Viral Discipleship

Posted on August 11, 2011 by Susan Kehoe

Then Jesus approached and said to them, “All power in heaven  and on earth has been given to me.  Go, therefore,* and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.* And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” Mt. 28:18-20

All Christians are called, as individuals, to share the Gospel with everyone that we meet. But the internet allows us to interact with people that we have never met face to face.

Philip Lawler of Catholic Culture predicts that there will be an explosion of Catholic evangelization. But if this does not come to pass, it will be our fault and not the fault of the institutional Church.

We all have the power of the internet at our fingertips to spread the power of the Gospel:

Think about it. Imagine what would happen if each one of us used the new media to reach just a few dozen people every week, and gently communicated some Gospel truths. You can do the math yourself; can’t you? If millions of Catholics are sending out millions of messages to millions of readers—who might forward those messages to millions more readers…

The point is that you can’t do the math yourself. The numbers quickly get too big, and increase too quickly, to allow for computation. The truth goes viral.

Imagine it: Tens of thousands—no, tens of millions—of Catholics encouraging each other, exhorting each other, reassuring each other to the task at hand. Tens of millions—no, hundreds of millions—of Catholics inviting others to read the Gospel, to consider the faith, to enter into the sacramental life of the Church. It’s a beautiful vision, isn’t it? So what’s stopping us?  Read more here.

Don’t just sit there get tweeting. Or blog. Or get on facebook.

Posted in Catholic, Discipleship, Media | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Diocese of Orange Really, Really Wants the Crystal Cathedral

Posted on August 10, 2011 by Susan Kehoe

It has been in the news for some time that The Diocese of Orange (California) has been  trying to buy the Crystal Cathedral. I ignored it, because I really hoped that it would fall through. It looked like it would when their first offer was rejected.

The Diocese is upping the offer (H/T Deacon Greg):

Chapman University and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange appear to be the front-runners to buy the bankrupt Crystal Cathedral, although a new suitor has emerged, according to documents filed in bankruptcy court Tuesday.

The disclosure statement filed by the creditors committee outlined options for the Garden Grove church to exit Chapter 11.

The diocese, according to the documents, increased its cash offer from $50 million to $53.6 million and would require the Crystal Cathedral’s ministry to leave the property after three years. But the diocese would attempt to help it find a new space.  Continue reading…

Does anything about this monstrosity say Catholic to you?  They want to spend 53 million on it????

I don’t think that even an extreme makeover would help.

Posted in Catholic, Uncategorized | Tagged | 4 Comments

The Scandal of Christians Who Support Torture

Posted on August 10, 2011 by Susan Kehoe

Bill Knight (of GateHouse News Service) writes, H/T Mark Shea: 

A favorite Psalm sings, “You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day.” But when modern “arrows” are explosives, it’s awfully difficult to be unafraid.

Therefore, it might be understandable that fear causes most Americans to feel that torture of suspected terrorists is often or sometimes justified, apart from justice.

However, it’s more than a little confusing when people who say they’re Christians are more supportive of torture than self-identified “unaffiliated” Americans, and it’s downright surprising that those who regularly worship support torture more than those who rarely attend religious services.

Soon, the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee is expected to release its report from an 18-month probe into the CIA’s use of torture — abuses including long-term isolation and sensory deprivation, extremes of heat and cold, water-boarding, sleep deprivation, forced stress positions and worse. Elsewhere, the Department of Justice is investigating the torture deaths of some detainees, so the issue is again being debated.

It should be discussed prayerfully as well as politically. After all, the Romans tortured Jesus, beating and scourging him and placing thorns on his head and a spear in his side during his crucifixion, presumably because they wanted to extract information about a feared Jewish uprising against the empire as much as inflict punishment. Even if his treatment is seen as destined, his suffering and pain were real, and the brutality shameful.

But there seems to be a feeling — probably fueled by fear — that torture might be needed for national security, so maybe it’s logical, if not exactly defensible. Of course, St. Paul in Romans 3:8 clearly wrote that doing evil to achieve good is forbidden.

Here are the stats given in the article:

Polls say more Americans support some torture than oppose it. The breakdown ranges from 49 percent of the total U.S. population supporting and 47 percent opposing, according to the Pew Research Center, to 60 percent supporting and 39 percent opposing, according to Roper.

Meanwhile, 62 percent of evangelical Protestants think torture is OK; 51 percent of Catholics; 46 percent “mainline” Protestants; and just 40 percent unaffiliated.  Read the article here.

And Jesus wept. This is just shameful. You are not prolife if you think abortion is ever morally justified. You are not prolife if you think that torture is ever morally justified. That is the clear and consistent teaching of the Church.

