Pope Benedict Shows That Where The Cross Is, There Also Is The Resurrection

"If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.... If they persecuted Me they will persecute you... for they do not know the One who sent Me."

John 15:19-21

This Holy Week is particularly poignant and meaningful for Catholics. That a baseless, undocumented smear job, by a newspaper already discredited for similar attacks on the Church dating back at least sixty years, should be taken seriously, is astounding. It reminds us of how so many have chosen to believe attacks on Pope Pius XII. That great Pontiff was applauded and honored by the founders of Israel for all that he did to save thousands of Jews. The Chief Rabbi of Rome at the time was so moved by the courageous example of Pius XII, that he converted to Catholicism and was baptized in 1945 by the Pope he revered. And yet the world chooses to believe the allegations from a 1960's play written by a Marxist, with funding from the KGB.

We have our suspicions as to who is behind a coordinated media effort to defame this holy Pope. While all the facts have been presented clearing Pope Benedict of any culpability in the matter, no evidence or reasoned argument will persuade those looking for any means to attack the Church.

The role Pope Benedict is playing in binding ancient wounds and uniting believers against unprecedented evil from those who walk in darkness, is extraordinary. He is a powerful force for good and a bulwark against the father of lies and a growing culture of death and darkness.

The secular world thinks that such attacks will silence his message and diminish his influence; but for Catholics it is quite the opposite. We see a Vicar of Christ walking toward Calvary, united ever more closely with our Lord and His passion. It is fitting that all of this comes at a time when the Christian world commemorates the passion of Christ -- His agony in the garden, His scourging at the pillar, the mocking of soldiers, the abandonment by friends, the painful, humiliating walk to Calvary, His torture and death on the Cross.

Those of us who will relive that passion and death this week know that where the cross is, there also is the resurrection. Like gold proven in the furnace, these attacks on Pope Benedict XVI are a sure sign for us all that he is following the way of the cross faithfully. And his suffering will merit a glorious Easter for all the Body of Christ.

From Hollywood to Convent

From America Needs Fatima

Amidst the serene Latin chants of the Divine Office from Matins to Compline, an unsuspecting visitor to the rustic environs of the 400 acre Abbey of Regina Laudis (Queen of Praise) in Bethlehem, Connecticut would have never guessed that among these select daughters of St. Benedict is one Dolores Hart, a former film and stage actress who once basked in the glitter and glamour of the Hollywood limelight of the late 50’s and early 60’s.

Mother Dolores as she is now known turned her back on a promising movie career, broke off her engagement to an up-and-coming Los Angeles businessman Don Robinson, and entered the cloister to answer the call of the contemplative monastic life.

Since 1963, she has lived an austere life following the Rule of St. Benedict in the spirit and time-tested tradition of ora et labora (prayer and work.) Mother Dolores became prioress there in May 2001.

Early years

Born an only child from actor parents (Bert and Harriett Hicks) who were bit or studio contract players, little Dolores found herself moving from Chicago to Beverly Hills in California where she often accompanied her father to Hollywood studio lots. The early exposure to the allures of the movie world spurred her desire to be an actress. "From the age of 7, I never in my life wanted to be anything but an actress," Hart said.

Domestic affairs turned sour as her parents engaged in troublesome bickering which disrupted their family life. Shortly thereafter she was on her way alone to the Windy City where her grandparents lived, train ticket tucked in her coat pocket. She stayed there while her parents tried to pursue their respective careers in Hollywood. She would shuttle back and forth either by train or plane between Los Angeles and Chicago spending summers in California and winters in the Windy City.

A little girl’s conversion

Her grandparents chose to send her to St. Gregory Catholic School for practical and safety reasons since it was closest to their home and less exposed to street traffic. Her studies there turned out for the better as she decided to become a Catholic at age 10.

One day at school when she was alone with the Blessed Sacrament waiting for the nuns to have their breakfast, she approached a sister and told her she wanted “to take bread with the children.”

