Living the Year of Faith

In this Year of Faith our Holy Father has given us, we are called to learn the teachings of our faith. smile 

A great way to start: With this Flocknote link, you can subscribe to daily emails to help you study and reflect on the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Also, reading the Documents of Vatican II  is important for those of us striving to learn and live our faith in this Post-Conciliar world. Many things done/taught/believed in the Church today, in particular the Local Church and on the Parish level are are done out of a (sometimes willful) misunderstanding of what Vatican II was about.

For my woman readers, we are called to strive more deeply to live our faith as faithful women of the Gospel! We are the standard bearers of morality in society. We must stand up to that call and live our lives our in accordance to the Will of God. We must also set a joyful example for those around us and in living that joyful example, help bring them to the wonderful teachings of Christ.

We must all remember that though those around us who profess the Catholic faith may not live it fully, that is not an excuse for us to not live it and strive to be examples of it in the world. We must learn and accept fully the true teachings of our faith, and live them, even if it means we lose friends, or that we are ostracized by those around us (our neighbors, fellow parishioners in the pews, our pastors, or our families).

Be joyful! Be happy! Be faithful!

St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, Pray for us!

Filed under: Catholic, Year of Faith

More Food for Thought on Party of Five

When it comes to elections, everyone talks about voting for the lesser of two evils. Why settle for evil at all?

The fact is, voting for the lesser of two evils, is still voting for evil. Why vote for evil when there is likely a 3rd party candidate, not heavily funded by corporate and banking interests, that likely fits your stances on the issues?

Check out the third party debate this upcoming Tuesday. You might just find someone you can FULLY support.

http://freeandequal.org/

From the USCCB Faithful Citizenship #36:

“When all candidates hold a position in favor of an intrinsic evil, the conscientious voter faces a dilemma. The voter may decide to take the extraordinary step of not voting for any candidate or, after careful deliberation, may decide to vote for the candidate deemed less likely to advance such a morally flawed position and more likely to pursue other authentic human goods.”

So, yes, we are permitted to vote for the candidate who is less likely to advance an intrinsic evil, but what if that candidate isn’t Mitt Romney? What if there is a candidate who sees the value of all human life, regardless of how that life was conceived? What if there is a candidate who support the end of the unjust wars we are waging overseas (and in the process, killing innocent people)? What if there is a candidate who wants to work on the real economic issues of our country? Again, what if that candidate isn’t Mitt Romney?

 

“Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost.”
–John Quincy Adams

Filed under: American Liberties, Catholic

Party of Five, not Party of Two

Did you know that this November, on your ballot, there will probably be more than two candidates for president? Did you know that you do not have to vote for one of of the two major party candidates? As voters, we owe it to ourselves, to our children, to the country to check out all the candidates on the ballot and vote for the one who will best lead our country and to protect the rights of all citizens. You might be surprised to find that it isn’t the one with an R or a D after his name.

 

Links to each candidates website:

Virgil Goode 

Gary Johnson

Barack Obama

Mitt Romney

Jill Stein  

Filed under: American Liberties, Catholic

A Wonderful Surprise (edited to add a picture!)

As is our habit, we went to Mass this evening. I walked in with Caecilia a bit behind the rest of the family, and hurried her to the pew. To be honest, when I was genuflecting, I was more making sure she was following me, than I was looking up at our Lord in the tabernacle.

I got her settled in the pew and assessed the rest of the situation (where were the other kids sitting and what were they doing.) I knelt down to pray and I looked up and saw that there was a green veil over the tabernacle. That was new. I’d not seen that before. Then I looked again, it was a new tabernacle and Jesus had been moved to the center, where he belongs! Can you say awesome?

 

 

Filed under: Catholic

The USCCB’s Response to VP Biden’s HHS Mandate Claims

USCCB Responds To Inaccurate Statement Of Fact On HHS Mandate Made During Vice Presidential Debate

 

October 12, 2012

WASHINGTON—The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) issued the following statement, October 12. Full text follows:

Last night, the following statement was made during the Vice Presidential debate regarding the decision of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to force virtually all employers to include sterilization and contraception, including drugs that may cause abortion, in the health insurance coverage they provide their employees:

“With regard to the assault on the Catholic Church, let me make it absolutely clear. No religious institution—Catholic or otherwise, including Catholic social services, Georgetown hospital, Mercy hospital, any hospital—none has to either refer contraception, none has to pay for contraception, none has to be a vehicle to get contraception in any insurance policy they provide. That is a fact. That is a fact.”

