This is begging...

...for a caption. My hero sings...

Well it took place.

Pope meets Pelosi, speaks of Church teachings on life

Benedict "took the opportunity to speak of the requirements of the natural moral law and the Church's consistent teaching on the dignity of human life from conception to natural death," the Vatican said in a statement.

Sigh. In one ear...

Getting ugly

I have been working(long days, not taking breaks) in the last few days. I have read some of the liberal banter through the media and it's overwhelming. I'm speaking of the church, not politics. The situation of the Austrian "bishop rejection" is disgraceful(see here). We have resorted to bullying to the breaking point? Unreal. Then there is the constant barrage of media bias against the SSPX issue and the Holy Father's decision. On a local level, there is a big "event" with a much anticipated visitor this weekend and the silence is deafening. Thankfully, there is some attention given in the diocese of Lexington but I doubt will be any words coming from Covington. It is no secret that this diocese is not welcoming or open to tradition. It is frustrating.
I don't get the battle, really. If orthodoxy were given the chance in this diocese(not batted about like a hot potato no one wants to handle) the effect would be wonderful. Instead we focus on money and social justice. Great. Way to go on the soul saving. A parish becomes a club run by lay people who don't know their catechism from their Sunday paper. In the last year, I have been in conversations with people in one parish or another(various parishes that have a great, holy priest at the helm) and they sum up their relationship with him as "I don't agree with him on most things, I'm only there because I am Catholic and will always be Catholic". What the? Now mind you, this is not one specific parish or priest. I have heard this from various people in the diocese but the theme is the same. Here's a news flash. These people are dead wrong and don't believe what the church teaches. When does our patience with these deniers need to expire? If you don't believe the teachings of our faith, why stay? This is not an isolated conversation. I have had this conversation with at least 5 people in the diocese since around November. When a priest stands firm on life issues, liturgical norms, canon law and social/sexual moral issues, the people go postal. It is not okay to skip Mass on Sunday and sleep in. It's far from okay to have pre-marital relations. You can't have IVF or use the pill to maintain your selfish lifestyle. No, don't vote for a socialist pro-abort. People in Covington don't want to hear it from their priest or anyone in the church. Why criticize the priest or our Holy Father for standing firm in our faith? Because you view them as out of touch? I want to believe my church isn't going to change like the next pop fad. I need to know there are certainties in life. Death, Judgement, Heaven, Hell. The church. All the other stuff can line up behind those very last things. Social norms and fads change. Pruning needs to take place. You either stand for truth or you are trapped in the lies of modern times.
See what happens when I work in long periods of quiet and can pray and think?
I am praying for our Holy Father and hope for a new period in our church. We have been through over 40 years of this failed social experiment called "spirit of VII". Convents are empty. Pews are bare. Vocations are down. Pray and fast for real hope(sorry about that word, it was just there). Instruct our children to hold fast to the truth. They need to be given the truth. I think we are in for a battle. What the Holy Father is experiencing is just foreshadowing. Maybe this is the coming of the death of mediocrity. I see sides being drawn.

He is just amazing.

Pope: crisis helps restore simplicity to Christmas

Benedict says the crisis can help people to rediscover what he calls "the warmth, simplicity, friendship and solidarity" contained in authentic Christmas values.

Amen.

Love stronger than evil

Pope hails love 'stronger than evil' at Lourdes mass

Pope Benedict XVI urged more than 150,000 followers at mass Sunday in the French shrine town of Lourdes to hold firm in their faith, telling them "love is stronger than evil."

That Colbert

Stick around for the billboard segment...ha(Why does that Pelosi comment make me laugh everytime I hear it? It pathetic and sad that it does but I am being honest). H/T to M. Swaim.

Sulfur. Snort.

Find here:

Catholic Cartoon Blog

Obama questions the Holy Father

From our local paper, The Enquirer. H/T to Mr. Leonardi.

Yeah! He's here, he's here!

We had a Pope Party on a budget. It included grilled burgers, corn-on-the-cob(roasted on the grill), orange kool-aid and orange cake. My son knows his favorite drink is Orange Fanta so we did an orange theme. The kids cleaned the kitchen, we are watching a re-broadcast of his arrival on EWTN and then will sing happy birthday to the Holy Father. Hopefully, he won't be able to hear us. My spirit is lifted from the daily stress of living one-day-at-a-time, not knowing what the future brings. Thank you, dear Holy Father, for blessing us with your presence. I love my Catholic faith and the Church. He is my hero.

Hope

One bright item in the near future is the Holy Father's arrival in the US. Regardless of the venue or reason, the fact he is coming here and cares about the Catholic Church here is reason for hope. I'm always in such awe of the Holy Father and his ability to lead with consistency and historical fervor. For the first time in my "Catholic life", I feel a connection with the Church throughout time. I never felt "that" as a child, a teen or my college years. There was a disconnect. Looking back, it was a different church or religion in that my beliefs and the beliefs of those around me were very passive and had with a focus. It is not a matter of nostalgia, I was not old enough to remember the pre-VII church. My faith now permeates my life and my decisions, it is not just when I am at church on Sunday. So, yeah, I'm excited. We may have a "Pope Party" like we did when my boys were toddlers during the St. Louis visit. We made cool hats and ate polish food. We may not be able to top that.

