'All shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well' Bl.Julian of Norwich
Saturday, November 30, 2013
Joyful Scriptural Mysteries–Podcast- Pray on Mondays and Saturdays
- Joyful Scriptural Mysteries - Podcast
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Friday, November 29, 2013
Morning Gratitude
<blockquote>All thanks and gratitude arise to dance before Your throne.
All praise and honor bow with swelling heart to glorify my God.
Make me a vessel overflowing,
A chalice full of grace willing for the good,
Desiring but one All Holy Love.
© 2013 Joann Nelander</blockquote>
Thursday, November 28, 2013
Wednesday, November 27, 2013
Dr. Ralph Martin: "Spiritual Warfare: The Truth Will Set You Free"
CS Lewis : “At the very worst the issue is made clear the fog of religion and convention wisdom is lifted and the position and number of both armies can be observed and real shooting is made possible."
Life, Confession, and Hope for Infinite Love
O happy confession! I went just this morning. Life begins again with renewed hope for the coming days, maybe, many years, or, perhaps, only moments. I just need to go forward, open to life and, most of all, charity, giving it, as best I can with apologies to match my failures.
A powerful instinct, certainly not reserved for me alone, tells me that the grave in not the end. If it were, what a mockery the sacrifices of caring and struggle, war, family, and country, if it were, I can see why the practical atheist and agnostic would advocate for the convenience of death in the womb, the rallying cry of the pragmatic "progressive" society, planning to bring forth only as much life as it can use. If no resurrection of the dead, why the fuss to perfume our living corpses. Blessed be the grave, bring it on, O happy holocaust!
My sad suppositions terrify me. Give me that candle to carry into the darkness and the holy regard of those praying for the dead. I am not alone in desiring eternity, and the company of the living forever. It is the sun that comes up every morning and the hope that can only be fulfilled in One who is more than matter, and yet, matter does testify by it very existence, in its coming to be, and, so my hope is that He that brought it forth, love me into the infinity of His Being.
APOSTOLIC EXHORTATION EVANGELII GAUDIUM OF THE HOLY FATHER FRANCIS
1. THE JOY OF THE GOSPEL fills the hearts and lives of all who encounter Jesus. Those who accept his offer of salvation are set free from sin, sorrow, inner emptiness and loneliness. With Christ joy is constantly born anew. In this Exhortation I wish to encourage the Christian faithful to embark upon a new chapter of evangelization marked by this joy, while pointing out new paths for the Church’s journey in years to come.
I. A JOY EVER NEW, A JOY WHICH IS SHARED
2. The great danger in today’s world, pervaded as it is by consumerism, is the desolation and anguish born of a complacent yet covetous heart, the feverish pursuit of frivolous pleasures, and a blunted conscience. Whenever our interior life becomes caught up in its own interests and concerns, there is no longer room for others, no place for the poor. God’s voice is no longer heard, the quiet joy of his love is no longer felt, and the desire to do good fades. This is a very real danger for believers too. Many fall prey to it, and end up resentful, angry and listless. That is no way to live a dignified and fulfilled life; it is not God’s will for us, nor is it the life in the Spirit which has its source in the heart of the risen Christ.
3. I invite all Christians, everywhere, at this very moment, to a renewed personal encounter with Jesus Christ, or at least an openness to letting him encounter them; I ask all of you to do this unfailingly each day. No one should think that this invitation is not meant for him or her, since “no one is excluded from the joy brought by the Lord”.[1] The Lord does not disappoint those who take this risk; whenever we take a step towards Jesus, we come to realize that he is already there, waiting for us with open arms. Now is the time to say to Jesus: “Lord, I have let myself be deceived; in a thousand ways I have shunned your love, yet here I am once more, to renew my covenant with you. I need you. Save me once again, Lord, take me once more into your redeeming embrace”. How good it feels to come back to him whenever we are lost! Let me say this once more: God never tires of forgiving us; we are the ones who tire of seeking his mercy. Christ, who told us to forgive one another “seventy times seven” (Mt 18:22) has given us his example: he has forgiven us seventy times seven. Time and time again he bears us on his shoulders. No one can strip us of the dignity bestowed upon us by this boundless and unfailing love. With a tenderness which never disappoints, but is always capable of restoring our joy, he makes it possible for us to lift up our heads and to start anew. Let us not flee from the resurrection of Jesus, let us never give up, come what will. May nothing inspire more than his life, which impels us onwards!
