tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72034342024-03-14T10:51:22.455-07:00The ForumFaith : Culture : CountryJameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13174642993051101471noreply@blogger.comBlogger3108125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7203434.post-85279080796865840642013-10-09T17:39:00.002-07:002013-10-09T17:39:02.691-07:00Sean Duffy Humiliates MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/A1GJ45EwuQ8" width="420"></iframe>Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13174642993051101471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7203434.post-36669342392165995572013-08-22T17:05:00.000-07:002013-08-22T17:05:03.233-07:00Black on White Crime/Racism<br />
Where does true racism reside? From Pat Buchanan, writing for<b> <a href="http://www.wnd.com/2013/08/dead-souls-of-a-cultural-revolution/#g6JmuCbsDBXmdA5K.99">WND</a></b>:
<br />
<blockquote>
<b>Interracial violence is overwhelmingly black-on-white</b> </blockquote>
<blockquote>
Last Friday, Christopher Lane, a 22-year-old Australian here on a baseball scholarship, was shot and killed while jogging in Duncan, Okla., population 23,000. He died where he fell. </blockquote>
<blockquote>
Police have three suspects, two black and one white. The former said they were bored and decided to shoot Lane for “the fun of it.” </blockquote>
<blockquote>
As Lane was white and the shooter black, racism has surfaced as a motive. Thursday came reports that killing a white man may have been an initiation rite for the black teens in joining some offshoot of the Crips or Bloods.</blockquote>
Absolutely disgusting. These people are filthy barbarians. Where is President Obama shooting off his mouth about <i>this</i> racism? It just shows what a despicable person he is. When an incident involves a black 'victim' (who often is not really a victim), Obama will jump into the story to advance his race agenda. When a white person is the victim of black violence, he and his minions in the media are silent.Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13174642993051101471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7203434.post-32694103611499302762013-08-19T04:32:00.002-07:002013-08-19T04:32:51.538-07:00Christians in Egypt <div style="text-align: center;">
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Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13174642993051101471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7203434.post-14710041079131408682013-08-15T05:35:00.001-07:002013-08-15T05:42:40.114-07:00Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fIB1dYHXc-0/UgzK67t8TJI/AAAAAAAAGi8/30Eeflo4ceA/s1600/2531214191_f83a970a21_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fIB1dYHXc-0/UgzK67t8TJI/AAAAAAAAGi8/30Eeflo4ceA/s640/2531214191_f83a970a21_b.jpg" width="526" /></a></div>
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<blockquote>
<i>For which reason, after we have poured forth prayers of supplication again and again to God, and have invoked the light of the Spirit of Truth, for the glory of Almighty God who has lavished his special affection upon the Virgin Mary, for the honor of her Son, the immortal King of the Ages and the Victor over sin and death, for the increase of the glory of that same august Mother, and for the joy and exultation of the entire Church; by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, of the Blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, and by our own authority, we pronounce, declare, and define it to be a divinely revealed dogma: that the Immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory. </i>~Pope Pius XII, Munificentissimus Deus</blockquote>
Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13174642993051101471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7203434.post-16096688590966274202013-08-11T10:23:00.001-07:002013-08-11T10:31:12.285-07:00Drag Queens Perform at "Diversity Day" on Military BaseFrom <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/totally-offensive-inappropriate-military-reportedly-hosts-drag-queens-135224790.html"><b>The Blaze</b></a>:
<br />
<blockquote>
Several drag queens reportedly took the stage at the Los Angeles Air Force Base on Thursday as part of the military base's 2013 "Diversity Day" celebration. </blockquote>
<blockquote>
According to Fox News' Todd Starnes, three individuals dressed in drag were featured in a musical performance that sparked outrage among some military personnel. </blockquote>
<blockquote>
"I am really surprised that this happened on a military installation," an unidentified airman reportedly told Starnes. "I get that people want to be able to have committed relationships with members of the same sex, but this crossed the line." </blockquote>
<blockquote>
Another said the performance was "totally offensive and inappropriate." </blockquote>
<blockquote>
Photos reportedly from the event appear to validate the claims, showing two individuals dressed in drag performing to a small crowd on the military base.</blockquote>
Just what the hell is "Diversity Day" anyway?<br />
<br />
"Really surprised" by this?<br />
<br />
Let's review:<br />
<br />
