Abortion Clinic Closes after Exorcism

From CatholicCulture.org:

“According to Kevin Rilott of the Rockford Pro-Life Initiative, the tide began to turn in 2009 when Bishop Thomas Doran granted priests permission to recite prayers of exorcism outside the Northern Illinois Women’s Center. At times, four priests would stand outside the four corners of the building and recite the prayers together.”

Exorcism prayers preceded closing of Illinois abortion clinic

Bishop Doran might be on to something here. Maybe this will catch on and more bishops will allow priests to exorcise the gods of the culture of death.

May Day

In 1955 Pope Pius XII established May 1st as the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker. On the modern Liturgical Calendar in use since the release of the 1970 Roman Missal this Feast Day ranks as a Memorial. The institution of this Feast by Pope Pius was in response to communist-backed “May Day” celebrations on the 1st of May and served to offer a Christian view of labor. Communism, and really Socialism as well, are incompatible with the Catholic faith and both have been repeatedly condemned by the Holy See:

To this goal also tends the unspeakable doctrine of Communism, as it is called, a doctrine most opposed to the very natural law. For if this doctrine were accepted, the complete destruction of everyone’s laws, government, property, and even of human society itself would follow.

Blessed Pope Pius IX, Qui Pluribus 16 – November 9, 1846

Hence we have reached the limit of horrors, to wit, communism, socialism, nihilism, hideous deformities of the civil society of men and almost its ruin. And yet too many attempt to enlarge the scope of these evils, and under the pretext of helping the multitude, already have fanned no small flames of misery. The things we thus mention are neither unknown nor very remote from us.

Pope Leo XIII, Diuturnum 23 – June 29, 1881

If Socialism, like all errors, contains some truth (which, moreover, the Supreme Pontiffs have never denied), it is based nevertheless on a theory of human society peculiar to itself and irreconcilable with true Christianity. Religious socialism, Christian socialism, are contradictory terms; no one can be at the same time a good Catholic and a true socialist.

Pope Pius XI, Quadragesimo Anno 120 – May 15, 1931

See to it, Venerable Brethren, that the Faithful do not allow themselves to be deceived! Communism is intrinsically wrong, and no one who would save Christian civilization may collaborate with it in any undertaking whatsoever. Those who permit themselves to be deceived into lending their aid towards the triumph of Communism in their own country, will be the first to fall victims of their error. And the greater the antiquity and grandeur of the Christian civilization in the regions where Communism successfully penetrates, so much more devastating will be the hatred displayed by the godless.

Pope Pius XI, Divini Redemptoris 58 – March 19, 1937

Now, the Catholic Church is no stranger to the cause of worker’s rights. The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us that “The catechetical tradition also recalls that there are “sins that cry to heaven”: … injustice to the wage earner” (CCC 1867). And when it comes to presenting a solid Christian view of labor I don’t believe that it should be any surprise that devotion to St. Joseph has long been the vehicle chosen to do so.

The Gospels present him as both “a righteous man” (Matthew 1:16, 18-21, 24a) and a laborer – Jesus is called “the carpenter’s son” (Matthew 13:54-58). The Church presents these passages to us on the Solemnity of St. Joseph (Gospel 1st Option) and on the Memorial of St. Joseph the Worker (Gospel) respectively. And notice that Pope Pius XI issued his encyclical condemning atheistic communism, Divini Redemptoris quoted above, on March 19th – the Solemnity of St. Joseph. A bit closer to our own day Pope John Paul II held up St. Joseph, as a laborer,  as a model of holiness for us all:

Work was the daily expression of love in the life of the Family of Nazareth. The Gospel specifies the kind of work Joseph did in order to support his family: he was a carpenter. This simple word sums up Joseph’s entire life. For Jesus, these were hidden years, the years to which Luke refers after recounting the episode that occurred in the Temple: “And he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them” (Lk 2:51). This “submission” or obedience of Jesus in the house of Nazareth should be understood as a sharing in the work of Joseph. Having learned the work of his presumed father, he was known as “the carpenter’s son.” If the Family of Nazareth is an example and model for human families, in the order of salvation and holiness, so too, by analogy, is Jesus’ work at the side of Joseph the carpenter. In our own day, the Church has emphasized this by instituting the liturgical memorial of St. Joseph the Worker on May 1. Human work, and especially manual labor, receive special prominence in the Gospel. Along with the humanity of the Son of God, work too has been taken up in the mystery of the Incarnation, and has also been redeemed in a special way. At the workbench where he plied his trade together with Jesus, Joseph brought human work closer to the mystery of the Redemption.

