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Thursday, May 31, 2012

POPE BENEDICT XVI'S PRAYER INTENTIONS FOR JUNE




Vatican City, 31 may (VIS).- Pope Benedict's general prayer intention for June is: “That believers may recognize in the Eucharist the living presence of the Risen One who accompanies them in daily life”. 

His missionary intention is: "That Christians in Europe may rediscover their true identity and participate with greater enthusiasm in the proclamation of and participate with more enthusiasm in the Gospel".


You can find more information at: www.visnews.org
The news items contained in the Vatican Information Service may be used, in part or in their entirety, by quoting the source:
V.I.S. -Vatican Information Service.
Copyright © Vatican Information Service 00120 Vatican City

Summer Time Cool From Mystic Monk Coffee



Warmer weather is here, and now is the time of year when we start looking for cool beverages to help keep us soothed, refreshed, and comfortable.

So having this in mind, the good Carmelite Monks of Wyoming...whose brand of coffee and tea we know as Mystic Monk... are offering an Iced Coffee Blend and a Coconut Cream Iced Coffee.

Don't forget the great tea they offer as well, as some people... like me... prefer iced tea over iced coffee. I wouldn't be a true son of the south if I didn't like sweet iced tea (it's the law)!

Remember, your purchase of Mystic Monk Coffee and Tea helps support the Carmelite Monks of Wyoming, and gives my finances a much needed boost as well!

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Refusing to Render Unto Caesar That Which is God's - Ken Connor - Townhall Conservative Columnists


The following excerpts are from "Refusing to Render Unto Caesar That Which is God's" by Ken Connor at TownHall.com:
  • Conservatives who've warned for years of President Obama's ideological extremism are often dismissed as melodramatic conspiracy theorists. Obama apologists argue that the President is not an ideologue, but an intellectual whose grasp of America's true needs is so nuanced and sophisticated that the average Joe in flyover country is simply incapable of understanding it. The Administration's new birth control mandate, for example, is necessary in order to ensure that the Sandra Flukes of America are free to enjoy a consequence-free sex life while simultaneously realizing their dreams of a government-subsidized college and career. Opponents of this policy are either misogynistic relics of a bygone era or misinformed simpletons who fail to appreciate the needs of the modern American woman.
  • As a recent article by the Ethics and Public Policy Center illustrates however, the President's birth control mandate represents an assault upon one of America's most fundamental constitutional principles.
  • In short, what's at stake is nothing less than religious liberty guaranteed by the First Amendment. Whether one agrees with the Catholic position on birth control and abortion or not, the Church's opposition to both is rooted in religious principle, and its right to conduct its programs in accordance with this principle is protected by the First Amendment. The Church's resistance to the mandate, therefore, is to be applauded. In an artful display of political manipulation, the Administration characterizes its position as coming to the defense of women who are the victims of a "war" being waged by Republicans and old white men on the Religious Right. This war on women however, is but a rhetorical fiction, a straw man intended to distract from a war on religion in which government seeks to dethrone God and install itself in His place.
  • As the folks at EPPC point out, "the administration is arguably violating the intent of the 'no establishment' provision of the First Amendment, which (among other things) means that the federal government is incompetent in theological matters. Yet that is precisely the turf onto which the Administration is intruding with its attempts to define religious institutions, ministries, and employers so narrowly that Jesus and the Twelve would almost certainly not qualify . . ."

Click the link below to read more:

Refusing to Render Unto Caesar That Which is God's - Ken Connor - Townhall Conservative Columnists

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

A Customized Rosary That You Design


My wooden bead rosary and not one of this  businesses designs

Quite by accident, through Facebook I found a site called "Design My Rosary", which offers "custom rosaries handmade in the U.S.A."

