There Is No Christmas without Christ!

Every year we seem to get further and further away from the real meaning of the Christmas Season.  When I was a young child, we used to joke about how quickly the Christmas decorations would come out after Thanksgiving.  This year, I saw Christmas decorations on the shelves of stores BEFORE Halloween!!! 

We seem to have lost sight, almost completely, of this season.  When people talk about Christmas it is Santa Claus and presents.  I read a story today that was talking about Christmas music and not one of the songs mentioned was religious.  They were all about Santa and snow.  Public decorations must now be non-religious, lest they offend someone.  My family will prominently display a manger scene in our front yard.

At my Knights of Columbus meeting last night, Father Bill spoke on keeping Christ in Christmas as much as we can.  He mentioned saying "Merry Christmas" vs. Happy Holidays.  I do that all the time, making it a point to wish the store clerk a Merry Christmas when she offers me a Happy Holidays, only to have her admit to me that she would rather say Merry Christmas but is not allowed to. 

One of my Brother Knights mentioned that on the back of every one of his Christmas cards he affixes a homemade sticker that reminds the receiver to keep Christ in Christmas.  I am going to start doing that this year.

So please, when you are out and about this year, don't let yourself get too wrapped up in the "Holiday Season" so that you forget it is the "Christmas Season" and we are waiting for the birth of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

Merry Christmas to you all and may you be blessed each and every day.

Gotta Say It....I Told You So!!!!

Excerpts of an article written by Sam Miller, a prominent Cleveland Jewish businessman - NOT a Catholic.

Why would newspapers carry on a vendetta on one of the most important institutions that we have today in the United States, namely the Catholic Church? Do you know - the Catholic Church educates 2.6 million students everyday at the cost to that Church of 10 billion dollars, and a savings on the other hand to the American taxpayer of 18 billion dollars. The graduates go on to graduate studies at the rate of 92%.
The Church has 230 colleges and universities in the U.S. with an enrollment of 700,000 students.

The Catholic Church has a non-profit hospital system of 637 hospitals, which account for hospital treatment of 1 out of every 5 people – not just Catholics - in the United States today

But the press is vindictive and trying to totally denigrate in every way the Catholic Church in this country. They have blamed the disease of pedophilia on the Catholic Church, which is as irresponsible as blaming adultery on the institution of marriage.

Let me give you some figures that Catholics should know and remember. For example, 12% of the 300 Protestant clergy surveyed admitted to sexual intercourse with a parishioner; 38% acknowledged other inappropriate sexual contact. In a study by the United Methodist Church, 41.8% of clergy women reported unwanted sexual behavior; 17% of laywomen have been sexually harassed. Meanwhile, 1.7% of the Catholic clergy has been found guilty of pedophilia. 10% of the Protestant ministers have been found guilty of pedophilia. This is not a Catholic Problem.

A study of American priests showed that most are happy in the priesthood and find it even better than they had expected, and that most, if given the choice, would choose to be priests again in face of all this obnoxious PR the church has been receiving.

The Catholic Church is bleeding from self-inflicted wounds. The agony that Catholics have felt and suffered is not necessarily the fault of the Church. You have been hurt by a small number of wayward priests that have probably been totally weeded out by now.

Walk with your shoulders high and you head higher. Be a proud member of the most important non-governmental agency in the United States. Then remember what Jeremiah said: ‘Stand by the roads, and look and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is and walk in it, and find rest for your souls’. Be proud to speak up for your faith with pride and reverence and learn what your Church does for all other religions. Be proud that you’re a Catholic.

Use Your Catholic Vote!

Tomorrow is election day.  As an American, you are blessed with the opportunity to choose freely, those who would lead our country.  As a Catholic, you are hopefully voting to protect life, from conception to natural death.  Please take advantage of that right which so many of our forefathers fought and died for.  Don't allow those politicians to remain in office who do not respect the rights of the unborn, the infirmed, the poor and downtrodden, or protect the sanctity of marriage.  Those who would keep religion as far out of the mind of people as possible should not be allowed to remain in office.  No matter your political affiliation, your leaning left or right, make your voice heard.    Get out and vote!!

Gus Lloyd Rocks!!!

I have been listening to Gus Lloyd "The Catholic Guy" on The Catholic Channel since I got my truck with satellite radio in it.  He has a morning program called "Seize the Day".  It is an awesome program where he talks about many issues relevant to us Catholics today.  Here is a link to a video that was shown at the last retreat he facilitated.  It is very powerful....watch.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhfUzodLRvk&feature=player_embedded

To see his webpage...follow this link   http://guslloyd.com/blog/

Killing a Baby as Easy As a Video Game

A terminal at a Planned Parenthood
in Iowa for "seeing" the doctor and
receiving the medications.

Now, you don't even need to see a doctor to have an abortion to kill the baby inside you.  Introducing...video murder.  Yes folks, without actually visiting a doctor (you only see him through a video monitor) you can tell him you want to kill the baby within you and he will dispense a RU486 pill to you so you can kill your baby.  And if you have complications...you must fend for yourself by going to an emergency room somewhere.  That doctor will be no where around to help you out.  But wait, it gets better!!!  Parental consent laws?  Not necessary!!  No parent needs to know since the loophole of not actually getting an abortion is open for you to squeeze your "rights" through!  This procedure is known as a "telemed abortion".  Maybe instead of finding more ways of killing our children we should focus on how to better raise them.

This comment was below a story on this method:  The choice of deciding who should be forced to have a child is inappropriate for a politician.

The problem I have with this is that the person who is having the abortion usually isn't "forced" to get pregnant.  The vast majority of the time it is due to their own promiscuity or recklessness or disrespect for the pro-creative act that sex was meant to be.  Just because you made a "mistake", does not give you a right to solve the problem by murder.  If I marry the wrong woman and consider it a mistake, can I then kill her to correct it?  NO!!!  Absurd you say?  It is no more absurd than killing your mistake growing inside you.

Pray hard and pray often that this blemish on humanity will soon be over. 

If She's Not a Priest, Don't Call Her a Priest

In a Time magazine article about the "groundswell" of public opinion calling for the allowing of female priests in the Catholic Church, Time showed their shoddy journalism by continuously referring to these improperly ordained women as priests.
They were not ordained by permission of the Vatican and so therefore do not hold the rights and privileges thereof.  It would be as if I did not go to medical school but called myself "Doctor".  I am a doctor in name only, but not recognized by the medical community.
So why, does Time call them priests?  They are simply continuing a false title and showing total disrespect for the Catholic Church.  To prove how they are not accepted by the Church, they do not act as priests in a Catholic Church, they do their "masses" in Protestant churches and they are members of St. Harold's Catholic Community...not even a parish. 
My personal opinion is that I hope women are never allowed to become priests.  I do not care for female clergy in other religions and I absolutely hate it when I see a female in a Roman collar.  Bad enough that some clergy wear that collar and they are not Catholic.  I do not see myself as a sexist.  I am a firm believer that women can do everything men can as long as their ability allows it.  But, this is one place where I just cannot accept that position being held by a woman.  I think that if it were ever allowed, I would not be a member of a parish with a female priest.
I hope the Church figures out who these priests are who have been working against the Church with these female "priests" as well as the bishop who would  have had to ordain them and excommunicates them all.
If the Church is to remain strong, the men who lead it must do so according to the rules that are set, not the rules they want to follow.  If our Priests become cafeteria Catholics, we are in trouble.