Here's a new little video from the President to all the Planned Parenthood supporters out there.
I think he REALLY believes that he and Planned Parenthood are on the side of women.
Friday, March 30, 2012
Two Film Companies in the Archdiocese!!
Two college-aged young men are doing great work behind the scenes in our Archdiocese, and we are very fortunate to have them. Most dioceses don't have anybody doing this kind of work, and so to have two of them is a true blessing!
Branden Stanley is a junior at Ball State and has a company he runs called Starlight Media.
John O'Rourke is a 21 year old who has founded Blacksone Films.
Both men were at the HHS Rally working their magic. Branden's video I posted a few posts ago. I just got a hold of John's video and I've posted it here:
We NEED these guys doing this work badly. Consider employing them or donating to their companies which are just starting to take off.
Branden's Website can be accessed by clicking here. Also check out John's website by clicking here.
Branden Stanley is a junior at Ball State and has a company he runs called Starlight Media.
John O'Rourke is a 21 year old who has founded Blacksone Films.
Both men were at the HHS Rally working their magic. Branden's video I posted a few posts ago. I just got a hold of John's video and I've posted it here:
We NEED these guys doing this work badly. Consider employing them or donating to their companies which are just starting to take off.
Branden's Website can be accessed by clicking here. Also check out John's website by clicking here.
A Good Article From Bad Catholic
I've come across this blogger more and he certainly makes me laugh! He also did a story that mentioned me that I thought I'd share with you.
His post is titled "3 Failed Attempts to Troll the Catholic Church"
Click here to visit the story on his blog.
His post is titled "3 Failed Attempts to Troll the Catholic Church"
Click here to visit the story on his blog.
Father Barron on the Hunger Games
Glad to see Fr. Barron is in agreement with my analyses on the Hunger Games. I have seen the movie twice now. I viewed it at the midnight showing, and then I went back to watch it at a regular time with a friend from Ritter. I must say that from an artistic standpoint, I was MUCH more impressed the second time around. Perhaps it was because I wasn't dead tired! Any way, I think it is an important book/film (as is the whole series) and I really like Fr. Barron's analysis (as usual), especially his comments at the end about how the series could, in some way, be prophetic of a place our country is heading.
P.S. to those who have asked about violence - I think the film did a MARVELOUS job of not glorifying it and of showing as little of it as humanly possible. You can tell that Suzanne Collins, who wrote the books, also had a hand in the script writing (which she does) because just as the books are not in any way a glorification, the movie avoids that glorification as well!
P.S. to those who have asked about violence - I think the film did a MARVELOUS job of not glorifying it and of showing as little of it as humanly possible. You can tell that Suzanne Collins, who wrote the books, also had a hand in the script writing (which she does) because just as the books are not in any way a glorification, the movie avoids that glorification as well!
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Fasting this Friday
In response to the HHS Mandate and all the garbage it entails, the Bishops of the U.S. have asked all Catholics to fast on Friday, March 30th. The fast is to be what we are typically asked to carry out on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, and January 22nd, the Anniversary of Roe v. Wade.
See here to read the statement by the Bishops
In searching for the link from the Bishops, I stumbled across another fast that was declared in history on March 30th - by President Abraham Lincoln!!! It is a MUST read. I put an excerpt below.
We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven. We have been preserved, these many years, in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth and power, as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace, and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us!
It behooves us then, to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness.
Now, therefore, in compliance with the request, and fully concurring in the views of the Senate, I do, by this my proclamation, designate and set apart Thursday, the 30th. day of April, 1863, as a day of national humiliation, fasting and prayer. And I do hereby request all the People to abstain, on that day, from their ordinary secular pursuits, and to unite, at their several places of public worship and their respective homes, in keeping the day holy to the Lord, and devoted to the humble discharge of the religious duties proper to that solemn occasion.
All this being done, in sincerity and truth, let us then rest humbly in the hope authorized by the Divine teachings, that the united cry of the Nation will be heard on high, and answered with blessings, no less than the pardon of our national sins, and the restoration of our now divided and suffering Country, to its former happy condition of unity and peace.
In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.
Done at the City of Washington, this thirtieth day of March, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the United States the eighty seventh.
WOW! WOW! WOW! That's all I can say! What if our President said something like this today!
Click here to read the address in its entirety
See here to read the statement by the Bishops
In searching for the link from the Bishops, I stumbled across another fast that was declared in history on March 30th - by President Abraham Lincoln!!! It is a MUST read. I put an excerpt below.
We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven. We have been preserved, these many years, in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth and power, as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace, and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us!
It behooves us then, to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness.
