tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15314975176449511222024-03-12T20:38:50.797-07:00Philothea on Phire"You aim at a devout life, dear Philothea, because as a Christian you know that such devotion is most acceptable to God's Divine Majesty," says St. Francis de Sales in his book "Introduction to the Devout Life".
And we can all be Philotheas, as St. Francis notes: "I have made use of a name suitable to all who seek the devout life, Philothea meaning one who loves God."Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09927474235629912604noreply@blogger.comBlogger878125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1531497517644951122.post-6710658777256182022015-11-02T06:26:00.000-08:002015-11-02T06:26:27.463-08:00A New Focus: Resistance<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Today's (November 2, 2015) Vortex is different.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">There's no pencil-twirling, and no Vortex music.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">It's an important message, and you should watch. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Occasionally, I'm tempted to jump back into the fray and start blogging again, but I can't go there. What I think or write isn't all that important to anyone, really. What IS important is the faith. Now more than ever we need to know our faith.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">One way to gain that knowledge is to watch the <i>other</i> programming on Church Militant - not just the Vortex. There are many good programs, old and new. They are worth watching. (My current favorite is "Houses Built on Sand", which is all about heresies that have come and gone and come again in the Church.) </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Sign up for a premium account with Church Militant. Support the Church Militant Apostolate...even if you don't like MV's hair. He's hitting the nail on the head, and he knows what he's talking about.</span><br />
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<br />Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09927474235629912604noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1531497517644951122.post-55824981313346296252015-07-25T05:37:00.000-07:002015-07-25T05:37:56.609-07:00NFP Awareness Week Conclusion: Heroic Parenthood<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/proxy/-wus_xRe3SmfADYoCkfnLR7uzpiPCQ3qqGdCt7dqkZjVQlJQCGu_C8EqZ_ZXsOc5yeGnt4EeoeVQE2kndXPRU5aX5_HgJrIOxsBobSTnFmFSaEuROAiU4EgZFm8nxyIwWjr-l69JDdiM4nZWFC-XTvDVqje9oCT2PFA4a6mxIYUiQD4G2iFtzaFv9Mu_vR9nO8NxQUCv-akdcmMkJNKc8HbmeQ" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="The theme for Natural Family Planning Week 2015 is " border="0" height="247" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/proxy/-wus_xRe3SmfADYoCkfnLR7uzpiPCQ3qqGdCt7dqkZjVQlJQCGu_C8EqZ_ZXsOc5yeGnt4EeoeVQE2kndXPRU5aX5_HgJrIOxsBobSTnFmFSaEuROAiU4EgZFm8nxyIwWjr-l69JDdiM4nZWFC-XTvDVqje9oCT2PFA4a6mxIYUiQD4G2iFtzaFv9Mu_vR9nO8NxQUCv-akdcmMkJNKc8HbmeQ" width="320" /></a><i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I want to recommend once again an excellent article entitled
“Heroic Parenthood”, by Christopher</span></i><i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> Gawley, which can be read <a href="http://xa.yimg.com/kq/groups/2630847/300041880/name/HeroicParenthoodMay2013.pdf">here</a> in <a href="http://www.christianorder.com/">Christian
Order</a> magazine.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I’m closing out my “NFP Awareness Week” posts with an
excerpt from that article:<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The Solution Stated: Heroic Parenthood and the Cult of Embracing Large Families</span></b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Simply
stated, the idea of "responsible parenthood" sells the faith short
and is pregnant (pardon the pun) with concepts that are inconsistent with
Catholic heroism. We should not settle for "responsible parenthood"
but aspire for "heroic parenthood." Our Lord did not come so that we
may have a dispensation or a life centered around infertility; he came for us
to have an abundant life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">…More
than any other visible social institution, large Catholic families contradict
all of the ill-conceived assumptions of modernity. They are, as it were, a
collective middle finger to an anti-culture that would tell us that God is
dead, that man and life are worthless, and that it would be better if we were
never born. The shining radiance and exuberance of large families is a living,
breathing rejoinder to the dour and childless chorus. But large families are
more than a counter-cultural expression, they epitomize Catholicism in practice
because the parents are blessed by living out their married vocation in the
fullest sense. God's blessing of children and fecundity itself seems to be a
forgotten part of this debate<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">…. We
have an answer to those who would maintain that life should be little more than
a titillated distraction before rotting into nothingness: they are a death
people that want to organize society around preventing babies, killing babies,
killing disabled people, and killing old people. Their world is a more than a
social malaise: it is gripped by despair and thirsting for living waters. We
have to offer the living waters of the Gospel; we are a life people and nothing
communicates our trust in God, our love of life, our belief in each other than
our unconditional embrace of children. The world will be re-converted by such
families.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Mr. Gawley ends with this <b>Postscript</b>:<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">While
it would be virtually unthinkable that a diocesan marriage preparation program
might say something as follows, we can still dream:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">For
you young Catholic people who are marrying in your twenties, you
can expect, God willing and absent a physical impairment or grave reason,
to have a home filled with many children. You should mentally, physically and spiritually
prepare for seven, eight, nine or more children given your ages. You should be
prepared to accept the hardships that come with having a large family for two
important reasons; children please our Lord and your cooperation with the Lord
in bringing forth new souls will in turn please our God, which will bring you
many graces. Second, having a large family will help you be saved, it will
re-focus your attention from the material attachments that are both rampant
today and hazardous to your eternal destination. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Your many children will help
you to become better and holier people and will stand as a contradiction to a
world that has forgot how to live the abundant life. You, and your large
faithful families, will turn the tide against the scoffers and misanthropes who
would revile God's creation and man's place in it. We cannot promise you it
will be easy because it won't, but if you persevere in prayer and virtue, you
will overcome with God's grace. And should you live to see your children's
children, you will praise God all the more that he saw fit to give you the gift
of faith.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Have
life and have it abundantly — have children.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/proxy/-wus_xRe3SmfADYoCkfnLR7uzpiPCQ3qqGdCt7dqkZjVQlJQCGu_C8EqZ_ZXsOc5yeGnt4EeoeVQE2kndXPRU5aX5_HgJrIOxsBobSTnFmFSaEuROAiU4EgZFm8nxyIwWjr-l69JDdiM4nZWFC-XTvDVqje9oCT2PFA4a6mxIYUiQD4G2iFtzaFv9Mu_vR9nO8NxQUCv-akdcmMkJNKc8HbmeQ" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="The theme for Natural Family Planning Week 2015 is " border="0" height="246" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/proxy/-wus_xRe3SmfADYoCkfnLR7uzpiPCQ3qqGdCt7dqkZjVQlJQCGu_C8EqZ_ZXsOc5yeGnt4EeoeVQE2kndXPRU5aX5_HgJrIOxsBobSTnFmFSaEuROAiU4EgZFm8nxyIwWjr-l69JDdiM4nZWFC-XTvDVqje9oCT2PFA4a6mxIYUiQD4G2iFtzaFv9Mu_vR9nO8NxQUCv-akdcmMkJNKc8HbmeQ" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">When I started writing about
NFP, it was from the standpoint, basically, of “something is </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">wrong with
NFP”. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">There were a couple of things to
do with methodology – the lack of modesty associated with the teaching of it
and even the practice of it; and the apparent failure of the movement generally
to address the fact that NFP is to be used only for “serious reasons”. When
these points are brought up to NFP promoters, the debate degenerates into a
serious of clarifications and straw-man arguments. NFP promoters say: </span></div>
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<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">NFP
is licit, and anyone who argues against the use of NFP is a dissenter at
best, a heretic at worst.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">NFP
is not the same as contraception, so there is and can be nothing sinful in
it.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Only
the couple themselves can decide, after “prayer and discernment” whether
they have a serious reason to postpone conception.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ol>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">But these are not, in fact, the
important issues, because in reality, these are not the issues that lie beneath
the intuition of many faithful (and usually traditionalist) Catholics that
there is something wrong with the NFP <i>mentality</i>,<i> </i>the NFP “way of life”. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The issues listed above can be
dispatched quickly:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<ol start="1" style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I
agree that NFP is licit; that does not mean it is <i>required</i>, nor does it mean it is <i>virtuous.</i><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I
can agree that there is a difference between contraception and birth
control; NFP, technically, may not be contraception, but it is certainly,
unequivocally, birth control.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The
“conscience” argument can be refuted on a number of points; however, for
the sake of argument, and to make the point that there’s something wrong
with NFP, let’s simply allow any reason to stand as valid. I’m not arguing about precise
definitions of “serious reasons”; I’m aiming to show that there is
something inherently wrong with the promotion of intentionally sterile sex
as a means of birth control.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ol>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The issue lies more with the
attitude underlying the promotion of NFP. Take, for instance, the USCCB’s expressed
desire that every diocese have an NFP program, and that all couples seeking to
be married in the Church be required to take an NFP course. Are the bishops
assuming that every married couple will have serious reasons not to welcome all
the children God desires to send them? Consider also a program called “The
NFP-Centered Parish”, which is problematic in its very name: why would we want
a parish to be centered on a method of regulating births that should be used
only for serious reasons?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">There is good reason to believe
that such an attitude reflects the Church’s attempts to become more “modern”,
to address the current issues in secular society, and to appear as a compassionate
Mother who takes into account Her children’s trials and tribulations, rather
than a Holy Mother who insists on certain standards of behavior, on a
willingness to sacrifice, that will get Her children to Heaven. Pope Pius XI
saw the dangerous potential of artificial contraception entering the Catholic
world when the Protestants hesitantly allowed its use for their own
congregants, and he promulgated <i>Casti
Connubii</i> in order to combat it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">But not too long afterwards, with
the world (especially the US) clamoring for “population control”, and with
women seeking more and more to have jobs and careers outside the home, and with
financial affluence becoming more attainable and therefore more desirable for
many families, the question became, “How can Catholics limit the number of
babies they produce without violating Church teaching?” Indeed, the “Majority
Report” of the Papal Commission that was convened to discuss the issue of birth
control was of the opinion that Church teaching on this issue should be
changed. And of course, the outcry and the dissent waged against <i>Humanae Vitae</i> and the upholding of
Church teaching against contraception made it clear that in the US, Catholic
theologians and clergy had been convinced that the large Catholic family should
become a thing of the past. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Pope Paul VI made some dire
predictions – all of which certainly seem to have come to pass – regarding the
consequences of artificial contraception being loosed on the world. General
moral decline was one of those predictions, and there can be no doubt that that
has occurred. And really, that moral decline focuses largely around the issue
of sex – and mostly this concern with sex revolves around a perceived “right”
to engage in the sex act without having to worry about the naturally-intended
consequence of that act: the conception of a child. Divorcing procreation from
the pleasure of the sex act has resulted in a perceived “right” to have sex in
whatever way one chooses: pre-marital sex, extra-marital sex, homosexual “sex”.
