Thursday, March 31, 2011

Bishop John Quinn to celebrate Extraordinary Form of the Mass....

What great news for the Diocese of Winona!!!

June 5th at 4:00 PM at St. Bridgets just outside of Rochester.

His Excellency will celebrate a Low Mass in the Extraordinary Form for the Sunday after the Ascension in the traditional calender.  There will be a reception and dinner with the Bishop following Mass in the church hall.  Please contact Don Hagler if you plan to attend the reception. (507) 206-4355

Monday, March 28, 2011

padded bikini tops for young girls...........

Really?  Normally, this isn't my type of post - but the irony in this, to me, is extraordinary. Mom's, Dad's, anyone who knows a child - try first by imparting your own values. What message does it send when little Susie see's mama in a thick push up? Here is a little secret (not from Victoria) that girls want, will, and try everything to dress like their Mom's. It is natural. Mom's - don't want your girls to dress toooooooo sexy? Try modesty and feminine dress yourselves. Just a thought from a Dad who wants his wife and daughter to be looked in the eye and not on the chest.

Ready or not, swimsuit season is here, and clothing stores across America are filling their racks with stringy bikinis, feeding women's insecurities and reminding us all that we should go to the gym before summer hits.

This year's crop of swimsuits includes an interesting offering for young girls: padded bikini tops.

Yes, Abercrombie Kids seems to think your 8-year-old's chest is too flat.

The popular fashion brand's new spring kids' line includes three bikini top styles, including the Ashley Push Up Triangle, that are all stuffed with padding.

Abercrombie Kids is an offshoot of Abercrombie & Fitch, the popular fashion brand aimed at teenagers. The kids line is geared at kids ages 8 to 14.

While a 14-year-old might be ready to try a padded bikini [why?], it's hard to imagine that an 8-year-old's cleavage needs enhancing. What sort of message are you sending a 2nd grader when you buy her a push-up top? [or 14 year old for that matter]

Moms are voicing their outrage on the Internet and questioning whether these tops will lead little girls to feel inadequate. Over at Babble mom blogger Rebecca Odes writes: "...the use of the word "push up" is unbelievably inappropriate. The push up bra is, effectively, a sex tool, designed to push the breasts up and out, putting them front and center where they're more accessible to the eye (and everything else). How is this okay for a second-grader?

I stopped by the Abercrombie Kids store at San Francisco's Westfield Mall yesterday to see if people are overreacting. The padding, especially in the push-up style, is generous. In fact, it's equal in thickness to the Victoria's Secret push-up bra I was wearing that day. [ Does any one else see the irony in this or is it just me?]

This isn't the first uproar over kids' padded bikinis. Last year, the British clothing chain Primark pulled a line of padded bikinis aimed at girls as young as 7 after criticism from advocacy groups protesting the sexualization of children.

Read more and see more
 

40 Days for Life - Rochester, MN

Just a note to encourage anyone in the Rochester - or South East MN are for that matter - that 40 Days for Life is still going strong, and is in need of more people to help pray outside Methodist for the continued conversion of those connected with abortion.  It is still Lent, and what better way to pray, fast, and give alms than to pray for the most innocent and most under attack in our society.  A friend and I have been doing the walk on the mornings I work from 6-7 AM.  We haven't had any "run-in's" yet with hostile people, but have had many smiles given in our direction (who knows if they were for us).  Please consider taking a small amount of time out of your week to pray for this most worthy cause.  And, as was remarked, "What better way to start the day than to go and pray for the lives of those affected by abortion."  Indeed, in our culture we become so introverted it is hard to step out of our comfort zone.  The first time I walked with a sign was truly a step out for me.  I have no difficulty walking and praying for the unborn - but, it is quite different to walk, pray, and hold a big sign that states clearly my position.  This is a great fault on my part - the desire to fit in or at least not stick out grinds my conscious.  The litany of humility can be great comfort.

40 Days for Life Rochester, MN

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Fatima Family - Masculinity the Gentle Man



Great Book, I highly recommend reading it.  Many people who read this may be turned off or even angered by this book, however work through it.  Take the time to read it all the way through.  Pray while reading it.  Be open to what the Holy Spirit says to you while studying it.  Much confusion exists today in the roles of males and females.  This book is a great way to help sort out what is actually the cause of this confusion.  Even among good families that are trying to live rightly, there is much division, weakness, exchanging of roles, and confusion of God given ways to live and teach our children.

Saturday, March 26, 2011

From a grandfather.........

