Sunday, July 30, 2006

Penance

Sometimes called the Sacrament of Reconciliation. That is what Mr. Mel Gibson has probably done or will be doing so considering his strong Catholic faith. I love all the sacraments that are available to me and penance is certainly one that I cannot do without. When Father says "I absolve you of all your sins", it feels as if I've just been showered with grace as my sins fall away from my stained soul.
"Penance is a sacrament of the New Law instituted by Christ in which forgiveness of sins committed after baptism is granted through the priest's absolution to those who with true sorrow confess their sins and promise to satisfy for the same."
I wish everyone a wonderful Sunday evening. To learn more about the Sacrament of Penance click here.
Wednesday, July 26, 2006

Working Away from Home

I just started on a new contract away from Houston so I've been busy getting over the learning curve. Once I'm settled down a bit more I'll return to blogging regularly. I'd like to add that my prayer to St. Joseph was the catalyst that help me land this job.
"O St. Joseph whose protection is so great, so strong, so prompt before the Throne of God, I place in you all my interests and desires. O St. Joseph do assist me by your powerful intercession and obtain for me from your Divine Son all spiritual blessings through Jesus Christ, Our Lord; so that having engaged here below your Heavenly power I may offer my Thanksgiving and Homage to the most Loving of Fathers. O St. Joseph, I never weary contemplating you and Jesus asleep in your arms. I dare not approach while He reposes near your heart. Press him in my name and kiss His fine Head for me, and ask Him to return the Kiss when I draw my dying breath. St. Joseph, Patron of departing souls, pray for us."
Amen.
Saturday, July 22, 2006

The Law of Disproportionality

Todays Pic-of-the-Day. The European response to Israel defending themselves after Hezbollah invades and then sends rocket attacks on its civilian population.

(H/T Eurabian News (Spanish))

Eurabian News has some excellent photos of an anti-Semitic rally in Spain. It's amazing how all the nutjobs in Spain have come out since the pro-homosexual socialist Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero took over power when Spanish voters voted him into office on the 'surrender to Islam' platform after the 3/11 Atocha train bombings.

Click here for the anti-Semitic rally in Spain from Eurabian News.

Look below or click here for an excellent map of the scale of the Hezbollah-Israeli War.

Russian Orthodox Moves Towards the Vatican

In what I consider a major development, the Russian Orthodox Church in an Ordinary Synod held last week has voted to continue to dialogue with the Catholic Church. Engaging the Church on theology, Europe, and bioethics to name a few. The Orthodox church's are the only church's that are the closest with our Catholic faith. I can see a reunion of our ancient faiths within my lifetime more than I can say for any other denomination that the Catholic Church is in dialogue with.

To learn more about this breaking news click here.

Can I Live by Nick Cannon

I first saw this music video a few months back on EWTN and was quite surprised at how well the lyrics explained Nick Cannons near death experience of nearly being aborted by his mother. You see, Nick Cannon was barely two months old when his mother entered an abortion mill to abort little Nick. In the end she decided not to (at the last possible moment) and today we have a twentysomething Nick Cannon celebrating that decision in his music video. The music video is a rap/hip hop genre, but don't worry, it's a G-rated video that is well done for all ages. You can click here for the lyrics. (H/T Stand Up and Speak Out) For the video click here. One more thing, I caught this video from Stand Up and Speak Out. Check out Katelyn's new design and web address of her blog!
Thursday, July 20, 2006

The Ignorance of Senator Harkin

I believe that may be the harshest language I have ever used on my blog about anyone or anything. Well, Senator Ted Kennedy is an American idiot, that is without question and has been stated before on this blog. It is difficult for me to use such language on those that hold a special place of responsibility, but when one is Catholic and distorts or completely lies about his faith, I react. This is not an excuse, so I'll need to continue to pray for me and Senator Harkin. Nonetheless this draws attention to the ignorance of Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa. He criticizes President Bush's veto by using history as his hammer to drive a point. Comparing the Pope and the Ayatollah is disgusting, but to incorrectly state history and compare it to what President Bush has done has shown the sheer ignorance of his faith, yes, our Catholic faith. For Senator Harkin is a Catholic, albeit, a cafeteria or nominal Catholic at best. For a senator that votes to allow doctors to kill babies that are 80% born is unfathomable, then to pull the morality card on President Bush by using incorrect history. . . No, a bigoted, ie, anti-Catholic view of history is disheartening. . . From a Catholic no less!!! To read the Catholic League's response to Senator Harkins ignorant use of history click here. The Catholic League is a religious and civil rights organization for Catholics. For their website click here.

