Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Verso L'alto at the YMCA

Believe it or not the desert does have a few advantages, notice I said a few, that is few.   OK, now that is stated clearly I can get on with the post.  We found out that the Cooper YMCA in Lincoln has a climbing wall, which is used for top roping only, but hey in the desert you take what you can get.  They make you take a class to show you the basics, then turn you lose.  I went with Our Daughter, who in the blog world goes by "Perpetua" as in St. Perpetua.  We paid The Man, who taught us how to tie a rope, put on a harness, and hold onto a hand hold and pull up.  No, it wasn't that bad, actually a pretty good little class.  I learned how to belay with a ATC, until now I have just used a rescue 8, so this is a good thing.  Her first couple climbs were with the instructor as her Belay, then I took over.  She was taught the proper terminology to speak prior to getting on the wall:  On Belay, Belay On, Climbing, Climb On, Ready to be lowered, Lowering, On the Ground, Off Belay  

All good stuff every 6 year old should know.  She made it almost the whole way up, about 3/4 - I think in the next 2-3 times she'll complete the ascent.  She did a great job, I am quite proud of her.  Anyhow here are some pics.


Her first figure 8, can I get a tissue?
Figure 8 Follow through

And now.......Verso L'alto!!!!!!
  


Parents Outraged at Planned Parenthood Class Teaching Sexual Positions‏

Dear Friends,
I only send this shameful and disturbing information so that parents and grandparents can be informed of the evils of Planned Parenthood and how schools are forcing this on our children. We all need to be vigilant! Please pass this to others.
Thank you and please continue to pray for strong families!
Colleen
Catholic Parents OnLine
http://www.catholicparents.org/
___________________________________________________________________________
Parents Outraged at Planned Parenthood Class Teaching Sexual Positions

The group's teen page, meanwhile, teaches visitors "all about the anus" and lauds the health benefits of masturbation.
By Kathleen Gilbert
SHENANDOAH, Iowa, June 24, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Parents in Southwest Iowa have reacted in horror after learning that Planned Parenthood's co-ed sex education course not only used pornographic teaching materials but also taught children sexual positions.
Colleen Dostal told Fox News Radio, after discovering that her 14-year-old son had been taught sexual positions using stuffed animals meant to represent STDs, that the class was "horribly inappropriate."

“I do not understand why any adult with a classroom of children would show them sexual positions,” she told Fox.  (She forgets these are not adults, human yes, but not adults - they have not attained the maturity level to be considered adults.)

Dostal said the class also included directions on performing female exams and used an anatomically correct model of a male sex organ to explain how to use a condom.
The parents said the school's principal was "mortified" when told the content of the class and apologized.  (It is nice to see that the Principal stepped up to his position.)  Several other parents complained to school superintendent Dick Profit. Profit, however, claimed he had received equal numbers of calls supporting and opposing the explicit sex-ed, according to the World Herald.

Speaking for Planned Parenthood, Jennifer Horner defended the curriculum as giving children "accurate" information.

"We are not trying to keep any of this a secret. All information we use is medically accurate and science based," she said.  (Because as we know our current slant of "science" always has the best interest of the culture and family in mind.)

Planned Parenthood's extremely explicit take on teen sex-ed is evident from the "Teen Talk" section of their website, a series of pages decorated with images of heterosexual and homosexual intimacy, which leads youngsters to a wealth of information on deviant sexual practices.

One page entitled "All about the anus: how much do you really know about your anus?" gives explicit details on anal penetration as a source of sexual pleasure and "as a way to preserve the woman's virginity." (And a way to preserve her dignity, I'm sure.)  While noting that anal penetration "is, of course, high risk for HIV," PP advocates using condoms or "Sheer Glyde dams" to protect against the fatal virus.  (Oh, well its still OK then.)

Elsewhere, Planned Parenthood dedicates a web page to advocating masturbation as "safe and healthy, and it's here to stay." The article hails the painkilling and stress-relieving qualities of masturbation, and assures that it's "fine" to do so several times a day.

Here we go again Planned Parenthood stuffing their views on the culture and families, thank goodness parents had the guts to call the school over this. 

H/T Catholic Parents Online

Friday, June 25, 2010

Traditional Sermons from the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter

Every so often we venture a short distance from the desert to visit friends in Omaha, NE.  When we do I make every to go to Mass at Immaculate Conception Parish in Omaha. 

This is the only Traditional Latin Mass Parish in Nebraska.  There are several other Church's to hear the TLM, however this is the only parish.  Rev. John Brancich, F.S.S.P. is the Pastor and as I understand he is from Winona, MN - I know how does it come to pass that a man from Winona would end up in Nebraska as Traditional Priest?  And in full union with the Magisterium to boot!  WOW, anyway Immaculate Conception has a great website which they post their sermons on weekly - very traditional sermons that pack a great punch.  Good stuff to listen to and reflect on.
                                                                 

This is Father Brancich above with Our Lord. 
So, the sermons are great teaching moments and I highly recommend listening if you have the opportunity.  They have two ways to listen.  First, you can listen off the web page, which has them all listed for approximately one year back.  Second, you can download the sermons in MP3 format for truth and education on the go.  Oh Yeah - good stuff.  Again, you can visit their website for further details on any and all activities in the parish.  Here are some pictures from past blogs.  IC will be the top two pictures.  For more information about the Archdiocese of Omaha please visit their website.