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
Glorious Mysteries of the Scriptural Rosary - Pray on Sunday and Wednesday
[audio http://lionslair.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/audio-post-2013-11-10-22-21-57.mp3|titles=Audio Post]
- Glorious Scriptural Mysteries
Scriptural Rosary – Sunday and Wednesday and -Pray the Glorious Mysteries
- Glorious Scriptural Mysteries
[audio http://lionslair.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/audio-post-2013-11-10-22-21-57.mp3|titles=Audio Post]
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Scriptural Rosary - Tuesday -Pray the Sorrowful Mysteries–Podcast
- Sorrowful Scriptural Mysteries Pt.1 Podcast
- Sorrowful Scriptural Mysteries Pt.2 Podcast
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Monday, November 25, 2013
Higher than the Mountains- Newly published - Available on Amazon
"Higher than the Mountains", a book of poetry and prayer. It is a respite for your quieter moments. It is for those who "are anxious and worried about many things" and who now desire "the better part", the something, or Someone, clothed in the ordinary, hidden in your heart. While drawing from my life experience as wife, mother, nurse, and artist, I also find inspiration all about me, though it is in the stillness that I listen best. Then my own voice fades away, but not until I speak my heart to God. In solitude, the world does seem to stand aside for the whisper or thunder or just the beating of my heart.
Saturday, November 23, 2013
Friday, November 22, 2013
"Aslan Is on the Move" - C.S. Lewis - 50 years today - A Spiritual Legacy
Fifty years ago today, a giant died. His legacy survives as does the memory of love, stuggle, and faith he left to us. C.S. Lewis loved Christ and Christianity and never stopped delving into their depths.
He wove pictures with words that still live to challenge and excite the child and the seeker in us. “Aslan is on the Move.” Does not your hope soar?
Thursday, November 21, 2013
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
Albuquerque is Stilling Willing to Take Innocent Life
First Reading for this day -
2 MC 7:1, 20-31
What has God said to both Jews and Christians in Maccabees about life? (Some Protestants do not have Maccabees in their Bibles, but they should note that the Feast of Dedication, or Hanukkah, was enjoined upon the Jews to be celebrated only in Maccabees. John 7 tells of Jesus going up to Jerusalem to celebrate this feast. So Jesus concurred with the Jews and honored the injunction of Maccabees as given by His Father and recorded in holy writ.)
2 MC 7
“Most admirable and worthy of everlasting remembrance was the mother,
who saw her seven sons perish in a single day,
yet bore it courageously because of her hope in the Lord.
Filled with a noble spirit that stirred her womanly heart with manly courage,
she exhorted each of them
in the language of their ancestors with these words:
“I do not know how you came into existence in my womb;
it was not I who gave you the breath of life,
nor was it I who set in order
the elements of which each of you is composed.
Therefore, since it is the Creator of the universe
who shapes each man’s beginning,
as he brings about the origin of everything,
he, in his mercy,
will give you back both breath and life,
because you now disregard yourselves for the sake of his law.”
The response of this heroic woman’s son before his life was ended in accordance with an unjust law is also worth noting:
She had scarcely finished speaking when the youth said:
“What are you waiting for?
I will not obey the king’s command.
I obey the command of the law given to our fathers through Moses.
But you, who have contrived every kind of affliction for the Hebrews,
will not escape the hands of God.”
Our laws do not excuse us before God this day or on our particular judgment day, so our choices matter for our eternity. What we choose to do with our freedom matters in life and in death. Therefore it is incumbent upon us to choose wisely and form our consciences as though our eternity depends on it.
Pro-life Momentum Remains Despite Albuquerque Loss | SBA-List
Pro-life Momentum Remains Despite Albuquerque Loss | SBA-List.
“Months ago, most Albuquerque residents had no idea their city had become a national hub for late abortion. Local pro-life activists took action to educate their neighbors and ended up gathering 27,000 signatures – more than twice the amount necessary – for a city ballot initiative to stop late abortion,” said SBA List President Marjorie Dannenfelser. “Planned Parenthood and other national pro-abortion groups, including Organizing for America, saw this spontaneous grassroots effort as a mortal threat and spent $1 million to defeat it.
“Despite being outspent four to one, pro-life grassroots activists were able to educate thousands of citizens about fetal pain and the reality of late abortion. This was no small feat in a deep blue city that chose Barack Obama over Mitt Romney by a 15-point margin.