 My wife has been doing some work putting together pictures of my grandfather.....here are some personal favorites.  Please pray for him, he is very ill and needs prayers for strength and continued conversion.

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Ash Wednesday Mass

Better late than never...........The St. Louis Catholic blogged about this......

KELO Land from South Dakota



SIOUX FALLS, SD - Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the season of Lent . It a time for penance, reflection, fasting and apparently, dance for one group of catholic students. We attend one Ash Wednesday Service [Mass] that was interrupted [during Mass] by an unexpected, but emotional flash mob [during Mass].

Not long after receiving the ceremonial ashes and final blessing [they say during Mass, is this after the final blessing?], a flash mob broke out during the Ash Wednesday Mass [during Mass] at St. Mary Catholic Church in Sioux Falls. The name of the song was "Where you go I'll go" by Chris Tomlin. A timely tribute for the beginning of the lenten season.

"We had done it for our talent show and it had such a powerful message behind it/we had a lot of people asking could we transform it into church or mass," St. Mary Teacher Julie Kolbeck said.  [No, you can't - Mass is not a performance.] 

St. Mary Artist-in-Resident [at a school?] Vicky Fuller helped with song selection and dance moves [during Mass], originally designed for a small group of performers.

"Flash mobs have been really kind of becoming a You Tube phenomena and our principal thought you know this would be something that really gets the kids interested," Kolbeck said.

This dance is a way for these elementary school kids to celebrate their faith [during Mass]. And of course, the message behind the flash mob is much stronger. 
"It's like how God tells us what to do, then we have to follow it," St. Mary 6th Grader Emily Olson said.  [I do wonder if it was God telling them this or a teacher.]

"Its one of those things as a parent to see their faith that your kids have and see these kids carry that message on themselves and to present it in such a beautiful way, its very powerful," Kolbeck said.  [outside of Mass and the Church proper, fine- as it is now......see the GIRM]

Thoughts on Liturgical Dance by folks way more articulate than me.

Why Do We Let Them Dress Like That?

By JENNIFER MOSES

In the pale-turquoise ladies' room, they congregate in front of the mirror, re-applying mascara and lip gloss, brushing their hair, straightening panty hose and gossiping: This one is "skanky," that one is "really cute," and so forth. Dressed in minidresses, perilously high heels, and glittery, dangling earrings, their eyes heavily shadowed in black-pearl and jade, they look like a flock of tropical birds. A few minutes later, they return to the dance floor, where they shake everything they've got under the party lights.

But for the most part, there isn't all that much to shake. This particular group of party-goers consists of 12- and 13-year-old girls. Along with their male counterparts, they are celebrating the bat mitzvah of a classmate in a cushy East Coast suburb.

Today's teen and preteen girls are bombarded with images and products that tout the benefits of sexual attraction. But must we as parents, give in to their desire to "dress like everyone else?" asks author Jennifer Moses. She talks with WSJ's Kelsey Hubbard.

In a few years, their attention will turn to the annual ritual of shopping for a prom dress, and by then their fashion tastes will have advanced still more. Having done this now for two years with my own daughter, I continue to be amazed by the plunging necklines, built-in push-up bras, spangles, feathers, slits and peek-a-boos. And try finding a pair of sufficiently "prommish" shoes designed with less than a 2-inch heel.

All of which brings me to a question: Why do so many of us not only permit our teenage daughters to dress like this—like prostitutes, if we're being honest with ourselves—but pay for them to do it with our AmEx cards?

I posed this question to a friend whose teenage daughter goes to an all-girls private school in New York. "It isn't that different from when we were kids," she said. "The girls in the sexy clothes are the fast girls. They'll have Facebook pictures of themselves opening a bottle of Champagne, like Paris Hilton. And sometimes the moms and dads are out there contributing to it, shopping with them, throwing them parties at clubs. It's almost like they're saying, 'Look how hot my daughter is.'" But why? "I think it's a bonding thing," she said. "It starts with the mommy-daughter manicure and goes on from there."

I have a different theory. It has to do with how conflicted my own generation of women is about our own past, when many of us behaved in ways that we now regret. A woman I know, with two mature daughters, said, "If I could do it again, I wouldn't even have slept with my own husband before marriage. Sex is the most powerful thing there is, and our generation, what did we know?"

We are the first moms in history to have grown up with widely available birth control, the first who didn't have to worry about getting knocked up. We were also the first not only to be free of old-fashioned fears about our reputations but actually pressured by our peers and the wider culture to find our true womanhood in the bedroom. Not all of us are former good-time girls now drowning in regret—I know women of my generation who waited until marriage—but that's certainly the norm among my peers.

