"The Third Way" is here!!!!!!!!! Please share this with everyone you know!

The Third Way from Blackstone Films on Vimeo.

My Dad Checking in From the Canonization Mass

My Dad and brother camped out last night on the Via de Concilazione in order to try to get into St. Peter's Square for the Canonization Mass of JP II and John XXIII.  Here's a report from the overnight expedition.  I don't think they got much sleep, but it didn't seem to be a big concern. 

Easter, Bob and Tom, the Mass...

Why No Mass on Good Friday?

First of all, what is the Mass.  It is the unbloody sacrifice of Calvary re-presented.


The question arises - are we "re-sacrificing Christ"?  Was Christ's sacrifice not enough?







So to get to the heart of the matter - if the Mass is an "unbloody representation of the sacrifice of Calvary, wouldn't Good Friday be the PERFECT day for Mass?"


A friend from the seminary, Fr. Ryan Erlenbush, has some great things to say about this on his blog.  (You can read the whole article by clicking here.)  He notes:

"Precisely because the Mass is a sacrament, it is a sign (not a mere sign, but a sign which contains a reality). However, in the commemoration of the Passion on Friday of Holy Week, the reality of the sacrifice is presented to the faithful not as a sacrament (i.e. not through the Mass) but “as it was really accomplished.” The Good Friday liturgy is, in fact, a more perfect re-presentation of the sacrifice of the Cross than is the Eucharistic liturgy. The Catholic faithful are more perfectly united to Calvary on Good Friday than they are by the offering of the Mass on any other day of the year. ..

...Not of course, that there is anything lacking in the Eucharistic sacrifice offered every other day; but the Church, on Good Friday, recalls (with a special efficacy) the Lord’s Passion in its reality and not in its figure... There is no defect in the Eucharistic sacrifice: It is real and true, as a sacramental reality (and the sacraments are certainly real). 

...Still, on Good Friday, the sacrifice of the Cross is offered and commemorated not as a sacrament (that is, not as a figure or sign), but in the reality of its proper species – “as it was really accomplished.” Thus, just as the figure passes away in the advent of the reality, the Church does not offer the sacrifice of the Mass at the Good Friday commemoration of our Lord’s Passion.

Jesus Washed Judas's Feet. Who is Your Judas?

Who's in the Third Way?

We were SO BLESSED with WONDERFUL interviews for the Third Way.  We're also extremely excited to be able to start releasing the names of our interviewees.  Here are two screenshots of two DYNAMITE interviews that will be part of our film.

Jason Evert was an AWESOME interview in the mountains of Colorado!



Christopher West had so many good things to say! 

What Have You Been Up to Father?

The Noah Movie and Holy Week

Music for Your Holy Week

An absolutely ESSENTIAL CD of music for Holy Week is "Miserere: Music for Holy Week" put out by the Canons Regular of St. John Cantius in Chicago.  Plus, when you buy their CD, you are supporting a great group of men doing great work for the restoration of the sacred.  Here's my favorite piece from their CD, which you can purchase by clicking HERE






Another of my favorite Lenten musical selections of course comes from the monks of St. Meinrad.  Pick up their CD and support the monks by clicking HERE

Here is their "Peter Canticle"







Of course, the Passion of the Christ soundtrack is an amazing collection of music.  My two favorites from that

"Peter Denies Jesus"






And the haunting "It is Done"







And, of course, the mother of all Holy Week music - Allegri's "Miserere"

Why the Devil is Kicking Our A%$

I try to use this blog to do two things
1) help people see where the Devil is at work in the world
2) help bring the hope of Jesus Christ through homilies and other tidbits

In light of #1, #2 can be hard because, let's be honest, the Devil is kicking our rear-end.  But we shouldn't be surprised by that.

Why?

Because, as the saying goes, "the Devil never sleeps"

Tolkien portrays Satan as "a great eye, lidless, wreathed in flame".  The eye never shuts, but is kept awake by the burning fire of hate from within, like the sun that never goes out because of the nuclear reactions taking place inside it.

Here's why we generally are losing the fight against the culture of death, sin, etc. - because while the Devil never sleeps, I do.  While the Devil never takes time off from his steady and constant regimen of hate, I take time here or there to be with friends or family, to read a good book, to go for a run, to visit a sick person, to enjoy a nice meal, or to sit in Church and pray.

The Devil never sleeps, but I do.  That's why, on this side of the veil, evil generally "wins" in the sense of seeming to be the victor (even though the victory is in appearance only).

Satan strikes me as the sad and pitiable stockbroker who is always working, has tons of money, gets what he wants, but hates himself in the process and is quite miserable.

