Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Cuba and Vatican Diplomacy: Mediation or Rescue?

by Armando F. Valladares

Dominique_Mamberti.jpg

Archbishop Dominique François Joseph Mamberti, Secretary for Relations with States for the Holy See.

As the Vatican’s Secretary for Relations with States, Archbishop Dominique François Joseph Mamberti has just made an extensive five-day official visit to communist Cuba on June 16-20.
Already on the first day of his stay, the prelate held a joint news conference with the Cuban Foreign Minister in which he welcomed the “ongoing dialogue” with the regime and expressed his hope that dialogue “will be strengthened” by his visit.

He optimistically concluded that positive fruits “can already be seen.” However, in his remarks, Archbishop Mamberti refused to include among those “fruits” of the dialogue with the communist regime, meetings with Cuban dissidents and visits to political prisoners. For lack of a better argument, he claimed he was merely carrying out an “official visit.”

In short, the Vatican diplomat was all smiles toward the communist regime while frowning on the opposition and, ultimately, on the enslaved Cuban people.

Among the “fruits,” the high-ranking prelate appeared to include “mediation” with the regime led by the Archbishop of Havana, Cardinal Jaime Lucas Ortega y Alamino, who has a well-known track record as a collaborator of the regime.

In fact, the only “fruits” the cardinal seems to have garnered do not go beyond the mere transfer of a dozen sick political prisoners.

These were being tortured in prisons far from their homes but are now being tortured near their homes. He also obtained parole (which is not the same as unconditional release) for Ariel Sigler, a regime opponent who was a famous athlete and is now confined to a wheelchair because of privations and torture.

Actually, by releasing him, the regime avoids the risk of having such a well-known political prisoner die in jail and become a martyr.

With his trip, statements and silence, Archbishop Dominique François Joseph Mamberti continued the mysterious, enigmatic and baffling collaborationist ritual of high-ranking Vatican officials who have traveled to the island prison

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Archbishop Mamberti meets with Raul Castro.

over the last decades. These range from the infamous Nuncio, Archbishop Cesare Zacchi, who praised the alleged “Christian virtues” of dictator Fidel Castro, to the steps of his predecessor as Secretary for Relations with States, Archbishop Agostino Casaroli, who in 1974 said that Cuban Catholics were “happy,” all the way to the present Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, a strong proponent of “dialogue” with the regime.

In this regard, I have often found myself in the painful need of writing articles which are always well-documented yet never contested.

In fact, we are now witnessing more than “mediation.” This is literally a “rescue” of the Cuban regime on both foreign and domestic levels, driven by the island’s bishops and by Vatican diplomacy.

On the foreign level, the European Union is allowing itself to be impressed and stunned by this ecclesiastical “rescue” operation and has thus postponed until September a possible hardening of its stance toward the Cuban dictatorship. Domestically, this “rescue” will demoralize the faithful Catholics of the island and those Cubans who heroically oppose their shepherds’ collaboration with the communist wolves.

In this regard, the auxiliary bishop of Havana, Most Rev. Juan de Dios Hernández, during the visit by the Vatican envoy, acknowledged that “resistance” can be found among Catholic Cubans to the said rapprochement between clergy and wolves. He took advantage of the occasion to try to anesthetize the consciences of the faithful by claiming that “we must be patient.”

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Archbishop Dominique Mamberti with Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla.

With this diplomatic “bailout,” the Holy See and the Cuban bishops not only benefit and contribute to the survival of the Castro regime, but also help, by the principle of communicating vessels, to strengthen the regimes of Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia and Nicaragua, ostensive allies of communist Cuba. In so doing, they also encourage revolutionary radical currents in Brazil and other countries in the region acting as Trojan horses. Accordingly, the responsibility of these churchmen before God and History is far from small. Indeed, at stake is the now over fifty-year regime of slavery of twelve million Cubans, the uncertain future of many countries in the region; and the very future of the continent with the world’s largest Catholic population.
Armando Valladares, a former Cuban political prisoner, was U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Commission on Human Rights in Geneva during the Reagan and Bush administrations.

Protest the NEW XXX Porn Domain Online

Anti-pornography group says XXX domain on Internet is bad idea

News release from Enough Is Enough

www.internetsafety101.org

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), which coordinates and oversees the creation of Web addresses for the U.S. Government, announced today that it has approved the creation of an .xxx suffix for websites with pornographic content.

Send your protest message to:

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)

4676 Admiralty Way, Suite 330
Marina del Rey, CA 90292-6601

Email: policy-staff@icann.org

Phone: 310-823-9358
FAX: 310-823-8649

In past years, ICANN board has repeatedly rejected the request by U.S. Company ICM Registry Inc. to sign off on the .xxx domain, but this recent departure from precedent marks a significant loss for those concerned about the safety, security and sexual health of children and families.

"The creation of a .xxx domain sounds good in theory but is a very bad idea,” said commented Donna Rice Hughes, president of Enough Is Enough and former Child Online Protection Act (COPA) Commissioner.

“It will allow Internet pornographers to co-locate their content on both their existing .com domains and the new .xxx domain, thus dramatically increasing pornography's pollution of the Internet. Internet pornography is taking a significant toxic toll on our Nation's children and families; harms are widespread and addictions are skyrocketing -- impacting productivity, relational, social and psychological health."

The COPA commission recommended against the creation of a top-level .xxx domain in its 2000 report to Congress.
"Expecting pornographers to voluntary give up their successful .com addresses and locate solely on the .xxx domain is both foolish and shortsighted," Rice Hughes continued.

“Arguments presented suggesting that the U.S. Congress will be able to pass a law to require all pornographers to leave the .xxx space would likely not pass, and even if passed, would likely be either struck down in the federal courts or be unenforced. Historically, all attempts by Congress to regulate Internet pornography have not been upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court.”

Additionally, since many families in the United States do not utilize filtering software to prevent unintentional and intentional access to pornography, the creation of .xxx domain will only make it easier for children and those struggling with addiction to access this content.

"So-called free-speech advocates along with pornographers claim that restrictions on their content are violating free speech,” said Rice Hughes.

“This is nonsense as much of Internet pornography is non-prosecuted hardcore obscenity, making it illegal regardless of what domain it is on. Additionally, non-obscene adult content is not impacted by the creation of the porn red-light district.

Only ICM founder Stuart Lawley, who successfully brokered the approval of .xxx domain names, ICM's affiliates and the pornographers will benefit from ICANN's unwise decision, and while they prosper, it is our children and families that will suffer.”


Donna Rice Hughes is president of Enough Is Enough (EIE), a non-partisan, 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, which emerged in 1994 as the national leader on the front lines to make the Internet safer for children and families. Since then, EIE has continued to pioneer efforts including the widely acclaimed Internet Safety 101 program, which educates, equips and empowers parents, educators and other caring adults with the knowledge and resources needed to effectively protect children from pornography, sexual predators, and cyber bullies as well as how to keep kids safe on social networking sites, gaming and mobile devices.

To visit the Enough Is Enough website:

www.internetsafety101.org

This article was originally taken from:

California Catholic Daily --  www.calcatholic.com

Catholic Alverno College Links to 10 Abortion Advocacy Groups

by James Bascom

Catholic Alverno College Mini.jpg

Faithful Catholics Launch Protest

The Alverno College Research Center for Women and Girls (RCWG) currently lists ten abortion advocacy organizations on its web site under “resources related to women and girls.” Problematic entries include:
• ACLU
• Center for Reproductive Rights
• Feminist Majority Foundation
• Feminist Women’s Health Center
• Lambda Legal
• National Women’s Health Network
• National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health
• National Organization for Women (NOW)
• SIECUS
• Women’s Medical Fund, Inc.

sign-the-protest

alverno_list.png

This is a partial screen shot of some of
the "resources" listed by Alverno College
as of June 20, 2010.