“There remains growing national consensus that babies and women should be protected from dangerous late abortions after 20 weeks. Thirteen states and the U.S. House of Representatives have all passed similar protective legislation and the bill introduced this month by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) already has 40 Senate cosponsors. Polls show Americans are united in opposing this brutal practice and it is time the law reflects our natural recoil from this horror.”
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
August Queen Fighting the Father of Lies
H/T Mary’s Heel
The Exorcism prayer dictated by the Blessed Virgin Mary: August Queen
In the 1846, (Church approved) apparition of La Salette, experienced by two young children who were strangers to each other, the Blessed Virgin Mary tearfully told the children that:
“In the year 1864 Lucifer, together with a great number of demons, will be loosed from Hell; they will put an end to faith little by little, even in those dedicated to God... All the civil governments will have one and the same plan, which will be to abolish and do away with every religious principle to make way for materialism, atheism, spiritualism and vice of all kinds.... Rome will lose the faith and become the seat of the Antichrist [not necessarily the independent Vatican State within Rome - but who knows?]. The demons of the air [the media?] with the Antichrist will perform great wonders on earth and in the atmosphere, and men will become more perverted....Finally, I call on the Apostles of the Last Days, the faithful disciples of Jesus Christ [i.e. all Christians] who have lived in scorn for the world and for themselves, in poverty and in humility, in scorn and in silence, in prayer and in mortification, in chastity and in union with God, in suffering and unknown to the world. It is time they came out and filled the world with light...Fight children of light, you, the few who can see. For now is the time of all times, the end of all ends....The Church will be in eclipse, the world will be in dismay...Woe to the priests and to those dedicated to God who by their unfaithfulness and their wicked lives are crucifying my Son again! ....The chiefs, the leaders of the people of God have neglected prayer and penance, and the devil has bedimmed their intelligence... And then water and fire will purge the earth and consume all the works of men's pride and all will be renewed. God will be served and glorified."
On 13 January 1864, Father Louis Cestac (founder of the Congregation of the Servants of Mary, who died in 1868), accustomed to the goodness of the Most Blessed Virgin, was suddenly struck by a ray of divine light.
He saw a vision of demons swarming over the earth wreaking havoc. At the same time, the Holy Virgin appeared, saying that demons had indeed broken loose into the world and the time had come to implore her as Queen of Angels and to ask her to send legions of angels to fight and overthrow the powers of hell which had now been unchained.
Father Cestac addressed the Virgin with the following words:
O my Mother you who are so good, could you not send your angels without us having to ask you?
“No” the Virgin replied, “prayer is a condition established by God himself to obtain graces.” “Then, Mother”, said the priest, “would you teach us how we should pray to you?” And the Holy Virgin dictated this prayer ‘August Queen’ to him:
August Queen of Heaven and Mistress of the Angels,
You who have received from God the power and the mission to crush the head of Satan;
We humbly ask you to send the heavenly legions,
So that under your command they may:
- pursue the demons,
- combat them everywhere,
- crush their bold attacks, and
- drive them back into the Abyss.
"Who is like God?"
O good and tender Mother, you will always be our love and our hope.
O heavenly Mother, send the holy Angels to defend me and repel far from me the cruel enemy.
Holy Angels and Archangels defend us and guard us. Amen.
August Queen Fighting the Father of Lies
H/T Mary’s Heel
The Exorcism prayer dictated by the Blessed Virgin Mary: August Queen
In the 1846, (Church approved) apparition of La Salette, experienced by two young children who were strangers to each other, the Blessed Virgin Mary tearfully told the children that:
“In the year 1864 Lucifer, together with a great number of demons, will be loosed from Hell; they will put an end to faith little by little, even in those dedicated to God... All the civil governments will have one and the same plan, which will be to abolish and do away with every religious principle to make way for materialism, atheism, spiritualism and vice of all kinds.... Rome will lose the faith and become the seat of the Antichrist [not necessarily the independent Vatican State within Rome - but who knows?]. The demons of the air [the media?] with the Antichrist will perform great wonders on earth and in the atmosphere, and men will become more perverted....Finally, I call on the Apostles of the Last Days, the faithful disciples of Jesus Christ [i.e. all Christians] who have lived in scorn for the world and for themselves, in poverty and in humility, in scorn and in silence, in prayer and in mortification, in chastity and in union with God, in suffering and unknown to the world. It is time they came out and filled the world with light...Fight children of light, you, the few who can see. For now is the time of all times, the end of all ends....The Church will be in eclipse, the world will be in dismay...Woe to the priests and to those dedicated to God who by their unfaithfulness and their wicked lives are crucifying my Son again! ....The chiefs, the leaders of the people of God have neglected prayer and penance, and the devil has bedimmed their intelligence... And then water and fire will purge the earth and consume all the works of men's pride and all will be renewed. God will be served and glorified."
