Milestone?

It amazes me (not surprises, amazes) that almost every article on Obama's election focuses on his race? Was that really the goal? To elect a black man, even if of mixed race? So are we done with race as a dividing issue now? Is it put to rest? Why is there so little talk of his actual policies? Is it because he has none? Is it because he speaks so eloquently of "change", without ever defining it? So he can be all things to all people?

Well, he got it. Now the free ride ends. He's going to have to take a stand on something besides killing babies (although he'll stick with that stand). I think Democrats are going to see that he's not the panacea they hoped for. Only Jesus is, yet they still seem to be a little confused on identity there. After the Democratic hangover wears off, they're going have to ask themselves tough questions about why their man hasn't delivered on his promises, on their expectations. There will be plenty of excuses, plenty of continued Bush-blaming, but the bottom line is that the change they seek will not occur. The exception of course is on life issues. Regrettably, there will be plenty of losers in that regard.

Blacks in particular are giddy that a black man has finally been elected. But what happens when they realize that he isn't going to help them? That his welfare policies will continue to keep the ghettos full. That his abortion policies will continue to kill their future, literally. That those same policies will encourage the view of women as objects.

The disappoint will come. But none of the blame will be his. Yes, we have a black president. But do we have a good one? I don't care what the President looks like on the outside. I'm concerned with what he's made of inside.

P.S. - Why did we never see this kind of support for Alan Keyes? Keyes would make an excellent president, regardless of the color of his skin.

Why Pro-Life?

There is an excellent article at the St. Therese Parish website by their Parochial Vicar, Fr. Paul Berschied on the importance of pro-life issues in the election. Here's an excerpt:

We sometimes forget that Mozart was the product of woman of ill-repute and that
Oprah Winfrey is a product of rape. These two individuals are certainly great
successes in human terms and they are not the only ones that can be cited. Have
we killed by abortion the person who would have cured cancer or developed an
alternative fuel for industry or found the cure for some other disease, or
brought about a modern invention that would help the progress of human
development?

~~Fr. Paul Berchied

(H/T: St. Therese Parish)

On the value of life

"One day, please God, when the stranglehold on public opinion in the United States has been released by the extremists for whom abortion is the center of their political and moral life, our nation will, in my judgment, look back on what we have been doing to innocent human beings within their mothers as a crime no less heinous than what was approved by the Supreme Court in the "Dred Scott Case" in the 19th century, and no less heinous than what was perpetrated by Hitler and Stalin in the 20th. There is nothing at all complicated about the utter wrongness of abortion, and making it all seem complicated mitigates that wrongness not at all. On the contrary, it intensifies it."

~~Edward Cardinal Egan

(Source: http://www.cny.org/archive/eg/eg102308.htm)

Do Your Best

"Don't measure yourself by what you have accomplished, but what you should have accomplished with your ability."

~~John Wooden

"Private matters"

"Error about God cannot be a private affair. It can only lead to a diminished and distorted life for everyone. God’s will is the sole reason for our existence; be wrong about His will and we are inescapably wrong about the reason for our existence; be wrong about that, and what can we be right about?"

~~Frank Sheed, Theology and Sanity

St. Therese Quote

“Perfection seems simple to me. I see it is sufficient to recognize one’s nothingness and to abandon oneself as a child into God’s arms.”

~~St. Therese of Lisieux

St. Therese and Holy Communion

Mother Gonzague would not give in to the petition of Therese for more frequent Holy Communion. And so Therese looked at her, and said with resolve: “Mother Gonzague, when I am dead, I will make you change your mind” (The Hidden Face, Ida Friederike Gorres, New York: Pantheon, pp. 234-35).And that is precisely what she did! The great revision of liturgical practices undertaken by Pope Pius X was attributed largely to the intercession of St. Therese. A wonderful story: a few days after Therese’s death, a newly-ordained priest came to the Lisieux Carmel where he preached his first sermon on the words, “Come and eat my bread.” Soon after that, with the Prioress’s blessing, the chaplain introduced daily Communion to the Carmel.~~From First Steps on the Little Way of St. Therese of Lisieux, by Fr. Peter John Cameron. The entire text can be read at http://www.kofc.org/un/eb/en/resources/cis/CIS307.pdf

