Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Ash Wednesday

Ash Wednesday is here.  The Holy Season of Lent is upon us.

We receive the ashes on the forehead as a sign of repentance, penance and humility.  We are reminded that we are dust and to dust we shall return.  We are not an end in ourselves.

To be reminded that we are merely dust is a big statement.  It is a reminder of our mortality.  We did not will ourselves in to existence.  God willed us into existence and we are answerable only to Him.

The use of ashes as a sign of repentance comes from Scripture.  Its use is mentioned in Esther 4:1Job 42:6 and Daniel 9:3.  The ashes are administer by clergy or an extraordinary minister of the Holy Eucharist.  Catholics and non-Catholics can receive ashes.  The ashes are either scattered on one's head or a cross is traced with it on a person's forehead.   The palms used from the Palm Sunday from the previous year are burned and this is what is used on Ash Wednesday.

No meat is eaten on this day or Fridays that follow during Lent in the United States of America.  Elsewhere, every Friday of the year may be a day of abstinence from meat.  The rules of fasting and abstinence are as follows:



The Code of Canon Law prescribes (Canons 1250-1252):

Can. 1250: The penitential days and times in the universal Church are every Friday of the whole year and the season of Lent.
Can. 1251: Abstinence from meat, or from some other food as determined by the Episcopal Conference, is to be observed on all Fridays, unless a solemnity should fall on a Friday. Abstinence and fasting are to be observed on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.
Can. 1252: The law of abstinence binds those who have completed their fourteenth year. The law of fasting binds those who have attained their majority, until the beginning of their sixtieth year. Pastors of souls and parents are to ensure that even those who by reason of their age are not bound by the law of fasting and abstinence, are taught the true meaning of penance.


Abstainence from Meat - Ash Wednesday and Fridays of Lent and/or every Friday of the year
Those ages 14 and older

Fasting - Ash Wednesday and Good Friday
Those ages 18 to 59


Each diocese or conference of bishops may have different rules, so be sure to check with your local diocese. Those with medical conditions are exempt.  


Let us ask God for forgiveness for our sins and ask Him to help us on our journey in life.  We should frequent the Sacrament of Penance often and seek spiritual guidance from a holy spiritual director during this period.

Lent





What a time Lent is. It is a period of spiritual regeneration, a time to contemplate and meditate on the salvific mystery of Christ's life. We have 40 days to walk with the Lord just like He did in the desert. He denied Himself food for 40 days which symbolically means that what he did was for a complete purpose and for purification/preparation.

Numbers in the Bible have certain symoblic meanings. 40 was the amount of days of the flood, for 40 days Jesus fasted in the desert to prepare for His ministry and so on. We Catholics use this time to reflect on Christ and where we stand. We fast on Ash wednesday and Good Friday by eating one meal or two small meals, and we abstain from meat on those days and the Fridays that fall within the 40 days.

Lent begins on Ash wednesday. We receive the ashes and are reminded that we are dust and to dust we shall return. Sometimes in life we tend to think that we are the best thing since slice bread, but that is not so. We must remind ourselves that we are mortals, we are sinners, and we are imperfect, but it does not end there.

We can be more in Jesus Christ and only through Him can we know true love and life as it was meant to be. Lent is similar to the Jewish Yom Kippur and predates the Muslim Ramadan, but it more religiously decorated as Catholics are famous for doing in order to make things more solemn and dignified.

We should take this time to pray more, express faith more by doing more works of charity for others, not for our self elevation, but for the glory of God and love of Him and our neighbor.

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Congratulations to Cardinals Dolan and O' Brien!


Congratulations to Cardinal Timothy Dolan and 
Cardinal Edwin O'Brien



Today these shepherds of the American Church were elevated to the Cardinalate.  They will now take on many responsibilities and will eventually elect a new Pope - hopefully in the far future because Pope Benedict XVI is great and I enjoy his contribution to the Church as the current Pontiff.  


