It's a New Year

Don't forget that as Catholics, we must attend Mass on Friday. It's a Holy Day of Obligation, The Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God (Theotokos).

How appropriate to start the new year honoring our Heavenly Mother! From whence all love comes. The "glue" that keeps us together is she and all mothers.

Hail Mary! Theotokos!

We turn to you for protection,

Holy Mother of God!

Listen to our prayers and help us in our needs.

Save us from every danger, glorious and blessed Virgin!


May God save us all in 2010!

How can a Catholic be a Democrat with these statement in it's platform?

Choice
The Democratic Party strongly and unequivocally supports Roe v. Wade and a woman's right to choose a safe and legal abortion, regardless of ability to pay, and we oppose any and all efforts to weaken or undermine that right.

The Democratic Party also strongly supports access to comprehensive affordable family planning services and age-appropriate sex education which empower people to make informed choices and live healthy lives. We also recognize that such health care and education help reduce the number of unintended pregnancies and thereby also reduce the need for abortions.

The Democratic Party also strongly supports a woman's decision to have a child by ensuring access to and availability of programs for pre- and post-natal health care, parenting skills, income support, and caring adoption programs.

and on a more 'perfect' union, it states:

A More Perfect Union
We believe in the essential American ideal that we are not constrained by the circumstances of birth but can make of our lives what we will. Unfortunately, for too many, that ideal is not a reality. We have more work to do. Democrats will fight to end discrimination based on race, sex, ethnicity, national origin, language, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, and disability in every corner of our country, because that's the America we believe in.

and....

It is not enough to look back in wonder at how far we have come; those who came before us did not strike a blow against injustice only so that we would allow injustice to fester in our time. That means removing the barriers of prejudice and misunderstanding that still exist in America. We support the full inclusion of all families, including same-sex couples, in the life of our nation, and support equal responsibility, benefits, and protections. We will enact a comprehensive bipartisan employment non-discrimination act. We oppose the Defense of Marriage Act and all attempts to use this issue to divide us.

The Holy Innocents

Today, dearest brethren, we celebrate the birthday of those children who were slaughtered, as the Gospel tells us, by that exceedingly cruel king, Herod. Let the earth, therefore, rejoice and the Church exult — she, the fruitful mother of so many heavenly champions and of such glorious virtues. Never, in fact, would that impious tyrant have been able to benefit these children by the sweetest kindness as much as he has done by his hatred. For as today's feast reveals, in the measure with which malice in all its fury was poured out upon the holy children, did heaven's blessing stream down upon them.

"Blessed are you, Bethlehem in the land of Judah! You suffered the inhumanity of King Herod in the murder of your babes and thereby have become worthy to offer to the Lord a pure host of infants. In full right do we celebrate the heavenly birthday of these children whom the world caused to be born unto an eternally blessed life rather than that from their mothers' womb, for they attained the grace of everlasting life before the enjoyment of the present. The precious death of any martyr deserves high praise because of his heroic confession; the death of these children is precious in the sight of God because of the beatitude they gained so quickly. For already at the beginning of their lives they pass on. The end of the present life is for them the beginning of glory. These then, whom Herod's cruelty tore as sucklings from their mothers' bosom, are justly hailed as "infant martyr flowers"; they were the Church's first blossoms, matured by the frost of persecution during the cold winter of unbelief.

— St. Augustine

Is my faith getting yet stronger?

Lately, I have been desiring to attend Mass more. Getting ready for the day, I look at my watch and wonder if I had, once again, missed my chance to attend Mass this morning. When I am at Mass, I look around and am jealous of the folks that are daily Mass regulars.

Wouldn't it be lazy of me to go without the girls? Would people think that I was lazy by leaving them at home with their studies. Of course they are old enough to stay at home, both teenagers, but if I am at Mass, shouldn't they be as well?

OK, who wants to inform them that they are to get up at 7 EVERY morning, get dressed, and be in the car by 7:40 to be on time for Mass.

This used to not be an issue...at all. My girls and I attend Thursday Mass for our school Mass and then Sunday morning Mass every week, including vacations. Just lately I want to attend Mass more....

No Room in the Inn......

A quote from Fr. Pavone's book "Ending Abortion"

"She wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manager, because there was no room for them in the inn." (Lk 2:7)

The fact that there was no room for Jesus, Mary, and Joseph in the inn at Bethlehem on the first Christmas should make us wonder, because the birth of Christ was foreseen and planned by God from all eternity. Hundreds of years before it happened, the prophets announced he would be born of a virgin (Is 7:14) and that Bethlehem would be his birthplace (Mic 5:2). Many other details of his life and death were also foretold. Did God, then, forget to make room for His only Son? How is it possible that there was no room, when the child born at Christmas owns the inn, and Bethlehem, and the world, and every inch of room in the whole universe?

