Scripture Study :: Inside The Bible

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If you're the type of person who likes to have the t.v. or radio on for company while doing household chores or hobbies this is a great--and better--alternative.

Inside The Bible, a 13-part series hosted by Fr. Kenneth Baker, S.J., "presents all 72 books of the Bible in a seamless and magisterial narrative. Outlining each book, he shows how Sacred Scripture reveals God’s Mind to us: who we are; why the world is here; and what God wants us to do to reach the fullness of our humanity. He reveals how the story of Israel is also our story as individuals."

So listen online or download to your favourite mp3 device and get working...and learning!

It has also been added to the category 'Catholic Bible Study And Other Courses' in the sidebar.
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Can't Find A Spiritual Director?

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The following excerpt is from The New Theological Movement blog.

When You Cannot Find A Spiritual Director
by Reginaldus
Feast of St. John of the Cross, December 14 [2010]

[...]

On the feast of St. Teresa of Avila (October 15), I wrote a short post regarding what qualities we ought to look for in a spiritual director. In response to this, several people wrote asking what ought to be done if a suitable director could not be found, or if the director desired could not fulfill this role due to a lack of time. I had promised to write a second article to address this situation, and it seems fitting that we take the opportunity provided by the feast of St. Teresa’s spiritual director, St. John of the Cross, to consider this troubling and all too common scenario: Recognizing the importance of spiritual direction and the lofty qualities required of a director, what ought we do to if we cannot find a spiritual director?

What to look for in a spiritual director

First, I briefly summarize the October 15 post:

1) The good director must have a knowledge of the spiritual life. Not only must he have progressed to at least the beginning phases of contemplation, but he must also have a profound knowledge of the fundamental principles of the spiritual life. St. Teresa says that it would be better to have a learned director who is not very  holy than to have a holy director who is not learned.

2) The spiritual director must be faithful to the Church. Any director who deviates from the clear teaching of the Catholic Church is a poor guide in the spiritual life.  Moreover, the good director will guide his directees along the path to holiness according to the spiritual traditions of the Catholic faith (as opposed to Eastern religious practices) – hence the primary tools of the spiritual life which the good director must recommend are prayer and mortification.

3) Finally, it is not necessary that a spiritual director be a priest. However, it is generally safer to choose a priest rather than a lay person. Nevertheless, a well educated and faithful lay woman would make a much better director than an ignorant, dissenting priest.

Do I really need spiritual direction?

We all need at least some level of spiritual direction – at the very least, we need the counsel of a confessor. Spiritual direction is an ordinary part of the Christian life, something to which we all should avail ourselves at least at some point of our spiritual journey. However, there are times and circumstances which demand a more intense and consistent program of direction – this is when one on one direction becomes truly necessary.

[...]

[The article goes on to address the following topics:]

What if I cannot find a suitable spiritual director?

Spiritual reading

The example of the saints 

Self-direction?

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The full article can be read here. 

A number of writings from the saints whom the author recommends are available free online at Catholic Treasury. The link is in our sidebar under the category 'Books.'

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Added: GCatholic.com

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GCatholic.com--Giga (one billion) Catholic--has been added to our 'Reference Sites' category in the sidebar.

This mega site originating in Toronto, Canada is aimed at Catholics around the world. It houses a comprehensive array of information on such topics as Catholic Dioceses in the World, Titular Sees by name and type, Pontifical Representations, Documents and Speeches, International and National Shrines, List of Saints and Blesseds Since 1979, Churches of the Week, Catholic Church in Canada, and so much more.

Read why they have earned an Excellent (Green) fidelity rating from CatholicCulture.org.
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Added: ElectAPope.com

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ElectAPope.com has been added to the category 'Reference Sites' in the sidebar.

Have you ever wondered: What is the correct term for when "the Pope is no longer the Pope, and a new one has not yet been elected"? What two ways can a pope leave office? Upon the death of a pope, what time frame must he be buried in? and what must be destroyed and what does its destruction signify? Strictly speaking, who can be elected Pope? When does a newly elected Pope officially become Pope?

Then this site--run by a Catholic canon lawyer--is for you.

See why it has earned an Excellent (Green) fidelity rating from CatholicCulture.org.
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Added: Old Testament Name Quiz

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Who was the initiator and architect of the Tower of Babel? Who had his name changed to Israel? Who was rebuked by his talking donkey? What was the name of King Solomon's Queen Mother?

Test your knowledge of these and 36 other questions with a new quiz from Catholic Bible 101: Old Testament Name Quiz.

This and the other fun quizzes from Catholic Bible 101 are a great way to get your kids (and yourself) reading the Bible.
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Added: Dominican Students

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Dominican Students has been added to the 'Orders/Vocations' category in the sidebar.

The site "features information on the Dominicans in general and is a good resource for young men discerning a vocation." It includes "Explanation of the Brothers' life of prayer and study"; 'Virtual Tour of the Dominican House of Studies"; "Dominican History"; "Theology"; as well as Dominican spirituality, prayer, and study; videos; and more.

Read why they have earned an Excellent (Green) fidelity rating from CatholicCulture.org.
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Added: Heart To Heart

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Heart To Heart has been added to the 'Devotions' category in the sidebar.

This Web site, dedicated to promoting devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus in parishes, has several resources available including a program for participation in this devotion, pictures, prayer booklets, family consecration and enthronement ceremonies, little-known prayers, and how to spread this devotion at the parish level.

Read why they have earned an Excellent (Green) fidelity rating from CatholicCulture.org.
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Scripture Study :: Adventures In Exodus

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The winter season, fast approaching, is typically a time when families stay indoors more. In times gone by, family and friends gathered around the radio to listen to programs like Father Knows Best, Ozzie and Harriet, The Saint, and Sherlock Holmes. Although there are still wonderful radio programs on the air - the EWTN network has inspiring programs for the whole family - a great way to spend cold winter evenings together is studying the Bible in the warmth of your own home!

To really understand the message of the New Testament we need to understand the Old. An easy and inexpensive way to do this is with the Adventures In Exodus series. Listen online or download all 10 episodes of the audio series for free, and listen at your leisure. This is also a great way to evangelize your children.