And talk of recognizing the “legitimacy” of sex with minor children and even
animals has become far from rare in the media. Society today is consumed with
the apparent need to talk about, and engage in, sex.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Before things reached their
current state of moral corruption, though, Catholic theologians were trying to
figure out how to ensure that married couples could engage in the marital embrace
without having babies. And today, the moral disasters of the secular culture
notwithstanding, the Catholic world can also be said to be divorcing
procreation from the sexual act itself. Only, in the Catholic case, we call it
“natural”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I don’t think NFP is “natural”;
I think it’s a concession to concupiscence and (typically) an excuse to limit
the number of children a couple “chooses” to have. “Natural” would be a married
couple loving each other and expressing that love in the conjugal embrace
regardless of whether that happens on a “safe” day. “Natural” would, in most
cases, mean a large family. We need more of those!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/proxy/-wus_xRe3SmfADYoCkfnLR7uzpiPCQ3qqGdCt7dqkZjVQlJQCGu_C8EqZ_ZXsOc5yeGnt4EeoeVQE2kndXPRU5aX5_HgJrIOxsBobSTnFmFSaEuROAiU4EgZFm8nxyIwWjr-l69JDdiM4nZWFC-XTvDVqje9oCT2PFA4a6mxIYUiQD4G2iFtzaFv9Mu_vR9nO8NxQUCv-akdcmMkJNKc8HbmeQ" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="The theme for Natural Family Planning Week 2015 is " border="0" height="247" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/proxy/-wus_xRe3SmfADYoCkfnLR7uzpiPCQ3qqGdCt7dqkZjVQlJQCGu_C8EqZ_ZXsOc5yeGnt4EeoeVQE2kndXPRU5aX5_HgJrIOxsBobSTnFmFSaEuROAiU4EgZFm8nxyIwWjr-l69JDdiM4nZWFC-XTvDVqje9oCT2PFA4a6mxIYUiQD4G2iFtzaFv9Mu_vR9nO8NxQUCv-akdcmMkJNKc8HbmeQ" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">There seems to be quite a stigma against “just having
babies”, and the medical profession </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">tends to push the contraceptive mentality
of our society; it is very difficult for young couples to overcome the pressure
from the family doctor. Add to that the pressures from within the Catholic
community; even here we find the negative comments about large families, and
the notion that a couple should be “pray and discern” whether they should be
open to pregnancy each month. These couples are facing an uphill battle against
the prevailing opinion of society!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Yet, <i>we</i> <i>already know</i> God’s will for married
couples: they are to be open to life, unless a serious reason exists to avoid
pregnancy. A commenter on another post noted (my <b>emphases</b>):<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In fact, married couples don’t
have to prayerfully consider whether they should have another child unless they
are practicing NFP to avoid a child, in which case they have a moral obligation
to <b>prayerfully discern</b> each month
[whether] <b>they still have a serious
reason.</b></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We must remember that our true home is in Heaven, and we
must use our time here on earth to take us a little further along the path that
leads us to God. We grow in virtue and holiness by conforming ourselves to
God's will, not by conforming “God's plan” to <i>our</i> will. We have lost a sense of what it truly means to sacrifice
for the Kingdom. Having a large family involves willingness to sacrifice, but I
believe the benefits are huge.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">I posted the following article is from the </span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.pop.org/content/ten-great-reasons-to-have-another-child-499">Population Research Institute</a> a couple of years ago. The PRI g</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">ives permission to share it freely. But
please visit their </span><a href="http://www.pop.org/"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">website</span></a><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> for information to
fortify you against the myth of overpopulation!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Ten Great Reasons to Have Another Child<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Reason
#1:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">
Have another child to join with God in the creation of an immortal soul. <br />
<br />
Parents are given the incredible opportunity to assist God in the creation of
an immortal soul. As the late Cardinal Mindszenty said, even the angels have
not been given such a grace. <br />
<br />
“The most important person on earth is a mother. She cannot claim the honor of
having built Notre Dame Cathedral. She need not. She has built something more
magnificent than any cathedral—a dwelling for an immortal soul, the tiny
perfection of her baby’s body...Even the angels have not been given such a
grace! What is more glorious than this—to be a mother.” Joseph Cardinal
Mindszenty <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Reason
#2: </span></b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Have
another child to bring joy into your life. <br />
<br />
There is no joy like the joy of welcoming another child into your life. You
will marvel anew at how perfectly formed your little one is, and over how
quickly you will fall head over heels in love with him. You will be enchanted
with every tiny aspect of her appearance. The color of her hair, the shape of
her nose, and the winsomeness of her smile will occasion endless happy debates
about from which side of the family (yours, of course) she got that adorable
trait. <br />
<br />
The birth of a child will bind you to God more tightly than ever before, in
awed gratitude. “She was the most miraculous thing that had ever happened in my
life,” Whittaker Chambers wrote about his new daughter in Witness. And in the
lives of most of us. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />
<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I
thought that one day<br />
I would be a famous artist<br />
and create great works of art<br />
<br />
Instead, God made me a mother,<br />
and my children are His masterpiece. <br />
<br />
The design of their lives <br />
will live on after me. <br />
What is painted on their hearts <br />
will last an eternity <br />
</span></i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">-
Anonymous<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Reason
#3: </span></b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Have
another child to grow in holiness and virtue. <br />
<br />
For those who marry and have families, children are the primary means God uses
to help them grow in holiness and virtue. Children teach their parents
patience, perseverance, charity, and humility. They give their parents the
opportunity to practice the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. They come into
the world naked, and we clothe them, hungry and we feed them. Thirsty, and we
give them drink. All of the things that we are required to do for the “least of
these our brothers,” we do first and foremost for our own children. St.
Catherine of Siena once had a vision in which God took her to a roomful of
crosses and told her to pick one. St. Catherine went to the largest, heaviest
cross in the room and would have chosen it. But God told her that it was not
for her: That was reserved for the parents of large families. <br />
<br />
“Mary gave birth to her first-born son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes.”
Luke 2:7<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Reason
#4: </span></b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Have
another child to help end abortion. <br />
<br />
When Mother Teresa of Calcutta was asked by a young mother about the best way
to proceed with pro-life work, she responded emphatically, “Have a big family.
