Why I have decided not to vote for President

So, last night at mass our Parish handed out the US Conference of Catholic Bishop's Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship. It reminded me that I should definitely remember to participate in political life as much as possible, and I think that includes voting to some extent, and as a person's conscience dictates:

In the Catholic Tradition, responsible citizenship is a virtue, and participation
in political life is a moral obligation. This obligation is rooted in our baptismal
commitment to follow Jesus Christ and to bear Christian witness in all we do. As
the Catechism of the Catholic Church reminds us, “It is necessary that all participate,
each according to his position and role, in promoting the common good. This
obligation is inherent in the dignity of the human person. . . . As far as possible
citizens should take an active part in public life” (nos. 1913-1915).

That being said, I will definitely go to the polls and vote for officials (governor, senator, house of representatives, local elections) that my conscience allows me to vote for. Those who I find are upholding many or most of the values of the Church and also going beyond principles to actually help people in other ways. Community development (especially downtowns, eliminating driving, and increasing public transportation) is very important to me as well, so it will help me form my mind on local candidates especially.

I decided to read it in light of the pressing Presidential election though, and this is what I found:

As Catholics we are not single-issue voters. A candidate’s position on a single
issue is not sufficient to guarantee a voter’s support. Yet a candidate’s position on a
single issue that involves an intrinsic evil, such as support for legal abortion or the
promotion of racism, may legitimately lead a voter to disqualify a candidate from
receiving support.

and

The second is the misuse of these necessary moral distinctions as a way of
dismissing or ignoring other serious threats to human life and dignity. Racism and
other unjust discrimination, the use of the death penalty, resorting to unjust war,
the use of torture,4 war crimes, the failure to respond to those who are suffering
from hunger or a lack of health care, or an unjust immigration policy are all serious
moral issues that challenge our consciences and require us to act. These are not
optional concerns which can be dismissed. Catholics are urged to seriously consider
Church teaching on these issues. Although choices about how best to respond
to these and other compelling threats to human life and dignity are matters for
principled debate and decision, this does not make them optional concerns or
permit Catholics to dismiss or ignore Church teaching on these important issues.
Clearly not every Catholic can be actively involved on each of these concerns,
but we need to support one another as our community of faith defends human life
and dignity wherever it is threatened. We are not factions, but one family of faith
fulfilling the mission of Jesus Christ.

Finally,

It must be noted also that a well-formed Christian conscience
does not permit one to vote for a political program or an
individual law which contradicts the fundamental contents
of faith and morals. The Christian faith is an integral unity,
and thus it is incoherent to isolate some particular element to
the detriment of the whole of Catholic doctrine. A political
commitment to a single isolated aspect of the Church’s social
doctrine does not exhaust one’s responsibility towards the
common good. (Doctrinal Note on Some Questions Regarding the
Participation of Catholics in Political Life, no. 4)


Frankly, neither candidate has illustrated to me a dedication to right to life issues on abortion or any other of the important life issues. Nor has McCain demonstrated to me that he genuinely cares or wants to improve the war situation (outside of "winning), health care, the economic situation of the poor, immigrants, etc. etc. etc.

I cannot vote for either one of them with a clean conscience. That's my personal decision, no one else's, and it is not something I would bind on anyone or ask anyone to try to bind on me. In fact, I have chosen to:

When all candidates hold a position in favor of an intrinsic evil, the
conscientious voter faces a dilemma. The voter may decide to take the
extraordinary step of not voting for any candidate or, after careful deliberation,
may decide to vote for the candidate
deemed less likely to advance such
a morally flawed position and more
likely to pursue other authentic
human goods.

because I really don't know which one will be less likely to advance a morally flawed position, as they both seem to me to be extremely morally flawed!

Development of Doctrine

One thing we are accused of as Catholics is inventing new doctrines or teaching the "traditions of men". Part of the reason behind this is that others don't understand the development of doctrine. In today's Liturgy of the Hours, the second reading is from the first instruction by Saint Vincent of Lerins. Remebering that the Church is the Body of Christ, pay attention to what might be the best definition of development of doctrine I have ever read:

Is there to be no development of religion in the Church of Christ? Certainly, there is to be development and on the largest scale.