Prayer request

Please keep a friend in prayer - she is having difficulties in her pregnancy.

Pier Giorgio Novena Begins June 25

Dear Friend of Blessed Pier Giorgio,
I can only imagine how many special intentions each of you has for yourselves, friends, loved ones, our country, the Church, the world.  Why not entrust them to our heavenly friend as we approach his Fourth of July feast day?  Join the novena in honor of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati beginning on Friday, June 25th.  The prayers for each day can be found on the FrassatiUSA website. 
If you would like to participate in the worldwide novena, our friends at the Compagnia dei Tipi Loschi have again posted an invitation in several languages on their website.  The English translation is a little rough but I think you can get the message.  They are proposing one extra decade of the rosary each day for the Church and the intentions of our Holy Father.  You can submit your intentions to them via their website and they will include them in a special Mass to be offered on July 4th. 
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the beatification of Pier Giorgio.  If you have not prayed the novena before, this would be a wonderful time to begin.  May Blessed Pier Giorgio intercede for each of you!
Verso l'alto,
Chris

Christine M. Wohar, Executive Director
FrassatiUSA, Inc.
P.O. Box 50571
Nashville, TN  37205
615.844.3777
http://www.frassatiusa.org/
chris@FrassatiUSA.org

"The future is in the hands of God and better than that it could not be."  ~ Pier Giorgio Frassati
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Here is the Novena

Closing Prayer for each day (Litany)

Day 1      Day 2      Day 3      Day 4      Day 5     

Day 6      Day 7      Day 8      Day 9

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Not part of the Novena, nonetheless, a powerful prayer.

"Heavenly Father,
Give me the courage to strive for the highest goals,
to flee every temptation to be mediocre.
Enable me to aspire to greatness, as Pier Giorgio did,
and to open my heart with joy to Your call to holiness.
Free me from the fear of failure.
I want to be, Lord, firmly and forever united to You.
Grant me the graces I ask You through Pier Giorgio's intercession,
by the merits of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
Amen."

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Quote on Womanhood

I was hitting the next blog button off the Badger Catholic when I came across this blog - great quotes on womanhood, here is a sample.

"Godly womanhood ... the very phrase sounds strange in our ears. We never hear it now. We hear about every other type of women: beautiful women, smart women, sophisticated women, career women, talented women, divorced women. But so seldom do we hear of a godly woman - or of a godly man either, for that matter.We believe women come nearer to fulfilling their God-given function in the home than anywhere else. It is a much nobler thing to be a good wife, than to be Miss America. It is a greater achievement to establish a Christian home than it is to produce a second-rate novel filled with filth. It is a far, far better thing in the realms of morals to be old-fashioned, than to be ultra-modern. The world has enough women who know how to be smart. It needs women who are willing to be simple. The world has enough women who know how to be brilliant. It needs some who will be brave. The world has enough women who are popular. It needs more who are pure. We need women, and men, too, who would rather be morally right than socially correct."— Peter Marshall

"If you women continue to demand your choice to work, you will so upset the economy of this country that the time will come when you will not have a choice. You will have to work."— Helen Andelin

H/T - Clothed with Scarlet

Monday, June 21, 2010

Classic Movies for Boys - stir their masculine spirit!

Mommy Life writes:

As the mother of eight sons - the first string of four now grown men in their 20s - I can't emphasize enough how much I needed to learn to raise boys well.
You moms with young sons are in for a very special journey yourself if you allow God to teach you to step outside your own way of viewing the world. It takes a major paradigm shift for a woman to understand boys and to provide for their masculine potential.
There are many moments of surrender. I can remember so many times when my boys were roughhousing and I'd have to bite my tongue to keep from saying, "Be careful! Don't get hurt!" But instinctively, I felt like I wanted to do everything I could to avoid setting unnecessary limits on my boys.
As a former feminist I was used to looking at the word from the perspective that women were the norm and masculine behavior was deviant. Today, the once radical ideas of feminism have crept into our culture, suffocating our schools, which currently follow a learning template which girls can handle well but which is frustrating and stifling to boys. Boys learn best where there is physical activity and fierce competition.
But women, thinking competition "not nice" have seen to it that such opportunities are few and far between. Now every kid on the team gets a trophy so no one has hurt feelings. And all those medals and trophies and certificates have become cheapened and meaningless, leaving boys with nothing to strive for.

Their natural drive to compete gets them in trouble and they are made to feel ashamed about their drives, dreams and desires. Playground games, climbing structures, and in some schools even recess have disappeared.

And of course, the culture - through coarse and corrupt movies and TV - drives down their noblest impulses and replaces them with cheap humor and uncommitted sex.