- Obama is president.<br />
<br />
- The "Dictatorship of Relativism" is in full swing.<br />
<br />
- The gay lobby is emboldened as never before.<br />
<br />
- The military, once a reliable bastion of true, masculine virtues, is undergoing a thorough process of emasculation and social engineering.<br />
<br />
"Surprised" you say? Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13174642993051101471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7203434.post-31000223651690728802013-08-08T15:35:00.001-07:002013-08-08T15:36:24.598-07:00During emergency rescue, priest appears, then vanishes<div style="text-align: center;">
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Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13174642993051101471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7203434.post-29303887942908121782013-08-07T06:36:00.003-07:002013-08-07T06:45:58.738-07:00Communion in Plastic Cups: Where's the Outrage? Catholic <a href="http://wdtprs.com/blog/"><b>blogs</b></a> are abuzz with these images from Rio, showing "Eucharistic Ministers" distributing Holy Communion from disposable plastic cups. PLASTIC CUPS! Truly stunning. Where is our faith? Our reverence? Our devotion? The incredible thing is that these well-intentioned people genuinely believed they were doing a great service in "getting involved." Who on earth was in charge of these kinds of decisions?<br />
<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-D6unP3_ZwqE/UgJMuGVThFI/AAAAAAAAGh4/U9GtaZ3vRYo/s1600/13_08_06_WYD_plastic_01.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="292" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-D6unP3_ZwqE/UgJMuGVThFI/AAAAAAAAGh4/U9GtaZ3vRYo/s400/13_08_06_WYD_plastic_01.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>Scooping up the Blessed Sacrament, fistful by fistful</i></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lCpjgurTY-U/UgJMwBKIJfI/AAAAAAAAGiA/A-QWyCwOKlE/s1600/13_08_06_WYD_plastic_02.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="161" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lCpjgurTY-U/UgJMwBKIJfI/AAAAAAAAGiA/A-QWyCwOKlE/s400/13_08_06_WYD_plastic_02.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>Gimme gimme gimme!</i></div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GSVIOfIzDSo/UgJOwSVMQvI/AAAAAAAAGiQ/GgzXA_zzCF0/s1600/remyset1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GSVIOfIzDSo/UgJOwSVMQvI/AAAAAAAAGiQ/GgzXA_zzCF0/s400/remyset1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>That was then: antique ciborium and chalice, sacred vessels fit for a King</i></div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13174642993051101471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7203434.post-47704222068393829982013-08-05T12:13:00.004-07:002013-08-05T12:26:15.764-07:00Sports Scandals and a Perverse Culture<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JkuKHupTmTQ/Uf-zBijQApI/AAAAAAAAGho/IkVH8enw-us/s1600/gss-130805-braun-908a.grid-5x2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="280" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JkuKHupTmTQ/Uf-zBijQApI/AAAAAAAAGho/IkVH8enw-us/s400/gss-130805-braun-908a.grid-5x2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i> Brewers Star Ryan Braun is just one case among many</i></div>
<br />
Can anyone answer the following headline?<br />
<br />
<b><a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/business/rod-apathy-how-peds-have-become-such-bore-many-fans-6C10825511">Lying, cheating and murder charges: Why sports scandals have no real impact</a></b>
<br />
<br />
I would venture to say that, living under the "dictatorship of relativism," lying, cheating and, with the example of abortion on demand, murder cease to faze many Americans. Of course, you're not going to find that charge in any mainstream media story. But is it disputable?<br />
<br />
Our culture is so coarsened, so sick, that once-common moral ills no longer phase us. We have people like Bill Clinton to thank. Here's a man who perjured himself while president and is now viewed as a wise, elder statesman by much of the public.<br />
<br />
With the case of Ryan Braun, it was not so much his abuse of performance enhancing drugs that I found so offensive, but the lies. Make a mistake, come clean, reform. But Braun bent over backwards to dramatize his situation, lacing a now-embarrassing press conference with one lie after another. In the immediate aftermath, the public is rightly outraged, but I doubt it will stick. Our culture is accustomed to lies simply because so many people think that lying is really not a big deal. Someone lies, we shrug our shoulders. If a president can do it and live to see another day in office, what's to stop anyone, anywhere from doing it? The only <i>real</i> sin is getting caught.Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13174642993051101471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7203434.post-76262781077530878452013-08-03T16:44:00.004-07:002013-08-03T16:47:57.634-07:00A Basilica, a Procession, and a Fish on a PoleYou've gotta see it to believe it. This occurred at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in DC. <i>"Why do I support the Latin Mass," </i>you ask? The irony is that those of us who attend the Latin Mass are often portrayed as extreme or a bit odd. All I can say is, we're not the ones stickin' a fish-kite on a stick.<br />
