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Saturday 8 September 2012

Kudos to Bishop Kieran Conry

I am so happy to see this. The Bishop of Arudel and Brighton, "my" diocese, is asking for all Catholics to stop at work and pray at 3:00. Cool, too cool.

I was hoping some bishop would do this.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/9529035/Catholic-Church-calls-for-public-prayers-in-offices-on-Fridays.html


A bishop is recommending that they set the alarms on their mobile phones to remind them of the new observance as part of a move to promote faith in the workplace ahead of the Church’s “Year of Faith”.
It comes in the week that British government lawyers went to the European Court of Human Rights to defend the right of employers to ban the wearing of public symbols of faith such as the cross in the workplace.
The Rt Rev Kieran Conry, the Bishop of Arundel and Brighton and chair of the Church in England and Wales’s evangelisation committee, said the plan drew on traditions of saying special Friday prayers dating back to the 17th century.
He said: “I would like to invite every Catholic, especially during the Year of Faith, to pause for a moment of prayer of praise and thanksgiving at 3pm if possible, or perhaps when you break for lunch, on the first Friday of every month.

“Whatever you are doing, as your responsibilities allow, stop, perhaps close your eyes, bow your head and prayerfully and silently meditate on the sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross out of love for you and everyone."


“You might even want to set your mobile phone to ring at 2.55pm to remind you to pause for prayer.”He added: "The exact words used are not so important as just pausing to be with Jesus in that moment. In this way you are not only deepening your relationship with him, but quietly and confidently witnessing to your faith to those around you." One could say the Divine Mercy Prayer.


Post Fury

I have been posting seven to twelve posts per day. Some of you have written to me that you cannot keep up.

This is a twelve post day.

I may be in a place in Ireland for three months with limited access to the Internet. Now, I know some of you are thinking, "Why is she doing this?" I shall explain in twelve days.

Can you believe that one can be in an area without the Internet? Places in Ireland are some of those areas. But, there are others. Some day, we may all be in a post-post era.

Just take your time and read.


Going around Facebook


Greed in Chicago

http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2012/06/12/how-much-do-chicago-public-school-teachers-make/

Chicago teachers make about $71,000 per year. They have the highest salaries in all of the States.

When I was teaching in private Catholic schools, my average salary was $19k per year plus insurance. I was a single mom raising a child. I had to leave and take two part-time jobs in order to make more money and teach home schooling.

Chicago teachers are GREEDY. I do not agree that the profession of teaching should be unionised. It use to be a profession, and now it is a job.

Greed.