So here we are, the feminist and postfeminist and postpill generation. We somehow survived our own teen and college years (except for those who didn't), and now, with the exception of some Mormons, evangelicals and Orthodox Jews, scads of us don't know how to teach our own sons and daughters not to give away their bodies so readily. We're embarrassed, and we don't want to be, God forbid, hypocrites.

Still, in my own circle of girlfriends, the desire to push back is strong. I don't know one of them who doesn't have feelings of lingering discomfort regarding her own sexual past. And not one woman I've ever asked about the subject has said that she wishes she'd "experimented" more.

As for the girls themselves, if you ask them why they dress the way they do, they'll say (roughly) the same things I said to my mother: "What's the big deal?" "But it's the style." "Could you be any more out of it?" What teenage girl doesn't want to be attractive, sought-after and popular?

And what mom doesn't want to help that cause? In my own case, when I see my daughter in drop-dead gorgeous mode, I experience something akin to a thrill—especially since I myself am somewhat past the age to turn heads.

In recent years, of course, promiscuity has hit new heights (it always does!), with "sexting" among preteens, "hooking up" among teens and college students, and a constant stream of semi-pornography from just about every media outlet. Varied sexual experiences—the more the better—are the current social norm.

I wouldn't want us to return to the age of the corset or even of the double standard, because a double standard that lets the promiscuous male off the hook while condemning his female counterpart is both stupid and destructive. If you're the campus mattress, chances are that you need therapy more than you need condemnation.

But it's easy for parents to slip into denial. We wouldn't dream of dropping our daughters off at college and saying: "Study hard and floss every night, honey—and for heaven's sake, get laid!" But that's essentially what we're saying by allowing them to dress the way they do while they're still living under our own roofs.

—Jennifer Moses is the author of "Bagels and Grits: A Jew on the Bayou" and "Food and Whine: Confessions of a New Millennium Mom."


Wall Street Journal

I have several thoughts and comments on this article - check back for updates.

"non-Protestant Christians"

2. Not everyone who believes in it has the same Bible. There are actually different bibles, though they all started with Jews (but before Judaism, per se). The Christian bible includes and depends upon the Jewish bible -- the Protestant Christian Old Testament is composed of the same books as the Jewish Hebrew Bible, arranged in a different order; and non-Protestant Christians include a few more books and parts of books (which also originated in Jewish circles) in their Old Testaments. The books of the Christian New Testament reflect the process of Jesus' followers gradually distinguishing themselves from his religion, Judaism.

When did the Orthodox, Roman Catholics, and others become "non-Protestant Christians" ...........we really do live in a protestant nation.

Full article

The Gift of Beauty...and totally missing the point






This program is from RealCatholicTV.com
The tomb of St. Peter
And totally missing the point..............................from a (Catholic) Parish in Rochester...WARNING..New Age theology to follow......................no, I will not name it.
 
Our Worship Space
 
The worship area, rich in light and space, is intended to continue the sense of informality, [right cause why would Christs sacrifice on Calvary need to be treated as a formal, solemn event...] the musical participation and the interactive spirit that have characterized our Sunday Masses from the beginning. It also provides us with a sense of the Holy Spirit in our midst.

The sanctuary for our worship space is in the center, with the assembly gathered around the altar, so everyone can be close to one another. [and hug, dance, and cuddle if needed] The baptistery is at the front edge of the sanctuary to keep before us the continuing importance of Baptism in our lives. We read the Scriptures from the ambo. This place is prominent because of the importance of the Bible for our lives and spirituality. .

The building is intended to maintain an atmosphere where children can feel welcome and comfortable in our midst. There is no cry room; and, generally, infants can remain in the worship area. It does not bother us if small children wander or play on the floor in our assembly. Children’s bulletins and color crayons are available for the children at Mass times.

Holy Spirit Processional Cross

A Cross of Victory - This cross was under design for almost four years. [Really, that is kinda sad.]  This cross is very different from what you might see in other places.  [Thank God for that]

A little history first of all: the cross of the early church did not feature a corpus on it. It was not a crucifix. Instead, the cross of that time was a cross of victory, a jeweled cross. It was a cross of resurrection and triumph, symbolizing that we won the victory over sin and death, and that the battle is over, adorned with the signs of celebration.