Ford Loses $123 Million After Supporting Homosexuality

OK, maybe there is some link to the reason why Ford Motor Company is losing money, but God works in mysterious ways in dealing with those that contradicts love, which is a reflection of God. Ford lost $123 million in the 2nd quarter which they attribute due to their dependence on sales of SUV's. That may be true to some extent, but nonetheless their support of homosexual causes will cause further erosion of their market share and bottom line. We need to continue the boycott of all things Ford to send a message that their support of a deviant lifestyle will not be tolerated and taken lightly. We need to at least try. For my previous article on Ford and their support of homosexual causes click here. For the article in question click here. To learn what you can do to help prevent the spread of deviancy creeping into the family click here. (American Family Association)

Zapatero Seduced by Evil

Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero has thrown his lot with the devil that is Hezbollah, Hamas, and militant Islam by condemning Israeli use of force. Thus creating a moral equivalency by an Islamic terrorist organization such as Hezbollah that murdered 241 U.S. serviceman in a 1983 Beirut bombing blast. Here Zapatero is shown wearing the kaffiyeh, a Palestinian scarf, in solidarity with militant Islam. Prime Minister Zapatero has been seduced by the devil and has thrown his lot with evil. Among his other actions as Spain's Prime Minister is to sanctify homosexual marriage and in an act of disrespect stood up the Pope at a Mass for the Family. Hence today's Pic-of-the-Day. To read the article click here.

Spiritual Weapons of Warfare

Sometimes, when I was barely a nominal Catholic, I often asked what is it that the Catholic Church could do for me. Well, it's not what the Church can do for me, but what we must do for our Lord and Savior. Though there are tools at our disposal to use to fight boredom, idleness, and slothfulness which easily slides into greater evils. Hence today's Saintly Quote of the Day by Saint Josemaría Escrivá:
"Absence, isolation: trials for your perseverance. Holy Mass, prayer, sacraments, sacrifices, Communion of Saints: weapons to conquer in the trial." --The Way
To read more from Saint Josemaría Escrivás The Way click here.

2006 Millstone & Devotion to Orthodoxy Awards Preview

The 2006 Millstone & Devotion to Orthodoxy Awards will become an annual event on this blog beginning later this year. I will be offering awards in multiple categories to recognize the good and bad of our Catholic faith in the United States and the rest of the world. The idea is to have some fun in mocking the bad in our faith as well as honoring the good. For example in the category of the Clerical Millstone, I will be considering priests, nuns, bishops, cardinals, and other religious around the world that have led the faithful astray by their words and deeds. Cardinal Mahony and Bishop Brown come immediately to mind. The good of our faith would be in several categories such as the Clerical Devotion to Orthodox category where we have Cardinal Arinze and Cardinal Pell leading in that category so far. I will be recognizing both religious and laity throughout world. We need to clean our Catholic closet of those who do harm to our faith and children as well as recognize the good that deserve to be noted for their strong faith. Cowardice: Those leaders that willingly and knowingly revert to do nothing to fix blatant problems, or worse, cover up problems that go against Catholic teaching. Example - Bishop Grahamm of the Diocese of Dallas who covered up a sex scandal instead of defrocking the homosexual predator priest. Devotion to Orthodoxy: Those leaders that faithfully, with conviction, and without exception follow their faith despite the world around them with love and confidence. Example - The Bishop of Lincoln, NE who doesn’t cut corners of the faith. Martyr: Those leaders that die for their faith and/or because of their faith. Example - Father Andrea Santoro of Turkey who died celebrating Mass by a fanatical Muslim. Orthopraxy: Those leaders that is orthodox in their private faith but lack the will to lead in public. Example - Archbishop Flynn who is known to be orthodox but does nothing to fix the problems in his Archdiocese of St. Paul-Minneapolis. Holiness: Those leaders that live the life of alter Christus. Example - Pope Benedict XVI. I will take suggestions, petitions, and any other advice that will assist me in recognizing those that are worthy (or worthless). Each category will have two awards, one for religious and one for the laity.
Tuesday, July 18, 2006

The Quotable St. Augustine of Hippo

St. Augustine is one of the Doctors of the Church. A high honor bestowed on those that have contributed greatly to the patrimony of our Christian faith. St. Augustine (354-430 AD)lived as a libertine while his pious mother, St. Monica, prayed and fasted for him until the day arrived that he converted. Within the year his mother passed away a content and happy mother. Well, I have come across a multitude of quotes that I have found inspiring. Here is one that is today's Quote of the Day: "The purpose of all wars, is peace." --St. Augustine of Hippo
Monday, July 17, 2006

Denouncing Guilty White Liberal Multicultural Claptrap

Guilty-white-liberal is a name that I picked up years ago while reading Colin Powell's autobiography. Basically it is a white liberal who leads an amoral and empty life who is white. He hates himself and it manifests itself in rantings against his Christian upbringing. Anyways, one of the manifestations is that all religions (culture, same thing) are basically equal and the same and brings moral equivalency to two disparate points that are laughable. One of these manifestations is that of multiculturism. Where all cultures are force fed down our Judeo-Christian throats while ignoring (at best) and vilifying our own faith. This needs to stop and it stops by being proactive in educating ourselves and our children since the public school system and to a lesser extent the Catholic school system has done a poor job of it. (H/T relapsed catholic) For more on this article click here.

