One Red Paperclip

So I'm reading this book called "One Red Paperclip."

It's about this guy that trades a paperclip for a bigger and better item.

The goal is to keep trading until he trades up to a house.

It's awesome.

www.oneredpaperclip.com

The Aurora Mess

I don't know if you've been following the Aurora mess.

If not, go to http://www.jillstanek.com/ to be filled in.

Here is a link to a summary from a town meeting.

It's kind of long but it's good reading.

Padre Pio at Mass

I just finished reading a book about Padre Pio and thought I'd do a youtube search.

This video is pretty great.

College Pro-Life Group Denied

Alternative title to post: What's Wrong With Canada?

Capilano College in Canada has denied pro-life student from having official status.

The group has been denied 3 times!

Capilano College apparently has an official pro-abortion stance.

Other Canadian schools that have denied pro-lifers are:

University of British Columbia's Kelowna campus

Carleton University

Wow.

Lifenews.com

Hey, if you don't already, think about subscribing to Lifenews.com.

It's free : ) and it gives you daily updates about...life news.

Having the Time of Our Lives

In a follow up to yesterdays blog (see below), I think it's worthy to contemplate how our perception of time shapes faith and activism.

My own thoughts of being an activist are many times followed by "Elizabeth, you don't have time."

I've discovered that this is an excuse.

"Not enough time" is too often my way of lying to my ownself in order to get out of doing what is right.

Being an activist takes time, for sure, but it also takes putting oneself "out there" where all can see.

Being an activist can mean that co-workers, family, and friends, all who may not have known your feelings on a particular topic, are able to view into your personal thoughts and heart.

A simply google of your name for the rest of your life will reveal any little letter you ever wrote to a paper.

"Not enought time" is by in large a co-op.

When faced with the decision to activate the activist you know you have inside of you, don't listen to the "not enough time" voice in your head.

The time concept also plays a major role in how we participate in our faith.

Not having enough "time" to lift our hearts and minds to God is a little suspicious considering how much time most people generally spend watching Tv and surfing the internet.

While it's probably a good thing to give prayer undivided attention, I'll go ahead and add that the Rosary is great to pray while at the gym.

A twenty-minute run on a treadmill while praying keeps my mind, body, and soul busy.

It's multitasking yes, but I doubt there's anything inherently wrong with praying while driving to work, waiting for kids to be done with soccer practice, or going about any other daily routine.

Time management is profoundly important in how we grow in faith.

"Not having enough time" is a sign that one's priortities are out of sorts.

As a final note to this topic, here's a question for you: Which saint was known to pray between 40-60 Rosaries each day?

Goal Setting 101

Goals Should...be simple.

The statement:

“Have a pro-life group at my school.”

Is a lot better than:

“Start a group that will convert the world.”

Goals Should...be specific.

The statement:

“Have 50 students participate in National Pro-Life T-Day.”

is a lot better than:

“Participate in National Pro-Life T-Shirt Day.”

Goals should...have a time-line.

The statement:

“Have 100 feet pins distributed by November 1st.”

is a lot better than:

“Have 100 feet pins distributed.”

Mother Theresa

Foxnews.com has a front page story about how Mother Theresa had a difficult time feeling Christ's presence in the last half of her life.

Rev. Kolodiejchuk, a leader in her cause for canonization:

maintains that Mother Teresa did not suffer “a real doubt of faith,” but that, on the contrary, her agonizing demonstrates her faith in God’s reality.

I wonder what people will think when they read that even Mother Theresa did not always "feel" God's presence in her life.

I hope it is understood that faith in God goes beyond feeling some sort of whimsical swirling in your soul.

Do we at times use our own lack of feelings of Christ's presence as an excuse not to pursue a deeper relationship with Him?

If so, Mother Theresa's example is all the more powerful.

She may not have felt consolation from God for how she chose to live her life, but that didn't stop her from striving for holiness.

It shouldn't stop us either.

Let's let Mother Theresa stand as a leader because of her steadfast faith and love for God.

"I know God will not give me anything I can't handle. I just wish that He didn't trust me so much." - Mother Theresa




Next to a relic of Mother Theresa in Old St. Patricks in New York City.

Garlic on Dates

So a friend recommended this book, "How to Boil Water."

(Knowing that a friend thinks this would be a key resource for me tells you something about my culinary skills, not to mention the brutally honest and authentic friendships I foster.)