This is not a fact. The HHS mandate contains a narrow, four-part exemption for certain “religious employers.” That exemption was made final in February and does not extend to “Catholic social services, Georgetown hospital, Mercy hospital, any hospital,” or any other religious charity that offers its services to all, regardless of the faith of those served.

HHS has proposed an additional “accommodation” for religious organizations like these, which HHS itself describes as “non-exempt.” That proposal does not even potentially relieve these organizations from the obligation “to pay for contraception” and “to be a vehicle to get contraception.” They will have to serve as a vehicle, because they will still be forced to provide their employees with health coverage, and that coverage will still have to include sterilization, contraception, and abortifacients. They will have to pay for these things, because the premiums that the organizations (and their employees) are required to pay will still be applied, along with other funds, to cover the cost of these drugs and surgeries.

USCCB continues to urge HHS, in the strongest possible terms, actually to eliminate the various infringements on religious freedom imposed by the mandate.

For more details, please see USCCB’s regulatory comments filed on May 15 regarding the proposed “accommodation”: www.usccb.org/about/general-counsel/rulemaking/upload/comments-on-advance-notice-of-proposed-rulemaking-on-preventive-services-12-05-15.pdf

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Keywords: vice presidential debate, HHS mandate, U.S. bishops, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, insurance plans, Catholic hospitals, charities, social services, sterilization, contraception, religious liberty, USCCB

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MEDIA CONTACT ONLY:
Don Clemmer
O: 202-541-3206
Filed under: American Liberties, Catholic, Church Laws, Social Commentary

And Good Afternoon from South Georgia

**I thought this posted yesterday, I guess I failed at clicking the publish button!**

 

This morning I opened the windows and have been able to leave them opened all day. I even washed the curtains on all the downstairs windows and they got to dry in the breeze, when I hung them back up.

 

 

The kids played outside and Karol was thrilled that there were no bugs out today. (I’d really like a hard freeze two nights in row, to kill off bugs, but that won’t happen until December at the earliest.)

It is amazing what a little bit of fresh air can do for the soul. Here we are cooped up in the house all summer long (from about the end of May to the end of September.) With the windows opened and chilly toes (that I did not pay for via the electric bill.) I felt inspired to make some chili for dinner, with corn bread. The house is mostly* clean, dishes are all done, laundry cleaned and ready to be taken upstairs for folding.

Joshua is coming home a bit late, as he is stopping to get an estimate on new cabinets, a new bathtub, and new flooring for our upstairs bathroom. The current cabinets are junk (and ugly.), the tub is not sealed well, so it is stained and leaks, and the flooring was not laid well, and there is a seam coming apart in the middle of the floor.  It is pretty much the tub the main reason for looking to remodel, but we figured if the tub will be replaced, why not do a few other things.

I gave him a budget and hopefully we will be able to do the work for under the amount I said. We should as we aren’t going with marble counter tops or a spa tub, but you know how projects go. 🙂 The fear is more what will the wall and floor look like behind/under the tub.**

Speaking of projects, back in July we stopped by the hardware store for paint, to paint the toy room, and well, after much patching and many long breaks, one of the walls is painted. It is now my favorite room! It is so pretty and bright. I cannot wait to see what it will look like with all four walls painted. This has also inspired me to paint the dining room, which is currently brown (with white trim) to something a bit brighter. In due time.

*The mostly comes from the fact that I do have four kids and well, the two year old is kind of a tornado, just bringing toys from the play room to the living room.

**And in the time that this sat in my draft, we have decided to hold off on the bathroom redo. The cost of cabinets was more than what we could spend on the whole project! Off to look at other options 🙂

 

 

Filed under: General Stuff

…because we have Jesus.

 

 

At a recent vocations conference, a priest told me why he used this painting on their vocation poster, it was to emphasize that no matter what happens in this world, Jesus is in charge. The election in November the HHS mandate mean nothing, because we have Jesus.

I was struck by the painting and what he said. I’ve also requested a copy of the poster for our house, so I can remember to pray for this particular priest, the priests in his diocese, and the seminarians studying for the diocese. (and selfishly, to have a copy of the painting in my house.)

 

 

Filed under: Catholic