Who can be so grudging to men, so full of hate for God, as to try to prevent it? But it must truly be development of the faith, not alteration of the faith. Development means that each thing expands to be itself, while alteration means that a thing is changed from one thing into another.

The understanding, knowledge and wisdom of one and all, of individuals as well as of the whole Church, ought then to make great and vigorous progress with the passing of the ages and the centuries, but only along its own line of development, that is, with the same doctrine, the same meaning and the same import.

The religion of souls should follow the law of development of bodies. Though bodies develop and unfold their component parts with the passing of the years, they always remain what they were. There is a great difference between the flower of childhood and the maturity of age, but those who become old are the very same people who were once young. Though the condition and appearance of one and the same individual may change, it is one and the same nature, one and the same person.

The tiny members of unweaned children and the grown members of young men are still the same members. Men have the same number of limbs as children. Whatever develops at a later age was already present in seminal form; there is nothing new in old age that was not already latent in childhood.

There is no doubt, then, that the legitimate and correct rule of development, the established and wonderful order of growth, is this: in older people the fullness of years always brings to completion those members and forms that the wisdom of the Creator fashioned beforehand in their earlier years.

If, however, the human form were to turn into some shape that did not belong to its own nature, or ever if something were added to the sum of its members or subtracted from it, the whole body would necessarily perish or become grotesque or at least be enfeebled. In the same way, the doctrine of the Christian religion should properly follow these laws of development, that is, by becoming firmer over the years, more ample in the course of time, more exalted as it advances in age.

In ancient times our ancestors sowed the good seed in the harvest field of the Church. It would be very wrong and unfitting if we, their descendants, were to reap, not the genuine wheat of truth but the intrusive growth of error.

On the contrary, what is right and fitting is this: there should be no inconsistency between first and last, but we should reap true doctrine from the growth of true teaching, so that when, in the course of time, those first sowings yield an increase, it may flourish and be tended in our day also.

Worrisome Political Stuff

Ok. I hate to talk about politics. I believe as a Catholic that you can vote according to your own conscience with reference to what the Catholic Bishops have requested you to consider. While an anti-abortion position might be the most important thing in the world, I can't judge how someone else chooses to balance or not balance their positions. The Catholic Church has not endorsed a political candidate nor should it. That leads me to the following article on Catholic Online.

Apparently, Dr. Cafardi has felt it necessary to resign from his post at Franciscan U. because he supports Obama. People are heralding this as a decision that he had to make, and somehow trying to paint him as an unfaithful Catholic or a terrible professor. The following quote, for instance and from the link above, bothers me to no end:

The departure of Nicholas Cafardi removes the immediacy of dealing with the inherent contradiction of having on the Institutional Board of Franciscan University a man who has taken such a controversial position.

I'm sorry but you can't dictate your politics to every other Catholic on the face of the planet nor make his choice for President a "controversial position". I'm both Republican and Pro-Life, but on some angle he may be correct - the Republican Party is trying to hold conservatives hostage with the "pro-life" position while conducting a war, supporting the death penalty, neglecting the poor, harming the environment, etc. There is a balance out there, and while I will most likely end up voting for John McCain come November, this man has a right to his opinion and he may very well be correct and we should wake up and smell the coffee - even if just to put pressure on them to make the correct choices. McCain hasn't been out there vehemently defending the unborn either, as far as I have seen.

Hopefully the article is correct that no pressure was put on this professor to resign. If so, the Church had better be very careful about any money they might be sending to Franciscan University.

A Letter to Myself

During RCIA last year we wrote a letter to ourselves, which our Deacon mailed to us 6 months later. I received mine recently and thought I would share it with you as part of my Catholic Journey:

Dear Joseph the Worker,

Today I am so excited about taking my first communion. Every day I think about the words "I am not worthy to receive you but only say the word and I shall be healed". I know when I read this I will still not be worthy but I pray that I will have been receiving Christ for the last six months in the Eucharist.