I'm looking through the index and read, "Date-Night Chicken."

Always good to be prepared- might need to know this someday!

So I turn to the recipe page and am looking at the ingredients list:

8 cloves of garlic

1 medium onion

This is for "date-night chicken"?

Whatever happened to avoiding garlic and onion on dates?

Next ingredients

3/4 cup pitted dates

3/4 cup pitted green olives

1 lemon

etc.

Whoa. Okay. My bad.

This is a recipe for chicken that involves dates- as in the food, not a social outing where boy meets girl.

Now, I can boil water, which is a great skill to have. But just in case I was doing so incorrectly (you never know) I tried looking it up in this book.

It's not listed!

They titled a book, "How To Boil Water" and didn't even list how to do it!

What if someone really needed to know?

Hmph?

What then?

The Vatican

I was sitting at a table of pro-life information one day while I was in graduate school.

This guy stormed up to the table, glared at me accusingly and challenged,
“I bet you’re Catholic!”

I smiled calmly and confirmed his “suspicion.”

“Yes, I’m Catholic.”

“I have a question for you then.”

“Alright.”

“Why does the Vatican hide documents?!” He asked.

“The Vatican does not hide documents.” I answered.

“Then where can you find them?”

“http://www.vatican.va/”

“Oh.”

“Yep. Have a good one.”

Want to get to know the Church? Go to the Vatican.

"What About Rape?"

"What About Rape?”

A human being conceived in an act of violence has the same and equal human dignity as a human conceived in an act of love.

No woman should ever be the subject to the brutality of rape.

No woman or unborn human being should ever be subject to the brutality of abortion.

"It's My Body."

“It’s My Body.”

When a woman is pregnant, there are two bodies.

The body of the unborn has a unique genetic make-up.

The unborn can’t be the woman’s body since a woman can’t have two different sets of DNA.

Nudists on a Glacier

The title of the associated press article states, "Hundreds of People Pose Nude on Switzerland Glacier to Raise Awareness About Climate Change"

People! It's a glacier!

Why would you want to be nude on a glacier?

Glaciers are cold!

For crying out loud, you're on a giant iceform...put some clothes on!

Perhaps you could, I don't know, ride your bike to work, plant a garden, recycle.

Do people seriously think they are going to raise awareness about climate change by being naked?

Sure it got my attention, but only because I think they should put clothes on.

Al Gore has already told us of the inconvenient truth and he managed to keep his clothes on just fine.

(And we thank him).

(Gore, I'm sure, is leading by example. I'm sure he only has one household, one vehicle, and composts his coffee grounds and fruit peels.)

I wish I had known about all of this nudity on ice business before hand.

I would have had a counter photo shoot featuring the "Bundle-Uppers" for climate change.

I would have made the point that if we don't stop these glaciers from melting then we won't have to bundle up any more.

The "Bundle-Uppers" would probably not get as much publicity as the nudists for the simple reason that people with less clothes on make the news far more than people with larger amounts of clothes.

Oh, another thought.

If you don't want a glacier to melt, why would you stick 600 warm bodies on it? Wouldn't that make it melt even more?

Oh well.

Christa Taylor~ Fashonista

Christa Taylor

"re-soundingly rejects frumpiness."

What a relief!

She also has a contest.

Giving away some clothes.

Be Useful. Blaze A Trail.

"Don't let your life be sterile. Be useful. Blaze a trail. Shine forth with the light of your faith and of your love. With your apostolic life wipe out the slimy and filthy mark left by the impure sowers of hatred. And light up all the ways of the earth with the fire of Christ that you carry in your heart."

-St. Josemaria Escriva, The Way

The Dream Manager

I stumbled upon some of Matthew Kelly's writing when I was in high school and have since been a big fan.

His latest book, The Dream Manager, is hitting stores this coming Tuesday, August 21st.

Think SLED

There are four differences between the unborn and a newborn.

1.) Size
2.) Level of Development
3.) Environment
4.) Degree of Dependency

(Think SLED)

Size: The unborn are smaller than other humans. Note that size does not have bearing on the human right to life. Small humans have just as much of a right to live as big humans.

Level of development: The unborn are less developed than a newborn. Note that level of development has no bearing on the human right to life. (Newborns are less developed than toddlers, who are less developed than adolescents, etc. )

Environment: The unborn are inside of a woman. Note that the location someone is in has no bearing on the human right to life.

