Ring Out, Wild Bells

Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky,
The flying cloud, the frosty light:
The year is dying in the night;
Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.

Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring, happy bells, across the snow:
The year is going, let him go;
Ring out the false, ring in the true.

Ring out the grief that saps the mind,
For those that here we see no more;
Ring out the feud of rich and poor,
Ring in redress to all mankind.

Ring out a slowly dying cause,
And ancient forms of party strife;
Ring in the nobler modes of life,
With sweeter manners, purer laws.

Ring out the want, the care, the sin,
The faithless coldness of the times;
Ring out, ring out my mournful rhymes,
But ring the fuller minstrel in.

Ring out false pride in place and blood,
The civic slander and the spite;
Ring in the love of truth and right,
Ring in the common love of good.

Ring out old shapes of foul disease;
Ring out the narrowing lust of gold;
Ring out the thousand wars of old,
Ring in the thousand years of peace.

Ring in the valiant man and free,
The larger heart, the kindlier hand;
Ring out the darkness of the land,
Ring in the Christ that is to be.

Alfred, Lord Tennyson, In
Memoriam A.H.H.

Reverend Paul Scalia: Christ's Contentment with Home

The Holy Family by Raphael, 1483-1520 

A Homily by Reverend Paul Scalia

Pastor, St. John the Beloved Catholic Church

McLean, Virginia

December 27, 2009

King`s College Choir, Cambridge - Away in a Manger

The Magician's Twin: C.S. Lewis and the Case against Scientism

More than a half century ago, famed writer C.S. Lewis warned about how science (a good thing) could be twisted in order to attack religion, undermine ethics, and limit human freedom. In this documentary "The Magician's Twin: C.S. Lewis and the Case Against Scientism," leading scholars explore Lewis's prophetic warnings about the abuse of science and how Lewis's concerns are increasingly relevant for us today.

Canadians are a Hardy Bunch, Eh?

Now Playing on a Campus Near You: De Tocqueville’s “The End of Democracy in America”

It took five centuries before the strychnine of corruption and fatigue finally killed the Roman Empire (né Republic). It’s taken the U.S. about five decades to reach a point where such a suicidal whimper no longer seems unthinkable.

If you want to know why we’re getting there faster, look no further than Professor Jacobson’s important post the other day at College Insurrection about what’s happening at his (undergraduate) alma mater: Western Civilization driven off campus at Hamilton college.

Read the rest of this entry at Legal Insurrection >>

Why the War Party Fears Hagel

By Patrick J. Buchanan 

In the fortnight since Chuck Hagel’s name was floated for secretary of defense, we have witnessed Washington at its worst.

Who is Chuck Hagel?

Born in North Platte, Neb., he was a squad leader in Vietnam, twice wounded, who came home to work in Ronald Reagan’s 1980 campaign, was twice elected U.S. senator, and is chairman of the Atlantic Council and co-chair of the President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board.

Telegraph Writers and Editors Select the Queen as 'Greatest Briton' of the Year

Telegraph writers and editors have chosen 25 notable Britons of 2012 – here are our top 10 – including our Briton of the Year 

 

The Queen not only celebrated her Diamond Jubilee, giving us all a reason to remind ourselves what is best about Britain, but also played a starring role in the opening ceremony of London 2012 Olympics Photo: PA

 

The Queen, Our Greatest Briton
 

When historians look back on 2012, one Briton will define the year’s momentous and joyous events more than any other. The Queen not only celebrated her Diamond Jubilee, giving us all a reason to remind ourselves what is best about Britain, but also played a starring role in the opening ceremony of London 2012. 

Who will ever forget the delicious moment when Her Majesty greeted James Bond at Buckingham Palace, before appearing to parachute out of a helicopter into the Olympic Park? Our Olympians and Paralympians may have given us a month’s worth of unashamed patriotism, but the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee was the culmination of a lifetime of service to the country. 