See the links here: http://depts.alverno.edu/rcwg/resources.html
For example, the link to the Center for Reproductive Rights channels students to a web site that promotes “legal, safe, and affordable contraception and abortion.”
The Women’s Medical Fund, Inc. mentions how they provide “direct financial aid to Wisconsin women who are seeking to terminate an unwanted pregnancy… Over 99.5% of all donations go to directly fund poor women's abortions,” their web site states.
Founded by the School Sisters of Saint Francis in 1887, Alverno College has 2,815 students. However, links that articulate Catholic teaching against abortion could not be found anywhere on the resource page where students are introduced to several abortion advocacy groups.
“It’s scandalous for a Catholic college to have any links with abortion advocacy groups or to present them as legitimate resources for students,” said TFP Student Action director John Ritchie.  “Groups that deliberately favor the sin of abortion are not resources, but death sources.”
Committed to defend moral values on college campuses, the American TFP has launched an e-protest addressed to the president of Alverno College located in Wisconsin, Mrs. Mary Meehan, PhD, politely urging her to remove links to pro-abortion groups.  Everyone is invited to join this peaceful protest.
Rosemont College and the University of Detroit Mercy both deleted web site links to Planned Parenthood earlier this year after the American TFP  initiated peaceful protests.

sign-the-protest

To give this peaceful effort much more impact, spread the word by forwarding this information to your pro-life friends  (even your entire address book.)
Contact information: (be firm yet polite in your phone calls and letters)

Alverno College
Mrs. Mary Meehan, PhD, President
3400 South 43rd Street
P.O. Box 343922
Milwaukee, WI 53234-3922
Phone: 1-800-933-3401 -- President's office: 414-382-6064
Email: president.ac@alverno.edu
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Alumnae Office:
alumnae@alverno.edu

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

1,211 Rally Captains so far – goal is 5,000!

 

GOAL: 5,000 rallies          ---          Current count: 1,211


Become a 2010 Rosary Rally Captain

Sign up to become a Rosary Rally Captain in 2010. A red rose
will be sent to Fatima in your name.

Support the Rosary Rally Crusade for 2010

Send one or more White Roses to Fatima in your name and help
spread the Rosary in America.

Why is a Rosary Crusade Needed?

Find out why tens of thousands of people will pray the
Public Rosary on October 16, 2010.

FREE Downloadable Supplies

Banners, signs, prayer program, intention sheets – everything
you need to have a great rally for Our Lady.

Report on the 2009 Rosary Rallies

Testimonials, stories and description of the 4,337 rallies
held across America in 2009.

What they are saying about the Rallies

Bishops, priests and lay people say beautiful and
encouraging things about the rosary rallies.

Posted by Robert Ritchie at 11:14 AM

July: Month of the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord

By tradition, the Catholic Church dedicates each month of the year to certain devotions. In July, it is devoted to the Precious Blood of Jesus.

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In the past, the feast of the Most Precious Blood of Christ was celebrated on the first Sunday of July as confirmed by past Popes and recalled recently by Pope Benedict XVI in His speech after praying the Angelus on July 5, 2009.[1] He made special mention of Pope John XXIII’s apostolic letter “Inde a Primis” (dated June 30, 1960) which explained the devotion’s significance and approved its litanies.[2]

The Old fulfilled in the New Covenant

Sacrifice is the highest form of religious worship which man offers to God as an act of praise, thanksgiving, petition or atonement.[3] The most singular and pre-eminent sacrifice of the Old Law was the immolation of the Paschal Lamb which celebrated the sparing of Israel’s firstborn from the fatal sword of the Angel of Death in Egypt at the time of Moses and Pharaoh.

The imagery of sacrificial blood from slain animals is made more vivid and meaningful if we recall Moses’ words from the Book of Exodus, “And he took the blood and sprinkled it upon the people, and he said: This is the blood of the covenant, which the Lord has made with you concerning all these words.” (Exodus 24:8)

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This old sacrifice took a new form in the New Testament when the Immaculate Lamb of God offered Himself on the altar of the Cross to redeem mankind from sin and the slavery of Satan. And during the Last Supper, Our Lord offered Himself in an unbloody yet real sacrifice when He uttered the following words, “For this is my blood of the new testament, which shall be shed for many unto remission of sins.” (Matthew 26: 28) Truly, this “shedding of blood’ or “pouring out of blood” took place and forms one of the glorious mysteries of our Faith.[4]

The Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ

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· Catholic doctrine teaches the faithful that the blood of Jesus Christ is part of His Sacred Humanity and hypostatically united to the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity.[5]

· And as such, it is worthy of adoration and veneration proper to latreutical worship (cultus latriae) which is rendered only to God. In other words, we adore the human nature of Christ because of its intimate and eternal union with the Person of the Divine Word.

· It is for this same reason that we honor the Most Sacred Heart or the Wounds of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Devotion to the Precious Blood

This devotion is one of the most ancient of pious Church practices. It is said that the Blessed Virgin venerated the Most Precious Blood of her infant Son on the day of His circumcision as she collected the first relics of His Precious Blood on a piece of cloth. On that momentous occasion she united her tears with that of the Word Incarnate on account of not so much of the sensible pain but of His supernatural sorrow for the hard-heartedness of mortals.[6]

It was the first of seven Blood-Sheddings of Our Divine Savior, The rest being:

2. The Agony in the Garden

3. The Scourging at the Pillar

4. The Crowning with Thorns

5. The Way of the Cross

6. The Crucifixion

7. The Piercing of His Heart

In his book, The Precious Blood, Father Frederick William Faber, D.D., calls St. Paul the Doctor of the Precious Blood owing to his evident fondness to preach on It in his epistles (Romans 3:25; Ephesians 1:7; Hebrews 9:12). He recounts that the lives of saints are replete with devotion to the Precious Blood making special mention of St. John Chrysostom, St. Austin, St. Gertrude and St. Catherine of Sienna whom he considered the Prophetess of the Precious Blood for putting emphasis on It as the solution to the ills of her times.

Father Faber also remarks that the Precious Blood makes us appreciate more Christ’s redemption of mankind, His sacrifice and Passion. It also makes us comprehend the beautiful doctrine and the august realities of the Blessed Sacrament as we kneel in front of the tabernacle in humble adoration.

Over time the Church gave Her blessing to the devotion by approving societies like the Missionaries of the Precious Blood; enriching confraternities like that of St. Nicholas in Carcere, in Rome, and that of the London Oratory; attaching indulgences to prayers and scapulars in honor of the Precious Blood; and instituting commemorative feasts of the Precious Blood, Friday after the fourth Sunday in Lent and, since Pius IX, the first Sunday of July.[7]

Sadly, however, the feast was removed from the church calendar in 1969, the argument being that the cultus of the Precious Blood is included in the Mass and Divine Office of the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi). Nevertheless, it is still laudable and salutary to continue to see the month of July as dedicated to the Most Precious Blood, just as Blessed Pope Pius IX intended it to be.[8]


[1]Zenit News, ZE09070502 - 2009-07-05 http://www.zenit.org/article-26369?l=english last visited June 15, 2009.

[2] Papal Encyclicals Online, “On Promoting Devotion to the Most precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ,” http://www.papalencyclicals.net/John23/j23pb.htm last visited: June 15, 2010

[3] Moorman, George J., The Latin Mass Explained, Rocfor, Illinois: TAN Books an Publishers, Inc., 2007, p. 6

[4] Moorman, George J.,Ibid, p. 22.

[5] Ott, Ludwig, Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma, (St. Louis, Missouri: B. Herder Book Company, 1960), pp. 151-152

[6] The City of God by Mary of Agreda, Incarnation, Chapter XIV, Washington, New Jersey: Ave Maria Institute, 1971, Chapter XIV, pp. 446- 454

[7] New advent Catholic Encyclopedia, http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12372c.htm. Last visited June 16, 2010.

[8] New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia, http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12373a.htm Last visited June16, 2010.

The heat of summer reminds us of the heat of Hell – better to avoid sins of impurity

As the temperatures rise this summer, we find ourselves immersed in a popular culture that accepts impure fashions as normal.

Indeed, grossly immodest dress is becoming the norm and modest dress is becoming a thing of the past.  Impure magazines plaster the check out aisle of grocery stores, supercenters and gas stations.

Even at Church, we witness the increase of immoral dress.

Against this trend of gross sins of impurity, we must fight back with all the power of our souls.   Especially for the sake of the children, we must not only avoid the near occasions of sin, but we must instill in their souls, the greatest horror of impurity. 

To this end, it is important to reflect on the eternal punishment it causes.

Our Lady of Fatima told Blessed Jacinta Marto that more souls go to Hell for sins of impurity than for any other sin.

Then, while in the hospital, Jacinta was very saddened by the worldliness of the visitors, the women dressed in fashionable clothes, often with low-cut dresses.  "What is it all for?" she asked Mother Godinho (her guardian ).  "If they only knew what eternity is."