Becoming a Real Man

In marriage preparation, I often ask would-be grooms whether they love their fiancée enough to take a bullet for her. Never has one said no. Then I ask whether his answer would be the same if the “bullet” took one of the following forms: being abstinent before marriage; giving up smoking if she asks; being on time if he is habitually late; cleaning up after himself better; patiently telling her what happened that day at work if she requests it; learning the faith better to help pass it on to her more completely; or making the time and the priority to pray with her. Those are the types of grenades on which many men refuse to dive! But these gifts of oneself are so much more valuable than almost any material gift one could give, and they are a far greater sign of real love than any ring could symbolize. When a future husband and wife begin to love each other through sacrifices like this, their marriage can become what it is meant to be: a sacrament, a visible sign and reflection of Christ’s love for his Bride, the Church, because Christ who “loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her” (Ephesians 5:25-26).

~~From "Becoming a Real Man of God", by Fr. Roger J. Landry. The full article can be read at http://www.kofc.org/un/eb/en/resources/cis/CIS322.pdf

(The entire thing is only 26 pages and is written simply, powerfully, and without compromise for the truth.)

The Real Problem With The Pill?

A British team of "scientists" finds one flaw with the Pill:

Birth-control pills could screw up a woman's ability to sniff out a compatible mate, a new study finds.

While several factors can send a woman swooning, including big brains and brawn, body odor can be critical in the final decision, the researchers say. That's because beneath a woman's flowery fragrance or a guy's musk the body sends out aromatic molecules that indicate genetic compatibility.

Seriously? Look, if body odor attracted a mate, my wife never would have spoken to me in the first place! Never mind the Horomone Havoc, the breast cancer link that no one seems to want to talk about, or that it encourages sex to be considered a recreational activity. No, the real problem is that it might mess up her sniffer.

Read all the nonsense HERE.

1600 Year Old Bible to go online

The Codex Sinaiticus Project is placing high-resolution images of the oldest complete copy of the New Testament online - the complete manuscript! The text is in ancient Greek (of course), but there will be translations in English and German. (Will that be the King James version? 'Cause you know, if it ain't....)

As much as I love wasting time on the Internet, it's nice to see something this important and historic going online. Even if it is likely to be over my head!

The site goes live on July 24th, but they do have an intro up. LINK

You can read the Reuters article HERE.

Girl Sues Dad Over Punishment - And Wins

This is pathetic. A dad tells his daughter that she can't go on a class trip. Not happy with the news, the daughter ultimately sues dad to get to go. And guess what - she found a judge stupid enough to overrule the dad. LINK

Wrong on so many levels. The article mentions that the parents are divorced and that dad has legal custody. However, it doesn't mention who helped the girl find a lawyer. Mom? Her school? (Wouldn't be surprised!)

Liberals scoff at the notion of "judicial tyranny", but this is it - defined. This guy now has some moron telling him how to discipline his daughter. He wasn't beating her, or denying food. He just said Enough. No trip. And the State tells him no. You can't do that. Apparently it's in Canada's national interest to see this girl go on a school trip.

America may be a world leader, but we're a follower in judicial matters. If it hasn't already happened here, it won't be long. Might as well just give them want they want and save yourself the legal expenses.

Cub Scout Camp

I've just spent the last two evenings at Cub Scout Camp with my 8 year old son. Wow! For anyone who is worried about the future of our country, check out what the Scouts are doing. The kids are having a blast, but what they don't realize yet is that they're being raised as the next generation of leaders for this country.

Like most of you, I'm disgusted by the legal recognition of "gay" so-called marriage in California and the consequences that the rest of the country are soon going to have to deal with. It's easy to get discouraged by this and so many other things in politics. But when I read about the Scouting program, and see how these boys are being shaped into leaders, I breathe a (small) sigh of relief. The ship will be righted. And I've seen who's going to do it!

Worst Dad of the Year Candidate

When the cops came after Tyrone Spiller, he was pushing his 1-year-old son in a stroller.

The kid proved to be an obstacle to his escape.

Police say Spiller, 39, ditched the stroller on the street and ran last month, leaving his baby in the path of oncoming traffic.

The rest of the article can be found HERE, but this pretty well sums it up. This guy takes abandoning fatherly duties to a new low. Just disgusting...

What a Teacher Makes...

Taylor Mali "honestly" explains what a teacher makes. (H/T Regular Guy)

Nice...

Dad: What happened?

8 year old: He hit me.