<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/BvbQUm8AVPg" width="560"></iframe></div>
Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13174642993051101471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7203434.post-9852435863291531492013-07-31T12:23:00.003-07:002013-07-31T13:22:02.196-07:00Outrageous AP Story about "Francis Revolution"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ILRciHxoD-I/Uflp7FGYnNI/AAAAAAAAGhA/3oDkBh8XuwE/s1600/2PopesMeet_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ILRciHxoD-I/Uflp7FGYnNI/AAAAAAAAGhA/3oDkBh8XuwE/s400/2PopesMeet_2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Get a load of this story. Another tedious Francis vs. Benedict screed. These folks in the mainstream media can't help themselves. From the <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/analysis-popes-revolution-not-pleased-152328275.html"><b>Associated Press</b></a>. (My comments are peppered [ ] throughout. Are these writers <i>this</i> devious, or just lazy and totally uninformed about what the Church teaches...?)<br />
<blockquote>
VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Francis Revolution is underway. Not everyone is pleased. </blockquote>
<blockquote>
Four months into his papacy, Francis has called on young Catholics in the trenches to take up spiritual arms to shake up a dusty, doctrinaire church <b>[OFFENSIVE]</b> that is losing faithful and relevance <b>[OFFENSIVE]</b>. He has said women must have a greater role — not as priests, but a place in the church that recognizes that Mary is more important than any of the apostles. And he has turned the Vatican upside down, quite possibly knocking the wind out of a poisonously homophobic culture by merely uttering the word "gay" and saying: so what? <b>[NOT WHAT HE SAID AT ALL, HE ACTUALLY REINFORCED WHAT THE CATECHISM TEACHES.]</b> </blockquote>
<blockquote>
In between, he has charmed millions of faithful and the mainstream news media, drawing the second-largest crowd ever to a papal Mass <b>[BUT I THOUGHT THE CHURCH WAS "LOSING RELEVANCE" AND FAITHFUL]</b>. That should provide some insurance as he goes about doing what he was elected to do: reform not just the dysfunctional Vatican bureaucracy but the church itself <b>[IMPOSSIBLE TO REFORM THE CHURCH ITSELF, IN TERMS OF DOCTRINE]</b>, using his own persona and personal history as a model. </blockquote>
<blockquote>
"He is restoring credibility to Catholicism," said church historian Alberto Melloni. </blockquote>
<blockquote>
Such enthusiasm isn't shared across the board. </blockquote>
<blockquote>
Francis' predecessor, Benedict XVI, had coddled traditionalist Catholics attached to the old Latin Mass and opposed to the modernizing reforms of the Second Vatican Council. <b>[THOSE "REFORMS" HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THE ACTUAL COUNCIL ITSELF!!!!! BY THE WAY, BENEDICT/RATZINGER WAS DEEPLY INVOLVED IN VATICAN II, NOT FRANCIS. BENEDICT DEDICATED MUCH OF HIS PAPACY TO CLARIFYING MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT VII.]</b> That group greeted Francis' election with concern — and now is watching its worst fears come true. Francis has spoken out both publicly and privately against such "restoratist groups," <b>[BENEDICT WARNED ABOUT THE DANGERS OF EXTREMES AS WELL. BEING TRADITIONAL IS NOT COTERMINOUS WITH "RESTORATIONIST."]</b> which he accuses of being navel-gazing retrogrades out of touch with the evangelizing mission of the church in the 21st century. ...<b> [NAUSEATING. SO, IS THIS WHY TRADITIONAL PARISHES ARE DYNAMIC, YOUNG AND GROWING, WHILE CLAP-HAPPY PARISHES ARE OLD, SHRINKING AND FLOUNDERING? FRANCIS, BY THE WAY, HAS ALSO SPOKEN OF CHERISHING OUR LITURGICAL TRADITIONS. HE'S MADE IT CLEAR THAT HE INTENDS TO RETAIN MONSIGNOR GUIDO MARINI, BENEDICT'S MASTER OF PONTIFICAL LITURGICAL CELEBRATIONS.]</b></blockquote>
As you read more, it gets worse... This is what the agenda-driven media does so well: fabricate a false narrative and constantly breath new life into it with stories peppered with lies and half-truths. If all goes according to plan, the lie will overtake reality. The liberals in the Church did this very thing with regard to Vatican II. Most Catholics actually believe that the Council did away with Latin, Gregorian Chant, <i>ad orientem </i>worship, etc. Totally false.<br />
<br />
We've got to be informed Catholics so that this kind of sheer nonsense can be shot down whenever and wherever it crops up. Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13174642993051101471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7203434.post-77694462865398987482013-07-30T11:27:00.000-07:002013-07-30T11:35:47.175-07:00Monogamy, the Next VictimLove, now reduced to examining the track record of monkeys. From <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-205_162-57596118/scientists-find-roots-of-monogamy-less-than-romantic/" style="font-weight: bold;">CBS News</a>:<br />
