tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1504014095723002082024-03-13T09:29:29.558-07:00spikenardIf I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world. (C.S. Lewis)Karen Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14779940921144280154noreply@blogger.comBlogger495125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-150401409572300208.post-77803460115171289782013-04-29T21:14:00.002-07:002013-04-29T21:15:11.000-07:00Bubbles are to Boy what God is to ManAnalogous...<br />
It's only a hunch, but I have a feeling that this child's reaction to bubbles might be akin to something of the joy we may someday experience in the Beatific Vision, no?<br />
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Daily theology box, checked.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/lYr5UPHPcOY" width="420"></iframe>Karen Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14779940921144280154noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-150401409572300208.post-2463283822951349172013-04-21T22:47:00.005-07:002013-04-21T22:47:40.187-07:00Yoga-losophy<br />
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Sorry. I don’t normally enhance my blog with profanity, but this little funny reduced me to tears. Allow me to explain.<br />
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“Come with me to free yoga this Sunday”, says Carla. “Fine” says Karen.<br />
I’ve never done yoga before. I’ve thought about it and dismissed every time as a momentary lapse of sanity. tantric pigeon poses; strange incantations conjuring pagan gods, new-agey theologically questionable at-one-ment; not for this Spartan princess. Besides, I don’t understand the language... I struggle hard enough inventing my own Latin and Spanish words. This just sounds like gargling with vowels. Hasayamapataranamathan. You understand.<br />
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So what made this Sunday at 10:30 plausible enough for my intro to Yoga 101 experience? I dunno. A suspected hunch is a faint recollection of a recent phone conversation where someone suggested that I investigate “Catholic Yoga”. Seed planted. I think I have subconsciously willed it into being.<br />
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Ok. So I find my best stretchable clothing; something that won’t tear out too easily in the behind and is fashionable enough to parade around in one of the wealthiest shopping establishments in Arizona. I immediately feel ridiculous that I am thinking about this. I don my most yoga-esque shade of pink lipstick and drive my comfortable self to the Biltmore.<br />
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Arriving at the parking garage, I follow the slow parade of people toting yoga mats since I do not exactly know where I am going. I am good at pretending to know what I am doing when in fact, I do not know what I am doing. God plays along with this plan since these people lead me right to the center pavilion where I encounter half of the population of Paradise Valley.<br />
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<i>Thought bubble #1: Do you ever wonder why the churches are empty? Well wonder no more. I found all of the recovering Catholics and lapsed church-goers right here at the Biltmore! [Pastors…take note.] </i><br />
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I greet Carla, exchange a few laughs, roll out the mat and prepare myself for the hour ahead. The yoga instructor is a lovely young gal definitely wearing the right spandex ensemble.<br />
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<i>Thought bubble #2: I think to myself how every athletic activity has it’s own “look” yoga folk tend to resemble pilate folk. But they definitely look different than hockey folk…but I digress. </i><br />
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Our yoga priestess has us greeting the sunshine and paying homage to our breath. I think I mutter a “Hail Mary”, which actually settles me…. Whenever I’m lost, I look over to Carla who is managing quite well with her big toe wedged almost inside of her ear. After getting past the cognitive dissonance of shopping the stores with my eyes while trying to concentrate on the goodness of my spirit, I realize this is not unlike the drifty-ness I experience when my mind wanders in prayer. Hmmmm, “White House/Black Market excellent sundress” competing with “I want to sing the sweetest song to Jesus in this time and place”. Eventually I do figure out a rhythm in the pigeon pose circuit. And that brings some relief because I need order.<br />
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But then, there is the woman next to me. Clearly, she is frustrated. She is inconveniently sandwiched between the pavement sidewalk, next to White House Black Market and me. I immediately feel sorry for her. a bit of a negative vibe of energy has her in a tantric mental wedgy which has been caused simultaneously by a bad audio system and a child being strolled around who is screaming at the top of his lungs. (And me, and WH-BM). Then she says the words that completely untangle me:<br />
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<b>“I have lost all serenity. Now I’m just “expletive-ed”. I need a beer. </b><br />
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I need a beer? I giggle. I laugh out loud. She laughs out loud. I determine this to be the high point of my yoga experience and I have made a mental friend. She introduces me to where I am comfortable: Rule 62… never take yourself too (expletive) serious. To this thought I add my own quotable: humor is the fertilizer of a happy soul. I begin to feel a particular lift (with my toe in my ear), as I thank God for a beautiful day in His sunshine.<br />
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<i>Thought Bubble #3: My mind wanders to the next meditative thought: the yoga class invading the corner bar; mats, spandex and all. </i><br />
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Maybe I’ll come back again next week.<br />
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Karen Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14779940921144280154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-150401409572300208.post-57045022713256016402013-04-06T22:53:00.001-07:002013-04-06T22:55:28.795-07:00My deep peace I give to youIn today's Gospel Christ appears to the frightened apostles. He crosses over their makeshift boundary of locked doors and reaches them exactly where they need to be reached: in their fear. Surprisingly, the Christ does not say things like "fear not" or "calm down" or "get a grip" or "what part of rebuilding the temple in three days did you not understand?" No. He utters a word. He is the Word made flesh. And now a Word called PEACE. He is our peace. And then he does something majestically <i>creationistic</i>: He breathes on them. He gives them His very breath. This should sound alarm bells for anyone paying attention to Old Testament exegesis. In that beautiful passage of Genesis, we see God in Chapter 2 doing the same thing to Adam right after He created him:<br />
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...the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground and <i>breathed into his nostrils the breath of life</i>; and man became a living being. Genesis 2: 6-7 (emphasis mine)</blockquote>
Notice that man became a living being only after the God-breath entered him. We can unmistakably see this connection in the upper room, now penetrated by the Living God as he breathes onto the 12 a new breath of life; one that would cast away fear. One that would make the shadow of Peter a source of healing and grace. One that would send that tiny group of Palestinian nobodys out into the world to baptize all nations in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. The old has passed away...the new has come. Behold, I come to give life and give it to the full!<br />
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A small group of friends and I attended the Chrism Mass on Monday during Holy Week, where I had the pleasure of seeing this ritual action right there in the liturgy. Bishop breathed on the sacred oils that would be distributed to all the parishes for our annual sacramental needs. The sacred oils are used to "seal the deal" so to speak in the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and Anointing of the Sick. Never was the point driven home so beautifully after having heard the gospel for this Mercy Sunday. I'm glad God associated PEACE with driving out fear. It is a blessing of mercy, courage and it is the gift of God's very life breath in us. It is our divine consolation and a foretaste of heaven in which we place all our hope.<br />
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If you are meeting fear or struggles today, may you take a deep breath and find his Peace. <br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/NBQV4F8IAs4" width="420"></iframe>Karen Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14779940921144280154noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-150401409572300208.post-91068685704390538462013-03-25T06:19:00.000-07:002013-03-25T08:07:38.872-07:00Sift...What the Magdalene Knew<div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><i>“He who works with his hands is a laborer. He who works with his hands and his head is a craftsman. He who works with his hands and his head and his heart is an artist." </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><i>Saint Francis of Assisi</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">We embark upon Holy Week, 2013. Welcome! And Bon Voyage. Lent is pretty much over and perhaps you are salivating for that delicious chocolate bunny you have bought for the kiddos' Easter Basket. The death throes of a ripened mortification period are on the horizon. The end is near. But wait! The enemy desires to sift you. What? Oh yes. It is not over. We have merely arrived at the start/finish line. Lent was a preparation. Just like life is a preparation. There is something that awaits us beyond these seasons but before we get there, we must eventually confront our greatest ultimate issue this side of heaven. The puzzle of suffering, sifting and death. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">What does it mean to sift? We can look to some common culinary practices to derive greater meaning here. To me, sifting means separating the necessary from the unnecessary; the big unwieldy chunks of stuff that don't do well in food from the yummy stuff that incorporates itself well into a mixture, making it uniform, consistent and integral. Sifting is a clarification process that employs a ghastly straining device - <i>a sieve</i> - in order to draw out the fine from the course particles. Good for the batter- not so much for the chunks. However you choose to examine it, it sounds like it could be painful if you happen to be a big, prideful particle trying to pass an audition for a Bechamel or Veloute. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">So what was Christ talking about when he used the phrase: "Simon, Simon, Satan desires to sift you like wheat"? Perhaps if we look to some key figures of this Holy Week, we might find an identification with their particular sifting. I decided to take a closer look to my beloved patron, Saint Mary Magdalene. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">In today's Gospel, we find her in what has been immortalized in Sacred Art, bathing Christ's feet with her tears and drying them with her hair. We make the theological assumption that this is the same Mary in Bethany as the one who earlier had narrowly avoided some trumped up "promiscuity charges" and a fatal stoning incident. In Bethany, her tears of gratitude were accompanied by that perfumed oil made from genuine aromatic nard, (Spikenard--it must have cost a fortune). Little did she know it at the time, she was preparing her Savior for his ultimate agony; she was anointing His precious body before His death. As she <i>kneaded</i> the oil deep into the skin of his feet she may have been remembering back to that day....nose in the dust....covered in her own tears of shame and filth...looking at those same feet. "Who has condemned you? <i>No one sir</i>. "Then neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more." </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">Turning her face up to the man, she would have noticed the familiar smile and knowing glance of someOne who understood her at curious depth. <i>"Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you...you are fearfully wonderully made."</i> He saw in the Magdalene the true majestic beauty of her womanly soul and he saved her because she belonged to Him... to God. Do you think she sinned again like that day in the dirt? I don't know, but the anointing at Bethany seems to bespeak a gratitude of freedom from a bondage that has been clubbed to death. I believe Mary was sifted a few times....the worst of it was as she accompanied Jesus to Calvary. Remember that she journeyed with him to the foot of the cross. It was a torture beyond all telling to walk that long and dusty road knowing that it would end in certain death. How could it all end this way? Where were the rest of the Apostles? Where were all who were healed? cleansed? freed? unblinded? no longer lame? no longer mute? Look at His Mother. She is there with Him. She is my mother too. My heart aches. This is unjust. This is demonic. Now they lift him on the instrument of torture, once fashioned out of a tree. Here I am once again. At his feet. I kiss them with my lips and dry them once again with my hair. <i>Sir? Who has condemned you? And for what? </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">Olives are curious things. They make wonderful oil. Somebody had to walk on them and grind out the liquid from the pulp order to extract that substance. Then perfumes and spices are added for aroma. When we find ourselves in the crucible of the sifting, may we strive to be like Mary in Bethany and extravagantly anoint the body of Christ rather than pound nails into His hands and feet. Let us be yielded today to the concept of the cross. The closer we get to it, the smaller we need to become. </span></div>
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Karen Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14779940921144280154noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-150401409572300208.post-69011381405829346822013-03-23T22:29:00.001-07:002013-03-23T22:29:25.107-07:009 Factoids about Palm Sunday (Jimmy Aiken)<br />
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9 things you need to know about Palm (Passion) Sunday</h1>
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<cite class="byline" style="border: 0px; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;">by Jimmy Akin</cite><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"></span><i class="info" style="border: 0px; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;">Saturday, March 23, 2013 5:12 PM <span class="comments-count" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">Comments <a href="http://www.ncregister.com/blog/9-things-you-need-to-know-about-palm-passion-sunday/#blogComments" style="border: 0px; color: #c1272d; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">(4)</a></span></i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"></span><div class="content" style="border: 0px; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5em !important; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;">
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<cite style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">Why is Jesus' entry into Jerusalem so important? What is going on here?</cite></div>
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Palm Sunday--or is it Passion Sunday?--marks the beginning of Holy Week.</div>
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This day commemorates not one but two very significant events in the life of Christ.</div>
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Here are 9 things you need to know.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">1. What is this day called?</strong></h2>
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<span style="border: 0px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">The day is called both "Palm Sunday" and "Passion Sunday."</span></h2>
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The first name comes from the fact that it commemorates Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, when the crowd had palm branches (John 12:13).</div>
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The second name comes from the fact that the narrative of the Passion is read on this Sunday (it otherwise wouldn't be read on a Sunday, since the next Sunday is about the Resurrection).</div>