Too busy in the evenings to listen to this Bible study? One of the ideas below might better fit your busy schedule:
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• Save to your flash drive/USB key and listen on a laptop while you're having coffee at your favourite internet cafe.
• Listen with a group of your friends or family.
• Save to your MP3 player and listen while you're commuting on the bus, waiting in a doctor's office/clinic, on your lunch break, going for a walk/jog, exercising at the gym, walking the dog.
• Save to an MP3 player for your kids to listen to in the car.
• Download to an MP3 player and give as a gift to your teen, or as a thank you gift to someone.

Then share with us your comments on how you have used this Bible study and how it has improved your life and your relationship with Christ.

God bless.

P.S.: The link has also been added in our sidebar in the 'Catholic Bible Studies And Other Courses' category.
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The Dogma of the Immaculate Conception

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"... Hail [Mary] full of grace....blessed are you among women." (Luke 1:28)

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This excerpt is from First Things.

Delivered From All Stain

by David Mills
Dec 6, 2010

“Yeah, right” is the way the more irenic of my Evangelical friends react to the Immaculate Conception...

[...]

“It says that Mary doesn't need to be saved,” Evangelical friends with doctorates in theology from elite universities have told me, which is, you know, and I do hate to say this, kind of dumb. I can easily understand their believing the dogma made up out of thin air, but even then they should realize that what is made up is a statement about the way Jesus saved his own mother.

[...]

The word “Immaculate” doesn’t simply mean “perfectly clean,” as we tend to think from its use in real estate ads, but “unstained.” The doctrine emphasizes Mary’s freedom from moral corruption—not, and this is the crucial point, what she is in herself but what she is by the grace of God. Issued by Pope Pius IX in the Apostolic Constitution Ineffabilis Deuson[*] December 8, 1854, the definition declares that

the most Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first instance of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege granted by Almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the human race, was preserved free from all stain of original sin, is a doctrine revealed by God and therefore to be believed firmly and constantly by all the faithful.

She is, he wrote, “far above all the angels and all the saints so wondrously did God endow her with the abundance of all heavenly gifts poured from the treasury of his divinity.” Because God did this for her—because God did it—Mary, “ever absolutely free of all stain of sin, all fair and perfect, would possess that fullness of holy innocence and sanctity.”

[...]

Read the full article here.
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 [*] Pope Pius IX's Apostolic Constitution Ineffabilis Deuson of December 8, 1854 can be read in its entirety at:

EWTN
CatholicCulture.org
New Advent
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Hanukkah, Maccabees, And Christ

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This is an excerpt from the blog Canterbury Tales.
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Christ's Great Hanukkah Sermon and How It Relates to the Maccabees
by Taylor Marshall

"...the eight-day Jewish festival of Hanukkah, the story of which is recounted in 1 Maccabees.

[...]

In 167 B.C., the Syro-Greek king Antiochus IV Epiphanes began to persecute the Jewish people. Antiochus IV Greek forbade circumcision, burned Jewish Scriptures, forced Jews to eat unclean swine’s flesh, and desecrated the Temple in Jerusalem by commanding an un-kosher sacrifice of swine on the Temple’s altar.

Horrified by the sacrilege of Antiochus IV, an elderly priest Mattathias and his son Judah Maccabaeus (“the Hammer”) formed a militia and waged a war of guerilla tactics against the occupying Greek forces: “Every man who has zeal for the Law and maintains the Covenant, let him follow me!” (1 Macc 2:27). The revolution succeeded and the Temple was rededicated in 164 B.C. on the twenty-fifth day of Kislev. The festival commemorating the event is called Hanukkah, meaning “Dedication.”

[...]

It was the feast of the Dedication [i.e. Hanukkah] at Jerusalem. It was winter and Jesus was walking in the Temple, in the portico of Solomon. So the Jews gathered round him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us openly” (Jn 10:22-24).

[...]
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Read the full article here.
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Added: Documenta Catholica Omnia

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Documenta Catholica Omnia has been added to the 'Church Documents' category in the sidebar.

Brush up on your Latin for this site! The official site of the Cooperatorum Veritas Societas, it currently has over "18,000 documents which contain more than 23,000 writings of Popes, almost all the Migne Patrologia Latina and most of the Migne Patrologia Graeca. This site is very useful for both study and research."

Read why they have earned an Excellent (Green) fidelity rating from CatholicCulture.org.
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Added: Do I Have A Vocation?

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Do I Have A Vocation? has been added to the category 'Orders/Vocations' in the sidebar.

"The administrator, Therese Ivers, is a canon lawyer who is currently the Vocations Promoter in the Diocese of Sioux Falls, SD [USA]."

This site has much useful information whether you're discerning a vocation or just curious about what a vocation is. Articles cover such topics as 5 Mistakes to Avoid in Spiritual Direction for Those Discerning Their Vocation (in their 'Spiritual Direction' category), Consecrated or Lay? (in their 'Consecrated Life' category), and What's So Important About Being Careful with Private Vows or Promises? (in their 'Private Vow' category). Other categories include Canonical Requirements, Consecrated Virgins, Consecrated Widows, Hermits, Lay Widow, Secular Institutes, Single Life, and many more. It also has a forum (which seems to be fairly new).

Read why they have earned an Excellent (Green) fidelity rating from CatholicCulture.org.
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Added: DivorcedCatholic.org

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DivorcedCatholic.org has been added in the 'Men, Women, Families' category in the sidebar.

This site was created for Catholics who are or who have suffered through a separation, divorce, annulment, and to be a helpful resource through the healing process. They offer a "Q & A section, Stations of the Cross for the Divorced, Newsletter, Forum, Free videos and podcasts," etc.

Read why the site has earned an Excellent (Green) fidelity rating from CatholicCulture.org.

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Christmas Food Court Flash Mob

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Thank you to my friend Gloria for bringing this to my attention.




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Update: Some interesting facts have surfaced since the posting of this video had been scheduled after I received the e-mail alerting me to its existence.

On November 13, Chorus Niagara surprised diners at the Seaway Mall in Welland with Handel's Messiah Hallelujah Chorus. Read the story in The Niagara Falls Review here.
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Criteria The Early Church Fathers Used To Determine The Canon Of Scripture

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Added: Courage

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Courage "is an international community of men and women committed to following the magisterial teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. Courage's mission is to provide spiritual support for men and women striving to live chaste lives in accordance with the Catholic Church's pastoral teaching on homosexuality."

