Merry Christmas From Planned Parenthood

Hat tip to The Curt Jester for this one.

Holy Earthquake Batman!

Want to know how strong the 9.0 earthquake that caused the tsunami was? It was so strong that it shorted the length of the day!

That’s right, it caused a 600 mile by 100 mile chunk of land to fall 30 feet closer to the center of the planet, causing the rotation to speed up (like an ice skater pulling her arms in to her body to spin faster; I think it’s called angular momentum). The day is now 10,000th of a second shorter.

It also caused the planet to shift on its axis, moving the North Pole by about 10 feet. That gives you an idea of the power involved.

Today the Holy Father appointed Bishop Robert James Carlson of Sioux Falls, U.S.A., as bishop of the diocese of Saginaw (area 18,006, population 724,142, Catholics 139,824, priests 114, permanent deacons 14, religious 138), U.S.A.

It is a sad day for us here in the diocese of Sioux Falls, but for the people of the diocese of Saginaw it should be a day of great rejoicing.

UPDATE:  If you are looking for a gift for Bishop Carlson, Fr. Bryce Sibley has a lovely suggestion here.

Update

Well folks, everything went well for Midnight Mass at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis. It was unbelieveably beautiful.

Other than that things have been fairly busy, and I am preparing to make my canonical retreat in preparation for priesthood. I will have the privelege to make the retreat in the Eternal City. I will leave Jan 2nd and return Jan 11th. Please keep me in your prayers during that time. If I see the Holy Father I will tell him hello from all of you.

Back in St. Louis

Yesterday I traveled back South to St. Louis to spend a little time sightseeing with a friend who is traveling with me as well as to serve as deacon for Solemn Midnight Mass at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis where I will sing the gospel and Martyology (Christmas Proclamation) - I promise it will be one of the finest and most beautiful liturgies you will ever attend, so if  you can stay awake till midnight come on down and worship with us.  I will also be having a meeting and dinner with Archbishop Raymond Burke this evening (If you have anything you would like me to pass on to him post it in the comments box).  Today and tomorrow I will be galabanting around St. Louis seeing all the sights...the Gateway Arch, The Old Cathedral, and of course the Budweiser Brewery.

Well Isn't This Nice

Local school officials in a suburb of Houston, Texas, are investigating how it was possible that a school police officer handed out calendars to students that featured explicit details on satanic and sexual rituals for every day of the month.

Parents in Pearland are demanding answers, according to a news report on KHOU-TV.

The school police officer who handed out the calendars was supposed to deliver a positive anti-gang message to the students last Monday, according to the report.

"September 20th is a 'midnight host' whatever that is," said one unidentified parent reading from the calendar. "You should have a blood-type ritual. September 23rd is the fall equinox – you should have an orgy. Activity group sex, any age, any sex."

This makes me sick! You can't talk about Christmas, but hey, lets teach kids about satanic orgies. It's just sick.

Sweating to The Psalms

This isn't exactly how we pray vespers at the seminary, but maybe we would lose a few pounds if we did.  But then again, why risk the wrath of the director of worship just to shed a few pounds.

Thanks to the Curt Jester for the link.

Abortion Hurts Women and Children

So says Wangari Maathai, 2004 Nobel Peace Prize winner:

"Wangari Maathai, a Kenyan MP and deputy minister of the environment who was awarded the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize, said in an interview with a Norwegian newspaper that both unborn children and their mothers are victimized by abortion.

"'Both are victims. . .When we allow abortion, are we [sic] punishing the women -- who must abort their children because their men have run away -- and we are punishing the children whose life is terminated,' Maathai said. 'But it is because we are not willing to put the men where they should be, and that is taking up the responsibility.'

"Commenting on the perceived conflict of rights between women and their unborn children, Maathai said, 'I want us to step back a little bit and say: Why is this woman and this child threatened? Why is this woman threatening to terminate this life? What do we need to do as a society? What are we not doing right now as a society?'

"She also called for the Kenyan parliament to reinstate a 1960's law that compelled men to take financial responsibility for the children they fathered. She said that fact that men can abandon their unborn children is is part of the reason why women seek abortions, which are illegal in Kenya.

"'I personally would have started by bringing in laws that hold men responsible. . . . And then we would have women who are less vulnerable,' she said.

"Maathai was awarded the Nobel Prize in Oslo, Norway, on Dec. 10. She was selected to receive the award for her work to protect the environment and human rights, including the rights of women."

Finals Are Over

...and Christmas break has officially begun.  Yup, I am in good old South Dakota.  Hopefully I will do some serious blogging tomorrow.  So until then, happy Advent.

ACLU Homeland Holiday Advisory System

Finals Have Arrived

Finals begin today so blogging could be slow today and tomorrow. Keep me in your prayers.

New Archbishop of Atlanta

This morning the Most Reverend Wilton Gregory was named Archbishop of Atlanta. 