That is the best way to end abortion!” <br />
<br />
How this works is not difficult to understand. As children become more rare due
to contraception, sterilization and abortion, whole segments of society become
less and less familiar with the sense of joy and hope that only babies and
children can give. In this climate, contraception and abortion feed on themselves,
as the increasingly selfish few further reduce their number. <br />
<br />
By having another child, you demonstrate once again to the world that children
are God’s greatest gifts. “Children build up the life of the family and
society,” as Pope John Paul II has said. “The child becomes a gift to its
brothers and sisters, parents and entire family. Its entire life becomes a gift
for the very people who were givers of life and who cannot help but feel its
presence, its sharing in their life and its contribution to the common good and
to the community of the family.” <br />
<br />
The more children there are in society, the more pro-life that society will
become, and the easier it will be for the great evil of abortion to be
eradicated once and for all. <br />
<br />
“Choose life, then, that you and your descendants may live.” Deuteronomy 30:19<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />
<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Reason
#5: </span></b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">A) Have another child so
your sons will have brothers and your daughters will have sisters. <br />
<br />
Children who have siblings learn early to share. They learn to take turns and
to put the needs of others before their own. The bond formed between brothers
and sisters is lifelong, and stronger than the bond between the closest
friends. <br />
<br />
“How good it is, how pleasant, where the brothers dwell as one!” Psalm 133:1-2 <br />
<br />
B) Have another child so your sons will have sisters and your daughters will
have brothers. <br />
<br />
Boys who have sisters learn the dignity of women. They learn to treat other
girls and women with respect, as they consider how they would like their own
sisters to be treated. Girls who have brothers learn the complementarity of men
and women, both fashioned in the image and likeness of God. <br />
<br />
“Love begins by taking care of the closest ones—the ones at home.” Mother
Teresa <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Reason
#6: </span></b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Have
another child so you (and your parents) won’t be lonely in old age. <br />
<br />
People who have children don’t have to rely upon strangers to care for them in
their old age. Children also become the parents of your grandchildren.
Grandchildren bring joy, happiness, and laughter, while still allowing you to
get a good night’s sleep! “Grandchildren are the crown of old men, and the
glory of children is their parentage.”Proverbs 17:6 <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Reason
#7: </span></b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Have
another child because people are our greatest resource. <br />
<br />
Humans are blessed with the gifts of an intellect and free will. It is human
ingenuity that discovers creative solutions to the problems which confront us.
People without children should remember that it will be someone else’s child
who will become the doctor that performs their life-saving operations. Someone
else’s child will become the firefighter that saves their house. Someone else’s
child will become the railroad engineer. <br />
<br />
“How can there be too many children? That’s like saying there are too many
flowers.” <br />
Mother Teresa <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />
<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Reason
#8: </span></b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Have
another child to contribute to the economy. <br />
<br />
Families with children are fuel to the economy, purchasing houses and cars and
college educations. Without young people to enter the workforce, social
security systems fail. Without children to attend school, teachers are jobless.
Many industries, from fast food restaurants to toy stores, obviously rely
heavily upon business from and for children to stay in business. But ultimately
the whole economy does. <br />
<br />
“Like a fruitful vine your wife within your home, Like olive plants your
children around your table. Just so will they be blessed who fear the Lord.”
Psalm 128:3-4 <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />
<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Reason
#9: </span></b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Have
another child to counter global depopulation. <br />
<br />
Anyone who has traveled from coast to coast in the United States and seen the
vast empty spaces should know that America is not overpopulated. In fact, the
entire population of the world could live in the state of Texas, in
single-family dwellings with front and back yards. Fertility rates are falling
everywhere. The world’s population will never again double. If current trends
continue, world population will peak by the middle of this century and then
begin demographic freefall. Our long-term problem is not too many children, but
too few children. Having another child will help offset the coming population
implosion. <br />
<br />
“Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth.” Genesis 1:28. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Reason
#10: </span></b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Have another child to help populate heaven. <br />
<br />
The child that you and your spouse have been generous in accepting from God was
created to return to Him, after a life of love, service, and obedience on
earth, to spend eternity with God in heaven. Our Lord Himself said that there
was plenty of room for those immortal souls. There is no overpopulation problem
in Heaven! <br />
<br />
“There are many mansions in my Father’s house.” John 14:2 <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Ten
Great Reasons to Have Another Child” <br />
Permission to reprint granted. <br />
Redistribute widely.<br />
Credit requested. </span></i><a href="http://www.pop.org/"><i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">http://www.pop.org</span></i></a><i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.3999996185303px;"><i>I originally posted this on July 25, 2012.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.3999996185303px;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.3999996185303px;">There’s a rose bush in our back yard that’s been there since before we moved in here. It’s off in the corner, far from the nearest water faucet, and so it doesn’t always get the attention it deserves. Nevertheless, it blooms. Every year, I’m amazed at the fruitfulness of this plant. This year, it seems to be particularly prolific.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FA8wQXqecJc/UBALA1paF0I/AAAAAAAAAv0/xOsjQyeHQ50/s1600/20120725072438.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FA8wQXqecJc/UBALA1paF0I/AAAAAAAAAv0/xOsjQyeHQ50/s320/20120725072438.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.3999996185303px;">But then, it’s a rose bush. A rose bush is meant to produce flowers. That’s its natural end. Right? We shouldn’t really be too surprised that a rose bush yields a bunch of roses!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.3999996185303px;">On the other hand, this year I bought three tomato plants, which I have planted in a sunny spot, and watered; and I have even fed them with “Miracle-gro”. They’re green and bushy, looking quite healthy, and they blossomed a while back, so I’ve been waiting for the little tomatoes to appear.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-a_sKDy9_s9M/UBALFxB-fhI/AAAAAAAAAv8/5gfzPYg8zW8/s1600/20120724162451.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-a_sKDy9_s9M/UBALFxB-fhI/AAAAAAAAAv8/5gfzPYg8zW8/s320/20120724162451.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.3999996185303px;">But…after waiting and waiting and waiting, I can only find three actual tomatoes! What’s up with that? I am much more surprised that my tomato plants are barren than that my rose bush has blossomed. The natural end of a tomato plant is to produce tomatoes, is it not?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.3999996185303px;">After some thought, I have discerned that my tomato plants are being responsible. This summer is supposed to be hotter than other summers, and there just might not be enough water for them. If they have to divert their resources to bushels of little tomatoes, they’ll be strapped. They don’t know when I’ll water them again, and they don’t know if there are enough nutrients in that soil I’ve provided. They are wise to limit their progeny.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.3999996185303px;">The rose bush, though, is just being so…<i>providentialist!</i> It <i>knows</i> it might not get watered for days on end! It’s painfully aware of the neglect it’s suffered over the years, I’m sure! And yet…and yet…it is producing a multitude of “offspring”. Has it never heard of being responsible? Has it no concern for how it will provide nourishment for all those new buds?</span><br />
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<i><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.3999996185303px;">If God so clothes the grass of the field, which grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow, will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith? (Matthew 6:30)</span></i><br />
<br />
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;"><b>Click on the NFP tab at the top of the page for a list of other NFP posts on this blog.</b></span></i></div>
Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09927474235629912604noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1531497517644951122.post-23605261761862797752015-07-21T05:27:00.000-07:002015-07-21T05:27:43.908-07:00NFP Awareness Week: "Use NFP: It Doesn't Work!"<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Probably one of the funniest, most honest, and most refreshing articles on NFP ever written was authored by Harry Crocker III in 2009 – you can <a href="http://www.catholicity.com/commentary/crocker/04828.html">read the whole thing here</a>, and I highly recommend that you do so. Mr. Crocker suggests that NFP promoters need a new slogan, and he suggests this one: </span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Use NFP: It Doesn’t Work!</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Read the article to see what he is talking about, but allow me to share a few tidbits of truth here, excerpted from Mr. Crocker’s piece. He mentions, for instance, the proper attitude toward marriage and child-rearing:</span><br />