Pope John Paul II, Redemptoris Custos 22 – August 15, 1989

The more time that I spend meditating on the life and the work of St. Joseph the more I am coming to appreciate him as a role model. Over the past few years I have slowly been growing in devotion to him. And this is something I foresee continuing well into the future.

Sad But True

I found this on Craigslist of all places. And it does seem to be representative of how the mainstream media portrays just about everything that doesn’t support a left-wing agenda.

This is how the media portrays the illegal immigration situation in this country.
A Harley rider is passing the zoo, when he sees a little girl leaning into the lion’s cage. Suddenly, the lion grabs her by the cuff of her jacket and tries to pull her inside to slaughter her, under the eyes of her screaming parents. The biker jumps off his bike, runs to the cage and hits the lion square on the nose with a powerful punch. Whimpering from the pain, the lion jumps back letting go of the girl, and the biker brings her to her terrified parents, who thank him endlessly.

A reporter has watched the whole event. The reporter says, “Sir, this was the most brave and gallant thing I saw a man do in my whole life.” The biker replies, “Why, it was nothing, really, the lion was behind bars. I just saw this little kid in danger, and acted as I felt right.” The reporter says, “Well, I’m a journalist from The New York Times, and tomorrow’s paper will have this story on the front page … So, what do you do for a living and what political affiliation do you have?”

The biker replies, “I’m a U.S. Marine and a Republican.”

The following morning the biker buys The New York Times to see if it indeed brings news of his actions, and reads, on the front page:

U.S. MARINE ASSAULTS AFRICAN IMMIGRANT AND STEALS HIS LUNCH!

Clean and Undefiled

I recently came across a quote by Vice President Joe Biden that I found to be quite disturbing. It is something he seems to have said some time ago, all the way back in 2005, and something that apparently every person in the world was aware of but me:

“The next Republican that tells me I’m not religious I’m going to shove my rosary beads down their throat.”

(And it appears that Biden’s actual words may have originally been much worse and “cleaned up” by the media.)

Now, this quote came to mind yesterday as I was meditating on a verse from Scripture:

“Religion clean and undefiled before God and the Father is this: To visit the fatherless and widows in their tribulation, and to keep one’s self unspotted from this world.“ (James 1:27 DRB)

This was the Epistle for Mass this past Sunday, the 5th Sunday after Easter, in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite. This particular verse is also found in other Forms and Rites of the Church.  In the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite it is the 2nd Reading in Year B on the 22^nd Sunday in Ordinary Time and it is the 1st Reading on Wednesday of Year II in the 6th Week of Ordinary Time. In the Byzantine Rite it is used on Thursday of the 31st Week after Pentecost.

When the Church sets a verse before us in the Liturgy it is generally a good sign that this verse is particularly important. And when the Church sets a verse before us multiple times it is time to pay special attention.

It seems popular among Christians nowadays to want distance themselves from being “religious”. It is all too often viewed as a bad thing. One frequently hears such things as “I’m not religious, I’m spiritual” or  “I’m not religious, I have a personal relationship with Christ”.

But, the Apostle James, guided by the Holy Spirit, shows us that being religious is not necessarily a bad thing. As a matter of fact it is intended to be a good thing. We are meant to hold to a religion that is “clean and undefiled” and this religion is an active religion – what Catholics would call performing the corporal works of mercy.

Now, the word “religion” comes from the Latin “religare” which means to “re-bind” or “re-connect“. Our religion is what connects or binds us to our God. And as I began to reflect on what it means to be religious I came to the obvious conclusion that Vice President Biden is indeed a religious person. But, his religion is most certainly not “clean and undefiled”. It is impossible to be “unspotted from this world” when one actively seeks to take the lives of the most helpless of victims – the unborn.

Joe Biden’s pro-abortion views and his support of embryonic stem cell research lie in direct opposition to the Catholic faith he claims to hold. Being pro-choice is actually heresy, the “obstinate denial or obstinate doubt after the reception of baptism of some truth which is to be believed by divine and Catholic faith” (see Code of Canon Law 751 and Catechism of the Catholic Church 2089). Those who fall into heresy actually excommunicate themselves from the Church (see Code of Canon Law 1364) and those who are excommunicated may not receive Communion (see Code of Canon Law 915 and 1332), which Joe Biden does anyway thus committing the additional sin of scandal (see CCC 2285).