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According to the main document on the celebration of the feasts connected with Easter, <a href="http://www.ewtn.com/library/CURIA/CDWEASTR.HTM#2" style="border: 0px; color: #c1272d; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Paschales Solemnitatis</a>:</div>
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Holy Week begins on "Passion (or Palm) Sunday" which <strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">joins</strong> the foretelling of Christ's regal triumph <strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">and</strong> the proclamation of the passion. The connection between <strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">both</strong> aspects of the Paschal Mystery should be shown and explained in the celebration and catechesis of this day.</div>
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2. One of the notable features of this day is a procession before Mass. Why do we do this and how is it supposed to work?</h2>
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According to <a href="http://www.ewtn.com/library/CURIA/CDWEASTR.HTM#2" style="border: 0px; color: #c1272d; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Paschales Solemnitatis</a>:</div>
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<span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">The commemoration of the entrance of the Lord into Jerusalem has, according to ancient custom, been celebrated with a solemn procession, in which the faithful in song and gesture imitate the Hebrew children who went to meet the Lord singing "Hosanna."</span></div>
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The procession may take place only once, before the Mass which has the largest attendance, even if this should be in the evening either of Saturday or Sunday. The congregation should assemble in a secondary church or chapel or in some other suitable place distinct from the church to which the procession will move. . . .</div>
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The palms or branches are blessed so that they can be carried in the procession. The palms should be taken home where they will serve as a reminder of the victory of Christ be given which they celebrated in the procession.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">3. Are we only supposed to use palms? What if you don't have palms where you live?</strong></h2>
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It is not necessary that palm branches be used in the procession. Other forms of greenery can also be used.</div>
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According to the <a href="http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/ccdds/documents/rc_con_ccdds_doc_20020513_vers-direttorio_en.html" style="border: 0px; color: #c1272d; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy</a>:</div>
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<span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">The procession, commemorating Christ's messianic entry into Jerusalem, is joyous and popular in character. The faithful usually keep </span><strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">palm or olive branches, or other greenery</strong><span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"> which have been blessed on Palm Sunday in their homes or in their work places.</span></div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">4. Should any instruction be given to the faithful?</strong></h2>
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<span style="border: 0px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">According to the </span><a href="http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/ccdds/documents/rc_con_ccdds_doc_20020513_vers-direttorio_en.html" style="border: 0px; color: #c1272d; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy</a><span style="border: 0px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">:</span></h2>
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The faithful, however, should be instructed as to the meaning of this celebration so that they might grasp its significance.</div>
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They should be opportunely reminded that the important thing is participation at the procession and not only the obtaining of palm or olive branches.</div>
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Palms or olive branches should not be kept as amulets, or for therapeutic or magical reasons to dispel evil spirits or to prevent the damage these cause in the fields or in the homes, all of which can assume a certain superstitious guise.</div>
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Palms and olive branches are kept in the home as a witness to faith in Jesus Christ, the messianic king, and in his Paschal Victory.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">5. What was Jesus doing at the Triumphal Entry?</strong></h2>
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Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI explains:</div>
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Jesus claims the right of kings, known throughout antiquity, to requisition modes of transport.</div>
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The use of an animal on which no one had yet sat is a further pointer to the right of kings. Most striking, though, are the Old Testament allusions that give a deeper meaning to the whole episode. . . .</div>
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For now let us note this: Jesus is indeed making a royal claim. He wants his path and his action to be understood in terms of Old Testament promises that are fulfilled in his person. . . .</div>
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<span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">At the same time, through this anchoring of the text in Zechariah 9:9, a “Zealot” exegesis of the kingdom is excluded: Jesus is not building on violence; he is not instigating a military revolt against Rome. His power is of another kind: it is in God’s poverty, God’s peace, that he identifies the only power that can redeem [</span><em style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">Jesus of Nazaret</em><span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">h, vol. 2].</span></div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">6. What does the reaction of the crowd show?</strong></h2>
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It shows that they recognized him as their messianic king.</div>
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Benedict XVI notes:</div>
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<span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">The spreading out of garments likewise belongs to the tradition of Israelite kingship (cf. 2 Kings 9:13). What the disciples do is a gesture of enthronement in the tradition of the Davidic kingship, and it points to the Messianic hope that grew out of the Davidic tradition.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">The pilgrims who came to Jerusalem with Jesus are caught up in the disciples’ enthusiasm. They now spread their garments on the street along which Jesus passes.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">They pluck branches from the trees and cry out verses from Psalm 118, words of blessing from Israel’s pilgrim liturgy, which on their lips become a Messianic proclamation: “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that is coming! Hosanna in the highest!” (Mk 11:9–10; cf. Ps 118:26).</span></div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">7. What does the word "Hosanna" mean?</strong></h2>
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Benedict XVI explains:<span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></div>
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Originally this was a word of urgent supplication, meaning something like: Come to our aid! <span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">The priests would repeat it in a monotone on the seventh day of the Feast of Tabernacles, while processing seven times around the altar of sacrifice, as an urgent prayer for rain.</span></div>
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But as the Feast of Tabernacles gradually changed from a feast of petition into one of praise, so too the cry for help turned more and more into a shout of jubilation.</div>
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By the time of Jesus, the word had also acquired Messianic overtones. In the Hosanna acclamation, then, we find an expression of the complex emotions of the pilgrims accompanying Jesus and of his disciples: joyful praise of God at the moment of the processional entry, hope that the hour of the Messiah had arrived, and at the same time a prayer that the Davidic kingship and hence God’s kingship over Israel would be reestablished.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">8. Is the same crowd that cheered Jesus' arrival the one that demanded his crucifixion just a few days later?</strong></h2>
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Benedict XVI argues that it was not:</div>
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All three Synoptic Gospels, as well as Saint John, make it very clear that the scene of Messianic homage to Jesus was played out on his entry into the city and that those taking part <strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">were not the inhabitants of Jerusalem</strong>, but the crowds who accompanied Jesus and entered the Holy City with him.</div>
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This point is made most clearly in Matthew’s account through the passage immediately following the Hosanna to Jesus, Son of David: “When he entered Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying: Who is this? And the crowds said: This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth of Galilee” (Mt 21:10–11). . . .</div>
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People had heard of the prophet from Nazareth, but he did not appear to have any importance for Jerusalem, and the people there did not know him.</div>
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The crowd that paid homage to Jesus at the gateway to the city was not the same crowd that later demanded his crucifixion.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">9. This brings us to the Passion Narrative recorded in the Gospel. How is this to be read at Mass?</strong></h2>
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<span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">According to </span><a href="http://www.ewtn.com/library/CURIA/CDWEASTR.HTM#2" style="border: 0px; color: #c1272d; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Paschales Solemnitatis</a><span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">:</span></div>
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33. The passion narrative occupies a special place. It should be sung or read in the traditional way, that is, by three persons who take the parts of Christ, the narrator and the people. The passion is proclaimed by deacons or priests, or by lay readers. In the latter case, the part of Christ should be reserved to the priest.</div>
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The proclamation of the passion should be without candles and incense, the greeting and the signs of the cross are omitted; only a deacon asks for the blessing, as he does before the Gospel.</div>
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For the spiritual good of the faithful the passion should be proclaimed in its entirety, and the readings which precede it should not be omitted.</div>
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<span style="border: 0px; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><br /><br />Read more: <a href="http://www.ncregister.com/blog/jimmy-akin/9-things-you-need-to-know-about-palm-passion-sunday/#ixzz2OQwlLJ8H" style="border: 0px; color: #003399; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">http://www.ncregister.com/blog/jimmy-akin/9-things-you-need-to-know-about-palm-passion-sunday/#ixzz2OQwlLJ8H</a></span>Karen Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14779940921144280154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-150401409572300208.post-4655954157990348322013-03-18T21:17:00.000-07:002013-03-18T21:20:36.568-07:00Hear Us, O Lord, and Have MercyOne of the most enduring and profound penitential chants for Lent, composed in the 10th century; this "Gregorian" is a favorite. During this final week before Holy Week, may we find ourselves often before the throne of glory seeking His mercy.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/L8FCpldsBV0" width="420"></iframe><br />
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Hear
us, O Lord, and have mercy, because we have sinned against Thee.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Hear
us, O Lord, and have mercy, because we have sinned against Thee.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">To
Thee, highest King,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Redeemer
of all,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">do
we lift up our eyes<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">in
weeping:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Hear,
O Christ, the prayers<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">of
your servants.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Hear
us, O Lord, and have mercy, because we have sinned against Thee.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Right
hand of the Father,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">corner-stone,
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">way
of salvation,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">gate
of heaven,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">wash
away our <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">stains
of sin.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Hear
us, O Lord, and have mercy, because we have sinned against Thee.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">We
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">in
Thy great majesty:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Hear
our groans<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">with
Thy holy ears:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">calmly
forgive<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">our
crimes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Hear
us, O Lord, and have mercy, because we have sinned against Thee.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">To
Thee we confess<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">our
sins admitted<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">with
a contrite heart<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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reveal the things hidden:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">By
Thy kindness, O Redeemer,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">overlook
them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Hear
us, O Lord, and have mercy, because we have sinned against Thee.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The
Innocent, seized,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">not
refusing to be led;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">condemned
by false witnesses<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">because
of impious men<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">O
Christ, keep safe those<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">whom
Thou hast redeemed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Hear
us, O Lord, and have mercy, because we have sinned against Thee.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Karen Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14779940921144280154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-150401409572300208.post-77044858554381625072013-03-17T16:10:00.000-07:002013-03-17T16:16:18.803-07:00Patricius Magonus Sucatus or St. Patrick to you and I!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-whxLQmztYHs/UUZIvWcNweI/AAAAAAAAAs0/LiR6WQbyqKE/s1600/celtic_cross_of_saint_patrick_lg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-whxLQmztYHs/UUZIvWcNweI/AAAAAAAAAs0/LiR6WQbyqKE/s1600/celtic_cross_of_saint_patrick_lg.jpg" /></a></div>
St. Patrick was not from Ireland. He probably did not case serpents out of Ireland either, and the tale of the shamrock as a symbol used to explain the Trinity is an accretion of a much later date. However, what he accomplished through faith for the people of Ireland and for the world is a great work and testament of his complete surrender to the God that he so loved and followed to the end. (And... he prayed a LOT!)<br />
<br />