-Joseph the Worker

Roots of Premillenial Theory

I was reading the book "Lives of the Popes" written in the 15th Century today. Very interestingly, the author had this to say:

What shall I say about the most foul teaching of Cerinthus? He said Christ's Kingdom would come after a thousand years and would be on Earth; hence in Greek he was called a "chiliast". Since he was intolerant of lusts and desires, he held out the prospect of sensual pleasures, an abundance of food and plenty of women, in the holy promises of the kingdom to come. Nepos, a Bishop in parts of Egypt, also believed this. He said that the saints would reign on Earth with Christ amid every delight and pleasure of the body. the followers of this filthy sect were called Nepotians.

Now, even if there is no direct link between these heretics and the premillenial theology that we hear today, it is very interesting that this worldly Kingdom and 1000 year reign of Christ was given no merit at all among the Early Church, and by the 15th Century, it seemed to be a very perverse idea indeed.

Spiritual Journeys

Just the other day, Jennifer shared her spiritual journey with me via the comments below. I just finished reading it and had a few thoughts. First, it is interesting to note how similar so many convert stories are to each other. Her story and mine had many similarities. Especially striking to me was how the Pentecostals and the Independent Baptists attempted to trace themselves through the same heretical groups that I saw the Church of Christ try to trace themselves through and the same false sense of history among all these groups as well. A good spiritual journey that touches on these issues in the Church of Christ and fully explores the significance is here.

Her spiritual journey was wonderful. I wish you all the luck in the world Jennifer and I will pray for you often and thanks for sharing with me. I completed RCIA last year and I had many of the same feelings as you going into it. Waiting a year to receive the sacraments is tough but well worth it when you get to the other side. Just a reminder to all my readers (I've heard from many of you) that my spiritual journey is available here.

Prosperity Gospel

The whole idea behind the "Prosperity Gospel" has been something very interesting to me. It came up because I just stumbled upon this article which describes how the Prosperity Gospel might be driving people to foreclose on their homes now.

The basic idea behind prosperity theology is that God will financially bless those who follow him and are obedient to his teachings. It is prominant among African American evangelicals today (Pentecostals most typically, most famous individual I know of who touts it is T.D. Banks) and to me it seems as though it has its roots in the "Calvanist Work Ethic" - whereby the Calvanist was thought to work harder in order to please God and thereby would be financially successful. It seems as though as a country we have always believed that God somehow blesses Godly countries with financial prosperity more than others as well.

My first exposure to it had to be within the Church of Christ denomination. Now clearly, they did not teach this verbally, but it seemed to be an underlying position, especially among the more conservative "anti" groups. Instead of catering and helping the poor (the very ones that Jesus went out and talked to), we instead ignored them or tried to keep them away because they were just bums wanting our money. They should go out and get jobs for themselves.

When I became Catholic, I realized how foolish I had been. The poor are so important - being human beings - and they need our love and help. Jesus constantly went to the poor and encouraged us to do the same. All people are not just bums because they are homeless - some have addictions, mental problems, and other issues that we can't even imagine that prevent them from functioning properly in society. Jesus went to those people. Think about Lazarus, for instance, who rests in Abraham's bosom. Compare him to the rich man who, well didn't make it. The rich are portrayed more often than not as negative in the New Testament (of course that doesn't mean it is always negative, but there is a lot of temptation once you have money, and it might be hard to live a Godly life and become rich.) The actual advice Jesus gave was to give all your money away and follow him! Some of our Saints have done this, like St. Francis.

Let's pray for those who are losing their homes because of faulty theology, and for all the poor.

St. Francis, pray for us.

Just for Fun

Click here and get a good laugh - Catholic related obviously.

Catholic Influence

I was just watching my favorite television show, The Great Heresies on EWTN. I was just thinking about how amazing it is that so many Protestant beliefs, the ones they take for granted, such as the true nature of Christ (man and God) and the concept of the Trinity are all developments of Catholic councils in the early centuries. It blows my mind because I believed in these things as a Protestant, but never had real "sola scriptura" backing for it. Only with the interpretation of the Church did it ever become clear.

Also, today is the Feast Day (well yesterday technically) of the Guardian Angels. Say a prayer asking for protection and guidance from your Guardian Angel today!