<blockquote>
Only a few species of mammals are monogamous, and now dueling scientific teams think they've figured out why they got that way. But their answers aren't exactly romantic. </blockquote>
<blockquote>
The answers aren't even the same. </blockquote>
<blockquote>
One team looked just at primates, the animal group that includes apes and monkeys. The researchers said the exclusive pairing of a male and a female evolved as a way to let fathers defend their young against being killed by other males. </blockquote>
<blockquote>
The other scientific team got a different answer after examining about 2,000 species of non-human mammals. They concluded that mammals became monogamous because females had spread out geographically, and so males had to stick close by to fend off the competition. </blockquote>
<blockquote>
So it's not about romance, said researcher Dieter Lukas of the University of Cambridge, lead author of the mammals study. "It's just really the best he can do." ...</blockquote>
You can see where this narrative is going...<br />
<br />
On the one hand, radical environmentalists will often reduce humanity to just another blip on the evolutionary chain, nothing special, nothing unique, totally dependent on natural selection. Then, on the other hand, those on the left will simultaneously hold that we <i>are</i> something different, so different and superior to the rest of the natural order that we can change the laws of nature to restructure the order of things to suite our individual preferences, desires, etc.<br />
<br />
To the left, we're either brute animals or gods.Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13174642993051101471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7203434.post-38254037237511797842013-07-30T11:02:00.002-07:002013-07-30T11:06:08.021-07:00Pro-Life IncursionsFrom <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/abortion-limits-sweep-us-even-purple-states-join-153341784.html"><b>The Christian Science Monitor</b></a>:
<br />
<blockquote>
... Forty years after the US Supreme Court legalized abortion nationwide in Roe v. Wade, the abortion wars are raging as hot as ever. From Texas to North Carolina to Wisconsin to Ohio, to name just the most recent examples, states across America are enacting new restrictions in a wave that began in 2011 – a direct result of the conservative backlash of 2010 that swept Republicans into power in the US House, state legislatures, and governor's chairs. Some have made regulating abortion a top priority. </blockquote>
<blockquote>
If 2011 saw a peak in the passage of post-Roe abortion restrictions at the state level – 92 – then 2013 is poised to come in second. <b>As of July 30, the number of new restrictions is at 55, past the total of 43 for all of 2012</b>, according to the pro-abortion-rights Guttmacher Institute, which researches reproductive health matters. </blockquote>
<blockquote>
And like the political map of the country, divvied up into red and blue states, so, too, are the states increasingly polarized over abortion. Solid-red Texas now has some of the toughest restrictions in the nation, including a just-signed ban on abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy. At the other end of the spectrum, solid-blue California is moving to expand access to early-term abortions by allowing nurse practitioners, nurse midwives, and physician assistants to perform certain types. ... </blockquote>
<blockquote>
But in the realm of new abortion laws, there are far more Texases than Californias. And now there's a new wrinkle: <b>Moderate, battleground states – the "purple" states that decide presidential races, such as North Carolina, Ohio, Wisconsin, and Virginia – are joining the abortion crackdown as never before</b>. In 2008, all four voted for Barack Obama for president. In 2012, all but North Carolina voted to reelect him.</blockquote>
Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13174642993051101471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7203434.post-19575583488668848442013-07-30T10:55:00.001-07:002013-07-30T10:55:07.165-07:00Hear It: "Counting Stars"<div style="text-align: left;">
Great song. Take a break.</div>
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Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13174642993051101471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7203434.post-23382622668796697812013-07-29T13:05:00.003-07:002013-07-29T13:31:48.503-07:00Big Day for Gay?From <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/pope-says-gays-must-not-judged-marginalized-110838664.html"><b>Reuters</b></a>:
<br />
<blockquote>
ROME (Reuters) - Pope Francis has said gay people should not be marginalized but integrated into society, in some of the most conciliatory remarks by a pontiff on the issue of homosexuality. </blockquote>
<blockquote>
In a broad-ranging 80-minute conversation with journalists on the plane bringing him back from a week-long visit to Brazil on Sunday night, he also said he could not judge gay priests, an emotive topic that divides Catholic opinion. </blockquote>
<blockquote>
But the 76-year-old Argentine did <b>r</b><b>eaffirm Church teaching that homosexual acts are a sin</b>. ...</blockquote>