She went back home and told her grandparents about it and they said it was okay. Soon she was baptized and her mother was thrilled to hear the news.

Back in Los Angeles

Years later Hart, at age 11 and after her parents divorced, moved back to Beverly Hills to be reunited with her mother now remarried to restaurant owner Al Gordon. While in high school she played St. Joan of Arc which opened the doors for her to get a scholarship to Marymount College (currently Loyola Marymount University) for drama. It was at that time when she became obsessed with the idea of becoming an actress often times praying for the chance to get her foot in the front door of big time movie studios like MGM and Paramount just twenty minutes away from her school.

While a freshman at Marymount College she got the lead role (again) in the school’s production of “St. Joan.” A male friend from Loyola University took notice of her remarkable thespian abilities and promptly informed the Southern California studios. Hal Wallis, an independent producer at Paramount, sought to check her out through a scout who eventually gave her the nod and a screen test and contract soon followed.

Hollywood career

She adopted the stage name Dolores Hart, keeping her name Dolores at the insistence of her mother. Otherwise she would have been known as Susan Hart.

The precocious little girl had now grown to become a stunningly beautiful young lady and fared much better in Hollywood than her parents. Groomed as the next Grace Kelly, the demand for her grew likewise.

The influence of good friends

Hart credits her circle of friends, which she described as wonderful and sound, for helping her maintain her faith in Hollywood.

She made particular mention of Maria Cooper, the actor Gary’s daughter, who had a wholesome and positive influence on her. She has only but the highest praise for her best friend who she commends for being clear and true to her faith and not giving in to the pressures of the ritzy and glitzy Hollywood lifestyle. She owed it to her for having met fine persons and setting high standards for her to follow.

The first knocks of the vocation

In 1959, Hart debuted on Broadway with the play, The Pleasure of His Company earning her a World Theater Award and a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress for that year.

The grueling schedule took its toll on her and she pined for a weekend retreat. At a friend’s coaxing, she reluctantly agreed to visit a Connecticut monastery with her, the Abbey of Regina Laudis. Her knee-jerk reaction was, “Ooh! I don’t want to see more nuns!"

But all that changed once she stepped on the grounds of the abbey. There she found calm and serenity. She felt very much at home. The tranquility and sense of stability she felt were in stark contrast to the fast-paced and superficial life in the movie industry where she worked with co-stars and crew for some 8-10 weeks after which they would disband never to see each other again.

The remarkable experience led her to return in between shows even to the point of asking the Reverend Mother if she had a vocation. She was curtly dismissed and told she was too young and that she better go back to “her movie thing.” But that didn’t stop her from coming back to the monastery twice a year.

The final call

However, Hart credits the movie Lisa (1962) as the one that made her ponder seriously to become a nun. Something in that movie drew her to the abbey like magnet. She was never the same after that. Deep down, she felt ready to make a commitment to God but kept it quiet for the meantime.

After Lisa, she made her last film, Come Fly With Me with Hugh O’Brian. While on a promotional stop in New York for the movie, she surprised many when she took the studio limo to Bethlehem to discuss joining the order.

Breaking an engagement

Back in Hollywood, Hart still has an important and unfinished business to take care of – breaking her wedding engagement to Los Angeles businessman Don Robinson.

One night she and Don met at a crowded restaurant for dinner. He perceived what was going on with Dolores. He saw her reading her spiritual exercises that she performed at the abbey. Besides, she wasn’t wearing her engagement ring.

When she broke the news to him, he never felt an iota of rejection. With a heart full of understanding and support, Don said, "I know; I've known it. This is what you've got to do and I've got to do this with you. We've got to do this together."

He adds later, "Every love doesn't have to wind up at the altar."

Thus, the engagement was canceled, and in December 1962, she flew to Connecticut, never to return. Upon embracing the Benedictine monastic life, she acquired the name Sister Judith but changed it to Mother Dolores when she took her final vows in 1970. Currently, she is Prioress of the Abbey and the only nun to be an Oscar-voting member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Meanwhile, Don Robinson remained single but comes every year at Christmas and Easter to visit the abbey to lend his support.