I am not sure quite what to think of this appointment.  On one hand you have people very happy about it and on the other hand you have Domenico Bettineli saying "Bishop Skylstad to head the USCCB, Bishop Trautman to head the USCCB liturgy committee, Bishop Gregory receives a plum appointment. Help is not on the way, at least not any time soon."

Hmmmm...

The Chalice Arrived Today!!!

Here is a picture of it:

Update: Here are some more pictures taken by the salesman:

Here is a closeup of the base:

And the whole chalice:

Audio And Video Of The Christmas Novena

You saw the pictures below, now watch the whole Novena service or listen to the Homily.

Click here to watch the video.

Click here to listen to the homily.

You can also watch and listen to any of the nights of the novena by clicking here.

Pictures From The Christmas Novena (Audio and Video Coming Soon)

For more pictures of the Novena click here, and stay tuned for the audio and video of the homily.

Come Visit, And Hear Me Preach!!

From 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, December 5, you are invited to join us for an Open House here at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary. Spend some time meeting and greeting the future priests of St. Louis, the Midwest, and Central America!

• Seminarian-led tours will be given from 2:00 - 5:00 P.M.
• Explore the Seminary grounds
• Meet your future priests
• Find out more about Seminary Life
• Refreshments will be served

Please join the seminarians later in the evening for the Christmas Novena at 7:30 P.M. The choir is especially good this year, and besides, I will be preaching during this event, so if you have never heard me preach live and in the flesh, and you are from the Saint Louis area, come and listen. And don't forget to introduce yourself afterward, I would love to meet you.

Kenrick-Glennon Seminary
5200 Glennon Drive
St. Louis, MO 63119
314-792-6100

UPDATED: United Church Of Christ Ad

Earlier today I was on Sean Hannity's radio show discussing (albeit a short discussion) the UCC ad that CBS and NBC refuse to run. Apparently the ad "features two muscle-bound "bouncers" standing guard outside a symbolic, picturesque church and selecting which persons are permitted to attend Sunday services. Written text interrupts the scene, announcing, "Jesus didn't turn people away. Neither do we." A narrator then proclaims the United Church of Christ's commitment to Jesus' extravagant welcome: "No matter who you are, or where you are on life's journey, you are welcome here." (You can view the ad here.)

As I discussed with Sean, there are really two issues here. The first issue is the fact that these television stations won't run the ad, and frankly I don't see a problem with running the ad even though I have issues with it, which is the second issue I would like to discuss.

It seems to me that this ad produced and payed for by an extrememly liberal denomination, who even though they support same sex marriage, contraception, abortion rights, ect...still claim to be Christian, is a slap in the face for denominations who are faithful to Sacred Scripture and the Tradition of the Church, particularly Roman Catholics. This ad perpetuates a false image of the the Roman Catholic Church, as well as other traditional denomination, which portrays us as excluding and rejecting people with same sex attraction. This image is just not true. The Catholic Church has never turned it's back on anyone because of their same sex attraction just as Jesus never turned anyone away because they had this or that inclination toward sin. In fact, Jesus embraced not only those who had an inclination to grave sin, but the sinners themselves, and invited them into His way of life, and this is where the rubber meets the road.

Remember the story of the woman caught in adultery? Clearly she was a sinner, and a public one no doubt. Jesus embraced her, loved her, forgave her, and then what did he do? He told her to sin no more, which is exactly what the Church does. We meet people where they are, no matter where that place may be, we embrace them, we love them, we forgive them, and then we tell them to turn from sin. If we didn't, we would not be doing what Jesus did. We would not be holding up the same moral standard that Jesus stood for, and by doing that we would be hurting ourselves and the people who we are trying to help. You see, we wouldn't really be loving and helping someone if we told them that it's just fine and dandy to live in sin, because that is not what Jesus said or did. Jesus came to set us free from our sins, not to tells it's ok to keep sinning.

Any denomination that tells people that it's ok to stay where they are and not move forward on their journey away from sin and toward holiness is not doing the will of God, they are not teaching and living as Jesus taught and lived.

This is why I take issue with this ad. It seems to imply that if you don't tell people living homosexual lifestyles that it's ok, then you are excluding them. That is not true, in reality it is they who are excluding themselves. In the story of the woman caught in adultery if the woman would have said "no, I will continue sinning." Jesus would not have been excluding her, rather she would have turned away from the invitation to be included. That is the situation that many people living in sin find when the come to the Catholic Church. They are welcome to follow Jesus with us and we will embrace them, we will love them, we will forgive them, but we will also challenge them to live according to the truth revealed in Sacred Scripture and the Tradition passed on to us from one generation to the next.

Granted, I did not get into this much detail with Mr. Hannity because time restraints, but this is my opinion. I would love to hear your feedback.

UPDATE: For further reading check these out:

The Dawn Patrol, Christianity Today, and Mark Kellner.

What's The Deal With Torture?

Recently Joe London reported on his blog that the United States had once again been accuse of torturing prisioners by posting this article.

