they want sex.

Health professionals must be able to work in confidence to appropriately treat young patients, the judge wrote.

“This case certainly is not about promoting sexual promiscuity among underage persons,” he wrote. “Each and every witness testified that underage sex should be discouraged. No witness suggested that sexual intercourse under the age of 12 should not be reported.”

The law “recognizes that sexual activity among underage persons occurs, and that any such activity that injures the minor will be reported,” the judge wrote.

Simon Heller, attorney for the Center for Reproductive Rights, called the ruling an important victory for young people.

I wonder why so many adults seem to embrace the idea of sexually active children. The Ghoolish and creepy Hell(er) goes on to say with pride:

“It is the first ruling recognizing the United States Constitution gives protection — constitutional protection — to the informational privacy rights of young people in health care,” Heller said.

You probably noticed I have not posted in a few days…well maybe not. We were gone this weekend and did not make it back until late Sunday night. Then I was scrambling to put together lectures for Monday class, so I have only quickly looked at the blog since Thursday.

We went travelled East for Easter. We did not get into town until late Friday night so I did not have to explain why I could not go to a Good Friday liturgy in which the Passion Narrative was replaced by a Passion Play, cast of 10s with costumes and all. This turned out to be the 25th anniversary of the Passion play…yes, I guess that means they are stuck in the 1980s.

We went to the 10:30 am Mass. To be fair, there were a couple of songs that were not too bad. However, there were many more that help define the category of insipid and banal liturgical music. Here are some examples (for those who do not read music, consider yourselves fortunate…my apologies to you who do).

Besides the normal St. Louis Jesuit fare that you get from your not so favorite GIA or OCP hymnals, like “This is the Day” for the Responsorial refrain (this song is actually from the late 1960s and is perhaps one reason that I had such an involuntary negative reaction to folks I considered “religious” for so many years), we had some other very special songs that help define the banal genre:

There are many good songs to “ring” the Gloria back into the Mass after the long Lenten pause. However, we got this one instead, complete with a “ringing” instrument that reminded me of an old Ma’ Bell phone with the ringer stuck on:

O.k., but that was simply banal. The Gospel Acclamation, sung after the Gospel as well (and they were heartless enough to warn us that we had it coming for a third time) was down right insipid. This beauty came complete with the congregation doing what was explained to me as Halleluia in American Sign Language…though I am not sure that the hand clapping is part of ASL.

So I guess I should not be complaining about my last example. If you like bluesy gospel music, then you might have actually enjoyed, aesthetically, the Memorial Acclamation. However, it is very much out of place in the liturgy. It is like enjoying anchovies. However, there is an aesthetic clash when you have them on ice cream (unless you are pregnant I suppose):

Having expressed my displeasure, let me say that I do not dismiss the effort that even misguided liturgists put into preparing for Holy Week. Though I do pray that soon, through a renewed effort of prayer and education, those of good will who have been raised incorrectly may turn their efforts toward giving Catholics a more authentic, a more transcendent experience of the Mass.

How was your Easter Liturgy?

The executive director of the Maryland Catholic Conference, Richard J. Dowling, was upset over the “palpable sense of anti- Catholicism”, that occurred in the state’s recently completed legislative session. Wins for the lobbyists included the defeat of the emergency contraception bill and an approval for the increase in the minimum wage.

‘”There’s a lot of hatred out there for what we stand for and what we do,” said Dowling, who declined to name specific lawmakers. He said religious bigotry was evident in a hearing about a bill opposed by the church that would have greatly expanded the statute of limitations for filing civil suits in child-abuse cases.’

‘Nearly all of the 40 people who testified in favor of the bill said they were abused by Catholic clergy. “We know over 90 percent of child abuse occurs in the home,” said Dowling, pointing out that the bill would not prevent abuse, help victims or ensure fairness.’

“Catholic ministers are no more likely to abuse children than (clergy) of other faiths or employers of private corporations, yet the sponsors saw fit to target the church,” he said. “It was blatantly, unapologetically anti-Catholic.” The bill never advanced in the General Assembly.

Nancy Fortier, the Maryland Catholic Conference associate director for the respect for life office, was called a liar for arguing that the stem-cell research bill permitted cloning and for her take that adult stem-cell research, which is favored by the church, has had far more success than embryonic stem-cell research.

“I represented an obstacle and they didn’t like it,” she said. “We stood for the truth and we shined a light on what they were doing.”

Despite the arguements against embryonic stem-cell research, funding was approved and signed into law by Republican Gov. Ehrlich Jr. A measure to amend the Maryland Constitution to recognize marriage as solely between a man and a woman was defeated.