<i>"It was not any grace in me, but God who conquereth in me, and He resisted them all, so that I came to the heathen of Ireland to preach the Gospel and to bear insults from unbelievers, to hear the reproach of my going abroad and to endure many persecutions even unto bonds, the while that I was surrendering my liberty as a man of free condition for the profit of others. And if I should be found worthy, I am ready to give even my life for His name's sake unfalteringly and gladly, and there (in Ireland) I desire to spend it until I die, if our Lord should grant it to me."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
Here is a beautiful article from EWTN on this marvelous Saint.<br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"></span><br />
SAINT PATRICK APOSTLE OF IRELAND—389-461<br />
Feast: March 17<br />
The field of St. Patrick's labors was the most remote part of the then known world. The seed he planted in faraway Ireland, which before his time was largely pagan, bore a rich harvest: whole colonies of saints and missionaries were to rise up after him to serve the Irish Church and to carry Christianity to other lands. Whether his birthplace, a village called Bannavem Taberniae, was near Dunbarton-on-the-Clyde, or in Cumberland, or at the mouth of the Severn, or even in Gaul near Boulogne, has never been determined, and indeed the matter is of no great moment. We know of a certainty that Patrick was of Romano-British origin, and born about the year 389. His father, Calpurnius, was a deacon, his grandfather a priest, for at this time no strict law of celibacy had been imposed on the Christian clergy. Patrick's own full name was probably Patricius Magonus Sucatus.<br />
<br />
His brief <confession> gives us a few details of his early years. At the age of fifteen he committed some fault—what it was we are not told—which caused him much suffering for the rest of his life. At sixteen, he tells us, he still "knew not the true God." Since he was born into a Christian family, we may take this to mean that he gave little heed to religion or to the priests. That same year Patrick and some others were seized and carried off by sea raiders to become slaves among the inhabitants of Ireland. Formerly it was believed that his six years of captivity were spent near Ballymena in County Antrim, on the slopes of the mountain now called Slemish, but later opinion names Fochlad, or Focluth, on the coast of Mayo. If the latter view is correct, then Croachan Aigli or Croag Patrick, the scene of his prolonged fast, was also the mountain on which in his youth he lived alone with God, tending his master's herds of swine or cattle. Wherever it was, he tells us him self that "constantly I used to pray in the daytime. Love of God and His fear increased more and more, and my faith grew and my spirit was stirred up, so that in a single day I said as many as a hundred prayers and at night nearly as many, and I used to stay out in the woods and on the mountain. Before the dawn I used to wake up to prayer, in snow and frost and rain, nor was there any such lukewarmness in me as now I feel, because then my spirit was fervent within."</confession><br />
<br />
At length he heard a voice in his sleep bidding him to get back to freedom and the land of his birth. Thus prompted, he ran away from his master and traveled to a harbor where a ship was about to depart. The captain at first refused his request for passage, but after Patrick had silently prayed to God, the pagan sailors called him back, and with them he made an adventurous journey. They were three days at sea, and when they reached land they traveled for a month through an uninhabited tract of country, where food was scarce. Patrick writes:<br />
<br />
"And one day the shipmaster said to me: 'How is this, O Christian? Thou sayest that thy God is great and almighty; wherefore then canst thou not pray for us, for we are in danger of starvation? Likely we shall never see a human being again.' Then I said plainly to them: 'Turn in good faith and with all your heart to the Lord my God, to whom nothing is impossible, that this day He may send you food for your journey, until ye be satisfied, for He has abundance everywhere.' And, by the help of God, so it came to pass. Lo, a herd of swine appeared in the way before our eyes, and they killed many of them. And in that place they remained two nights; and they were well refreshed and their dogs were sated, for many of them had fainted and been left half- dead by the way. After this they rendered hearty thanks to God, and I became honorable in their eyes; and from that day they had food in abundance."<br />
<br />
At length they arrived at human habitations, whether in Britain or Gaul we do not know. When Patrick was again restored to his kinfolk, they gave him a warm welcome and urged him to stay. But he felt he must leave them. Although there is no certainty as to the order of events which followed, it seems likely that Patrick now spent many years in Gaul. Professor Bury, author of the well-known <life of="" patrick="" st.="">, thinks that the saint stayed for three years at the monastery of Lerins, on a small islet off the coast of modern Cannes, France, and that about fifteen years were passed at the monastery of Auxerre, where he was ordained. Patrick's later prestige and authority indicate that he was prepared for his task with great thoroughness.</life><br />
<br />
We now come to Patrick's apostolate. At this time Pelagianism[1] was spreading among the weak and scattered Christian communities of Britain and Ireland, and Pope Celestine I had sent Bishop Palladius there to combat it. This missionary was killed among the Scots in North Britain, and Bishop Germanus of Auxerre recommended the appointment of Patrick to replace him. Patrick was consecrated in 432, and departed forthwith for Ireland. When we try to trace the course of his labors in the land of his former captivity, we are confused by the contradictory accounts of his biographers; all are marked by a great deal of vagueness as to geography and chronology. According to tradition, he landed at Inverdea, at the mouth of the river Vautry, and immediately proceeded northwards. One chronicler relates that when he was again in the vicinity of the place where he had been a herdboy, the master who had held him captive, on hearing of Patrick's return, set fire to his house and perished in the flames. There is historical basis for the tradition of Patrick's preliminary stay in Ulster, and his founding of a monastic center there. It was at this time that he set out to gain the support and favor of the powerful pagan King Laeghaire, who was holding court at Tara. The stories of Patrick's encounter with the king's Druid priests are probably an accretion of later years; we are told of trials of skill and strength in which the saint gained a great victory over his pagan opponents. The outcome was royal toleration for his preaching. The text of the Senchus More, the old Irish code of laws, though in its existing form it is of later date, mentions an understanding reached at Tara. Patrick was allowed to preach to the gathering, "and when they saw Laeghaire with his Druids overcome by the great signs and miracles wrought in the presence of the men of Erin, they bowed down in obedience to God and Patrick."<br />
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King Laeghaire seems not to have become a Christian, but his chief bard and his two daughters were converted, as was a brother, who, we are told, gave his estate to Patrick for the founding of a church. From this time on, Patrick's apostolate, though carried on amid hardships and often at great risk, was favored by many powerful chieftains. The Druids, by and large, opposed him, for they felt their own power and position threatened. They combined many functions; they were prophets, philosophers, and priests; they served as councilors of kings, as judges, and teachers; they knew the courses of the stars and the properties of plants. Now they began to realize that the religion they represented was doomed. Even before the Christian missionaries came in strength, a curious prophecy was current among them. It was written in one of their ancient texts: "Adze-head (a name that the shape of the monk's tonsure might suggest) will come, with his crook-headed staff and his house (the word chasuble means also a little house) holed for his head. He will chant impiety from the table in the east of his house. All his household shall answer: Amen, Amen. When, therefore, all these things come to pass, our kingdom, which is a heathen one, will not stand." As a matter of fact, the Druids continued to exist in Christian Ireland, though with a change of name and a limited scope of activity. They subjected Patrick to imprisonment many times, but he always managed to escape.<br />
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In 439 three bishops, Secundinus, Auxilius, and Iserninus, were sent from Gaul to assist Patrick. Benignus, an Irish chieftain who was converted by Patrick, became his favorite disciple, his coadjutor in the see of Armagh, and, finally, his successor. One of Patrick's legendary victories was his overthrow of the idol of Crom Cruach in Leitrim, where he forthwith built a church. He traveled again in Ulster, to preach and found monasteries, then in Leinster and Munster. These missionary caravans must have impressed the people, for they gave the appearance of an entire village in motion. The long line of chariots and carts drawn by oxen conveyed the appurtenances of Christian worship, as well as foodstuffs, equipment, tools, and weapons required by the band of helpers who accompanied the leader. There would be the priestly assistants, singers and musicians, the drivers, hunters, wood-cutters, carpenters, masons, cooks, horsemen, weavers and embroiderers, and many more. When the caravan stopped at a chosen site, the people gathered, converts were won, and before many months a chapel or church and its outlying structures would be built and furnished. Thus were created new outposts in the struggle against paganism. The journeys were often dangerous. Once, Odrhan, Patrick's charioteer, as if forewarned, asked leave to take the chief seat in the chariot himself, while Patrick held the reins; they had proceeded but a short way in this fashion when the loyal Odrhan was killed by a spear thrust meant for his master.<br />
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About the year 442, tradition tells us, Patrick went to Rome and met Pope Leo the Great, who, it seemed, took special interest in the Irish Church. The time had now come for a definite organization According to the annals of Ulster, the cathedral church of Armagh was founded as the primatial see of Ireland on Patrick's return. He brought back with him valuable relics. Latin was established as the language of the Irish Church. There is mention of a synod held by Patrick, probably at Armagh. The rules then adopted are still preserved, with, possibly, some later interpolations. It is believed that this synod was called near the close of Patrick's labors on earth. He was now undoubtedly in more or less broken health; such austerities and constant journeyings as his must have weakened the hardiest constitution. The story of his forty-day fast on Croagh Patrick and the privileges he won from God by his prayers is also associated with the end of his life. Tirechan tells it thus: "Patrick went forth to the summit of Mount Agli, and remained there for forty days and forty nights, and the birds were a trouble to him, and he could not see the face of the heavens, the earth, or the sea, on account of them; for God told all the saints of Erin, past, present, and future, to come to the mountain summit-that mountain which overlooks all others, and is higher than all the mountains of the West-to bless the tribes of Erin, so that Patrick might see the fruit of his labors, for all the choir of the saints came to visit him there, who was the father of them all."<br />
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In all the ancient biographies of this saint the marvelous is continuously present. Fortunately, we have three of Patrick's own writings, which help us to see the man himself. His <confession> is a brief autobiographical sketch; the <lorica>, also known as <the deer="" of="" song="" the="">, is a strange chant which we have reproduced in the following pages. <the coroticus="" letter="" to=""> is a denunciation of the British king of that name who had raided the Irish coast and killed a number of Christian converts as they were being baptized; Patrick urged the Christian subjects of this king to have no more dealings with him until he had made reparation for the outrage. In his writings Patrick shows his ardent human feelings and his intense love of God. What was most human in the saint, and at the same time most divine, comes out in this passage from his <confession>:</confession></the></the></lorica></confession><br />
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"It was not any grace in me, but God who conquereth in me, and He resisted them all, so that I came to the heathen of Ireland to preach the Gospel and to bear insults from unbelievers, to hear the reproach of my going abroad and to endure many persecutions even unto bonds, the while that I was surrendering my liberty as a man of free condition for the profit of others. And if I should be found worthy, I am ready to give even my life for His name's sake unfalteringly and gladly, and there (in Ireland) I desire to spend it until I die, if our Lord should grant it to me."<br />
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Patrick's marvelous harvest filled him with gratitude. During an apostolate of thirty years he is reported to have consecrated some 350 bishops, and was instrumental in bringing the faith to many thousands. He writes, "Wherefore those in Ireland who never had the knowledge of God, but until now only worshiped idols and abominations, from them has been lately prepared a people of the Lord, and they are called children of God. Sons and daughters of Scottish chieftains are seen becoming monks and virgins of Christ." Yet hostility and violence still existed, for he writes later, "Daily I expect either a violent death, or robbery and a return to slavery, or some other calamity." He adds, like the good Christian he was, "I have cast myself into the hands of Almighty God, for He rules everything."<br />
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Patrick died about 461, and was buried near the fortress of Saul, in the vicinity of the future cathedral town of Down. He was intensely spiritual, a magnetic personality with great gifts for action and organization. He brought Ireland into much closer contact with Europe, especially with the Holy See. The building up of the weak Christian communities which he found on arrival and planting the faith in new regions give him his place as the patron of Ireland. His feast day is one of festivity, and widely observed. Patrick's emblems are a serpent, demons, cross, shamrock, harp, and baptismal font. The story of his driving snakes from Ireland has no factual foundation, and the tale of the shamrock, as a symbol used to explain the Trinity, is an accretion of much later date.<br />
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<lorica>[2]</lorica><br />
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I arise today Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity, Through a belief in the threeness, Through a confession of the oneness Of the Creator of Creation.<br />
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I arise today Through the strength of Christ's birth with His Baptism, Through the strength of His crucifixion with His burial, Through the strength of His resurrection with His ascension, Through the strength of His descent for the judgment of Doom.<br />
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I arise today Through the strength of the love of Cherubim, In obedience of angels, In the service of archangels, In hope of resurrection to meet with reward, In prayers of patriarchs In predictions of prophets, In preachings of apostles, In faiths of confessors, In innocence of holy virgins, In deeds of righteous men.<br />
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I arise today Through the strength of heaven: Light of sun Radiance of moon, Splendor of fire, Speed of lightning, Swiftness of wind, Depth of sea, Stability of earth, Firmness of rock.<br />
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I arise today Through God's strength to pilot me: God's might to uphold me, God's wisdom to guide me, God's eye to look before me, God's ear to hear me, God's word to speak for me, God's hand to guard me, God's way to lie before me, God's shield to protect me, God's host to save me From snares of devils, From temptations of vices, From everyone who shall wish me ill, Afar and anear, Alone and in a multitude.<br />
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I summon today all these powers between me and those evils, Against every cruel merciless power that may oppose my body and soul, Against incantations of false prophets, Against black laws of pagandom, Against false laws of heretics, Against craft of idolatry, Against spells of women and smiths and wizards, Against every knowledge that corrupts man's body and soul.<br />