Coming out of the cloister

After 43 years of a secluded and cloistered life inside the Abbey of Regina Laudis , Mother Dolores left its austere and tranquil environs briefly out of necessity in 2006 to spread awareness about a mysterious neurological disorder that afflicted her and countless more Americans called peripheral idiopathic neuropathy. She went to Washington to testify at a congressional hearing to drum up support for more research grants to find a cure for the debilitating disease.

In October 2008, she was honored at a breakfast event held at Rochester, Michigan’s Royal Park Hotel which was sponsored by the The Holy Trinity Apostolate of founder Rev. John Hardon, S.J.

The meaning of ones vocation

In this vale of tears, God sets out a path for each of one of us to pursue and follow so we can best know, love and serve Him. Each one of us has an overriding purpose whose ultimate end is God’s glory.

Whether ones vocation is to be single, married, nun or priest, God endows each one a particular mission in life. As we mature and tackle the daily grind of our earthly lives, God reveals his will to us, more often through subtle or indirect means, not by imposition but rather more by invitation. And by following His will, we open the door to our salvation and the eternal life.

And if one is TRUE to his or her calling, ones vocation ultimately triumphs over career should a conflict arises. Mother Dolores’ life journey makes this evident to us. Endowed with striking physical beauty, fame and money, who would ever think she would shun the glow of Hollywood and end up being nun? Indeed, God’s grace works in mysterious ways!

In her own words Mother Dolores sums it all up,

“I can only go back to my own experience, which was a long and severe test, and it was not easy.

I would say you can never allow anyone to take you out of a vocation. The fact is there is a promise given in a vocation that is beyond anything in your wildest dreams.

"There's a gift the Lord offers and He is a gentleman.

“I have not been profoundly missed by any means [in the outside world]. My vocation has been totally gratifying and I wouldn't want anyone thinking that in leaving Hollywood I was disappointed.”

Iran Nuclear Scientist Defects to U.S. In CIA 'Intelligence Coup'

Shahram Amiri Disappeared Last June in Saudi Arabia, Reportedly Now Resettled in the United States

From ABC News
By Matthew Cole

An award-winning Iranian nuclear scientist, who disappeared last year under mysterious circumstances, has defected to the CIA and been resettled in the United States, according to people briefed on the operation by intelligence officials.

The officials were said to have termed the defection of the scientist, Shahram Amiri, "an intelligence coup" in the continuing CIA operation to spy on and undermine Iran's nuclear program.

A spokesperson for the CIA declined to comment. In its declassified annual report to Congress, the CIA said, "Iran is keeping open the option to develop nuclear weapons though we do not know whether Tehran eventually will decide to produce nuclear weapons."

Amiri, a nuclear physicist in his early 30s, went missing last June three days after arriving in Saudi Arabia on a pilgrimage, according to the Iranian government. He worked at Tehran's Malek Ashtar University, which is closely connected to Iran's Revolutionary Guard, according to the Associated Press.

Read the rest of this entry >>

Heritage Foundation: $1 Billion AT&T Headache is Just ObamaCare’s First Side Effect

From The Heritage Foundation

In the closing days of the Congressional health care debate, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) told the National Association of Counties: “We have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it.” Today marks the end of just the first week of life under Obamacare and Speaker Pelosi has been proven right: we are just now finding out what is in it. This past Friday, AT&T, the biggest U.S. telephone company, announced that it would take a $1 billion charge against earnings thanks to tax changes buried in the 2,300+ page bill. $1 billion. That is a full third of AT&T’s $3 billion earnings for the fourth quarter of 2009.