We are Lean and Mean; We are a Minority; We need to be Ready


Catholics lie to themselves about statistics.  There is a small and very orthodox group of young Catholics who have been properly catechized, mostly in home schooling families, or families which found NAPCIS schools. However, here is real data.
Church-going indicates morality and belief. although in some countries, like Malta, there are high statistics, but it is a contracepting Catholic populace, as one can see from the very low birthrate. I have that information in posts on this blog.
Weekly church-goers of any denomination: Russia 3%, UK 2% to 4%; France 4.5%; Spain 20%; America 41%
The average age of the priest in Spain is 65. The average age of the priest in America as of statistics of May 2012 is 59.
The fall from Catholicism is old Catholic countries is replaced by agnosticism. Contraception statistics seen in birth rates show the real problem-no replacement in so-called Christian countries and the lack of families. 33% of households in England are run by singles.
Even Latinas are using birth control now. 97 percent of sexually active Latinas in America between the ages 15 and 44 have used some form of contraception. I have checked all these sources.
Religious feeling may be up but practice and morality are not.
I have written a lot on Catholic singles. You can follow the tags. This problem is getting worse for many reasons. 
Catholic singles must decide on a vocation and not pretend being single is a vocation. It may be a sad reflection of either the lack of the ability to commit or it may be a problem in one's geographical area. But, as I have written, one must choose a real vocation in traditional sense of the word, unless one is taking care of aged parents or has a physical reason for either not becoming a religious, a priest or a nun, or getting married.
The number of practising Catholics is dwindling in most places. A practising Catholic is one who abides by the Teaching Magisterium of the Church. There are many, many dissident and disobedient Catholics. One can be disobedient in many ways, such as in supporting abortion, using contraceptions, or even following false prophets after being told these are wrong by the Vatican. One can be disobedient as to tithing, or the giving of alms. The greatest area of disobedience lies in the fact that Catholics, all of us, are called to evangelise by our baptism. This is not happening.
We shall be a lean and mean minority of people in the world. I have seen this drop in religion all my adult life and it is escalating. The fastest growing religions in the world are all man-made religions; Islam and Bahai, followed by the pagan religions of Sikiism, Jainism and and Hinduism, because of Indians birth-rate.
Judaism is practically extinct in some countries. There are only 13.4 million in the entire world, with slightly over 42% in Israel, followed by 39% in America, leaving the other 19% or so in Europe and Canada. Most outside of Israel are non-practising.
Catholic statistics are in name only and do not reflect the practising group. We practising and believing Catholics are a small lean and mean minority and with 59 million – The number of unmarried, never-been-married adults living in the United States in 2010. And, 13 million -The number of unmarried, never-been-married Catholic adults living in the United States, we are below replacement levels. I write about this all the time on my blog.
We real Catholics are becoming a smaller and smaller minority. In some polls, 80% of Catholics in the States use birth control, and 48% of Church-going Catholics supporting Obamacare in the States. 54% of Catholics support abortion and amazingly, Catholics in America to the tune of 46% support gay marriage, which is higher than the American norm of 42%.

Catholics, quit lying to yourselves about the cultures of the world. There are no Catholics countries, no havens of Catholicism, unless you create community in your own parishes.

Here are some statistics from 2011. 59 million - The number of unmarried, never-been-married adults living in the United States in 2010.
13 million -The number of unmarried, never-been-married Catholic adults living in the United States.
Single men’s mortality rates are 250 percent higher than their married peers. 
Single women’s mortality rates are 50 percent higher than their married peers.
Single men are twice as likely to commit suicide as married men.
40 percent of married people say they are happy with their lives as opposed to 25 percent of single people. 
Single men drink twice as much as married men. 
Single women are five times more likely to be victims of crime than married women. 
Less than 20 percent of adult singles attend Church on a regular basis. 
Nearly two-thirds of single adults feel Church has nothing to offer them. ( And I add that they should be choosing a vocation and not remaining single. God is calling them to be and to do something.) 
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, Barna Research Group, National Marriage Project 


Check this out. Where are the shepherds of the Church, the bishops, who remain silent and not respond to this attack?

http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/caroline-kennedy-catholic-church/2012/09/07/id/451073?s=al&promo_code=FFEE-1

I am so glad I am not a bishop. How harshly will God judge them for being silent.


Rove reserved his harshest criticism of the convention for Kennedy, the daughter of former President John F. Kennedy, calling her comments on Republican efforts to restrict abortion rights nothing short of “an attack on religious liberty that’s masquerading as an expansion of . . . choice.”

“I mean, it’s going out of her way to say I disagree with the values of my church," Rove said of Kennedy’s speech Thursday night.

“No one is seriously talking about ending abortion,” Rove declared. “What [Republicans] are talking about is the administration’s effort to expand the realm of choice by — for example, requiring churches to provide contraceptive coverage to their employees — regardless of the fact that it violates the deeply most-held tenets of that faith.”

O’Reilly also expressed “stunned” disbelief at Kennedy’s comments.


“She’s evoking her Catholic faith, which clearly condemns abortion, and using that as some kind of springboard into criticizing the restrictions on abortion that many states have passed," he told Rove. “Maybe I'm wrong on this, but that made my head snap back.”