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</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-O9TfrR7oLYE/T6SKKWjbYcI/AAAAAAAAAeE/lP1DBQT53aM/s1600/baby%2Bface%2Bpalm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-O9TfrR7oLYE/T6SKKWjbYcI/AAAAAAAAAeE/lP1DBQT53aM/s1600/baby%2Bface%2Bpalm.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Rather than bite one's nails to the quick at the prospect of baby number ten – which, if one marries in one's early 20s and practices NFP, is a definite possibility – we should encourage the attitude of the more the merrier, which is a far more attractive case to make than all the goo-goo language about how NFP helps couples "communicate" and about the joy of charting temperatures and discharges and plotting one's conjugal acts as a captain might chart a course for his ship.</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And, indeed, he presents what probably a lot of men (and perhaps a few women as well!) think about the prospect of “better communication” and “intimate conversation” that is allegedly common amongst NFP couples:</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Frankly, as far as I'm concerned, the charts can be thrown away (what's so "natural" about them?). And to hell with improving "communication" as a dogmatic defense of NFP. For men, the whole point of marriage is to avoid communicating; all that dating conversation stuff can finally be foregone. Married communication, as successful husbands know, is best limited to grunts and hand signals – one upraised finger meaning, "I need a beer"; two upraised fingers meaning, "You need to change the brat's diapers"; three upraised fingers meaning, "Honey, why don't you mow the lawn while I watch football?," and so on. No words are more doom-laden than a wife's sitting down and saying, "Let's talk." Communication is, of course, the first step toward divorce.</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I particularly enjoyed his ideas for premarital counseling:</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So rather than focusing on NFP, premarital preparation should go like this: </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Father O'Counselor: "Now I want you two to understand that the primary and fundamental purpose of marriage is not companionship, not romantic love, not moonlit strolls on the beach, or any other balderdash but the begetting and raising of children – lots of 'em, and starting soon. The optimum number is enough so that you can lose a few at the grocery store and not notice. That's giving without counting the cost, and at that point, you won't care anyway. As a priest, my sacrifice for the good of the Church is celibacy. As a married couple, yours is to propagate children – who will incidentally annually propagate fierce storms of influenza in your house. If you haven't already studied up on communicable diseases and basic first aid for children jumping off sofas, I'd do it now. But you will find children and their challenges to be the great tutor of not only the medical but the moral virtues."</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Potential Husband: "You mean, I'm screwed?"</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Father O'Counselor: "In a manner of speaking, yes."</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Potential Husband: "Is it too late to enroll in the seminary?" </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We can thus improve Catholic marriages and alleviate the priest shortage at the same time.</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Go, read <a href="http://www.catholicity.com/commentary/crocker/04828.html">the article</a>, and have a good chuckle. And hope that someday we can return to the sane and sensible approach to marriage that Mr. Crocker describes.</span><br />
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Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09927474235629912604noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1531497517644951122.post-77770694203370052372015-07-20T05:39:00.000-07:002015-07-20T08:05:45.002-07:00NFP Awareness Week: The Disordered Logic of NFP<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>From an anonymous contributor:</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Even if we agree to accept </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">any</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> reason as valid justification for use of NFP, we are left with
a </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">very knotty problem that haunts all NFP discussions: “How does one justify
the conscious, intentional, and planned indulgence in sexual activities that
purposely and purposefully seeks to frustrate the natural perfection of the
sexual act?”</span></div>
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<a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/proxy/-wus_xRe3SmfADYoCkfnLR7uzpiPCQ3qqGdCt7dqkZjVQlJQCGu_C8EqZ_ZXsOc5yeGnt4EeoeVQE2kndXPRU5aX5_HgJrIOxsBobSTnFmFSaEuROAiU4EgZFm8nxyIwWjr-l69JDdiM4nZWFC-XTvDVqje9oCT2PFA4a6mxIYUiQD4G2iFtzaFv9Mu_vR9nO8NxQUCv-akdcmMkJNKc8HbmeQ" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="The theme for Natural Family Planning Week 2015 is " border="0" height="246" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/proxy/-wus_xRe3SmfADYoCkfnLR7uzpiPCQ3qqGdCt7dqkZjVQlJQCGu_C8EqZ_ZXsOc5yeGnt4EeoeVQE2kndXPRU5aX5_HgJrIOxsBobSTnFmFSaEuROAiU4EgZFm8nxyIwWjr-l69JDdiM4nZWFC-XTvDVqje9oCT2PFA4a6mxIYUiQD4G2iFtzaFv9Mu_vR9nO8NxQUCv-akdcmMkJNKc8HbmeQ" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">In the days before we had all the choices that science gives
us today, this was an almost unthinkable problem. We didn't know that one could
precisely plan to sow in the fall and winter, when no crops were likely. We
always knew enough about seasonal cycles that, if we wanted to grow crops, we
had to sow in spring and summer. That's the nature of farming. You do all the
work of farming in order to grow crops to harvest in the fall.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">But how is it a <i>good</i>
thing to sow seeds – intentionally, purposely, purposefully – during a woman's
monthly equivalent to fall and winter? Before we had these “modern” choices,
married couples just followed common sense and did what married couples have always
done: they engaged in the marital embrace when they felt like it. Sometimes it
was during the monthly “fall” and “winter”, other times (actually a much
narrower time) during “spring” and “summer”. Such couples devoted themselves to
the raising of children schooled (hopefully) in the ways of God, helped each
work out their salvation in fear and trembling and dependence upon God, and
wound up having large families. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">It is unimaginable that we could ask couples from the past, “How
many children do you plan to have?” Yet today, almost every newly married
couple is asked that question. It's just <i>assumed</i>,
by our culture, that it is “responsible” to have only the number of children
you want and believe you can afford to raise properly. Our Catholic ancestors
didn't have such choices, and in that respect they were closer to consecrated
religious: just as with farmers, life itself invited them to trust in God more
than themselves. If circumstances were dire, they were intelligent enough and
disciplined enough to abstain from the marital embrace. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">If we focus on the sexual act all by itself, independent of
where and how it occurs, it is fairly obvious that it has one, single purpose:
procreation. If we focus on the sexual act all by itself within marriage, it can
be said to have the additional purpose of “mutual comfort of the spouses and
remedy for concupiscence” (which has morphed into the “unitive end” in current
jargon). The sexual act actually demands, all by itself, the context of
marriage for perfection so, even outside of marriage, the sexual act intends
both procreation (which is always possible, regardless of circumstances) and “union”
in its anticipation of the context of marriage. Once again we see the “both/and”
proposition, and it isn't even necessary to consult Catholic teaching to
conclude this. A sexual act which concludes in procreation but which doesn't
respect the actual or anticipated spousal union is disordered. So is a sexual
act which consciously, intentionally, purposely and purposefully seeks to <i>avoid</i> procreation. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Logically, then, the intention to enter the marital embrace,
while at the same time <i>intending</i> to
avoid its perfection, is disordered – because any sexual act which rejects <i>either </i>procreation <i>or </i>union is disordered. Conversely, any sexual act which accepts
and honors <i>both</i> procreation <i>and</i> union is governed by right reason. Following
this thread, let us recall that our ability to order our acts by right reason
is corrupted by concupiscence, and that sex is particularly vulnerable to
concupiscence – even in marriage. When a couple desires to engage in the
marital act, but also takes steps to avoid procreation – they are succumbing to
concupiscence. If we look honestly at NFP, then, we see a <b>remedy for concupiscence</b>, rather than a virtuous “self-giving”. Husband
and wife wish to have the physical and emotional enjoyment afforded by the
marital embrace, but they want to avoid the proper end of that act – parenthood.
The practice of NFP, then, can often result in the marital act being
disordered, and the more the couple charts and thinks about and plans when to
engage in the marital embrace, the more disordered their lives become, because
“sex” has become the focal point of their daily thoughts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">But the Church, right now, apparently condones – and at
times seems to actually encourage – this intentionally sterile sexual activity.
How can this be? Why would the Church encourage something that is, at bottom,
disordered sexuality? Remember: what makes this activity disordered is the
conscious, intentional, purposeful plan and attendant actions to defeat the
purpose of the sexual act (now that we have the choices we do, one of those
choices is to choose to have sex that is disordered; before we had these
choices, we just had sex!). It seems likely that the Church is responding to
the culture and, to use the words of Our Lord, we have hardened our hearts.
Jesus said that Moses allowed divorce because of the hardness of peoples'
hearts, “but it was not always so from the beginning.” The same notion seems to
apply here: the Church is allowing something due to the hardness of our hearts,
the deplorable state of our hypersexualized culture. NFP is a permitted remedy
given the hardness of our hearts, “but it was not always so from the beginning.”