The End of the Episcopal Church in America

First the ordination of an openly homosexual to a bishopric then the slap in the face to the Anglican Communion by elevating a woman to the primate position of the ECUSA. I can safely say that I won’t see the Anglican Church returning to the Catholic fold within my lifetime, and I plan to live to 125 God willing. Liberal Christianity, it’s hollow and unfulfilling. For more on the end of the Episcopal Church click here.
Friday, July 14, 2006

Israel Has A Right To Defend Itself

Two Israeli soldiers kidnapped by Hezbollah earlier this week emanating from southern Lebanon have violated numerous international agreements signed by a cabal of nations seven years ago to end the Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon. Israel's immediate demands for the unconditional release of their kidnapped soldiers were answered with Iranian made Katyusha rocket fire and indignation by Hezbollah. Hezbollah is funded by Syria and Iran. The latter wanting to 'wipe Israel off the map'. Hezbollah is a militant Islamic terrorist group wanting also to 'wipe Israel off the map'. Israel rightfully retaliated in their massive bombing campaign into southern Lebanon. The usual 'outcry' of liberal, leftists, and anti-Semitic governments such as Russia, China, and France have 'accused' Israel of inflaming the issue. What a bunch of guilty-white-liberal claptrap if I ever heard one; and I hear a lot from my liberal friends here in Houston. To learn more about the greater issue at stake click here.

To help Israelis injured by these Katyusha rocket attacks click here.

To read more about the growing crisis in the Middle East aided by militant Islam click here. To learn more about the Islam click here.

Disgraced Bishop Grahmann To Offer Resignation

The Diocese of Dallas Bishop Charles Grahmann will offer his mandatory resignation tomorrow when he turns 75 years of age. If Pope Benedict XVI accepts the bishops resignation, it will end a sorry saga of homosexual predators abusing young men and boys that was covered up by Bishop Grahmann.
"In the 1997 civil trial of Rudolph Kos, who molested altar boys at three Dallas parishes, a Dallas County jury decided that Grahmann and other church officials were "grossly negligent" and tried to cover up the abuse in its aftermath."
The article from the Dallas Morning News reported that the diocese has grown from 230,000 in 1990 to about 1 million today. Just goes to show you that a successful diocese is not measured by growth in numbers but in growth in quality of members. This can be measured by the number of vocations as well as the growth of lay movements-- outside of participating in Mass. Just because an archdiocese has shown growth in the past doesn't necessarily mean that the archbishop is successful. Liturgical abuse can be rampant throughout the archdiocese and there can been a drop in vocations as well. Nonetheless, Bishop Grahmann will soon be gone and a new, and hopefully a devotional orthodox disciplinarian bishop will soon rise to the Diocese of Dallas. For more on this article click here.

The Anti-Catholic Archdiocese of St. Paul & Minneapolis

Archbishop Flynn is running a pseudo-schismatic archdiocese in the frozen tundra. First he banishes Father Altier for his orthodoxy and tolerates open dissent among his own clergy... Publicly! Now an actual practicing Catholic, something rare it seems up in Minnesota, is criticizing a parish for promoting homosexual lifestyles and declaring the Bible has no value beyond telling a good story. This near anathema of a parish is St. Joan of Arc parish. This Catholic goes on to describe Archbishop Flynn as:
"The real scandal, the biggest scandal in all of this, is the fact that Archbishop [Harry] Flynn would allow this priest to do this,"
Wow, I thank God we have Archbishop DiNardo down here in the great Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. For more on this article click here. To view St. Joan of Arc's parish website click here.

Multicultural Claptrap at an End

With 'multiculturalism' replacing 'assimilation' as a paragon of liberal thought and sophistication, our country among others, are beginning to transform. Transform from a society and culture built on judeo-christian morals and principles to that of accepting sexual license and amoral behavior as a 'right' rather as a 'wrong'.
"Under the umbrella of 'multiculturalism' also shelter supporters of formerly objectionable lifestyles, notably gays and lesbians. The dogma of multiculturalism has shown itself to be incapable of distinguishing between social norms and social customs to the exasperation of many voters."
For more on this intriguing and insightful article click here.