Degree of dependency: The unborn have a unique degree of dependency on the mother prior to birth. Note that degree of dependency has no bearing on the human right to life. Many people are dependent on outside things to live such as oxygen tanks and heart regulators.

Many believe that the differences between an unborn baby and newborn baby are so fundamentally drastic that abortion can be permitted.

Yet, size, level of development, environment, and degree of dependency are not differences that fundamentally change the nature of a human being.

None of these four differences stipulate that the unborn are in anyway sub-human, or have less of a right to life than a newborn.

Father Jonathan says...

Father Jonathan says...

If Judaism or Christianity actually taught even a fraction of the absurdities Bill Maher apparently thinks they teach, I would send him my resume and petition him to bring me on as a co-producer of his upcoming documentary, “The Absurdity of Religion” (title still indefinite), as announced last night on Larry King Live. I too would want to reveal the fraud.

I suspect we would make perfect business partners — a publicist’s dream team. My work as an adviser on the set of Mel Gibson’s “Passion of the Christ,” my role as an analyst for the FOX News Channel, and the fact my home and workplace is a stones throw from the Vatican might partially offset Mr. Maher’s reputation as being somewhat bias toward things religious. Together, we would laugh our way all the way to the box office and perhaps liberate a few paltry-minded believers along the way.

But there’s one problem: not a fraction of Bill Maher’s statements about Christian and Jewish belief coincide with what in fact Christianity and Judaism say of themselves.

Unlike in Bill Maher’s world of comedy (where he truly excels), in theology, truth is not optional, opportunistic or malleable. Things are, or they aren’t, but they can’t be both.

Because Mr. Maher has decided to step out of his field of expertise and into mine, in a genuine spirit of dialogue, I would like to clarify a few things here that he has managed to jumble. You will notice I am assuming the best, that Mr. Maher simply doesn’t know what Christianity really teaches.

• If Christianity really taught that God took out a pen, wrote a book for us, called it the Bible and dropped it from the clouds, I too would doubt. But Mr. Maher, Christianity doesn’t teach that. As history shows, human beings wrote the Bible and, according to Christian belief, their writing was divinely inspired. Christians don’t suggest they can prove such inspiration with material evidence (the only kind skeptics would accept), but they consider faith (the assent of the heart) capable of grasping some immaterial, spiritual realities — like this one. On another note, from a purely historical standpoint, I think you would agree 2,000 years of continual belief should be given some weight. In all this time, nobody has proven the Bible is NOT inspired, and therefore, by the same standard of material evidence, we should all agree nobody can say Christians are definitely wrong about inspiration.

• If Christianity really taught that the man in the jungle who has never heard the name of Jesus, is going to be damned forever to hell, I too would doubt. But Mr. Maher, Christianity doesn’t teach that. We are responsible to God in as much as God reveals himself to us. Christianity teaches the saving grace of Jesus Christ is bigger than our date or place of birth. Christians believe God gives all of his children, in ways often unknowable to our little brains, the opportunity to accept or reject his love.

• If Christianity really taught that God created cancer, child abusers and earthquakes to torture his own children, I too would doubt. But Mr. Maher, Christianity doesn’t teach that. The evil in this world is not willed by God. Christianity teaches both physical and moral evil is a result of a world that is out of wack as a result of the misuse of our own human freedom. Like a good parent, God allows us to make mistakes and to live with the consequences. And even so, he doesn’t abandon us. He promises to bring forth a greater good out of every instance of evil. Ask someone with faith who has suffered great pain or loss and they will surely tell you how God has made good on his promise.

• If Christianity really taught that God sometimes commands us to kill the innocent in his name, I too would doubt. But Mr. Maher, Christianity doesn’t teach that. This would go against the very nature of God as all-loving and all-just. I am equally as scandalized as you are when I see religious people, in our checkered past and present, mistake their own pride and ignorance for the voice of God, and march off to holy war. As Pope John Paul II said, “War is always a failure of humanity.”

• If Christianity really taught that people with homosexual tendencies are all going to hell, or that somehow they are not God’s children, I too would doubt. But Mr. Maher, Christianity doesn’t teach that.

