A Penance Indeed!

See Gerald's blog

BTW, someone here (the Marianists in Hawaii) thought it a good idea to bring Sr. Joan Chittister here for a workshop in April. Apparently, they aren't aware that she is a dissenter to Church teaching. At least the Catholic homeschoolers have been warned... who in turn have alerted the Diocese.

Sr. Joan Chittister, O.S.B. - Retreat and Workshop

Imagine

A la Gerald

The Holy Father's 3-Point Agenda for Voting Catholics

Shared by Sue

The three-point agenda is...

1. "Pro-Life"
2. "Pro-Family"
3. "School-Choice"

From:

The Pope's Three Point Agenda for Voting Catholics

Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament

"Jesus is with us always in the Blessed Sacrament. Let us make sure that we recognize Him and love Him before it is too late. Daily say the Rosary and if possible attend daily Mass and receive Christ in Holy Communion."

From the NAS (Nocturnal Adoration Society) Letter January 2008

Prayer for My Family

Watch over my family, dear Lord. Help us live in peace and harmony. Grant us the grace to accept each other's faults and encourage each other's strengths. Protect us from harsh words and hurt feelings. Guide us to mutual understanding and support.

Bless us with good health and happiness. Give us hearts full of love, patience and compassion for one another, now and always. Amen.

From the Treasure of Prayers from the National Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton.

Happy President's Day

Picture from: this site

Homeschooling College

Alexandra of Happy Hearts at Home has the info.

Examination of Conscience for Children

The following is from Sue of Half the Kingdom

From a book by Fr. Robert Fox who took the Ten Commandments, and showing us what sins go with each commandment & why.

I. I, the Lord, am your God. You shall not have other gods besides Me.
Have I:

1. Remembered to love and adore God each day?
2. Prayed my morning prayers, evening prayers and other prayers of the day with attention and devotion?
3. Studied my religion?
4. Prayed for the suffering souls in Purgatory?
5. Been devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the angels and saints and tried to honor them?
6. Observed Friday as a day of penance?
7. Tried to bring others closer to Jesus by my words and example?

For the rest of the 10 Commandments, please visit Sue's blog.

EXPELLED

Thanks to my friend Melissa for sharing this.

Expelled Movie Trailer

Ben Stein, noted presidential speech writer, activist, game show host and actor (remember "Bueller...Bueller..."), has a new movie out exposing what goes on in places of higher education when professors try to discuss, teach, talk about...something other than Darwinism, and what he uncovers isn't good.

Read more in World Net Daily's article

In Defense of the Novus Ordo Mass

As a Catholic who reveres the Holy Mass, be it Novus Ordo Mass or the TLM, I was happy to find that Margaret Mary posted about it on her blog late last night.

She refers to another post by Venite, Missa Est

Some Traditional priests who are not in full communion with Rome admonish their congregations not to attend Novus Ordo Masses (NOM) “because NOM is evil.” They preach that, if no Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) is available on a given Sunday, those in their congregations should substitute a rosary for Mass attendance...

My goodness! Imagine, substituting praying the Holy Rosary for the Sacrifice of the Mass...the Sacrifice at Calvary!!.

...But let’s get down to basics. What is essential (that is “due”) to a proper liturgy of Mass? It must allow the priest to accomplish just two priestly functions: renew Christ’s Sacrifice on Calvary; and confect the Sacrament of Holy Communion. Period -- Close the book (as Fr. Wolfe, FSSP, says). Those two functions are proper and necessary to the “substance” (in Thomistic terminology) of the Mass; all other elements are devotional “accidents.” Actually, in unusual circumstances (like in unlit dungeons Note: emphasis added by me), priests have said valid Masses with little more liturgy than the words of Consecration. Would anyone dare call such a Mass evil?...

The imagery of the Holy Mass being celebrated in a dark dungeon reminds me of how Vietnamese Cardinal Francis Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan was forced to celebrate Holy Mass. He was imprisoned by the Communists. He would celebrate with a tiny piece of bread and a drop of wine on the palm of his hand. That was the way he celebrated the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass...on the palm of his hand. I can't imagine that being considered invalid or worse, evil.

There are some places where the Mass is not readily available for people to attend. We should be grateful to our priests for every Mass they celebrate.