And Sister Mariana de Jesus Torres, the young nun who received the messages of Our Lady of Good Success, saw a vision in which there were 3 swords hanging over Our Lord’s head, each with an inscription. On the first was written, “I shall punish heresy”; on the second, “I shall punish blasphemy”; and on the third, “I shall punish impurity.”

Yet when was the last time you heard a sermon on immoral fashions?

To help the trend of impurity and immodest fashion, we should read and meditate on the punishment of Hell. 

Please read:

Hell as Seen by Saint Teresa of Avila
Saint Teresa of Avila (1515-1582) is one of the most extraordinary saints of the Church. As a reformer of the Carmelite order, she led a life of intense activity. Burning with love, and given greatly to prayer, her life was deeply mystical9. She described this life in detail in her books, which became basic works for the study of Catholic mysticism.

In her autobiography, she recounts being taken alive to Hell, and attests to the good that this did for her. Here are her words:

Some considerable time after our Lord had bestowed upon me the graces I have been describing, and others also of a higher nature, I was one day in prayer when I found myself in a moment, without knowing how, plunged apparently into hell. I understood that it was our Lord's will I should see the place which the devils kept in readiness for me, and which I had deserved by my sins. It was but a moment, but it seems to me impossible I should ever forget it, even if I were to live many years.

The entrance seemed to be by a long narrow pass, like a furnace, very low, dark, and close. The ground seemed to be saturated with water, mere mud, exceedingly foul, sending forth pestilential odors, and covered with loathsome vermin. At the end was a hollow place in the wall, like a closet, and in that I saw myself confined. All this was even pleasant to behold in comparison with what I felt there. There is no exaggeration in what I am saying.

But as to what I then felt, I do not know where to begin, if I were to describe it; it is utterly inexplicable. I felt a fire in my soul. I cannot see how it is possible to describe it. My bodily sufferings were unendurable. I have undergone most painful sufferings in this life, and, as the physicians say, the greatest that can be borne, such as the contraction of my sinews when I was paralyzed, without speaking of others of different kinds, yea, even those of which I have also spoken, inflicted on me by Satan; yet all those were as nothing in comparison with what I felt then, especially when I saw there would be no intermission, nor any end to them.

Those sufferings were nothing in comparison with the anguish of my soul, a sense of oppression, of stifling, and of pain so keen, accompanied by so hopeless and cruel an infliction, that I know not how to speak of it. If I said that the soul is continually being torn from the body it would be nothing - for that implies the destruction of life by the hands of another; but here is the soul itself that is tearing itself in pieces. I cannot describe that inward fire of that despair, surpassing all torments and all pain. I did not see who it was that tormented me, but I felt myself on fire, and torn to pieces, as it seemed to me; and, I repeat it, this inward fire and despair are the greatest torments of all.

Left in that pestilential place, and utterly without the power to hope for comfort, I could neither sit nor or lie down: there was no room. I was placed as it were in a hole in the wall; and those walls, terrible to look on of themselves, hemmed me in on every side. I could not breathe. There is no light, but all was thick darkness. I do not understand how it is; though there was no light, yet everything that can give pain by being seen was visible.

Our Lord at that time would not let me see more of hell. Afterwards I had another most fearful vision, in which I saw the punishments of certain sins. They were most horrible to look at; but because of I felt none of the pain, my terror was not so great. In the former vision, our Lord made me really feel those torments, and that anguish of spirit, just as if I had been suffering them in the body there.

I know not how it was, but I understood distinctly that it was a great mercy that our Lord would have me see with mine own eyes the very place from which His compassion saved me. I have listened to people speaking of these things.

And I have at other times dwelt on the various torments of hell, though not often, because my soul made no progress by the way of fear; and I have read of the diverse tortures, and how the devils tear the flesh with red-hot pincers. But all that is as nothing before this; it is a wholly different matter. In short, one is a reality, the other a picture; and all the burning here in this life is as nothing in comparison with the fire that is there.

I was so terrified by that vision - and that terror is on me even now while I am writing - that though it took place six years ago, the natural warmth of my body is chilled by fear when I think of it.

And so, amid all the pain and suffering which I may have had to bear, I remember no time in which I do not think that all we have to suffer in this world is as nothing. It seems to me that we complain without reason. I repeat it, this vision was one of the grandest mercies of our Lord. It has been to me of the greatest service, because it made me strong enough to bear up against them, and to give thanks to our Lord, who has been my Deliverer, as it now seems to me, from those fearful and everlasting pains.10

Will you please help sponsor a young leader at our Call to Chivalry camp?

I've been crossing a trial of confidence because I said "yes" to several teenagers who want to come to our "Call to Chivalry" camp in Pennsylvania.

The camp starts on July 25.  Dozens of boys will attend.  But I'm scrambling to find generous souls to sponsor 8 boys in need by July 5.  Making an act of faith, I told them to come.

SEND A SECURE ONLINE GIFT TODAY.

Like Zechariah.

He came to our Call to Chivalry camp last year and loved it.

He's a gifted 17 year-old lad from Rochester, New York, and of course his mother wants him to grow up without getting into drugs or gangs or drinking.

But with a large family, she can barely make ends meet.  And our budget is so strained that I am forced to turn to you for help.

Please believe me when I tell you that our camps are truly life-changing experiences.  Boys become men... Catholic gentlemen... they learn about virtue… about Crusader Saints and uplifting role models that Hollywood hides from our youth.

The camp has a distinct purpose:

to form Catholic heroes.

And many of the boys who come to our camps are from families that work hard to make ends meet, and want their boys to respect God and His law.

But they simply can't afford the $425 it costs for our 10-day camp.

That's why I am asking you to please consider sponsoring boys like Zechariah with a gift of $25 or $50 or $100 or even $425 (a full sponsorship).

Send your secure online gift today

SEND A SECURE ONLINE GIFT TODAY.

Or mail it to:

TFP Student Action
1358 Jefferson Rd.
Spring Grove, PA 17362

Also -- I invite you to consider sponsoring a boy from a poor family with a gift of $425. How wonderful that would be.

Rest assured that your gift, no matter the size, will help build a new generation of Catholic boys, and will be greatly appreciated and acknowledged.

This is a once in a lifetime experience for many boys, even though, to put on such first-rate camp, I will need to raise $15,400 by July 25.

Is it worth it? Absolutely!

You see, when you consider we're helping to sanctify souls, not to mention some of the treats I've planned for boys like Zechariah to enjoy...

... Sports, treasure hunt, a mountain climbing.

If it is raining outside, inside there are all kinds of games – including Ping-Pong and Chess, Charades, Krinky, Risk, Scrabble, Monopoly and Pictionary.

For the "Medieval games," boys get dressed in medieval costumes. Each group has a logo and a patron saint. They pick a battle cry, which is used for all the games, such as "St. Louis the King, the glory of Christendom. Help us!"

Read about last year's camp here

And for the soul, the boys enjoy lectures on devotion to Mary, lives of the Saints, Catholic morality and Church history.

After dinner, the boys say the Rosary in a torchlight procession. And I cannot forget the all-night prayer vigil before a relic of the True Cross. Each boy gets a half-hour time slot, and they do it cheerfully.

But most importantly, confession and Holy Mass will be the camp's crowning jewels.

Let me tell you, there's nothing like our summer camps. This is how one boy describes it: "This has been the happiest time of my life."

I hope you understand why I need your help to make this camp successful.  Your support will be will be most appreciated and acknowledged.

Sponsor a boy in need today with your generous gift

SEND A SECURE ONLINE GIFT TODAY.

Thank you for understanding why I must ask your help to form young Catholic heroes for tomorrow.

Cordially,

John Ritchie
Tradition Family Property
Student Action Director

P.S. – When you send your gift of $25, $50, $100 or even $425, the boys will hear about it and pray for you with deepest gratitude.  I'd appreciate hearing from you before July 5, if possible.

SEND A SECURE ONLINE GIFT TODAY.

Or mail it to:

TFP Student Action
1358 Jefferson Rd.
Spring Grove, PA 17362

Video: Watch this short video of camp activities

http://www.tfpstudentaction.org/what-we-do/video/videos.html?utm_source=MailingList&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=SAE1058+-+Summer+Camp+Fundraiser

Fundraising disclosure notice

http://www.tfpstudentaction.org/fundraising-disclosure-notice.html?utm_source=MailingList&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=SAE1058+-+Summer+Camp+Fundraiser

Monday, June 28, 2010

“Glorify purity, not perversity!”

by Louis Raliga

Binghamton City Hall, New York, was the scene of a spiritual and psychological battle on June 4, 2010.