Then there's really nothing to this apparently "big" story. But if you believe the headlines, you'd think that the Catholic Church, under Francis, was edging towards sponsoring the next gay pride march in Rome, while under Benedict, it was a mere hop, skip and a jump away from the Westboro Baptist loons.<br />
<br />
Nothing fundamental has changed. Nothing fundamental will change. The media is, once again, making hay out of these off the cuff remarks of Pope Francis. I don't recall Pope Benedict calling for the persecution or marginalization of gays. Benedict upheld Church teaching. Francis upholds the same teaching.<br />
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When reports are written by non-Catholics, or by Catholics who don't understand Church teaching (about 95% of Catholics) you see stories like this. They are inflated, astroturf reports that claim some big shift or imminent change is on the way. Francis obviously speaks a bit differently than his predecessors on various subjects. He is more impromptu in style, less guarded, and likes to shoot the breeze. That said, the ever-feckless communications arm of the Vatican needs to be a lot quicker when it comes to issuing clarifications after the pope kibitzes with reporters. Such clarifications would help blunt some of the media's efforts to confuse the faithful with stories like this.Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13174642993051101471noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7203434.post-83799535773898099232013-07-28T16:37:00.004-07:002013-07-28T17:24:06.202-07:00"Criticism" of Benedict in Rio?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-h1lTArNQDJE/UfW0YJqB-LI/AAAAAAAAGfI/Trg1WuW_iko/s1600/b79bbc7f3c6ddb19380f6a706700884e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-h1lTArNQDJE/UfW0YJqB-LI/AAAAAAAAGfI/Trg1WuW_iko/s640/b79bbc7f3c6ddb19380f6a706700884e.jpg" width="640" /></a><i>Is the Church still relevant? More than 3M young Catholics on Copacabana think so. </i></div>
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An excerpt from a piece appearing in the <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/southamerica/brazil/10207773/Rios-Copacabana-beach-transformed-as-three-million-Catholics-pack-sands-for-Sunday-Mass.html"><b>Telegraph</b></a>:<br />
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On Saturday, in what was interpreted as veiled criticism of his earnest, theologian predecessor, Benedict XVI, Francis said the Catholic Church often uses language that many ordinary people found baffling and overly intellectual. </blockquote>
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The Church was "perhaps too cold, too caught up with itself, perhaps a prisoner of its own rigid formulas," he said.
At times we lose people because they don't understand what we are saying, because we have forgotten the language of simplicity and import an intellectualism foreign to our people," he said.</blockquote>
Context is crucial. Was this <i>really</i> an intentional critique of Benedict? I doubt it. Ever since Francis was elected, the media has been relentlessly billing him as the anti-Benedict. I've written about this a bit. More humble, more simple, less "baroque," the "people's pope," more down to earth, and so on. It's getting way too predictable. Francis would object to such tactics, I think.<br />
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That said, I can't agree that a problem dogging the Catholic Church over the past forty years has been "intellectualism" or "rigid formulas." If anything, we've traded in the intellect for the purely sentimental, even saccharine. For two generations and counting, Catholics have been reared in an anti-intellectual ethos, from schools to liturgy. <i>Have you been to a typical Catholic parish recently?</i> It's almost all touchy-feely: name tags, silly songs, hand-holding, Father Personality and his cringeworthy jokes, backslapping, high-fives, no substance, etc. It never ends. And having attended Catholics schools for most of my youth, I can't say that "intellectualism" was a cause for many of my peers leaving the Church (which many of them did). We simply weren't taught the essentials of the faith. Period. Feelings and self-esteem took precedence.<br />
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Are people abandoning a church that is "too cold"? Judging by the Latin Bishops do the Brady Bunch soundtrack shtick from last night in Rio (see below), it's difficult for me to swallow the "too cold" proposition. Maybe that's happening somewhere, but I don't see it. What's happening is a reaction to the opposite extreme, that of sentimentalism. Many are tuning out because faith rooted in a solitary reliance on sentimentalism and emotions, absent a personal encounter with Christ <i>and solid formation</i>, quickly dries up. There's no depth. Along with his humility, sanctity and unrivaled experience, Benedict brought his much-needed intellect (not intellectualism) to the papacy. George Weigel called Benedict the greatest papal preacher since Pope Saint Gregory the Great.<br />