On 13 January 1864, Father Louis Cestac (founder of the Congregation of the Servants of Mary, who died in 1868), accustomed to the goodness of the Most Blessed Virgin, was suddenly struck by a ray of divine light.
He saw a vision of demons swarming over the earth wreaking havoc. At the same time, the Holy Virgin appeared, saying that demons had indeed broken loose into the world and the time had come to implore her as Queen of Angels and to ask her to send legions of angels to fight and overthrow the powers of hell which had now been unchained.
Father Cestac addressed the Virgin with the following words:
O my Mother you who are so good, could you not send your angels without us having to ask you?
“No” the Virgin replied, “prayer is a condition established by God himself to obtain graces.” “Then, Mother”, said the priest, “would you teach us how we should pray to you?” And the Holy Virgin dictated this prayer ‘August Queen’ to him:
August Queen of Heaven and Mistress of the Angels,
You who have received from God the power and the mission to crush the head of Satan;
We humbly ask you to send the heavenly legions,
So that under your command they may:
- pursue the demons,
- combat them everywhere,
- crush their bold attacks, and
- drive them back into the Abyss.
"Who is like God?"
O good and tender Mother, you will always be our love and our hope.
O heavenly Mother, send the holy Angels to defend me and repel far from me the cruel enemy.
Holy Angels and Archangels defend us and guard us. Amen.
Friday, November 15, 2013
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
Sunday, November 10, 2013
The Crisis of the Western World
"The crisis of the Western world exists to the degree in which it is indifferent to God." Whittaker Chambers
William F. Buckley Jr.called this Russian spy, Whittaker Chambers, "the most important American defector from Communism." Whittaker had lived under such indifference and saw its consequences. Empirical evidence led to his change of heart and country. He warned us to be vigilant. Are we vigilant?
We are living in a society that prides itself on its humanity, and credits itself with such as its accomplishment, all the while, being unaware of the source of such blessedness. We are living and enjoying the vestiges, perhaps,the last vestiges of Judeo-Christian ethic, morality and virtue.
Do we yet recognize the Western world's indifference to God? Let's start with the image of God. Where do we find it if not imprinted on every child created within woman? Look at the way that child is provided for, by God's design, within the woman's womb. "Love", "nurture", "protection", all these words and more come to mind. How do we recognize God, if not primarily in His creation.
Many think themselves, their thought and policies, humane, yet act in a way that can only be characterized as "sub-humane" toward the image of God in the womb. Where are we in our Western thought and society? Can we recognize Crisis when confronted with it. Do we even care?
Perhaps, God is confined to the box with such as the Sunday morning sermon, forgotten as we get back to "the real world." God, the Creator of All, a matter of indifference!? His life and image in the flesh and substance of every innocent human procreation goes unrecognized in our law and land. Where the sublime humanity of this age?
Albuquerque Fighting For the Lives of Its Young - Very, Very Young
Congresswoman Marilyn Musgrave:
Vice President for Government Affairs
Susan B. Anthony List
In Albuquerque, for the first time in our nation’s history, voters – not the legislature, not the courts – will decide if we should end barbaric late abortions going into the sixth month of pregnancy.
The procedure used for a late abortion at this stage, a D&E (Dilation and Evacuation) is simply brutal – just ask Dr. Anthony Levantino. He is a former abortionist, turned pro-life doctor who testified before Congress this year in support of the House bill to end abortion after 20 weeks (which thankfully passed over the summer). In his testimony, he described the procedure in heartbreaking, stomach-churning detail:
“With suction complete, look for your Sopher clamp. This instrument is about thirteen inches long and made of stainless steel. At the business end are located jaws about 2 ½ inches long and about ¾ of an inch wide with rows of sharp ridges or teeth. This instrument is for grasping and crushing tissue. When it gets hold of something, it does not let go. A second trimester D&E abortion is a blind procedure. The baby can be in any orientation or position inside the uterus. Picture yourself reaching in with the Sopher clamp and grasping anything you can…Once you have grasped something inside, squeeze on the clamp to set the jaws and pull hard – really hard. You feel something let go and out pops a fully formed leg…”
This is what we are fighting to end.