They allow you to design your own rosary, or to customize a predesigned rosary. Their website says:
  • "We are a Catholic home business offering a new way to create a personalized custom Rosary and have it handmade just for you. Our site provides hundreds of Rosary crucifixes, centers, and beads for you to choose from, allowing you to choose exactly what you want in a personalized custom Rosary. You can also give a handmade Rosary as a gift and let us deliver it complete with a personal message from you. We even offer Rosary gift certificates so that you can give the opportunity to create a custom Rosary as a gift. Choose above to either start your custom Rosary design from scratch or personalize one of our predesigned Rosaries!"

This would be great for someone who wants a customized rosary but doesn't have the time or the skills (like me) to create their "own" rosary from scratch.

So, if you are considering a new rosary, give this site a look, and you'll also be helping a fellow Catholic succeed with their home business.

As I said, I came across this quite by accident, and just thought I'd give them a "plug".

http://www.designmyrosary.com/

Oh, and please hit the tip jar on the top right hand sidebar if you are able. Thanks!

Sunday, May 27, 2012

Doctors Feed Aborted Girls to Dogs to Hide Sex-Selection Abortions | LifeNews.com

The following excerpt is from LifeNews.com:


  • In a news story that sounds like it is more out of a bad science fiction movie than reality, a newspaper in India reports doctors in one city are so desperate to hide evidence that they are doing sex-selection abortions that they are feeding the remains of aborted girl babies to dogs.

Click below to read more:
Doctors Feed Aborted Girls to Dogs to Hide Sex-Selection Abortions | LifeNews.com

A New "Subscription" Option


I am going to give something a try, and I hope it is something that subscribers to the various blogs under the  "Faith of the Fathers" banner will like and use.

Some of our blogs subscribers subscribe to more than one feed. It can make a feed reader "crowded" so to speak, if there are 3, 4 or more subscriptions, and some people don't like to have too many separate feeds to keep up with. So, I have come up with an option.

It is the option of subscribing to one, single "feed" for all of the posts to all "Faith of the Fathers Blogs". That way, there is one single feed for Saint Quote of the Day, Daily Mass Readings, Pope Benedict XVI, The Early Church Fathers, Our Lady and all the rest of our blogs. You can scroll through that one feed for all the new posts instead of having to go from one feed to another and another.

So, on each blogs left hand sidebar will be a heading that says "Subscribe Now: Get the Latest Posts From All Faith of the Fathers Blogs In One Feed!" The subscriber can click the icon to add the feed to their favorite feed reader if they desire, and can then eliminate all of the individual blog feeds from that same reader. The option to subscribe to each individual blog will remain for those who are just interested in one or two blogs.

I any event, here is an active subscription icon for those who want to subscribe to all blog posts now:

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Hard Drive Failure Imminent : Update



On start-up of my computer today, I got a message that said "Hard-drive Failure Imminent, Backup Hard-drive and Replace".

As I don't have the money to buy a new computer or a hard drive either, I may not be online for awhile, depending on when the hard drive finally croaks, that is.

So please keep me in your prayers, and please hit the tip jar if you can.

Thanks!

UPDATE:

A friend in Texas sent me a message that she has a hard-drive which she is going to mail to me in the next few days.

So it looks like I will be back in the saddle for a while longer!

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Thankful To Be Here



Today, is my 57th birthday...or as I like to say...it's the 18th anniversary of my 39th birthday

I thought I should be clear about being 57 from the start, because there are some people who would find adding 39 plus 18 too much of a challenge. After all, in todays world, there are too many who seem to think that adding 2 plus 2 equals 9...or 11...or 42.

The last year has been a rough one for many of us, but I know that once again, God will see all of us through. He always does, if we just trust in Him and follow what He wants for us, all will be well.

I know that this is true, because six years ago, just about 3 weeks or so before my 51st birthday, I received an early birthday present in the form of a "light" heart attack.

I don't know about that "light" stuff. I think they call it "light" because they weren't the ones who had the heart attack in the first place. "Light" indeed.

Anyway, I survived thanks to paying attention to my symptoms from the beginning, and by God blessing me with great doctors from Asheville Cardiology.