At the centre of the celebrations were four remarkable days in June, during which the Queen defied age and the elements to attend the Thames Pageant, the splendidly over-the-top Jubilee Concert outside Buckingham Palace and a Service of Thanksgiving at St Paul’s, followed by a Carriage Procession and Balcony appearance. She had already taken on a daunting schedule of travel at the beginning of the year, as she set out to visit every corner of the United Kingdom, determined that as many of us as possible should see her in her landmark year; and she ended 2012 in the same spirit, shaking off a cold to lead her family to church on Christmas Day. Her Majesty has not only defined a year, but has helped shape an entire era, and for that she is our Greatest Briton. 

Read the rest of this entry at The Telegraph >>

 

 

Christmas in an Anti-Christian Age

By Patrick J. Buchanan

For two millennia, the birth of Christ has been seen as the greatest event in world history. The moment Jesus was born in a stable in Bethlehem, God became man, and eternal salvation became possible.

This date has been the separation point of mankind's time on earth, with B.C. designating the era before Christ, and A.D., anno domino, in the Year of the Lord, the years after. And how stands Christianity today?

President Reagan's 1981 Christmas Address to the Nation

President Reagan discusses the true meaning of Christmas in this December 23, 1981 message to the nation.  A great leader and Christian gentleman who sought to do God's will in a far, far better time.

Christmas Broadcast of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

"I believe from my heart that the cause which binds together my peoples and our gallant and faithful allies is the cause of Christian Civilization."  

King George VI

Broadcasting on December 25, 1939

Pope Benedict's 'Urbi Et Orbi' (to the City and to the World) Message for Christmas 2012

URBI ET ORBI MESSAGE
OF HIS HOLINESS POPE BENEDICT XVI

CHRISTMAS 2012

(Video)  

Photo By HANDOUT/REUTERS

“Veritas de terra orta est!” – “Truth has sprung out of the earth” (Ps 85:12).

Dear brothers and sisters in Rome and throughout the world, a happy Christmas to you and your families!

In this Year of Faith, I express my Christmas greetings and good wishes in these words taken from one of the Psalms: “Truth has sprung out of the earth”. Actually, in the text of the Psalm, these words are in the future: “Kindness and truth shall meet; / justice and peace shall kiss. / Truth shall spring out of the earth, /and justice shall look down from heaven. / The Lord himself will give his benefits; / our land shall yield its increase. / Justice shall walk before him, / and salvation, along the way of his steps” (Ps 85:11-14).

Homily of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI for Christmas Midnight Mass

 

SOLEMNITY OF THE NATIVITY OF THE LORD

HOMILY OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI

Saint Peter's Basilica
Monday, 24 December 2012

 
[Video]
 

Dear Brothers and Sisters!

Again and again the beauty of this Gospel touches our hearts: a beauty that is the splendour of truth. Again and again it astonishes us that God makes himself a child so that we may love him, so that we may dare to love him, and as a child trustingly lets himself be taken into our arms. It is as if God were saying: I know that my glory frightens you, and that you are trying to assert yourself in the face of my grandeur. So now I am coming to you as a child, so that you can accept me and love me.

Preparations

by Anonymous

YET if His Majesty, our sovereign lord,
Should of his own accord
Friendly himself invite,
And say 'I'll be your guest to-morrow night,'
How should we stir ourselves, call and command
All hands to work! 'Let no man idle stand!
'Set me fine Spanish tables in the hall;
See they be fitted all;
Let there be room to eat
And order taken that there want no meat.
See every sconce and candlestick made bright,
That without tapers they may give a light.
'Look to the presence: are the carpets spread,
The dazie o'er the head,
The cushions in the chairs,
And all the candles lighted on the stairs?
Perfume the chambers, and in any case
Let each man give attendance in his place!'
Thus, if a king were coming, would we do;
And 'twere good reason too;
For 'tis a duteous thing
To show all honour to an earthly king,
And after all our travail and our cost,
So he be pleased, to think no labour lost.
But at the coming of the King of Heaven
All 's set at six and seven;
We wallow in our sin,
Christ cannot find a chamber in the inn.
We entertain Him always like a stranger,
And, as at first, still lodge Him in the manger.