Me
When I found this blog and read what this woman was writing I began to be filled with hope!  So often I hear and witness Mothers who try with all their might to stop their Sons from being who they are.  Read the above paragraphs very carefully.....several times.....a day.  This is indeed what boys DO.  They climb, fall down, get hurt and guess what....it is NOT the end of the world.  This is what builds boys' character and allows them to grow into Men that will lead, take a stand against wrong, fight for what is right and just, and live as Jesus did.  "As a former feminist I was used to looking at the word from the perspective that women were the norm and masculine behavior was deviant."  Fathers, I urge you to take part in rearing your children
without an example of masculinity our boys will grow weaker, not knowing how to behave as true men.  No, boys should not be rough with girls, be disrespectful, or intentionally hurt others.  This is not what this article is about.  Note that she wrote she is a former feminist- any flags go up?  Most women today do not realize that they have misguided feminist tendencies and transmit those to their children.  Does any thing written above happen in your home, with the attempting to stop boys from exploring and growing into Men?  You will be responsible for what happens in your home.  Obviously we don't want our children to get hurt, but to prevent it at all costs because we are scared they will get injured?  A bubble will not accompany our children throughout life, it is only through small "hurts" as we grow that we build up the strength to handle the "biggies" throughout the teenage and adult years.  If we allow our children to be spared from these rites of passage we severely hinder their ability to handle what happens after they are gone.  Take these little moments to use as building blocks;  think of it as a workout in character building.

Back to Her
Since I homeschooled my oldest sons, we were first of all able to break up the day and they had many more hours to be active, to explore and to find themselves as masculine creatures than they would have had in school.  I know they are grateful for that today.
Tripp and I also took a proactive approach - filling their hearts and minds with things that were noble and honest and true. A major part of that foundation was built on classic books and movies which would speak to their masculine spirit. Though I had a fairly extensive movie background, most of these were movies I'd never seen before having sons. And many I sill haven't seen - but the men in my family love nothing better than to watch them together.

This roundup of Classic Movies for Boys is a spin-off of a request for suggestions on books for boys which my husband Tripp put together. Zach - still recovering from his motorcycle accident/ankle surgery - was kind enough to link each to Amazon so you could read more about each movie. And even order if you like.
Many of these are available at your local library. All are available through Netflix - another good reason to join - as one MommyLife reader suggested, cut the cable and subscribe to Netflix for saving money and better viewing.

Note: a bold border indicates that the film may contain some mature elements not suitable for younger children.

H/T and credit to Mommy Life  The movie list can be seen on her blog

More music "Offer it up" to the tune of "Gather us in"

Offer it up

(to the tune of "Gather us in")

Here in this place, a new song is playing
now is the silence vanished away,
hear, in this space, our sound bites and sayings,
brought here to You in the light of this day.

Offer it up the trite and shallow
offer it up the lyrics so lame
Call to us now, our spirits lie fallow
cringing at songs that rejoice in our name.

We are the young to whom worship's a mystery
we are the old – who yearn to embrace
hymns that were sung throughout all of history
sadly it seems they have all been replaced.

Offer it up the lyrics so haughty
offer it up the messages wrong
pray for the soul of poor brother Marty
give us the stomach to finish this song.

Here we will sing of wine and of water
wish we would sing of the blood of our Lord
here we shall sing with our sons and our daughters
hoping they don't get confused by the words.

Give us to sing, a song that is pious
Give us to sing, a song about You
let our music ministers buy us
hymns that are holy with words that are true.
H/T What does Mike think

Saturday, June 19, 2010

All are Welcome (If you don't really care about liturgy)

Ok, to start this post, just a bit of a primer - What draws you closer the THE LORD?

Marty Haugen vs. St Thomas Aquinas




Alright, I know they are not taken in the exact format, one is from a "woman's ordination to the priesthood", the other taken from Holy Thursday.  Both, however, could be heard at any Mass and between you and me I have heard Mr. Haugen far more often.  So to the post I go.

I have heard an increased number of orthodox Catholics complain more and more regarding the liturgical music that is used for worshiping our Lord (not each other).  I have a friend in Western WI that states he will not sing when Marty Haugen's songs are played - and to my understanding is quite often.  A Priest in Eastern WI that has to put up with "All are Welcome" at the beginning of almost every Mass.  Lastly, a Priest in the Diocese of Lincoln that gave a very stern homily regarding the witness adults give to children when they do not sing during Mass.  What is the tie that binds these three situations together?  The fact that faithful Catholics WANT to worship God during the Liturgy - not each other. 

Go back to the top videos, do you think one would hear Pange Lingua at an "ordination" for women to the priesthood?  (If in fact such a thing were possible.)  Not likely.  Do my friends or I hear "We Are Many Parts" at the TLM?  No, and perhaps that may be part of the draw - to return to a sense of tradition.  OK, enough of that, many people have asked me what is the story with folks like Mary Haugen and David Hass and the like.  Well, here is what I found.  I don't want this to be a head hunt, so keeping that in mind I will be taking only factual info from their respective websites and the MIGHTY wikipedia.

