“The horrors of Bolshevik governance stemmed directly from their repudiation of the precious fruits of Western political thought.” It is a classic example of the tendency of some to promote cheap moralisms while ignoring the empirical realities of any given context, what then Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger termed in 1985, “the antithesis of morality.”
Read the rest of the article HERE.
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Why Should Everyone Should See Les Miserables (whether you like musical theater or not)?
Because it is about METANOIA, in the most complete sense of the word.
I had mixed feelings when I heard about the film production of Les Miserables last fall. I was concerned that a film version would turn this magnificent musical into a chopped up mess. I thought movie-musicals were a lost art. I didn't think it could be pulled off.
I waited until last Sunday to see it, not by choice. I came down with that nasty influenza that swept the nation, and I was down for about a month (count your blessings if if you avoided it). As much as I was curious, though, and as much buzz that the film has generated over the last month, I completely avoided anything by way of commentary about it, because I wanted to formulate my own thoughts.
I am so glad I did. It's the best movie-musical I have ever seen.
More importantly, though, is the story itself. In a merciless world, one merciless man is shown mercy, and that one act of mercy changes him. From the moment he realizes what has been shown him, he lives a deliberately good life, even when it meant certain hardship, loss, or the possibility of death. This is the heart of Metanoia--to make the decision to live better, to try harder, to be more Christlike today than you were yesterday, and to leave yourself behind.
If you're not into musicals, this will be a tough one for you. It's nearly an opera, as much of the dialog is sung rather than spoken. Try to get past it, though, and see this film, if for no other reason than this:
"So long as there shall exist, by virtue of law and custom, decrees of damnation pronounced by society, artificially creating hells amid the civilization of earth, and adding the element of human fate to divine destiny; so long as the three great problems of the century--the degradation of man through pauperism, the corruption of women through hunger, the crippling of children through lack of light--are unsolved; so long as social asphyxia is possible in any part of the world;--in other words, and with a still wider significance, so long as ignorance and poverty exist on earth, books [and their adaptations for stage and screen*] of the nature of Les Miserables cannot fail to be of use."
Preface, Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
*my addition.
I had mixed feelings when I heard about the film production of Les Miserables last fall. I was concerned that a film version would turn this magnificent musical into a chopped up mess. I thought movie-musicals were a lost art. I didn't think it could be pulled off.
I waited until last Sunday to see it, not by choice. I came down with that nasty influenza that swept the nation, and I was down for about a month (count your blessings if if you avoided it). As much as I was curious, though, and as much buzz that the film has generated over the last month, I completely avoided anything by way of commentary about it, because I wanted to formulate my own thoughts.
I am so glad I did. It's the best movie-musical I have ever seen.
More importantly, though, is the story itself. In a merciless world, one merciless man is shown mercy, and that one act of mercy changes him. From the moment he realizes what has been shown him, he lives a deliberately good life, even when it meant certain hardship, loss, or the possibility of death. This is the heart of Metanoia--to make the decision to live better, to try harder, to be more Christlike today than you were yesterday, and to leave yourself behind.
If you're not into musicals, this will be a tough one for you. It's nearly an opera, as much of the dialog is sung rather than spoken. Try to get past it, though, and see this film, if for no other reason than this:
"So long as there shall exist, by virtue of law and custom, decrees of damnation pronounced by society, artificially creating hells amid the civilization of earth, and adding the element of human fate to divine destiny; so long as the three great problems of the century--the degradation of man through pauperism, the corruption of women through hunger, the crippling of children through lack of light--are unsolved; so long as social asphyxia is possible in any part of the world;--in other words, and with a still wider significance, so long as ignorance and poverty exist on earth, books [and their adaptations for stage and screen*] of the nature of Les Miserables cannot fail to be of use."
Preface, Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
*my addition.
Friday, February 1, 2013
Go Directly To Jail.
It's what Virginia's Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli believes must happen in order to expose the tyranny of the HHS Mandate. From the LifeSiteNews.com article: "If citizens were jailed...it would 'provide an example of what tyranny means when it’s played to its logical conclusion.'" (Read the entire article HERE.)
Monday, June 18, 2012
Plan B
I stumbled across an article today from a poster who proports to set the record straight about plan B: A drug that claims to prevent conception by preventing ovulation after sexual intercourse. The poster goes on to claim that the drug does not cause an abortion. At the tips of your fingers lies the truth. Go to plan B website, but don't stop there. Of course, the site claims that Plan B will not end an already existing pregnancy.