4 year old: Well, she tried to hit me back!

Kids and the Pope

If you kids attend a Catholic school (or a public one for that matter), what are learning or being told about the Pope's visit to the US? Are there any lesson plans built around it? Do they watch any news coverage?

My kids were told he was coming, but that was about it. Oh, and that he would have a birthday over here! Just curious what other schools were doing (or not).

Conversation in the Living Room

To my son, with his arm cocked back...

Me: Don't throw that.

4-year old: Can I toss it?

What's Wrong With Contraception?

Originally posted on the St. Therese Parish blog.

Since this was the topic with the most votes on the "What would you like to learn about" poll, let's take a closer look at it. We'll try to keep it family friendly.

Despite what secular stereotypes may lead you to believe, the Catholic Church teaches that the "marital act", as revealed by God, has only two conditions placed upon it:

1) that it take place in the bonds of matrimony - that the two be married and,

2) that it be open to life - not that pregnancy necessarily be achieved or even attempted each time, but that the end result could possibly end in conception. That's it. Two things.

First is the marriage part. You have to be married. That's the only place where sexual relations properly belong. The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us: "It (sexual relations) demands a total and definitive gift of persons to one another."(CCC, paragraph 2391) It is a total gift of the self, and therefore is only appropriate between a man and a woman who have publicly and faithfully committed their love to one another in Marriage. Anything less is a shadow of this. So when people start talking about handing out contraceptives to kids to promote "safe-sex", they've missed the boat entirely.

Now, open to life. That's a simple rule to guide us. A moment of reflection will reveal that certain "perversions" are considered illicit because they have no chance of resulting in the creation of a new life. Again, not that it must, but that it be open to it. This very simple guide will explain for us why homosexuality is wrong, why sterilization is wrong, and why contraceptive use is wrong. In all three instances, the procreative nature of the sexual act is thwarted. We've taken the power - God's power - into our own hands. In a sense, it's a re-enactment of the Original Sin. WE know better than God what's good for us. WE will decide how this ends up.

This is simply an introduction to the topic, and the Church certainly has much more to say about the issue. If you'd like to learn more, a good place to start might be this article on Catholic.com.

Feel free to use the Comments box for questions or comments.

David Pollack to return to Bengals?

An article in today's Enquirer examines the possibility of David Pollack returning to play for the Bengals next season. After a fractured spine, that's impressive enough. But was most remarkable was this comment from Pollack himself:

“I will want to take some time, though, to fast and pray and spend time by myself a lot and try to figure out where God is leading me,” he said. “If it closes one chapter, it opens another.”

And it's not even Lent! We rarely hear of people incorporating fasting into their prayer life these days (at least publicly), but I think he's setting a great example. Who would have thought - act like a Bengal to draw closer to God? (Just kidding!)

Paragraph 1434 of the Catechism tells us that

"The interior penance of the Christian can be expressed in many and various ways. Scripture and the Fathers insist above all on three forms, fasting, prayer, and almsgiving, which express conversion in relation to oneself, to God, and to others.

Most of us pray and give some amount to charity, but do we fast? There's something about a physical hunger to make us more deeply understand our need for God. Maybe a good place to start would be to abstain from meat on Fridays. While this is required of us during Lent, it is actually encouraged by the Church year-round.

Paragraph 1438 of the Catechism says:

The seasons and days of penance in the course of the liturgical year (Lent, and each Friday in memory of the death of the Lord) are intense moments of the Church's penitential practice. These times are particularly appropriate for spiritual exercises, penitential liturgies, pilgrimages as signs of penance, voluntary self-denial such as fasting and almsgiving, and fraternal sharing (charitable and missionary works). [Emphasis added]

Abstinence is not expressly required on Fridays, but only because the Church has left it to our discretion how we will make that penance. If we are not fasting or abstaining, we should be doing some other form of penance in remembrance of our Lord's suffering. Start today?

Cub Scout Pinewood Derby - Help Wanted

My first grade son and I are getting ready to build our first Pinewood Derby car. I've been trying to read anything I can about them (the cars, not first grade sons), but would appreciate any advice you might have in the Comments box. We're not obsessed with winning, but you don't want a clunker either! My main concern is that for all of the speed tips out there, it seems everybody has a story about someone who just nailed the wheels to the block and took first or second place! Any advice/tips are much appreciated.