We shouldn't be promoting <i>anything</i>
that is a remedy for “hardness of heart” except the Truth.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">There you have it – your NFP Awareness lesson for the week:
Be aware that the logic of NFP is disordered.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.3999996185303px;">I'm posting this week because I'm annoyed.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Every year, the USCCB-promoted “NFP
Awareness Week” sneaks up on me, and it always annoys me. When will they sponsor a week that promotes large families?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">It wouldn’t annoy me if the “awareness”
involved teaching couples that they don’t need to use NFP at all; that it is
only permitted when the couple has a “grave reason” for doing so; and that if
the reason is really serious, maybe complete abstinence for a while is the
safer route.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">That is not the picture painted
by the USCCB and most NFP-promoters, however.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">This year, the USCCB’s theme
for the week is summed up in this banner and poster from their website:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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National NFP Awareness Week - JULY 19 - JULY 25, 2015</h3>
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2015 theme: <br />All Natural!<br />Natural Family Planning<br />Good for the body. Great for the soul!</h2>
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<span class="text-fancy">"Celebrate and reverence God's vision of human sexuality."</span><span class="text-fancy"><br /></span><span class="text-fancy">Discover Natural Family Planning</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> </span><img all="" alt="The theme for Natural Family Planning Week 2015 is " border="0" src="http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/marriage-and-family/natural-family-planning/awareness-week/2015/images/2015-nfp-poster-english-470w.jpg" height="363" hspace="0" natural.="" title="The theme for Natural Family Planning Week 2015 is " vspace="0" width="470" /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I object! What's natural about abstaining from the conjugal act precisely at the time of the woman's cycle when she is most open to that act, and when she is most attractive to her husband?! What's natural is to engage in the conjugal embrace at those times; and doing so results in...<i>babies! </i>THAT is God's plan!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The USCCB promotion makes NFP sound like God’s
gift to couples! And that is absolutely NOT what it is. NFP is primarily a
concession to our concupiscence. NFP is permitted because couples are not
always able to practice abstinence for a long period of time - even if serious reasons make it necessary - because of the
weakness we suffer in the face of our passions. “Periodic continence” is
permitted so that couples won’t resort to artificial contraception.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">But NFP is not a virtue, and it
is not a gift. It is not “great for the soul”, and it is not a part of “God’s
vision of human sexuality.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">For an explanation of my stance on this issue, feel free to read any of the
articles listed under the “NFP” tab at the top of this page. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">For a more complete and integrated
version of my view of the problem of NFP, consider reading my book, <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Natural-Family-Planning-Jay-Boyd-ebook/dp/B00BMG1X5C/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1437310415&sr=8-1&keywords=jay+boyd+nfp">Natural Family Planning: Trojan Horse in the Catholic Bedroom?</a><o:p></o:p></i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Here’s an excerpt from the book; this is additional material to that which is available on this blog. This is my
introduction to the chapter (and blog post) called “<a href="http://philotheaonphire.blogspot.com/2012/06/nfp-is-not-required.html">NFP is Not Required</a>”:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">It seems to be generally presumed that NFP is used by only
2-3% of Catholic couples. I’m not sure where this figure comes from, but even
the NFP promoters don’t quibble about it too much; I’ve seen some suggest that
the figure is too low, but they don’t propose that it’s any higher than 5%.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">For some time, there has been a movement afoot in the US to
increase the use of NFP among married Catholic couples. The Couple-to-Couple
League has promoted it for decades, and there are blogs and networks and
various and sundry groups seeking to popularize NFP. Currently, the USCCB’s
website sports a whole section on NFP that paints it in glowing terms, and doesn’t
give more than lip service (if that) to the notion of “serious reasons”. The
USCCB has suggested that every diocese should have an NFP office, and that NFP
classes should be required for couples who want to get married in the Church.
Many dioceses and parishes currently do so.
<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Why is this? There is no Church doctrine or teaching to
support the idea that every couple should be schooled in the intricacies of
NFP! There is no Church teaching that requires the faithful to limit their
family size! In fact, the only time such an idea has been even hinted at has
been in the last 50 years – ever since Vatican II and Gaudium et Spes¸ with its
notion of “responsible parenthood” and the idea that times have changed, and
the Church has to change with them. Prior to that, we were more likely to see
generous parenthood praised: large families were seen as a blessing, and as the
source of vocations to the priesthood and religious life. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">But currently, it’s easy to find voices that are clamoring
for NFP to be required, and it seems to be the idea of “responsible” parenthood
that lies beneath this requirement. Couples are encouraged to consider whether
they can “afford” another child, whether their financial, emotional, and
psychological resources will bear up under the strain of more children.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">But the fact remains: the Church does not require the use of
NFP in marriage, and in fact asks that such use be limited. NFP should be used
only for “serious” reasons. It’s not required.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09927474235629912604noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1531497517644951122.post-76051288181405607382015-07-13T07:56:00.000-07:002015-07-13T08:05:49.839-07:00Special Announcement: "Preferential Option for the Family" Booklet<div class="MsoNormal">
<a data-ved="0CAcQjRxqFQoTCJ3Qhsuw2MYCFcUsiAoddg0MMw" href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CAcQjRxqFQoTCJ3Qhsuw2MYCFcUsiAoddg0MMw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fconsolamini.org%2F&ei=ddOjVd3BNsXZoAT2mrCYAw&bvm=bv.97653015,d.cGU&psig=AFQjCNElzF8XUyX8KZpEAO6KeSsXUMLgdQ&ust=1436886255429815" id="irc_mil" jsaction="mousedown:irc.rl;keydown:irc.rlk;irc.il;" style="border-image-source: none; border: 0px currentcolor; clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img height="393" id="irc_mi" src="https://consolaminisite.files.wordpress.com/2015/06/untitled1.jpg" style="margin-top: 0px;" width="263" /></a><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Special Announcement!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><a href="http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/bishop-vasa-co-authors-handbook-on-family-to-counter-confusion-over-church/">Recently</a>,
three prelates authored a 60-page booklet entitled <i>Preferential Option for the Family,</i> </span>designed to catechize the faithful
regarding Church teaching on marriage and the family. <b>Archbishop Aldo de Cillo </b>Pagotto of Paraíba, Brazil, <b>Bishop Robert Vasa</b> of Santa Rosa, CA,
and <b>Bishop Athanasius Schneider</b>,
auxiliary of Astana, Kazakhstan, present 100 questions and answers about the
Synod on the Family, providing a welcome defense of Church teaching on marriage
and family. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">[<i>The above is the first paragraph of my article at Church Militant; read the rest </i><a href="http://www.churchmilitant.com/news/article/preferential-option-for-the-family-booklet-a-review" style="font-style: italic;">here</a><i>. Also, I am writing semi-regularly for CM, and you can see a list of my previous articles </i><a href="http://www.churchmilitant.com/news/author/dr.-jay-boyd" style="font-style: italic;">here</a><i>.</i>]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">This little booklet is well
worth reading. It probably won’t please those who harbor a desire for a change
in Church teaching regarding the reception of Holy Communion by the
divorced-and-remarried, but it provides a wonderful resource for the defense of
the doctrine by faithful Catholics. It also gives some insights into and
evaluations of the processes involved in the staging of the Synod on the
Family.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">These prelates pull no punches!
They will prepare you for any “surprises” that might erupt in the Synod this
fall, so that you may respond knowledgeably and confidently to any threats to
Church doctrine.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Today (Monday, July 13, 2015),
Church Militant has aired a Vortex touting this book. Here it is! Go to the
</span><a href="http://www.churchmilitant.com/video/episode/the-vortexfree-book" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Church Militant website</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> to see the transcript.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Church Militant has probably already run out of the copies they are handing out for free, but </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">complimentary
copies of the booklet can be obtained by emailing </span><b style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="mailto:supplicafiliale@gmail.com">supplicafiliale@gmail.com</a></b></div>
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Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09927474235629912604noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1531497517644951122.post-4329961892368916482015-06-15T09:04:00.004-07:002015-06-15T09:04:50.827-07:00A New Children's Book from Russ Voris<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Here's another special announcement:</span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4JwNuh7ah1c/VX7249N4BPI/AAAAAAAAC7E/DY0ufjdC7wk/s1600/20150221_135044.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4JwNuh7ah1c/VX7249N4BPI/AAAAAAAAC7E/DY0ufjdC7wk/s320/20150221_135044.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Michael Voris's father, Russ Voris, has written a very sweet children's book! It's illustrated by a young teenager. This episode of the Vortex gives the background and info on ordering. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I'm very emotionally invested in this little book, as I helped with the editing and formatting and getting it all set up on CreateSpace for sale.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Please click on the link and watch the video! And if you have young children in your life, order them a copy!</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.churchmilitant.com/video/episode/the-vortexrainbow-fairies#.VX70fJZldT8.blogger">The Vortex—Rainbow Fairies</a>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Here are two photos of the interior:</span><br />
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<br />Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09927474235629912604noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1531497517644951122.post-3429465516664968402015-04-23T07:59:00.002-07:002015-04-23T07:59:09.595-07:00New Church Militant Website!<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Another random update...</span><br />
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src="data:image/png;base64,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" style="cursor: move; height: 166px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; width: 303px;" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Have you seen the new Church Militant website? It's no longer ChurchMilitant.TV, but <a href="http://churchmilitant.com/">ChurchMilitant.com</a>! It's really a class act, and packed with news and information. Don't forget to sign up for a premium account ($10 per month).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Go now! Check it out: <a href="http://churchmilitant.com/">ChurchMilitant.com</a>. You'll find the Vortex, of course, as well as news headlines, and lots more. When you view the Vortex, you now see the script printed out right below the video, so you can read along, or read alone if you prefer.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">On the latest "Mic'd Up", Voris and crew gave an overview of the website - you can watch it <a href="http://www.churchmilitant.com/video/episode/website-spotlight">here</a>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And...I am pleased to announce that I am listed as one of the "<a href="http://www.churchmilitant.com/News">Contributing Writers</a>"! I consider this quite an honor. I have an article there now, entitled "<a href="http://www.churchmilitant.com/news/article/god-loves-sex">God Loves Sex</a>" (not - read the article!). I hope to have other articles there in the future.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Also, there's currently an <a href="http://www.churchmilitant.com/news/article/whistleblower-priest-sentenced-for-tell-all-on-gay-lobby">update on Fr. Matthew Despard</a>, about whom I've written before - he's the Scottish priest who blew the whistle on the homosexual priest scandal there in his e-book <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Priesthood-Crisis-Matthew-Despard-ebook/dp/B00BWADFD6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1429800673&sr=8-1&keywords=Despard+Priesthood+in+crisis">Priesthood in Crisis</a>. </i>(The Kindle book was removed from Amazon in the UK, but is still available in the US.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09927474235629912604noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1531497517644951122.post-14634351368788554352015-03-23T20:09:00.000-07:002015-03-23T20:09:20.325-07:00Sanctuary Renovation Project in Santa Rosa Diocese<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Just another brief interruption of my blog-silence to bring you a fund-raising message!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">St. Eugene’s, the Cathedral