However, don't satisfy yourself with window dressing. Dig a little deeper, on their site. Go to the medication mechanism of action. I will quote
"12.1 Mechanism of Action
Emergency contraceptive pills are not effective if a woman is already pregnant. Plan B One-Step is believed to act as an emergency contraceptive principally by preventing ovulation or fertilization (by altering tubal transport of sperm and/or ova). In addition, it may inhibit implantation (by altering the endometrium). It is not effective once the process of implantation has begun."
I repeat "In addition, it may inhibit implantation (by altering the endometrium)." Their information, not mine. Window dressing, concealing an early abortion.
Let's unpack. Fertilization occurs first. The newly formed child floats around for a period of time in mom's uterus before finally implanting into the wall of the uterus sometime around 7 days post conception. Plan B, by their own mouth, can alter implantation. Note: At implantation MOM IS ALREADY A MOM. A child exists in her womb. Why do you suppose 30 some percent of women who take the drug report a heavier period? Some in the medical community desperately wish to redefine pregnancy as occuring at implantation. They can no more truly do that than they can reverse natural law. I am outraged by this mispedaling of information to the public and to our children. Stand up, stand up and fight. Lest you be forced to pay for abortions because you believed the rhetoric. Stand up and be counted at election time. Will you stand for forced conscience violations? Will you vote to pad your wallet instead of protect millions of innocent children? The power, at least right now, in our country rests with the people. Speak and speak loudly at election time. Wake up now while we still possess freedom.
A further FYI...anyone 17 and over can purchase plan B without a prescription. How many children's lives do you suppose plan B can claim responsibility for ending? God alone knows. Christ have mercy, Our Lady help us!
However, don't satisfy yourself with window dressing. Dig a little deeper, on their site. Go to the medication mechanism of action. I will quote
"12.1 Mechanism of Action
Emergency contraceptive pills are not effective if a woman is already pregnant. Plan B One-Step is believed to act as an emergency contraceptive principally by preventing ovulation or fertilization (by altering tubal transport of sperm and/or ova). In addition, it may inhibit implantation (by altering the endometrium). It is not effective once the process of implantation has begun."
I repeat "In addition, it may inhibit implantation (by altering the endometrium)." Their information, not mine. Window dressing, concealing an early abortion.
Let's unpack. Fertilization occurs first. The newly formed child floats around for a period of time in mom's uterus before finally implanting into the wall of the uterus sometime around 7 days post conception. Plan B, by their own mouth, can alter implantation. Note: At implantation MOM IS ALREADY A MOM. A child exists in her womb. Why do you suppose 30 some percent of women who take the drug report a heavier period? Some in the medical community desperately wish to redefine pregnancy as occuring at implantation. They can no more truly do that than they can reverse natural law. I am outraged by this mispedaling of information to the public and to our children. Stand up, stand up and fight. Lest you be forced to pay for abortions because you believed the rhetoric. Stand up and be counted at election time. Will you stand for forced conscience violations? Will you vote to pad your wallet instead of protect millions of innocent children? The power, at least right now, in our country rests with the people. Speak and speak loudly at election time. Wake up now while we still possess freedom.
A further FYI...anyone 17 and over can purchase plan B without a prescription. How many children's lives do you suppose plan B can claim responsibility for ending? God alone knows. Christ have mercy, Our Lady help us!
Monday, April 16, 2012
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Response to a response I read
Recently, today in fact, I came across a comment to which I felt I must respond. In a later post, the poster identifies him/her self as Catholic, a practicing Catholic in fact. Here is the original post.
"No problem, why not just tell the President that the Catholic church will not participate, which might destroy the health legislation. Then you can go back to providing your own money to take care of those people who need medical help. Also the Church will need to stop using any of the insurance companies that are doing business today. Abortion is legal as are the preventive contraceptives at present, so the Church will need to get these provisions overturned as soon as possible. All those who think that our government is at war with the Church could move to the Vatican one of the few places that abortion is illegal. But you will have to put up with the Italian State which allows abortion. The first amendment implies that no religion can be selected by the government to impose its dogma on the rest of the country. Remember you and I have freedom to choose and we can choose not to have abortion or use contraceptives, but we cannot tell other people what they must choose. The government might also take the tax loophole away from the Church for being a conservative, republican, catholic political party. God Bless you and just continue to speak our against what you do not like, but do not expect me to agree with you. By the way, I do not believe in abortion except under the current law that allows it for incest, rape and the life of the mother. "
And I repond to this writer and anyone else who claims these beliefs the following...