Biography for Marty Haugen
Marty Haugen is a liturgical composer, workshop presenter, performing and recording artist & author from Eagan, Minnesota. He and his wife, Linda, have two children with good partners (not sure what that means) and a recent grandson. Currently Marty serves as composer-in-residence at Mayflower United Church of Christ in Minneapolis and serves occasionally as adjunct instructor at United Theological Seminary in New Brighton, Minnesota.  For the past 25 years, Marty has presented hundreds of workshops and concerts across North and Central America, Europe, Asia and the Pacific Rim. He has over 35 recordings and more than 400 separate printed editions available through GIA Publications. A number of his published songs, including "Shepherd Me, O God," "Gather Us In" and "All Are Welcome" are well-known to many religious denominations. He has a number of published mass settings for Roman Catholic communities, including Mass of Creation, and several communion settings for Lutheran congregations, including Unfailing Light (with Pastor Susan Briehl) and Now the Feast and Celebration, as well as a communion setting for the new Evangelical Worship Book (ELW-Augsburg Fortress).  Marty has served as an editor or consultant to a number of GIA hymnals and has been a contributor to hymnals or supplements for many denominational groups including the ELCA and ELCIC (Evangelical Lutheran Church of America and Canada), the United Methodist Church, the Mennonite Brethren, the United Church of Christ, the United Church of Canada, the Church of England, the Church of Scotland, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and Roman Catholic groups in Great Britain, Canada, Ireland and Australia.

"For twenty plus years I have been told, mainly anonymously through the internet, how I have been personally responsible for destroying Roman Catholic worship. I have never responded; however, I wish to offer a few comments now.  First of all, although I am not Roman Catholic, I have a deep love and respect for and faith in the worship tradition of the Roman Catholic Church. My own hesitancy about joining the Church is not about its Eucharistic theology, but rather around the unwillingness of the Church to commission, ordain and welcome all humans as Jesus did–male and female, married and unmarried, saints and sinners. I believe that the Church, God’s people and all of creation have suffered from this omission.  I do not think of my own music as central or important to Roman Catholic worship, present or future. I began writing as a parish musician; I still keep the vision that to be “catholic” is to learn and love and embrace the best of the past tradition and to welcome the “best” of what is new, as Gods [sic] speaks through all cultures and expressions (see “Lumen Gentia” [sic]). I leave it to communities and to the Holy Spirit that will (more than us, thank God) guide the future choices that will last.  I had nothing to do with the choice of “Mass of Creation” for a Papal Mass. Having said that, I believe that attacks upon Tom Stehle in his efforts to engage a congregation with what he hoped would be familiar and meaningful to them (using parts of the liturgy with currently approved texts) were unfair, un-Christian and beneath those of us who truly care about how God speaks through our Sacraments."  Heres more

Marty Haugen

The MIGHTY Wikipedia

Marty Haugen, (born December 30, 1950 in Wanamingo, Minnesota), is an American composer of liturgical music. He creates settings for both Roman Catholic and Protestant congregations. Haugen was raised in the American Lutheran Church (ALC) in Minnesota, and also writes contemporary hymns and liturgies for the Lutheran church despite being a member the United Church of Christ.  The majority of his compositions are published by GIA Publications, Inc.. His best-known works are two Lutheran liturgies, Holden Evening Prayer and Now the Feast and Celebration, and a setting of the Catholic mass, Mass of Creation. He has also composed dozens of other works, including liturgy settings, choral arrangements, sacred songs, and hymns, including "Here in this Place (Gather Us In)", "Canticle of the Sun", "We Are Many Parts", "We Remember", and "Shepherd Me, O God", as well as several psalm settings and paraphrases.  He is also a performing musician, and has recorded a number of CDs. He holds a position as composer in residence at Mayflower Community Congregational Church (UCC) in Minneapolis.  Haugen holds a degree in psychology from Luther College. After graduating, Haugen pursued a career as a musician. 

His music in contemporary Catholic culture

Following the movement that began with the St. Louis Jesuits in the 1970s and 1980's, Marty Haugen, together with David Haas, became some of the most prolific composers of contemporary Catholic liturgical music during the period of rapid liturgical change following Vatican II. Their hymns, songs, and liturgy make up a good deal of the contents of the GIA Gather hymnals, and are widely published in other hymnals used by the Catholic Church in the United States.
Haugen also leads workshops around the country, entitled "Living Liturgy."
Because Haugen and Haas have become synonymous with this style of music, their names are often mentioned in criticism of liturgical use of music of this style.

 Lutheran Liturgy

Haugen has written four complete liturgies for the ELCA. These include "Now the Feast and Celebration," a communion liturgy; "Holden Evening Prayer," a service of evening prayer originally written for Holden Village, and two additional, untitled communion liturgies first appearing in ELCA hymnals.  These liturgies have been published in various forms, with some of them appearing in ELCA hymnal supplements "With One Voice" and "Renewing Worship," and in the ELCA hymnal, "Evangelical Lutheran Worship" (2006).