So, Joe Biden is right. He is without a doubt a religious person. But, his religion is not the Christian faith. He makes mockery of the sacraments that Christ entrusted to His Church and instead elevates the sacrament of abortion to the position of being the source and summit of his faith and the thing that binds him to his “god”, the power and the fame that he has chosen to embrace instead of Jesus Christ.

I hope that the Vice President appreciates my defense of his assertations that he is in fact religious. And if he has the slightest bit of integrity he will either repent of his evil beliefs or he will stop misleading people into believing that he is still Catholic.

Mary Ann Glendon Declines Laetare Medal

Former U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See Mary Ann Glendon has written to Fr. Jenkins, President of Notre Shame, to inform him that she will not accept the Laetare Medal.

A few excepts (with my emphasis):

…I could not help but be dismayed by the news that Notre Dame also planned to award the president an honorary degree. This, as you must know, was in disregard of the U.S. bishops’ express request of 2004 that Catholic institutions “should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles” and that such persons “should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions.”

A commencement, however, is supposed to be a joyous day for the graduates and their families. It is not the right place, nor is a brief acceptance speech the right vehicle, for engagement with the very serious problems raised by Notre Dame’s decision—in disregard of the settled position of the U.S. bishops—to honor a prominent and uncompromising opponent of the Church’s position on issues involving fundamental principles of justice.

It is with great sadness, therefore, that I have concluded that I cannot accept the Laetare Medal or participate in the May 17 graduation ceremony.

Full Text of her letter

Talk about integrity! Now, if only an actual Catholic University would step up to honor her.

Notre Shame

Last chance to sign the petition to Fr. Jenkins, C.S.C to urge him to disinvite Barack “the Butcher” Obama from giving the commencement address at the University of Notre Dame on May 17th and receiving an honorary degree from the same institution. The petitions will be printed tomorrow, April 20th.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops says:
“The Catholic community and Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles. They should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions.”
USCCB,  Catholics in Political Life (empasis original)

Over 30 U.S. Bishops, including USCCB President Francis Cardinal George, have publicly condemned the actions of Fr. Jenkins. On May 3rd Bishop Wenski of the diocese of Orlando will offer Mass at the Cathedral in Reparation for the sins against life being commited by Fr. Jenkins and the University of Notre Dame.

Sign the Petition!

Notre Shame

Head over to notredamescandal.com to join with more than a quarter of a million others in protest of Notre Dame’s invitiation to Barrack “the Butcher” Obama to deliver its commencement address.

The Scum of the Earth

And I am most definitely not referring to the hungry and the homeless who are suffering because of this.

City’s busiest soup kitchen closed after copper thefts

Thursday, May 29, 2008 7:53 PM

By Rita Price
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Copper thieves have shut down the city’s busiest soup kitchen.

“People will suffer because of this,” said Frances Carr, director of the Holy Family Community Kitchen and Pantry. “We serve about 5,000 meals a week.”

Two large refrigeration compressors, along with copper piping, were stolen over the Memorial Day weekend, Carr said today. The units were unbolted from concrete pads and hauled away.

Food soon spoiled, and the kitchen had to close by yesterday. Carr said she hopes to reopen on Monday, but she’s not certain she can.

The kitchen and pantry are at 57 S. Grubb St. in the Franklinton area, where crime is not uncommon. Still, Carr said, the kitchen never seemed to be targeted before. People respected the mission, she said.

“Maybe a broken window, or a little incident like that, maybe twice in 20 years,” Carr said. “ We’re close-knit here. We treat everybody like family.”

Holy Family provides a free, hot meal to anyone in need between 10:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Advocates say Holy Family’s pace is probably matched or exceeded only by Faith Mission, which is open seven days a week at 151 N. 6th St. on the Near East Side and provides meals to both its shelter residents and walk-ins.

Vic Ward, interim executive director at Faith Mission, said their visitors increased some today. The Community Kitchen at 640 S. Ohio Ave. on the South Side also reported serving more meals because of Holy Family’s closing.

“We were up 50 or 75 people today, and we expect more tomorrow,” said Marilyn Oberting of the Community Kitchen. “We’re seeing an awful lot of people with incomes who still need to come here.”

Carr said she hated to throw away good food when so many are in need.

“It’s a great loss,” she said. “A great loss.”