Your payment for the abortion makes you a particpant......and what makes the baby conceived from incest or rape less of a child than a child conceived in a wanted manner? Clearly the child can not chose the manner he or she enters the world. If you believe abortion wrong in one case, you must believe it wrong in all cases, or you are assigning worth to a child based on the circumstances to which the child enters our airspace. That is grossly unfair. The fact that a government deems a practice legal remains a far cry from the practice (abortion) being just. Not too long ago in our own country slavery enjoyed the same false legality. Do you believe that people in that time period actually possessed the right to own slaves? Would you have contributed money into a fund that allowed people to be bought as slaves even though you yourself opposed it? Turn to Germany. Once laws prevented the Jewish person from citizenship in their own country. Could that be right just because the law of the land proclaimed it? No way. When a law conflicts with God's law (catholic talking to catholic here), always go the way of God. Do you intend to stand before almighty God and honestly say that I personally do not believe in abortion, but the law passed, so I respected people's rights to follow it? In other words, to take the child He just created and destroy it. You might give some pause and thought to that. You say in your post that we have the freedom to chose. This mandate strips that freedom away. When you force me to pay any amount in any way for an abortion, when you propose to provide contraception and education privately to my daughter, when you tell employers and health care workers that they must violate their beliefs, freedom is gone. Plenty more could be discussed on other statements you lodged against the Catholic heiarchy, I simply caution you to remember they stand in need of many prayers as they are under attack. They are the modern day apostles, in so much as they stay in line with the Pope, they are the authentic teaching voice of the Church. This is a tenant of the Faith. If you disagree, perhaps you should look into yourself and ask are you really Catholic, or have you become Protestant? If you wish to follow up with a comment, you can find me at http://realmetanoia.blogspot.com/ where I will repost my comment.
Wake up America! Or when you do will we be reliving Germany during WWII?
"No problem, why not just tell the President that the Catholic church will not participate, which might destroy the health legislation. Then you can go back to providing your own money to take care of those people who need medical help. Also the Church will need to stop using any of the insurance companies that are doing business today. Abortion is legal as are the preventive contraceptives at present, so the Church will need to get these provisions overturned as soon as possible. All those who think that our government is at war with the Church could move to the Vatican one of the few places that abortion is illegal. But you will have to put up with the Italian State which allows abortion. The first amendment implies that no religion can be selected by the government to impose its dogma on the rest of the country. Remember you and I have freedom to choose and we can choose not to have abortion or use contraceptives, but we cannot tell other people what they must choose. The government might also take the tax loophole away from the Church for being a conservative, republican, catholic political party. God Bless you and just continue to speak our against what you do not like, but do not expect me to agree with you. By the way, I do not believe in abortion except under the current law that allows it for incest, rape and the life of the mother. "
And I repond to this writer and anyone else who claims these beliefs the following...
Your payment for the abortion makes you a particpant......and what makes the baby conceived from incest or rape less of a child than a child conceived in a wanted manner? Clearly the child can not chose the manner he or she enters the world. If you believe abortion wrong in one case, you must believe it wrong in all cases, or you are assigning worth to a child based on the circumstances to which the child enters our airspace. That is grossly unfair. The fact that a government deems a practice legal remains a far cry from the practice (abortion) being just. Not too long ago in our own country slavery enjoyed the same false legality. Do you believe that people in that time period actually possessed the right to own slaves? Would you have contributed money into a fund that allowed people to be bought as slaves even though you yourself opposed it? Turn to Germany. Once laws prevented the Jewish person from citizenship in their own country. Could that be right just because the law of the land proclaimed it? No way. When a law conflicts with God's law (catholic talking to catholic here), always go the way of God. Do you intend to stand before almighty God and honestly say that I personally do not believe in abortion, but the law passed, so I respected people's rights to follow it? In other words, to take the child He just created and destroy it. You might give some pause and thought to that. You say in your post that we have the freedom to chose. This mandate strips that freedom away. When you force me to pay any amount in any way for an abortion, when you propose to provide contraception and education privately to my daughter, when you tell employers and health care workers that they must violate their beliefs, freedom is gone. Plenty more could be discussed on other statements you lodged against the Catholic heiarchy, I simply caution you to remember they stand in need of many prayers as they are under attack. They are the modern day apostles, in so much as they stay in line with the Pope, they are the authentic teaching voice of the Church. This is a tenant of the Faith. If you disagree, perhaps you should look into yourself and ask are you really Catholic, or have you become Protestant? If you wish to follow up with a comment, you can find me at http://realmetanoia.blogspot.com/ where I will repost my comment.