Now this was found here and is just opinion, but dang funny (and sadly quite true)

The ten step Marty Haugen song writing program
Step one:
Make sure that you write your Marty Haugen song in the right environment and setting. It will really help if you put on a Barbara Streisand or an Andrew Lloyd Webber CD; the inspiration they give will really boost your song writing ability.  Many Marty Haugen wannabes claim that they personally find Kermit the Frog singing Rainbow Connection a real inspiration in their efforts to follow in the song writing footsteps of the Master.
Step two:
Think about things like your favourite pet. If you don’t have a pet, then think of Lassie or Barney the Dinosaur.
Step three:
Choose a song structure from the following options:
1. Verse, chorus, verse
2. Chorus, verse, chorus
3. Verse, chorus, verse, bridge
Step four:
Choose and complete a song title from the following options:
1. Gather...
2. Justice is...
3. Make us...
4. Happy...
5. Lovely, lovely...
6. People of...
Step five:
Find your favourite cute furry soft toy. Give it a big cuddle and hum your favourite Blue’s Clues song to it. This will help to keep your song writing focus and inspiration going.
Step six:
Choose the appropriate time signature for your song from the following choices:
1. 4/4 Jingle timing
2. 3/4 Waltz timing
Step seven:
Pick an instrument to write your song on from the following options:
1. Folk guitar
2. Casio keyboard
3. Folk guitar and Casio keyboard
Step eight:
Write a tune. It needs to have a happy feel – think 1980’s show tune, or 1970’s elevator music.
Make sure your melody is easily sung by finding a child and trying the tune out on them, if it takes them more than two attempts to grasp the melody then the tune is too complex and needs to be reworked.
If you chose option 3 at step three then you need to make sure that your bridge has a completely different melody to the rest of the song – this helps to keep things lively.
Step nine:
Write the lyrics to your song.
For a song to be a true Haugen classic it needs to incorporate some or all of the following words and phrases:
Justice, community, gathering, eat at the table, communion of hope, peace, injustice, bread, singing people, new song, light, open our minds, you love our failures, weakness.
Do not consult the Catechism or any other official Church documents during the lyric writing process, it will just complicate your lyrics and taint them with an official hierarchical flavour which doesn't work for Haugen songs.
Step ten:
Test your song by doing the following:
1. Play your song on a Church organ, preferably in your Diocesan Cathedral. If it sounds good played on the organ then you need to start over. If this happens you might want to spend more time listening to Rainbow Connection before beginning the writing process.
2. Find a group of at least ten children and get them to sing your song. If it sounds the same with them yelling/singing it as it did when you finished writing it then you could be on to a winner.
3. Try it out at your local rest home. If the most tone deaf residents have no problems remembering your song after hearing it only once then you definitely have a hit on your hands.

This is too good to pass up.

Offer it up

(to the tune of "Gather us in")
Here in this place, a new song is playing
now is the silence vanished away,
hear, in this space, our sound bites and sayings,
brought here to You in the light of this day.

Offer it up the trite and shallow
offer it up the lyrics so lame
call to us now, our spirits lie fallow
cringing at songs that rejoice in our name.

We are the young to whom worship's a mystery
we are the old – who yearn to embrace
hymns that were sung throughout all of history
sadly it seems they have all been replaced.

Offer it up the lyrics so haughty
offer it up the messages wrong
pray for the soul of poor brother Marty
give us the stomach to finish this song.

Here we will sing of wine and of water
wish we would sing of the blood of our Lord
here we shall sing with our sons and our daughters
hoping they don't get confused by the words.

Give us to sing, a song that is pious
Give us to sing, a song about You
let our music ministers buy us
hymns that are holy with words that are true.

http://fatherjoe.wordpress.com/2008/04/04/2974/

http://www.martyhaugen.net/indexbio.html

http://oxfiles.blogspot.com/2006/03/ten-step-marty-haugen-song-writing.html

Found someone else with a similiar post here he beat me to it a few months ago.

Happy Fathers Day

JMJ

To all my friends in a galaxy far, far away (not in the desert) I would like to wish you a happy fathers day.  Thanks to all of you who have helped me grow, mature (well maybe), and reach for greatness in my own fatherhood.  May we all find strength in God the Father, from whom our earthly fatherhood is derived. 

God bless +

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Litany of Humility

Rafael Cardinal Merry del Val (1865-1930),
Secretary of State for Pope Saint Pius X

O Jesus! meek and humble of heart, Hear me.
From the desire of being esteemed,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being loved...
From the desire of being extolled ...
From the desire of being honored ...
From the desire of being praised ...
From the desire of being preferred to others...
From the desire of being consulted ...
From the desire of being approved ...
From the fear of being humiliated ...
From the fear of being despised...
From the fear of suffering rebukes ...
From the fear of being calumniated ...
From the fear of being forgotten ...
From the fear of being ridiculed ...
From the fear of being wronged ...
From the fear of being suspected ...


That others may be loved more than I,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be esteemed more than I ...
That, in the opinion of the world,
others may increase and I may decrease ...
That others may be chosen and I set aside ...
That others may be praised and I unnoticed ...
That others may be preferred to me in everything...
That others may become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should…

Catholic Parents Online

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Exorcism and the Church Militant

Pro-Life Exorcist: “Never in All of History Have We Seen Evil Promoted So Effectively”
By John-Henry Westen

WASHINGTON, June 14, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) -

“Satan is normally ‘hidden’ … but nowadays he is walking tall in powerful structures of sin like abortion, pornography, sex slavery, rapacious greed and terrorism,” writes pro-life leader, Catholic priest and exorcist Reverend Thomas J. Euteneuer in his new book, Exorcism and the Church Militant.