May God bless these men and all men who were created Cardinals today.  May the Lord be with them and keep His Holy Spirit on them to guide them especially in these trying times.  

http://youtu.be/3aPureO4VWg
  

"..each Person has a God given right to life" - Alabama court



Finally a court gets it!  The Alabama Supreme court ruled that '... each Person has a God given right to life.'  The Prochoice/Feminist rhetoric always tries to distort biological facts regarding human life.  They try hard to claim that the unborn are not persons or even human.  This is all ridiculous and shows they have no rational argument in justifying abortion.

We all learned in Biology that human life begins as Conception.  This is a scientific fact that cannot be disproved.  Personhood is not based on stages of development.  Every human being is a person, this includes fertilized eggs at conception.

This is because the conception is the beginning of a human life.  It is the first stage of human development.  Just because it is small or does not have the full bodily features human beings who are born normally have does not make it less of a human or not a person.

When people start playing word games with the term personhood, we will begin to see people taking away personhood from certain individuals or groups when it is convenient to do so.

I am glad a high court of the land made this bold ruling.  It is unfortunate that the mainstream media does not cover stories like this.        



Source: http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/alabama-supreme-court-each-person-has-a-god-given-right-to-life#

Friday, February 17, 2012

Chris Christie Crushes Gay Marriage


A few hours ago Governor of New Jersey, Chris Christie went through with his promise to veto any bill presented to him that will allow so-called "Gay Marriage."   He insisted that the vote should go to the people by way of ballot.

The media often makes it seem like every American is for so called "Gay Marriage," but this is just not true.  The majority of Americans favor the protection of marriage between a man and woman.

I applaud Governor Christie for being a valiant man who kept to his decision despite knowing that the liberal media will come down on him.  Already news articles, blogs and the like are labeling him as an archaic out of touch governor.  The comments on news blogs are filled with angry attacks targeting Chris Christie's weight and the like.

These people are tolerant of unnatural unions, but are intolerant of obese people... go figure.


Source:  http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/feb/18/chris-christie-veto-new-jersey-bill

Friday, February 10, 2012

Gays denied room at Inn



A Christian couple who own an inn in the United Kingdom were ordered to pay damages to a gay couple who wanted to stay at their inn and were not allowed to do so.  The situation is a tricky one.  The property does belong to the Christian couple and they can run it the way they want.  Then there is the gay couple who were seeking a service.

In any event, the court should not dictate how a Christian business operates.  This is a direct assault to separation of church and state.  The United Kingdom prides itself in being a secular state yet it is obsessed with controlling religion.

This of course are the fruits of the Gay agenda with is push for so called rights and marriage equality.  It will force religion to change or be threatened in courts under the banner of "discrimination."

Where will the future of religious freedom lie?  When the State begins to dictate the conscience then we all are in big trouble.





Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/02/10/peter-and-hazelmary-christian-guesthouse-owners-pay-damages_n_1267598.html?ref=travel&ir=Travel&icid=maing-grid7%7Cmain5%7Cdl1%7Csec3_lnk2%26pLid%3D134720

Obama Vs Catholic Church


The POTUS Barack Obama has declared war on the Catholic Church and religious freedom.  His universal health care plan demands that every institution provide coverage for contraception, abortion and other evils that are prohibited by many religions.

This is a clear violation of the First Amendment.  The State cannot interfere with the Church and freedom of conscience!   This law attempts to force the hand of the Church to promote immoral means to control birth and kill human life.

Contact your local representatives and protest.  We cannot let the United States of America become a Socialist Totalitarian State!

http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/religious-liberty/conscience-protection/index.cfm



Cardinal designate, Archbishop Dolan is leading the fight against this violation of freedom of religion.

Komen vs Planned Parenthood



Recently the Susan G. Komen For the Cure Foundation - a organization which seeks to find a cure for breast cancer- decided to stop grants to Planned Parenthood.  As expected, a huge uproar came from liberals and others who felt that the Komen Foundation was being pressured by so-called "Pro-Life" politics.  