God_Came_the_First_Year.jpg

On one side of the street one could see the white and gold Papal flag in front of a group of forty Catholics including TFP members and led by ten friars in grey habits. Across the street in front of city hall, stood a hundred homosexual activists under the “Gay Pride” flag Mayor Matthew Ryan had just hoisted on equal level with the state and national flags.

Father Johannes Smith of the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate led the group of forty in praying the Rosary and other prayers including several directed to Saint Michael the Archangel. As one friar held the Papal flag, another held a crucifix.

A large statue of Our Lady of Fatima also presided over the act of reparation. As they calmly prayed, several held signs such as, “Homosexuality is a disorder which needs to be treated and not applauded,” “Glorify purity, not perversity!” One mother held a sign stating “Every child has the right to a mother and a father.” Intermittent honks from passing motorists responded to a sign that said “Honk for Traditional Marriage!”

The contrast between the two groups was a sight to behold. On the one side, the homosexual activists affected agitated glee at official recognition and the symbolic triumph of hoisting their symbol, like a conqueror hoists his flag atop a conquered castle.

The ignoble gesture expresses, “We have forced society to accept sin and we are proud of it.” On the other side of the street, the atmosphere was one of serious and concerned sadness. The protestors prayed, above all, to console God and His Most Pure Mother for the insulting exaltation of vice. Father Smith kept up the prayers and led the singing of hymns.

Then he ended the almost two-hour vigil with the incensing of the crucifix and statue of Our Lady and words of encouragement and thanks to those who came out to stand up for purity and to make reparation for the sin of homosexuality.

These Catholics, some of whom are sidewalk counselors at the Binghamton abortion mill, are committed to return again to make reparation, as often as is necessary. One gentleman who stood and prayed in front of the homosexual activists had writing on the back of his shirt that summed up the charitable attitude of these “prayer warriors.” It said, “Friends don’t let friends go to hell.”

This was the fifth consecutive year Mayor Ryan dedicated June as “Gay Pride Month” and officially raised the homosexual symbol over the seat of local government. The first time was on June 2, 2006. Twenty-four days after that first flag-raising, torrential rains hit Binghamton causing historic flooding as the Susquehanna River broke its banks. Mandatory evacuation was forced on 15,000 residents while whole neighborhoods were covered in several feet of water.

In the words of one who came to make reparation at the 2010 event, “God came the first year, and we have come every year since to make reparation.”

U.S. Supreme Court Rules Homosexual, Diversity Rights Override Religious Freedom

U.S. Supreme Court Rules Gay, Diversity Rights Override Religious Freedom

by Kathleen Gilbert

WASHINGTON, D.C., June 28, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that a Christian student group does not have the right to restrict its membership to practicing Christians, in a decision Christian rights groups are calling a significant blow to religious freedom.

The court decided 5-4 Monday in the case Christian Legal Society v. Martinez to uphold a California law school’s denial of official recognition of a Christian student group. The Christian group refused to agree to let non-Christians and those engaging in a "sexually immoral lifestyle" to become voting members or leaders.

The case has received national interest as the guidelines, which bar openly-practicing homosexuals from the group, came to be perceived as discrimination against homosexuals.

The majority decision, authored by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, ruled that the UC Hastings College of Law's decision was a fair application of its anti-discrimination policy. In what may set a grim precedent, the liberals on the court upheld the "rights" of non-discrimination according to sexual orientation over rights of religious freedom by comparing Christian beliefs to racist beliefs: Justice John Paul Stevens asked, "What if the belief is that African-Americans are inferior?"

The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), which filed an amicus brief in the case representing numerous Christian campus organizations, called the outcome an "extremely disappointing decision" that "significantly damages the constitutional rights of religious organizations."

"The majority of the Supreme Court missed the mark in understanding that it is fundamental to religious freedom that religious groups are free to define their own mission, select their own leaders and determine their own membership criteria," said Jay Sekulow, Chief Counsel of the ACLJ. 

"By permitting a discriminatory decision by the federal appeals court to stand, the Supreme Court decision represents, as Justice Alito correctly concluded in the dissent, 'a serious setback for freedom of expression in this country.'  And, we, like Justice Alito, hope this decision will be an aberration and not a shift in First Amendment jurisprudence."

The case involved a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit siding with the Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco. Hastings denied official recognition to a student group – the Christian Legal Society (CLS) – after CLS said it could not abide by the school’s non-discrimination policy. That policy forbids student groups from discriminating on the basis of, among other things, "religion." CLS says its religious beliefs prevent non-Christians from exercising control over the group by becoming voting members or serving in leadership positions. 

In a dissent written by Justice Samuel Alito, and joined by Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Scalia and Thomas, Justice Alito concluded that the majority decision "is a serious setback for freedom of expression in this country."

"Our First Amendment reflects a 'profound national commitment to the principle that debate on public issues should be uninhibited, robust, and wide-open,'" wrote Justice Alito, citing the 1964 case New York Times Co. v. Sullivan.

"Even if the United States is the only Nation that shares this commitment to the same extent, I would not change our law to conform to the international norm. I fear that the Court’s decision marks a turn in that direction. Even those who find CLS’s views objectionable should be concerned about the way the group has been treated - by Hastings, the Court of Appeals, and now this Court. I can only hope that this decision will turn out to be an aberration." 

In its amicus brief filed at the high court, the ACLJ contended that religious groups are constitutionally protected in following their religious beliefs. 

"Religious groups by their nature embrace religious principles and, as a matter of organizational identity and coherence, will normally require adherence to such principles as a criterion for membership and certainly for leadership," the brief asserted. 

"This is not 'discrimination' but rather part and parcel of what defines them as religious groups.  Wooden application of religious 'non-discrimination' policies therefore forces religious groups to choose between their religious identity and access to the forum.  That 'choice' is an unconstitutional one between yielding to government intermeddling and no access at all.  Far from a permissible condition on benefits, this is a choice that the government, under the Religion Clauses, has no business imposing on religious groups."

Shocking abortion news from Scotland

I’m writing to you firstly as a parent, then as an Irishman living in Scotland.

In nearly every health premise I've entered there are ads for 
free (abortive) morning after pill, no age asked, no ID asked for just some initials of the surname or first name as in needle exchange type monitoring.

So this monitoring is for statistical purposes 'only'.

Surely there must be someone out there collating and writing on this information/research, thereby presumably getting paid for it.

I worked in Obs & Gynae for 6 years and let me tell you, everyone needs to wake up and  smell the coffee.

Abortion is big business.  The surgical team gets paid.  The Anesthetic team gets paid.  The Nursing staff gets paid.

The placentas are stored and sold abroad where hormones and other items are extracted from them either for research or retail to Pharmaceutical Companies, for profit, of course.

Appalling and barbarically the same happens to aborted babies.  They are dissected or sold whole for research or keep in the lab of the aborting hospital and studied and on some occasions  exhibited as in The Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.

If you or any of your readers wish for more info or anything on the importance of saving these tiny lives, feel free to pass on my email address to those you might trust.

Yours most sincerely,

S O, Scotland

This man will pick up Our Lady’s volunteers at the airport

I am introducing you to the man who will be picking up Our Lady’s volunteers at the airport in Kansas City starting on July 5.

His name is Bernard Slobodnik, and his father, Mr. Francis Sloodnik, runs the national rosary rally office in Rossville Kansas.

Bernard’s facebook page is:

http://www.facebook.com/bslobodnik?bcode=4RqYp

I thought you’d like to meet him now in case you are traveling to Kansas as a volunteer to help recruit rosary rally captains for the 2010 Public Square Rosary Crusade.

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Rosary Volunteers Will Be Picked Up At The Airport in This America Needs Fatima Van

ANF Van 005

On July 5, the dedicated volunteers who will take and make thousands of calls to sign up rosary rally captains in the 2010 Public Square Rosary Crusade, will start arriving at the America Needs Fatima coordination office in Rossville, Kansas.

They will picked up at the airport in this large van, which is now clearly identified by the rubber America Needs Fatima sign on the door.

ANF Van 001

If you would like to join this national rosary crusade to save America, please visit here:

http://www.americaneedsfatima.org/rosary-rally-central.html

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Reflections of Divine Unity and Variety in the Sea

File:Baltic Sea (Darlowo).JPG

There is a conception of the Universe that regards God as its exemplary cause, as an infinitely beautiful Being reflected in a thousand ways in all the other beings He created, so that no being exists which in one way or another is not a reflection of the uncreated beauty of God.