Available in Spanish, German, French, and English, the site has "e-mail discussion forums, a resource list, special section for Youth Workers, support for families and loved ones," and more.

Read why they have earned an Excellent (Green) fidelity rating from CatholicCulture.org.
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Added: Considering Pope St. Pius X

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Considering Pope St. Pius X has been added in the new category "Heresy & Schism' in the sidebar.

This site is "an excellent resource for solid information on the Church and [the SSPX] schism. The site explains the role of traditional Catholics in the Church and the need to remain faithful supporters of the Pope and the bishops of the Church."

Topics covered include the Role of Latin in the Church, the History of the Mass, Biography of Pope St. Pius X, and more.

Read why this site has earned an Excellent (Green) fidelity rating from CatholicCulture.org.
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Added: The Christian Catacombs Of Rome

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The Christian Catacombs Of Rome "features a large section of information about the catacombs, including a general outline, the catacombs of Saint Callixtus, the spirituality of the catacombs, the Christians of the persecutions, letters between Rome and Carthage, the Litanies of the Martyrs of St. Callixtus, the Pope's speech concerning the catacombs. There is also useful information for making a trip to see the catacombs in person."

It has been added under the 'Early Church' category in the sidebar.

Read why the site has earned an Excellent (Green) fidelity rating from CatholicCulture.org.
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Archbishop Fulton Sheen: 3 Kinds Of Love

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Part 1

Covered: Although there is only one word for love in English, there are three words for it in Greek; eros is the love of one person for another.

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Part 2

Covered: Freud distorts the meaning of 'eros'; philia, the second kind of love, is the love for all humanity; liking vs love/feelings vs the will

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Part 3

Covered: Giving your beauty to God; agape--the love of God for man; loving the unloveable

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Part 4

Covered: Mercy; the story of St. Peter

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Part 5

Covered: Simon, son of John, do you love Me?; 'perfect love'--what only God can give

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Added: Collegamento pro Sindone

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Collegamento pro Sindone is a site dealing with the Shroud of Turin. Although many of its articles are available only in Italian, much of the site is in English. Some of the site's features are a web-cam on Turin Cathedral, Main Researches, Main Events, Guide To Understanding The Shoud, and News.

It's been added under the 'Miscellaneous' category in the sidebar.

Read why they've earned an Excellent (Green) fidelity rating from CatholicCulture.org.
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Added: Cause For Beatification And Canonization Of Pope John Paul II

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This is the official site for the Cause For Beatification And Canonization Of Pope John Paul II, beloved by millions all over the world, and is added under the 'Miscellaneous' category in the sidebar.

The site offers a biography including pictures, testimonies of graces received, the official prayer for his intercession, information on the canonization process, and pertinent documents, and more.

Read why the site has earned an Excellent (Green) fidelity rating from CatholicCulture.org.
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Added: Contemplating Today's Gospel

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Contemplating Today's Gospel has been added under the category 'Bible and Related' in the sidebar.

This site, originating in Spain, "contains the daily Mass Gospels accompanied by a brief commentary....The commentaries/homilies are written by an international team of more than 150 Catholic priests....The site...provides a good way for users to read and contemplate the Gospel."

It has a perpetual Church calendar, is available online or free by e-mail, and is currently available in 5 languages: Spanish, Catalan, Portuguese, French, and English, with a view to add other languages. Also, priests are invited to submit their own commentaries for publication.

Read why this site has earned an Excellent (Green) fidelity rating from CatholicCulture.org.
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Added: Code Of Canon Law (IntraText Edition)

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This site makes the Code Of Canon Law accessible to all: "the concordances, word lists and statistics are extraordinarily powerful tools to enhance your reading and deepen your understanding of the text."

It has been added under the 'References' category in the sidebar.

Read why they have earned an Excellent (Green) fidelity rating from CatholicCulture.org, and what its one little weakness is.
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Added: Conrad W. Baars, M.D.

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Conrad W. Baars, M.D., has been added under the 'Miscellaneous' category in the sidebar.

This site "describes the psychiatric work of Conrad Baars and Anne Terruwe on the nature of man based on Thomas Aquinas' Summa Theologica.

"[T]heir approach...involves treating people by guiding them in learning to love and receive love, thus healing all negative behavior."

"One of the most exciting things about this website is the Catholic approach to healing..."

Whether you are a therapist, are someone suffering from Emotional Deprivation Disorder, or know someone who is, this site has helpful information, and various discussion lists.

Read why they have earned an Excellent (Green) fidelity rating from CatholicCulture.org.
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Added: Catholic Fidelity

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Catholic Fidelity is a comprehensive site that includes audio and video files, presentations, other free downloadables, devotions. Although this site provides the standard information, it's topics also include the Inquisition, Galileo, the Crusades, Eschatology, Economics, Pope Pius XII, Church Fathers, Philosophy, and much more.

It has been added to the 'Apologetics and Evangelizing' category in the sidebar. For quick accessibility, select pages are also added to the categories below.

To 'Catholic Bible Study and Other Courses' - The Kingdom of God in Scripture (Dr. Scott Hahn.

To 'Early Church' - Church Fathers (info., timelines, etc.), and Early Church Fathers (entire volume).

Read why this site has earned an Excellent (Green) Fidelity rating from CatholicCulture.org.
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Added: Chastity, Abstinence & Dating

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Chastity, Abstinence & Dating is a helpful site featuring "a large section of thoughts on chastity, resources for teaching chastity, and Scripture references. This site is a good resource on an important issue for our families and children."

This site is added under the 'Men, Women, Families' category in the sidebar.

Read why this site has earned an Excellent (Green) fidelity rating from CatholicCulture.org.

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Added: CatholicBrides.com

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Located in the beautiful Niagara Region, of Ontario, Canada, CatholicBrides.com is the "only company approved by the Conference of Catholic Bishops, in both Canada and the United States, to produce wedding ceremony programs containing the Roman Catholic Rite of Marriage."

They are added in the "Men, Women, Families' category in the sidebar.

Read why they earned an Excellent (Green) fidelity rating from CatholicCulture.org.
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Added: Catholic Treasury

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This site is one of my favourites. It has information on prayers, what Catholics believe, the saints, and the Holy Family. But what makes it shine is it's library of Catholic Spiritual Classics that can be read online, one chapter at a time. From St. Catherine of Siena's The Dialogue, to St. Francis de Sales' Treatise On the Love of God; from St. Augustine to St. John of the Cross--25 in all.