Today's Feast

Today is the feast day of the Archangels Michael, Raphael, and Gabriel. I highly reccommend reading the second reading from today's Office of Readings in the Liturgy of the Hours. It is from a sermon by Pope St. Gregory, which I have copied below (from universalis). It's a wonderful way to think about and understand more about the angels.


"You should be aware that the word “angel” denotes a function rather than a nature. Those holy spirits of heaven have indeed always been spirits. They can only be called angels when they deliver some message. Moreover, those who deliver messages of lesser importance are called angels; and those who proclaim messages of supreme importance are called archangels. And so it was that not merely an angel but the archangel Gabriel was sent to the Virgin Mary. It was only fitting that the highest angel should come to announce the greatest of all messages.Some angels are given proper names to denote the service they are empowered to perform. In that holy city, where perfect knowledge flows from the vision of almighty God, those who have no names may easily be known. But personal names are assigned to some, not because they could not be known without them, but rather to denote their ministry when they came among us. Thus, Michael means “Who is like God”; Gabriel is “The Strength of God”; and Raphael is “God’s Remedy.”Whenever some act of wondrous power must be performed, Michael is sent, so that his action and his name may make it clear that no one can do what God does by his superior power. So also our ancient foe desired in his pride to be like God, saying: I will ascend into heaven; I will exalt my throne above the stars of heaven; I will be like the Most High. He will be allowed to remain in power until the end of the world when he will be destroyed in the final punishment. Then, he will fight with the archangel Michael, as we are told by John: A battle was fought with Michael the archangel.So too Gabriel, who is called God’s strength, was sent to Mary. He came to announce the One who appeared as a humble man to quell the cosmic powers. Thus God’s strength announced the coming of the Lord of the heavenly powers, mighty in battle. Raphael means, as I have said, God’s remedy, for when he touched Tobit’s eyes in order to cure him, he banished the darkness of his blindness. Thus, since he is to heal, he is rightly called God’s remedy."

RCIA

I had the chance to revisit RCIA last Thursday - this time as a guest speaker. Man was it weird to me. Since RCIA is in our chapel/library of the Newman Center, it is in the same place each year. Sitting there with all those candidates and catechumens (this was the first class and we already had over 15 - about half of which had never been baptized! That means we're on target to break last year's 24 candidates and catechumens!) flooded back vivid memories of my first day in RCIA last November; the nervousness, the paranoia of not knowing what you are doing. All that passed very quickly in the hands of our Deacon and the Catechism.

I almost broke down in tears thinking about how badly I wanted to get finished with the process last year and start taking the Eucharist. And now I'm here, and can even share experiences with others! There was another former Sunday School teacher (like me) in the class. I got to talk to him quite a bit after I shared my experiences and background.

Anyway, please pray for candidates and catechumens everywhere.

The Journey Home

I was watching the latest episode of The Journey Home (and for you Protestants who read my blog, there are episodes out there for just about every denomination under the sun, including several former CoC ministers who have been on) and Marcus Grodi, the host, did a special where he shared 10 verses that he came across during his Spiritual Journey that just stuck out in his mind and made him think deeply about himself as an evangelical Presbyterian. I encourage you to listen to the whole program, but I just wanted to share the verses, encourage you to read them, and maybe share a reflection or two of my own. I'll use the NAB version. My comments in red.

Prov. 3:5,6: Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your path.

This passage struck both he and I because as "sola scriptura" Christians, we had both relied on our own understanding and knowledge of scriptures and our personal interpretations (informed of course by our own traditions, but we wouldn't admit that).


I Tim 3:15: But if I should be delayed, you should know how to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of truth. .

Again, what is the pillar and foundation of truth? Not the Bible alone, but rather the Church, the guardian of sacred scripture. This also ties in a lot with my discoveries concerning the Canon of scripture and its development when I was in my "conversion" process.

II Tim 3:14-17: But you, remain faithful to what you have learned and believed, because you know from whom you learned it, and that from infancy you have known (the) sacred scriptures, which are capable of giving you wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for refutation, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that one who belongs to God may be competent, equipped for every good work.