Saturday, November 9, 2013
Philippines typhoon CRS emergency response | Catholic Relief Services | Emergencies
A man walks past a tree uprooted by strong winds brought by super Typhoon Haiyan that hit central Philippines. The strongest typhoon in the world this year and possibly the most powerful ever to hit land forced millions of people to flee to safer ground, cut power lines and blew apart houses. Photo by Reuters/Zander Cases, courtesy Trust.org
As reports of damage from Typhoon Haiyan begin to surface, Catholic Relief Services is moving supplies and positioning staff to respond to the aftermath of what was the most powerful storm in history at time of landfall.
There is currently almost no information coming from the worst-affected areas, as power lines, phone lines, and mobile towers have all been hit. However, there are some reports coming in of landslides, flash flooding, destroyed shelters, and missing persons.
via Philippines typhoon CRS emergency response | Catholic Relief Services | Emergencies.
Subway Mensch - The Kindness of Strangers
Isaac Theil doesn't know what to make of all the fuss, now that this photo has gone viral. We are a society hungry for heroes. Sometimes we even manufacture them for their celebrity value. Here, at last, is a man who puts a human face on the ordinary, sometimes unnoticed, kindess. מזל טוב, mazel tov, Isaac! May you survive the notoriety.
NCRegister | At the Front Lines for Life
At the Front Lines for Life
Veteran pro-lifer gives helpful how-tos to save the unborn.
BY JOSEPH PRONECHEN, STAFF WRITER Saturday, Nov 09, 2013 6:25 AM Comment
Roderick (Rod) Murphy has been running Problem Pregnancy Center of Worcester, Mass., so successfully for decades he hopes his model will be used nationally to save babies from abortion.
He has written a book for opening and running such centers — Stopping Abortions at Death’s Door (Taig Publishing; available through Amazon) — and personally guides people under the Frontline Life Centers banner. He spoke to the Register about his idea.
Tell us about your successful crisis-pregnancy center.
Problem Pregnancy of Worcester (ProblemPregnancy.org) has been across the street from Planned Parenthood for 31 years. We moved three times when they moved.
We have developed a method of saving babies. Planned Parenthood kills about 2,500 in Worcester a year. We save about 200 or more a year. We’re very successful.
We do this with all volunteers and sidewalk counselors. Nobody gets paid. Nobody gets a nickel — ever. We’re open six days a week with volunteers.
The money we raise we use to help the women with their real problems.
Thursday, November 7, 2013
From a Catechetical Instruction on the Creed by Saint Cyril of Jerusalem, bishop On the creed
In learning and professing the faith, you must accept and retain only the Church’s present tradition, confirmed as it is by the Scriptures. Although not everyone is able to read the Scriptures, some because they have never learned to read, others because their daily activities keep them from such study, still so that their souls will not be lost through ignorance, we have gathered together the whole of the faith in a few concise articles.
Now I order you to retain this creed for you nourishment through life and never to accept any alternative, not even if I myself were to change and say something contrary to what I am now teaching, not even if some angel of contradiction, changed into an angel of light, tried to lead you astray. For even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to that which you have now received, let him be accursed in your sight.
So for the present be content to listen to the simple words of the creed and to memorize them; at some suitable time you can find the proof of each article in the Scriptures. This summary of the faith was not composed at man’s whim; the most important sections were chosen from the whole Scripture to constitute and complete a comprehensive statement of the faith. Just as the mustard seed contains in a small grain many branches, so this brief statement of the faith keeps in its heart, as it were, all the religious truth to be found in Old and New Testament alike. That is why, my brothers, you must consider and preserve the traditions you are now receiving. Inscribe them across your heart.
Observe them scrupulously, so that no enemy may rob any of you in an idle and heedless moment; let no heretic deprive you of what has been given to you. Faith is rather like depositing in a bank the money entrusted to you, and God will surely demand an account of what you have deposited. In the words of the Apostle: I charge you before the God who gives life to all things, and before Christ who bore witness under Pontius Pilate in a splendid declaration, to keep unblemished this faith you have received, until the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
You have now been given life’s great treasure; when he comes, the Lord will ask for what he has entrusted to you. At the appointed time he will reveal himself, for he is the blessed and sole Ruler, King of kings, Lord of lords. He alone is immortal, dwelling in unapproachable light. No man has seen or ever can see him. To him be glory, honor and power for ever and ever. Amen.
The Nicene Creed
I believe in one God,
the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all things visible and invisible.
I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the Only Begotten Son of God,
born of the Father before all ages.
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father;
through him all things were made.