The divine Beauty is reflected above all in the hierarchical and harmonic ensemble of all these beings. In a certain sense, then, there is no better way to know the infinite and uncreated beauty of God than by examining the finite and created beauty of the Universe.

Let us consider, for example, the beauty of the sea.

One of the first elements of the sea's grandeur is its unity. The oceans of the Earth flow one into the other and form a mass of water that encompasses the entire globe. Among the most pleasant meditations we can make at any seashore, while filling our gaze with the liquid mass stretching before us to the horizon, is to recall that this expanse of water does not end there. Beyond the horizon are successive immensities that form a single great immensity that is the sea -- the sea that moves, rolls, and plays over the entire face of the Earth.

While the sea displays this splendid unity, yet how much variety we can observe there!

At one moment it is meek and serene, satisfying our soul's every desire for peace, tranquility, quiet. Then it moves with discretion and suavity, forming wavelets that play upon its surface, making us smile and relaxing our spirits with thoughts of the amenable and delightful realities of life. Finally, it shows itself majestic and ferocious, raising itself up in sublime movements, rushing violently against towering rocks, hurling unfathomable volumes of water up from its abysses.

At times the sea comes ashore swiftly and, so to speak, out of breath. At other its landward course is slow and lazy, its waves languidly expending themselves upon the beach. At still other times it appears so motionless, content, so to speak, at just seeing the land without touching it.

So clear is the sea at times that our eyes easily pierce its fluid depths. Then again it is dark, impenetrable, profound, and mysterious.

Sometimes it murmurs like a soothing caress, inviting us to rest. Or it may be but a sound in the background like the oft-heard conversation of an old friend. Then, a bit later, it speaks to us with the roar of a king desiring to impose his will upon all his subjects.

All of these diversities of the ocean would have no cohesion or enchantment for us had they not the foundation of a fixed, invariable, and imposing unity.

Unity and variety are thus manifest in a creature that is ever within reach of our gaze, a splendid image of the uncreated and spiritual beauty of God Our Lord.

____________

Excerpted [without the speaker's review,] from a talk given by Prof. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira at the Carmelite Congress in São Paulo, Brazil, November 1958

PICTURE I:

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PICTURE II:

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Mohammed's Resurgence

WHEN we study the sad history of the fall of the Western Roman Empire, it is difficult for us to understand the short-sightedness, the indifference, and the impassability of the Romans in the face of increasing danger.

And this all the more, given Rome's inveterate habit of victory. The most glorious nations of Antiquity, like Egypt, Greece, and the whole of Asia, were at its feet; the ferocity of the Celts had been tamed; the Rhine and the Danube formed part of the Empire's splendid natural bulwarks. Why should they fear that the barbarians, who roamed the virgin forests of Central Europe, might seriously endanger such a huge political edifice?

Accustomed to this outlook, the Romans did not have the necessary flexibility of mind to understand the situation that was gradually being created. The barbarians crossed the Rhine and began their invasions; the resistance put up by the legions proved weak, irresolute, insufficient.

Notwithstanding, the Romans continued to ignore the danger, on the one hand blinded by the devouring thirst for pleasures and, on the other, fooled by what the hateful Freudian terminology would call a superiority "complex." This explains the deadly calm in which they lingered until the end.

Even taking the mystery of the Roman Empire's inertia into account, the picture seems strange to us and perhaps a bit outlandish. We will understand it much better, in a more lively way, if we consider also another great mystery taking place before our eyes and in which we are participants of sorts: the great inertia of the Christian West in face of the revival of Afro-Asiatic heathenism.

The subject is too vast to be treated in entirety. To understand it well, it will suffice to consider only one aspect of the phenomenon, the revival of the Moslem world.

Accustomed to being misunderstood, Legionario has returned to this subject with an insistence sometimes considered inopportune. Still, the issue deserves to be examined once again.

Let us quickly recall some general facts.

As is known, the Moslem world comprises a territory that stretches from India, through Saudi Arabia and Asia Minor, reaches Egypt, and extends to the Atlantic Ocean. Islam's area of influence is immense in every respect: territory, population, natural resources. But until a short time ago, some factors rendered that power almost completely useless. The Prophet's religion, clearly the link that could unite the Moslems throughout the world, was divided, weak, and totally lacking in outstanding men in the fields of thought, leadership, and action. Islam was as though in a state of hibernation, and this seemed enough for the zeal of its high dignitaries.

The pleasure of stagnation and mere vegetative life was a disease that had also reached the economic and political life of the Moslem countries of Asia and Africa. In this atmosphere it was impossible for any valuable men, any new ideas, or any great undertakings to flourish. All the Moslem countries were closed upon themselves, indifferent to everything beyond the everyday calm, petty pleasures. Thus each of those nations lived in its own world and was kept distinct from the others by greatly different historical traditions. They were all kept apart by their mutual indifference and were thus rendered incapable of understanding, desiring, or carrying out a common enterprise.

In so-depressed a religious and political picture it was impossible for them to take advantage of their natural resources, which considered as a whole, encompass one of the largest potentials on earth. Everything was ruins, separation, and apathy.

Thus the East dragged through life while the West reached the apex of its prosperity. Since the Victorian era the winds of youth, enthusiasm, and hope had blown in Europe and America. The progress of science had renewed the material face of Western life. People believed in the promises of the Revolution, and in the last days of the nineteenth century they expected the twentieth to be the golden era of mankind.

In such an atmosphere, Western man was deeply convinced of the inertia and impotence of the East. Talk about the possibility of the revival of the Moslem world would sound to him as anachronic and impossible as a return to medieval customs, warfare, and political boundaries.

We still live with that illusion today. And, with Roman-like complacency, we trust that the Mediterranean separates us from the Islamic world, not realizing that new and extremely serious phenomena transpire in the lands of the Koran.

It is difficult to encompass such vast and complex phenomena with synthetical discernment. Very generally, however, it may be said that after World War I a very marked phenomenon of anti-European reaction began to simmer in the East broadly understood; that is, in all the areas of non-Christian civilization in Asia and Africa.

This reaction included two somewhat contradictory aspects, both very dangerous for the West. On the one hand, the Eastern nations were becoming impatient with the economic and military yoke of the West, showing an increasing aspiration to full sovereignty, to building an independent economy and organizing independent armies. Evidently, these aspirations implied some "Westernization"; that is, the adoption of Euro-American military, industrial, and agricultural technology, and its financial system. On the other hand, however, this patriotic surge provoked a revival of enthusiasm for local traditions, customs, religion, and history.

It is superfluous to add that the disgraceful sight of corruption and division that plagued the West contributed to stir up hatred of the West. This brought about in the whole East a renewed interest for old idols, for a "neo-paganism" a thousand times more combative, resolute, and dynamic than ancient paganism. Japan is a typical example, perhaps the epitome, of this process.

The ideological and political group that raised it to the category of a great power and coveted world domination was precisely one of those neo-pagan groups obstinately attached to old notions such as the divinity of the Emperor.

A slower but not-less-vigorous phenomenon than Japan's occurred in the Eastern world. By virtue of this phenomenon, India is about to win independence. Egypt and Persia occupy an advantageous place in international life and continue to make headway. And Mustafa Kemal had renovated Turkey long before this.

All these nations--these powers, we might say--are proud of their past, their traditions, and their culture, and steadfastly wish to maintain them. Likewise, they vaunt their natural resources, their political and military prospects, and their economic progress. Their riches increase daily. They build cities with efficient administrative structures, apt political systems, strictly pagan but very advanced universities, hospitals, museums, in a word, everything that is perceived as power and material progress. They stock up gold in their safes; gold translates into the possibility of buying weaponry, which, in turn, means world prestige.

It is worthy of note that the Nazi example made a strong impression on the East. Indeed, if a country like Germany had a government that abandoned Christianity and did not blush in reverting to ancient idols, why would it be embarrassing for a Chinese or an Arab to keep his own traditional religion?

All of this transformed the Islamic world and sent a shudder through all the Moslem peoples, from India to Morocco, meaning that their slumber had ended. Pakistan (on the verge of independence from India), Iran, Iraq, Turkey, and Egypt are the high points of the movement for Islamic revival. But in Algeria, Morocco, Libya, and Tunisia agitation also escalates. The vital chord of Islam is being resuscitated in all of those countries, and along with it the sense of unity, the realization of common interests, the concern for solidarity, and the taste for victory.