The devil, says the President of Human Life International, “flexes his muscles” with “pernicious ideologies like radical feminism and ‘pro-choice’ extremism, the militant homosexual movement and the aggressive mass media which is the ministry of propaganda for Satan and all his works and all his empty promises.”

Father Euteneuer has conducted exorcisms in several dioceses around the United States and spoken to thousands of people on the subject.

In the newly released book, Fr. Euteneuer warns: “Never in all of history have we seen evil promoted so effectively and the true good so roundly mocked and rejected as in this age of extreme technological prowess.” He explains, “the difference between the modern world and past generations is that Satan has a greater ability to use groups and institutions for increasing his wicked reach into human life and society.”

Far from hidden, suggests the exorcist, “Nowadays, objective evil is displayed out in the open air with impunity, celebrated in the public forum and strategized in plush board rooms.”

Fr. Euteneuer presents the case that “the devil's spiritual warfare on our flocks will intensify as the years proceed and that all Christians, but especially priests, will have no choice but to engage more deeply in the spiritual battle for souls.”

“The devil now,” he warns, “arrogates to himself the right to control the totality of human existence even in so-called free societies: from manipulating the very act of creation (in vitro fertilization, cloning, Human Genome); to the authority over life and death (abortion, embryonic stem cell research, euthanasia); to the definition of human sexuality and marriage (birth control, divorce, homosexual unions); to the very prospect of human annihilation (nuclear war, genocide and the impending New World Order). “

Along with Exorcism and the Church Militant, Father Euteneuer is also releasing Demonic Abortion, the first of two companion works. This 120-page booklet is a meditation on the evil nature of the abortion industry, from the perspective of a priest and exorcist who has been fighting in the pro-life trenches around the world for well over a decade. With a release date of July 7, 2010, Demonic Abortion is now available for pre-order.

More information about both Exorcism and the Church Militant and Demonic Abortion can be found at http://www.exorcismbook.com/.

The introduction to the book is available here.

H/T Catholic Parents Online

You may remember Fr. Euteneuer from this interview........Praise the Lord for courage and truth.

Graduation

For those interested, I completed my probation period just last week.  A grand ceremony was held complete with the pipes and drums, speeches by the Chief and Mayor, and a badge pinning.  Below is a link to view pictures taken by a like minded (I think) Captain. 

Picasa Pictures

Pipes and Drums Video

Cya

Monday, June 14, 2010

Servants of Our Lady of Guadalupe

The Servants of Our Lady of Guadalupe is a pro-life apostolate operating with the permission of the Diocese of La Crosse, WI. The Servants are dedicated to promoting respect for human life through prayer, study of Church teaching, and peaceful missionary action.

Another great and much needed apostate that I have wanted to write about is the Servants.  Based in the Diocese of La Crosse, this group of faithful Catholics promote the culture of life in many different ways. 

I will post more as I am able to get more info from them........they are a very humble group so it is hard to find Internet based facts on them......I shall go to the source when I can.  Some of their work can be found by following  Vigil for Life and the blog that accompanies it.  Stay tuned for more.

Bishop Edward J. Slattery celebrates Mass ad orientem

How would you like this man as a Bishop??????? 

When Bishop Slattery celebrates Mass at his Cathedral he celebrates ad orientem..........every time.


An innovation with unforeseen consequences.

In the last 40 years, however, this shared orientation was lost; now the priest and the people have become accustomed to facing in opposite directions. The priest faces the people while the people face the priest, even though the Eucharistic Prayer is directed to the Father and not to the people.  This innovation was introduced after the Vatican Council, partly to help the people understand the liturgical action of the Mass by allowing them to see what was going on, and partly as an accommodation to contemporary culture where people who exercise authority are expected to face directly the people they serve, like a teacher sitting behind her desk.  Unfortunately this change had a number of unforeseen and largely negative effects. First of all, it was a serious rupture with the Church’s ancient tradition. Secondly, it can give the appearance that the priest and the people were engaged in a conversation about God, rather than the worship of God. Thirdly, it places an inordinate importance on the personality of the celebrant by placing him on a kind of liturgical stage.

Bishop Edward J. Slattery

Read the whole article

Sunday, June 13, 2010

The (Un) Official Animal Mascot of Nebraska

They are everywhere............dead or alive.........


And they are not this nice romatic kind either,

Every road, everyday


Saturday, June 12, 2010

Retreat at Devils Lake aka Angels Lake Baraboo WI

RESERVATION DETAILS


Campground: DEVILS LAKE STATE PARK
Site: 198
Site Type: STANDARD NON ELECTRIC
Loop: N Lts 104-123,150,163-246,703
Arrival Date: Wed Aug 11 2010
Departure Date: Mon Aug 16 2010
Length of Stay: 5
# of Occupants: 6
Equipment: # of Vehicles: 2
Check-In Time: 3:00 PM
Check-Out Time: 3:00 PM
 
Officially the Retreat will begin in Thursday, August 12th, whatever time you like to arrive.  End date is Monday, August 16th with a kick us out time of 3:00pm.
 