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It is true that intellectualism is a threat (as an -<i>ism</i>) that <i>can</i> sometimes eclipse conversion and that necessary, personal encounter with Christ. That would be a problem, no doubt. The faith isn't an academic formula. I get it. Still, I wouldn't mind seeing a little more mind, a little less schmaltz, and a lot less dancing bishops, in our Church.Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13174642993051101471noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7203434.post-57456170107956173932013-07-27T15:58:00.000-07:002013-07-27T16:01:06.438-07:00Bishops Get Down on Copa<div style="text-align: left;">
Auditions for the next movie, Bishop Act? It's oddly mesmerizing... </div>
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There are other, better ways to connect with youth. </div>
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Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13174642993051101471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7203434.post-91199059082132222052013-07-27T08:09:00.001-07:002013-07-27T09:33:16.720-07:00Liturgy and Morality: Two Sides of the Same CoinCardinal Raymond L. Burke offered an extensive interview with <a href="http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/bringing-the-liturgy-back-to-the-real-vatican-ii" style="font-weight: bold;">Zenit</a>.<b> </b>His insightful comments on the future of the liturgical reform are noteworthy, as well as his observations on the origins of the rampant liturgical abuses we see on a daily basis.<br />
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...There’s no question in my mind that the <b>abuses in the sacred liturgy, reduction of the sacred liturgy to some kind of human activity, is strictly correlated with a lot of moral corruption</b> and with a levity in catechesis that has been shocking and has left generations of Catholics ill prepared to deal with the challenges of our time by addressing the Catholic faith to those challenges. You can see it in the whole gamut of Church life. <i>~Cardinal Raymond L. Burke</i></blockquote>
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While it's comforting to read this, it's not surprising, considering it's Cardinal Burke. What is frustrating is that so few of his peers speak out on this matter. Liturgical "style" is simply treated as a matter of personal taste. We're to believe that there's no intrinsic code of right and wrong when it coms to the offering of Mass. With more and more multi-cultural add-ons finding their way into liturgy, the Mass has just become another useful venue for displaying the "diversity" of the Church. It's all about us! Cultural narcissism once again rears its ugly face.<br />
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Rather than celebrating and encouraging bizarre liturgical innovations as positive manifestations of our narcissism, er, diversity, we should see them for what they are...evil, harmful, etc. Can we <i>please</i> see more bishops and priests take this matter seriously? We're waiting.Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13174642993051101471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7203434.post-44816128126019331412013-07-26T19:18:00.003-07:002013-07-26T19:18:23.906-07:00Heart to Heart <div style="text-align: center;">
<embed allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" background="#333333" flashvars="si=254&&contentValue=50151746&shareUrl=http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=50151746n" height="279" salign="lt" scale="noscale" src="http://cnettv.cnet.com/av/video/cbsnews/atlantis2/cbsnews_player_embed.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425"></embed></div>
Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13174642993051101471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7203434.post-21380385037116296042013-07-26T14:23:00.003-07:002013-07-26T14:23:59.720-07:00Confessions of WYD<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EVb3J0d6eYQ/UfLo0TS1bSI/AAAAAAAAGe4/CY716IcVmHw/s1600/ss-130725-pope-brazil-10.ss_full.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="416" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EVb3J0d6eYQ/UfLo0TS1bSI/AAAAAAAAGe4/CY716IcVmHw/s640/ss-130725-pope-brazil-10.ss_full.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13174642993051101471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7203434.post-287846099801238132013-07-26T12:46:00.003-07:002013-07-26T12:46:35.148-07:00Defend Second Amendment<div style="text-align: center;">
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Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13174642993051101471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7203434.post-48774916485539902182013-07-25T12:25:00.004-07:002013-07-25T12:40:54.206-07:00Saint James<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask.”
“What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.
They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.”
“You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said. “Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?”