The fact that Paul is talking about the Old Testament scriptures is kind of mind blowing when you think of the context this scripture is generally used in.

II Thes 2:15: Therefore, brothers, stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught, either by an oral statement or by a letter of ours.

The two parts of Sacred Tradition stand here in this verse side by side - Oral Tradition and Sacred Scripture, both intrusted to the Church as the Pillar and Foundation of Truth.

Matt 16:13-19: Jesus said to him in reply, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

I always wondered later why I fought so hard against Jesus saying this was Peter he was founding the Church on since 1) He names him Rock and says he will build his Church on the rock (in his native tongue there is no masculine/feminine distinction btw, and the Greek would be proper to use both in that sentence structure even when talking about the same person) 2) Other scriptures show us the Church is founded on the Apostles and Prophets with Christ being the chief cornerstone, and 3) Ever wonder what he could bind and loose and why it happened on Earth before it happened in Heaven?

John 14:15,16: And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always, the Spirit of truth, which the world cannot accept, because it neither sees nor knows it. But you know it, because it remains with you, and will be in you.

Interesting that the Holy Spirit would be with the Church always! It didn't leave after the first century and stop guiding the Church.

Rev 14:13: I heard a voice from heaven say, "Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on." "Yes," said the Spirit, "let them find rest from their labors, for their works accompany them.

Our works accompany us to Heaven?! BTW, Marcus points out that this is part of the Presbyterian Funeral liturgy. I had no idea but that is interesting.

John 15:4: Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me.

The same word remain is sometimes translated "abide". This same word is used in John 6:56 where he tells us how to abide in him: Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him.


Col 1:24: Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ on behalf of his body, which is the church,

I'm still meditating on this one myself. Not sure what I have comprehended so far.

Luke 1:46-49: And Mary said: "My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior. For he has looked upon his handmaid's lowliness; behold, from now on will all ages call me blessed.

On a more personal level, I've sometimes thought about how in the CoC Mary was so disregarded and ignored. I wonder if that might be why so many women feel disrespected who have left or are still in the CoC. I think a relationship with our Blessed Mother is a key step towards understanding the wonders of women and a true love for their suffering and work for God.


Now go listen to the whole show because he's a lot better than I am !

Cultural Commentary

I ran into this story and was once again thinking that this is what we relegate our babies too in a culture of abortion, trash.

Pray for us

Mel writes: "Still trying to work through the "pray for us" part of the Hail Mary. I've read quite a bit and have even started another blog as a place for "book reports." Any suggestions? It may all boil down to a matter of faith in the Marian doctrines, which I do not have." in the comments of the post below this one. Thought I would just try to answer this a tiny bit.

First, I think you can separate this idea of praying for us from other Marian teachings like her perpetual virginity, immaculate conception, assumption, coronation, etc. This one really has little to do with that, although those might all be reasons why we might choose to ask Mary for her intercessions. This idea revolves directly around the idea of "communion of the Saints".

We believe that those who are Saints are with God. That being said, we ask them for their prayers on our behalf. The best example that I think helps someone understand is how we ask our friends and neighbors to pray for us. I might ask Mel to pray for me, and likewise she might ask me. But, because of their being in Heaven with God and the nature of their lives, they are especially close to us all (being in communion with the whole Church includes those saints who have passed out of this life and into the next) and because of that special relationship we ask them for their prayers on our behalf. All this, of course, works through God's grace. Our Lady, as the Mother of Christ, has a special position where of course he would want to listen to her requests - we can see this in the wedding feast at Cana. That makes her often beseeched by those in need.

During the Easter Vigil (and hopefully as individuals we pray this more often), we pray the Litany of the Saints (responses in black, and this can differ a tiny bit):

Lord, have mercy.

Christ, have mercy.

Lord, have mercy.

Christ, hear us.

Christ, graciously hear us.

God the Father of Heaven,

have mercy on us.

God the Son, Redeemer of the world,

have mercy on us.

God the Holy Spirit,

have mercy on us.

Holy Trinity, one God,

have mercy on us.

Holy Mary,

pray for us.

Holy Mother of God,

pray for us.

Holy Virgin of virgins,

pray for us.