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Christ shield me today Against poison, against burning, Against drowning, against wounding, So that there may come to me abundance of reward, Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ on my right, Christ on my left, Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise, Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me, Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me, Christ in every eye that sees me, Christ in every ear that hears me.<br />
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I arise today Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity, Through a belief in the threeness, Through a confession of the oneness Of the Creator of Creation.<br />
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Notes:<br />
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1 For Pelagianism, see above, <st .="" augustine="">, p. 106.</st><br />
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2 The Latin word <lorica> means a breastplate. Chants like the above, almost in the form of incantations, or invocations of God and Christ, to protect the singer against the wiles of evil man, are not uncommon in early Irish literature.</lorica><br />
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Saint Patrick, Apostle of Ireland. Celebration of Feast Day is March 17. Taken from "Lives of Saints", Published by John J. Crawley & Co., Inc.<br />
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Karen Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14779940921144280154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-150401409572300208.post-30457090244150322622013-03-14T23:04:00.000-07:002013-03-14T23:04:05.595-07:00Excellent Geo. Weigel article on Francis I<br />
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NATIONAL REVIEW ONLINE <br />
The First American Pope<br />
By George Weigel<br />
March 14, 2013 10:00 A.M.<br />
Rome — The swift election of Jorge Mario Cardinal Bergoglio, S.J., as bishop of Rome is replete with good news — and not a little irony. To reverse the postmodern batting order, let’s begin with the good news.<br />
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A true man of God. The wheelchair-bound beggar at the corner of Via della Conciliazione and Via dell’Erba this morning had a keen insight into his new bishop: “Sono molto contento; e un profeta” (“I’m very happy; he’s a prophet”). That was certainly the overwhelming impression I took away from the hour I spent with the archbishop of Buenos Aires and future pope last May — here was a genuine man of God, who lives “out” from the richness and depth of his interior life; a bishop who approaches his responsibilities as a churchman and his decisions as the leader of a complex organization from a Gospel-centered perspective, in a spirit of discernment and prayer. The intensity with which Cardinal Bergoglio asked me to pray for him, at the end of an hour of conversation about a broad range of local and global Catholic issues, was mirrored last night in his unprecedented request to the vast crowd spilling out of St. Peter’s Square and down toward the Tiber to pray for him before he blessed them. Gregory the Great, in the sixth century, was the first bishop of Rome to adopt the title Servus servorum Dei (Servant of the servants of God). That ancient description of the supreme pontiff of the Catholic Church will be embodied in a particularly winsome way in Pope Francis, who named himself for the Poverello of Assisi, the most popular saint in history.<br />
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A pope for the New Evangelization. The election of Pope Francis completes the Church’s turn from the Counter-Reformation Catholicism that brought the Gospel to America — and eventually produced Catholicism’s first American pope — to the Evangelical Catholicism that must replant the Gospel in those parts of the world that have grown spiritually bored, while planting it afresh in new fields of mission around the globe. In our May 2012 conversation, the man who would become pope discussed at some length the importance of the Latin American bishops’ 2007 “Aparecida Document,” the fruit of the Fifth General Conference of the Bishops of Latin America and the Caribbean. The essential message of that revolutionary statement (in which there was not the least bit of whining about Protestant “sheep-stealing” but rather a clear acknowledgment of Catholicism’s own evangelical deficiencies in Latin America) can be gleaned from this brief passage, which I adopted as one of the epigraphs for my book, Evangelical Catholicism: Deep Reform in the 21st-Century Church:<br />
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The Church is called to a deep and profound rethinking of its mission. . . . It cannot retreat in response to those who see only confusion, dangers, and threats. . . . What is required is confirming, renewing, and revitalizing the newness of the Gospel . . . out of a personal and community encounter with Jesus Christ that raises up disciples and missionaries. . . .<br />
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A Catholic faith reduced to mere baggage, to a collection of rules and prohibitions, to fragmented devotional practices, to selective and partial adherence to the truths of faith, to occasional participation in some sacraments, to the repetition of doctrinal principles, to bland or nervous moralizing, that does not convert the life of the baptized would not withstand the trials of time. . . . We must all start again from Christ, recognizing [with Pope Benedict XVI] that “being Christian is . . . the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction.”<br />
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Here, in a statement that then-cardinal Bergoglio had a significant hand in drafting, is what John Paul II and Benedict XVI have called the “New Evangelization” in synthetic microcosm:<br />
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The Church of the 21st century cannot rely on the ambient public culture, or on folk memories of traditional Catholic culture, to transmit the Gospel in a way that transforms individual lives, cultures, and societies. Something more, something deeper, is needed.<br />
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That “something” is radical personal conversion to the Lord Jesus Christ and an embrace of the friendship he offers every human being: a friendship in which we both see the face of the Father of Mercies (who calls us out of our prodigality into the full dignity of our humanity) and learn the deep truth about our humanity (that it is in making our lives into a gift for others, as life itself is to each of us, that we come into human fulfillment).<br />
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This conversion of minds and hearts builds a community that is unlike any other: a “communion” of disciples in mission, who understand that faith is increased as it is offered and given away to others.<br />
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That communion-community best embodies the truth of the human condition if each individual member of it, and the Church itself, fully embraces the entire symphony of Catholic truth, and in doing so, lives the moral life as a life of growth in beatitude, in compassion for others, and in evangelical charity.<br />
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Finally, this communion-community lives “ahead of time,” because it knows, through the Easter faith the Church will celebrate in a few weeks, the truth about how the human adventure will end: God’s purposes in creation and redemption will be vindicated, as history and the cosmos are fulfilled in the New Jerusalem, in the Wedding Feast of the Lamb, where death will be no more and every tear will be wiped away (Rev. 21:2–4).<br />
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That is the message that Pope Francis will take to the world: Gospel-centered Catholicism, which challenges the post-mod cynics, the metaphysically bored, and the spiritually dry to discover (or rediscover) the tremendous human adventure of living “inside” the Biblical narrative of history.<br />
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A reforming pope. One of the principal dynamics of Conclave 2013 was a settled determination among a clear majority of the cardinal electors to see that the next pontificate addresses, in a root-and-branch way, the incompetence and corruption that has made too much of the Roman Curia an impediment to the New Evangelization, rather than an instrument of it — and in doing so, to empower the good people of the Curia to give the world Church the benefit of their remarkable talents. Pope Francis is not going to have a happy time reading the 300-page report on Vatileaks and related Roman messes that is waiting for him in the papal apartment. But he will read it with a reformer’s eye, with the aid of some very shrewd and reform-minded veterans of the Curia, and with a clear understanding from his own experience (as related to me last May) of what went wrong in the management of the Church’s central administrative machinery under the leadership of Benedict XVI’s cardinal secretary of state, Tarcisio Bertone, S.D.B. It may be reasonably expected that real reform, in both curial culture and curial personnel, will follow in due course. The sooner the better, many would say.<br />
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A pope in defense of human rights and democracy. Pope Francis has left behind an Argentina in which he was a stern critic of the Cristina Kirchner government’s deepening of that beautiful country’s democracy deficit, and of Madam President’s commitment to a public policy of bread and circuses wedded to legally enforced lifestyle libertinism — what Benedict XVI aptly called the “dictatorship of relativism.” At a moment when the momentum of the democratic project in Latin America is flagging (while new opportunities are opening up in places like post-Chávez Venezuela and the inevitable post-Castro-brothers Cuba), the new pope should be able to rally Catholic forces in defense of religious freedom and other civil liberties in a continent where they are now under assault. And if he can do that at home, he can do it throughout the world.<br />
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Pope Francis is also deeply committed to the Church’s service to and empowerment of the poor, as he made unmistakably clear in his ministry in Buenos Aires. But those Gospel-based commitments should not lead anyone to think that he will be Paul Krugman in a white cassock. That seems very unlikely.<br />
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And now for the ironies.<br />
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The 2005 runner-up takes the checkered flag in 2013? Well, not really. Cardinal Bergoglio was used in 2005; he knows precisely who used him and why; and while he is a man of the Gospel who is not looking to settle scores, he is also a man of prudence who knows who his friends, and who his enemies, are. Here’s the story:<br />
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In April 2005, the progressive party (which was a real party then) came to Rome after the death of John Paul II thinking it had the wind at its back and clear sailing ahead — only to find that the Ratzinger-for-pope party was well-organized; that Ratzinger had made a very positive impression by the way he had run the General Congregations of cardinals after John Paul II’s death; that he had deep support from throughout the Third World because of the courtesy with which he had treated visiting Third World bishops on their quinquennial visits to Rome over the past 20 years; and that, after his brilliant homily at John Paul’s funeral Mass, he was indisputably the frontrunner for the papacy.<br />
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Confronted with this reality, the progressives panicked. Their first blocking move against Ratzinger was to try to run the aged Carlo Maria Cardinal Martini, S.J., emeritus archbishop of Milan, who was already ill with Parkinson’s disease and had retired to the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Jerusalem. The idea was not to elect Martini pope; it was to stop the Ratzinger surge. Then, when Ratzinger blew past Martini with almost 50 percent of the vote on what was assumed to be the “courtesy” first ballot (where some votes are cast as gestures of friendship, esteem, etc.), and subsequently went over 50 percent the following morning, the panic intensified. Martini was summarily abandoned (or may have told his supporters to forget it). The progressives then tried to advance Cardinal Bergoglio — who was very much part of the pro-Ratzinger coalition; who embodied “dynamic orthodoxy,” just like John Paul II and Joseph Ratzinger; who had been persecuted by his more theologically and politically left-leaning Jesuit brethren after his term as Jesuit provincial in Argentina (they exiled him to northern Argentina, where he taught high-school chemistry until rescued by John Paul II and eventually made archbishop of Buenos Aires); and who was doubtless appalled by the whole exercise on his putative behalf.<br />
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It was a last-ditch blocking move, perhaps constructed around the idea that a Third World candidate like Bergoglio would peel off votes from Ratzinger. In any event, it was a complete misreading of the 2005 conclave’s dynamics and a cynical use of Bergoglio, who would almost certainly have been abandoned had the stratagem worked — and it failed miserably.<br />
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Thus it may be safely assumed that the coalition that quickly solidified and swiftly elected Jorge Mario Bergoglio as pope in 2013 had little or nothing to do with the eminent cabal that tried to use him in 2005. Pope Francis was elected for who he is, not for taking the silver medal eight years ago. <br />
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The first Jesuit pope? Well, yes, in a manner of speaking. Bergoglio is an old-school Jesuit, formed by classic Ignatian spirituality and deeply committed to an intelligent, sophisticated appropriation and proclamation of the full symphony of Catholic truth — qualities not notable for their prevalence among members of the Society of Jesus in the early 21st century. I suspect there were not all that many champagne corks flying last night in those Jesuit residences throughout the world where the Catholic Revolution That Never Was is still regarded as the ecclesiastical holy grail. For the shrewder of the new pope’s Jesuit brothers know full well that that dream was just dealt another severe blow. And they perhaps fear that this pope, knowing the Society of Jesus and its contemporary confusions and corruptions as he does, just might take in hand the reform of the Jesuits that was one of the signal failures of the pontificate of John Paul II.<br />
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There will be endless readings of the tea leaves in the days ahead as the new pope, by word and gesture, offers certain signals as to his intentions and his program. But the essentials are already known. This is a keenly intelligent, deeply holy, humble, and shrewd man of the Gospel. He knows that he has been elected as a reformer, and the reforms he will implement are the reforms that will advance the New Evangelization. The rest is detail: important detail, to be sure, but still detail. The course is set, and the Church’s drive into the Evangelical Catholicism of the future has been accelerated by the pope who introduced himself to his diocese, and to the world, by bowing deeply as he asked for our prayers.<br />
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— George Weigel is Distinguished Senior Fellow of Washington’s Ethics and Public Policy Center. His new book is Evangelical Catholicism: Deep Reform in the 21st-Century Church.<br />
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Karen Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14779940921144280154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-150401409572300208.post-20395323449369273672013-03-12T23:06:00.002-07:002013-03-12T23:06:30.313-07:00Voter Fraud? I think not. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Oh, if only the US Electoral process could be so, um, dare I say...sacred?</div>
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This is how its done people...</div>
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Pray pray pray pray pray pray pray potty....pray pray pray pray pray pray pray potty....VOTE. </div>
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We could take a lesson. </div>