All the prayers and well wishes at the time helped, too. As did my having faith that God would see me through all of that. He did, and four days later I returned home with a stent in my chest, and with a greater appreciation of life.

Not that I didn't appreciate life before, but now with a greater understanding of how precious life is, and how precious the people in my life are, and how wonderful having God in my life is.

Anyway, I just wanted to say how grateful I am to still be here six years later, and to be able to share my insignificant little thoughts with you.

May God Bless you and Our Lady keep you in her care!

Sunday, May 13, 2012

Refugee keeps a long-ago promise to God :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)


The following excerpt is from the Catholic News Agency article "Refugee keeps a long-ago promise to God" by Christina Lee Krauss:

  • Franciscan Father David Phan made a promise to God at the age of 16. He was on a crowded boat with dozens of other refugees from his home country of Vietnam, suffering from seasickness and thirst.
  • It was 1985, and he was fleeing the poverty and persecution at home to seek a better life.
  • “I promised God that if I survived, I would dedicate my life to serve His holy will,” he said.
  • Years later, after studying and working in the United States long enough to bring his entire family here from Vietnam, Father Phan gave away all his worldly possessions and kept that promise by joining the Franciscans.


Click below to read more:

Refugee keeps a long-ago promise to God :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

Father Robert Barron, creator of 'Catholicism' documentary, to head Chicago seminary : News Headlines - Catholic Culture

Father Robert Barron, creator of 'Catholicism' documentary, to head Chicago seminary : News Headlines - Catholic Culture

Saturday, May 12, 2012

I Am Back




I have repaired my computer myself. How long the repair will last I can not say. But, at least beginning tonight, I will be posting again, especially the Daily Mass Readings and Saint Quote of the Day.

It seems that the battery on the motherboard had gone beyond it's life expectancy, and upon replacing it, I was able to re-install my operating system with no problems. After getting the system reinstalled, and taking care of the programs I use, and getting rid of what I don't use, I reinstalled Google Chrome and Firefox browsers. I was extremely pleased with the Chrome browser, because when I signed into it with my Google Account, all of my bookmarks and web page settings were automatically restored! That was a huge blessing and time saver!

So I am back for the time being anyway.

Thanks for all the prayers and support!

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Will Be Missing In Action --- For Awhile



I just wanted to let everyone that follows these blogs know, that I may not be online for awhile. How long awhile, is hard to say.

My 7 year old computer bit the dust last night, and with my financial situation as it is, I am not sure how long it will be before I get another computer. More than likely, it will be several months.

My gracious land lady was kind enough to allow me to use her computer so that I could post this.

I appreciate all the readers and followers of all 24 of these blogs. I especially would like to thank those that have been kind enough to click my links to the various ads that appear here, and have made purchases of the Zazzle products I have and the Mystic Monk coffee. You have helped me far more than you'll ever know.

Please keep me in your prayers, as I will keep you in mine.

May God Bless you all and Our Lady keep you in her care!

Sunday, May 06, 2012

On The News : USCCB statements on other political topics are harming the campaign for religious freedom - Catholic Culture


The following excerpts are from Catholic Culture columnist Phil Lawler's article "USCCB statements on other political topics are harming the campaign for religious freedom". The emphases are mine:

  • In March the US bishops’ conference (USCCB) announced that “we will not rest” until Congress ensures that religious freedom is protected in the federal health-care reform program. The USCCB followed up that clear and forceful message a few week later with a new, statement announcing a major offensive in defense of religious liberty. These powerful statements seemed to indicate clearly that religious freedom would be the focus—the focus—of the bishops’ political efforts this year.
  • The USCCB issued a clarion call to the Catholic laity, asking for help with this campaign. Cardinal Dolan called out President Obama; Bishop Lori challenged Congress. The bishops signaled that they would not retreat. The battle lines were drawn. The troops were summoned.
  • Unfortunately, since that time the bishops have lost their focus, and thus complicated things for the active Catholic laity. The USCCB has done what the USCCB always does: muddied the water, by issuing statements on a host of different political issues—including many of which good Catholics have differing opinions, and on which Catholic bishops have no special expertise.