None of this was left up in the air. The Arab League, a very broad confederation of Moslem peoples, unites the whole Mohammedan world. It is the opposite of what Christendom was in the Middle Ages. The Arab League moves as a large bloc before non-Arab countries and fosters insurrection throughout northern Africa. The flight of the great mufti was a clear demonstration of the League's strength. The liberation of Abd-El-Krim was more than that because it reaffirms the League's deliberate intention to intervene in north African affairs by promoting the independence of Algeria, Tunisia, Tripoli, and Morocco.

Is great talent, perspicacity, and exceptionally good information needed to realize the danger this represents?

(TFP Magazine, May-June 1994)

_________________________________

by Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira

(Translated from “Legionário”, 15th July 1947)

The Message of Fatima: Our Hope or Our Judgment?

by Prof. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira

Nearly 30 years ago, the first worldwide conflagration was moving toward its decline. With the initial impetus of the Teutonic invasion contained, the French set about reconquering lost territory. For high-level politicians and military observers, the final result of the struggle was no longer in doubt.

The entire strategy of the Germans was based on the hope of the blitzkrieg's triumph. The first toss of the dice met with immense possibilities. But it was the only one. The Germans had lost. As for the Allies, it was just a question of time. Although on the battlefields the struggle remained white hot and German cannons thundered near Paris, financiers, sociologists, and politicians had already begun to murmur behind the scenes about how they would organize the postwar world.

Their private whispering held far greater significance than the public clamor of the cannons. On the battlefields, a war that in essence had already been decided was being fought to its bitter end, while in the cabinet chambers of the victorious States, a new order was in the making. In the next era, the future would no longer be found in the barrels of guns, but in the closed-door consultations of the intelligentsia and technocrats.

While they were but beginning to tenuously draw the preliminary lines of their new world order, one of the most momentous events of contemporary history took place. Many are the skeptics who disbelieve this fact. Many more are those who are not skeptical but timid, not daring to proclaim the truths they believe. Some fail to speak for lack of faith.

Others exclude this event from the pages of history because they are cowards. But the gravest motives upon which human intelligence may base itself are patent, and they attest that Our Lady came down from Heaven to reveal to three little shepherds in an obscure and forgotten corner of Portugal the necessary conditions and indispensable foundations for the real reformation of the world.

Were mankind to hear and heed this message, we would find true peace. Were we to turn a deaf ear, our "peace" would be false and a new world war would ensue. That war came. That war is here. Now, as thirty years ago, the powerful ponder yet another global reorganization. There is no more opportune time to reconsider Our Lady's apparition at Fatima.

                                                  * * *

Let us make a test: Let us take some children one at a time and, under the pretext of a literary composition, have them imagine an apparition of Our Lady, describing her countenance, her clothing, her facial expressions, and her gestures, and taking note of her words. What would come of this? So much childishness, so many curious conceptions and, quite frankly, ridiculous features!

The level of instruction of the children of Fatima was incomparably inferior to that of the children of the city. They knew neither theater nor cinema; they had seen no books illustrated with queens, ladies of bygone courts, and so forth. Thus, they had no concept of elegance, beauty, and distinction save that which they saw reflected -- and in what muted shades! -- in the simple ladies of their village. They had not the least notion of the beauty proper to particular colors and their respective combinations.

Nevertheless, these untutored children described the lady who appeared to them with details sufficient to establish that she was a figure of sublime beauty, clothed with a rare majesty and simplicity. In short, a lady so different from what they knew of images, that they did not suspect that she was a saint, much less Our Lady. Only when Our Lady revealed her identity did they know with whom they had the privilege of speaking.

That Lady said very elevated things to them: She spoke to them of the war, of the Pope -- whom Jacinta, the youngest, did not even know existed -- of politics and sociology. And those children repeated her message with extraordinary fidelity! As Scripture says, God took for Himself, "from the mouth of children, perfect praise."

                                                       * * *

It is time for us to consider the message of Fatima. Before all else, we note that it is absolutely orthodox. It is not easy to invent an orthodox message.... Now, each and every word the Lady directed to the young shepherds is of absolute orthodoxy. Speaking on quite complex subjects, she errs not the slightest in doctrine. Assuredly, her messages could not have been invented by three little shepherds.

But there is more. The message of the lady occurred at the precise, critical moment in which the postwar world was being prepared. Disdaining the ostentatious spectacles of the false patriotism and pseudoscientific posturing of the technocrats, with great simplicity she put everything in its sole and fundamental terms.

The war was a chastisement of the world on account of its impiety, its impure customs, and its habit of transgressing Sundays and Holy Days. Were all of this settled, all these matters would be resolved. Were this not settled, no solution would resolve anything.... And if the world did not heed the lady's voice, if it did not respect the principles she proclaimed, a new conflagration would come, preceded by an extraordinary celestial phenomenon. And this conflagration would be much more terrible than the first.

                                                        * * *

The technocrats met -- those who, with the bankers, rule today's world -- et convenerunt in unum adversus Dominum [and assembled together against the Lord -- cf. Acts 4:26]. They built a peace without Christ, a peace against Christ. The world fell even deeper into sin, ignoring Our Lady's message. At Fatima, the miracles multiplied by the dozens, the hundreds, the thousands. There they were, accessible to all, open for examination by doctors of whatever race or religion. The conversions were innumerable.

Yet, notwithstanding all of this, no one heeded Fatima. Some doubted without studying it. Others denied it without examining it. Others believed but lacked the courage to say so. They did not heed the voice of Our Lady.

More than twenty years passed by. One fine day, strange signs were seen in the sky.... An aurora borealis, reported by the wire services the world over. From her convent, Lucy wrote to her Bishop that this was the sign and that the war would soon come.

The war came. It is here for all to see, and today those in power treat anew of the "reorganization of the world," to the final sounding of the trumpets of this already potentially won struggle.

                                                            * * *

Si vocem ejus hodie audieritis, nolite obdurare corda vestra -- If today thou hadst heard His voice, thy hearts would not be hardened, say the Scriptures. In inscribing the feast of Our Lady of Fatima on the calendar of liturgical celebrations, Holy Church affirms the timeliness of the message Our Lady gave the world through the little shepherds.

The voice of Fatima speaks to us today: Let us not harden our hearts, for only by heeding her message that we may escape the judgment of history.

(Crusade, May-Jun 1997)

***New Satanic Video & How to Fight it***

Read with caution: THIS MAY DISTURB YOU.

Satanic video promotes homosexual vice, casual sex and sadomasochism to young people!

In response, please join the:

2010 PUBLIC SQUARE ROSARY CRUSADE.

According to reports, singer Lady Gaga recently released a video clip for her newest pop hit Alejandro. The video exalts homosexuality, casual sex and sadomasochism, while violently attacking the military.

Above all, the video attacks the Catholic Church.

The video is appalling -- dancers wear underwear, stockings and high-heel shoes. Besides, the lead singer simulates, in bed, sexual activity with one of the dancers.

And besides such repulsive innuendos, Lady Gaga uses Catholic images in a very disrespectful and sarcastic way.

How can we Catholics fight back in a spiritual way?

By praying the Rosary.  Because the Rosary has the power to counter and even defeat these awful sins.

That’s why I urge you to become a rally captain in the 2010 Public Square Rosary Crusade.

Become a team rosary leader.

According to the singer, the video was made to praise the homosexual community. And the disrespectful references to the Catholic Church are “justified” because of Its absolute opposition to homosexual vice.

Moreover, the video shows a shocking scene in which Lady Gaga wears a red habit and swallows a crucifix. She appears in many other shots wearing a templar’s tunic while being carried by dancers, in an explicit exaltation of homosexual sin.

As if that was not enough, the singer often appears surrounded by crosses.

Lady Gaga is known for her eccentric ways. She tries to shock the public. This has attracted an ever-growing fan base, mostly composed of children and teenagers.

The offensive references to the Catholic Church are serious enough to spark a global, organized reaction of protest, prayer and reparation.

So is Lady Gaga’s BAD influence on children. She harms their undeveloped and impressionable souls. Many of them are Catholics who get little or no guidance from their parents, or even from the Catholic schools.