<br />Karen Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14779940921144280154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-150401409572300208.post-56505550423229043802013-03-11T21:02:00.000-07:002013-03-11T21:02:37.523-07:00The Prodigal and the Papacy: There's No Place Like Home<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Yesterday's Gospel of the 4th Sunday of Lent...the Prodigal Son...is still rattling around in my head. Oddly, it bumps up against the Papal Elections in what will prove to be a history-making week (or two?) as a new Successor to Peter is selected. The Papacy and our reliance on it is a Sacred Tradition as Catholics. A 2000 year-old tradition, to say the least. It is warmer to us than baseball, hotdogs apple pie, or Chevrolet, if you are old enough to understand that old GM commercial. Our Catholic Cultural traditions usually sit around our collective conscience like brown on paneling until something reminds us that it is there. Like the sudden, chilled-stillness in the air before a summer rainstorm, the unexpected resignation of Pope Benedict XVI struck a discordant hollow of despair...for a moment. Not until we recognize that something is about to change, do we truly appreciate the elegance, stability and necessity of our sacred traditions; these beliefs, attitudes, rites, and practices that form our quintessential Catholic identity.<br />
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I think it was like this for the Prodigal. Oh, sure. He could dream. He dreamt himself right out of the estate, so to speak. He was a "go for launch" kind of kid, I presume; one with high hopes, and champagne dreams. He said<i> "Capernaum is the place I oughta be, so he loaded up the ox and he moved to Galilee. The Sea that is, swimmin pools, movie stars".</i> (sorry, I am a product of 1970s sitcoms.) At some point though, something snapped. Was it the pig pods? The stench of the swine? Was it the let down of distorted expectations? The poverty? Or was it homesickness: that achey feeling of longing for the familiar, stable, reliable, necessary and yes, sacred homey-ness. The feeling you get after a warm bath, a good meal and your mom hugs you all up in a blanket while you eat popcorn and watch movies. THAT. And yet, this somehow doesn't get at it completely.<br />
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I believe that there is a warm, sacred homey-ness that we hope for and that will be our eternal union with God in heaven. And I believe we rely heavily upon our traditions to remind us of this. Scripture is the story, but tradition is the voice and dynamic energy that echoes it forward. And I believe we rely on this more than we let on. In fact, those outside of the church rely on this. To use the popular euphemism--All roads lead to Rome--would be an understatement when you look at the activity in the media and on the social net related to the conclave. The world is watching Rome. Why? because it is our Family Room. She is the seat of our unbroken tradition for 2 millenia. The place where the world converges to watch a process that guided and governed by the Holy Spirit.<br />
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If it weren't so, no one would care.<br />
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<i>Coming to his senses he thought,</i><br />
<i>‘How many of my father’s hired workers</i><br />
<i>have more than enough food to eat,</i><br />
<i>but here am I, dying from hunger.</i><br />
<i>I shall get up and go to my father and I shall say to him,</i><br />
<i>“Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.</i><br />
<i>I no longer deserve to be called your son;</i><br />
<i>treat me as you would treat one of your hired workers.”’</i><br />
<i>So he got up and went back to his father.</i><br />
<i>While he was still a long way off,</i><br />
<i>his father caught sight of him, and was filled with compassion.</i><br />
<i>He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him.</i><br />
<i>His son said to him,</i><br />
<i>‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you;</i><br />
<i>I no longer deserve to be called your son.’</i><br />
<i>But his father ordered his servants,</i><br />
<i>‘Quickly bring the finest robe and put it on him;</i><br />
<i>put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.</i><br />
<i>Take the fattened calf and slaughter it.</i><br />
<i>Then let us celebrate with a feast,</i><br />
<i>because this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again;</i><br />
<i>he was lost, and has been found.’</i><br />
<i>Then the celebration began.</i><br />
<i>Luke, Ch. 15</i><br />
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<br />Karen Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14779940921144280154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-150401409572300208.post-34221103942177375602013-03-05T19:48:00.000-08:002013-03-05T19:52:17.395-08:00Please pray.<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial;">Please pray. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">For a moment at least. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The Vatican has called the universal church to pray tomorrow at 5 PM Rome time, for the Cardinal-Electors who will soon select a new Pope.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">That’s Wednesday, March 6th at 11 AM Eastern / 8 AM Pacific Time. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">While the official start of the Conclave has not yet been announced, the Cardinals will gather tomorrow at the Altar of the Chair in St. Peter’s Basilica for recitation of the Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary, followed by Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and then Vespers. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">…and the Vatican has called on Catholics around the world to join them in prayer. CatholicVote invites you to answer their call.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">The latest buzz from Rome is that over 5000 media credentials have been approved from 66 nations in 24 languages. The world is watching because the world is intrigued by the mystery of the Church. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">The world is watching because the world is seeking answers that are ultimately only found in Jesus Christ and His Church. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">The Church asked for our prayers. Let's deliver them! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Mark your calendar for tomorrow at 11 AM Eastern // 8 AM Pacific Time. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Millions of Catholics across the globe will be joining you, and so will CatholicVote. </span><br />
<br />Karen Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14779940921144280154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-150401409572300208.post-36057886452535293832013-01-28T21:43:00.000-08:002013-01-28T21:43:01.039-08:00Why I am Silent No More<br />
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My Testimony for the 2013 Walk for Life West Coast<br />
January 26, 2013, San Francisco, CA<br />
<br />
My name is Karen Williams from Phoenix, AZ. I was 21 years old when I made the worst decision of my life: to take the life of an innocent, human being. I bought a product that a previous Supreme Court determined was a safe, effective and legal remedy to a crisis pregnancy. I now believe I was sold a bill of goods that ended the life of my unborn child, and that severely affected my life, physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually for almost 2 decades. <br />
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I was a junior at Michigan State University in when I visited the “WomanCare” Planned Parenthood clinic in 1987. The stunning confirmation of my crisis pregnancy was delivered to me while I stood in a hallway surrounded by strangers. Life as I knew it, had just changed for the worse. Through hot, angry tears, I sobbed that I could NOT be pregnant. I would have no part of a baby-limited future. I was in a disconnected panic. Confused and alone, I turned to Planned Parenthood—it’s catchy name appealed to some sense of logic in me… “I shall plan my parenthood; they care for women here”. Abortion was not the ideal, but it was a solution…an easy way out that could be kept secret. A choice. It all sounded too good to be true.<br />
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A very attractive clinic employee clad in business attire assured me that I need not feel afraid or guilty for choosing the product of abortion. She herself was a satisfied customer with a testimony that seemed to indicate gratitude for the ultimate power of being able to control the size and spacing of her family. This was my final edification. Even though my boyfriend agreed to marry me, I would make the final, fatal decision for our baby. I chose my body, my plan and my convenience over his life. I bought an abortion…but I was never made aware of all of the small print.<br />
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So on a bleak January day 25 years ago, I was given a small pill and told to relax. 15 minutes later, my tiny, 10-week old son, his small frame captured on ultrasound only a week earlier, was now a red liquid sitting in a plastic container at the doctor’s feet.<br />
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I am reminded often that Abortion is still “good for women”; that it is a solution to the problem of a crisis pregnancy. That it prevents us from being punished with unwanted children. Let me tell you that this is a bold-faced lie. I was duped. The sights, sounds and smells of that day in January still haunt me. There was no one around me to advocate for the life of my son; no one to speak for him; to break into his mother’s crisis of the moment. The choice didn’t really feel like a choice at all. I wasn’t choosing between Cheerios or Frosted Flakes. I was in a desperate place and I did what many, young, unsupported, college women do when faced with a desperate situation—I purchased an irrational, illogical and fatal procedure called abortion. And my child paid for this with his life. When a surgical procedure ends the life of any other human being in any other situation, someone usually pays a hefty lawsuit, not to mention faces criminal charges. Will PP pay for my mental health counseling? Will PP pay for all the years that I lost with my child? Will PP restore the life of my family member? Has PP ever been held accountable for the fraudulent services they are selling to unsuspecting “customers”. Where is the class action lawsuit? Where is the Amicus brief? Where was the Supreme Court in protecting Michael’s rights? <br />
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The years following my abortion included inexplicable depression, anxiety, alcoholism, addiction; and divorce. They can all easily be traced back to the death of my child at a PP abortion clinic. I am a living statistic. But thanks be to God and His grace working through people just like you, my story does not end there.<br />
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I found miraculous grace, healing and recovery from our Great Physician, Jesus Christ and the Sacraments of His church. Telling my story, first in the confessional and later to others whom I trusted thrust my secret out of the dark cavity of numbness where I had placed it and into God’s marvelous light where I could find forgiveness and healing. The dirty little secret of abortion must be exposed for what it is – it is a failure of love; a failure with fatal consequences. <br />
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We all deserve better than the lie that is abortion. Women are not in a position to make life and death decisions when they are isolated in a desperate crisis. What we do need is support and love…real woman care. I stand before you today to offer my personal experience as a woman who still mourns the loss of her unborn child. Out of love for my son and my obligation to you; the real truth must be told about abortion and its countless victims. Abortion is not a choice, it is a deadly procedure that causes death and multiple casualties. It is a product with lethal consequences. If it were really examined for what it is, there is no package large enough that could contain the disclaimer. There is no law firm stable enough that would defend its claims in court. There is no commercial spot long enough that would adequately explain all of the risks involved. Abortion is not good for consumers. It is not good for men, women, families or any member of society. It must be condemned and banned.<br />
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We are our brothers’ keepers. We are all responsible for creating a just society where the most fundamental rights of our unborn brothers and sisters are protected. Let us continue to work together to end the killing. It is my hope that I can be a light and witness to others so that the horror of abortion will exist only as a sad and futile relic of a bygone era in our nation’s history. And this is why I am Silent No More.<br />
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Karen Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14779940921144280154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-150401409572300208.post-52107373875917997012013-01-22T20:45:00.003-08:002013-01-22T20:48:39.503-08:00Faith, Hope, Love, & Memory...1-22-13<div style="text-align: center;">
January 22, 2013 Phoenix Rally for Life Speech, Sandra Day O'Connor Plaza</div>
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Faith, Hope, Love & Memory</div>
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“At every moment, do what love requires”. These are the often-quoted words of St. Therese of Lisieux. And they are appropriate words of commemoration this afternoon as we gather to remember…to commemorate… the 55 million souls lost over 40 years to abortion. <br />
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Memory is an important root of the word commemorate. Memory is not only key to helping recall who we are and where we’ve come from, but it is essential also to our healing. Love requires that we be here today accompanied by faith and hope and because our unborn brothers and sisters did not die in vain. Their lives, as short as they were, are priceless and eternal and we honor them today as members of our own body.<br />
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But how do we commemorate 55 million souls? This was the question I was asking myself as I considered today’s historic importance. We have many examples of commemorations in our culture: the Pearl Harbor Arizona Memorial, the Berlin Jewish Holocaust Memorial, the Viet Nam War Memorial; the Twin Tower remembrances. Each year, thousands gather to pay their respects to our fallen dead. To remember them is to honor their memory and respect their personhood. These rituals are vital to the integrity of our culture and help us to draw strength from one another; to find meaning in the midst of woe. But even these important remembrances pale in significance to the sheer numbers lost to abortion. Where is the memorial to our unborn? And how do we account for the staggering number of dead? <br />
<br />
Further confounding us is the identity of the “bad guy”. In war time it is easy for us to recognize the villain. Not so easy with abortion. In the cultural evil of abortion the enemy is us; it is mother or father against child. Self turned inward against self. Society still sits in the shadows of denial spouting the toxic platitudes of reproductive freedom and misunderstood biology. Most do not fully comprehend the radical holocaust of the unborn, taking place in our midst. But you understand this. You are awakened. You are doing what love requires… remembering the Michaels, Nathans, Matthews and Marys who are gone but not forgotten. We are on holy ground.<br />
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Our imaginations and our memories provide only the thought-material of our lost children. There are no baby shoes, blankets or lockets of hair. Who was my baby? Was it a boy or girl? What color eyes would they have had? What did his voice sound like? What might he have become had he been given the chance to live? Some of us get lost in that drab, gray loss of what never will be: In my son, Michael’s case: I can only imagine a first day of school, band concerts, baseball games, picnics and proms; A wedding or an ordination, perhaps…..I can only imagine….. My abortion in January, 25 years ago reminds me of the stark reality that behind every procedure is a person, a being, who had a future.<br />
<br />
I have the special privilege today of working with post-abortive moms and dads in the beautiful odyssey of healing. We eventually arrive at this conclusion: that our babies were a WHO, not a what. Our children were unique, beautiful, sacred gifts from God. Trying to accept that terrible sense of loss can paralyze us if we do not take bold steps to reconcile with God, with our communities and with our past. Ironically, it is this same recognition of our children’s personhood that also gives us great hope. God reminds us to have hope because in God’s economy nothing is ever lost. It is redeemed.<br />