The tax charges stem from changes Obamacare makes to the tax treatment of prescription-drug benefits for retirees. Companies used to be able to deduct part of their costs for providing drug benefits to their retirees, but Obamacare cancels that deduction. Roland McDevitt, director of health care research at Towers Watson, tells the Wall Street Journal, they “have a stream of tax benefits they are losing way out in the future.” Since companies had counted on these deductions for current and future retirees as an existing asset under the old law, accounting rules require firms to take the full loss for the change in the same quarter in which the tax law is changed. Hence Friday’s announcement to inform shareholders that AT&T’s bottom line was about to take a $1 billion hit.

AT&T’s billion-dollar Obamacare headache is so large due to the size (281,000 employees) of the company. Piper Jaffray & Co. analyst Chris Larsen tells Bloomberg: “Companies like AT&T, that have large employee bases, are going to have higher health-care costs and, therefore, lower earnings unless they can negotiate something or offer less to their employees.” And changes to current and future retirees’ health care seem to be exactly what will AT&T will do as a side effect of Obamacare. AT&T wrote in their Friday filing: “As a result of this legislation, including the additional tax burden, AT&T will be evaluating prospective changes to the active and retiree health-care benefits offered by the company.”

And AT&T is not alone. Towers Watson estimates that just this tax change alone will eliminate $14 billion in U.S. corporate profits. That’s $14 billion less American employers have to spend creating new jobs when our unemployment rate is still 9.7%. And AT&T is not the only company informing employees that Obamacare is going to mean worse care for them. Verizon Communications, the second biggest U.S. phone company, told employees last week that Obamacare “may have significant implications for both retirees and employers.”

The Heritage Foundation will be keeping you apprised of all of the consequences of Obamacare as they are learned with our new Foundry feature “Side Effects.” Already our health care experts have identified negative intended and unintended consequences from the legislation to children’s health insurance and health insurance taxes.

The American people already do not like this law. But to repeal it, we must keep Americans educated about all of Obamacare’s failures and offer our “Second Opinion” on what conservative idea would fix it.

Here's the Socialized Medicine ObamaCare Promises

A dying patient had to ring a hospital switchboard on his mobile to ask for a glass of water, after nurses ignored his pleas.

Derek Sauter and his wife Susan on holiday in Portugal in 2007

From Sky News
By Steve Davies

Officials from the South London NHS Trust have apologised to the family of Derek Sauter, who later died in hospital of pneumonia.

The 60-year-old did not receive a "proper and professional standard of care" when he was admitted with a chest infection in June 2008.

A formal investigation is being conducted into his death, after it was found his oxygen levels went unchecked for 11 hours and were 35% lower than recommended.

Ruth Sauter, the patient's daughter, said she was disgusted by the treatment her father had received.

She told The Daily Mail: "His condition was not life threatening, and nurses had specific instructions to keep close tabs on him.

"'But their appalling lack of care, and cruel behaviour killed my father...It's so much worse knowing that he died alone, thirsty and scared on that ward."

After being admitted in the morning, he was given antibiotics and oxygen, but was later forced to ring his wife to tell her that he was not allowed any more water as he had earlier knocked over a cup.

After ringing the switchboard, a doctor was called to the ward, only for a nurse to tell him that the patient was "overreacting".

The hospital was unable to comment directly on the case, as it is part of the family's legal proceedings.

A spokeswoman said: "South London Healthcare NHS Trust would like to apologise to the Sauter family for the failings in care that Derek Sauter received.

"The trust believes that Mr Sauter did not receive a proper and professional standard of care that he and his family had a right to expect."

In Loving Memory of Pope John Paul the Great on the Anniversary of His Death

It was five years ago this week that Pope John Paul II entered the house of the Father he served so well. This year, the anniversary of his death falls on Good Friday. In loving memory of this great spiritual leader, we are reprinting a reflection we posted on the third anniversary of his death.

"This is the dignity of America, the reason she exists, the condition for her survival"

On this third anniversary of the death of Pope John Paul the Great, it is an impossible task to pay adequate tribute to the colossus who dwelt among us. His pontificate was the third longest in history, and in his twenty-six and half years on the Chair of Saint Peter, he presided over 9 consistories, 15 synods of bishops, appointed 2500 of the world’s 4200 bishops.