For us men and for our salvation
he came down from heaven,
and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary,
and became man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate,
he suffered death and was buried,
and rose again on the third day
in accordance with the Scriptures.
He ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory
to judge the living and the dead
and his kingdom will have no end.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified,
who has spoken through the prophets.
I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.
I confess one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins
and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead
and the life of the world to come. Amen.
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
Albuquerque - Breaking Bad City Breaking for the Good - Vote
If you live in Albuquerque you know all the fuss over Breaking Bad with all its ramifications and reflection on the reputation of our beloved city. Did you know our beloved Albuquerque has more than drugs besmirching its image, and the image isn't actually an image but the truth. We are "Albuquerque, NM- Late-Term Abortion Capital: New Mexico Is The Wild, Wild, West As Far As Abortion Is Concerned…No Regulations & Anything Goes!"
Albuquerque, NM- Late-Term Abortion Capital: New Mexico Is The Wild, Wild, West As Far As Abortion Is Concerned…No Regulations & Anything Goes!
Live in ABQ? Vote!
Know anyone who lives in ABQ, urge them to vote "Yes" in their special election. Your voice, email, facetime call, text message can be a witness for Life and save thousands of lives.
Time for a change? Time for a change!!! Vote "YES" now in the special election.
Church Believes in Cures That Don't Sacrifice Life - Catholic Culture
There is a great deal of confusion in our society about stem-cell research. An important distinction must be made about embryonic stem-cell research that kills innocent human life and adult stem-cell research that doesn\'t.
The Catholic Church opposes embryonic stem-cell research but strongly supports adult stem-cell research. Opponents of the Church have branded us as being opposed to science and indifferent to those who suffer from illnesses. But we support ethically responsible scientific research and are very committed to searching for cures, as long as it doesn\'t kill human life.
This is indeed a pro-life issue. We believe that there are strong ethical issues involved here. Even a small embryo is a human being. We all started out as embryonic stem cells. To harvest embryonic stem cells — even to help human life — is wrong because it kills the embryo. It means in effect using tiny human body parts for scientific purposes.
The end does not justify the means.
We know that the genetic package is really complete when conception takes place and sonar pictures of the living infant in the womb clearly show human life as it grows and develops.
Human-life issues are the bedrock of our faith. Respect for life is central to Catholicism, and thus we defend every life where it is threatened — from conception to natural death. We are committed to a consistent ethic of life. Hence, we oppose abortion, embryonic stem-cell research, euthanasia and capital punishment. As a religious leader I have a serious obligation to share this teaching with others. I am aware that some will not agree.
Some will say that human embryos are in frozen storage and ultimately will be discarded anyway so why is it wrong to try and get some good out of them? Well, in the end we will all die anyway, but that gives no one the right to kill us.
These embryos will not die because they are inherently unable to survive, but rather because others are choosing to hand them over for destructive research instead of letting them implant in their mother\'s womb. The idea of experimenting on human beings because they may die anyway also imposes a grave threat to convicted prisoners, terminally ill patients and others.
We can all support many kinds of exciting and forward-looking avenues of stem-cell research, like umbilical cord and adult stem-cell research, with a clear conscience. These treatments have been a great help to people with Parkinson\'s disease, spinal cord injury, sickle cell anemia, heart damage, corneal damage and dozens of other conditions. There are scholars and experts who would say there is much more hope to develop cures from adult stem-cell research than from embryonic stem cells.
Embryonic stem-cell research will certainly lead to the creation of cloned human embryos — which also raises serious ethical problems.
via Library : Church Believes in Cures That Don't Sacrifice Life - Catholic Culture.