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This hope now, a generation later, must be a catching force within our wounded community; A time and a place that you and I are part of not by any coincidence. We are all in this together. The culture of death didn’t just happen spontaneously from nothing; it evolved across generations of pride and selfishness. We are all post-abortive when you think about it. We collectively bear the scars of the society that has permitted it. It will be defeated through God’s grace and the virtues of honesty and courage across generations, starting with ours: Honesty by those who have had abortions and speak out about them, and courage for each one of us to take their passion for life to a new level. I notice that when I sometimes shed tears about my unborn son, so do you. That’s a beautiful human thing to do. If we have become so wounded and blind by abortion in society then isn’t it reasonable to think we can heal as a society as well? I would like to hope so. Death is not the final victor; love is. That is why we join in commemorations. We allow love, hope, memories & faith in God to be the shared elements that glue us back together.<br />
<br />
In the movie Les Miserables, the protagonist, Jean Valjean struggled with his tattered identity. Wounded by a marred past, he lived a half-life until he encountered a man who believed in him and ransomed him from a wayward path. As a society, we are like Valjean at this crossroads. We stand heavy under the weight of what we have allowed since 1973. We are left with the profound reality of who we are. Though we have, at times, wandered far astray; we are never beyond God’s mercy. We have new opportunities every day to change our world, to change our lives. To turn back to our Lord and His saving grace. We are a people redeemed. We are a people who have been given a chance to live and to hope. We are a people who are free.<br />
<br />
As we commemorate our lost loved ones today may we offer special prayers to those who suffer with the trauma of abortion. May we continue to shine the brilliant light of hope so that they, too, may someday be free and embrace the new life that God has in store for them.<br />
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And let us always remember our beloved dead. Their lives are not in vain. Thank you for honoring and respecting them with your presence here today. May their prayers for us sustain our hope and strengthen our resolve to fight with all our hearts for a culture of life. May the souls of the faithful departed rest in peace and may perpetual light shine upon them.<br />
<br />
Karen Williams<br />
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Karen Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14779940921144280154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-150401409572300208.post-27437940824331321492013-01-21T19:34:00.001-08:002013-01-21T19:35:56.902-08:00A.M.E.N. (Abortion Must End Now)<span style="line-height: 1.38;"><span style="color: #fce5cd;">The Living Rosary at St. Joan of Arc Parish at 6:30pm this evening on the Vigil of Roe vs. Wade Commemoration. "So let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven." Matthew 5:16</span></span><br />
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Karen Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14779940921144280154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-150401409572300208.post-19186028197455034872013-01-06T20:28:00.002-08:002013-01-06T20:35:04.160-08:00Why I love Flannery<br />
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<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">This is glorious. She speaks to our deeply flawed human condition with truth and clarity. it also explains why daily Mass is a necessity (por moi). Our memory is short; our tenacity is fleeting and our minds are darkened. In other words: I NEED ALL THE DERN HELP I CAN GET!</span></span></h1>
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What Flannery O'Connor Got Right: Epiphanies Aren't Permanent</h1>
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<div class="articleContent" style="clear: both; font-family: Georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
<em style="background-color: #783f04;">Author Jim Shepard's favorite passage from "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" highlights a sad truth: A moment of clarity only lasts a moment.</em><br />
<span style="background-color: #783f04;"><img alt="scan_shepard_small.jpg" class="mt-image-none" height="470" src="http://cdn.theatlantic.com/static/mt/assets/culture_test/scan_shepard_small.jpg" style="border: none;" width="615" /></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #783f04;">Jim Shepard's own well-studied copy of Flannery O'Connor's story. (Courtesy of Jim Shepard)</span></div>
<i><strong style="background-color: #783f04;">By Heart is a series in which authors share and discuss their all-time favorite passages in literature.</strong></i><br />
<span style="background-color: #783f04;">Flannery O'Connor's classic short story "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" moves from satiric family comedy to brutal revelation as a grandmother leads her exasperated family on a wild goose chase in rural Georgia. While looking for the site of her girlhood homestead, she inadvertently brings her whole family to their deaths at the hands of a tortured killer, The Misfit. He displays an odd regard for the grandmother, who forgives him right before she dies:</span><br />
<blockquote style="margin: 5px 0px 10px; padding: 15px !important;">
<span style="background-color: #783f04;">"She could have been a good woman," The Misfit said, "if it had been someone there to shoot her every minute of her life."</span></blockquote>
<span style="background-color: #783f04;">For Jim Shepard, author of <i>Love and Hydrogen </i>and <i>You Call That Bad</i>, this line has been cause to contemplate what it means to be good—and the value of goodness when it's merely fleeting. If human beings can muster startling flashes of selflessness and generosity, why do we revert so quickly to our flawed, limited selves? And does the fact that we <i>do </i>relapse into old patterns diminish what we are in our best moments? O'Connor's story helps Shepard wrestle with these questions as he crafts his own imperfect characters, who catch glimpses of how to become better—but are often not quite strong enough to change.</span><br />
<span style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 20px 20px;"><span style="background-color: #783f04;"><img height="466" src="http://cdn.theatlantic.com/static/mt/assets/culture_test/assets_c/2013/01/flannery-final-thumb-300x466-109884.jpg" style="border: none;" width="300" /></span><span class="credit" style="clear: both; display: block; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 9px; line-height: 12px; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px; text-align: left; width: auto;"><a href="http://dougmclean.net/home.html" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: #783f04; color: black;">Doug McLean</span></a></span></span><span style="background-color: #783f04;">Shepard is one of America's foremost story writers: His work has appeared in magazines like <i>The New Yorker</i>, <i>Granta</i>, and <i>Harper's, </i>and has been anthologized in <i>The Best American Short Stories</i>. His collection <i>Like You'd Understand, Anyway</i>(2007) won the Story Prize and was a finalist for The National Book Award. He's a professor of English Literature at Williams College, and he spoke to me by phone from his home in Williamstown, Massachusetts.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #783f04;">When I first encountered "A Good Man Is Hard to Find," I read it the way many people do when they first encounter the story—a kind of social satire that veers over into random violence, plus a little spasm of hard-to-sort-through theology at the end. But when you spend more time with it, it becomes clear the story is a hugely powerful acting-out of a theme O'Connor said was crucial to her work: the action of grace in territory held largely by the devil.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #783f04;">Writers talk a lot about epiphanies—what O'Connor, in her Catholic tradition, called "grace"—in short stories. But I think we're tyrannized by a misunderstanding of Joyce's notion of the epiphany. That stories should toodle on their little track toward a moment where the characters understand something they didn't understand before—and, at that moment, they're transformed into better people.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #783f04;">You know: <i>Suddenly</i> <i>Billy understood that his grandmother had always gone through a lot of difficult things, and he resolved he would never treat her that way again</i>.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #783f04;">This kind of conversion notion is based on a very comforting idea—that if only we had sufficient information, we wouldn't act badly. And that's one of the great things about what The Misfit tells the Grandmother in the line I like so much. He's not saying that a near-death experience would have turned her into a good woman. He's saying it would take somebody threatening to shoot her <i>every minute of her life</i>.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #783f04;">In other words, these conversion experiences don't stick—or they don't stick for very long. Human beings have to be re-educated over and over and over again as we swim upstream against our own irrationalities.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #783f04;">(There's a great line in Orson Welles' film <i>Citizen Kane</i>, where one of the protagonist's enemies says to him: "You're going to need more than one lesson, Mr. Kane, and you're going to get more than one lesson.")</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #783f04;">Now, O'Connor really believes that we can flood, momentarily, with the kind of grace that epiphany is supposed to represent. But I think she also believes that we're essentially sinners. She's saying: Don't think for a moment that because you've had a brief instant of illumination, and you suddenly see yourself with clarity, that you're not going to transgress two days down the road.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #783f04;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: #783f04;"><br />O'Connor's view of humanity in these stories is that almost everybody's going to be found wanting much of the time. And we are. But you still want to cherish those moments when someone shows you they have the capacity to be better.I find this idea enormously useful in my own work. My characters are all about gaining an understanding of the right thing to do—and avoiding it anyway. That sense that we can be in some ways geniuses of our own self-destruction runs, in some ways, counter to the more traditional notion of the epiphany—which tells us that stories are all about providing information to characters who badly need it. Epiphanies are, in some ways, staged and underimportant.But you still don't want to write them off. The fact that there's a brevity to human connection and human empathy—the fact that it goes away—might make you feel that we should not make a big deal that it was there at all. But of course we can't do that. We have to value the moments when a person is everything we'd hope this person would be, or became briefly something even better than she normally is. We need to give those moments the credit they're due. The glimpse of this capacity is part of what allows you to write characters who are so deeply flawed. Given that so much great literature is about staggering transgression, knowing that that capability of striving for something better is crucial for keeping you reading.</span></div>
Karen Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14779940921144280154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-150401409572300208.post-67689667541019846842012-12-30T19:53:00.001-08:002012-12-31T04:37:14.554-08:00It all starts with US<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ypqODx6L5MQ" width="560"></iframe><br />
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Many of us wonder how just one person can make any impact at all in the seemingly monumental Culture of Death. lt is easy for us to believe we are small and insignificant voices compared to the complex marketing machinery that comprises the opposing viewpoint. But let's reconsider this idea. In fact, as this video demonstrates, we must reconsider this idea if we are to combat despair with hope.<br />
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During this Year of Faith, we must radiate like Mary whose single soul <i>magnified the Lord.</i><br />
We must think like Paul who <i>saw his weakness as strength</i>. We must fight like Joan of Arc who courageously delivered France during one of history's darkest ages. We must collapse our pride like Therese of Lisieux and become like little children, for it is in truth of innocence that we will win the most stubborn and calloused souls.<br />
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What one thing can you do in the coming year to spread Christ's fragrance?<br />
Create Hope? Defend Life?<br />
Let us be about His business.<br />
<i>La Chaim!</i><br />
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<br />Karen Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14779940921144280154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-150401409572300208.post-86329150998217937642012-12-25T15:57:00.006-08:002012-12-25T15:57:53.487-08:00Merry Christmas<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-afrk2u5z_X8/UNo9OdsFIWI/AAAAAAAAAp8/Efc5EIwjsTA/s1600/564041_10151395730897244_439397825_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="441" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-afrk2u5z_X8/UNo9OdsFIWI/AAAAAAAAAp8/Efc5EIwjsTA/s640/564041_10151395730897244_439397825_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large; text-align: -webkit-left;">Late have I loved you, O Beauty ever ancient, ever new, late have I loved</span><span style="font-size: large; text-align: -webkit-left;"> you! You were within me, but I was outside, and it was there that I searched for you. In my unloveliness I plunged into the lovely things which you created. You were with me, but I was not with you. Created things kept me from you; yet if they had not been in you they would have not been at all. You called, you shouted, and you broke through my deafness. You flashed, you shone, and you dispelled my blindness. You breathed your fragrance on me; I drew in breath and now I pant for you. I have tasted you, now I hunger and thirst for more. You touched me, and I burned for your peace.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large; text-align: -webkit-left;">-<i>Confessions</i>, St. Augustine</span>Karen Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14779940921144280154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-150401409572300208.post-79258604220639767032012-12-23T07:54:00.001-08:002012-12-23T07:57:41.321-08:00Sounds of heaven<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Q7ch7uottHU" width="420"></iframe><br />
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See what the human voice can do? This is heavenly. And no instruments to weight or ground the musical exercise whatsoever....it is free to soar to the purposeful heights of this wonder of architecture. See how we are so drawn to beauty? God knows how to charm us. This is a magnficent piece...one of my favorites.<br />
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I am so struck with wonder that God should come to earth as a baby...something inconceivable in the form of something to so tiny and vulnerable. Yet He was conceived. He was sent to save us. How happy that angel to deliver the news to a world so desperately in need.<br />
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I hope you are able to take some time today and tomorrow to sit in wonder (something that sets us apart from the rest of the animals) and ponder the miracle that is Christ's Mass.<br />
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O magnum mysterium<br />
et admirabile sacramentum,<br />
ut animalia viderent Dominum natum,<br />
jacentem in præsepio.<br />
Beata virgo, cujus viscera meruerunt<br />
portare Dominum Christum, Alleluia!<br />
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Translation:<br />
O great mystery<br />
and wondrous sacrament,<br />
that animals should see the newborn Lord<br />
lying in their manger.<br />
Blessed is the Virgin whose womb was worthy<br />