Today I ran across this article which puts some great perspective on Joe London's article. Here are just a few quotes:

"The International Committee of the Red Cross has accused the United States of torturing enemy combatant prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, according to documents leaked to The New York Times this week. Does that mean U.S. interrogators are sticking needles under inmates' fingernails and attaching electrodes to sensitive body parts? Or are they merely beating prisoners senseless? Hardly.

The ICRC report itself hasn't been made public, but a memorandum summarizing its contents describes far less egregious behavior. Among the tactics the ICRC portrayed as "tantamount to torture" were solitary confinement, temperature extremes, and using "forced positions" to obtain information from some of the approximately 500 men held at Guantanamo.

"The construction of such a system, whose stated purpose is the production of intelligence, cannot be considered other than an intentional system of cruel, unusual and degrading treatment and a form of torture," the Times quotes the ICRC report as alleging. But is it? And if such methods are "torture," is the United States justified in using them anyway?

Where do we draw the line between what are admittedly unpleasant, coercive methods used to elicit information that might save lives — thousands, even millions of them — and actions that are so repugnant they may never be used? In an article in Commentary magazine a few months ago, "Torture: Thinking About the Unthinkable," Andrew C. McCarthy tried to answer that question.

What if one of these men had information that might prevent a nuclear attack on an American city? Would it be unthinkable to force him into uncomfortable physical positions? What about keeping him too warm or too cold in his cell, or blaring loud noises at him while he tries to sleep? Would it be immoral to make him fearful by playing on his phobias, or by depriving him of human contact for days or even months on end?

Those are exactly the types of methods the ICRC describes as torture.

And what if the information we were seeking could only prevent the loss of a hundred lives, or a dozen, or even one? What if, for example, we had captured one of the terrorists who held Nick Berg captive while Berg was still alive? Would we have been justified in using whatever means necessary, if he might have led us to rescue Berg?"

I Don't Know About You, But I Find This Sickening

Once the desired area adjacent to the damaged segment is located, Huang, looking through the keyhole incision with a microscope, inserts the cells using an ultra-fine needle to minimise the risk of damaging nerve fibres. The cells, harvested from the olfactory bulbs inside the noses of foetuses, seem to have unusual properties, which may include the ability to stimulate change in the nervous system. Ideally, says Huang, the foetuses should be 16 weeks old to achieve the best results. He says the mothers all give their consent for the embryos to be used in this way and do not receive payment. The Guardian asked to be shown where they come from, but was told this information was too sensitive.

....We need 100 more Dr Huangs," says Laura Jackson's father Daryl. "And we need more cells. It's a different government over here. They have to trim the population. There are 15 to 20 million abortions in China a year. If everyone who was aborted could save a life, there would be no sick people left in the world." Golden's Christian wife, Debbie, also sees Huang as an idealist - particularly in comparison to the US doctors who charged her husband almost $1m, but were able only to make him more comfortable in his wheelchair.

"In the US it's totally about money, but China is more ethical," she says. "They work harder. I'm American, so that is very hard to say.

"I don't agree with abortion, but it will happen anyway. In the US, we do abortions but don't use the cells. In China, they don't just take life and destroy it - they give something back. It's like lemonade out of lemons. You take something bad and you make it good." Such reasoning requires a moral somersault, but it is one that can be done easily in China. That is enough to generate hope.

Is This What Heaven Will Be Like?

Nah...I don't think heaven will be exactly like that, but I do know some Catholic Masses that look like that. 

As Fr. Bryce Sibley pointed out on his exceedingly entertaining and informative blog, you can clearly see that Malcom X and Queen Elizabeth included in this icon, and if you look close St. Theresa of Avila is taking the words of "Sing a New Song" to heart by playing her "glad tambourine."

Oh, the liturgical fun never ends...

New Blog Feature

If you look to the left you will see a countdown to my Ordination which, God and Bishop willing, will be on the June 3rd, 2005, the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Moral 'Immunodeficiency' Is The Cause of AIDS

At least that is what the Pope and the head of the Vatican's pontifical health council are saying:

"On the eve of World AIDS Day, the head of the Vatican's pontifical health council quoted Pope John Paul as calling AIDS a "pathology of the spirit" that must be combated with "correct sexual practice" and "education of sacred values."

"I highlight his thoughts regarding the immunodeficiency of moral and spiritual values," Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragan added in a speech prepared for World AIDS Day on Wednesday.

"HIV/AIDS is one of the most devastating epidemics of our time," said Lozano Barragan.

Along with "the observance of the virtue of abstinence," he said the prices of antiretroviral drugs should be made as cheap as possible and called on industrialised nations to help fight AIDS in the worst-hit countries.

The Vatican's top health official also said prejudice and discrimination against AIDS victims have to be eradicated.

"For greater efficiency in the fight against HIV/AIDS... all forms of discrimination in the treatment of those with the illness must be eliminated," he said."

You can read the whole article here.