Spe Salvi

ENCYCLICAL LETTER
SPE SALVI
OF THE SUPREME PONTIFF
BENEDICT XVI
TO THE BISHOPS
PRIESTS AND DEACONS
MEN AND WOMEN RELIGIOUS
AND ALL THE LAY FAITHFUL
ON CHRISTIAN HOPE
I plan on reading this later tonight. I started and realized it's almost dinner time and thought I best not. I linked here for those that didn't have the English link available. Hope is always a good thing. I'm certain it will be uplifting.

Philadelphia? Okay.

Pope Benedict Could Be Headed To Philadelphia
I am anxious to hear of the other city. Of course I will probably be waddling by that time and unable to walk let alone drive. April. Nine months pregnant. Eh...I might just watch on TV.

Interesting find...

Pope Benedict uses older ritual for his private Mass

Shortly after his election in April 2005, Pope Benedict ordered renovations of the Redemptoris Mater chapel in the apostolic palace. The changes included replacing the free-standing altar at which Pope John Paul celebrated Mass facing the congregation with a longer altar, closer to the rear wall of the chapel and with a tabernacle in the center. The new arrangement allows for the Pope to celebrate Mass in the ad orientem posture required for the older ritual.

I have to wonder why this is just coming out now? Things that make you go hmmm...

Fun with the Holy Father

If you are looking for something to do today, you can let Pope Benedict speak for you. You can change the background, poses and words. It's fun. I just love him. Now I must work.

Benedict says...featuring Pope Benedict XVI!

Still my hero

In a laughable and secularist article, the Holy Father is put under a microscope for his latest moves that are just a tad traditional.
Is Pope Benedict turning back Catholic clock?
If I, as a Catholic, cared even a little over what the secularist press had to say of my hero, I'd be in deep muck. While I believe we should be Christ-like to others of all nations, I do not believe in leaving our faith at the door on the way in for talks. I do not try and hide my faith because it serves no purpose. If it is not an integral part of who I am then I am not being true to myself.

"The basic debate after Vatican II was 'should we become more like the world, more modern, more relevant in order to meet it halfway, or is the world heading off in the wrong direction and the last thing we want to do is follow it?'" Allen said.

Um, lemme think. The latter. That should be a no brainer. It goes on:

For most of the immediate period after Vatican II, modernizers won the day even though church attendance fell and the number of men who left the priesthood rose.

Again, I thank God I am Catholic. I truly hope, as the article says, we have made a sharp turn toward our Catholic tradition and a leaner, meaner future.

(Amazing artist/credit Danielle V-Luciani)

How did I miss this? Politicing Communion

Politicizing Communion The Vatican wisely backpedaled after Pope Benedict XVI said he agreed with excommunicating pro-choice legislators in Mexico.
Editorial on the Mexican/politician debate and as usual, takes the side of telling Catholics how we should behave.

Wise and timely words.

We Bishops have come together to manifest this central truth, since we are directly bound to Christ, the Good Shepherd. The mission entrusted to us as teachers of the faith consists in recalling, in the words of the Apostle of the Gentiles, that our Saviour "desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth" (1 Tim 2:4). This, and nothing else, is the purpose of the Church: the salvation of individual souls.

And then later....

Even more: when, within the Church herself, people start to question the value of the priestly commitment as a total entrustment to God through apostolic celibacy and as a total openness to the service of souls, and preference is given to ideological, political and even party issues, the structure of total consecration to God begins to lose its deepest meaning. How can we not be deeply saddened by this? But be confident: the Church is holy and imperishable (cf. Eph 5:27). As Saint Augustine said: "The Church will be shaken if its foundation is shaken; but will Christ be shaken? Since Christ cannot be shaken, the Church will remain firmly established to the end of time" (Enarrationes in Psalmos, 103, 2, 5: PL 37, 1353).

This was particularly of interest regarding weakness of faith:

A particular problem which you face as Pastors is surely the issue of those Catholics who have abandoned the life of the Church. It seems clear that the principal cause of this problem is to be found in the lack of an evangelization completely centred on Christ and his Church. Those who are most vulnerable to the aggressive proselytizing of sects—a just cause for concern—and those who are incapable of resisting the onslaught of agnosticism, relativism and secularization are generally the baptized who remain insufficiently evangelized; they are easily influenced because their faith is weak, confused, easily shaken and naive, despite their innate religiosity.

On ecumenism and the "one faith":

In fact, the integrity of the faith, together with ecclesiastical discipline, is and will always be an area requiring careful oversight on your part, especially when it comes to living out the consequences of the fact that "there is only one faith and one baptism".

- from BENEDETTO XVI IN BRASILE IN OCCASIONE DELLA V CONFERENZA GENERALE DELL’EPISCOPATO LATINO AMERICANO E DEI CARAIBI , 11.05.2007 originally translated from Portuguese

And a Blessed Easter to you too PETA...

A H/T to The Kentucky Catholic Eye for coverage in this story out of Louisville. PETA to distribute anti-KFC leaflets at area churches. This story ran late last week and they were supposed to have leafleted churches Easter weekend. Using the Pope's image to convey their message is ridiculous. And wasn't KFC trying to get a papal blessing on their new fish sandwich? It's all too bizarre for me this early in the morning.