*** URGENT ROSARY RESPONSE NEEDED***

That’s why Catholics worldwide should fight back by praying the Rosary. Especially in public so other can see us praying and to know that we love God, His Holy Mother and our Catholic faith.

In fact, the power of the Rosary is so incredibly overwhelming that Saint Dominic used to say:

"Let me but place my rosary around a sinner's neck and he will not escape me."

Even the devils fear the Rosary, as you can read in this:

MIRACULOUS STORY.

So, let’s tap into the supernatural superpower that Our Lady has given to us as a weapon to defeat the terrible sins in Lady Gaga’s video Alejandro.

That’s the way for Catholics to spiritually break the grip of sin on our world.

Become a team rosary leader.

Pray the consecration to St. Michael.

Thursday, June 24, 2010

NEW abortion scandal at (Catholic) college -- Sign protest

This is shocking...

Alverno College in Wisconsin – a Catholic women’s college – lists 10 abortion advocacy groups on its web.  Most of the problematic links appear under “health resources.”

Please send your instant e-protest now:

http://www.tfpstudentaction.net/campaigns/protests/alverno-college-abortion-links.html

Your instant protest message will go directly to the president of Alverno College, Mrs. Mary Meehan, PhD, urging her to take the 10 links off the college’s web site.

It is just wrong for a Catholic college to channel students to abortion advocacy groups.

For example, one of the links directs students to the Center for Reproductive Rights, a web site that promotes “legal, safe, and affordable contraception and abortion.”

Other links send students to groups such as:
ACLU
Center for Reproductive Rights
Feminist Majority Foundation
Feminist Women’s Health Center
Lambda Legal
National Women’s Health Network
National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health
National Organization for Women (NOW)
SIECUS
Women’s Medical Fund, Inc.

Please protest today:

http://www.tfpstudentaction.net/campaigns/protests/alverno-college-abortion-links.html

Wonderful spiritual gifts and articles

Irresistible Novena to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Newspaper that blasphemed Our Lord and the Catholic faith is going bankrupt

The French newspaper, Le Monde, is on the verge of bankruptcy.  They are known for their open anti-Catholicism and attacks on the Church and Our Lord Jesus Christ.

In particular, Le Monde was the most evident expression of hatred against Catholic morality after the Pope reaffirmed Church teaching about chastity and showed how prophylactics, instead of helping to protect lives and restrict the spread of AIDS, actually contribute to spread the disease and cause more deaths.

“Le Monde on The Brink

June 20, 2010 - 11:19 pm | Edited by Frédéric Filloux

Within two weeks, the French newspaper Le Monde will run out of cash. By this Monday at noon, candidates to the takeover of the most prestigious French daily will have disclosed their offers. By June 28, the staff will vote and make the final decision for the fate of the 66 years-old paper.

More importantly, the newspaper’s independence will be under severe pressure.”

New Rosary Rally Count: 1,095!

Thanks to Our Lady, 1.095 rosary rally captains have already signed up.

The goal is 5,000.

Do you think you can be a team captain?  If so, you can sign up here:

http://www.americaneedsfatima.org/PSRR-Articles/2010rrc-signup.html

Protest to the 60 Members of Parliament, the Prime Minister and the ministers concerned:

 

The defense of the unborn child should be total!

Please go here to send your protest message: 

http://www.sosvita.org/?page_id=247&lang=en

The message says:

Protest to the Members of Parliament:

Dear Member of Parliament,

The planned introduction of the so-called “Social Indicators” is nothing more than Abortion on Demand. It leaves the unborn child totally unprotected.

This is being done under the pretext of diminishing the number of abortions.

However, only a total prohibition – and not a liberalization – of abortions can stop the flowing of innocent children’s blood.

Together with the introduction of “Social Indicators”, obligatory counseling is also being approved.

This obligatory counseling will not stop the killing of unborn children. It is just a camouflage.

I hereby vigorously protest against this planned liberalization of abortion and demand:

Immediately: no indicators for abortions!

Ultimately: the total prohibition of abortion!

You have a free choice: you will either become a murderer of the unborn child or its protector.

Do not be a murderer!

Very cordially yours,

Protest

Protest

Longwood Gardens, "A little piece of heaven”


VISIT LONGWOOD GARDENS ON THE WEB
MORE PICTURES

The facts are staggering. Here you will find the greatest and the most in nearly every conceivable category: 1,050 acres of gardens containing exquisite flowers and majestic trees, twenty different outdoor gardens, twenty indoor gardens in four acres of heated greenhouses, and a total of 11,000 different species of plants, making this one of the greatest conservatories in the world.

In addition to the plants, there are dazzling fountains, with variable multi-colored illumination, musical accompaniment, and a backdrop of fireworks on selected summer evenings, a spectacle that leaves the attendees spellbound. Then there are the over eight hundred horticultural and performing arts events ranging from flower shows, horticultural classes, and children’s programs to concerts, organ recitals, and musical plays. Finally, there is the impressive tally of over 900,000 people entering the gates each year.

Reducing this world of variety to its least common denominator, we find that all of this is the dream of one man, Pierre Samuel du Pont (1870-1954). In a country where the majority rules, one man put together a garden that has enchanted a people for decades. Only in America!

Pierre was the great-grandson of Eleuthère Irénée du Pont (1771-1834), a royalist who left France in 1800 and founded the family fortune by manufacturing gunpowder. Pierre later turned the family business into a chemical corporate empire. Using his fortune and his leisure, Pierre developed what was to become Longwood Gardens. The inspiration for Longwood came from his numerous trips to Europe, where he visited some two dozen villas and fifty chateaux. He even visited the garden of Claude Oscar Monet, hosted by the painter himself.

He threw himself into his projects with an unbounded energy. At 21 years of age he oversaw the construction of the new family homestead. By the time he was 28, he possessed his own commercial nursery with seven greenhouses. At 34, disappointed by professional landscapers, he drafted his own plans for improving the family’s estate. He began work on what is known today as Longwood Gardens at the age of 36, beginning with the 600-foot long Flower Garden Walk in 1907 and continuing to build as the “mood touched him.” At his urging, the Longwood Foundation was established in 1946, entrusted to operate the gardens “for the sole use of the public for purposes of exhibition, instruction, education and enjoyment.”

While visiting Longwood, I spoke with Mr. Colvin Randall, its Public Relations Manager. One of the first things I asked was whether any descendants of Pierre were still involved in the foundation. “Du Ponts were involved in the beginning of this Foundation and are still involved in the running of Longwood” he said. “Two-thirds of the board of trustees is made up of family members, Mr. du Pont didn’t have any children, so they are mostly his great nephews and great nieces, and a few of them carry the name du Pont.”

“Do they have horticultural experience?” I asked. “They are well known and respected in botanical circles,” Mr. Randall replied. “They are primarily responsible, in addition to the financial end of Longwood, for the aesthetical questions of taste. They decide what is tasteful and what is not. They meet once a month with the advisory committee and the landscape committee and review design changes for the garden. These are things like color combinations, any buildings to be built, the details, or the architectural styles. It always goes through these trustees’ committees.” That eye for the tasteful, which runs in the du Pont family, is the soul of Longwood Gardens. It is something that goes beyond mere botany and touches the sublime. It was ultimately the fruit of a little boy’s dream. When Pierre was only nine, he visited a mansion in Philadelphia which had a conservatory. “If one day I ever build a greenhouse,” he said, “it will be open to the public.”
In this innocent dream, he not only yearned for beautiful things but desired to share them with others. Much later, visiting Florence with his wife, he marveled at the Villa Gamberaia water garden, exclaiming: “Wouldn’t it be nice to have this in the United States?” Eventually, a reproduction of this wonderful Italian water garden, with several enhancements of Pierre’s own design, was added near one of Longwood’s shaded paths, permitting visitors to share his earlier delight. Following the direction of his dream, Mr. du Pont continued his quest for a garden of ever-greater beauty and quality. With the establishing of the Foundation and the continual influence by members of the du Pont family, his dream continues. The success of Longwood Gardens is proof of its appeal.

Attaining high ideals, the fruit of a healthy tradition, however, has a value too few seem to realize in today’s world. All too many people are caught up in matters that fail to capture the imagination. Tax breaks, Wall Street trends, and Y2K solutions are all problems that must be addressed, but they are not the stuff from which dreams are made. What people need are ideals to believe in, to strive for. It is part of our nature, it is what drives us to succeed and go forward, giving that spice and zest which life otherwise lacks. Ultimately, it is this love for the dream that gives people the energy and enthusiasm to go the extra mile and achieve things so great that those who lack the dream can only sit back and wonder.