Catholic Treasury is added under the 'Books' category in the sidebar.

Read why they have earned an Excellent (Green) fidelity rating from CatholicCulture.org.
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The Canon Of Scripture: Did The Catholic Church Add Things To The Bible?

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"No! In fact, the opposite is true: Protestant reformers rejected some parts of the Bible."

 To find out why Catholic Bibles are bigger, read the rest of the article.
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Archbishop Fulton Sheen On Angels

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The Media Reporting That The Media Misreports

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The excerpt below is from National Review Online, a non-Catholic site. The author is not a Catholic.

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The Pope Plays It Right
By Johan Goldberg
November, 24, 2010

[...]

Over the weekend, the media misreported that Benedict had renounced the Roman Catholic Church's longstanding "policy" against condom use. I put "policy" in quotes because the media have a tendency to portray all church positions as if they were like rules for trash pickup: easily changed or abandoned upon papal or bureaucratic whim. That's not how it works.

What Benedict said in a book-length interview is that in certain circumstances using a condom would be less bad than not using one. To use Benedict's example, a male prostitute with HIV would be acting more responsibly, more morally, if he wore a condom while plying his trade than if he didn't.

The pontiff understands that not all harms are equal. Assault is wrong, for instance, but assault with a deadly weapon is more wrong than assault with a non-deadly one. Recognizing and limiting the harm you do can be the "first step in the direction of a moralization, a first act of responsibility in developing anew an awareness of the fact that not everything is permissible."

Now, I'm not on the same page as the Vatican on all matters of sexuality, never mind theology. But I respect the Church's position. And, given the core assumptions of Catholic moral thought, I think Benedict's reasoning is sound.

[...]

It's a tired trope for Church critics to glibly suggest that the Vatican has the blood of millions on its hands because it doesn't back condom distribution, particularly in Africa. That is as absurd as it is unprovable. The Church's opposition to corruption, ethnic violence, and murder are just as pronounced and resolute, and yet such maladies persist in Africa as well. Are we to believe that African male prostitutes...were simply following Church doctrine when they declined to use condoms?

Meanwhile, the Church does perhaps more than any other institution to aid the sick and feed the hungry in Africa, something you certainly can't say about many of [her] critics....

As for the Church's prreferred approach--abstinence until marriage--it may be impractical in most parts of the world, as the critics claim. But it would undeniably save more lives than condom use if put into practice. What seems to offend many isn't the efficacy of the solution but the suggestion that such values have any place in the modern world.

[...]

Read the entire article here.
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It's good to see that there are still some people in the media who do not do their reporting through an agenda.
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Added: Catholic Spiritual Direction

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"The purpose of this site is to provide Magisterium-faithful resources for spiritual growth in contrast to other sites that often provide materials heavily influenced by new age and non-Christian spiritualities." Whether you are thinking about getting spiritual direction, or already have a spiritual director, this site has much helpful information.

Catholic Spiritual Direction is added in the 'Miscellaneous' category in the sidebar.

Read why they have earned an Excellent (Green) fidelity rating from CatholicCulture.org.
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Added: Catholic Portal

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Although designed for our brothers and sisters in South Africa, Catholic Portal is also "interesting for others who want to become more familiar with the situation faced by Catholics there."

The site has been added to the category 'Catholicism Around The World' in the sidebar.

Read why they have earned an Excellent (Green) fidelity rating from CatholicCulture.org.

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Added: Free E-cards From 'Catholic Moms'

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Free e-cards from Catholic Moms. Although we are all called to spread the truth Christ gave us, we are not all called to do this in the same way. Catholic e-cards are a wonderful way to show loved ones we are thinking about them, whether in their times of sorrow or joy, or just to keep in touch. And they are a non-confrontational way to subtly evangelize!

This site has been added in the sidebar under the category 'Catholic E-cards'. 

Read why this site has earned an Excellent (green) fidelity rating from CatholicCulture.org.
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Added: The Catholic Liturgical Library

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The Catholic Liturgical Library has been added under the 'Reference Sites' category in the sidebar.

This site "features historical and current information about the liturgies of the Latin rite of the...Church. ....this includes the missal of 1970 (Novus Ordo) and the missal of 1962 (Tridentine)." It also has a forum, articles on how to "get more out of and put more into the Mass," and much more.

Read why this site has earned an Excellent (Green) fidelity rating from CatholicCulture.org.

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Added: Catholic Insight

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Catholic Insight, a Canadian news magazine "that deals with various topics such as bioethics, politics, and many issues concerning the Church and her teachings," has been added to the sidebar in the category 'Catholic News Services'.

Read why it has earned an Excellent (Green) fidelity rating from CatholicCulture.org.
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Added: Catholic Heirarchy

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Catholic Heirarchy is added to the 'Reference Sites' category in the sidebar.

This site "provides basic information about current and historical bishops." Catholic statistics by country is one of the topics also covered.

Read why they have earned an Excellent (Green) fidelity rating by CatholicCulture.org.
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Added: 3 Catholic Quizzes

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The following quizzes have been added under the category 'Fun Stuff' in the sidebar (formerly "Crafts And Activities For Catholic Kids," but in the interests of space/length of sidebar information, I've consolidated stuff for kids with stuff for kids of all ages. I hope this is helpful.)
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Catholic Quiz: What is the Rosary's third Glorious Mystery? What three items did the Ark of the Covenant contain? The Bible condemns all tradition. True or False? Take this fun biblical quiz to find out the answers to these and 38 other questions!

Know Your Saints Quiz: What saint "performed circus acts" to get the children to listen to his sermons? Which saint was an Italian farm girl and one of 13 children? Which saint raised four people from the dead before he himself died? Which saint would often levitate while saying Mass? This fun quiz will test your knowledge of 20 saints!

Catholic Life Quiz: Do you spend more time watching TV than reading the Bible, Catechism, and praying the Rosary? Do you quickly notice the faults of others but put off working on your own? Is your personal opinion on religious ideas more important than what Jesus teaches through His Catholic Church? Do you have any blessed objects in your home? Take this fun, eye-opening quiz.
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The site, Catholic Bible 101, has an Excellent (Green) fidelity rating from CatholicCulture.org.
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Added: Catholic Bible 101

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This vast site, Catholic Bible 101, is added under the 'Apologetics and Evangelization' category in the sidebar.