Now, therefore, in compliance with the request, and fully concurring in the views of the Senate, I do, by this my proclamation, designate and set apart Thursday, the 30th. day of April, 1863, as a day of national humiliation, fasting and prayer. And I do hereby request all the People to abstain, on that day, from their ordinary secular pursuits, and to unite, at their several places of public worship and their respective homes, in keeping the day holy to the Lord, and devoted to the humble discharge of the religious duties proper to that solemn occasion.
All this being done, in sincerity and truth, let us then rest humbly in the hope authorized by the Divine teachings, that the united cry of the Nation will be heard on high, and answered with blessings, no less than the pardon of our national sins, and the restoration of our now divided and suffering Country, to its former happy condition of unity and peace.
In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.
Done at the City of Washington, this thirtieth day of March, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the United States the eighty seventh.
WOW! WOW! WOW! That's all I can say! What if our President said something like this today!
Click here to read the address in its entirety
AWESOME Highlight Video from the Indy HHS Rally!!!
This was put together by Brandon Stanley who has started his own Production Company Starlight Media. Check out his awesome work here!
Monday, March 26, 2012
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Bishop Michael Sheridan Takes a Crack at Expressing His Say
One of our Bishops, Bishop Michael Sheridan of Colorado Springs, submitted an entry into the "I Have a Say" campaign. Have you submitted yours yet? To read Bishop Sheridan's statement (and many other wonderful submissions) click here.
Any News on the HHS Stuff?
People have been asking me if there have been any updates on the HHS mandate, and rightly so.
I offer the answer with a tired, exasperated look on my face (or at least that's what I'm thinking in my mind) - "yes and no"
Yeah, there have been updates. More of the tip of the iceberg has been revealed by the administration:
1) Abortions for a dollar
2) College kids now have to be covered for contraceptives through their college insurance plan
3) The Bishops have restated their position - "we ain't budging on this, and we'll close the whole thing down and be an underground persecuted Church as opposed to violating our consciences
4) People from camp Obama met with the Bishops' Conference and, as Cardinal Dolan said it, "they told us that we didn't properly understand Catholic teaching"
5) A group of crazy nuns and a few "catholic" commentators continue to back the President
6) Team Obama continues to publicly be shocked that people are so upset and they point to their willingness to "give it a year"
7) Team Obama continues to, out of the public eye, not only not carry on dialogue, but continues to push through decisions that are of the same frightening nature
People have been asking why there haven't been any updates.
a) The Planned Parenthood "I Have a Say" video has kept me SUPER busy with emails and phone calls and so forth
b) I'm just flat tired of all the nuances of the HHS debate. Not tired in the sense of losing my energy to fight, but sick of reporting on every detail --- it basically comes down to this --- if Obamacare (and all the moral "blank checks" it allows the President to write and force us to accept) if it passes the Supreme Court and the administration is not rebuffed, then we Catholics are, in the earthly realm, in grave jeopardy.
There you go. End of story. It is as most orthodox Catholics have been saying for four years - "This guy has it out for Catholics and has it out for life" Nothing else to say.
Sure, when things break I'll put them up here, but I'm starting to fear that writing a post about, for example, the 1$ abortion announcement last Friday, grants to much credibility to the news, and, I fear, can almost remove it out of its proper context:
The proper context being good vs. evil. This is a battle against principalities and powers, against those forces who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. I don't care if the President or Pelosi or Sebelius or Cecile Richards are cognizant of their roles in this battle or not (they strike me as more of the pawn type).
Any news on this HHS stuff???? Absolutely - Team Obama/Planned Parenthood is who we've been warning about for years... they are who we said they are...and we come to it...the great battle of our age.
Stories on the details of the mandate, after a while, start to take the focus off of what is really going on. If there are people out there on the fence STILL, then hearing that abortions for a dollar is part of Obamacare isn't going to convince them to suddenly back the Church. I'm not going to waste more time trying to convince people on the fence that this is all evil - I'm simply going to fight the evil, and I urge you to do the same.
I offer the answer with a tired, exasperated look on my face (or at least that's what I'm thinking in my mind) - "yes and no"
Yeah, there have been updates. More of the tip of the iceberg has been revealed by the administration:
1) Abortions for a dollar
2) College kids now have to be covered for contraceptives through their college insurance plan
3) The Bishops have restated their position - "we ain't budging on this, and we'll close the whole thing down and be an underground persecuted Church as opposed to violating our consciences
4) People from camp Obama met with the Bishops' Conference and, as Cardinal Dolan said it, "they told us that we didn't properly understand Catholic teaching"
5) A group of crazy nuns and a few "catholic" commentators continue to back the President
6) Team Obama continues to publicly be shocked that people are so upset and they point to their willingness to "give it a year"
7) Team Obama continues to, out of the public eye, not only not carry on dialogue, but continues to push through decisions that are of the same frightening nature
People have been asking why there haven't been any updates.
a) The Planned Parenthood "I Have a Say" video has kept me SUPER busy with emails and phone calls and so forth
b) I'm just flat tired of all the nuances of the HHS debate. Not tired in the sense of losing my energy to fight, but sick of reporting on every detail --- it basically comes down to this --- if Obamacare (and all the moral "blank checks" it allows the President to write and force us to accept) if it passes the Supreme Court and the administration is not rebuffed, then we Catholics are, in the earthly realm, in grave jeopardy.