Human beings are made in the image and likeness of God. Sin does not erase that fact. Human beings are, therefore, sacred and are to be treated with dignity.  Always. Without exception.

Posted in Catholic Moral Teaching, Culture of Death, Pro life | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Snowfall at the Basilica

Posted on August 5, 2011 by Susan Kehoe

Today the Church celebrates the Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome.

August 5, 2011. (Romereports.com) According to tradition, on the morning of August 5th, back in the year 358, the Esquiline Hill in Rome was completely covered in snow. In an apparition, the Virgin promised pope Liberius that this would happen.

Because of this the Basilica of Santa Maria di Maggiore or St. Mary Major,  was built in that very area. It’s still one of the most important churches of the Eternal City.

 It’s not only a historic basilica. It also has a special relationship with Rome. Inside the Church stands the icon of the Madonna Salus Populi Romani, which translates to “The Protectress of Rome.”

 Ever since the year 358, every August 5th  is celebrated with a Mass and the traditional
“snowfall” of white petals. It’s a way to commemorate that one white morning and also a way to enjoy this architectural masterpiece.

Posted in Catholic Church | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Freedom to Practice Religion Threatened in Alabama

Posted on August 4, 2011 by Susan Kehoe

From the Archdiocese of Mobile (H/T Catholic Culture)     

Dear Brothers and Sisters in the Lord,

If someone who has worldly means sees a brother in need and refuses him compassion, how can the love of God remain in him? Children, let us love not in word or speech but in deed and truth. (1 John 3:17-18)Bishop Baker of the Catholic Diocese of Birmingham, Bishop Parsley of the Episcopal Diocese of Alabama, Bishop Willimon of the North Alabama Conference of the United Methodist Church, and I have joined together to bring a challenge to the recently enacted state immigration law. It is with sadness that we brought this legal action but with a deep sense that we, as people of faith, have no choice but to defend the right to the free exercise of religion granted to us as citizens of Alabama.

The new state law is broadly written. Both supporters and opponents of the law agree that it is the broadest and strictest immigration law in the country, affecting every part of the life of undocumented immigrants. In doing so, however, the law makes illegal the exercise of our Christian religion which we, as citizens of Alabama, have a right to follow.

The law prohibits almost everything which would assist an undocumented immigrant or encourage an undocumented immigrant to live in Alabama. This new Alabama law makes it illegal for a Catholic priest to baptize, hear the confession of, celebrate the anointing of the sick with, or preach the word of God to, an undocumented immigrant. Nor can we encourage them to attend Mass or give them a ride to Mass. It is illegal to allow them to attend adult scripture study groups, or attend CCD or Sunday school classes. It is illegal for the clergy to counsel them in times of difficulty or in preparation for marriage. It is illegal for them to come to Alcoholic Anonymous meetings or other recovery groups at our churches. Continue Reading…..

This is just, well, evil.  There is no way a priest or deacon will follow this law.  The idea that a Catholic priest or deacon would deny a sacrament to an undocumented immigrant is just plain silly.

Posted in Church and the Public Square, Freedom of Religion | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Photo: Mass Before the Relics of St. Vianney

Posted on August 4, 2011 by Susan Kehoe

Today is the feast day of St. John Marie Vianney, patron of all the world’s priests. Taylor Marshall has a great picture posted on his blog:

Do pray for our many good and faithful priests!

 

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Priceless Religious Relic Found in Tennessee Mobile Home

Posted on August 4, 2011 by Susan Kehoe

Just for the record, I haven’t given up blogging.  It has been a wee bit stressful around here, and I still have a lot on my plate. But I am going to start blogging something everyday beginning on Monday even if it is just links.

This is tre cool!

One of only a handful of paintings based on the cloth used to wipe Jesus’ face before his crucifixion was found in a closet in a Tenn. mobile home. WVLT-TV’s John Treanor reports.

The painting is based on Veronica’s veil. 
Oh and back in 2004, according to Catholic Culture, the veil may have been found.

Posted in Catholic, Cool Stuff | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Contraception mandate tramples religious freedom, US bishops say

Posted on August 2, 2011 by Susan Kehoe

We still have freedom to worship. Freedom to practice our religion? Not so much.

Cardinal Daniel DiNardo

Washington D.C., Aug 1, 2011 / 05:45 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The U.S. bishops spoke out on August 1 against federal rules requiring nearly all new health plans, including those of most religious agencies, to cover all government-approved methods of contraception as well as surgical sterilization.

“Under the new rule our institutions would be free to act in accord with Catholic teaching on life and procreation only if they were to stop hiring and serving non-Catholics,” said Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo, chairman of the U.S. bishops’ pro-life committee.

“Although this new rule gives the agency the discretion to authorize a ‘religious’ exemption, it is so narrow as to exclude most Catholic social service agencies and healthcare providers,” the cardinal noted.