Topics this site covers include Interesting Bible Facts, Jesus Prophecies, What To Say To Atheists, The Power Of The Mass, Why We Suffer, Overcoming Pornography,  Early Church Fathers, Freemasons, and on and on and on....

Read the review of their Excellent (Green) fidelity rating at CatholicCulture.org.
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Added: Boston Catholic Journal

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The Boston Catholic Journal has been added in our sidebar under the 'Info. On Catholicism' category.

This site is an online collection of "reflections on life lived authentically in Christ." Topics include Catholic Symbolism, What Is The Mass: A Primer For Clueless Catholics, sacred art, poetry, many free articles, audio files, prayers in English and Latin, and more.

Read why they have earned an Excellent (Green) fidelity rating from CatholicCulture.org.

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Added: Catholic First

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Catholic First is added to the category 'Reference Sites' in the sidebar.

This site has so many categories of information--a searchable Douay-Rheims Bible; the Catechism; Catholic Classics, from Dostoevsky, to Chesterton, to the saints; Vatican II documents; traditional prayers and devotions; and the complete volumes of the Church Fathers (and more).

Read their Excellent (Green) fidelity review from CatholicCulture.org.
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Added: Catholic Ex-Jehovah's Witnesses

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Catholic Ex-Jehovah's Witnesses is added in the 'Apologetics & Evangelizing' category in the sidebar.

As well as including many conversion stories, this site aims to "provide apologetic resources to Catholics who would like to dialogue more effectively with their Jehovah's Witness friends and relatives, as well as door-to-door visitors."

Read why the site earned an Excellent (Green) fidelity rating from CatholicCulture.org.
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Added: Catholic Conservation

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Catholic Conservation is added in the 'Miscellaneous' category in the sidebar.

This site promotes "ecology, environmental justice, and the stewardship of Creation" using the teachings and beliefs of the Catholic Church, and explains "how the Green movement has become entangled with the New Age movement and paganism."

Also included on this site is information about the patroness of ecology--Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, the patron of ecology--St. Francis of Assisi, and population.

Read the review for their Excellent (Green) fidelity rating from CatholicCulture.org.

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Added: David MacDonald (Catholic Bridge)

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David MacDonald is a Canadian musician, singer, actor whose spiritual journey took him through the New Age Movement before coming home to the Catholic Church. As well as his conversion story, his Web site, Catholic Bridge, has information on why New Age practices like yoga are not compatible with our Christian faith.

This has been added to the category 'Converts & Reverts' in the sidebar.

Read why this site earned an Excellent (Green) fidelity rating from CatholicCulture.org.

Note: Just a heads up: although Catholic Culture mentioned another site having a link to the Protestant (Calvin College) Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL), they seem to have missed that Mr. MacDonald not only links to them but puts the link under 'General Catholic Stuff.' Oops! MacDonald's site is one of the larger ones, so it's understandable how this one little thing may have been missed.
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Added: Catholic Canada

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Catholic Canada is added in the 'Catholic News Services' category in the sidebar.

"...by Father Sehl, a Catholic priest" "loyal to the Magisterium," "who claims to have the best collection of Canadian Roman Catholic resources." This site has so much more than just news!

Read why this site has earned an Excellent (Green) fidelity rating with CatholicCulture.org, (and what their one little warning is).
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Added: Biblical Evidence For Catholicism

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Biblical Evidence For Catholicism is a large site by Catholic convert Dave Armstrong. The many topics he covers include theology, apologetics, the early Church, anti-Catholicism, and G.K. Chesterton.

Find out why this site is has earned an Excellent (Green) fidelity rating from CatholicCulture.org.

The site is added in our sidebar under the 'Apologetics and Evangelizing' category.

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Added: beginningCatholic.com

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Accept No Substitutes: Catholic Orthodoxy

When learning about the...Catholic Church, it's important to get orthodox information. Here, "orthodox" means the same as "faithful and accurate." 
.....Faith is serious business. Especially your own faith: this is about your life, remember? 
.....And faith is about the truth. Really. With a capital 'T', as in "The Truth." At least, that's what Jesus said: "I am the way, and the truth, and the life" (John 14:6). 
.....So, would you want to make a decision about your faith based on something...less than the truth

In today's culture, it's hard to navigate through all the chaos of religious teaching--even in our Catholic Church! It is no secret that far too many are not well-formed in their faith, in part due to poor catechesis over the last several decades, but also due to the wolves in sheep's clothing (Mt. 7:15) parading around as 'Catholics' yet teaching a different gospel (Gal. 1:6-12). To be orthodox is simply to humbly accept (and promote) the teachings of God through His Catholic Church. All His teachings.

Do you know what three questions to ask to find out if a person is loyal to the teachings of Christ through His Church? Do you know why the small things matter? Get the answers here.

This site was created by a catechist who is a convert to the Catholic Church. It is aimed at anyone inquiring about the Church, in RCIA, or just wanting to know more about their faith.

See why beginningCatholic.com has an Excellent (Green) fidelity rating from CatholicCulture.org.

The site is added in our sidebar links under 'Catholic Bible Study And Other Courses.'
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Added: Carmelite Monks

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"...joy and peace abound in a manly, agrarian way of life."

These Carmelite Monks are the ones of 'Mystic Monk Coffee' fame. Their spirituality is true to the authentic Carmelite contemplative tradition: they will not lead you astray via Centering Prayer--aka Transcendental Meditation! Their site includes explanations on Spiritual Fatherhood, the Holy Habit, A Day In The Life, and more. And we mustn't forget links to their gift shop!

This site has been added to our new 'Orders' category in the sidebar.

Find out why they have earned an Excellent (Green) fidelity rating at CatholicCulture.org.
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Added: The Cardinals Of The Holy Roman Church

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This interesting site, The Cardinals Of The Holy Roman Church,  has been added under the 'Reference Sites' category in the sidebar. The site lists the cardinals from the second century to the present century, and provides other pertinent information.