to bear the Lord Jesus Christ. Alleluia!Karen Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14779940921144280154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-150401409572300208.post-20363107322889734242012-12-02T07:47:00.005-08:002012-12-02T07:54:07.375-08:00Karen's Top Shopping Pick for Advent<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--9Nlwklba68/ULt5laI555I/AAAAAAAAApk/pseHvUfxNsc/s1600/hobb-lobby-store.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--9Nlwklba68/ULt5laI555I/AAAAAAAAApk/pseHvUfxNsc/s400/hobb-lobby-store.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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okay, I love craft stores, I'll admit it. I can spend hours in them. Just ask my teenager. So what's weird is that I've never visited a Hobby Lobby....until yesterday! Now I'm hooked. I went in for some pink and purple ribbon. I emerged 90 minutes later with STUFF! Oh the joys.<br />
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Some things you should know about Hobby Lobby: <br />
1. They have struggled because of their FAITH. Read CEO letter below.<br />
2. They are NOT violating the 1st commandment by being open on Sundays. Hooray! <br />
3. Their merchandise is suspiciously VIRTUOUS. They are the only game in town that sells a life-size nativity set. Something I could not find in any retail establishment last year. Oh, sure, I could spend a few grand on an online version, but I want to actually see something non-pixilated before I spend that kind of money.<br />
4. There was an amazing 50% off sale yesterday. The prices are really good.<br />
5. The workers are, stunningly, happy to help you. I was met with respect and courtesy, not glazed-over snarky-ness.<br />
6. So...if you're reading this post: Go Shop The Hobby Lobby! (Just not today...it's Sunday after all.)<br />
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A Letter from Hobby Lobby Stores CEO<br />
By David Green, the founder and CEO of Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc.<br />
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When my family and I started our company 40 years ago, we were working out of a garage on a $600 bank loan, assembling miniature picture frames. Our first retail store wasn't much bigger than most people's living rooms, but we had faith that we would succeed if we lived and worked according to God's word. From there,Hobby Lobby has become one of the nation's largest arts and crafts retailers, with more than 500 locations in 41 states. Our children grew up into fine business leaders, and today we run Hobby Lobby together, as a family.<br />
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We're Christians, and we run our business on Christian principles. I've always said that the first two goals of our business are (1) to run our business in harmony with God's laws, and (2) to focus on people more than money. And that's what we've tried to do. We close early so our employees can see their families at night. We keep our stores closed on Sundays, one of the week's biggest shopping days, so that our workers and their families can enjoy a day of rest. We believe that it is by God's grace that Hobby Lobby has endured, and he has blessed us and our employees. We've not only added jobs in a weak economy, we've raised wages for the past four years in a row. Our full-time employees start at 80% above minimum wage.<br />
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But now, our government threatens to change all of that. A new government health care mandate says that our family business MUST provide what I believe are abortion-causing drugs as part of our health insurance. Being Christians, we don't pay for drugs that might cause abortions, which means that we don't cover emergency contraception, the morning-after pill or the week-after pill. We believe doing so might end a life after the moment of conception, something that is contrary to our most important beliefs. It goes against the Biblical principles on which we have run this company since day one. If we refuse to comply, we could face $1.3 million PER DAY in government fines.<br />
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Our government threatens to fine job creators in a bad economy. Our government threatens to fine a company that's raised wages four years running. Our government threatens to fine a family for running its business according to its beliefs. It's not right. I know people will say we ought to follow the rules; that it's the same for everybody. But that's not true. The government has exempted thousands of companies from this mandate, for reasons of convenience or cost. But it won't exempt them for reasons of religious belief.<br />
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So, Hobby Lobby and my family are forced to make a choice. With great reluctance, we filed a lawsuit today, represented by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, asking a federal court to stop this mandate before it hurts our business. We don't like to go running into court, but we no longer have a choice. We believe people are more important than the bottom line and that honoring God is more important than turning a profit.<br />
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My family has lived the American dream. We want to continue growing our company and providing great jobs for thousands of employees, but the government is going to make that much more difficult. The government is forcing us to choose between following our faith and following the law. I say that's a choice no American and no American business should have to make.<br />
The government cannot force you to follow laws that go against your fundamental religious belief. They have exempted thousands of companies but will not except Christian organizations including the Catholic church.<br />
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Since you will not see this covered in any of the liberal media, pass this on to all your contacts.<br />
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Sincerely,<br />
David Green, CEO and Founder of Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc.<br />
<br />Karen Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14779940921144280154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-150401409572300208.post-24686670503395474962012-11-28T20:38:00.000-08:002012-11-28T20:40:42.459-08:00Got Gratitude?Just might be the best 6 minutes of your hour! Thanks for the inspiration Little Fleur. xo<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/nj2ofrX7jAk" width="560"></iframe>Karen Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14779940921144280154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-150401409572300208.post-16512813821939537232012-11-26T17:21:00.000-08:002012-11-26T17:21:09.811-08:00Reminder to Pray for Holy Souls <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2hD4aXEkYAI/ULLqD00G7ZI/AAAAAAAAApU/4NbqF70Ixg0/s1600/Carracci-Purgatory.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2hD4aXEkYAI/ULLqD00G7ZI/AAAAAAAAApU/4NbqF70Ixg0/s320/Carracci-Purgatory.jpg" width="230" /></a></div>
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Each November we recall, in a special way, those who have died and who await heaven. Let us be mindful of the Holy Souls desirous of our prayers.<br />
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<i>Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord; and may perpetual light shine upon them.</i><br />
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DE PROFUNDIS (Psalm 130...the church uses this Psalm in her liturgy for the souls in purgatory). What a beautiful prayer....<br />
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Out of the depths I call to you, LORD;<br />
Lord, hear my cry!<br />
May your ears be attentive<br />
to my cry for mercy.<br />
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If you, LORD, keep account of sins,<br />
Lord, who can stand?<br />
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But with you is forgiveness<br />
and so you are revered.<br />
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I wait for the LORD,<br />
my soul waits and I hope for his word.<br />
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My soul looks for the Lord<br />
more than sentinels for daybreak.<br />
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More than sentinels for daybreak,<br />
let Israel hope in the LORD,<br />
For with the LORD is mercy,<br />
with him is plenteous redemption<br />
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And he will redeem Israel<br />
from all its sins.<br />
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Karen Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14779940921144280154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-150401409572300208.post-75062189101368967982012-11-25T09:21:00.001-08:002012-11-25T09:23:52.588-08:00The Freethinkers need to do a little more free thinkingBy now you may have seen the hubbub regarding the Arkansas elementary school versus the Arkansas Society of Freethinkers. Basically it goes like this: the school wants to plan a Dec 14 field trip to a local church to watch a Charlie Brown Christmas and the Freethinkers (atheists) want to put an end to it because they think that the school is trying to indoctrinate kids into believing in God. See the whole mess here: <a href="http://arkansasmatters.com/fulltext?nxd_id=610622">Peanuts versus Atheists</a> <br />
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First of all, no one can force you to believe anything. Either you believe that you are a puppet or a real human being. Puppets can be made to think and do anything a puppeteer commands. That's why they are puppets. Human beings, on the other hand, can think freely, on their own. There is no hand up the back of the shirt. Even children (and this is where the argument is), can think on their own. They can choose to believe or not to believe. Wasn't it Christ Himself who said...let the little children come to me? I don't think we give our children nearly enough free-thinking credit here. Either they will come to view the cartoon (animated brilliance) by Charles Schultz as a fun, festive way to usher in the Christmas season or maybe, they will see a deeper reality glimmering out of a circle of friends who are just asking the same questions and dealing with the same struggles as all children, families and friends deal with. It puts the question squarely in their midst. Either God is or God isn't at the center of human existence.<br />
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Second of all, maybe it's just me, but don't you think that children have a right to learn the history behind why Christmas is Christmas? I mean, even if you're not a Christian, it would probably be helpful to know how Christmas came to be. Even I know a little about Buddhism, Islam, Judaism, and the new religions of our day....secular humanism and moral relativism. I am not a KKK member, but, sad to say, I do know what the hoods are about. So what is so wrong about teaching our children the fundamental origins of Christianity? Are we afraid they might see something profoundly beautiful in it? Profoundly life changing. What's more...the school is offering this as an optional event. Basically, kids of "free-thinking" folks can opt-out of the Charlie Brown cartoon as it may be too dangerous for innocent eyes.<br />
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I think the Freethinkers are not being intellectually honest with themselves. I think they should get on the bus and attend the cartoon with the kiddos on the 14th of December. Even if they miss the God-spoiler at the end, they might see the benevolent horticultural theme that I'm sure would captivate their imaginations. <br />
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Let the little children come...<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/DKk9rv2hUfA" width="420"></iframe>Karen Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14779940921144280154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-150401409572300208.post-19081497895125815062012-11-09T20:31:00.002-08:002012-11-09T20:36:09.616-08:00So over---Casual Catholicism<span style="background-color: black; color: #fff2cc; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;">"The age of casual Catholicism is over, the age of heroic Catholicism has begun. We can no longer be Catholics by accident, but instead be Catholics by conviction."</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: #fff2cc; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;">- Fr. Terence Henry, TOR, president of Franciscan University</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;">Here's an excellent offering from Randy Hain of "The Integrated Catholic Life"; an excellent blog. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: #fff2cc; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;">________________________</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;"><b>5 Ways to Escape Apathy-Ville</b></span><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; text-align: left;"></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 17px;">Please join me for a moment of honest self-reflection.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 17px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 17px;">Do you ever feel numb or helpless in the face of all the problems the world faces each day?</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 17px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 17px;">One only has to watch the news or follow the events of the day online to feel completely overwhelmed. Some of the challenges facing the world include ever-increasing threats to our Catholic faith. The Church is being accosted on all sides and the culture wars are raging. We are locked in an ongoing series of battles over the HHS Mandate, abortion, euthanasia, same-sex marriage and immigration. Voters recently re-elected the most pro-abortion President in history whose policies are often in direct conflict with the teachings of the Church and polls show that he enjoyed the support of 50% of America’s Catholics. There is a crisis in vocations to the priesthood and in some areas of our country, parishes are nearly empty. These are real issues which demand a response.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 17px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 17px;">What can we do? How do we engage?</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 17px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 17px;">Unfortunately, many of us succumb to feelings of indifference and apathy rather than get involved. We may think to ourselves that somebody else will take care of these problems as we have enough to handle already or believe the issues don’t really affect us. At times, it feels to me like we are living in an isolated little town of our own making called Apathy-ville.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 17px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 17px;">How did we get here?</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 17px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 17px;">If we take a candid look around us, it is obvious that we live in a consumer-driven, materialistic society. Advertisers bombard us with messages about how our lives can be so much better if we only had the latest gadget or toy. Additionally, over the last few years, we have seen unparalleled growth in the federal government and its subtle, but ever-growing influence over the economy, healthcare and education as well as moral issues such as abortion and marriage. It seems that so many of us have wrongly placed our faith in material things, the government and ourselves, instead of in Christ and His Church. Political correctness has seeped into our collective consciousness like a disease and made us fearful of saying and doing what is necessary to defend our faith and stand up for what is right and true. If we tolerate everything, it leads one to think that we likely stand for nothing. “I don’t want to offend” often translates into “I am not willing to defend.” As G.K. Chesterton once said, “Tolerance is the virtue of the man without convictions.”</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 17px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 17px;">They said it best</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 17px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 17px;">To stimulate more self-awareness and reflection on how we may have arrived in Apathy-ville, I have listed below some quotes which I hope will challenge all of us, make us question our actions and serve as a catalyst for different behaviors. Let’s be honest as we ask ourselves if any of these quotes apply to us.