PROTECT ABQ WOMEN & CHILDREN APPLAUDS ARCHBISHOP MICHAEL J. SHEEHAN
PROTECT ABQ WOMEN & CHILDREN APPLAUDS ARCHBISHOP MICHAEL J. SHEEHAN, ARCHDIOCESE OF SANTA FE, FOR COMING OUT IN FULL SUPPORT OF THE PAIN CAPABLE UNBORN CHILD PROTECTION ORDINANCE
09/27/2013
Statement by Archbishop Michael J. Sheehan on Late Term Abortion
ALBUQUERQUE, NM – Friday, September 27, 2013-- - IMMEDIATE RELEASE
—Archbishop Michael J. Sheehan has issued the following statement:
The Archdiocese of Santa Fe congratulates the grass root efforts of so many to place a late term abortion ban on the ballot of the City of Albuquerque. This achievement demonstrates the people’s will to defend life. As Archbishop of Santa Fe, I encourage all the people of Albuquerque to support the proposed ordinance to ban late term abortion after the 20th week. These children are able to feel pain and suffer greatly when aborted. The campaign to pass this proposal will bear much fruit. First, if the ordinance passes, it will protect children. Second, the energy, time, and resources dedicated to the campaign will educate the public. I daily meet people who are shocked to know that New Mexico permits late term abortion. The public will be educated as to the reality of what is happening in our State. New Mexico now attracts those seeking late term abortions from around the Country because of the lack of laws. During this campaign many people will learn the immorality of abortion and some children’s’ lives will be saved by the education of their parents. I hope the State Legislature will pass a Statewide Bill banning late term abortion, given the support in Albuquerque. Please join me in supporting this effort with energy, time, and resources. Together we can get out the vote on November 19, 2013. Most Rev. Michael J. Sheehan Archbishop of Santa Fe
Monday, November 4, 2013
Higher than the Mountains - New Book
Amazon book is in the works! Until then this is a beautiful edition from blurb. There work is wonderful.
http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/invited/3918087/66123fce45f54d0ffece33bb6cfcd3a50d111e65?ce=blurb_ew&utm_source=widget
Friday, November 1, 2013
Your presence
[audio http://lionslair.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/audio-post-2013-11-01-22-21-42.mp3|titles=Audio Post]
Your Presence
Your presence is all around me,
And Your glory shines forth
From even the smallest of Your creation.
If I were to feel Your effects all day long
I would live in tears,
Rejoicing with tearful gladness,
And weeping, conscious of my deserts.
So I avert my gaze from these flowers of love
That I may carry on
Keeping my feet anchored on earth,
Though my soul would have me take flight
And keep company with the angels.
My spirit strains upward
As over and above all
I reach for You in humility of heart,
Worn out by Your mercies,
Never tiring in Your consolation.
Come Holy Spirit!
Make Your home in me
With customary gentleness.
Throw the Rascals Out Part ! &2 Thomas Sowell
via Throw the Rascals Out? – Thomas Sowell –
Polls indicate that the public is so disgusted with Washington politicians of both parties that a surprisingly large proportion of the people would like to get rid of the whole lot of them.
It is certainly understandable that the voters would like to "throw the rascals out." But there is no point in throwing the rascals out, if we are just going to get a new set of rascals to replace them.
In other words, we need to think about what there is about current political practices that repeatedly bring to power such a counterproductive set of people. Those we call "public servants" have in fact become public masters. And they act like it.
They squander ever more vast amounts of our tax money, and still leave trillions of dollars of national debt to be paid by our children and grandchildren. They intrude into our private lives with ever more restrictions, red tape and electronic surveillance. And they turn different groups of Americans against each other with class warfare rhetoric and policies.
None of this is inevitable. In fact, this pattern is largely the culmination of political trends set in motion during the 1930s, and reaching a climax today. During the 1920s, the national debt was reduced and the role of government scaled back. Unemployment went as low as 1.8 percent.
President Calvin Coolidge, with every prospect of being reelected in 1928, declared simply: "I do not choose to run." Later, in his memoirs, he explained how dangerous it is to have anyone remain too long in the White House, surrounded by flattery and insulated from reality. What a contrast that attitude is with the attitude of the current occupant of the White House!
The contrast extends beyond these two presidents. What we have today that we did not have in the early history of this country is a permanent political class in Washington -- a Congress and an ever growing federal bureaucracy composed of people who have become a permanent ruling class.
The United States was not founded by career politicians but by people who took time out from their regular professions to serve during a crucial time in the creation of a new nation, and a new kind of nation in a world ruled by kings and emperors.
Read more: Throw the Rascals Out? – Thomas Sowell – part 1 and Throw the Rascals Out?: Part II - Thomas Sowell - Page full.
The public's opinion of politicians of both parties seems to have reached a new low. But no matter how much the voters detest Congress -- or how justifiably -- that does not mean that there will be radical changes at the next election.
For one thing, \"Congress\" is not on the ballot. Only individual members of Congress are. Most voters like their own Senator or Representative, often because of special favors that these incumbents have done for their own constituency -- at the taxpayers\' expense.
Add to this the so-called \"campaign reform\" laws that restrict the raising of money that challengers need, in order to counter the millions of dollars\' worth of free advertising that incumbents get through ordinary media coverage, enhanced by the incumbents\' sponsoring of ever more legislation, expanding the role of government.