See why they have earned an Excellent (Green) fidelity rating from CatholicCulture.org.
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Added: Cardinal Mindszenty Foundation

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Another addition to the new category 'Catholicism Around The World' is the Cardinal Mindszenty Foundation. Their Web site describes them as "a worldwide educational organization which provides reliable information on the secular attacks on faith and family values; persecutions and abuses of human rights around the globe; and upholds the authentic teaching of the Catholic Church."

Read the review of their Excellent (Green) fidelity rating at CatholicCulture.org.
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Added: Capuchin Friars Province of St. Augustine

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A new category, 'Orders,' has been added to the sidebar.

Under this category has been added Capuchin Friars Province of St. Augustine.

CatholicCulture.org says of them, "This website is refreshing in that it shows how an order that is faithful to the Magisterium of the Church can promote true holiness." The friars also welcome prayer requests.

Read the review of their Excellent (Green) fidelity rating.
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Added: The Cardinal Kung Foundation

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Another new category has been added to the sidebar: Catholicism Around The World.

Added under this category is The Cardinal Kung Foundation, which provides "information about the persecution of the Roman Catholic Church in Communist China."

The site's Excellent (Green) fidelity rating can be read at CatholicCulture.org.

Please keep our brothers and sisters in China in your prayers.
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Books Excluded From The Bible By The Early Church Fathers

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Added: Blue Army Of Our Lady Of Fatima

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The Blue Army Of Our Lady Of Fatima is an international apostolate devoted to spreading the message of Fatima.

Find out why the site has earned an Excellent (Green) fidelity rating from CatholicCulture.org.

They have been added to our sidebar links.
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The Invisible Church?

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Fall Cleaning 2010

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Last updated December 7, 2010.

I finally had some time to update the site. Any changes due to this 'fall cleaning' are listed in this post. A separate post will deal with any new additions. Your feedback is always welcome--contact information is at the bottom of the page. 

Catholic Gift Ideas Widget

The category has been changed again. Refresh the page to change the selections this dynamic widget shows. 

New Symbols In Sidebar Link Lists

I'm going through all the links in the sidebar just to double-check their loyalty to the teachings of Christ and His Church. (I'm checking them against the site reviews at CatholicCulture.org.)

+  means the site has a strong fidelity (Green) rating
-   means the site has a Caution (Yellow) rating
*  means the site has not been reviewed by CatholicCulture.org

Sites With Caution (Yellow) Rating But Retained

New Advent: As CatholicCulture.org explains, "This site is truly one of the best Catholic resources on the web, marred only by the Google search engine which brings up morally offensive ads." (Emphasis mine.)

Vulgate (latinvulgate.com): As CatholicCulture.org explains, "The site receives a caution in fidelity because of the Google Ads.

Catholic News Agency (CNA): Their rating is only due to their Google Ads.

Deletions

From: the Apologetics and Evangelizing list in the sidebar - Scripture Catholic

Reason: its Caution (Yellow) fidelity rating; it is not faithful to Christ's Church in all aspects, therefore has the potential to lead astray those who are not yet well formed in their faith; there are many other Catholic sites that are fully loyal to the Church and Magisterium that have excellent resources.
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From: the Bible and Related list in the sidebar - Douay-Rheims Bible Online (www.drbo.org)

Reason: its Caution (Yellow) fidelity rating; there are many other Catholic sites that are fully loyal to the Church and Magisterium that have excellent resources.
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From: the Blogs list in the sidebar - The Catholic Young Woman (former site) (http://amaidenswreath.blogspot.com/).

Reason: the site is now redirecting to their new site which is provided in our sidebar.
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From: the Books list in the sidebar - His Mercy (free Catholic eBooks) (www.hismercy.ca)

Reason: the site is no longer available.
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From: the Catholic Bible Study And Other Courses list in the sidebar - Commentary on Daily Reading (sacredspace.ie/livingspace)

Reason: the site's Caution (Yellow) fidelity rating due, in part, as CatholicCulture.org explains, to "A nine day novena which only has one Catholic prayer--the rest being pagan prayers." (C.f. Matthew 7:15 - a wolf in sheep's clothing.)
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From: the Catholic Bible Study And Other Courses list in the sidebar - TCW Bible Study (http://woman.catholicexchange.com/category/bible-study/)

Reason: broken link - can't find any longer at catholicexchange.com
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From: the Catholic E-cards list in the sidebar - Sacred Space (E-cards)

Reason: the site's Caution (Yellow) fidelity rating due, in part, as CatholicCulture.org explains, to "A nine day novena which only has one Catholic prayer--the rest being pagan prayers." (C.f. Matthew 7:15 - a wolf in sheep's clothing.)
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From: the Catholic Media and Reviews list in the sidebar - Choral Treasure (www.choraltreasure.org)

Reason: they are no longer online. (They did not have enough people supporting them through donations to pay to keep the Web site going.)
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From: the Devotions list in the sidebar - Sacred Space (daily prayers) (sacredspace.ie)

Reason: the site's Caution (Yellow) fidelity rating due, in part, as CatholicCulture.org explains, to "A nine day novena which only has one Catholic prayer--the rest being pagan prayers." (C.f. Matthew 7:15 - a wolf in sheep's clothing.)
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From: the Devotions list in the sidebar - Universalis (Liturgy of the Hours) (www.universalis.com)

Reason: the site's Caution (Yellow) fidelity rating, which as CatholicCulture.org explains, is due to its links--to dissenters, New Age/Centering Prayer, Freemasonry, etc. (C.f. Matthew 7:15 - a wolf in sheep's clothing.)
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From: the Men, Women, Families list in the sidebar - Today's Catholic Woman (woman.catholicexchange.com)

Reason: the site has replaced this channel with Feminine Genius: Authentic Catholic Womanhood, which is what I have done in the sidebar.
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Update: December 7, 2010
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From: the Fun Stuff list in the sidebar - Crosswords and puzzles (play online)

Reason: no longer available.
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From: the Fun Stuff list in the sidebar - Great Saints colouring book (free)

Reason: no longer available.
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From: the Fun Stuff list in the sidebar - Great Moments in Catholic History (online quiz)

Reason: no longer available
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Free Graphics For Your Web and E-mail

Access Live Action's free pro-life images and sayings you may use for your Facebook page, Twitter, Blog, Web site, e-mail signature, etc.