And the list and explanations about what Christianity says about itself, and how this differs from Bill Maher’s subjective understanding, could go on and on. I only hope that when he travels, as promised, to the Holy Land and to the Vatican with his team of investigative journalists to do “research” for his new documentary about the absurdity of religious belief (to be released, of course, in the Easter season), he stops by my place, or the place of any of the more than two billion Christians and Jews who will explain why his vision of their religion, is, well … rather absurd.

God bless, Father Jonathan

P.S. A personal note to Bill Maher: I spend quite a bit of time in New York City. In the case it doesn’t work out for us to meet up at the Vatican during your travels, let me know and we can work out something on your side of the Atlantic.

This Day in History

This day in history...

Let it be known that it was on August 14, 1930 that an assembly of Anglican bishops broke with all of Christianity in their announcement that unnatural birth control could be permitted.

It was at the Lambeth Conference that their statement in Resolution 15 outlined what would officially break from the consistent Christian opposition to birth control.

Shortly after, on March 21, 1931, in the United States the Federation of Council of Churches (now the National Council of Churches) echoed the Resolution.

The inside cover of the book, Birth Control and Christian Discipleship by John F. Kippley, offers the following questions:

True of False? No Christian church ever accepted contraception as morally permissible before 1930.

True or False? The anti-contraceptive laws of 19th Century America were passed by Protestants for a largely Protestant America.

True of False? The leaders of the Protestant Reformation were strongly opposed to unnatural forms of birth control.

All three statements are true.

It should be noted that the Resolution cites, "strong condemnation of the use of any methods of conception-control from motives of selfishness, luxury, or mere convenience."

Shortly after though the the President of United Lutherans Churches is quoted in The Lutheran as stating,

"It is of prime significance that the present agitation for birth control occurs at a period which is notorious for looseness in sexual morality. This fact creates suspicion as to the motives for the agitation, and should warn true-minded men and women against the tools for unholy purposes." - Dr. F.H. Knubel

Single Issue Voter

A single-issue voter believes that one issue is paramount to all other issues.

In other words, although many issues may be very important, a single issue voters acknowledge that a single issue trumps all of the others in importance.

I’ve noticed that some people look down on single issue voters and believe that single issue voters must also be simple minded.

My response to this accusation is by way of these comparisons:

1.) If a politician promised one million dollars to every elementary school in the nation but with the stipulation that small pox would be released back into society, would it be worth the sacrifice?

2.) If a politician promised that every single-parenting mother would receive a brand new car, but with the stipulation that we would enslave people of a specific ethnicity, would you vote for him or her?

3.) If a politician promised to find a way to give 100 million dollars to Alzheimer’s research, but with the stipulation that because women are physically weaker than men that they would no longer have the right to vote, would you vote (for some of us, the last time!), for him?

4.) If a politician promised “the world” with the stipulation that because the unborn are weaker than the women they are inside of, that if elected, the unborn would have no right to keep living, would you hand over the unborn’s human right to life to this politician?

If you answered, “No,” to anyone of the above situations than congratulations!

You have the very astute mind of a single-issue voter!

The stipulation in each situation, small pox, slavery, voter rights, and rights of the unborn, were each one single factor, or ‘issue,’ that completely overrode any other promise by the politician.

When it comes down to it: Even if someone promises you the world, it doesn’t matter if it comes at a price you aren’t willing to pay.

(The number 4 situation was a trick of course since the unborn do not have any rights.)

Have a nice day.

I Dare You...

So here it is... my first dare for you.

I dare you to find a time-line for prenatal life on a pro-choice website.

To be completely honest I'd love to know if it exists. I can't find anything and am tired of searching.

The "Ultimate Gift"

Catholicmom.com is having a contest- winner receives a copy of "The Ultimate Gift."

Click here for contest info.






Here's the trailer:

Ultra-Sound Shown if for Twins

In Bernard Nathanson's book, The Hand of God, he comments on one benefit of ultrasound.

"A study in the New England Journal of Medicine provided evidence of how potent this technology is. About ten years ago, and article in the journal reported that when ten pregnant women came to an abortion clinic and were shown ultrasound pictures of the fetus before the abortion, only one went through with the abortion. Nine left the clinic pregnant." (p. 126)

The video below shows some Missionaries of the Eucharist talking with Monsignor Reilly. Monsignor Reilly developed the Helpers of God's Precious Infants method of praying outside of places that perform abortions.