In fact, some may remember growing up, during Holy Week they would cover all the statues in church, and most of all, cover the crucifix. [Still do in parishes that actually...well...you get the picture]  The reason for doing this was that the cross was jeweled, and you wouldn't display the cross of the resurrection during the Lenten liturgical season. As the centuries wore on, however, the practice of the church became preoccupied with the crucified Jesus [?....we proclaim Christ and him CRUCIFIED] , and began to cover the cross during Holy Week in order to unveil [seriously need some training on what it means to veil something...and why its done.]  the crucified Jesus on Good Friday, rather than to cover the Easter cross of the resurrection.

Thus the processional cross at Holy Spirit is an attempt to reach back to the tradition of the early church [throwing the BS flag on that statement, I think tradition is the last thing intended here] , and is thus comparable to the jeweled cross of the resurrection, with its bronzed, enameled surface sparkling above the community.

Incidentally, if we look carefully through our cross, we can see the body of Jesus. As we look through the cross to the other side of the community (Note: seating arrangement at Holy Spirit is "in the round"), we can see those seated on the other side of church. Thus, the corpus of the cross is really us. We are the body of Christ. That's what our theology tells us over and over. Whenever we come together, we are the corpus, the body of Christ.  [I can't go on..........leave me...I can't make it......]

The Cross of Holy Spirit
When the artist first sketched this cross some four years ago, we asked him why he started with this design. He said that this is a cross of the Holy Spirit. We asked, "How so"? He said that the twelve pieces joined together in this cross represent the twelve apostles, or rather the eleven and Mary, on whom the Spirit descended on Pentecost. Thus, the artist intends this cross as a portrayal of that event of Pentecost, as well as to suggest that we are that gathering now, and that the Spirit is present in our midst as well.

Also, if we look carefully, the twelve pieces that make up this cross roughly resemble houses joined together. If we look closely, it looks like the neighborhoods around our parish church, joined together as we are, to form the body of Christ. We as a parish are made up of households, fit together in the shape of a cross.

Also, if we look closely at the houses, some are pointed inward, and some outward. That tells us something else about our community: that part of what we do is focused inward on our own spiritual development, and part is focused outward as service into our civic community. As a result there is a bi-directional piece of theology to all of this, connecting us to our city and county as well as to each other in the parish.

The Openness of the Cross

The next piece to reflect on is the openness of the cross. Basically, the cross is the passageway. When Jesus died on the cross, he opened the passageway for us. Thus, the passageway is through the cross.

This, then, is the narrow door that the Gospel is talking about. If we understand the cross being the passageway, it means we have been forgiven, and the way is open to God for us. In this way the cross is the passageway that everyone searches for.

It is also worth noting, that if the passageway is opened in one direction for us to reach God, the passageway is also open in the other, for the Spirit to enter into our lives. The passageway is two-way. Thus, the Holy Spirit also comes to us through the cross, entering our lives, showering us with gifts and talents for us to use.

This cross, then, is to be seen as the way, the door that is opened to us, because Jesus died for us. We have forgiveness of sins, because that passageway is open. We are priests, prophets and royalty because that doorway is open. We have gifts inside ourselves that we find because that passageway is open.

Lastly, if we look at the twelve pieces of the cross, that we said were like our houses joined together, we can see that the passageway opens through each of the houses. This is indeed a reminder to each household that the Holy spirit comes not just at church, but also, and maybe primarily through, the family gathered together. Our homes are temples of the Spirit, and each person of the family finds the passageway to the kingdom through the support and faith of the family together.

An Unfinished Space

Our worship space remains unfinished, requiring us to wait with more permanent liturgical art and furnishings. Plans for a finished assembly area are underway.

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Words

The BC did a post that had a quote from Humpty Dumpty.  It brought to mind some interesting points of view.  What do words mean?  Do they mean whatever the person using them means?  Or, do they actually mean what the vast majority of people (and a dictionary) would say they mean?

"When I use a word,’ Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, ‘it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.’

’The question is,’ said Alice, ‘whether you can make words mean so many different things.’

’The question is,’ said Humpty Dumpty, ‘which is to be master — that’s all."

— Lewis Carroll (Through The Looking Glass

Which is to be master, indeed.

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Recent Vortex's worth watching






Here is the Global Warming piece Real Catholic TV did several months ago. 

do you see the guy on the right.............

He played at Mass last night......minus the shorts.....he wore pants.  No kidding....could be twins.  Same guitar too.

God, give me strength.....please.

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Something I didn't know until tonight.....

Question?

Can persons other than the priest distribute ashes?

It is permitted.

According to the Book of Blessings a lay minister may assist the priest or deacon in the distribution of the ashes.