This idea is expressed very well in an advertisement showing a man clinging to the side of a cliff, clutching at any little crack in the rock that would allow him to go higher. The caption is simple: “My body was not made for this, but my spirit was.” Although the ideal dream is not based on thrills and sensations, so common to our modern world, it does generate this effect in man. It gives him a vitality of spirit and the necessary drive to accomplish that which his mere natural strength would not be able to do. This explains the attitudes of the people one meets while visiting Longwood. One enthusiastic visitor from New York, for example, realizing that I was visiting the gardens for the first time, exclaimed with a gleam in her eye how she had visited many times and always found something new to “ooh and ah about.” The joy in her eyes while expressing her enthusiasm for the gardens was contagious. Then there were the four ladies who walked single file into a hall adorned with hanging globes of pink chrysanthemums. “Oh, my heavens!” each exclaimed in turn upon entering the hall. The last lady expressed what all three probably thought: “Did you ever see anything more beautiful in your life?”

It is truly impossible to visit Longwood as a passive observer. Everyone is quickly absorbed by the grandeur of it all. Walking along the finely manicured lawns, seeing the play of lights in the hundreds of fountains, is really a dream. An atmosphere of joy and innocence envelops everyone, old and young, men, women and children, all enjoying the fruits of Pierre’s labors, the fulfillment of his dreams.

One little boy put it best when he exclaimed: “Oh, this is just like a little piece of heaven.” This boy realized in his innocence what few adults are ever able to grasp. He saw exactly that which another little boy in Philadelphia was dreaming of many years before him—a heavenly garden made for people’s enjoyment. Finally, there was the comment someone wrote in a survey put out by Longwood: “What would God do if He had money?”
This question begs an answer and it is very simple. God would do exactly that which He inspires His creatures to do when they are faithful to their dreams.

You can visit Longwood Gardens on the web at: http://www.longwoodgardens.org

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

4 Ways to avoid distractions during the Rosary

By Saint Louis de Montfort

To be guilty of willful distractions during prayer would show a great lack of respect and reverence; it would make our Rosaries unfruitful and make us guilty of sin.

How can we expect God to listen to us if we ourselves do not pay attention to what we are saying? How can we expect him to be pleased if, while in the presence of his tremendous majesty, we give in to distractions, like a child running after a butterfly? People who do that forfeit God's blessing, which is changed into a curse for having treated the things of God disrespectfully: "Cursed be the one who does God's work negligently." Jer. 48:10.

Of course, you cannot say your Rosary without having a few involuntary distractions; it is even difficult to say a Hail Mary without your imagination troubling you a little, for it is never still; but you can say it without voluntary distractions, and you must take all sorts of precautions to lessen involuntary distractions and to control your imagination.

To do this:

1)  put yourself in the presence of God and imagine that God and his Blessed Mother are watching you

2) imagine that your guardian angel is at your right hand, taking your Hail Marys, if they are well said, and using them like roses to make crowns for Jesus and Mary.

3) remember that at your left hand is the devil, ready to pounce on every Hail Mary that comes his way and to write it down in his book of death, if they are not said with attention, devotion, and reverence.

4) do not fail to offer up each decade in honor of one of the mysteries, and try to form a picture in your mind of Jesus and Mary in connection with that mystery.

STORY

We read in the life of Blessed Hermann of the Order of the Premonstratensians, that at one time when he used to say the Rosary attentively and devoutly while meditating on the mysteries, our Lady used to appear to him resplendent in breathtaking majesty and beauty.

But, as time went on, his fervor cooled and he fell into the way of saying his Rosary hurriedly and without giving it his full attention. Then one day our Lady appeared to him again, but this time she was far from beautiful, and her face was furrowed and drawn with sadness.

Blessed Hermann was appalled at the change in her, and our Lady explained, "This is how I look to you, Hermann, because this is how you are treating me; as a woman to be despised and of no importance. Why do you no longer greet me with respect and attention while meditating on my mysteries and praising my privileges?"

The Rosary is the hardest prayer to say well

When the Rosary is well said, it gives Jesus and Mary more glory and is more meritorious for the soul than any other prayer. But it is also the hardest prayer to say well and to persevere in, owing especially to the distractions which almost inevitably attend the constant repetition of the same words.

When we say the Little Office of Our Lady, or the Seven Penitential Psalms, or any prayers other than the Rosary, the variety of words and expressions keeps us alert, prevents our imagination from wandering, and so makes it easier for us to say them well. On the contrary, because of the constant repetition of the Our Father and Hail Mary in the same unvarying form, it is difficult, while saying the Rosary, not to become wearied and inclined to sleep, or to turn to other prayers that are more refreshing and less tedious.

This shows that one needs much greater devotion to persevere in saying the Rosary than in saying any other prayer, even the Psalter of David.

Keeping the Imagination Focused

Our imagination, which is hardly still a minute, makes our task harder, and then of course there is the devil who never tires of trying to distract us and keep us from praying. To what ends does not the evil one go against us while we are engaged in saying our Rosary against him.

Being human, we easily become tired and slipshod, but the devil makes these difficulties worse when we are saying the Rosary. Before we even begin, he makes us feel bored, distracted, or exhausted; and when we have started praying, he oppresses us from all sides, and when after much difficulty and many distractions, we have finished, he whispers to us:

"What you have just said is worthless. It is useless for you to say the Rosary. You had better get on with other things. It is only a waste of time to pray without paying attention to what you are saying; half-an-hour's meditation or some spiritual reading would be much better. Tomorrow, when you are not feeling so sluggish, you'll pray better; leave the rest of your Rosary till then."

By tricks of this kind the devil gets us to give up the Rosary altogether or to say it less often, and we keep putting it off or change to some other devotion.

How to Defeat the Devil

Dear friend of the Rosary Confraternity, do not listen to the devil, but be of good heart, even if your imagination has been bothering you throughout your Rosary, filling your mind with all kinds of distracting thoughts, so long as you tried your best to get rid of them as soon as you noticed them.

Always remember that the best Rosary is the one with the most merit, and there is more merit in praying when it is hard than when it is easy. Prayer is all the harder when it is, naturally speaking, distasteful to the soul and is filled with those annoying little ants and flies running about in your imagination, against your will, and scarcely allowing you the time to enjoy a little peace and appreciate the beauty of what you are saying.

Even if you have to fight distractions all through your whole Rosary, be sure to fight well, arms in hand: that is to say, do not stop saying your Rosary even if it is difficult to say and you have no sensible devotion. It is a terrible battle, but one that is profitable to the faithful soul.

If you put down your arms, that is, if you give up the Rosary, you will be admitting defeat and then the devil, having got what he wanted, will leave you in peace, and on the day of judgment will taunt you because of your faithlessness and lack of courage. "He who is faithful in little things will also be faithful in those that are greater." Luke 16:10.

He who is faithful in rejecting the smallest distractions when he says even the smallest prayer, will also be faithful in great things. Nothing is more certain, since the Holy Spirit has told us so.

So all of you, servants and handmaids of Jesus Christ and the Blessed Virgin, who have made up your minds to say the Rosary every day, be of good heart. Do not let the multitude of flies (as I call the distractions that make war on you during prayer) make you abandon the company of Jesus and Mary, in whose holy presence you are when saying the Rosary. In what follows I shall give you suggestions for diminishing distractions in prayer.

More Helpful Ways to Avoid Distractions

After you have invoked the Holy Spirit, in order to say your Rosary well, place yourself for a moment in the presence of God and make the offering of the decades in the way I will show you later.

Before beginning a decade, pause for a moment or two, depending on how much time you have, and contemplate the mystery that you are about to honor in that decade.

Always be sure to ask, by this mystery and through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin, for one of the virtues that shines forth most in this mystery or one of which you are in particular need.

Take great care to avoid the two pitfalls that most people fall into during the Rosary. The first is the danger of not asking for any graces at all, so that if some good people were asked their Rosary intention they would not know what to say. So, whenever you say your Rosary, be sure to ask for some special grace or virtue, or strength to overcome some sin.

The second fault commonly committed in saying the Rosary is to have no intention other than that of getting it over with as quickly as possible. This is because so many look upon the Rosary as a burden, which weighs heavily upon them when it has not been said, especially when we have promised to say it regularly or have been told to say it as a penance more or less against our will.