The culture of life and love is "losing," and I'm perfectly fine with that because I enjoy spending time "having life more abundantly, and having it to the fullest."

Jesus Can Raise Marriages From the Dead

I know because I've seen it happen

A First Act of Contrition

O my God, I am hardly sorry for all your sins with all my heart because I dead the pains of Heaven, but most of all because I have offended you my God who art all good and de...de...serv...ing of all my love. I de...de...dezest all my sins. In choosing to do good and failing to do wrong you have sinned against me who I should love with all my heart. I firmly dissolve, with all my heart, to do penan....penan.....pentance and to sin more. Amen.

Nathan Trapuzzano Follow-Up: Funeral Homily

As a follow-up to the story of Nathan Trapuzzano, the 24 year old abortion sidewalk counselor who was murdered last week, I wanted to share the homily from his funeral.  Fr. Chris Roberts (my neighbor and a good friend for my brief time at the North American College in Rome) gave a homily that, as any preacher will tell you who has preached at moments such as this one, can only be ascribed to the grace of the Holy Spirit.  I can't encourage you enough to click HERE and visit Fr. Roberts' blog to read the homily.  May Nathan and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace!

"What is a Godparent? Can my satanist cousin be a Godparent?"

A quick note about what a Godparent is: a person who will help ensure that a person is raised in the CATHOLIC Faith.  I have no idea why anyone would have a non-Catholic Godparent.

The average Catholic today understands very little about the Faith.  I'd be discretionary about which CATHOLICS I asked to be a Godparent.  Here's how I rank the field of potential Godparents in the world:

Here is how I think some people rank the field of potential Godparents in the world:

How about asking a Catholic to help pass on the Catholic Faith to your child if, God forbid, something should happen to you and your spouse?


Let's say you don't like the line of reasoning that "it is simply common sense that a person would select a Catholic to be a godparent."  Well, here's Church law to help clarify it for you beyond the realm of common sense.  Thanks to "Catholic Doors" for the research.  Here's the Canon Law requirements for a Godparent:

Q. 1. To qualify as Godparent, does the person have to meet certain requirements?

A. 1. Yes! Not everyone qualifies to be a Godparent. The Catholic Church provides a detailed guideline that must be obeyed. "To be admitted to undertake the office of Sponsor, a person must:" [Canon Law # 874.1] a. "be appointed by the candidate for baptism, or by the parents or whoever stands in their place, or failing these, by the parish priest or the minister; to be appointed the person must be suitable for this role and have the intention of fulfilling it;" [Canon Law # 874.1.1]

b. "be not less than 16 years of age, unless a different age has been stipulated by the diocesan Bishop, or unless the parish priest or the minister considers that there is a just reason for an exception to be made;" [Canon Law # 874.1.2]

c. "be a catholic who has been confirmed and has received the blessed Eucharist, and who lives a life of faith which befits the role to be undertaken;" [Canon Law # 874.1.3]

d. "not labour under a canonical penalty, whether imposed or declared;" [Canon Law # 874.1.4]

e. "not be either the father or the mother of the person to be baptised." [Canon Law # 874.1.5]

f. "A baptised person who belongs to a non-catholic ecclesial community may be admitted only in company with a catholic Sponsor, and then simply as a witness to the baptism." [Canon Law # 874.2]

Read the things that DISQUALIFY a person from being a godparent by clicking HERE 

Indy Pro-Life Sidewalk Counselor Murdered While Jogging

From Dolores Tucker:

One of Truth and Compassion's sidewalk counselors for our Saturday morning coverage at the Clinic for Women (W16th St.) was out jogging around his neighborhood near the abortion clinic early this morning when he was attacked and shot.  Reports indicate Nathan Trapuzzano was pushed between two buildings and gunned down without provocation.

Nathan's wife, Jen, is to deliver their first child next month.  Nathan is 24 years old and a faithful sidewalk counselor.  He and Jen have been with Truth and Compassion for about a year.  Nathan used to walk by the abortion mill and would encourage Ben Manring, another of Truth and Compassion's stalwart volunteers in street ministry.  Nathan would say to Ben that one day Nathan and Jen would come back and stand with us.

One day, he and his wife did just that.  And Nathan came to stay, becoming a reliable part of our outreach.

Whenever Nathan was needed.... no matter the time... he made himself available and was quick to let me know if he would not be able to be a part of the coverage.

Please pray for Jen and their baby girl.  Please pray the attackers are quickly apprehended and brought to justice.