St. Michael,

pray for us.

St. Gabriel,

pray for us.

St. Raphael,

pray for us.

All you holy Angels and Archangels,

pray for us.

All you holy orders of blessed Spirits,

pray for us.

St. John the Baptist,

pray for us.

St. Joseph,

pray for us.

All you holy Patriarchs and Prophets,

pray for us.

St. Peter,

pray for us.

St. Paul,

pray for us.

St. Andrew,

pray for us.

St. James,

pray for us.

St. John,

pray for us. .

St. Thomas,

pray for us.

St. James,

pray for us.

St. Philip,

pray for us. .

St. Bartholomew,

pray for us.

St. Matthew,

pray for us.

St. Simon,

pray for us.

St. Thaddeus,

pray for us.

St. Matthias,

pray for us.

St. Barnabas,

pray for us.

St. Luke,

pray for us.

St. Mark,

pray for us.

All you holy Apostles and Evangelists,

pray for us.

All you holy Disciples of the Lord,

pray for us.

All you holy Innocents,

pray for us.

St. Stephen,

pray for us.

St. Lawrence,

pray for us.

St. Vincent,

pray for us.

Sts. Fabian and Sebastian,

pray for us. .

Sts. John and Paul,

pray for us. .

Sts. Cosmas and Damian,

pray for us.

Sts. Gervase and Protase,

pray for us.

All you holy Martyrs,

pray for us.

St. Sylvester,

pray for us.

St. Gregory,

pray for us. .

St. Ambrose,

pray for us.

St. Augustine,

pray for us.

St. Jerome,

pray for us.

St. Martin,

pray for us.

St. Nicholas,

pray for us.

All you holy Bishops and Confessors,

pray for us.

All you holy Doctors,

pray for us.

St. Anthony,

pray for us.

St. Benedict,

pray for us.

St. Bernard,

pray for us.

St. Dominic,

pray for us.

St. Francis,

pray for us.

All you holy Priests and Levites,

pray for us.

All you holy Monks and Hermits,

pray for us.

St. Mary Magdalen,

pray for us.

St. Agatha,

pray for us.

St. Lucy,

pray for us.

St. Agnes,

pray for us.

St. Cecilia,

pray for us.

St. Catherine,

pray for us.

St. Anastasia,

pray for us.

All you holy Virgins and Widows,

pray for us.

All you Holy Men and Women, Saints of God,

make intercession for us.

Be merciful,

spare us, O Lord. .

Be merciful,

graciously hear us, O Lord. .

From all evil, O Lord,

deliver us.

From all sin,

deliver us.

From your wrath,

deliver us.

From sudden and unprovided death,

deliver us.

From the snares of the devil,

deliver us.

From anger, and hatred, and all ill-will,

deliver us.

From the spirit of fornication,

deliver us.

From lightning and tempest,

deliver us.

From the scourge of earthquake,

deliver us.

From plague, famine and war,

deliver us.

From everlasting death,

deliver us.

Through the mystery of your holy Incarnation,

deliver us.

Through your Coming,

deliver us.

Through your Nativity,

deliver us.

Through your Baptism and holy Fasting,

deliver us.

Through your Cross and Passion,

deliver us.

Through your Death and Burial,

deliver us.

Through your holy Resurrection,

deliver us.

Through your admirable Ascension,

deliver us.

Through the coming of the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete,

In the day of judgment,

deliver us.

We sinners,

we beseech you, hear us.

That you would spare us,

we beseech you, hear us.

That you would pardon us,

we beseech you, hear us.

That you would bring us to true penance,

we beseech you, hear us.

That you would deign to govern and preserve your holy Church,

we beseech you, hear us.

That you would deign to preserve our Apostolic Prelate, and all orders of the Church in holy religion,

we beseech you, hear us.

That you would deign to humble the enemies of Holy Church,

we beseech you, hear us.

That you would deign to give peace and true concord to Christian kings and princes,

we beseech you, hear us.

That you would deign to grant peace and unity to all Christian people,

we beseech you, hear us.

That you would deign to call back to the unity of the Church all who have strayed from the truth and lead all unbelievers to the light of the Gospel,

we beseech you, hear us.