Obviously, God did this on purpose. There was no room in the inn, because this demonstrates that the world has rejected God. The world makes no room for the God who created it. There was no room in the inn because God wanted to show that His Son comes as a savior, to reconcile a world that is at enmity with God. Being turned away from the inn foreshadows the fact that the Savior himself will be rejected, despised, and ultimately crucified, and that all this was part of God's plan from all eternity. Ultimately, the lack of room in the inn symbolizes the lack of room we make for Him in our hearts. When our hearts are filled with all kinds of other desires than God, we gradually crowd Him out altogether.

No room at the inn also means that we fail to make room for our brothers and sisters. The first great commandment is to love God, and the second is like it: Love your neighbor. Christ willed to be left out, because He is always in solidarity with those who are left out, shut out, and crowded out. That is the position of the unborn children today. They are crowded out of the busy schedules of so many people doing so many good and important lives of these children from abortion. They are crowded out of legislative agendas, preaching schedules, career plans, and volunteer activities. There's just too much going on already; there's no room in the inn.

Christ comes at Christmas to change all that. Today, He does not seek an inn; He seeks room in our own hearts and lives. And He asks that we welcome Him, we welcome everyone whom He welcomes, including the children most defenseless and forgotten. We welcome the Divine Child, and in doing so, we welcome every child. As we celebrate Christmas, we sing in "O Holy Night" the words, "Chains shall He break, for the slave is our brother, and in His name all oppression shall cease." AMEN! Let oppression cease and let Christmas come for the unborn!

How can we get back?

How can we get back to the basics of being? What ever happened to the simple things? Poems, songs, family meals, Church, worship, prayer? Things done in small measure leaving grandiose for special times?

SPECIAL: Popes Pius XII, John Paul II declared 'venerable'

Catholic World News

December 19, 2009

In a series of decrees issued on December 19, the Vatican has approved miracles allowing for the canonization of five people and the beatification of five others. The Vatican also recognized the 1984 murder of Father Jerzy Popieluszko by Communist intelligence officers as a martyrdom, preparing the way for his beatification.

The decrees, approved by Pope Benedict XVI during a private audience with Cardinal Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, also proclaimed that ten other candidates for sainthood had lived lives of heroic virtue. Those decrees make the candidates eligible for beatification if a miracle is attributed to their intercession.

The two decrees commanding the greatest public attention were those recognizing the heroic virtue of Pope Pius XII, who reigned from 1939 to 1958, and Pope John Paul II, who reigned from 1978 to 2005.

Five of the December 19 decrees testified to the authenticity of miracles attributed to candidates who have already been beatified, and are now qualified for canonization. They are:


•Bl. Stanislaus Soltys (Kazimierczyk) (1433-89), whose liturgical cult was formally recognized by Pope John Paul in 1993
•Bl. André Bessette (1845-1937), a Canadian renowned for his devotion to St. Joseph who developed a reputation as a miracle worker in his lifetime
•Bl. Mary MacKillop (1842-1909), who founded the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Sacred Heart and will become Australia’s first canonized saint
•Bl. Giulia Salzano (1846-1929), foundress of the Congregation of the Catechetical Sisters of the Sacred Heart
•Bl. Camilla Battista da Varano (1458-1524), a Poor Clare nun


The Congregation also approved miracles for five other candidates who, like Father Popieluszko, will now be scheduled for beatification:

•Father José Tous y Soler (1811-71), a Capuchin Franciscan
•Brother Leopoldo de Alpandeire (1866-1956), a Capuchin Franciscan
•Manuel Lozano Garrido (1920-71), a Spanish layman
•Teresa Manganiello (1849-76), a Third Order Franciscan
•Chiara Badano (1971-90), a laywoman of the Focolare Movement


In addition, the Congregation declared the heroic virtue of Bl. Giacomo Illirico da Bitetto, a Franciscan.

The Congregation also proclaimed the heroic virtue of nine others, who now qualify for the title "Venerable" and may be beatified with the approval of a miracle:

•Pope Pius XII (Eugenio Pacelli) (1876-1958)
•Pope John Paul II (Karol Wojtyla) (1920-2005)•Father Louis Brisson (1817-1908), founder of the Oblates of Saint Francis de Sales
•Father Giuseppe Quadrio (1921-63), a Salesian
•Sister Mary Ward (1545-1615), an Englishwoman who founded the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Loreto Sisters)
•Sister Antonia Maria Verna (1773-1838), foundress of the Sisters of Charity of the Immaculate Conception of Ivrea
•Sister Francesca Farolfi (Maria Chiara Serafina of Jesus) (1853-1917), foundress of the Missionary Franciscan Clarists of the Blessed Sacrament
•Sister Enrichetta Alfieri (1891-1951)
•Giunio Tinarelli (1912-56), a layman and member of the Silent Workers of the Cross

Source(s): these links will take you to other sites, in a new window.

•Promulgazione Di Decreti Della Congregazione Delle Cause Dei Santi (Holy See)

Homeschool pauses for Christmas

With family coming in and out over the next few weeks and lots of Christmas activities, we will stop the formal part of our homeschool routine until January. We will try to be silent and enjoy our family and the reason for the season. Our Lord, Jesus Christ and babe in Bethlehem.