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 17px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 17px;">“Everyone who acknowledges me before others I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father. But whoever denies me before others, I will deny before my heavenly Father.” (Matt 10:32-33)</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: black; color: #fff2cc; line-height: 17px;">“So, because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.” (Rev 3:16)</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: black; color: #fff2cc; line-height: 17px;">“For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine but, following their own desires and insatiable curiosity, will accumulate teachers and will stop listening to the truth and will be diverted to myths.” (2 Tim 4:3-4)</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: black; color: #fff2cc; line-height: 17px;">“Freedom consists not in doing what we like, but in having the right to do what we ought.” (Blessed John Paul II)</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: black; color: #fff2cc; line-height: 17px;">“You cannot please both God and the world at the same time. They are utterly opposed to each other in their thoughts, their desires, and their actions.” (St. John Vianney)</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: black; color: #fff2cc; line-height: 17px;">“Faced with today’s problems and disappointments, many people will try to escape from their responsibility. Escape in selfishness, escape in sexual pleasure, escape in drugs, escape in violence, escape in indifference and cynical attitudes. I propose to you the option of love, which is the opposite of escape.” (Blessed John Paul II)</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: black; color: #fff2cc; line-height: 17px;">“Really, most of us live below the level of our energy. And in order to be happy, we have to do more. Now, we can do more, spiritually and every other way. . . so you see how important it is to have in the mind to do all that you can. To work to the limit of your ability. Our world is really suffering from indifference. Indifference is apathy, not caring. I wonder maybe if our Lord does not suffer more from our indifference, than he did from the Crucifixion.” (Archbishop Fulton Sheen)</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: black; color: #fff2cc; line-height: 17px;">How do we respond? What can we do?</span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 17px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 17px;">First of all, we can’t stand on the sidelines and watch. We also must believe that one person can make a difference! At times it seems we have lost our way and forgotten or ignored the teachings of the Church. Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadephia offers this insight which cuts to the heart of the matter in his excellent book, Render Unto Caesar (p.197): “What needs to be done by Catholics today for their country? The answer is: Don’t lie. If we say we’re Catholic, we need to prove it. America’s public life needs people willing to stand alone, without apologies, for the truth of the Catholic faith and the common human values it defends. One person can make a difference – if that individual has a faith he or she is willing to suffer for.” Are we willing to suffer for our faith? What sacrifices are we willing to make to follow the teachings of the Church?</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 17px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 17px;">Are there good examples for us to follow?</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 17px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 17px;">The good news is we have many examples to emulate, ranging from the numerous Pro-Life groups who pray outside abortion clinics to the Bishops who are challenging government leaders over the HHS Mandate, same-sex marriage and reforming our immigration laws. Some of the greatest examples may be our friends and neighbors who pray constantly for the Church in the quiet of their homes, who write letters to their government representatives and devote time before the Blessed Sacrament in prayer for the blessing of the Church and Pope Benedict. There are also those who offer financial and personal support to those in critical need. Also, remember our Priests and the incredible job they do in serving their parishes. We clearly have examples to follow, but far too many of us have only been watching, tolerating and…turning away.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 17px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 17px;">Two Important Things to Remember</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 17px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 17px;">Is simply being Catholic enough to motivate everyone to authentically embrace the responsibilities of our faith? One would hope so, but perhaps we need these additional reminders:</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 17px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 17px;">1. We all received the call to holiness at our Baptism.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 17px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 17px;">“The call to holiness is rooted in Baptism and proposed anew in the other Sacraments, principally in the Eucharist. Since Christians are reclothed in Christ Jesus and refreshed by his Spirit, they are ‘holy’. They therefore have the ability to manifest this holiness and the responsibility to bear witness to it in all that they do. The apostle Paul never tires of admonishing all Christians to live ‘as is fitting among saints’ (Eph 5:3). (Blessed John Paul II, Christifideles Laici 16)</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 17px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 17px;">2. We are made for Heaven, not this place.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 17px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 17px;">”The big, blazing truth about man is that he has a heaven-sized hole in his heart, and nothing else can fill it. We pass our lives trying to fill the Grand Canyon with marbles. As St. Augustine said: ‘Thou hast made us for Thyself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in Thee.” (Peter Kreeft)</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 17px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 17px;">“We must always remind ourselves that we are pilgrims until we arrive at our heavenly homeland, and we must not let our affections delay us in the roadside inns and lands through which we pass, otherwise we will forget our destination and lose interest in our final goal.” (St. Ignatius of Loyola)</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 17px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 17px;">”I must keep alive in myself the desire for my true country, which I shall not find till after death; I must never let it get snowed under or turned aside; I must make it the main object of life to press on to that other country and to help others to do the same.” (C.S. Lewis)</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 17px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 17px;">Please reflect carefully on these two points as we can clearly see how to conduct ourselves on our faith journeys (the call to holiness) and our final destination (Heaven). As Catholics, we are set apart and therefore not to allow ourselves to be assimilated into the surrounding culture. It requires courage, trials and often loneliness to walk this path, but we know what our final reward will be if we embrace our calling.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 17px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 17px;">5 Keys to Escaping Apathy-ville</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 17px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 17px;">How do we escape Apathy-ville? First, we need to acknowledge that perhaps our personal response (and indifference) to the challenges the Church faces is woefully inadequate. Second, we must truly desire to do something about it. I have quoted the teaching of Our Lord and the wisdom of Blessed John Paul II, Saints and others in an effort to illuminate the right path. I have reminded us of the call to holiness which we received at our Baptism and that we are all made for Heaven, and not this place. What else do we require to leave Apathy-ville? Here are five tips:</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 17px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 17px;">Stop practicing “Cafeteria Catholicism.” We can’t pick and choose what we believe and still be authentically Catholic. Follow the Magisterium and authentically practice our faith, trusting that two millennia of Church history and teaching are far superior to what we may come up with on our own. ”Be Catholic, really, faithfully, unapologetically Catholic, and the future will have the kind of articulate and morally mature leaders it needs.” (Archbishop Charles Chaput)</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: black; color: #fff2cc; line-height: 17px;">We can’t explain or defend what we don’t know. We may be indifferent to challenges the Church faces because we don’t understand them. We may believe the lies and half-truths being said about Catholicism because we have forgotten or never bothered to learn the truth of what the Church teaches. Poor faith formation for a generation of Catholics is one of the biggest problems the Church faces today. We have to study our faith-the Bible, the Catechism, parish adult education and a number of online resources are readily available.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: black; color: #fff2cc; line-height: 17px;">Prayer is the key. We can’t remain apathetic about Christ and His Church if we are conversing with Him in prayer each day. Most indifferent Catholics I have encountered are struggling in their prayer lives and yet, turning our thoughts to Him in prayer, thanking Him and asking for His help can be so easy if we will only surrender and acknowledge that we can’t do it alone.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: black; color: #fff2cc; line-height: 17px;">Put our Pride aside. Peter Kreeft wrote: ”The national anthem of Hell is ‘I did it my way.” It must take a pretty big ego to show indifference to Christ and His Church! What we need is more humility and a sincere commitment to put Christ’s will before our own. I know from personal experience that doing it my way has never really worked out well!</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: black; color: #fff2cc; line-height: 17px;">Know the enemy. We rarely hear this in homilies these days and little is written about it in contemporary books or articles, but who stands to gain the most by our apathy towards defending the Church? The Devil is the clear winner. Read the Book of Revelation to see the similarities between modern times and the prophetic visions of Saint John, or heed the words of Saint (Padre) Pio of Pietrelcina: “Temptations, discouragement and unrest are the wares offered by the enemy. Remember this: if the devil makes noise, it is a sign that he is still outside and not yet within. That which must terrify us is his peace and concord with the human soul. That which comes from Satan begins with calmness and ends in storm, indifference and apathy.”</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: black; color: #fff2cc; line-height: 17px;">What could be said about resisting an indifferent attitude towards our Catholic faith would fill several volumes and much more needs to be written and discussed on this subject. My goal is simply to grab your attention, if only for a few minutes, and tell you we are in trouble if we don’t step up in defense of Mother Church. You may ask yourself what gives me the right to challenge you and everyone else about being apathetic.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 17px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 17px;">To put it simply, I am just like many of you. I am human…and I have my struggles with this problem as well. But, I also know full well we can’t continue looking to others to fight issues counter to the teachings of the Church. What is going on matters to us, our children, our friends, neighbors… the entire world.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 17px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 17px;">The last train is ready to leave Apathy-ville… will we be on board?</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;"><br /></span>Karen Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14779940921144280154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-150401409572300208.post-515365246576969472012-11-07T09:08:00.002-08:002012-11-07T09:11:30.196-08:00The Battle Ahead<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="color: #fff2cc; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande";">Dearest Friends for Life,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande";">My heart is heavy this morning. Particularly for
the unborn and for those who understand what it is to mourn the loss of our
religious freedom.</span><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Big Caslon";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande";">I was not optimistic about the election to begin
with. We chose a moderate candidate who is a very nice gentleman, who has a
great family, who is not 100% pro-life. There were preventable problems in the
campaign and unpreventable circumstances that no one could not control. It was
an uphill climb from the outset. But it is God's most Holy will and who am
I to question? Job put it best....'Blessed be the Lord'. </span><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Big Caslon";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #fff2cc; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande";">So what is our response at a time like this? Seems
to me that it is always darkest before dawn. Rather than gaze and despair in
the darkness though, I believe it is time to live our faith; now more than
ever. What are our tools? The Sacraments, the Church, the Faithful near and
around you, Prayer--especially for those who persecute you--, Action, Service
to neighbor. The list is yours to discover. There is no better time than now
for a YEAR of faith, let alone a 'forever' full of faith. I firmly believe that
God put us here in this place, at this time, so that we as His children, can
speak the truth in love and with great hope. We shine. Not with a false hope
based on political idioms, but a real, radiant hope based on the life, death
and resurrection of our Savior who conquered our oldest enemies of sin and
death. God is bigger than all of this. We all have a voice. We are all
witnesses. We all will rise to the challenge. We will all be called to
account. I am nothing but a dustball (lowly dust maiden :-) , but I am a
dustball with the King of the Universe as my Father. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande";">This isn't over. </span><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Big Caslon";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande";">So, my words of hope and encouragement to you
are this....hang in there. You are now part of the Divinely-led 'Chin Up'
Minority. We've got work! No saint was ever called to a cushy job.
No saint was ever born into a cushy generation. No saint was unacquainted with
uphill climbs.</span><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Big Caslon";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande";">This is OUR time to be light and salt because of
all HE did for us on that cross. You with me?</span><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Big Caslon";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande";">Soldiering on in hope...</span><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Big Caslon";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande";">Yours always in Christ,</span><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Big Caslon";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #fff2cc; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande";">Karen</span><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Karen Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14779940921144280154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-150401409572300208.post-6810921384188353382012-11-05T19:17:00.004-08:002012-11-05T19:31:41.678-08:00Buckeyes...I'm counting on you. I have never been rooting so hard for the good folks of Ohio as I am tonight. Punditry advises that for Romney to win on Tue, Romney must win Ohio.<br />
So I am begging.<br />
I am pleading.<br />
I would even wear scarlet and gray and sing your OSU fight song.<br />
If you would please get your buckeyes in a group and do the right thing - vote for Romney/Ryan.<br />
<br />
Here's a great clip from SNL that never aired. Oh the Ohirony.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="288" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" scrolling="no" src="http://www.hulu.com/embed.html?eid=hrrwbpnda6p5dnp-tes19w" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" width="512"></iframe>Karen Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14779940921144280154noreply@blogger.com0