That you would deign to confirm and preserve us in your holy service,

we beseech you, hear us.

That you would lift up our minds to heavenly desires,

we beseech you, hear us.

That you would render eternal blessings to all our benefactors,

we beseech you, hear us.

That you would deliver our souls and the souls of our brethren, relations and benefactors, from eternal damnation,

we beseech you, hear us.

That you would deign to give and preserve the fruits of the earth,

we beseech you, hear us.

That you would deign to grant eternal rest to all the faithful departed,

we beseech you, hear us.

That you would deign graciously to hear us,

we beseech you, hear us.

Son of God,

we beseech you, hear us.

Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world,

spare us, O Lord. .

Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world,

graciously hear us, O Lord. .

Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world,

have mercy on us. .

Christ, hear us.

Christ, graciously hear us.

Lord, have mercy.

Christ, have mercy.

Lord, have mercy.

Mary, Mother of God

How much do you love your mother? Very much assuming she is a wonderful Mother like most are. That being said, what would you do for her? Everything in the world.

That got me to thinking about Mary. I had a mother who left when I was 2 years old. I have only seen her 3-4 times since then. A terrible mother. Christ's mother loved him and cared for him his entire life, even until the cross where she sat at the foot and mourned him. How much does he love her? How hard would he try to do whatever she asks? Obviously from the Wedding Feast at Cana and thereafter, we see that he tried his hardest to do everything for her, something natural to a son who loves his mother. When we ask for her intercession, who better could we go to to ask her son for a favor? No one. And the entire prayer focuses on her son, who allows her to be sinless.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.

Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary, Mother of God,

Pray for us Sinners, Now and at the Hour of Our Death.

Amen.

The Holy Father's Prayer Intentions

Pope Benedict's prayer intentions for September:

General That those who are forced to leave home and country because of war or oppression may be supported by Christians in the defense and protection of their rights.

Mission That faithful to the sacrament of matrimony, every Christian family may cultivate the values of love and communion in order to be a small evangelizing community, sensitive and open to the material and spiritual needs of others.

Please pray for these things.

Jesus Image REALLY IS Seen on the Wings of a Moth

Ok. Jesus isn't on this moth like a painting. Instead, we should see his image in all of his Creation. Every animal, including the amazing moth actually shows his image.

I've been extremely busy catching up with work this week, this was just my quick thought I wanted to share.

St. Louis of France

St. Louis is one of my favorite Saints. Something about the fact that he was a King and yet spent so much of his life seeking God and trying to reform the country into a better place. I wish we had more politicians today who put Christian values first and try to reform our state into something God would be pleased with - something that loves and respects everyone in society.

Retreating

So, over the last couple of days (Friday night and Saturday), we held a young adults retreat here at our parish. What an event. It was so wonderful and drew us so close with each other and more importantly with God, that I just thought I would share the schedule of events, in this order:

Confession
Friday's Daily Mass
Opening Prayer
Knights of Columbus/Catholic Daughters provided Dinner and talked about service activities
Lectio Divina
Praying the Rosary
Cooking Breakfast with Each Other
Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament for an hour
A short talk on service and discussion of our service activities in the past
Cooking Lunch for the Homeless
Catholic Jeopardy
Journaling about Our Experiences over the Weekend
Each member of the retreat prayed over each other individual who attended
Our Priest laid his hands on us and prayed over us and blessed us.
We ended with the Vigil Mass.


What an experience!

Why I boycott the Olympics

I cannot, in good conscience support the Olympic games and have tried my best to ignore coverage of them in the media and watch them on television. The human rights violations being perpetrated by the Chinese government are immense. Some might criticize this decision of mine, because the United States is also obviously a violator. Would I watch an Olympics here? Probably so. Unfortunately these Olympics have become a great burden on the Chinese citizens who care about the human rights of their fellow countrymen, this article even describes two older women who were arrested for petitioning to protest in an area set up by the government for that purpose.

I was also somewhat disappointed in Pope Benedict's comments leading up to the Olympics and felt he really should have taken a much harder line stand on it, but he probably knows better than I do.