parish in the Diocese of Santa Rosa, is trying to raise funds for a renovation
of the sanctuary of the cathedral. A “go-fund-me” page has been set up for that
purpose. Go <a href="http://www.gofundme.com/mbnqv0">here</a> for more
information and/or to make a donation. The Bishop of the Diocese of Santa Rosa is Bishop Robert F. Vasa, who seems to be making some strides into the tradition-minded sphere. (I am happy about that!) The contact who gave me this information also informs me that Santa Rosa has at least one solidly tradition-minded seminarian. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Apparently, a high altar,
baldachino, and altar rail have been purchased from a church that was scheduled
for demolition in Philadelphia, PA. The pieces have been brought to Santa Rosa and await
installation. They are perfect for offering the Traditional Latin Mass - which is
offered each Sunday at St. Eugene’s in addition to Mass in the Ordinary Form.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Here are a couple of photos from
the “Go Fund Me” site:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uJjgzM4IpUQ/VRDUH1yB9oI/AAAAAAAAC08/9eLfeBUdZZU/s1600/st%2Beugene%2Baltar%2Bpurchase.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uJjgzM4IpUQ/VRDUH1yB9oI/AAAAAAAAC08/9eLfeBUdZZU/s1600/st%2Beugene%2Baltar%2Bpurchase.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">
The Rector of St. Eugene's parish with the high altar</div>
<div style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">
that has been purchased and is ready for installation.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fNr8HC1ZHSE/VRDUIWcCm7I/AAAAAAAAC1A/ORD6dNJPMqc/s1600/altar%2Bboxed%2Bup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fNr8HC1ZHSE/VRDUIWcCm7I/AAAAAAAAC1A/ORD6dNJPMqc/s1600/altar%2Bboxed%2Bup.jpg" height="320" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The altar awaits re-assembly!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">This seems like a project worthy of support by those who wish to
see an increase of awe and reverence in the Mass, inspired in part by the
beauty of the sanctuary where the liturgy is celebrated. The
fund-raising site has these concluding paragraphs:</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Would
you like to be a part of this ongoing effort to recover this “mystical element”
within the liturgy and architecture? The Church has been returning to such
venerable practices as the use of Latin, chant and incense during the Holy
Mass. Establishing a sense of awe through such tangible means has also helped
to restore a sense of the sacred within our church.<br />
<br />
We want to give our best to God. We want to uplift the minds and hearts of
those who worship here; for this is where heaven touches earth. Please help us
make this a reality! Thank you and may the Lord bless you for your
prayers and generosity. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Visit <a href="http://www.gofundme.com/mbnqv0">http://www.gofundme.com/mbnqv0</a> for
more photos and information.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09927474235629912604noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1531497517644951122.post-63812804658581202022015-01-03T11:59:00.001-08:002015-01-13T13:58:26.482-08:00Read. This. Book.<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I’m “breaking silence” again to
make a suggestion for the new year: If there is only one book you read in 2015,
let it be this one.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img class="image-stretch-vertical" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51VGZC0qMXL.jpg" id="igImage" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-height: 500px; max-width: 333px;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Resurgent in the Midst of Crisis:<br />Sacred Liturgy, the Traditional Latin Mass,<br />and Renewal in the Church</i></td></tr>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">It's available at Amazon, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Resurgent-Midst-Crisis-Liturgy-Traditional/dp/1621380874/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1420313906&sr=1-1&keywords=resurgent+in+the+midst+of+crisis">here</a>. <strike>It is not available on Kindle.</strike> Now it IS available on Kindle!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">If I thought I could write a
review of this book that would do it justice, I would. But I cannot. I will say a few words, though: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Dr. Peter
Kwasniewski is eloquent, articulate, and knowledgeable in his defense and
promotion of the Traditional Latin Mass. He calmly and logically outlines the
deficiencies of the Novus Ordo Mass as it is commonly experienced, with its
multitude of “institutionalized abuses” – and his passionate love for the Mass is
evident throughout the book. An added bonus is that in many places, Dr.
Kwasniewski’s thoughtful commentary lends itself quite easily to topics for
meditation.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">If you already love the TLM,
you should read this book. It will help you understand at an even deeper level
<i>why</i> you love it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">If you already detest the Novus
Ordo, you should read this book. It will help you understand at an even deeper
level the problems inherent in that liturgy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">If you are averse to the TLM,
you should read this book. It will help you understand why the TLM is, in fact,
superior to the Novus Ordo.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">If you are perfectly happy with
the Novus Ordo, you should read this book. It will help you understand that, as
I have written elsewhere, “We’ve been robbed!”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I sincerely wish that every priest and bishop and lay person would read this book...as well as the Holy Father.</span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Here's the back cover:</span></div>
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Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09927474235629912604noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1531497517644951122.post-69044666705382377462014-10-11T08:21:00.002-07:002014-10-11T08:21:46.462-07:00RIP, Richard Collins<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I am interrupting this blog's silence to request prayers for the repose of the soul of Richard Collins, the author of <a href="http://linenonthehedgerow.blogspot.com/2014/10/requiem-in-pace.html?spref=fb">Linen on the Hedgerow</a> blog.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">He had been suffering with cancer for some time now, and he passed away this morning. He was a man who knew his faith, who knew the importance of praying for the dead, and who would, I am sure, appreciate your prayers.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> The following was posted on his blog:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
It is with great personal sadness that we, the Collins Family, must inform the loyal followers of Linen on the Hedgerow, that our beautiful father, husband and grandfather, Richard Collins, has died peacefully at home this morning surrounded by those who loved him most. He was blessed to receive the Last Rites and Holy Mass was celebrated in the Extraordinary Form at his bedside. Please pray for the repose of his soul.<br /><br /> Eternal rest grant unto him O Lord and let perpetual light shine upon him. May he rest in peace. Amen.</blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<img height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gRK2t9cMEOo/VDksUu2OnpI/AAAAAAAAGB8/vlma_TzCEUc/s320/pray%2Bfor%2Bme%2Band%2BI%2Bwill%2Bpray%2Bfor%2Byou.jpg" width="203" /></div>
Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09927474235629912604noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1531497517644951122.post-80211084124773350502014-03-08T06:10:00.002-08:002014-03-13T11:16:49.885-07:00Archbishop Alexander Sample Homily on the Extraordinary Form of the Mass<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">No, I have not returned to blogging, but I felt compelled to post this video of a homily by Archbishop Alexander Sample of the Archdiocese of Portland, Oregon.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This was a solemn pontifical Mass that came at the conclusion of a Gregorian chant conference held at the Brigitinne Monastery "Our Lady of Consolation" in Amity, Oregon. The Mass was the crowning celebration of a 3-day conference on Gregorian Chant and the role of sacred music in the liturgy (see a news story <a href="http://www.catholicsentinel.org/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=35&ArticleID=24215">here</a>). You may view an album of wonderful photos of the event <a href="http://marcsalvatore.smugmug.com/Pontifical-High-Mass-in-the/n-WsvjS/">here</a>, thanks to Marc Salvatore.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>UPDATE</b>: An unofficial transcript of the homily is available<a href="http://philotheaonphire.blogspot.com/p/abp-samples-tlm-homily.html"> here.</a></span><br />
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Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09927474235629912604noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1531497517644951122.post-58921239401611752412014-01-29T08:30:00.002-08:002014-01-29T20:04:18.624-08:00NFP Book: The Case Concerning Catholic Contraception<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I'm returning briefly today to announce the publication of a "new" NFP book:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Case-Concerning-Catholic-Contraception-Position/dp/1495200574/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1391012535&sr=1-1&keywords=The+Case+Concerning+Catholic+Contraception"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sKRvqTi9rAE/UukpGBD27EI/AAAAAAAAB8w/umbjzP8aMCY/s1600/410D6doqf8L__SY344_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg" height="320" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Case-Concerning-Catholic-Contraception-Position/dp/1495200574/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1391012535&sr=1-1&keywords=The+Case+Concerning+Catholic+Contraception">Order here.</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This is not, technically, a "new" book; it has been available for years from <a href="http://www.sacramentals.org/MikeMalone.htm">Roman Catholic Sacramentals<u> Foundation</u></a>, and I have mentioned it previously on this blog. But this is a new format, and the book is available on Amazon. The Kindle version is in the works, too, and I'll update here when it's "live". UPDATE: The <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00I4C4F7K">Kindle version is now available.</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I wrote a "Foreword" for the book; that is the only addition to the previous version.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Here's the blurb from the back cover of the book:</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The Case Concerning Catholic Contraception is the
final major work which Michael Malone undertook before his death in 2000. He addresses the matter of contraception
through the eyes of the perennial teaching of the Catholic Church, and tackles
the thorniest issues that are involved.</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">From
the Foreword: "Michael Malone probably learned long before I did that
criticizing NFP is not at all politically correct, and causes such a critic no
end of grief! NFP promoters seem not to be interested in exploring the
traditions of the Church pre-dating Vatican II and Humanae Vitae; more than one
such promoter has told me that "the question is settled", and that
questioning NFP is heretical...More than one NFP defender has maintained that I
have no right to question NFP simply because of my lack of children...</span></div>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">"But
despite the defensiveness of the promoters, the occasional critic does speak
against NFP. And if one looks carefully at what the critics say, there is much
to be considered. Michael Malone's book exposes many logical fallacies in the
arguments of NFP promoters, and asks critical questions that, to my knowledge,
NFP promoters cannot and have not answered. "</span></div>
</blockquote>
Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09927474235629912604noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1531497517644951122.post-701263017518059542013-12-12T16:21:00.000-08:002013-12-12T16:21:25.331-08:00So Long, Farewell...<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The time has come for me to say farewell to the
world of blogging.</span></span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lwh5wSiAv-Y/UqkkpESoY9I/AAAAAAAAB8c/AeY9_aBeF1U/s1600/crop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lwh5wSiAv-Y/UqkkpESoY9I/AAAAAAAAB8c/AeY9_aBeF1U/s320/crop.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">For me, it is time now to focus more of my time and attention
on living a life of prayer and penance. That, really, is my “calling”, and I
know it. There are others who are called to blogging; and I know you will all
keep up with the good, orthodox, faithful Catholic bloggers out there! Be sure,
also, to get your daily dose of “The Vortex”, and if you haven’t done so
already, sign up for a </span><a href="http://www.churchmilitant.tv/premsignup.php" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Premium
Membership to ChurchMilitant.TV</a><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">, and learn more about the faith through their
excellent programming.</span></span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I have been considering this change for some time now, and on a
recent long drive, I listened once again to Rod Pead’s talk on the “Sword of
Unity” (it is also available in the form of a written </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.christianorder.com/features/features_2000/talks/sword_of_unity.html">article</a>).