“We can,” they answered.
Jesus said to them, “<b>You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with</b>, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared.”</i> </blockquote>
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When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John. Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Mark 10: 35-45</i></blockquote>
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And viva España! Here's the burial site of Saint James, the Patron Saint of Spain, located in Santiago de Compostela, Spain.<br />
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Even Popes do <i>el camino</i>!</div>
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Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13174642993051101471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7203434.post-31962819126748501322013-07-22T07:26:00.001-07:002013-07-22T07:26:58.043-07:00African-American Pastor is RIGHTHere's a remarkable (and true) excerpt from Dr. Ken Hutcherson's latest article, appearing in <a href="http://www.christianpost.com/news/black-pastor-speaks-frankly-to-blacks-about-trayvon-martin-100545/"><b>The Christian Post</b></a>. Backing up another black conservative, Dr. James Manning, Hutcherson writes:
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I believe Dr. James Manning hit it on the head when he said that black people have a difficult time accepting truth simply because they are black. That's right, black people are involved and it is impossible for the average black person to believe the truth. They refuse to believe that a black boy could be in the wrong when it comes to a white Hispanic.<b> Blackness is the apex of victimhood and our blackness is above truth, above our Christianity, above our God, above our Holy Spirit, so that means if our blackness is above the Holy Spirit, then it is above Truth</b>. This is so important for everyone to know this so they can understand why this Trayvon and Zimmerman case is where it is today and why blacks refuse to believe what really happened. ...</blockquote>
Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13174642993051101471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7203434.post-56415026104157767272013-07-19T11:32:00.001-07:002013-07-20T06:13:45.421-07:00Obama is a pathological narcissistIncredible. Obama just now: <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2013/07/19/politics/obama-zimmerman/index.html?hpt=hp_t1"><b>"Trayvon Martin could have been me 35 years ago."</b></a><br />
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Absurd. Obama as a youth <i>never</i> lived the inner-city life that Martin did. He grew up in relative comfort and security in a white family.<br />
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There have been so many instances where the president (and his wife) twist stories that are totally unrelated to them back to themselves. You'll no doubt remember his, "If I had a son, he'd look like Trayvon." Just yesterday, Michelle told a bunch of young girls in Chicago, "I was you." The examples are endless. It is truly remarkable and a bit creepy. Setting aside Obama's nauseating race pandering that demeans the office of the presidency, I simply marvel at this personality disorder that he so conspicuously demonstrates. The discussion could be about traveling to the moon, and Obama would say, "When I was young, I wanted to be an astronaut." No joke. He simply can't help himself. Narcissism betrays a severe insecurity and an obsessive need to assert oneself into every discussion and story. Ever notice how many times he'll use "I" or "me" in a speech? Google it and find out. BIZARRE.<br />
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As an aside, I just saw on Politico a headline reading, "Obama weighs in on race, <i>reluctantly</i>." Yeah, "reluctantly"... how laughable. You people at Politico are either the most naive of all political reporters, or you're partisan hacks. Either way, it's embarrassing. Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13174642993051101471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7203434.post-22452057822093567242013-07-19T08:16:00.000-07:002013-07-19T08:20:38.703-07:00"Hope" SinksFrom the pen of Stuart Stevens, writing for <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/07/19/hope-isn-t-enough-without-conviction-or-destination-obama-flounders.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+thedailybeast%2Farticles+%28The+Daily+Beast+-+Latest+Articles%29"><b>The Daily Beast</b></a>:
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<b>Hope Isn’t Enough: Without Conviction or Destination, Obama Flounders</b> </blockquote>
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Perhaps it was inevitable, that any president branded and sold as “Hope” was destined to disappoint. But in these scorching summer doldrums of 2013, you have to wonder: did it have to be this disappointing?
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Ah, the latecomers to the truth. I guess we'll take in the converts. Conservatives warned about the shame that is the manufactured Obama mystique before '08. But who was listening? Fooled again in '12, the masses were caught up in an embarrassing political ecstasy that was bound to burst. Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13174642993051101471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7203434.post-55748923556636769132013-07-19T07:55:00.001-07:002013-07-19T07:55:27.380-07:00<script height="360px" src="http://player.ooyala.com/iframe.js#pbid=b171980b65ae4996bffea4da902c7846&ec=1neTRmZDrDFj5YojujVOGMhMW-sNNXaj" width="640px"></script>Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13174642993051101471noreply@blogger.com0