O Wisdom!

Thanks to Micky at Holy Cards for her constant share of her holy cards and beautiful artwork and holy inspirations!

Planned Parenthood lies and deceit: Shocking video

The Immaculate Conception

Please go to Mass, it's a holy day of obligation!

Health Care, Politicians, and the Catholic Conscience

A Troubling New Development Appears in American Politics
By Carl AndersonNEW HAVEN, Connecticut, DEC. 7, 2009 (Zenit.org).

For decades, Americans have been subjected to the arguments of certain Catholic politicians who argued that while "personally opposed" to unjust policies like abortion, they were nonetheless unwilling to "impose" that view on the rest of the country.

The argument was disingenuous, premised on the fact that somehow a "Catholic" conscience had to be put to the side in the public square.

Now, the very people who argued that they couldn't bring their private conscience into a secular public square are poised to use the law to impose a particular view on their fellow Catholics.

By working and voting to include abortion coverage in health care legislation, several Catholic politicians stand at the precipice of being the deciding votes in forcing a particular immoral view on their fellow Catholics, by forcing them to fund abortion through their tax dollars.

While professing that they cannot impose their conscience on anyone else, these politicians seem to have little hesitation about imposing a political view -- one they claim to oppose in principle -- on the consciences of their fellow Catholics.

Far from Kennedy

Catholic politicians willing to forsake their own consciences and impose a directly anti-Catholic view on others have come a long way from the legacy of American history's highest profile Catholic statesman, John F. Kennedy, who while discussing his role as a Catholic and candidate for president said: "If the time should ever come -- and I do not concede any conflict to be even remotely possible -- when my office would require me to either violate my conscience or violate the national interest, then I would resign the office; and I hope any conscientious public servant would do the same."

And while some might consider that Catholic politicians have disagreed with the public policy recommendations of their bishops in a variety of areas, the key is this: Many issues are prudential and open to reasonable disagreement; but the inalienable right to life in the context of abortion is not -- it is fundamental and it may not be compromised.

As Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger -- now Benedict XVI -- noted about Catholic politicians in 2004:

"Not all moral issues have the same moral weight as abortion."He added: "While
the Church exhorts civil authorities to seek peace, not war, and to exercise
discretion and mercy in imposing punishment on criminals, it may still be
permissible to take up arms to repel an aggressor or to have recourse to capital
punishment. There may be a legitimate diversity of opinion even among Catholics
about waging war and applying the death penalty, but not however with regard to
abortion."

Unjust law

Catholic politicians must now consider the effect of national legislation mandating Catholic cooperation in abortion. In his famous pro-life encyclical, "Evangelium Vitae," Pope John Paul II said: "The passing of unjust laws often raises difficult problems of conscience for morally upright people with regard to the issue of cooperation, since they have a right to demand not to be forced to take part in morally evil actions."

He said further: "Christians, like all people of good will, are called upon under grave obligation of conscience not to cooperate formally in practices which, even if permitted by civil legislation, are contrary to God's law. Indeed, from the moral standpoint, it is never licit to cooperate formally in evil.

[…]"This cooperation can never be justified either by invoking respect for the
freedom of others or by appealing to the fact that civil law permits it or
requires it. Each individual in fact has moral responsibility for the acts which
he personally performs; no one can be exempted from this responsibility, and on
the basis of it everyone will be judged by God himself" (74).

It is doubly ironic that a law that would force millions to violate their conscience by paying their taxes and would entangle thousands of Catholic physicians, nurses, hospitals and charities in the evil of abortion is being considered at precisely a time when the majority of Americans -- in greater and greater numbers -- are increasingly becoming more pro-life.

Catholic public officials in Washington have the power to prevent this moral tragedy from happening. They should not hesitate to do so.

* * *Carl Anderson is the supreme knight of the Knights of Columbus and a New York Times bestselling author.
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The Manhattan Declaration

Here is just a preview of the document.

"We are Christians who have joined together across historic lines of
ecclesial differences to affirm our right—and, more importantly, to embrace our
obligation—to speak and act in defense of these truths.

We pledge to each other, and to our fellow believers, that no power on
earth, be it cultural or political, will intimidate us into silence or
acquiescence.”“We recognize the duty to comply with laws whether we happen to
like them or not, unless the laws are gravely unjust or require those subject to
them to do something unjust or otherwise immoral.”

“…We will not comply with any edict that purports to compel our
institutions to participate in abortions, embryo-destructive research, assisted
suicide and euthanasia, or any other anti-life act; nor will we bend to any rule
purporting to force us to bless immoral sexual partnerships, treat them as
marriage or the equivalent, or refrain from proclaiming the truth, as we know
it, about morality and immorality and marriage and the family.”

A truly important document and stand for the current situation. Please visit this site and sign it. The document itself is only 7 pages long, so an easy read and compelling in the fight for religious conscience, freedom, and life.

The pillars applaud each and every principle in this effort and all that sign it. May God bless your efforts, our fight, and the conversion of those who do not agree with it.