Wake up America! Or when you do will we be reliving Germany during WWII?
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Media Bias
We know it's there. They're not telling us everything. And when I say "they" I mean all mainstream and cable media outlets (yes, even your favorite cable news channel--they're all guilty).
Take a look at the Vortex episode posted below that exposes just one blaring example of media bias. (The actual video starts at about 0.30 if you want to skip the ad & intro.)
If the mainstream and cable media outlets would withhold information in order to slant Republican primary results, can you imagine what else they're not telling us? When information is withheld from We the People, how can we possibly make the right decisions for ourselves, for our families, for this nation and for the future? If we're not getting the right information, or all the information, how can we tell when we're being lied to?
There are so many examples of media bias out there that it would take years to post them all, and quite frankly, we don't have that kind of time. In the sidebar of this blog (<= that one) is a link to CatholicVote.org. There you'll get truth in journalism and plenty of resources to help you vote your conscience.
More resources from a Catholic perspective:
Catholic Culture
Notes on the Culture Wars
Catholic Online
Catholic News Agency
RealCatholicTV: Catholic News Roundup
I also recommend surfing the web for alternative, privately owned resources for current events, as far too often subsidized and publicly-traded companies have a vested interest in serving and protecting their benefactors.
And if you be unwilling to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." Joshua 24:15
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Another Jesus Sighting...*SIGH.*
People of faith have supernatural experiences all the time. God is Himself supernatural after all. How else would He communicate with us? The experiences of St. Faustina, St. Bernadette, the students of Kibeho, Sister Agnes of Akito, the shepherd children of Fatima and many, many others are mighty demonstrations of the power of Heaven when it wants to get Earth's attention. Each of us who strives to live a devout life could I'm sure talk about varying degrees of supernatural experiences as well, though we hesitate to share our stories with anyone.
Gee, I wonder why?
Just a moment ago--yet again--I heard another Jesus-sighting story. Our local radio station's morning show (that is on against my will since I share an office with two other people) dropped the story in that ever-so-slightly facetious tone only trained media personnel can achieve between another joke about wardrobe malfunction and the traffic report. It will never cease to annoy me how mainstream media will ignore stories of real apparitions and the grave messages that always come with them and then latch onto ridiculous claims of images of Our Lord or Our Lady appearing on things like grilled cheese sandwiches, cloud formations, superstore receipts, pet fur, on building walls...
I hate that matters of faith have been reduced to being the butts of really bad jokes. These bogus stories like we hear on the mainstream media don't help. Some pretty compelling supernatural experiences are targets for second-rate commedians, which is sad, since they're some of the most powerful tools for conversion out there. I've had experiences like these, as have my husband, many of my friends and I'm sure many of you; but I rarely open up to anyone about my experiences. I can just hear the conversation now:
"One afternoon I was sitting on the sofa in prayer and suddenly I heard a voice that I just know was The Lord."Seriously, friends, how do you combat the ignorance of a closed mind and a hard heart? The above is an example of what we've been doing, and as you can see we give them plenty of ammo.
"You hear voices?"
"What? Oh, no. No, of course not, but it wasn't like that--"
"How do you know it wasn't just your imagination?"
"Well I know because I know The Lord."
"Really? How do you "know The Lord"? Does he also appear to on your morning toast?"
"Well no, of course not, but--"
"Do you believe Jesus appears on toast?"
"No, I'm sure He doesn't, but your--"
"What about on a K-mart receipt? You ever see that?"
"Well, no."
"Well then how can you believe you heard Jesus talking to you?"
"Because they're not the same thing at all. The toast is--"
"Oh, no, no, no, they are the same thing. They are the very same thing. People see what they want to see and hear what they want to hear."
"But how can you possibly know that I wanted--"
"Look, it's either your imagination or you're a nut-job religious fanatic, and I'm leaning toward the latter, since you just admitted to me that you hear voices, didn't you?"
So look at this as an option:
"One afternoon I was sitting on the sofa in prayer and suddenly I heard a voice that I just know was The Lord."Or how about this one:
"You hear voices?"
"Do you want to just ridicule me? Because if so, we're done here."
"I've done similar to both of these, and the conversations always ended abruptly. Charity does not mean letting someone kick you in the teeth, and turning the other cheek doesn't mean being a doormat. Faith is not entertainment. It's the ideal upon which we base our entire existence. Look to Christ in the gospels as our model in this. How often during his 3-year ministry up until his arrest did Jesus allow Himself to become the butt of a joke?
How do you "know The Lord"? Does he also appear to on your morning toast?"