Live Action, a not-for-profit student group at UCLA, is known for its undercover investigations of Planned Parenthood.

As stated on their Web site: "Planned Parenthood has come under fire recently after Live Action's investigations found them willing to conceal sexual abuse and accept donations targeted to abort African-Americans only." [emphasis added]


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Baby Dies Due To Neglect By Hospital Staff

This is an excerpt from the article on nurse Jill Stanek's blog. You can read the full story here.

...the 22-week-old baby boy who survived his abortion for 2 days in Italy. The story was heartbreaking, more so because I know without a doubt babies his age are surviving their abortions every day across America and getting similar treatment. I would even venture to say this is a worldwide epidemic.

For instance, only last week I spoke at length after a pro-life event with an L&D RN who told me babies survive their abortions at her hospital, and doctors pressure nurses to give them 0-0 APGAR scores, in other words, chart that the babies were born dead when they were not. I could only urge the nurse to take action. There was nothing more I could do.

[...]

The baby's mother opted for a termination after scans suggested the child might be disabled.

And what was the baby's disability?

Prenatal scans had shown two malformations in the boy, in his palate and lip.

Cleft lip and palate.

"You Knit Me Together In My Mother's Womb"

PSALM 139

A psalm of David.

O LORD, you have searched me and known me.
You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
.....you discern my thoughts from far away.
You search out my path and my lying down,
.....and are acquainted with all my ways.
Even before a word is on my tongue,
.....O LORD, you know it completely.
You hem me in, behind and before,
.....and lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
.....it is so high that I cannot attain it.

Where can I go from your spirit?
.....Or where can I flee from your presence?
If I ascend to heaven, you are there;
.....if I make by bed in Sheol, you are there,
If I take the wings of the morning
.....and settle at the farthest limits of the sea,
even there your hand shall lead me,
.....and your right hand shall hold me fast.
If I say, "Surely the darkness shall cover me,
.....and the light around me become night,"
even the darkness is not dark to you;
.....the night is as bright as the day,
.....for darkness is as light to you.

For it was you who formed my inward parts;
.....you knit me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
.....Wonderful are your works;
that I know very well.
.....My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
.....intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes beheld my unformed substance.
In your book were written
.....all the days that were formed for me,
.....when none of them as yet existed.

How weighty to me are your thoughts, O God!
.....How vast is the sum of them!
I try to count them--they are more than the sand;
.....I come to the end--I am still with you.

O that you would kill the wicked, O God,
.....and that the bloodthirsty would depart from me--
those who speak of you maliciously,
.....and lift themselves up against you for evil!
Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD?
.....And do I not loathe those who rise up against you?
I hate them with perfect hatred;

.....I count them my enemies.
Search me, O God, and know my heart;

.....test me and know my thoughts.

See if there is any wicked way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.

Sociologist Compares Today's Crisis To Nazi Smear Campaign

WARNING:  The National Catholic Reporter online news service has links to Web sites promoting ideas directly in conflict with Church documents* and the Magisterium (e.g., New Age, such as those of Fr. Thomas Keating). This article is provided only due to the importance of the topic.
  
*See links to some of these Church documents here.

Update, November 14, 2010: The NCR has a Danger (Red) fidelity rating from CatholicCulture.org. Read why here.
 

The following excerpt is from the National Catholic Reporter online news service.

By John L. Allen, Jr.
April 17, 201

PERHAPS THE MOST remarkable defense of Benedict XVI and the Catholic Church vis-à-vis the sexual abuse crisis to appear in recent weeks ironically never mentions the current pope, and it comes not from a senior Vatican official but a lay Italian sociologist of religion. In a nutshell, the suggestion – never made explicit, but clear nonetheless – is that today’s drumbeat of criticism of the church over “pedophile priests” amounts to a replay of a Nazi smear campaign.

Massimo Introvigne, who directs the international Center for Studies on New Religions, published an essay in the April 16 edition of L’Avvenire, the official newspaper of the Italian bishops, about a Nazi campaign in 1937 led by Minister of Propaganda Joseph Goebbels to discredit the Catholic Church following Pope Pius XI’s anti-Nazi encyclical Mit brennender Sorge. Introvigne argues that Goebbels created what sociologists would later call a “moral panic,” based on real facts, but facts which are distorted and amplified.

In the end, Introvigne says, the plan backfired – Goebbels’ attempt to smear the church generated more outrage than actual cases of sexual abuse in 1930s-era German Catholicism, which were reported in the German media and tried in German courts. 

Read entire article  >>

Lutheran Defends Pope Benedict XVI

The following article appeared on the blog of the Web site "LOGIA: A Journal of Lutheran Theology," on March 31, 2010:


THE DICTATORSHIP OF RELATIVISM STRIKES BACK--AND GOES NUCLEAR


Some ecumenical thoughts at Holy Week 2010 from John Stephenson


The secular press has had it in for Joseph Ratzinger for going on three decades. Before his election as Pope in the spring of 2005, he was routinely derided in his homeland as the Panzerkardinal (“tank cardinal”) and caricatured in North America as the “Enforcer” or even the “Rottweiler.” The roots of this negative reputation stretch back at least as far as the book-length interview he granted to the Italian journalist Vittorio Messori that catapulted him to global fame when published as The Ratzinger Report in 1985. Prior to that juncture, as a heavyweight German academic who had leapfrogged over a major episcopal see (Munich-Freising) to become a leading official in the Roman curia (as cardinal prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith) under the still new John Paul II, Ratzinger’s was hardly a household name.


But shrewd observers must wonder about the startling disproportion between the enormous hue and cry artificially whipped up by the media and the softly spoken real life figure who seems always to have avoided hyperbole like the plague. Even though the curial department over which he presided for almost a quarter century is the direct heir to the 16^th-century Inquisition, the disciplinary measures dealt out by Ratzinger against barely a score of wildly Modernist (actually mostly apostate) theologians over more than two decades add up to a string of fairly mild censures, gentle slaps on the wrist in most cases. Hans Küng lost the right to teach theology as an accredited representative of the magisterium (as his missio canonica was stripped from him), but (despite his clear disavowal of the divinity of Christ!) retained his status as an incardinated (=rostered) Roman Catholic priest, and he has, well, greatly profited in fame and fortune from his much trumpeted role as Rome’s chief dissident. Had he rather than Ratzinger landed in the chair of cardinal prefect back in the early 1980s, the media would have shown no sympathy for the advocates of traditional Christianity that a totalitarian liberal such as Küng would have hounded to the remotest margins of Church life; ironically, there is no more illiberal force on earth than a liberal with his hands on the levers of power.