The move was praised by those who are for life, but unfortunately the decision was reversed.  A senior official of the foundation was also forced to resign under the pressure from Pro Abortion advocates.

Studies have shown that abortion can cause breast cancer.  That being said, it defeats the purpose to fund something that causes the disease you want to cure.   



Source:  http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/02/07/komen-official-quits-planned-parenthood-dispute/

Roland Martin - Cnn




CNN suspended Roland Martin for making what some believe was a homophobic remark on Twitter after the showing of an underwear commercial featuring Soccer star David Beckham during the Superbowl 2012.   Roland tweeted:


While the tweet is a bit violent by encouraging "smacking," I don't see how anyone can be offended by this.  No heterosexual male would enjoy watching other men in underwear.  Roland is using language typical of a male who does not have same-sex attraction.  He is entitled to his free speech.

Shame on CNN for suspending him for exercising his First amendment rights.
America is becoming a scary place.  We are slowly being censored little by little.  We need to restore the Constitution before it is too late.  




Source: http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/02/08/10354257-cnn-suspends-commentator-roland-martin-over-beckham-ad-tweets

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Ipad 3

The new Apple IPad 3 is scheduled to be released in March.   Rumor has it that it will have 4g, a better processor, camera, and screen.


Source: http://news.yahoo.com/apple-ipad-3-due-first-week-march-report-144005877.html

Nuns vs Strip Club

A group of Religious Nuns (The Missionary Sisters of Saint Charles Borromeo-Scalabrians) are fighting to prevent a strip club from opening right next to a convent that houses elderly and infirmed members of the order.


This is an interesting story and one can take many views on it.  Communities often fight for the removal of businesses that may ruin the image of a town or may not be wanted.  That being said, the Nuns have a right to fight this club from opening right next door.  However, the Nuns can also give Christian witness to patrons of this bar and close it down that way.  

In any event, I hope this situation is resolved in the best way possible.  


Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2098296/Nuns-fight-strip-club-going-convent-houses-sick-elderly-sisters.html

Airforce Removes God



The Air Force has remove "God" from its logo in an attempt to avoid offending Atheists.  This is unfortunate because the attempt offends believers.  So basically one group is made happy and another is offended.  Where is the logic in that?

It makes more sense to adhere to the long tradition the USA Forces have always had in having special regard to the Creator who is mentioned many of our prized documents that keep the union together.  Atheists must learn how to be tolerant and realize the fact that not everyone will believe as they do.

The majority of troops believe in God.  Why disrespect their beliefs to appease the minority who do not?  




Source  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/08/air-force-removes-god-randy-forbes_n_1263665.html

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Can a believer in God be Pro Abortion?



Can a believer in God be Pro Abortion or so called "ProChoice?"   The answer is no.  God is FOR LIFE.  He is a Creator, not a destroyer.

Yes we read about God chastising the world here and there but that is done out of justice not evil or for the sole reason because He is God and can punish.  God doesn't kill anyone or anything.  He merely takes back that which He gave: Life.   Life does not belong to us.  It belongs to God.  If life belonged to us, then we would have total power of when we are conceived and when we die.  

Think about it.  How can the owner of a particular thing steal it?  How can Da Vinci steal his Mona Lisa artwork?  The word steal only applies to a stranger who never had legitimate possession of a particular object.  He or she took something that was legitimately the possession of another, so therefore that is stealing.  When God takes life, He is not killing it.  The life belongs to Him and He is just taking it back.

God will always be FOR Life.  No benevolent God would ever advocate the destruction of human life, particularly those that are preborn and innocent.  Pagan gods invented by primitive peoples often demanded child sacrifices.  The One True God does not.  He Creates Life out of Pure Love.  As Deuteronomy 30:19 says:


"This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live"


Choose life!  It is a mandate from God the Creator.  


If anyone claims to be a believer of God and supports Abortion, he or she is living a lie and contradiction.  He or she does not represent God.  As 1 John 2:3-6 says:

"We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands. Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him:Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did."

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