Rove agreed.

“It’s gratuitous when people of any faith go out of their way to basically say: I’m a . . . Catholic and I’m telling you that I disagree deeply with the Catholic Church’s opinions, and I’m going to do so in a political sphere in order to make it easier for people who share my particular faith to, you know, disregard the teachings of our church,” Rove said.


Read more on Newsmax.com: Rove: Caroline Kennedy's DNC Speech an Attack on Catholic Church
Important: Do You Support Pres. Obama's Re-Election? Vote Here Now!




Au Canada Out of Iran

Has anybody noticed? Canada has closed its Iranian embassy and ordered all staff home a.s.a.p.. No, quicker. They have to leave within four days of today, Saturday.

Reasons? Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird said this: "The Iranian regime has shown blatant disregard for the Vienna Convention and its guarantee of protection for diplomatic personnel," he said.
"Under the circumstances, Canada can no longer maintain a diplomatic presence in Iran. Our diplomats serve Canada as civilians and their safety is our No. 1 priority."
He also condemned the regime as a sponsor of terrorism.
"Canada views the government of Iran as the most significant threat to global peace and security in the world today," he said.
He recited a litany of complaints about Iran, including its support for the Assad regime in Syria, its nuclear program, its threats to Israel and its abysmal human rights record.
"The Iranian regime is providing increasing military assistance to the Assad regime," Baird said.

Private citizens were also warned not to make trips to Iran.

On the danger of following false private revelations....


Lk 12:42 says, 'Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his master will make ruler over the household, to give them their portion of food in due season?
Lk 16:10 says, 'He who is faithful in least is faithful also in much'. God usually tests our obedience in the little things. He gave a simple test to Adam and he failed.
God has always needed people to work with Him. But He cannot entrust great things unless He finds us faithful in little things. When we obey Him in little things, we take God into confidence and He can trust us with more. God not only trusts us with more, He also gives us our portion of meat in due season. He will make sure that there is no shortage in your house. Isn't that good?
Those minor acts of disobedience will dry up the flow of the Sprit just like the major ones will. All the small things of obedience combine to become doing God's will in our lives.

from a commentary on Luke from a minister I just happened upon....


St. Hugh's Parkminster

http://www.parkminster.org.uk/site.php?use=default


Supertradson went to Parkminster today, the site of Catholic Carthusians in England. They came over in the 19th century escaping the French persecution. They came over incognito and bought the land. The cloister is the longest is Europe, which means it is the largest. There is an orchard and a cemetery in the centre.


It was built to hold the entire French congregation beginning in 1873. It is a holy place.


The white stole of St. Hugh of Lincoln is there and a fantastic library. Sadly, many of the ancient books were destroyed in World War II by random German bombs, after the monks took the books out of the library and put them in a cell.

There are many great photos at this site:

http://catholicwithattitude.blogspot.co.uk/2009/04/st-hughs-charterhouse.html

England owes much to the French for foundations, such as the Tyburn Nuns.

There is an older blog article on Hugh of Lincoln here and that cathedral is one of my favourite.




Three Times No to God



St. Peter repented. This is so scary. If potus gets re-elected, it will be the end of the Republic.

Happy Birthday to Our Blessed Mother

Mary, Our Lady, changed the world, changed time and space, changed history by saying yes to God.

Her birthday is a day of rejoicing for us all.

Isaiah 62:11 The LORD has made proclamation to the ends of the earth: "Say to the Daughter of Zion, 'See, your Savior comes! See, his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him.'"




Hail holy Mother, in thy womb there lay a king who bears o'er earth and heaven endless sway. Joyful are the thoughts that well up form my heart: a King's honour for my theme. Introit 

Check out really feminine looking women from the war archives

http://www.cbsnews.com/2300-201_162-10013519.html  Well, most of them. Amazing photos from the homeland during WWII.



Women in the 1940s had to work, but you can tell from their faces they were more feminine.