How the Obama Administration Completely Contradicted Themselves in the Hobby Lobby Case

This afternoon, I listened to the last half of the oral arguments on C-SPAN from the Hobby Lobby case where the owners of Hobby Lobby are trying to be exempted from having to pay for abortion-inducing contraceptives (are we really at this point in America?)

Apologies to my siblings for stopping on the channel and watching it for a half hour, but there are two other TV's in the house.  

I wanted to share an observation about how the Obama Administration completely contradicted itself in a major way.  

In granting a false compromise a year or so ago, the Obama Administration said:

"We'll make the insurance companies buy the contraception so that companies who have objections won't feel bad." (paraphrasing)


Everyone who has taken Econ 101 knows that Obama's plan is the same thing as the employer paying for the contraceptive, but the Obama administration said, and this is really important: 

"By providing contraception, the insurance company will save money in the long run by reducing costs (presumably they are referring to their fantasy of "less unintended pregnancies - completely debunked by science) in the long haul and balancing out, so there would be no costs to the original employer." (paraphrasing)

Now...to this week's Supreme Court case.  Follow it closely:

JUSTICE BREYER: Then [Hobby Lobby’s lawyer] says there is a less restrictive way, and the less restrictive way is the government pays for [the contraception].  Says it wouldn't cost much...I want to hear your precise answer to that kind of argument.

(Obama lawyer) VERELLI: you're talking about a very open­ended increase in the cost to the government.  Now, we don't know how much that cost would be... I can't tell you what that ­­ what that increased cost is going to be, but it could be quite considerable.

JUSTICE ALITO: I was taken by your answer.  I thought it was the government's position that providing coverage for the full range of contraceptives and other devices and drugs that are covered here is actually financially neutral for an insurance company, that that reduces other costs that they would incur.  (can I get a boo-yah!)

Justice Breyer saves the day and changes the conversation, thus preventing Mr. Verelli from having to answer the question 

This is hugely important because it undermines one of the Obama Administration's largest contentions in the exemption debate.  When the Obama Admin is talking about insurance companies, paying for contraception supposedly saves that company money.  When it is the government who is paying for contraception, the government (who is in the insurance business) will lose a ton of money???

Putting aside the fact that of course it would be wrong for the government to provide contraception, the Obama administration still completely contradicted themselves in this case.

Busted

Science Can't Prove God is Real...and it Can't DISprove God is Real

The Singing Nun: The Rest of the Story

I saw the story of the singing nun a few weeks ago that went viral.  Thanks to Joseph Lehner for passing the rest of the story on to me.  Here's an interview with Sister where she shares her awesome story and sings another song.

NOTE: click on the YouTube sign at the bottom right corner of the video screen.  When it pops up in Youtube, click the "CC" button in the same corner to turn on the English closed captioning

Great Story Out of Brazil, IN

This past week, Amy Reynolds, a young woman on fire with the Lord in our little town of Brazil, IN, pulled off an amazing "alternative spring break" with about 70 young adults working on local mission projects throughout the city.  Each morning began at our parish, and the young people ate a breakfast here and had a devotional before heading out to do great work.  The young people cleaned up the streets, worked in food pantries, helped care for toddlers at the YMCA, and hundreds of other awesome activities. 

Here is an article about the week: (click here to read the story)

I went out as a chaperone on one of the days and pushed a broom to help clean up US 40 through town.  We had a blast, and we had a lot of good honks from people driving by.  Below is a photo of me leading my group to our site.  Our motto for the day was "follow the broom!"

"follow the broom!"

Kids are in the news a lot for doing the wrong stuff, but there are a TON of great kids out there who are doing amazing things as well. 

Great job Amy for pulling off an amazing week!



From Jeremiah 1: 6-7

“Ah, Lord GOD!” I said, “I do not know how to speak. I am too young!” 

But the LORD answered me,

"Do not say, “I am too young.”  To whomever I send you, you shall go; whatever I command you, you shall speak."

Totally Excited to Announce My Book Being Sold Online

I am a huge proponent of local Catholic bookstores, and we have a great one that has popped up in Indianapolis.  The Celtic Cross Catholic Bookstore is an amazing little piece of Heaven on 86th street, and is worth a visit.

The Celtic Cross also has an online catalog, and they have agreed to sell my book online.  I am really thankful for this partnership.  Please support their efforts by either visiting their store in person or shopping their EXTENSIVE online catalog. 

If you go to their store, they have free high quality coffee!  What's not to love? 

Click here to go straight to the link where you can purchase my book from them.

I have some other partnerships with them over the next few months that I'll be announcing as well.