As far as the success of embryonic stem cell vs. adult stem cell research goes, being called a liar for stating that there is more success in adult stem cells just goes to show that hot air takes precedence over brains in the windy Maryland General Assembly. I wonder how many of these politicians are aware they are now on Opus Dei’s “secret” list, and we all know what happens when they get on “The List”.

(Edited – Thanks Charles!)

Source

A Zogby survey was taken from March 31 to April 3.  The Catholic respondents in the Zogby survey numbered 2,055 persons. The survey’s Catholic data have a margin of error of 2.2 percentage points. More than 40 percent of the nation’s 67 million Catholics are Hispanic. 

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states: “The more prosperous nations are obliged, to the extent they are able, to welcome the foreigner in search of the security and the means of livelihood which he cannot find in his country of origin. …     ”Political authorities … may make the exercise of the right to immigrate subject to various juridical conditions, especially with regard to the immigrants’ duties toward their country of adoption. Immigrants are obliged to respect with gratitude the material and spiritual heritage of the country that receives them, to obey its laws and to assist in carrying civic burdens.”

Results:

“Do you support or oppose amnesty for undocumented workers who are already in the U.S.? 34 percent of Catholics said they support it, 49 percent oppose it and 15 percent were unsure. (Compared to Fifty-two percent of Americans overall oppose amnesty while 32 percent support it).

In the Zogby survey, age made a difference in Catholic attitudes. Forty-five percent of Catholics ages 18-29 supported amnesty compared with 23 percent of those older than 60.

 A question on whether immigration quotas from certain countries should be tightened? 36.6 percent saying yes, 47.6 percent saying no and 16.8 percent not sure.

“Catholics appear to be slightly to the left of the American public at large on the issue of immigration,” said Zogby spokesman Fritz Wenzel, adding they are not as liberal as the U.S. bishops, who have issued six pastoral letters on immigration in the past 20 years.

Washington Times Source

Married couples in the U.K. could be held accountable and face large fines in the divorce courts if they were found to “behave badly” towards their spouse. Experts fear that this could create a culture of blame in the courts, where there is already a greater use of private detectives.

Example: Alan and Melissa Miller were married less than three years, had no children and had a very comfortable lifestyle. The husband was ordered to pay his wife £5 million (what ever this amounts to, 5 million of anything is a lot!). The court ruled that Mrs Miller had “an expectation” of a high standard of living and the old man was partly to blame for the end of the relationship. “In simple terms, committing adultery – the biggest reason behind divorce – could cost its perpetrator dearly.”

Source Article with U.K Statistics

Sexually segregating schools is a current trend that has shown positive results in typically poor preforming schools around the country. To date, there are currently 209 schools providing same-sex class rooms and 44 of those are exclusively same-sex schools. It is believed that this allows the teachers to focus on specific teaching concepts and skills by recognizing the differences between boys and girls in their ability to learn, as well as minimizing the distractions associated with the raging hormones of growing teens. Right on cue, there are those who put their own agenda ahead of the welfare of children, this time being the goddess of feminism, Kim Gandy, who is insulted by the fact that females are not men.

Feminist Kim Gandy, head of the National Organization for Women, said schools should ignore so-called brain and sensory data distinguishing girls and boys, which she calls “rubbish.”

“Yeah, there are brain differences. So what? Men’s brains are bigger; they used to think that meant they were smarter. But that turned out not to be true,” Gandy told the Post-Tribune of Merrillville for a story published Sunday.

Leonard Sax is a psychologist and writer who leads the National Association for the Advancement of Single Sex Public Education and his belief is that, “the curriculum must be tailored to fit the gender. There’s no such thing as a child; there are only boys and girls.”

Advocates of segregated schooling believe nature itself tags boys and girls with special qualities imprinted on their very brains and senses. Sax thinks girls’ senses of smell and hearing are more finely developed, while boys see better.

William Pollack, a Harvard University psychologist, has reviewed the research about the brain and behavioral differences, but said environmental factors “have a greater influence on children than genetics“ , but still supports “thoughtfully experimenting with same-gender education.”

I don’t believe this program is needed in all situations, but it has shown to be effective in areas where the school system has failed the children. It only makes sense that if there are less distractions and more student specific teaching methods, children will benefit from same-sex class rooms/schools. The agenda minded activists, such as Gandy, have nothing to back up there delusional desire for an androgynous society other than the denial of nature and the habitual tendency of burying their head in the dirt.

Source

A Catholic Church along with a group of marriage guidance counsellors came together to condemn internet sites that are catered to married people who want to have extra-marital affairs.

According to a cheaters website, that currently has 770,000 registered users:

“Infidelity is nothing new, it has been around as long as marriage itself,” said Darren Morgenstern, from Ashley Madison. “What makes it controversial is the fact that we are open and up front about it. “The success of the site speaks of people who want to use our services and need a service like ours. “Of course from an outside perspective you could say we are making cheating easier, but the reality is that people don’t suddenly cheat because it is easy, it is like saying hotels and motels make it easier to cheat.”