There you go. End of story. It is as most orthodox Catholics have been saying for four years - "This guy has it out for Catholics and has it out for life" Nothing else to say.
Sure, when things break I'll put them up here, but I'm starting to fear that writing a post about, for example, the 1$ abortion announcement last Friday, grants to much credibility to the news, and, I fear, can almost remove it out of its proper context:
The proper context being good vs. evil. This is a battle against principalities and powers, against those forces who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. I don't care if the President or Pelosi or Sebelius or Cecile Richards are cognizant of their roles in this battle or not (they strike me as more of the pawn type).
Any news on this HHS stuff???? Absolutely - Team Obama/Planned Parenthood is who we've been warning about for years... they are who we said they are...and we come to it...the great battle of our age.
Stories on the details of the mandate, after a while, start to take the focus off of what is really going on. If there are people out there on the fence STILL, then hearing that abortions for a dollar is part of Obamacare isn't going to convince them to suddenly back the Church. I'm not going to waste more time trying to convince people on the fence that this is all evil - I'm simply going to fight the evil, and I urge you to do the same.
I'm Talking at This Friday's Rally for Religious Freedom
In cities all across the country at Noon this Friday people will be gathering at their respective governmental buildings to protest the stripping away of religious liberty that the Obama administration is just beginning to do.
At the rally being held at Indianapolis' State House, I have actually been asked to be one of the three speakers. Bishop Coyne had a prior commitment, and someone had seen my "I Have a Say" video and asked if I would be able to speak. I'm honored to join with people of good will from all across the country to stand up and speak out. If you are free on Friday at noon, join us at the Statehouse, and if you don't live in Indy, find your local rally on line!
Sunday, March 18, 2012
The Genuf....
The "genuf" is what I have decided to start calling the half-genuflection (although calling what I usually see a half genuflection is often VERY generous).
First of all, it is always helpful to mention when it is that we ought to genuflect because many have simply never been taught. We genuflect when coming in and out of the presence of royalty, and certainly our Lord Jesus Christ is the "King of Kings" and thus also deserves that same treatment. No one going to see the Queen of England would drop their knee about 3 inches in more of a curtsy/stumbling motion, so why do we do it with our Lord? I think often times (and this is on the priests to help do a better job of teaching people this) people simply don't know that we even believe Christ is truly present in the tabernacle.
An important aspect of a genuflection is to actually touch the knee to the ground. Part of the value of the genuflection is that it continues to be an opportunity to show humility...and It also hurts and that pain is good! Now of course here some will relegate me to that same class as the masochistic monk in the Da Vinci code and those who enjoy hurting themselves - but it's not so. Catholics believe that there is actually joy to be found in admitting something is greater than ourselves; there is joy to be found when I am able to acknowledge that I'm not in charge and that I don't always know what is best; there is joy in admitting, through a genuflection, that I am not the King of the Universe. There is a childish simplicity and levity that comes from not walking into Church and giving God the "what's up dude head nod" but instead saying "Lord, it is good for me to be here in your presence!"
"Genuflection haters" love to frame genuflection in terms of some medieval custom that hails from a time when people were overly focused on the transcendence and greatness of God, but they say that now that we are enlightened moderns who have crawled out of the swamp of the middle ages, we now know that God is our bud, and so a quick head nod as if to say "what's up" is sufficient.
Next time you come into or leave the presence of the King of the Universe, don't settle for a "genuf" or a head nod but instead let your knee touch the ground, let it be an opportunity to reflect on your position in the universe and to give honor to the King of Kings (and teach your kids and teenagers to do the same).
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Friday, March 16, 2012
The Vatican Observatory? What in the World?
A good interview with Brother Guy Consolmagno about the Vatican Observatory and the relationship between science and religion.
Brother Guy's Book "God's Mechanincs" is a FANTASTIC, humorous, and important book. You will enjoy it immensely. Either way, enjoy this interview!
Brother Guy's Book "God's Mechanincs" is a FANTASTIC, humorous, and important book. You will enjoy it immensely. Either way, enjoy this interview!