Moreover, when someone takes the trouble to examine Ratzinger’s huge opus over close to six decades as a professional theologian, they make the discovery that he occupies a centrist position in the constellation of modern Roman Catholic theology; he is at most mildly “conservative”, the “ultra-conservative” label routinely affixed to him by most sections of the press being sheerly laughable.


[...]


By the way, the world still hates, loathes, & detests Christ and His Church!


In addition to the unremitting hostility directed at him from the Modernist wing of his own Communion, even prior to his election as Pope, Ratzinger was a favourite target of the unbelieving world’s impassioned hatred for Christ Jesus our Lord and the members of His mystical body. Some years ago, the British Daily Telegraph (which at one time had the reputation of being a “quality” newspaper) reported that the then cardinal had committed a terrible “gaffe” by publicly expressing hope for the conversion of the Jews. Fancy that, a Christian wishing salvation for a sizeable group of his neighbours, a faux pas indeed! A Google search has confirmed my memory that British journalists were likewise incensed by the then cardinal’s comparison of Buddhism with spiritual autoeroticism. How scandalous that a Christian spokesman should speak candidly of religions that offer a spurious salvation!


The Canadian mainstream media were frenziedly sharpening their knives against Joseph Ratzinger in the weeks when he was a strong candidate to succeed John Paul II. His papacy was barely a few hours old when the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) evening news ran a segment on an aged Italian woman (a “good Catholic”, of course) who stood crestfallen amid a jubilant crowd as Benedict XVI appeared on the balcony of St. Peter’s, walking dejectedly away as she realized that women’s ordination, contraception, sexual licence, abortion on demand, and all that good stuff would still be denied the papal seal of approval. That bloody hatchet job had been carefully prepared way ahead of a cardinal’s booming “Habemus papam—reverendissimum dominum Josephum Cardinalem Ratzinger” from the balcony!


Remarkably, when the press manufactured further storms of outrage on his lifting of the excommunications still hanging over the four remaining SSPX bishops in January 2009, one of the strongest defences made of Benedict XVI in his homeland came from the word processor of Germany’s leading orthodox Lutheran theologian. Gottfried Martens [....] Dr. Martens pointed out in his parish newsletter that the Pope had simply smoothed the way for talks between the SSPX and the CDF by graciously lifting the excommunication of the four renegade bishops; he had not granted them a recognized public ministry in the Roman Catholic Church—they remain unrostered, to use our terminology; and least of all did he knowingly “rehabilitate” a Holocaust denier. But instead of surfing in search of better information to <http://www.logia.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=79&catid=39:web-forum&Itemid=18>, the mainstream media take every opportunity to add the charge of “rehabilitating a Holocaust denier” to their already lengthy list of Ratzinger’s many sins. The day after his election to the papacy, the headline of a British tabloid read, “From Hitler Youth to Papa Ratzi!” For as is well known, conscripted teenagers forced into the collapsing armies of the Third Reich shared all the guilt of the worst war criminals, especially if these young men happened to be German nationals.


[...]


Read the full article here.

AP guilty of bad journalism in Oakland abuse reporting, says Ignatius Press founder :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

The Reformation Project (A Sneak Peek!)

This is a sample of the upcoming ten-part series by renowned Scripture scholar Fr. Mitch Pacwa, S.J.

Visit Fr. Mitch on YouTube or Facebook, or visit Ignatius Publications.

The Rosary Is A Powerful Weapon

[The mother of the King was the Queen Mother.] "Then Adonijah...came to Bathsheba, Solomon's mother....Then he said....'I have one request to make of you; do not refuse me....Please ask King Solomon - he will not refuse you - to give me Abishag the Shunammite as my wife.' Bathsheba said, 'Very well; I will speak to the king on your behalf.' So Bathsheba went to King Solomon, to speak to him on behalf of Adonijah. The king rose to meet her and bowed down to her; then he sat on his throne, and had a throne brought for the king's mother, and she sat on his right. Then she said, 'I have one small request to make of you; do not refuse me.' And the king said to her 'Make your request, my mother, for I will not refuse you.' " ~ 1 Kings 2:13-20

"At a certain point the wine ran out, and Jesus' mother told him, 'They have no more wine.' ...His mother said to the servants, 'Do whatever he tells you.' " ~ John 2:3-5 

"....The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective."  ~ James 5:16

"One day through the Rosary and Scapular I will save the world."  ~ the Blessed Virgin Mary to St. Dominic

"Say the Rosary every day, to obtain peace for the world."  ~ Our Lady of Fatima, 1917

Rosary Resources:

Pray with the Family Rosary on 101.7 FM (Buffalo), weeknights at 7 p.m. 

Ainglkiss.com - download free eBook on the Rosary - for children and adults - to your computer or USB key for easy viewing without having to go online. E-Books for youth are also available on topics such as 'Examining Your Conscience,' 'The Stations of the Cross,' etc. [Admin. note Dec. 3, 2010: this seems to no longer be available.]

A Scriptural Rosary - is good for anyone, children to seniors, wanting to gain a deeper understanding of the scriptural roots of the Mysteries of the Rosary.

Vatican Online Rosary - a text from Sacred Scripture and from the Catechism of the Catholic Church is included with each Mystery.

Online Rosary - not yet updated with Luminous Mysteries, but has pictures, Bible verses and commentaries on Mysteries, beautiful music, and your choice of English or Latin versions.

Rosarium Virginis Mariae - Pope John Paul II's Apostolic Letter on the Rosary. (This is also linked in our sidebar under "Church Documents.)

 

Divine Mercy Flood My Soul

The first Sunday after Easter is Divine Mercy Sunday.

The video below has the instructions Jesus gave to St. Faustina for the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. The song, "Divine Mercy Flood My Soul," is by Catholic singer, songwriter, and inspirational speaker Annie Karto. See our sidebar for the link to her Web site.

"O blood and water which gushed forth
from the heart of Jesus
as a font of mercy for us, I trust in you.
Jesus, I trust in you."