He authored 14 encyclicals, 14 apostolic exhortations, 11 apostolic constitutions, 42 apostolic letters, 28 Motu proprio, and 5 books, in addition to hundreds of other messages and letters.

The Holy Father undertook 247 exhausting foreign and Italian pastoral visits, traveling a distance of 28 times the earth’s circumference, while welcoming an average of one million people per year to his weekly audiences and other meetings in the Vatican.

The extraordinary depth, breadth and volume of his teachings, such as his “theology of the body,” are so vast that the Church will be reflecting on them and absorbing them for generations to come.

When he began his pontificate, the Vatican had diplomatic relations with 85 countries. It now has diplomatic relations with over 175.

He played a pivotal role in bringing an end to the most murderous and tyrannical empire the world has ever known.

A poet, an actor, a laborer, a professor, priest, Archbishop, Cardinal and Pope, his life was bound up in mystical ways with the history of the twentieth century.

Many criticized him for being too "conservative;" others were critical that he did not enforce discipline and greater order in the Church, and impose sanctions on the dissidents and heterodox. Yet as we saw in the sorrowful days following his passing, his purpose was far beyond ecclesial administration. He sought to be the Vicar of Christ and shepherd to all the peoples of the world, carrying out the great commandment of Christ and following the example of the Apostles, to “make disciples of all nations.”

As a soul totally surrendered to God, his immeasurable accomplishment was to touch the hearts of the whole world with the love of Christ.

Like our Lord, he chose his words carefully for every nation and audience he addressed. His deep love and concern for America was, perhaps, most beautifully summed up at the close of his 1987 apostolic visit to the United States:

"As I go, I take with me vivid memories of a dynamic nation, a warm and welcoming people, a Church abundantly blessed with a rich blend of cultural traditions. I depart with admiration for the ecumenical spirit that breathes strongly throughout this land, for the genuine enthusiasm of your young people, and for the hopeful aspirations of your most recent immigrants. I take with me an unforgettable memory of a country that God has richly blessed from the beginning until now.

America the beautiful! So you sing in one of your national songs. Yes, America you are beautiful indeed, and blessed in so many ways:

• In your majestic mountains and fertile plains;

• In the goodness and sacrifice hidden in your teeming cities and expanding suburbs;

• In your genius for invention and for splendid progress;

• In the power that you use for service and in the wealth that you share with others;

• In what you give to your own, and in what you do for others beyond your borders;

• In how you serve, and in how you keep alive the flame of hope in many hearts;

• In your quest for excellence and in your desire to right all wrongs.
  
  Yes, America, all this belongs to you. But your greatest beauty and your richest blessing is found in the human person: in each man, woman and child, in every immigrant, in every native-born son and daughter.
  
  For this reason, America, your deepest identity and truest character as a nation is revealed in the position you take toward the human person. The ultimate test of your greatness is the way you treat every human being, but especially the weakest and most defenseless ones.
  
  The best traditions of your land presume respect for those who cannot defend themselves. If you want equal justice for all, and true freedom and lasting peace, then America, defend life! All the great causes that are yours today will have meaning only to the extent that you guarantee the right to life and protect the human person:

• Feeding the poor and welcoming refugees;

• Reinforcing the social fabric of this nation;

• Promoting the true advancement of women;

• Securing the rights of minorities;

• Pursuing disarmament, while guaranteeing legitimate defense:

All this will succeed only if respect for life and its protection by the law is granted to every human being from conception until natural death.

Every human person – no matter how vulnerable or helpless, no matter how young or how old, no matter how healthy, handicapped or sick, no matter how useful or productive for society – is a being of inestimable worth created in the image and likeness of God. This is the dignity of America, the reason she exists, the condition for her survival – yes, the ultimate test of her greatness: to respect every human person, especially the weakest and most defenseless ones, those as yet unborn.