The very longevity of incumbents in Congress makes it expedient for them to treat each other as \"facts of life\" -- people with whom you have to \"go along to get along.\" One of their common interests as incumbents is reelection. This can lead to all sorts of bipartisan log-rolling legislation to hand out the taxpayers\' money in ways that benefit incumbents of both parties.
In short, longevity in office can create more longevity in office. Moreover, this longevity can attract campaign contributions from special interests who expect something in return -- if only a lightening up on government restrictions and red tape.
Many among the intelligentsia prefer to think of special interests as corrupting our dedicated public servants with campaign contributions. But Peter Schweizer\'s new book, \"Extortion,\" shows what happens as the extorting of tribute by politicians in a position to do a lot of harm to businesses that do not pay them protection money.
via Throw the Rascals Out?: Part II - Thomas Sowell - Page full.
Let us make haste to our brethren who are awaiting us - St.Bernard
From a sermon by Saint Bernard, abbot
Let us make haste to our brethren who are awaiting us.
Why should our praise and glorification, or even the celebration of this feast day mean anything to the saints? What do they care about earthly honors when their heavenly Father honors them by fulfilling the faithful promise of the Son? What does our commendation mean to them? The saints have no need of honor from us; neither does our devotion add the slightest thing to what is theirs. Clearly, if we venerate their memory, it serves us, not them. But I tell you, when I think of them, I feel myself inflamed by a tremendous yearning.
Calling the saints to mind inspires, or rather arouses in us, above all else, a longing to enjoy their company, so desirable in itself. We long to share in the citizenship of heaven, to dwell with the spirits of the blessed, to join the assembly of patriarchs, the ranks of the prophets, the council of apostles, the great host of martyrs, the noble company of confessors and the choir of virgins. In short, we long to be united in happiness with all the saints. But our dispositions change. The Church of all the first followers of Christ awaits us, but we do nothing about it. The saints want us to be with them, and we are indifferent. The souls of the just await us, and we ignore them.
Come, brothers, let us at length spur ourselves on. We must rise again with Christ, we must seek the world which is above and set our mind on the things of heaven. Let us long for those who are longing for us, hasten to those who are waiting for us, and ask those who look for our coming to intercede for us. We should not only want to be with the saints, we should also hope to possess their happiness. While we desire to be in their company, we must also earnestly seek to share in their glory. Do not imagine that there is anything harmful in such an ambition as this; there is no danger in setting our hearts on such glory.
When we commemorate the saints we are inflamed with another yearning: that Christ our life may also appear to us as he appeared to them and that we may one day share in his glory. Until then we see him, not as he is, but as he became for our sake. He is our head, crowned, not with glory, but with the thorns of our sins. As members of that head, crowned with thorns, we should be ashamed to live in luxury; his purple robes are a mockery rather than an honor. When Christ comes again, his death shall no longer be proclaimed, and we shall know that we also have died, and that our life is hidden with him. The glorious head of the Church will appear and his glorified members will shine in splendor with him, when he forms this lowly body anew into such glory as belongs to himself, its head.
Therefore, we should aim at attaining this glory with a wholehearted and prudent desire. That we may rightly hope and strive for such blessedness, we must above all seek the prayers of the saints. Thus, what is beyond our own powers to obtain will be granted through their intercession.
[audio http://lionslair.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/audio-post-2013-11-01-03-36-37.mp3|titles=Audio Post]
The Saints Crowned in Glory
The Saints are longing for us,
Longing that we share their glory.
No harm in such ambition,
Says Bernard.
This glory is to be spread abroad
By God's sovereignty
And generosity.
This glory is none other
Than the glory in which the Father
Robed His dying Son.
It is now reflected in His Saints,
Who in life picked up their cross,
And followed Him upon their knees.
The battle they fought on Earth now is ours.
They continue with us,
The Church Triumphant,
Pleading for the Church Militant.
Blessed are those who were poor in spirit,
Who were merciful, loving their enemies,
Who mourned and who were persecuted,
Who were pure of heart,
And sought peace
Through the wood of the Cross.
Blessed are all those gathered
To the Father's bosom.
Blessed are they and generous,
Interceding for the saints,
As they look for us to follow in their steps.
Brothers and Sisters,
Radiant in glory,
Beam forth Christ.
All happiness to His Saints
Rewarded now and forever.
All glory to the Father,
The Son and the Holy Spirit.
Amen!
By Joann Nelander