I will be arriving on Wed, August 11th in the afternoon to get our wood from the wood seller guy - see this for more info.  My family may also be joining me for the evening - that is still up in the air though.  As I last heard we have several Priests joining is us for the weekend, so Praise The Lord for that great blessing!  
 
Activities?  Much like last year; prayer, Mass, food, bouldering, more food, swimming, biking, climbing, hopefully rappelling, watching someone climb rocks in odd and compromising positions, hiking, communal prayer, FIRE, stories, cigars and pipes, and general building up one another for the Kingdom - with some good ribbing built in for character.  Sound OK?  Want something different, let me know or send a comment for all to see.  In case you forgot here are some pics from previous years.









Still need more info, let me know.

Catholic Youth Expeditions


Something I have wanted to blog about for awhile now, the Catholic Youth Expeditions.  Headed up by Father Quinn, base camped in Appleton, WI this youth ministry program is taking the Badger State by storm!! (And producing vocations, ..........I know in the Diocese of Green Bay, can u believe it?)  Actually, with Bishop David Ricken as the Shepard the faith is going in the right (no pun intended) direction.  Friend blogger keeps his eye on him too!  Badger Catholic stuff




If you are in the area, check them out, I know Fr. Quinn has some great things going on.  I hope to see him later this year, perhaps as a Chaplin for us???  Hint Hint Padre..........God's blessing to you, and CYE - keep up the good work, you are in our prayers.  Bl. Pier Giorgio, ora pro CYE.  I can't sign off without giving a shout out to another great Priest in the Green Bay area, Father Mark - you are in our prayers.  Thanks for all the support and direction.

Thanks to you both for answering the Call.

Fr. Quinn's Blog

Friday, June 11, 2010

Devils Lake (Angels Lake) Baraboo WI

Memories

Sorry, TB

Who can forget this???????????



More to come

WI state parks and firewood

You are receiving this e-mail because you have reserved a Wisconsin DNR campsite through Reserve America.

As of June 1, 2010, anyone visiting any DNR property is prohibited from bringing firewood to that DNR property that was harvested from a distance greater than 25 miles OR from locations outside of Wisconsin. Firewood from counties quarantined for the emerald ash borer is also prohibited from entering state lands outside the quarantined areas. Prohibited firewood will be confiscated and violations of federal or state quarantines could result in a citation and/or a fine. This change affects all state-operated campsites. Firewood that has been certified by the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection as treated to kill invasive insects and diseases is allowed onto any state property regardless of location. (A list of certified dealers can be found at the DATCP website at http://www.datcp.state.wi.us/arm/environment/insects/firewood_restrictions/index.jsp.)
The state is making this change to provide a greater degree of protection for state parks, forests and wildlife lands from potential infestation by a number of invasive pests and diseases that are moving on firewood. Where an invasive pest has become established in Wisconsin, like the emerald ash borer, it becomes even more important to limit the movement of the primary means of introduction, firewood.

To avoid problems that could impact your camping experience, buy your firewood locally from the park or state forest or from a nearby dealer. Most state campgrounds have firewood available on site. For firewood availability and hours at your campsite contact the park or state forest directly. (Phone numbers to call can be found at http://www.wiparks.net under the heading "Camping in the State Parks".)
Campers from out-of-state should be aware of firewood quarantine laws. Moving firewood across state lines from Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, and some other states is a federal violation and could result in a substantial fine.

Thank you for your help in protecting Wisconsin parks and forests.

What does this mean for us as we camp - paying for firewood which is one of my BIGGEST pet peeves.  Buying wood to burn, the thought makes my head spin, but it does go for a good cause.  Time with friends, spiritual enrichment, prayer, food, joy, cigars, the good life, life away from the desert.  Peace out dogs.

Graduation Pipes

I am not allowed to post too much regarding the desert, but this is pretty unidentifiable, at least from a visual perspective. Enjoy the pipes, they are awesome - I may join. AAAAAAAYYYYYYYYHHHHHHHHHH Pound Pound

The video was taken sideways, but the sound is still upright.  AAAAYYYYYYYYYHHHHHH


Corpus Christi Procession Omaha NE 2010

On the Feast of Corpus Christi my family and I went to Omaha NE to join the Procession with some friends from Omaha - WHAT UP G FAMILY.  We started the day by assisting at Mass at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Omaha.  This is a Traditional Latin Mass Parish, where the Sacraments are celebrated by the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter.







































Mass was wonderful, we sat on the left hand side next to a side altar that reminded me of the Shrine, but in God's country.  Small, but with a powerful presence dedicated to St.'s Peter and Paul.  Yeah for the TLM.

Next to the G family home where we had lunch and visited with the G family and a Priest from Georgia that was staying there.  Great Priest, very funny and welcoming.  (He also bought us all Cold Stone ice cream after the Procession.)  What a Priest.  Pray for him.  Fr. B we'll name him.

OK, so the Procession started at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church in Omaha, NE.