Read more by clicking the link below:
On The News : USCCB statements on other political topics are harming the campaign for religious freedom - Catholic Culture

Friday, May 04, 2012

Georgetown Scandal



This is very important! Please read and share!


It seems that Georgetown University is losing it's Catholic identity more and more. Now U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius will be speaking at their commencement ceremony on May 18.

The Cardinal Newman Society has an online petition asking Georgetown to withdraw the invitation for her to speak.

Apparently, Georgetown fails to grasp, or perhaps willfully ignores, that this is a slap in the face to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Catholic faithful, and all persons of conscience who oppose the Obama administrations effort to restrict and ignore the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.

Please click the link below and sign the petition at the web site of The Cardinal Newman Society:

Georgetown Scandal

Clean Cookstoves Top Hillary Clinton's Agenda in China on Thursday | CNSNews.com

Clean Cookstoves Top Hillary Clinton's Agenda in China on Thursday | CNSNews.com

Obama's Disgraceful Abandonment of Chen Guangcheng - Mona Charen - Townhall Conservative Columnists


The following excerpts are from the Townhall.com article, "Obama's Disgraceful Abandonment of Chen Guangcheng" by columnist Mona Charen :

  • It's hard to know which is worse: one's grief over Chen Guangcheng's fate or the fury over the Obama administration's abandonment of him to that fate.
  • Chen was already an internationally known human rights activist when he remarkably showed up at the U.S. embassy in Beijing last week seeking refuge. A blind, self-taught lawyer from Shandong province, Chen had been held prisoner for 19 months for the crime of publicizing Chinese atrocities by those enforcing the "one child" policy. Chen had chosen a moonless night (his captors were not blind) to scale several high walls and stumble his way to a predetermined meeting place where Christian friends would help him make the harrowing 300-mile journey to Beijing. He told supporters that he fell 200 times that night -- breaking a foot in the process.
  • At some point, it's not clear exactly where or when, U.S. officials did help Chen get to the embassy -- which is gratifying. What happened next was not.

Click below to read more:


Obama's Disgraceful Abandonment of Chen Guangcheng - Mona Charen - Townhall Conservative Columnists

Obama Fails on Human Rights - Linda Chavez - Townhall Conservative Columnists - Page 1


The following excerpts are from the Townhall.com article, "Obama Fails On Human Rights" by columnist Linda Chavez:

  • The Obama administration's record on human rights, never strong, just got a whole lot worse. This week's dramatic saga of Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng's escape from house arrest in Shandong province to safety inside the U.S. Embassy to the embassy's role in handing him over to Chinese authorities is a disgraceful tale. Once again, the Obama administration has chosen to put human rights violations on the back burner, as it has nearly every time it has been asked for help, whether from Iranian protesters in 2009 or Syrian freedom fighters today.
  • Chen's fate was complicated by the arrival in Beijing of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner Wednesday. U.S. diplomats seemed eager to shove Chen out the embassy door before the two Obama officials began their strategic and economic talks with Chinese leaders. It was clear the administration found Chen's asylum seeking embarrassing.

Click below to read more:

Obama Fails on Human Rights - Linda Chavez - Townhall Conservative Columnists - Page 1

Wednesday, May 02, 2012

ASIA/PAKISTAN - A Christian leader killed in the bloodiest month in the history of the country

ASIA/PAKISTAN - A Christian leader killed in the bloodiest month in the history of the country

Egypt's Copts to choose new spiritual leader in September : News Headlines - Catholic Culture

Egypt's Copts to choose new spiritual leader in September : News Headlines - Catholic Culture

Episcopal Church may approve blessing of same-sex relationships : News Headlines - Catholic Culture

Apparently some Episcopalians are confused as to what Saint Paul meant by "unnatural". Click the link below to read the article:

Episcopal Church may approve blessing of same-sex relationships : News Headlines - Catholic Culture