BABY 2012
So a documentary of sorts has gone mega-viral about a Ugandan dictator named Joseph Kony. I first heard of Kony in 2004 when some girls I had taught first brought the documentary "Invisible Children" to Bishop Chatard High School. The girls got a front page article in the Criterion and did a great job of helping to spread the word about Kony and the "Invisible Children" child soldiers that he kidnapped, tortured mentally and physically, and then made into soldiers for his army.
Now Kony is on the run, down to a few hundred soldiers, and the filmmakers are back (with lots of celebrity power this time) seeking to bring an end to Kony and bring him to justice.
That's all awesome work!
I once heard a talk by Dr. Scott Hahn, and he was really challenging a group of pro-life orthodox "hard core" Catholics. Dr. Hahn noted that it is really easy for people to fight hard against sins which are not a challenge for them to commit. It is important to note that Dr. Hahn is one of the most pro-life Catholics on the planet - his challenge to people was "are you railing against issues that aren't difficult for you not to commit, while failing to look in yourself?" Dr. Hahn is obviously not saying "stop speaking out on pro-life issues" but is saying "WHILE fighting evil external to yourself, don't look past your own issues."
I wonder if some of what is fueling this "Kony 2012" movement (80 MILLION VIEWS IN 2 DAYS) is the fact that this cause also provides Americans an opportunity to fight against something that is really easy to rally against while also allowing Americans to look past the problems that we REALLY can have a GIGANTIC impact on in our own country.
In the mega-viral video "Kony 2012", a republican congressman and a democratic congresswoman note the following two things about Kony:
"These young members of the Invisible Children Organization know that no child should live in fear of being abducted or killed."
and
"Of all the problems that are out there, none is more severe than one that mutilates and takes the lives of little kids."
My question is this: does that only happen in Uganda? Does the mutilation of children only take place half way around the globe? Kony abducted a horribly tragic 30,000 children and wreaked havoc for many years in Uganda, and I am in no way dismissing the need to bring him to justice. I just also wonder if some of this passion for "Kony 2012" is to provide us a straw man to whack at so we don't have to confront that our own country kills that many young people a week.
Now Kony is on the run, down to a few hundred soldiers, and the filmmakers are back (with lots of celebrity power this time) seeking to bring an end to Kony and bring him to justice.
That's all awesome work!
I once heard a talk by Dr. Scott Hahn, and he was really challenging a group of pro-life orthodox "hard core" Catholics. Dr. Hahn noted that it is really easy for people to fight hard against sins which are not a challenge for them to commit. It is important to note that Dr. Hahn is one of the most pro-life Catholics on the planet - his challenge to people was "are you railing against issues that aren't difficult for you not to commit, while failing to look in yourself?" Dr. Hahn is obviously not saying "stop speaking out on pro-life issues" but is saying "WHILE fighting evil external to yourself, don't look past your own issues."
I wonder if some of what is fueling this "Kony 2012" movement (80 MILLION VIEWS IN 2 DAYS) is the fact that this cause also provides Americans an opportunity to fight against something that is really easy to rally against while also allowing Americans to look past the problems that we REALLY can have a GIGANTIC impact on in our own country.
In the mega-viral video "Kony 2012", a republican congressman and a democratic congresswoman note the following two things about Kony:
"These young members of the Invisible Children Organization know that no child should live in fear of being abducted or killed."
and
"Of all the problems that are out there, none is more severe than one that mutilates and takes the lives of little kids."
My question is this: does that only happen in Uganda? Does the mutilation of children only take place half way around the globe? Kony abducted a horribly tragic 30,000 children and wreaked havoc for many years in Uganda, and I am in no way dismissing the need to bring him to justice. I just also wonder if some of this passion for "Kony 2012" is to provide us a straw man to whack at so we don't have to confront that our own country kills that many young people a week.
Moore Family Continues to Lead and Teach
Officer David Moore, who I had the quite unexpected privilege of helping to eulogize at his funeral last year, is back in the news. Dave's parents, Spencer and Jo Moore, were on the front page of the Indystar yesterday once again showing this city how to be heroically good people.
Officer Moore's killer had requested mercy, and the family's response..."Once he asked for compassion, we felt like we should give it to him."
The man responsible for ending the life of Officer Moore will get life in jail.
The most open and shut case for the death penalty is the murder of a police officer, and currently in Indiana two men are on death row for just such a crime. The only thing that can spare a person from such a fate - mercy from the family - and that is precisely what David's killer received.
David and his parents were great people before David's slaying, in a heroic flipping of roles, THEY seemed to help the rest of the city mourn Dave's death, and now, yet again, the Moore family has taught the city what it means to forgive.
Click here to read the Indystar's coverage
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
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