I’ve mentioned Mr. Pead’s work before (<a href="http://philotheaonphire.blogspot.com/2013/01/forward-march-church-militant.html">here</a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>and<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://philotheaonphire.blogspot.com/2013/01/the-vortex-on-steroids-rod-pead.html">here</a>);
Rod Pead is the editor of<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i><a href="http://www.christianorder.com/">Christian Order</a></i><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>magazine, and the talk was delivered
at a “Faith of Our Fathers” conference almost <b>14 years ago</b>. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Yet, it makes every bit as much sense
today as it did then. If you haven’t listened to the talk or read the article,
you should.</span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In
his presentation, Rod Pead notes that many of us know about the problems in the
Church – about the crisis in every measure of Church health (vocations, Mass
attendance, etc.) – but he makes us think again:</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">If we <b>know</b> this;
if we are <b>really aware of all this</b>;
why do we r<b>esist tailoring our prayer
life</b> and our thoughts and our actions accordingly? If we consider ourselves
so aware and savvy about this travesty of truth and unity, then why, as the
Jesuit, Father James Schall states, are Catholics so <i>wimpy</i>? <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In
another place, Pead adds: <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">…It is true that while at the moment we find we can't live
with the bishops, we know, too, that by God's design we can't live without
them, and that there is <b>only so much</b>
we can do. <b>But have we done even that
much?</b> Have we <b>prayed</b> and <b>fasted</b> and <b>done penance</b> and really <b>begged
God </b>on our knees to <b>convert the
hearts and minds of the bishops</b>? Have we consistently pleaded with Him to <b>take the hirelings who will not respond to
His grace to their early reward, and send us real Catholic Shepherds in their
stead?</b> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">… Christ Himself told us, in the
parable of the unjust judge, that we should pray continually and never be
discouraged [<i>Lk</i> 18 1:8]. … Our Lord told the people: <i>"will not
God give redress to his elect, when they are crying out to him, day and night?
Will he not be impatient with their wrongs? I tell you, he will give them
redress with all speed." </i>And then Christ immediately adds…, <i>"But
ah, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith left on earth?"</i> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And so…are we <b>really praying</b> for the conversion of the hirelings or their
replacement by strong, solicitous, <i>Catholic</i> Shepherds – <b>as if we believe?</b> Given Christ's
promise, I can't imagine that enough of us are.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Lr-lfnPxiSM/ULqZiOn8gjI/AAAAAAAABGw/fgv-B5Mw4Wc/s1600/20121004213811.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Lr-lfnPxiSM/ULqZiOn8gjI/AAAAAAAABGw/fgv-B5Mw4Wc/s320/20121004213811.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And so, because I am called more to prayer and penance than
to blogging, that is what I will do…at least for the time being. God only knows
what the future holds.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I have met many wonderful people through this blog – thank you
for your friendship, your encouragement, and your prayers!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Stay in touch! My email address is </span><a href="mailto:drjayboyd@msn.com" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">drjayboyd@msn.com</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">.</span></div>
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Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09927474235629912604noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1531497517644951122.post-89558414672598247382013-12-11T12:09:00.003-08:002013-12-11T12:09:49.519-08:00"Mandela Was Not a Great Man": Vortex<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Count on Michael Voris to tell it like it is. In this Vortex, he says, in part:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Nelson Mandela – whatever good that may be ascribed to him –
ushered in an abortion law that has resulted in the deaths of over a million of
his fellow South Africans since the mid-1990s. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">That is not the mark of a great man. </span></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">And it appears some bishops are also pointing out the problems with ignoring the ways in which Nelson Mandela harmed, rather then helped, his fellow countrymen. For instance, a <a href="http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2013/12/10/bishop-thomas-tobin-thrust-into-spotlight-over-comments-disagreeing-with-pope-francis/LxgGkfhAI5A5qmSzC4ihzN/story.html">Boston Globe story</a> notes:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">While the pope said that former president Nelson Mandela of South Africa, who
died last week, will “inspire generations,” Tobin issued a statement declaring
that appreciation of Mandela’s admirable qualities should be tempered by his
“shameful” promotion of abortion in his country.</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Good for Bishop Tobin! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Here's the Vortex: </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">One hallmark of being a weak man is the desire to associate
yourself with the latest drama, or inject yourself into the latest fad topic so
as not to think of yourself as being “irrelevant”.</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">This penchant for attention and recognition certainly doesn’t
apply to everyone who is weak, but it has proven time and again to be an
indicator of those who are extremely insecure – weak, emotionally or
psychologically.</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">The particular problem with this weakness is that often times, the
appropriateness of WHAT or WHO a man is associating himself with can be… well…
extremely inappropriate.</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">And we see this evidenced most recently in the rush among so many
Catholic churchmen to sing the praises of recently departed Nelson Mandela.</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">In fact, in some instances it seems as though a game of one-upmanship
has started. One churchman, speaking out singing Mandela’s praises so as not to
be left behind as the relevant train departs from the station, is almost immediately
outdone by the next, who heaps even more praise on Mandela, so that HE may now
bask in the glow of being “relevant”.</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Some of these men – all of them weak – are almost tripping over
themselves to not be left out of the picture.</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Nelson Mandela – whatever good that may be ascribed to him –
ushered in an abortion law that has resulted in the deaths of over a million of
his fellow South Africans since the mid-1990s.</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">That is not the mark of a great man. That is the mark of evil and
of the diabolical. Whatever his political career may have profited some in his
native land, he was largely a stooge of western social engineers who used his
dramatic back story to their own advantage.</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">He and his African National Congress were and are large embracers
of abortion and on the political front, never missed an opportunity to cozy up
to communist leaders.</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">No one is saying that Mandela didn’t do some good for some of his
fellow countryman. That’s not the point. </span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">The point is that he did far worse for most of his countrymen by
not only introducing laws which directly killed the most defenseless among
them, but also instituted a mindset that abortion and contraception are good
things.</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">For a man so associated with fighting for human dignity, it’s a
little puzzling that his record on the dignity of man with regard to the unborn
is overlooked.</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">You would of course expect that from a secular anti-God media, but
when Churchmen jump on the Nelson bandwagon – that becomes something more than
puzzling.</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Shepherds and clergy need to be concerned with saving souls and
that’s it. Nothing more. But too many of them are too concerned with the praise
of other men.</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen once wrote: “Leaders are afraid
to speak on vital truths to their troops, fearful that they may incite a revolt
or be unloved.”</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Sheen was a master clinician of the mind and soul. He could
straight to the heart of issue bypassing all the excuses. When he said leaders
are afraid to be unloved, he brought the hammer crashing down on the proverbial
head of the nail.</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Weak men are the curse of the Church these days, the scourge from
the Almighty. There is nothing of the faith from which they will not dispense
in order to gain some small salve for their injured and self-absorbed psyches.</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Nelson Mandela was not a great man. He was a political leader who
became a SYMBOL of greatness. But as he goes to his grave, he is preceded there
by over a million innocent South Africans who never knew their political
killer, the man who legislated them out of existence.</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Whatever else may be attributed to him, THIS cannot go by without
mention; without being the chief characteristic of his notoriety – that he was
willing to traffic in the lives of the innocent to secure power.</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">For churchmen to fall all over themselves to praise this is
pathetic and a clear demonstration of just how devoid of real men the Church is
these days. But weak men are never “relevant” beyond their ability to be used
by whatever the prevailing trends may be in a given age.</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Heaven spare us from weak men in the ranks of shepherds.</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Pray for the Church and her leaders my fellow Catholics. Pray in
all earnestness.</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">GOD Love you.</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I’m Michael Voris</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09927474235629912604noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1531497517644951122.post-20731095328242645912013-12-10T06:33:00.001-08:002013-12-10T06:33:26.379-08:00Annual Re-Post: Yes, Virginia, There Is a Traditional Latin Mass!<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>My annual reposting of a favorite (of mine!):</i></span><br />