Can't say too much about this Parish, didn't see enough to say. However, one can assume that in participating in this procession, one would hope they are solid. I believe this is a N.O. parish. The procession began and continued through the streets of Omaha, through parks, neighborhoods, and included several stops along the way for prayer, reflections and meditations. Most of the prayers were in Spanish as most of the community and parishioners come from a Latino background. It was nice to see another culture represented instead of what I am most used to seeing. Latin could also be heard as the videos below will show.

We ended at St. Peter Catholic Church where rose peddles were being thrown and blown from the roof tops of the church building.  Fireworks and a police escort also welcomed Our Lord as we arrived.  What a wonderful witness to the Real Presence.  St. Peter's Parish is a wonderful N.O parish.  Many of the prayers are in Latin, homeschoolers abound, and there is a true sense of community here.  I greatly encourage anyone who has not made this public profession of faith, to make every attempt to accompany Our Lord to witness to him. 





In Bl. Pier Giorgio's time, this type of activity was illegal, and had the potential to have severe consequences imposed, should one break the law.  Pier Giorgio often broke this law, as we all should, to show our love for our King.  After the procession, we made our way to Cold Stone, the back to the G family home, and eventually back to the heart of the Desert.  A wonderful day and way to celebrate the True presence of Our Lord.   If you would like to see more, send me a comment and I will post as I have time.  My daughter took more photos than I did, and has some interesting perspectives from the eye of a 6 year old.


¡Viva Cristo Rey! 

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

FDA To Consider New Form of Emergency Contraception

FDA To Consider New Form of Emergency Contraception  CHEMICAL ABORTION
June 9, 2010 8:26 am SBrinkmann
By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Journalist

Less than a decade after the rush to make the “morning after pill”, known as Plan B, more widely available to women to prevent “unplanned pregnancies,” the failure of the drug now has the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) considering a new emergency contraceptive that studies show could be more effective in preventing pregnancy.  (This is why we should trust the FDA with a blind eye, because they ALWAYS have the best intrest of people in mind - just think of immunizations, chemicals on our food, chemical abortion,)

USA Today is reporting that the FDA advisory committee has scheduled a June 17 meeting to consider approving ulipristal acetate, a “morning after pill” currently being sold in Europe under the brand name ellaOne.

Available by prescription only, studies show ellaOne is longer lasting than Plan B, and can protect women for up to 120 hours – or five days – after having unprotected sex. Plan B, which is available in the U.S. without a prescription for women age 17 and older, is approved for use up to 72 hours after unprotected sex.

In one study, researchers compared the results of 1,700 women who took either Plan B or ellaOne within five days of having unprotected sex. In the ellaOne group, 15 got pregnant compared to 22 who took Plan B.

Emergency contraception, which is a larger dose of the same hormones contained in the birth control pill, has a predominantly “anti-implantation” function, meaning it prevents a fertilized ovum from being implanted in the uterine wall by a process of altering the wall itself.

As the Pontifical Academy for Life explains, “The final result will thus be the expulsion and loss of this embryo.”

The same document explains that the use of linguistic obfuscation by the manufacturers and distributors of these products, such as calling the action of preventing implantation of an embryo an “interception” rather than an abortion, is only being used to prevent more widespread use of the drug by women who might not otherwise take it.

“ . .. (T)he proven ‘anti-implantation’ action of the morning-after pill is really nothing other than a chemically induced abortion. It is neither intellectually consistent nor scientifically justifiable to say that we are not dealing with the same thing.”

The new drug, ellaOne is no different.

Therefore, the Church “strongly urges everyone who works in this sector to make a firm objection of moral conscience, which will bear courageous and practical witness to the inalienable value of human life, especially in view of the new hidden forms of aggression against the weakest and most defenseless individuals, as is the case with a human embryo.”

© All Rights Reserved, Living His Life Abundantly®/Women of Grace® http://www.womenofgrace.com/


H/T - Catholic Parents Online and Women of Grace

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Novena to the Sacred Heart Starts today!!!

This is the daily Novena to the Sacred heart of Jesus. It begins today, June 2nd, and concludes on June 10, the Vigil of the Feast of the Sacred Heart! A beautiful novena for your special prayer request.

Padre Pio recited this novena every day for all those who requested his prayers.

Efficacious Novena to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

I. O my Jesus, you have said: "Truly I say to you, ask and you will receive, seek and you will find, knock and it will be opened to you." Behold I knock, I seek and ask for the grace of...... (here name your request)

Our Father....Hail Mary....Glory Be to the Father....Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in you.

II. O my Jesus, you have said: "Truly I say to you, if you ask anything of the Father in my name, he will give it to you." Behold, in your name, I ask the Father for the grace of.......(here name your request) Our Father...Hail Mary....Glory Be To the Father....Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in you.

III. O my Jesus, you have said: "Truly I say to you, heaven and earth will pass away but my words will not pass away." Encouraged by your infallible words I now ask for the grace of.....(here name your request) Our Father....Hail Mary....Glory Be to the Father...Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in you.

O Sacred Heart of Jesus, for whom it is impossible not to have compassion on the afflicted, have pity on us miserable sinners and grant us the grace which we ask of you, through the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary, your tender Mother and ours.

Say the Hail, Holy Queen and add: St. Joseph, foster father of Jesus, pray for us.

- St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

H/T  -  Catholic Parents Online