Christmas Past and Christmas Present at King's

Back in 2008, as the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols from King's College Cambridge marked its ninetieth birthday, former choir member Brian Kay uncovers the WWI origins of the service and explores its enduring appeal.

Those sharing their memories include former director of music Philip Ledger and organ scholar-turned-conductor Sir Andrew Davis.

Gary Glenn Discusses Michigan's Right-to-Work Law on the Mike Huckabee Show

Gary Glenn with son, Hunter, and Governor Mike Huckabee

Click here to listen to Gov. Mike Huckabee's December 13th interview with Gary Glenn, president of the American Family Association of Michigan, regarding Michigan's historic new Right to Work law.

The law prohibits compulsory union dues, protecting Christian and other employees from being forced -- under threat of being fired -- to contribute money to union officials who promote abortion on demand, so-called homosexual "marriage," and other causes that the individual employee opposes as a matter of religious conviction or conscience.

Gary was a founding member of the Michigan Freedom to Work Coalition that in June 2011 announced its push for passage of this new civil rights law prohibiting job discrimination on the basis of union affiliation or support.  From 1980-86, Gary was executive director of the Idaho Freedom to Work Committee and led that state's successful drive to enact the same law.

Union officials are expected to put an initiative on Michigan's November 2014 election ballot to try to repeal the new law and restore their ability to discriminate against and fire individuals who as a matter of conviction and conscience refuse to support Big Labor's partisan political agenda.  

Of The Father's Love Begotten (Corde Natus Ex Parentis)

Another beautiful video from the Piddflicks Channel.

Of the Fathers love begotten, ere the worlds began to be,
He is Alpha and Omega, He the source, the ending He,
Of the things that are, that have been,
And that future years shall see, evermore and evermore!

At His Word the worlds were framèd; He commanded; it was done:
Heaven and earth and depths of ocean in their threefold order one;
All that grows beneath the shining
Of the moon and burning sun, evermore and evermore!

O that birth forever blessèd, when the virgin, full of grace,
By the Holy Ghost conceiving, bare the Saviour of our race;
And the Babe, the worlds Redeemer,
First revealed His sacred face, evermore and evermore!

This is He Whom seers in old time chanted of with one accord;
Whom the voices of the prophets promised in their faithful word;
Now He shines, the long expected,
Let creation praise its Lord, evermore and evermore!

O ye heights of heaven adore Him; angel hosts, His praises sing;
Powers, dominions, bow before Him, and extol our God and King!
Let no tongue on earth be silent,
Every voice in concert sing, evermore and evermore!

Christ, to Thee with God the Father, and, O Holy Ghost, to Thee,
Hymn and chant with high thanksgiving, and unwearied praises be:
Honour, glory, and dominion,
And eternal victory, evermore and evermore!

From the original Latin of Aurelius Prudentius (5thc.) translated by John M. Neale & Henry W. Baker (19thc.)

Dr. Larry Arnn: "Time to Give Up or Time to Fight On?"

From the Pastor: The Good News and the Continuing Conflict

A weekly column by Father George Rutler.

Christ will “gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire” (Luke 3:17). St. Luke calls this “good news.” Unquenchable fire hardly seems like good news, until you realize that Christ is separating good from evil, saving mankind from the degraded delusion that these categories are impressions without substance.

Pope Benedict's Christmas Address to the Roman Curia

Benedict XVI addresses the Curia in the Clementine Hall at the Vatican (Photo: CNS)

Dear Cardinals, Brother Bishops and Priests, Dear Brothers and Sisters,

It is with great joy that I meet you today, dear Members of the College of Cardinals, Representatives of the Roman Curia and the Governorate, for this traditional event in the days leading up to the feast of Christmas. I greet each one of you cordially, beginning with Cardinal Angelo Sodano, whom I thank for his kind words and for the warm good wishes that he extended to me on behalf of all present. The Dean of the College of Cardinals reminded us of an expression that appears frequently during these days in the Latin liturgy: Prope est iam Dominus, venite, adoremus! The Lord is already near, come, let us adore him! We too, as one family, prepare ourselves to adore the Child in the stable at Bethlehem who is God himself and has come so close as to become a man like us. I willingly reciprocate your good wishes and I thank all of you from my heart, including the Papal Representatives all over the world, for the generous and competent assistance that each of you offers me in my ministry.

Porn Use Linked to Gay Marriage Support, Researcher Finds

There is a correlation between watching porn and support for gay marriage among men, Dr. Mark Regnerus, associate professor of sociology at University of Texas at Austin, found. Exposure to diverse and graphic sex acts, he believes, may undermine a traditional view of marriage.

Read the rest of this entry at The Christian Post >>

Communist Chinese Government Calls For Americans to be Disarmed

The Communist Chinese government, via its state-run media front Xinhua, has called for Americans to be disarmed, arguing that the Sandy Hook school massacre demands “no delay for U.S. gun control.”

Xinhua is virtually the press agency for the Communist Chinese government. The organization, “is subordinate to the State Council and reports to the Communist Party of China’s Propaganda and Public Information Departments.”

In other words, Xinhua represents the pinnacle of Chinese state-run media. Whatever is printed in its editorial pages represents the opinion of the ruling Communist Party leaders.

Read the rest of this entry at Inforwars.com >>

Pat Buchanan Picked as 'Man of the Year' by WorldNetDaily

We commend and thank WorldNetDaily for their recognition of Patrick J. Buchanan as their 2012 Man of the Year.  

Pat Buchanan has indeed been steadfast in his "commitment to principle."  He reminds us of something the great Venerable Fulton Sheen frequently said:  "Right is right if nobody is right, and wrong is wrong if everybody is wrong."  Pat Buchanan has been consistently right when much of America has been wrong.  He has seen the fast approaching storms and warned us all of a disastrous course.  Like Horatius at the Bridge, the day may yet come when Americans recognize what a prophet we have had among us and turn to this good and gifted man to save us from ourselves. In the meantime, we join WorldNetDaily in thanking Pat Buchanan for courageous loyalty to his church, to his country, and to the truth he was taught in a far, far better time in America.

Pope Benedict Writes Christmas Column for the Financial Times

Pope Benedict has written an op-ed on the spiritual meaning of Christmas for the  December 20 issue of the Financial Times.  It is unprecedented for a Roman Pontiff to write an essay for a secular publication.

Upon releasing a copy of the Holy Father's column, the Vatican Information Service stated:  "The Pope's article for the Financial Times originates from a request from the editorial office of the Financial Times itself which, taking as a cue the recent publication of the Pope's book on Jesus' infancy, asked for his comments on the occasion of Christmas. Despite the unusual nature of the request, the Holy Father accepted willingly.

Pope Benedict previously agreed to be interviewed by the BBC at Christmas following his 2010 visit to the United Kingdom. The full text of the Pope's article follows:

A time for Christians to engage with the world

"'Render unto Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God,' was the response of Jesus when asked about paying taxes. His questioners, of course, were laying a trap for him. They wanted to force Him to take sides in the highly-charged political debate about Roman rule in the land of Israel. Yet there was more at stake here: if Jesus really was the long-awaited Messiah, then surely He would oppose the Roman overlords. So the question was calculated to expose Him either as a threat to the regime, or a fraud.

"Jesus’ answer deftly moves the argument to a higher plane, gently cautioning against both the politicisation of religion and the deification of temporal power, along with the relentless pursuit of wealth. His audience needed to be reminded that the Messiah was not Caesar, and Caesar was not God. The kingdom that Jesus came to establish was of an altogether higher order. As He told Pontius Pilate, 'My kingship is not of this world.'

"The Christmas stories in the New Testament are intended to convey a similar message. Jesus was born during a “census of the whole world” taken by Caesar Augustus, the Emperor renowned for bringing the Pax Romana to all the lands under Roman rule. Yet this infant, born in an obscure and far-flung corner of the Empire, was to offer the world a far greater peace, truly universal in scope and transcending all limitations of space and time.

"Jesus is presented to us as King David’s heir, but the liberation He brought to His people was not about holding hostile armies at bay; it was about conquering sin and death forever.

"The birth of Christ challenges us to reassess our priorities, our values, our very way of life. While Christmas is undoubtedly a time of great joy, it is also an occasion for deep reflection, even an examination of conscience. At the end of a year that has meant economic hardship for many, what can we learn from the humility, the poverty, the simplicity of the crib scene?

"Christmas can be the time in which we learn to read the Gospel, to get to know Jesus not only as the Child in the manger, but as the one in Whom we recognize God made Man.

"It is in the Gospel that Christians find inspiration for their daily lives and their involvement in worldly affairs – be it in the Houses of Parliament or the Stock Exchange. Christians shouldn’t shun the world; they should engage with it. But their involvement in politics and economics should transcend every form of ideology.

"Christians fight poverty out of a recognition of the supreme dignity of every human being, created in God’s image and destined for eternal life. Christians work for more equitable sharing of the earth’s resources out of a belief that, as stewards of God’s creation, we have a duty to care for the weakest and most vulnerable. Christians oppose greed and exploitation out of a conviction that generosity and selfless love, as taught and lived by Jesus of Nazareth, are the way that leads to fullness of life. Christian belief in the transcendent destiny of every human being gives urgency to the task of promoting peace and justice for all.

"Because these goals are shared by so many, much fruitful cooperation is possible between Christians and others. Yet Christians render to Caesar only what belongs to Caesar, not what belongs to God. Christians have at times throughout history been unable to comply with demands made by Caesar. From the Emperor cult of ancient Rome to the totalitarian regimes of the last century, Caesar has tried to take the place of God. When Christians refuse to bow down before the false gods proposed today, it is not because of an antiquated world-view. Rather, it is because they are free from the constraints of ideology and inspired by such a noble vision of human destiny that they cannot collude with anything that undermines it.

"In Italy, many crib scenes feature the ruins of ancient Roman buildings in the background. This shows that the birth of the child Jesus marks the end of the old order, the pagan world, in which Caesar’s claims went virtually unchallenged. Now there is a new king, who relies not on the force of arms, but on the power of love. He brings hope to all those who, like himself, live on the margins of society. He brings hope to all who are vulnerable to the changing fortunes of a precarious world. From the manger, Christ calls us to live as citizens of his heavenly kingdom, a kingdom that all people of good will can help to build here on earth".

Brent Bozell: ‘If Chris Matthews Could Carry Barack Obama’s Next Child, He Would’

Advent Prayer: O Radix Jesse

Five minutes of daily prayer and contemplation to better recognize the Christ Child and to more fully receive His boundless blessings. Based on the seven Great O Antiphons.

Time Names Barack Obama ‘Person of the Year’ for 2012

In keeping with previous selections - Hitler, Stalin and the Ayatollah Khomeini - Time has named Barack Hussein Obama as its "Person of the Year" for 2012.  

How fitting, because like these forerunners, Obama has come to power through electoral fraud, has trampled the nation's Constitution, has seized power from the national legislature and has imposed his will over the natural law and the unalienable rights of the people.  Perhaps a significant difference between these tyrannical forerunners and Obama is that Hitler, Stalin and Khomeini were not undocumented aliens in the nations they ruled.

We make Psalm 109:8 our prayer.  Hear us, O Lord!

The Fiscal Cliff: What Would Reagan Do?

By Dr. Paul Kengor & Michael Reagan

Editor’s note: A version of this article first appeared at FoxNews.com.

As President Obama and Democrats urge Republicans to increase taxes, some liberals are curiously invoking the name of Ronald Reagan, the ultimate tax-cutting Republican. They insist that even Reagan was willing to compromise with Democrats on tax increases; thus, John Boehner and Republicans should as well. In truth, this is (at best) a false parallel.

Poll: Christians Most Numerous Worldwide; 'Nones' Majority in Six Countries

An international Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life poll has found that Christianity remains the religion with the most adherents worldwide, while roughly one-third of people around the globe have no religious affiliation.

 

The comprehensive poll examined more than 230 countries worldwide, and asked respondents to identify which religion, if any, they belong to. The results determined that 32 percent of the world's population, 2.2 billion people, are Christians, 23 percent or 1.6 billion are Muslim, 15 percent or 1 billion are Hindu, and that 7 percent or 500 million are Buddhists. African, Asian, Native American and other folk religions are still practiced by 6 percent or 400 million people. Close to 1 percent belong to other established groups like the Baha'i faith, Jainism, Sikhism, Shintoism, Taoism, Tenrikyo, Wicca and Zoroastrianism, while Jewish people account for only 0.02 percent, or 14 million of the population.

The Pew poll found that almost half of the world's Christians are Catholic, while 37 percent identify as one of the Protestant traditions, which includes Anglicans. The Orthodox Communion numbers 12 percent, while minority denominations, sometimes referred to as "cults" like Mormons and Jehovah Witnesses only make up around 1 percent of the global Christian population.

Read the rest of this entry at The Christian Post >>

Advent Prayer: O Adonai

Five minutes of daily prayer and contemplation to better recognise the Christ Child and to more fully receive His boundless blessings. Based on the seven Great O Antiphons.

Scottish Bishop Rebukes David Cameron

Bishop Joseph Devine

The Conservative government of Prime Minister David Cameron has given wonderful statements lamenting the decline of a Christian ethos in Great Britain while simultaneously betraying Middle England, or what in America we would call his "base," by pushing the legalization of same-sex "marriage." Indeed, were David Cameron an American politician, the Republican Establishment would nominate him for the Presidency.

The Right Reverend Joseph Devine, Bishop of Motherwell in Scotland, finally had enough of the deceit, secularist agenda, and treason. In probably one of the strongest rebukes a modern churchman has ever rendered unto Caesar, Bishop Devine sent the letter linked below to the Prime Minister.

We can only say, in awe and admiration, that we wish that there was one like this valiant Scot among the approximately 300 effete, spineless, hand-wringers that comprise the American episcopacy. 

Bishop Devine's letter is here.

Caution: May cause shortness of breath and palpitations in Pax Christi members and National Catholic Reporter subscribers.

1954 King's College Carol Service

A sublime and historic broadcast of the King's College, Cambridge, Carol Service conducted by Boris Ord in 1954.

Advent Prayer: O Sapientia

Tim Scott to Fill DeMint Senate Seat

The appointment of Representative Tim Scott to fill Senator Jim DeMint's Senate seat is the best possible appointment for many reasons.  While Scott does not have the most conservative voting record among our South Carolina Congressional delegation, he is a solid conservative whose vote will cancel out rogue Senator Lindsey Graham.  He is also less likely than others on the "short list" to draw a primary opponent in 2014, forcing the strongest Senator-wannabe's to consider a primary challenge to Lindsey Graham.  And best of all, Haley didn't appoint herself.

Congratulations, Congressman Scott, we wish you great success and hope you will continue to "fight the good fight" so ably and nobly fought by Senator DeMint.

S.C. Gov. Haley names Scott to DeMint’s Senate seat

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley on Monday named Rep. Tim Scott to replace the resigning Republican Sen. Jim DeMint. 

Mrs. Haley, who announced her decision at an early afternoon news conference at the state Capitol in Columbia, said Mr. Scott’s background as a entrepreneur will serve South Carolina well. 

“He earned this,” she said. 

Read the rest of this entry at The Washington Times >>

The Pope's Christmas Card

From L’Osservatore Romano

Veritas de terra orta est! (“Truth shall spring out of the earth”). Benedict XVI chose these words  from Psalm 85:12 for this year’s Christmas card, which will be given to the Roman Curia, Vatican employees and all the faithful present at the audiences and celebrations in the upcoming days. The card, produced by the Vatican Printing Press, features the Holy Father’s hand-written message and this painting by Leandro Bassano (1557-1622), entitled: “The Nativity and Adoration of the Shepherds”, located in the private apartment of the Apostolic Palace. Benedict XVI continues the tradition — began by Paul VI in 1963 — of printing cards for Christmas, Easter and other solemnities with a hand-written phrase taken from Scripture, the Church Fathers or the lectionary with a depiction of the theme of the liturgical feast.

Obama Leaves Marine Hero Rotting In Mexican Prison

From The Western Center for Journalism

Barack Obama loves to give speeches in front of our troops.

He stood on the shoulders—or rather the necks—of the SEALS who took out Osama Bin Laden, taking the credit for himself, even inviting Hollywood in to produce the Ode to Obama, aka Zero Dark Thirty.

But after the troops have served their purpose, they are discarded as garbage. 

Father Christopher Smith: Refashioned or True Religion?

In New York, Virginia, New Jersey and South Carolina, I have been extraordinarily blessed in my pastors.  They could not be more different in their personalities, yet each one is an alter Christus, carrying out the Church's salvific mission, building the Kingdom and serving all that is good, true and beautiful.  The following is the weekly parish bulletin letter written by my current pastor, Father Christopher Smith, Ph.D, S.T.D.

Father Smith

As a young theology student, I once stated that the Church is divided, because there are so many different denominations.  Archbishop Rino Fisichella, the new Prefect of the Congregation for the New Evangelization, corrected me:  "The Church is one.  It is Christians who are divided."  Every Sunday we say, I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.  For Catholics, we know that means us, the Church founded by Jesus Christ.  But there are millions of other Christians who say the same Creed every Sunday, yet are not Catholic.  And there are countless more who say no Creed at all when they come to worship.

The Catholic Church has remained one, the original Christians since the beginning.  We "do" Church as it were together.  But from time to time individuals convince themselves that they can "do" it better.  So while there is 1 Catholic Church, there are over 33,000 different groups of Christians protesting our claim to hand on the apostolic faith.  And because the only thing they all agree on is that they are not Catholic, they divide on and on.  There used to be denominations, like the Anglicans or the Presbyterians or the Lutherans, but they too have split into all sorts of splinter groups.  And many Christians are just opting out entirely of denominations, opening shop in a coffee shop or a house or a warehouse.  Some of these grow into megachurches and others never go very far, and many of those megachurches implode and divide too.

I find it interesting that the vast majority of these sects are found in the USA or funded by American missionaries.  There is something about our culture which is very individualistic and entrepreneurial.  And here, the customer is always right.  I am always coming across people who say, "I haven't found  a Church home yet."  What they mean is they haven't found a Church that reflects their own image and likeness.  That consumerist mentality is not just something Protestant, though.  Once upon a time, people went to the Catholic parish closest to them.  Now, people shop around for what they think will fulfill them, for the image of the Church they like.  Parishes are pressured to market themselves to cater to what people like.

There is one place where all of this comes from: Pride.  And it created division among Christians.  It hampers our efforts at evangelization, apologetics and ecumenism.  The consumer mentality has a way of filling up churches for a little while, whose members then float away and cease to practice the faith when they don't get the high they have been expecting.

We have a motive for rejoicing today though on this Gaudete Sunday.  There are Catholic Christians who seek to serve God and His Truth and not themselves.  They resist the attempt to remake the Church and the Gospel in their own image and likeness.  Our task is to be faithful to the Church handed down from Jesus to the Apostles down to our own day.  It is time to repent from the pride which leads us to make up our own religions or refashion the true religion as we see fit.  GK Chesterton once asked, "Do you want a Church that is moved by the world, or a Church that moves the world?"  I know which one I've got, and I am blessed and highly favoured to have it right here in my Catholic Church and our Prince of Peace family.

From the Pastor - Gaudete Sunday

A weekly column by Father George Rutler.

Saint Luke, with his eye for detail, is patron saint of historians and artists. It is ironic that he was martyred, according to tradition, in Boeotia—a humid and swampy part of Greece whose people were not interested in much of anything beyond their uneventful daily lives. Homer mocked them, and they became the butt of jokes, especially among the Athenians who disdained their lack of interest in philosophy and the great questions of life, rather like the hapless people today who spend their time “tweeting” and ignoring what is going on around them.

Archbishop Fulton Sheen - The Meaning of Suffering

The Birth of British Music - Part 4 - Mendelssohn, The Prophet

In the final program, Charles Hazlewood looks at Mendelssohn, whose music embodies the sound of the Victorian age. Mendelssohn's overture to A Midsummer Night's Dream captured the Victorians' fondness for fairy stories, and he pioneered the use of a new conductor's tool - the baton. Hazlewood's journey includes a trip to Birmingham Town Hall, where a massed choir performs extracts from Mendelssohn's iconic work Elijah.

America’s Growing Government Class

From The Center for Vision & Values

By Paul G. Kengor

The latest unemployment figures are again depressing, but not for the usual reasons. They provide further confirmation of Barack Obama’s fundamental transformation of America, specifically through his creation of a growing government class.

The numbers show a massive increase in government jobs created over the last five months—621,000, to be exact, dwarfing private-sector job growth. Those new government jobs account for a staggering 73 percent of overall job growth. In all, 21 million citizens now work for government, out of 143 million employed in America, or one in seven Americans.

Obama Moving To Criminalize Criticism Of Islam

From The Western Center for Journalism

By Chris Zane

The whole “conspiracy theory” of the Obama administration being infiltrated by the Muslim Brotherhood, purging government documents critical of Islam, and seeking to criminalize the criticism of Islam is just that—a conspiracy theory—isn’t it?

Sadly, it isn’t.

If you simply pull back the curtain and look at what Obama has been doing in plain sight—inviting groups convicted of terrorism into the White House, having Muslim Brotherhood members within the State Department, purging training materials of anything critical of Islam–you would find that this whole “conspiracy theory” goes by another term: the truth.

How America got to this point and whether we can return to that Shining City on a Hill instead of on our way to the trash heap of history remains to be seen.

I have a feeling the American people, as they have done in the past, will rise up and take back this country…

The Twelve Days of Christmas . . . Haven't Started Yet!

From About.com

By Scott P. Richert 

Perhaps it's been going on my entire life, but I first noticed the phenomenon a few years ago. Starting on December 13 or 14, depending on how mathematically/calendrically challenged the particular blogger or business is, the countdown to Christmas begins: "On the First Day of Christmas [we put this on sale | I recapped the top stories of January | etc.]."

Except, of course, that December 13 is the Feast of Saint Lucy and December 14 is the Feast of Saint John of the Cross, and neither day is the "First Day of Christmas," because they both fall in Advent.

The Fall of the House of Labor

By Patrick J. Buchanan

In 1958, Senate Minority Leader William Knowland, his eye on the 1960 GOP nomination coveted by fellow Californian Richard Nixon, went home and declared for governor.

Knowland’s plan: Ride to victory on the back of Proposition 18, the initiative to make right-to-work the law in the Golden Land. Prop. 18 was rejected 2 to 1. Knowland’s career was over, and the Republicans were decimated nationally for backing right-to-work.

Badly burned, the party for years ran away from the issue.

A Traditionalist Avant-Garde

We love The Economist almost as much as we love to see the secular media confounded by all those zealous, young, counter-cultural Catholics.  They just can't figure it out!

 It’s trendy to be a traditionalist in the Catholic church

Smells and bells galore

From The Economist

SINCE the Second Vatican Council in 1962, the Roman Catholic church has striven to adapt to the modern world. But in the West—where many hoped a contemporary message would go down best—believers have left in droves. Sunday mass attendance in England and Wales has fallen by half from the 1.8m recorded in 1960; the average age of parishioners has risen from 37 in 1980 to 52 now. In America attendance has declined by over a third since 1960. Less than 5% of French Catholics attend regularly, and only 15% in Italy. Yet as the mainstream wanes, traditionalists wax.