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<a href="http://www.gretchenhamel.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/yes_virginia_xlarge.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" id="il_fi" src="http://www.gretchenhamel.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/yes_virginia_xlarge.jpeg" style="padding-bottom: 8px; padding-right: 8px; padding-top: 8px;" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;"><em>..with apologies to Francis Pharcellus Church, whose "Yes, Viriginia, there IS a Santa Claus" article</em></span><em style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;"> appeared in 1897, and is history's most reprinted newspaper editorial. To refresh your memory, see the full original editorial at the end of this post.</em></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;">Dear Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I am <strike>58</strike> 59 years old. Some of my liberal detractors say there will be never be a Traditional Latin Mass in our diocese. The Holy Father says, “If you see it in a motu proprio, it's so.” Please tell me the truth; will we have a Traditional Latin Mass in the Diocese of Baker?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Philothea</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;">PHILOTHEA, your liberal detractors are wrong. They have been affected by the modernism of an age of moral relativism. They do not believe except what they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Philothea, whether they be men’s or children’s, are little. In this great universe of ours man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge. This is why there is resistance to the extraordinary form of the Mass, which opens the Mysteries of the universe to us.</span></div>
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<a href="http://latinmass.com/images/429_ware1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" id="il_fi" src="http://latinmass.com/images/429_ware1.jpg" style="padding-bottom: 8px; padding-right: 8px; padding-top: 8px;" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Yes, Philothea, someday there will be a Traditional Latin Mass widely available. It will exist as certainly as faith, hope, and charity exist, and you know that they abound as theological virtues and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! How dreary life would be if there were no extraordinary form of the Mass! It would be as dreary as if there were no Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist! There would be no childlike faith then, no sacred polyphony, no Gregorian chant to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which God fills our souls would be extinguished.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">No Traditional Latin Mass! You might as well not have any liturgy at all! You might get the</span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;"> Holy Father to hire men to watch in all the Dioceses in the United States to find a Mass in the Extraordinary Form, but even if they did not find one, what would that prove? Nobody sees the Spirit of the liturgy, but that is no sign that there is no Extraordinary Form. The most Real Presence in the world is One that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see the Holy Angels surrounding the altar at Mass? Of course not, but that's no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />You may tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived, could tear apart. Only faith, hope, and love can push aside that curtain, and view and actually participate in the supernal beauty and glory beyond it, at Holy Mass. Is it all real? Ah, Philothea, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.<br />No TLM! Thank God! it lives, and it lives forever. A thousand years from now, Philothea, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, it will continue to make glad the heart of the faithful who seek it.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><em>Read the original below the links, or see the original article </em></span><a href="http://www.newseum.org/yesvirginia/"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><em>here</em></span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><em>.</em></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><em><br /></em></span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><i><b>Related:</b></i></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://philotheaonphire.blogspot.com/2012/02/nothing-compares-with-tlm.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;">Nothing Compares with the TLM</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;"><a href="http://philotheaonphire.blogspot.com/2012/02/battle-for-tlm-conspiracy-or.html">The Battle for the TLM: Conspiracy or Coincidence?</a></span><u><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;"><o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
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<a href="http://philotheaonphire.blogspot.com/2012/01/why-i-promote-ef-mass.html"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;">Why I Promote the EF Mass</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://philotheaonphire.blogspot.com/2012/01/paving-way-for-ef-mass-tlm.html"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;">Paving the Way for the EF Mass</span></a><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="http://philotheaonphire.blogspot.com/2012/01/how-to-undermine-tlm-in-your-parish.html"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;">How to Undermine the TLM in Your Parish</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://philotheaonphire.blogspot.com/2011/12/7-reasons-why-you-should-not-go-to-tlm.html"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;"> 7 Reasons Why You Should NOT Go to the EF Mass</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;"><a href="http://philotheaonphire.blogspot.com/2011/12/glass-ceiling-over-traditional-latin.html">The Glass Ceiling over the Traditional Latin Mass</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> "DEAR EDITOR: I am 8 years old.<br />"Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus.<br />"Papa says, 'If you see it in THE SUN it's so.'<br />"Please tell me the truth; is there a Santa Claus?”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">"VIRGINIA O'HANLON.<br />"115 WEST NINETY-FIFTH STREET."<span style="color: #4f81bd;"></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">VIRGINIA, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except [what] they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's or children's, are little. In this great universe of ours man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.<br /><br />Yes, VIRGINIA, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus. It would be as dreary as if there were no VIRGINIAS. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.<br /><br />Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies! You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas Eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if they did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.<br /><br />You may tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived, could tear apart. Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, VIRGINIA, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.<br /><br />No Santa Claus! Thank God! he lives, and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.</span></span></div>
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Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09927474235629912604noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1531497517644951122.post-32492469130323445722013-12-05T05:58:00.001-08:002013-12-05T05:58:27.047-08:00Tota Pulchra Es<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I'll be way on retreat the next several days; there will be no further posts till next week. Be sure to keep up with the Vortex while I'm gone!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I will happily be able to attend Mass in the extraordinary form for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">At the end of Mass, we will sing the lovely and haunting Marian hymn, "Tota Pulchra Es". I had never heard or sung it before, but now I'm hooked! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Listen!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>Here's a version with an "Eastern" flavor: </span><br />
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Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09927474235629912604noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1531497517644951122.post-44813714019785569362013-12-04T11:04:00.002-08:002013-12-04T11:04:41.506-08:00Archbishop Sample on Church Dedication and Consecration<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Archbishop Alexander Sample speaks about the beautiful symbolism involved in the solemn liturgical ceremonies as he consecrates Shepherd of the Valley Catholic Church in Central Point, Oregon on October 13, 2013.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Would it be possible to clone him?!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(Thanks to <a href="http://www.avcreate.com/">Marc Salvatore</a>!)</span><br />
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Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09927474235629912604noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1531497517644951122.post-83125099601725358142013-12-04T06:02:00.000-08:002013-12-04T06:02:07.832-08:00The Importance of the Traditional Latin Mass<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This is wonderful - H/T to Richard at "<a href="http://linenonthehedgerow.blogspot.com/2013/12/why-latin-mass-is-so-important.html">Linen on the Hedgerow</a>".</span><br />
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Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09927474235629912604noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1531497517644951122.post-39189644817486955202013-12-03T12:03:00.003-08:002013-12-03T12:03:50.560-08:00Why the Vortex?<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Sequel to yesterday's Vortex. Don't forget to sign up for a Premium Membership!</span><br />
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Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09927474235629912604noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1531497517644951122.post-22749653439288024022013-12-02T14:24:00.003-08:002013-12-02T14:24:39.276-08:00How the Vortex Came to Be<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">"Ah, the Vortex!" </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Some people love it, some people hate it. Here's how it came to be, why it came to be, how it's changed... </span><br />
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Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09927474235629912604noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1531497517644951122.post-69423109184360390582013-11-30T14:24:00.001-08:002013-11-30T14:24:07.630-08:00My Thoughts on Evangelium Gaudium<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I have been reading the Holy Father's Apostolic Exhortation <i>Evangelium Gaudium</i>, which means, of course, "The Joy of the Gospel".</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">There are many, many commentaries on this document already, and the blogosphere and Face Book are both rife with gems quoted from the many, <strike>many, many, many</strike> words that flow from page to page <strike>to page to page</strike>. I highly recommend the one from <a href="http://www.eyeofthetiber.com/2013/11/28/zombie-apocalypse-at-heart-of-evangelii-gaudium/">Eye of the Tiber</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So let this video serve as my commentary. You may interpret it as you wish.</span><br />
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Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09927474235629912604noreply@blogger.com13