Archbishop DiNardo Speaks to Young Adults at Café Catholica

Archbishop Daniel DiNardo spoke to a packed audience of Catholic young adults last night at Café Catholica. He was very engaging and quite knowledgeable of our Catholic faith. The topic he was speaking about was the Nicene & Apostle’s Creed. He referred to obedience several times regarding “I believe”. Anyways, I came away impressed with his photographic memory because of proficient recitings of the Bible from the Vulgate to Greek texts and explaining the subtleties between the different languages in reading the Bible. He seems to be very cultured and very orthodox in his Catholicism. Archbishop DiNardo concluded his speech and took questions from half a dozen Catholic young adults regarding the topic. To learn more about Café Catholica click here and here. For more information on his Excellency Archbishop Daniel N. DiNardo click here.
Monday, July 10, 2006

Liberal Christianity

The MSM keeps telling the Catholic Church to get with the times and we (Catholics & the Catholic Church) are outdated and antiquated. We need to 'change' in order to be relevant. Well liberal Christianity has wrecked havoc on the mainstream Protestant denominations and the Catholic Church isn't having anything of that. With dropping congregations, lax teachings, and falling morals (if any), liberal Christianity will eventually be another political organization full of militant lesbians and guilty white liberals effeminate males, read 'metro-sexual'. They will be liberal militants like the ACLU and NOW while passing out condoms and abortificants during their 'worship service'. May God, errr, Sophia help them. (H/T Built On A Rock) For more from the Op Ed of the LA Times on the downfall of liberal Christianity click here.

Boycott Ford Motor Company

I understand that there are so many corporations out there that promote liberal causes and anti-family initiatives that it may be futile to boycott, but every little bit helps in defense of God and family. Take Ford Motor Company, they are consistently promoting liberal causes and affiliated with homosexual bodies to pay homage to the PC crowd. There is a website dedicated to boycotting Ford and the boycott seems to be working to some degree. So don't feel helpless and vulnerable when your bank starts passing out "Gay is OK" coffee cups. Ford is hurting and the message is being sent. For more on boycotting ford click here. For more on the article on the affects of the Ford boycott click here.
Thursday, July 6, 2006

St. Anne de Beaupre Church (Houston)

St. Anne de Beaupre Church here in Houston is a small parish situated just south of 610 North inside the loop (north of I-10). Today I felt that I should visit this small parish with a quaint rectory and parish hall.

I left this morning from my home and it took no more than 10 minutes on a leisurely walk to reach this small church. I arrived early enough to pray the Rosary before the weekday group of parishioners arrived for their daily recital of the Rosary, so you could say I got a special two for one since I wasn't expecting the group at all. I found out later that they meet 15 minutes prior to weekday Mass which the Mass conveniently starts at 7:00 am each day.

Mass was celebrated by Father Emmanuel Esukpa M.S.P. It was respectful and the congregation was quite lively in there hymns and responsorials. Mass promptly and reverently ended at 7:25 am.

The exterior of the church is made of a reddish brick and looks quite proper would be the best way to describe it. The interior has a protestant feel to it, which is a major downer in my book, but the windows are of beautiful stain glass. There are many statues and the Tabernacle was properly placed behind the altar. Well almost directly behind, but much better than most 'Catholic' churches here in Houston. The church has a nice rustic feel to it, very homely so to speak.

For those that commute to work on 610 North and attend daily Mass, St. Anne de Beaupre Church is very convenient to reach with a great time to attend, 7:00 am. Just take the Main Street exit, whether you are heading east or west, and head east on the frontage road until you reach Link road. You can't miss it. It takes only a minute or two to exit 610 North to reach this nice little church. St. Anne de Beaupre is located on 2810 Link Road. In fact you can see it off of 610 North heading east onto the 45 South exit on your righthandside.

Anyways, it's a nice little treasure of a church that is an easy walk from my home or any commuters heading to work.

For more information on St. Anne de Beaupre Church click here.

For an area map of St. Anne de Beaupre Church click here.

Sunday, July 2, 2006

Anglican Communion Crackup

As many of you readers may already know, the Anglican Communion is inching painfully closer to a global schism. With the ECUSA, Episcopal Church USA, arrogantly appointing a female bishop as primate and ignoring Archbishop of Canterbury's overtures for homosexual restraint, it seems as if our separated brethren are on course for subdenominationalism. When centuries of Christian teaching states the intrinsically evil act of homosexual sex is to be condemned, then within a few short years a few Episcopalians in power decide to change dogma because of a few depraved souls, conflicts within the ECUSA will occur; with repercussions to be felt within the wider Anglican Communion. May God have mercy on our fallen and depraved separated brethren. For more about this fall from grace in the U.S. click here. For more about this fall from grace in the Canada click here.

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