I don’t think the only controversy over these websites are that they are “open and up front about it”, but that they are brokers of free prostitution. We are not talking about emotions, temptation, etc…, which are sometimes involved in extramarital affairs. This is a means of a premeditated sexual encounter with a perfect stranger. It’s an illness.

“They use us as a plaster, so they can do this without breaking their marriage, and we are very keen on keeping marriages together.”

 

On the eve of Easter Sunday, the Welsh Catholic Church slammed the website, which is planning to advertise in newspapers and on television, and criticised the media, such as soaps like EastEnders, for undermining family life in the same way.

I think the manifestation of undermining the family unit started long ago with the acceptance of condoms, contraceptives, abortion and divorce. Throughout the generations of desecrating the sacredness of the sexual act, it is no surprise that the very supernatural power meant to bring a married couple together, is now at the root of tearing them apart.

source

Cesare Cavalleri is a member of the “secretive and socially ultra-conservative“, Opus Dei and an editor of a magazine call Studi Cattolici, which is neither an officical or unofficial publication of the organization. Because of this “connection”, the media will most likely try to link it to Opus Dei and Roman Catholics. Here is an article titled “Italian Catholic magazine apologizes over new Mohammed cartoon.”

An Italian magazine has infuriated Muslims by publishing a cartoon showing the Prophet Mohammed cut in half and burning in Hell.

The drawing appears in Studi Cattolici, a monthly magazine with links to the ultra-conservative Roman Catholic group, Opus Dei. It shows the poets Virgil and Dante on the edge of a circle of flame looking down on Mohammed.

“Isn’t that man there, split in two from head to navel, Mohammed?” Dante asks Virgil.

“Yes and he is cut in two because he has divided society,” Virgil replies. “While that woman there, with the burning coals, represents the politics of Italy towards Islam.”

More

In her new book, “In the Name of Love”, Melissa Panarello quotes comments by the Pope and passages of doctrine and challenges them with examples designed to show people cannot and should not live by the teachings of the Catholic church.

“This book was born of rage, a rage that was born about a year ago when the death of John Paul II and the election of Benedict XVI accentuated a religious fundamentalism which I thought only existed in the history books,” she said. Panarello, who has rejected criticism from politicians who say she has no right to preach to the Church, accused the Vatican of a narrow view of sex.

“Bishops talk a lot about life, but it doesn’t seem to me that they know much about fundamental elements of life like sexuality,” Panarello, who has sold more than 3 million books in 42 countries, told reporters.

“In The Name Of Love”, attacks the Church’s view of sex, which is a real joke coming from a 20 year old girl who never matured beyond her adolescent years. Her distorted view of sex is pornographic and irresponsible in nature and as can be expected, she defends abortion, divorce and homosexuality. In her book, 100 Strokes of the Brush Before Bed, she writes, “I search for excitement born from humiliation. I search for annihilation.”

Love vs humiliation and annihilation? Who has the “narrow view of Sex”? Melissa really needs some therapy to help her grow up and to help her control those sadomasochistic impulses.

Source

An estimated seven Filipino “devotees” were nailed to crosses during the annual Good Friday re-enactments of Jesus Christ’s final hours. This ritual is opposed by religious leaders in the Philippines but has become one of the country’s most attended “summer attractions” which was attended by approximately 15,000 people. 

‘The Roman Catholic devotees were crucified in batches, their palms and feet attached to crosses with 10-centimetre nails soaked in alcohol to prevent infection, to repent sins, pray for a sick relative or fulfil a vow, organizers said. Seven devotees underwent the ritual and a handful more were planning to do so later Friday, organizers said.

Ruben Enaje, 45, a commercial sign maker, was nailed to the cross for the 20th time. Enaje has said it is his way of thanking God for miraculously surviving a fall from a building when he was a construction worker.

 A British national, Dominic Diamond, had planned on being nailed to the cross in,  ”hoping to find his lost faith in God.”  He had prayed to God to be healed of his insomnia which has persisted after prayer.”So I thought this was such a simple thing to ask and he could not do it,” Diamond added, explaining his waning faith. When he heard about the crucifixions in San Pedro Cutud, he said realized “these people were the opposite thing, people who were so sure in their faiths.” “But after carrying his cross from the village centre, he backed out when it came time for the nails to go into his flesh, weeping as he pressed his head to the cross and prayed.”

 

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines warned that “the traditions of flagellation and crucifixion during Holy Week trace their roots to animism and are not approved by the church.”

Source

Photo Credit – travelphotographer