The guidelines, announced by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on August 1, offer the exemption only if a religious employer “has the inculcation of religious values as its purpose,” “primarily employs persons who share its religious tenets,” and “primarily serves persons who share its religious tenets.”

Cardinal DiNardo wondered whether the federal government may actually “intend to pressure Catholic institutions to cease providing health care, education and charitable services to the general public,” by forcing the institutions to choose between following Catholic principles on the one hand, and serving non-Catholics on the other.

So pregnancy is now officially a disease. It is telling that prenatal health and labor and delivery care is not included in the list of mandated coverage Many young women have told me that most health insurance plans have severe restrictions on such coverage.

This is truly evil.

Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments

Saint of the Day: St. Mary Magdalene

Posted on July 22, 2011 by Susan Kehoe

From last years post:

Despite the accusations made by progressive feminists, the Church has no position on the identity of Mary of Magdalene. Although she is a very important figure in the Gospels, we know little about her. From the Gospels, we know that she had been exorcised of seven demons from Luke’s Gospel (8:1-2), and every Gospel identifies her as one of the women at the foot of the Cross. She was also the first to discover the empty tomb and to encounter the risen Christ; and she is the one who announced to the to the Apostles, “I have seen the Lord” (Jn.20:18).

The Church is often accused of demonizing Mary of Magdalene as a prostitute. This is absolutely false. It is true that some Church Fathers speculated that she may be the women with the alabaster jar, who appears in all four Gospels, as the women who anointed the feet of Christ with expensive oil (Mt. 26:6-13;Mk14:1-2;Lk. 22:1-2;Jn.47:36-38). This woman is identified as a great sinner. This means that she would have been an outcast in the ancient Jewish community. That is why those in attendance were scandalized that Jesus let her near him. In that community those who committed certain grave sins, like being a tax collector as was Matthew, were permanently excommunicated from Jewish life. There was no redemption. Continue reading…

Reginaldos has an interesting post, St. Mary Magdalene and the insanity of modern Catholic biblical scholarship.

Posted in Saints | Tagged , | 3 Comments

US Bishops Oppose Recommended Mandate for Birth Control, Sterilization in Private Health Plans

Posted on July 22, 2011 by Susan Kehoe

Earlier this week, I posted on the proposed recommendation to the US Department of Health and Human services. The USCCB has issued a statement.

WASHINGTON—Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, chairman of the Committee on Pro-Life Activities of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, strongly opposed the recommendation of the Institute of Medicine that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) mandate coverage of surgical sterilization and all FDA-approved birth control in private health insurance plans nationwide.

The full text of the statement follows:

I strongly oppose the Institute of Medicine’s recommendation today that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) mandate coverage of three particular practices in almost all private health plans: surgical sterilization; all FDA-approved birth control (including the IUD, “morning-after” pills, and the abortion-inducing drug Ella); and “education and counseling” promoting these among all “women of reproductive capacity.”

Pregnancy is not a disease, and fertility is not a pathological condition to be suppressed by any means technically possible.  The IOM report claims it would have good reason to recommend mandatory coverage for surgical abortions as well, if such a mandate were not prevented by law.  But most Americans surely see that abortion is not healthy or therapeutic for unborn children, and has physical and mental health risks for women which can be extremely serious.  I can only conclude that there is an ideology at work in these recommendations that goes beyond any objective assessment of the health needs of women and children.

The single largest abortion provider in the United States, Planned Parenthood, is celebrating the IOM’s report. If the HHS does likewise and implements its recommendations, these controversial practices will be mandated for all insurance plans – public and private – without co-pay from anyone receiving them. The considerable cost of these practices will be paid by all who participate in health coverage, employers and employees alike, including those who conscientiously object to Planned Parenthood’s agenda.

Without sufficient legal protection for rights of conscience, such a mandate would force all men, women and children to carry health coverage that violates the deeply-held moral and religious convictions of many.  This new threat to conscience makes it especially critical for Congress to pass the “Respect for Rights of Conscience Act” introduced by Reps. Jeff Fortenberry and Dan Boren (HR 1179). I am writing to all members of Congress to urge their co-sponsorship.

The IOM missed an opportunity to promote better health care for women that is life-affirming and truly compassionate.  I once again urge the Department of Health and Human Services to focus on the need of all Americans, including immigrants and the poor, for basic life-saving health coverage – not on mandating controversial elective practices in ways that undermine the good of women and children, the consciences of employers, employees and health plan providers, and the common good.

The really sick thing is that, it has come to my attention that some insurance plans that cover contraception and sterilizations either do not cover maternity care or do so with severe restrictions.

May God have mercy!

Posted in Catholic Moral Teaching, Church and the Public Square, Pro life | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment