Smoky Mountains Sunrise

Sunday, March 31, 2013

The Easter Sermon of Saint John Chrysostom


Is there anyone who is a devout lover of God? Let them enjoy this beautiful bright festival! Is there anyone who is a grateful servant? Let them rejoice and enter into the joy of their Lord!

Are there any weary with fasting? Let them now receive their wages! If any have toiled from the first hour, let them receive their due reward; if any have come after the third hour, let him with gratitude join in the Feast! And he that arrived after the sixth hour, let him not doubt; for he too shall sustain no loss. And if any delayed until the ninth hour, let him not hesitate; but let him come too. And he who arrived only at the eleventh hour, let him not be afraid by reason of his delay.

For the Lord is gracious and receives the last even as the first. He gives rest to him that comes at the eleventh hour, as well as to him that toiled from the first. To this one He gives, and upon another He bestows. He accepts the works as He greets the endeavor. The deed He honors and the intention He commends.

Let us all enter into the joy of the Lord! First and last alike receive your reward; rich and poor, rejoice together! Sober and slothful, celebrate the day!

You that have kept the fast, and you that have not, rejoice today for the Table is richly laden! Feast royally on it, the calf is a fatted one. Let no one go away hungry. Partake, all, of the cup of faith. Enjoy all the riches of His goodness!

Let no one grieve at his poverty, for the universal kingdom has been revealed. Let no one mourn that he has fallen again and again; for forgiveness has risen from the grave. Let no one fear death, for the Death of Our Saviour has set us free. He has destroyed it by enduring it.

He destroyed Hades when He descended into it. He put it into an uproar even as it tasted of His flesh. Isaiah foretold this when he said, “You, O Hell, have been troubled by encountering Him below.”

Hell was in an uproar because it was done away with. It was in an uproar because it is mocked. It was in an uproar, for it is destroyed. It is in an uproar, for it is annihilated. It is in an uproar, for it is now made captive. Hell took a body, and discovered God. It took earth, and encountered Heaven. It took what it saw, and was overcome by what it did not see.

O death, where is thy sting? O Hades, where is thy victory?

Christ is Risen, and you, O death, are annihilated! Christ is Risen, and the evil ones are cast down! Christ is Risen, and the angels rejoice! Christ is Risen, and life is liberated! Christ is Risen, and the tomb is emptied of its dead; for Christ having risen from the dead, is become the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep.

To Him be Glory and Power forever and ever. Amen!


ZWYCIĘZCA ŚMIERCI (Conqueror of Death)


With this glorious Polish hymn celebrating Our Lord's resurrection, we wish all of our friends and visitors a very happy Easter.  May our risen Lord bless you and all those you love, in this world and the next, now and forever.


Saturday, March 30, 2013

"The Man"

Sandi Toksvig’s chilling look at how an unelected few decide the fate of the world, starring Stephen Fry, Zoë Wanamaker, Stellan Skarsgård and Hayley Atwell.

Hat Tip to The Monarchist 



Is America Still a Good Country?

By Patrick J. Buchanan 
“Not until I went to the churches of America and heard her pulpits aflame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power. America is great because she is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great.”

So wrote Alexis de Tocqueville.

Yet, judged by the standards of those old “pulpits aflame with righteousness,” is America still a good country?

Consider the cases taken up this week by the Supreme Court. 

 

Thursday, March 28, 2013

Pange Lingua - Saint Thomas Aquinas



Black Conservative Leaders Reveal the Roots of the NRA


The full version of this news conference is available here.


Robert Spencer: The Spiritual Journey of Magdi Allam

By Robert Spencer

The highest-profile convert to Roman Catholicism in recent memory, Magdi Cristiano Allam, has left the Catholic Church.

Allam, who was baptized in the Vatican by Pope Benedict XVI on Easter day 2008, explained that what “more than any other factor drove me away from the Church” was the “legitimization of Islam as the true religion of Allah as the one true God, Muhammad as a true prophet, the Koran as a sacred text, and of mosques as places of worship.”

Allam declared that contrary to all that, he was “convinced” that Islam was an “inherently violent ideology,” and that he was “even more convinced that Europe will eventually submit to Islam.”

Perhaps if the Church he joined in 2008 had been more resolute in standing for the defense of Judeo-Christian values and civilization, he would not have such a dark vision of the future. But there’s the rub: the determination to seek accommodation with Islam at all costs, even as Muslims persecute Christians with increasing ferocity all over the globe, is near-universal in the Catholic Church.

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew Foresees Reunion of Eastern and Western Churches

Bartholomew I became the first patriarch of Constantinople since 1054 to be present at the inauguration of a new pontificate



(ANSAmed) - ANKARA, MARCH 25 -
The Greek Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I who attended last week the mass inaugurating the pontificate of Pope Francis, believes the reunification of the Orthodox and Rome Churches 1,000 years after the Great Schism of 1054 is possible, the Turkish press reports.

Speaking at a meeting at the university of Kadir Has in Istanbul, Hurriyet reports, Bartholomew I said he believed 'there is a possibility for the next generations to see the churches of the East and West reunited'. 'This will probably not happen during my life', he added. Bartholomew I, 73, has been since 1991 the spiritual leader of the Greek Orthodox church, and last week became the first patriarch of Constantinople to be present at the inauguration of a new pontificate since 1054.

Read more at ANSAmed >>


Monday, March 25, 2013

Obama / DHS Putting the Tools of Tyranny in Place

Footage of hundreds of armored trucks, similar to ones reportedly purchased recently by the Department Of Homeland Security has appeared online, raising more questions over their intended use.

The video was uploaded to YouTube last week by a user who stated that it was shot in the middle of the desert between Hackberry and Peach Springs, Arizona.

It shows hundreds of military style trucks loaded on to a train, presumably in the process of being delivered domestically for law enforcement or military purposes.


Read more at Infowars.com


Lindsey Graham Enshrined In The G.O.P. Hall Of Shame

Graham GOPHOS

Have you heard that scientists are going to start using lawyers and politicians instead of rats for laboratory experiments? Apparently, this keeps the scientists from becoming too attached to their subjects . . . and there are simply some things even a rat won’t do.

While it’s true that every member of The Strident Conservative G.O.P. Hall of Shame is worse than a rat when it comes to standing up for Conservative values, our newest member—who happens to be a lawyer and a politician—proves that he is second to none.

First elected to the U.S. Senate in 2002, Lindsey Graham (R-ino SC) has a history of playing a “little loose” with his commitment to Conservative values in areas such as: smaller government, immigration reform, global warming, and taxes. However, the intensity of his anti-Conservative behavior since his reelection in 2008 is cause for great concern.

In 2009, Graham co-sponsored a letter to President Obama along with John Kerry and Joe Lieberman announcing their commitment to passing a climate change bill and outlining its framework. Graham was the likely sponsor of the final bill. The Senators identified a green economy, clean air, energy independence, consumer protection, increasing nuclear power and regulating the world’s carbon market as the key features to a successful climate change bill.

Gee, sounds more like a letter from Obama, not to him.

Due to changing priorities by Democrats at the time, Graham withdrew his support for the climate bill, leaving its passage in doubt. However, he removed all doubt about the bill in June 2010.
“The science about global warming has changed. I think they’ve oversold this stuff, quite frankly. I think they’ve been alarmist and the science is in question. The whole movement has taken a giant step backward.”
He also stated that he planned to vote against the climate bill that he had originally co-sponsored, citing further restriction of offshore drilling added to the bill and the bill’s impact on transportation. Wow . . . what conviction. No, really. What conviction?

Graham had another change of heart flip-flop in 2010. In the summer of that year, Graham declared that the T.E.A. Party would die out before the fall elections.

Read more at RedState >>




Sunday, March 24, 2013

A Spanish Flash Mob and the Best Coin Ever Spent



This is a slick commercial for Banco De Sabadell that builds on the highly popular flash-mob, or "random acts of culture" phenomenon.  But because of the obvious joy it gave those present, along with its viral popularity on the Internet, the commercial source in no way diminishes this wonderful performance that took place in the Plaça de Sant Roc in Sabadell, Spain.  More than 100 musicians and singers performed "Ode to Joy," the Fourth Movement of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125.

Oh for more commercialism like this!  It's a gem you can enjoy again and again.


Today's Holy Mass of Palm Sunday from the Vatican



The Choir of King's College, Cambridge - Hosanna to the Son of David


The Choir of King's College's sings Thomas Weelkes' Hosanna to the Son of David, the common Catholic and Anglican Introit for Palm Sunday Mass. The Conductor is Dr. Stephen Cleobury.

Hosanna to the Son of David;
Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord;
Hosanna, thou that sittest in the highest heavens!
Hosanna in excelsis Deo!

Saturday, March 23, 2013

Father Rutler: "The Great Week Is Here"

A weekly column by Father George Rutler.

The Great Week is here, putting into perspective each day of every week. Following the events of Christ’s Passion expands our biological existence into a life of hope. The solemn ceremonies are like the axle in a wheel, and without this axle the year spins out of control. Every day of our lives has its Good Friday moments in minuscule and its Resurrection moments in majuscule. Mortal life, with all its trials, lived as a daily walk toward eternal life with Christ who is Love, “bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (1 Corinthians 13:7).

Dr. Gordon Lloyd: The Bill of Rights and George Washington's Acts of Congress - Session 1


As a result of a partnership between the Reagan Foundation and the Ashbrook Center at Ashland University, Dr. Gordon Lloyd gave a series of six lectures on The Bill of Rights. As a renowned expert on the founding of the United States of America, Dr. Lloyd has compiled an amazing internet based resource on TeachingAmericanHistory.org. In this lecture, entitled "Bill of Rights: English and Colonial Origins," Dr. Lloyd traces the origins of each right in the Bill of Rights to its first appearance in either English or Colonial documents.


Friday, March 22, 2013

New Video Captures Lindsey Graham Saying South Carolinians Don't Want Jobs While Unemployed Workers Tell Graham He's Out Of Touch

Despite More Than 300,000 South Carolinians Unemployed or Underemployed, Senator Graham Is Pushing For Millions More Immigrant Workers and Amnesty  

Dennis Michael Lynch , an independent documentary filmmaker based in Long Island, NY, has released a new, controversial documentary short film. The short film was recently shot in South Carolina at job fairs and unemployment lines and is a preview of a longer film Lynch plans to release shortly. The film juxtaposes comments of unemployed South Carolinians standing in unemployment lines with video of Senator Lindsey Graham saying there's a labor shortage in his state and that he needs to increase immigration to fill jobs. 



"Lindsey Graham has obviously been spending way too much time with cheap labor corporate lobbyists in Washington who want to bring in more foreign workers and hold American wages down," commented Roy Beck , president and founder of NumbersUSA. "He ought to try spending some time with South Carolinians standing in unemployment lines. Maybe then he wouldn't be so out of touch with the jobs crisis in his own backyard."

In December, the unemployment rate in South Carolina was 8.6%, significantly above the national average. More than 300,000 South Carolinians are unemployed or underemployed. Many have simply given up looking for jobs.


Lenten Stations of the Cross



Thursday, March 21, 2013

Nikki Haley Introduces and Praises Mitt Romney at CPAC

South Carolina's Governor, along with State Treasurer Curtis Loftis, was an early and ardent supporter of Governor Mitt Romney's candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012.  This past week she introduced her candidate to the annual convention of the conservative movement known as CPAC.

Haley praised Mitt Romney as a "leader" who "fights to make a difference in the country."  But there's the rub.  It's the "difference" Mitt Romney made, his record, that caused conservatives throughout South Carolina to feel betrayed by their elected Republican (RINO) "leaders," and it was that record that caused millions of conservative, Republican voters to stay home or vote for third party candidates.

Yes, Governor Haley, Mitt Romney has fought, indeed he has been the foremost leader in advancing same-sex "marriage" in the United States, in authoring the prototype for Obamacare, in establishing taxpayer-funded $50 abortions on demand as a “healthcare benefit,” and in establishing a permanent government seat on the state-run health care board for an unelected representative of Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider.  

Conservatives also know that Romney repudiated Ronald Reagan when he ran for the United States Senate in Massachusetts; we remember that he promised to be "better than Ted" Kennedy in advancing the radical homosexual agenda; and we remember the outlandish lies he told about conservatives seeking the presidency in 2008 and 2012.  Conservatives also know that as Governor of Massachusetts, Romney took the same position the Obama administration has taken in its denial of religious conscience rights when he ordered that all hospitals provide rape victims the "morning after" abortifacient pill.  His lies, even about small and personal things, along with endless flip-flops on every major social and economic issue point to a deeply flawed character that resulted in most GOP primary voters supporting other candidates in the race, and his loss to a weak and unpopular incumbent.

But we're glad you reminded us of your support for the great chameleon, Governor Haley.  We just can't believe you and your fellow RINO, Mitt, had the nerve to peddle your poison at CPAC, of all places.



Sisters of Mary Compete Tonight on American Bible Challenge


The Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist is one of the dynamic, new, orthodox communities of women religious that can't build fast enough to accommodate their growing numbers.  Tonight, a team of three of the Sisters will compete on Season Two of the highest-rated show in GSN’s history when THE AMERICAN BIBLE CHALLENGE, hosted by comedian Jeff Foxworthy, returns at 9:00 pm ET/PT. The Sisters of Mary will be competing for a total purse of $140,000, and are playing to benefit the Sisters in their Order.

The Sisters of Mary include Sisters Peter Joseph and Evangeline, both novices; and Sister Maria Suso, a Professed Sister. All members enjoy a challenge and use their free time to play everything from soccer to Scrabble. “We look up to our older Sisters who have generously given their lives to God, and the prize money from this show would be the perfect way to show our gratitude for all of their inspiration.”

“These nuns are fun, funny and let me tell you, they came to win. Viewers are going to really enjoy seeing them in action,” said host Jeff Foxworthy.


Jeff Foxworthy hosts this one-hour game show in which contestants compete based on their knowledge of the Bible.  The tournament starts with 18 three-person teams—three teams in each of the first six episodes of the season. The winning teams from each of those six episodes advance to play in two semi-final games. During the final round, one team will be named champions of THE AMERICAN BIBLE CHALLENGE. 


Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Social Justice & Pope Francis

     

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

Having spent most of his life in Buenos Aires, Pope Francis has given proof that he can rise above his environment. As his compatriot Bishop Alberto Bochatey remarked, “he is a man of few words.” I lived half of my life in Buenos Aires. Few things are more difficult there than finding leaders with his humble demeanor and his preference of teaching by example. Most in his native Argentina have been captured by a political and economic environment ruled by a government dominated “social justice” mentality. Hopefully, Pope Francis will also rise above his culture and help recover a different type of social justice, which was nurtured and developed by members of his religious order.

Perfect Casting for the Father of Lies

We told you so!  Evil has a certain look, and the producers of the History Channel's hit series 'The Bible' captured it when they cast Mehdi Quazzani as the devil.

The resemblance between Moroccan actor Mehdi Ouazzani (left) and President Obama left some viewers of 'The Bible' taking to Twitter to express their amazement

Did Chesterton's Great Work on St. Francis Play a Role in the Pope's Intellectual Formation?

From The Catholic Herald (UK)
By William Oddie

Pope Francis arrives in St Peter's Square for his inauguration Mass (AP)
Pope Francis arrives in St Peter's Square for his inauguration Mass (AP)
I came upon the following passage in the course of a web search yesterday: “On 28 May 1995 the lead article in the Sunday Telegraph’s Review section was headlined ‘A Saint among journalists?’ The article was prompted by a letter from Argentina signed by politicians, diplomats and an archbishop and addressed to Cardinal Hume of Westminster. The letter called for the ‘initiation of the formal procedures towards the eventual canonisation of Gilbert Keith Chesterton’.”

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Congressman Trey Gowdy Blasts Obama Administration's Release of Aggravated Felons

This administration will readily put your life at risk in its efforts to destroy and bankrupt America.  And once again, South Carolina Congressman Trey Gowdy brings brilliant prosecutorial  skills to the task of exposing a criminal regime.



Vatican Explains Pope Francis' Coat of Arms

Vatican City, 19 March 2013 (VIS).- The new pontiff's papal coat of arms and motto are the same that he used as bishop. The shield has a bright blue background, at the centre top of which is a yellow radiant sun with the IHS christogram on it representing Jesus (it is also the Jesuit logo). The IHS monogram, as well as a cross that pierces the H, are in red with three black nails directly under them. Under that, to the left, is a star representing Mary, Mother of Christ and the Church. To the right of the star is a nard flower representing Joseph, Patron of the Universal Church. With these symbols the Pope demonstrates his love for the Holy Family.

What distinguishes his coat of arms as pontiff is that, instead of the wide-brimmed, red cardinal's hat atop the shield, it is now bears the same symbols of papal dignity as that of Benedict XVI: the papal mitre and crossed silver and gold keys joined by a red cord.

His motto—“miserando atque eligendo” (because he saw him through the eyes of mercy and chose him)—is taken from the Venerable Bede's homily on the Gospel account of the call of Matthew. It holds special meaning for the Pope because—when he was only 17-years-old, after going to confession on the Feast of St. Matthew in 1953—he perceived God's mercy in his life and felt the call to the priesthood, following the example of St. Ignatius of Loyola.


Pope Francis: Homily for Inaugural Mass


  Saint Peter's Square
Tuesday, 19 March 2013 

Solemnity of Saint Joseph


 
Dear Brothers and Sisters,

I thank the Lord that I can celebrate this Holy Mass for the inauguration of my Petrine ministry on the solemnity of Saint Joseph, the spouse of the Virgin Mary and the patron of the universal Church. It is a significant coincidence, and it is also the name-day of my venerable predecessor: we are close to him with our prayers, full of affection and gratitude.

I offer a warm greeting to my brother cardinals and bishops, the priests, deacons, men and women religious, and all the lay faithful. I thank the representatives of the other Churches and ecclesial Communities, as well as the representatives of the Jewish community and the other religious communities, for their presence. My cordial greetings go to the Heads of State and Government, the members of the official Delegations from many countries throughout the world, and the Diplomatic Corps.

In the Gospel we heard that “Joseph did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took Mary as his wife” (Mt 1:24). These words already point to the mission which God entrusts to Joseph: he is to be the custos, the protector. The protector of whom? Of Mary and Jesus; but this protection is then extended to the Church, as Blessed John Paul II pointed out: “Just as Saint Joseph took loving care of Mary and gladly dedicated himself to Jesus Christ’s upbringing, he likewise watches over and protects Christ’s Mystical Body, the Church, of which the Virgin Mary is the exemplar and model” (Redemptoris Custos, 1).

How does Joseph exercise his role as protector? Discreetly, humbly and silently, but with an unfailing presence and utter fidelity, even when he finds it hard to understand. From the time of his betrothal to Mary until the finding of the twelve-year-old Jesus in the Temple of Jerusalem, he is there at every moment with loving care. As the spouse of Mary, he is at her side in good times and bad, on the journey to Bethlehem for the census and in the anxious and joyful hours when she gave birth; amid the drama of the flight into Egypt and during the frantic search for their child in the Temple; and later in the day-to-day life of the home of Nazareth, in the workshop where he taught his trade to Jesus.

How does Joseph respond to his calling to be the protector of Mary, Jesus and the Church? By being constantly attentive to God, open to the signs of God’s presence and receptive to God’s plans, and not simply to his own. This is what God asked of David, as we heard in the first reading. God does not want a house built by men, but faithfulness to his word, to his plan. It is God himself who builds the house, but from living stones sealed by his Spirit. Joseph is a “protector” because he is able to hear God’s voice and be guided by his will; and for this reason he is all the more sensitive to the persons entrusted to his safekeeping. He can look at things realistically, he is in touch with his surroundings, he can make truly wise decisions. In him, dear friends, we learn how to respond to God’s call, readily and willingly, but we also see the core of the Christian vocation, which is Christ! Let us protect Christ in our lives, so that we can protect others, so that we can protect creation!

The vocation of being a “protector”, however, is not just something involving us Christians alone; it also has a prior dimension which is simply human, involving everyone. It means protecting all creation, the beauty of the created world, as the Book of Genesis tells us and as Saint Francis of Assisi showed us. It means respecting each of God’s creatures and respecting the environment in which we live. It means protecting people, showing loving concern for each and every person, especially children, the elderly, those in need, who are often the last we think about. It means caring for one another in our families: husbands and wives first protect one another, and then, as parents, they care for their children, and children themselves, in time, protect their parents. It means building sincere friendships in which we protect one another in trust, respect, and goodness. In the end, everything has been entrusted to our protection, and all of us are responsible for it. Be protectors of God’s gifts!

The Fisherman's Ring is placed on the finger of Pope Francis by Cardinal Angelo Sodano, Dean of the College of Cardinals - Picture: REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini
Whenever human beings fail to live up to this responsibility, whenever we fail to care for creation and for our brothers and sisters, the way is opened to destruction and hearts are hardened. Tragically, in every period of history there are “Herods” who plot death, wreak havoc, and mar the countenance of men and women.

Please, I would like to ask all those who have positions of responsibility in economic, political and social life, and all men and women of goodwill: let us be “protectors” of creation, protectors of God’s plan inscribed in nature, protectors of one another and of the environment. Let us not allow omens of destruction and death to accompany the advance of this world! But to be “protectors”, we also have to keep watch over ourselves! Let us not forget that hatred, envy and pride defile our lives! Being protectors, then, also means keeping watch over our emotions, over our hearts, because they are the seat of good and evil intentions: intentions that build up and tear down! We must not be afraid of goodness or even tenderness!

Here I would add one more thing: caring, protecting, demands goodness, it calls for a certain tenderness. In the Gospels, Saint Joseph appears as a strong and courageous man, a working man, yet in his heart we see great tenderness, which is not the virtue of the weak but rather a sign of strength of spirit and a capacity for concern, for compassion, for genuine openness to others, for love. We must not be afraid of goodness, of tenderness!

Today, together with the feast of Saint Joseph, we are celebrating the beginning of the ministry of the new Bishop of Rome, the Successor of Peter, which also involves a certain power. Certainly, Jesus Christ conferred power upon Peter, but what sort of power was it? Jesus’ three questions to Peter about love are followed by three commands: feed my lambs, feed my sheep. Let us never forget that authentic power is service, and that the Pope too, when exercising power, must enter ever more fully into that service which has its radiant culmination on the Cross. He must be inspired by the lowly, concrete and faithful service which marked Saint Joseph and, like him, he must open his arms to protect all of God’s people and embrace with tender affection the whole of humanity, especially the poorest, the weakest, the least important, those whom Matthew lists in the final judgment on love: the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick and those in prison (cf. Mt 25:31-46). Only those who serve with love are able to protect!

In the second reading, Saint Paul speaks of Abraham, who, “hoping against hope, believed” (Rom 4:18). Hoping against hope! Today too, amid so much darkness, we need to see the light of hope and to be men and women who bring hope to others. To protect creation, to protect every man and every woman, to look upon them with tenderness and love, is to open up a horizon of hope; it is to let a shaft of light break through the heavy clouds; it is to bring the warmth of hope! For believers, for us Christians, like Abraham, like Saint Joseph, the hope that we bring is set against the horizon of God, which has opened up before us in Christ. It is a hope built on the rock which is God.

To protect Jesus with Mary, to protect the whole of creation, to protect each person, especially the poorest, to protect ourselves: this is a service that the Bishop of Rome is called to carry out, yet one to which all of us are called, so that the star of hope will shine brightly. Let us protect with love all that God has given us!

I implore the intercession of the Virgin Mary, Saint Joseph, Saints Peter and Paul, and Saint Francis, that the Holy Spirit may accompany my ministry, and I ask all of you to pray for me! Amen.




Monday, March 18, 2013

God Made a Democrat



An Old Foe Comes Calling: Kirchner Asks Pope to Intervene in Falklands Row

Argentine President Cristina Kirchner meets Pope Francis at the Vatican - Photo: AP

Cristina Kirchner, the kleptocrat, socialist leader of Argentina, has an approval rating in that country that only Jimmy Carter might envy.  She also has had a contentious history with the new Pope over social issues such as same-sex "marriage" and abortion.  Kirchner's late husband referred to then Cardinal Bergoglio as "the Leader of the Opposition," and the Kirchner's once leaned on the new Pope's Jesuit superiors and had him exiled to a small northern village where he served as a Math teacher.  But what a difference a Conclave makes.  Today, swathed in black, Kirchner appealed to her one-time adversary to help her gin up international pressure on Britain, that she might surrender to Argentina territory that was never Argentina's.

We have every confidence that a smart Jesuit sees what so many of Kirchner's countrymen have come to see - that all the noise coming from Kirchner is merely the political death-rattle of a corrupt politician attempting to divert attention from her nation's real problems.  She seeks  to rub raw nationalist resentments and anger about the defeat meted out to Argentina's murderous military junta when they launched an unprovoked invasion of the Falkland Islands thirty years ago.  

The Pope is surely aware that in recent weeks 99.8% of Falkland residents voted to remain British.  As head of a worldwide church of 1.2 billion souls, the Pope must also be loathe to offend and alienate The Commonwealth of Nations, a peaceful, positive force for good in the world, and a family of 54 nations comprised of 2.2 billion souls, that also happens to be headed by the Supreme Governor of the Church of England, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

All of this saber rattling on the part of the Argentine regime could easily be ignored were it not for the fact that 256 British, 649 Argentines, and 3 Falkland Islanders have already died as a result of selfish and desperate politicians in Buenos Aires.  

The Pope should intervene in this controversy.  Indeed, he is in a wonderful position to discredit the third-world autocrat who came calling today, along with her undemocratic and anti-Christian agenda.  He could end a corrupt and oppressive regime while defending the self-determination of Falkland residents, including the 10% who are Catholic.  It would be a small but meaningful step toward a more just and peaceful world.



Orthodox Church Leader to Attend Pope Francis Inauguration

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I

MOSCOW, March 16 (RIA Novosti) – A Constantinople patriarch will attend pope’s inaugural mass for the first time since the Great Schism between the Western and Eastern churches, Vatican Radio said.

FreedomWorks Reveals the 2013 Recipients of the “FreedomFighter Award”

Former SC Senator Jim DeMint and Congressmen Jeff Duncan and Mick Mulvaney among those honored

Congressmen Jeff Duncan and Mick Mulvaney
FreedomWorks announced its second annual “FreedomFighter Awards” to Members of the House and Senate who consistently voted in defense of economic freedom. Each recipient earned a minimum score of 90 percent on the FreedomWorks Congressional Scorecard during the 2012 legislative session, which often required legislators to cast politically unpopular votes inside the Beltway in order to defend liberty and strengthen the economy across the country.

FreedomWorks President Matt Kibbe commented, “Our responsibility as engaged citizens is to hold politicians accountable for bad votes, but also to congratulate them for making the right votes.  FreedomWorks applauds every recipient of the second annual ‘FreedomFighter Award,’ and encourages them to keep fighting for Americans’ civil liberties.”

The FreedomWorks Congressional Scorecard is a ground-breaking piece of technology that has drawn an abundance of national media attention.  The user-friendly technology allows activists the ability to track the votes of Members of Congress in ‘real time’ on key issues of economic freedom. Users have the option to search for their lawmakers’ scores by zip code, or to browse each year’s scores by name, state, political party, or score rankings.  

“Democrats and Republicans are mutually responsible for America’s exploding national debt and the staggering unemployment rates in the US. It’s time we start holding all members accountable,” Kibbe continued. “FreedomWorks developed its Congressional Scorecard to help activists across the country track the legislation being voted on in Congress and to see which members protect the liberties and economic interests of the American people and which ones do not.”

The premier scorers (with scores of 100 percent) among this year’s “FreedomFighter Award” winners are: Senators Jim DeMint (SC), Mike Lee (UT) and Rand Paul (KY); and Congressmen Justin Amash (MI-3), Paul Broun (GA-10), Jeff Duncan (SC-3), Jeff Flake (AZ-6), Tim Huelskamp (KS-1), Tom McClintock (CA-4), Mick Mulvaney (SC-5), and David Schweikert (AZ-5).    

Other winners are: Senators Michael Crapo (ID), Ron Johnson (WI), James Risch (ID), David Vitter (LA); and Congresswoman Diane Black (TN-6), Congressmen Michael Burgess (TX-26), Steve Chabot (OH-1), Jason Chaffetz (UT-3), Stephen Fincher (TN-8), Trent Franks (AZ-2), Scott Garrett (NJ-5), Louie Gohmert (TX-1), Paul Gosar (AZ-1), Trey Gowdy (SC-4), Tom Graves (GA-9), Jim Jordan (OH-4), Raul Labrador (ID-1), Doug Lamborn (CO-5), Randy Neugebauer (TX-19), Mike Pompeo (KS-4), Tom Price (GA-6), Ben Quayle (AZ-3), Tim Scott (SC-1), James Sensenbrenner (WI-5), Joe Walsh (IL-8), Lynn Westmoreland (GA-3).     

FreedomWorks is a grassroots service center to a community of over 4 million grassroots activists nationwide who believe in individual liberty and constitutionally-limited government.


Sunday, March 17, 2013

Pope Francis's Unexpected Encounter with an Ulsterman

The Telegraph's John Bingham, an Ulster protestant, was in the Vatican City on Sunday when, suddenly, he found himself face to face with the new Pope. He describes what happened next.


By John Bingham, Vatican City

Mr Paisley, I hope you are sitting down if you read this. 

In an unwitting ecumenical gesture, Pope Francis shook hands with the first Ulster protestant of his reign today: me.

I had turned up outside the small parish church of Saint Anna in the Vatican to cover the scene as he attended mass before his first Angelus address in St Peter's square. 


Saint Patrick's Breastplate






Saturday, March 16, 2013

Dr. Benjamin Carson: Obama Trying to Destroy Country



Pope Francis — Against the West?


By Patrick J. Buchanan 
“The Faith is Europe. And Europe is the Faith,” wrote Hilaire Belloc after that bloodbath we call World War I. “Either Europe will return to the Faith or she will perish.”

By 1938, Belloc concluded Christian Europe was done:

“The bad work begun at the Reformation is bearing its final fruit in the dissolution of our ancient doctrines — the very structure of society is dissolving.” He was right. Europe is the dying continent.

And looking back at the history of the Old Continent, we see the truth of G.K. Chesterton’s insight: When men cease to believe in God, they do not then believe in nothing, they will believe in anything. 


Father Rutler: "The Source of All Prodigy"

A weekly column by Father George Rutler.

The rabbis talking with the twelve-year-old Jesus about the Torah must have thought that he was a child prodigy. There have been such, and as a proud pastor I delight in the extraordinary skills of so many of the children in our parish, so adept at piano and violin and so forth. “Prodigy” means a sign or a gift. Betraying a prejudice, I’d propose that in addition to the five ways St. Thomas Aquinas proved the existence of God from natural evidence, prodigious Mozart would be a sixth. You cannot compose a symphony at the age of eight and ascribe it just to chemistry or biology.

A nice thing about Mozart is that he was nice. People liked him, and he liked them, and he did not storm about like the self-styled geniuses of the romantic period a couple of generations later. He thought of himself as a craftsman who enjoyed his craft. Simple as that. But he never produced anything second rate, which is why I propose him as proof that there exists a God who does great things through his creatures. Mozart said that music is not in the notes but in the silence between the notes. That might sound like a nice throwaway line, but he meant it, and his music is proof. So it is with our daily lives: God is to be heard in the silent spaces between all that we say and do.

Jesus cannot be filed away in the category of child prodigies. He is the source of all prodigy. At the age of twelve in the Temple, he called it his “Father’s house.” In him was more than genius. It is true that great artists, like Jesus himself, give the impression that what they do is effortless. The Latin phrase ars est celare artem means that the essence of art is to give the impression that it is easy. Great opera singers would have you think that their sounds are effortless. Compare that with the rock singers who affect an air of pain when they scream into sound amplifiers, as though they (and not their listeners) were enduring some form of torture. It is their attempt to make you think that their artlessness is art.

In the sixteenth century, Baldassare Castiglione coined the term sprezzatura for affected nonchalance, or deliberate casualness. But there was more than that in the miracles of Christ. There were times when the disciples saw the anguish his purity endured in a broken world, as when he groaned before he raised Lazarus from the dead. Prodigies receive their talent from God. Christ is God himself. Mozart understood that and said: “It is a great consolation for me to remember that the Lord to whom I had drawn near in humble and childlike faith, has suffered and died for me, and that He will look on me in love and compassion.”


Friday, March 15, 2013

Atheist Group Sues US Gov't to Remove 'In God We Trust' From Currency

The Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF), is suing the United States Treasury Department to remove the words "In God We Trust" from all U.S. currency, because they claim the motto is offensive to nonreligious citizens.

Nineteen plaintiffs and the FFRF filed the lawsuit, Newdow v. Congress in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on Feb. 1. The civil action claims the motto In God We Trust violates the First and Fifth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993.

The plaintiffs' claim that the motto is offensive and forces atheists, agnostics, secular humanists, freethinkers and skeptics to bear a religious message they don't agree with, and are thus forced, when using U.S. currency, to make a false declaration regarding their religious views.

Read more at the Christian Post >>


Pope Francis’s First Homily in the Sistine Chapel with the Cardinal Electors


HOMILY OF THE HOLY FATHER POPE FRANCIS
 
Sistine Chapel
Thursday, 14 March 2013
 
 
In these three readings, I see a common element: that of movement. In the first reading, it is the movement of a journey; in the second reading, the movement of building the Church; in the third, in the Gospel, the movement involved in professing the faith. Journeying, building, professing.

Journeying. "O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord" (Is 2:5). This is the first thing that God said to Abraham: Walk in my presence and live blamelessly. Journeying: our life is a journey, and when we stop moving, things go wrong. Always journeying, in the presence of the Lord, in the light of the Lord, seeking to live with the blamelessness that God asked of Abraham in his promise.

Building. Building the Church. We speak of stones: stones are solid; but living stones, stones anointed by the Holy Spirit. Building the Church, the Bride of Christ, on the cornerstone that is the Lord himself. This is another kind of movement in our lives: building.

Thirdly, professing. We can walk as much as we want, we can build many things, but if we do not profess Jesus Christ, things go wrong. We may become a charitable NGO, but not the Church, the Bride of the Lord. When we are not walking, we stop moving. When we are not building on the stones, what happens? The same thing that happens to children on the beach when they build sandcastles: everything is swept away, there is no solidity. When we do not profess Jesus Christ, the saying of Léon Bloy comes to mind: "Anyone who does not pray to the Lord prays to the devil." When we do not profess Jesus Christ, we profess the worldliness of the devil, a demonic worldliness.

Journeying, building, professing. But things are not so straightforward, because in journeying, building, professing, there can sometimes be jolts, movements that are not properly part of the journey: movements that pull us back.

This Gospel continues with a situation of a particular kind. The same Peter who professed Jesus Christ, now says to him: You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. I will follow you, but let us not speak of the Cross. That has nothing to do with it. I will follow you on other terms, but without the Cross. When we journey without the Cross, when we build without the Cross, when we profess Christ without the Cross, we are not disciples of the Lord, we are worldly: we may be bishops, priests, cardinals, popes, but not disciples of the Lord.

My wish is that all of us, after these days of grace, will have the courage, yes, the courage, to walk in the presence of the Lord, with the Lord’s Cross; to build the Church on the Lord’s blood which was poured out on the Cross; and to profess the one glory: Christ crucified. And in this way, the Church will go forward.
  
My prayer for all of us is that the Holy Spirit, through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, our Mother, will grant us this grace: to walk, to build, to profess Jesus Christ crucified. Amen.