With these sentiments of love and hope for America, I now say good-bye in words that I spoke once before: “Today, therefore, my final prayer is this: that God will bless America, so that she may increasingly become – and truly be – and long remain – ‘One Nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all’”

May God bless you all. God bless America!"

Obama is a Victim of Bush's Failed Promises

From The Aurora Sentinel
By Chuck Green

Barack Obama is setting a record-setting number of records during his first year in office.

Largest budget ever. Largest deficit ever. Largest number of broken promises ever. Most self-serving speeches ever. Largest number of agenda-setting failures ever. Fastest dive in popularity ever.

Wow. Talk about change.

Just one year ago, fresh from his inauguration celebrations, President Obama was flying high. After one of the nation’s most inspiring political campaigns, the election of America’s first black president had captured the hopes and dreams of millions. To his devout followers, it was inconceivable that a year later his administration would be gripped in self-imposed crisis.

Of course, they don’t see it as self imposed. It’s all George Bush’s fault.

George Bush, who doesn’t have a vote in Congress and who no longer occupies the White House, is to blame for it all.

He broke Obama’s promise to put all bills on the White House web site for five days before signing them.

He broke Obama’s promise to have the congressional health care negotiations broadcast live on C-SPAN.

He broke Obama’s promise to end earmarks.

He broke Obama’s promise to keep unemployment from rising above 8 percent.

He broke Obama’s promise to close the detention center at Guantanamo in the first year.

He broke Obama’s promise to make peace with direct, no pre-condition talks with America’s most hate-filled enemies during his first year in office, ushering in a new era of global cooperation.

He broke Obama’s promise to end the hiring of former lobbyists into high White House jobs.

He broke Obama’s promise to end no-compete contracts with the government.

He broke Obama’s promise to disclose the names of all attendees at closed White House meetings.

He broke Obama’s promise for a new era of bipartisan cooperation in all matters.

He broke Obama’s promise to have chosen a home church to attend Sunday services with his family by Easter of last year.

Yes, it’s all George Bush’s fault. President Obama is nothing more than a puppet in the never-ending, failed Bush administration.

If only George Bush wasn’t still in charge, all of President Obama’s problems would be solved. His promises would have been kept, the economy would be back on track, Iran would have stopped its work on developing a nuclear bomb and would be negotiating a peace treaty with Israel, North Korea would have ended its tyrannical regime, and integrity would have been restored to the federal government.

Oh, and did I mention what it would be like if the Democrats, under the leadership of Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, didn’t have the heavy yoke of George Bush around their necks. There would be no earmarks, no closed-door drafting of bills, no increase in deficit spending, no special-interest influence (unions), no vote buying (Nebraska, Louisiana).

If only George Bush wasn’t still in charge, we’d have real change by now.

All the broken promises, all the failed legislation and delay (health care reform, immigration reform) is not President Obama’s fault or the fault of the Democrat-controlled Congress. It’s all George Bush’s fault.

Take for example the decision of Eric Holder, the president’s attorney general, to hold terrorists’ trials in New York City. Or his decision to try the Christmas Day underpants bomber as a civilian.

Two disastrous decisions.

Certainly those were bad judgments based on poor advice from George Bush.

Need more proof?

You might recall that when Scott Brown won last month’s election to the U.S. Senate from Massachusetts, capturing “the Ted Kennedy seat,” President Obama said that Brown’s victory was the result of the same voter anger that propelled Obama into office in 2008. People were still angry about George Bush and the policies of the past 10 years, and they wanted change.

Yes, according to the president, the voter rebellion in Massachusetts last month was George Bush’s fault.

Therefore, in retaliation, they elected a Republican to the Ted Kennedy seat, ending a half-century of domination by Democrats.

It is all George Bush’s fault.

Will the failed administration of George Bush ever end, and the time for hope and change ever arrive?

Will President Obama ever accept responsibility for something — anything?


Chuck Green, veteran Colorado journalist and former editor-in-chief of The Denver Post, syndicates a statewide column and is at chuckgreencolo@msn.com