1659 This rite may be celebrated by a priest or deacon who may be assisted by lay ministers in the distribution of the ashes. The blessing of the ashes, however, is reserved to a priest or deacon.

(Book of Blessings---Blessing and Distribution of Ashes)

I stand, in humility, corrected.....if only to myself.

Thank you, Catholic Answers Forums

something to give up for lent........

LITURGICAL ABUSE

Cardinal Burke - Receiving Communion Kneeling and on the Tongue

Cardinal Burke


Cardinal Arinze


Knights of Divine Mercy

40 Days for Life - Rochester, MN

I am behind the 8 ball here, but I just found out that Rochester does in fact have a 40 Days for life.  Their local page can be found here.  It does look like there are plenty of open spaces and I think in a town this size, with all the people who travel to work in Roch, open spaces should be few and far between.  I will try to get down there at least once a week before work to show my support for the unborn.  Any one wanna join me?

From St. Paul

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

More Catholic cartoons

God bless this cartoonist.  I like him.  Normal Catholics - yep that's what I like.  The other ones......well.........they are out there......I know some of em.

First Communion in the Extraordinary Form

On Sunday, March 6 2011 our daughter received her First Holy Communion.  What a blessed day it was.  The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass was celebrated very well in the EF at St. Bridget's near Rochester, MN.  In the old calender March 6th is the feast day for St.'s Felicity and Perpetua - which both my wife and daughter have deep devotions to.I cannot put into words the feelings a father has when he sees his child receive Our Lord for the first time - truly a beautiful moment.

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Bad Mass = Weak Faith

Cardinal Raymond Burke: 'Liturgical abuses lead to serious damage to the faith of Catholics.'


by CINDY WOODEN (CNS)
 
ROME (CNS) — A weakening of faith in God, a rise in selfishness and a drop in the number of people going to Mass in many parts of the world can be traced to Masses that are not reverent and don’t follow Church rules, said two Vatican officials and a consultant.
 
“If we err by thinking we are the center of the liturgy, the Mass will lead to a loss of faith,” said U.S. Cardinal Raymond Burke, head of the Vatican’s Supreme Court.

Cardinal Burke and Spanish Cardinal Antonio Canizares Llovera, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments, spoke March 2 at a book launch in Rome.

The book, published only in Italian, was written by Father Nicola Bux, who serves as a consultant to the Congregations for the Doctrine of the Faith and for Saints’ Causes and to the office in charge of papal liturgies.

The English translation of Father Bux’s book title would be: How to Go to Mass and Not Lose Your Faith.

Cardinal Burke told those gathered for the book presentation that he agreed with Father Bux: that “liturgical abuses lead to serious damage to the faith of Catholics.”

Unfortunately, he said, too many priests and bishops treat violations of liturgical norms as something that is unimportant when, in fact, they are “serious abuses.”

Cardinal Canizares said that while the book’s title is provocative, it demonstrates a belief he shares: “Participating in the Eucharist can make us weaken or lose our faith if we do not enter into it properly” and if the liturgy is not celebrated according to the Church’s norms.

“This is true whether one is speaking of the ordinary or extraordinary form of the one Roman rite,” the cardinal said, referring to Masses in the form established after the Second Vatican Council as well as the Mass often referred to as the Tridentine rite.

Cardinal Canizares said that at a time when so many people are living as if God did not exist, they need a true Eucharistic celebration to remind them that only God is to be adored and that true meaning in human life comes only from the fact that Jesus gave his life to save the world.

Father Bux said that too many modern Catholics think the Mass is something that the priest and the congregation do together, when, in fact, it is something that Jesus does: “If you go to a Mass in one place and then go to Mass in another, you will not find the same Mass. This means that it is not the Mass of the Catholic Church, which people have a right to, but it is just the Mass of this parish or that priest.”

National Catholic Register

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Bishops in the Philippines vs. the USCCB



Ahhh, don't get me wrong - I very much feel blessed to live in the USA.  HOWEVER - it would be nice to live in a country that actually stands up for our faith, instead of sweeping it away.  Words cannot describe my feelings on the mockery of liturgical abuse Christ's Sacrifice on Calvary, the silence from those in authority on the murder of the innocent, God-loves-you homilies that have NO substance, and the list goes on.  Is it really that hard to simply do what the Church tells us?  It is black, red, and white - I know I've seen it.  It is not a secret.

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

E 5 This Wednesday is the first Wednesday of the month

Reminder to fast and pray for women.