"Do you want to talk about fake toast stories or do you want to hear this story?"
NEVER.
Don't you allow it, either.
And if any one will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet as you leave that house or town. Truly, I say to you, it shall be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomor'rah than for that town. Mt. 10:14-15
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
The Wake of the HHS Mandate
We're coming upon about a month since the HHS Mandate announcement that has rocked the Catholic world. Lawsuits from across the country have been filed and our Bishops have spoken. See what they have to say here.
Over the last few weeks, and on more than one occasion, I've heard a number of people around my diocese in discussions regarding the HHS Mandate and the subsequentinsult compromise by the White House make a rather disturbing statement. It goes something like this: "I understand the Bishops' position, and I applaud their defense of the 1st amendment; but isn't this really an issue about religion. The decision has been made, the government should deal with matters pertaining to health care, and we're free to agree or disagree."
First let's tackle the obvious. If a person says "I am Catholic" but disagrees with Catholic teaching, are they really Catholic? The answer is simply, NO. To claim the Catholic faith as your own means you believe and accept ALL of her doctrines. It's not a smorgasbord, and the pertinant commandment is "Thou shall not kill." There's no black and white here. Abortion and birth control are both immoral. We are not, therefore, free to disagree.
Next we'll tackle the not-so-obvious. To institute a nationwide program that provides Americans with taxpayer- and insurance-funded resources premiums that allow them to kill is simply a violation of our faith. I believe everyone understands this point, yet still claims that there is freedom to disagree.
Not so.
A disagreement on a moral issue for which I have no tangible recourse is not "freedom to disagree". In other words, if I disagree with this issue, I can't just simply "opt out" and not pay. I MUST PAY ANYWAY, or suffer the consequences. That's right, if I disagree, I can't do diddly about it. I can say it over and over, I can write my congressmen, I can shout it from the mountaintop. It won't matter, though, because in the end, the money that I earn and for which I should have the freedom to spend wherever I choose will be taken from me and used to pay for something to which I am morally opposed.
Consider this excerpt from our Bishop's letter to our diocese on the mandate dated January 31, 2012:
"...the mandate will allow a Catholic institution one of three options: 1) violate its beliefs by
providing coverage for medications and procedures we believe are immoral; 2) cease providing health care
insurance for all of their employees and face ongoing and ultimately ruinous fines; or 3) attempt to qualify for
the exemption by hiring and serving only Catholics."
Is this your idea of freedom? Pay or suffer consequences regardless your beliefs?
What's next, armbands and ghettos?
Think about it. This is a critical juncture for faithful Catholics, and this issue--this PROBLEM--is not going to just go away easily.
Over the last few weeks, and on more than one occasion, I've heard a number of people around my diocese in discussions regarding the HHS Mandate and the subsequent
First let's tackle the obvious. If a person says "I am Catholic" but disagrees with Catholic teaching, are they really Catholic? The answer is simply, NO. To claim the Catholic faith as your own means you believe and accept ALL of her doctrines. It's not a smorgasbord, and the pertinant commandment is "Thou shall not kill." There's no black and white here. Abortion and birth control are both immoral. We are not, therefore, free to disagree.
Next we'll tackle the not-so-obvious. To institute a nationwide program that provides Americans with taxpayer- and insurance-funded resources premiums that allow them to kill is simply a violation of our faith. I believe everyone understands this point, yet still claims that there is freedom to disagree.
Not so.
A disagreement on a moral issue for which I have no tangible recourse is not "freedom to disagree". In other words, if I disagree with this issue, I can't just simply "opt out" and not pay. I MUST PAY ANYWAY, or suffer the consequences. That's right, if I disagree, I can't do diddly about it. I can say it over and over, I can write my congressmen, I can shout it from the mountaintop. It won't matter, though, because in the end, the money that I earn and for which I should have the freedom to spend wherever I choose will be taken from me and used to pay for something to which I am morally opposed.
Consider this excerpt from our Bishop's letter to our diocese on the mandate dated January 31, 2012:
"...the mandate will allow a Catholic institution one of three options: 1) violate its beliefs by
providing coverage for medications and procedures we believe are immoral; 2) cease providing health care
insurance for all of their employees and face ongoing and ultimately ruinous fines; or 3) attempt to qualify for
the exemption by hiring and serving only Catholics."
Is this your idea of freedom? Pay or suffer consequences regardless your beliefs?
What's next, armbands and ghettos?
Think about it. This is a critical juncture for faithful Catholics, and this issue--this PROBLEM--is not going to just go away easily.
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