You have to wait until you get to the 52nd second of the video to hear that a particular abortion place only shows a girl an ultrasound if she's having twins. This is to prove to her that she's having twins since it would cost more for her to have an abortion. This is all to say that this place would not show a girl the ultrasound if she were not having twins.

Fetal Blood

In the book, titled, “Myth Information,” author J. Allen Varasdi goes through five hundred common myths.

One myth concerns the blood of a person in the stage of life we term, “fetal.”

The book states:

It is generally believed that during gestation the mother’s blood supply and the blood of the fetus are combined and circulated in a single system. This is not true. Maternal and fetal circulation are entirely separate, and at no time is there an exchange of blood between the two.

The organ responsible for the survival of the fetus is the placenta. The fetus is connected to the placenta via the umbilical cord. However, only the blood of the fetus moves through the arteries and veins of this cord.

When the fetus’ blood enters the placenta, tiny hairlike growths, called villa, transfer to the fetus molecules of oxygen, protein, carbohydrates, minerals, and vitamins as well as remove the fetal waste products. These essential substances are supplied to the placenta by the mother’s blood. However, they are only transferred at the placenta, and the two blood systems do not mix in the process.” (pg. 96)

This is yet further scientific evidence against the popular chant, "My body, my choice."

I've found though that it's quite easy to show people the humanity of the unborn by just tracing back your life and thinking about one's own prenatal existence.

I was certainly the same human being the day before I was born as the day of my birth.

One month prior to the day I was born, I suppose I weighed less, but other than that, I was still me.

What about four months prior to the day of my birth? Was it me? Was I there? Did I have a body?

The obvious answer to all of these questions is “yes.”

It was me, I was there, and I had a body.

This leads of course to the first and second day that I was inside of my mother.

Was it me that was in there? Yes. Was I truly present? Yes. Did I have a body? The answer of course, yes.

I had the body of a human being at two days old.

We may be unfamiliar with that type of body, yet familiarity does not denote whether something is true.

It should be made known that it is next to impossible- if not indeed impossible- to find accurate information regarding the biology of the unborn on websites of organizations that provide and/or promote abortion.

In fact, I dare any doubting reader to go online and find a time-line of the biology of the unborn on either Planned Parenthood or NOW’s websites. (Besides, if you do find accurate and details information, I'd love to know about it).

Ironically, these are organizations that many believe are tirelessly educating women about their bodies. The truth is, the only organizations equipping women with empowering information are those that find abortion degrading to women.

NFP II

Here is the second video.

What I'm Reading

I found some great articles explaining the main points of Pope John Paul II's Love and Responsibility.

They are by Edward Sri and can be found here.

A Question of Rights

Some people think that pro-lifers believe that the rights of the unborn should be greater than the rights of a woman.

This is not true at all.

People who are pro-life believe that the unborn have equal human rights as women.

This is in sharp contrast to the pro-choice stance which (whether people are aware of it or not) strips unborn humans from their right to live.

A professor once pointed out to me that our rights change as we grow older. For example, a child does not have the right to drive a car and a person must be 18 to vote. While this is a valid observation, it does not demonstrate that the unborn have a lesser right to live. Driving a car is contingent upon being capable of operating a motor vehicle, many people of age to drive a car are not capable; likewise, voting is contingent upon a governments estimation of a particular and arbitrary age at which citizens can participate in society in that particular way.

Living though- living is different because it is a right that is inherent to being human, hence, the human right to life. It is a right that is granted by God, not by government.

A woman’s right to live and an unborn child’s right to live are equal.

Pro-lifers recognize that it is equal and seek to promote human dignity by helping the mother and the child.

Actually, You Are Irreplaceable

I will not lie.

When I first heard the Beyonce song Irreplaceable, I turned up the volume very loud.




To the left….

To the left…

Hmmmm

To the left
To the left

Everything you own in a box to the left.

My gosh I’ve wanted to say that to people before. Not in quite the same way that Beyonce sings about, but still. There are moments you just want to get a box for people and say, “To the left!”

I listened to the rest of the words and turned the volume way down.

What on earth was I singing to? Did I get what the lyrics were actually saying?

I find myself in this predicament more often than I’d like. Songs of scandal are covered by heavy beat-box backgrounds and groovy synthesized I, IV, V, VI V I progressions.

The key chorus announces with great confidence:

Don’t you ever get to thinkn your irreplaceable.

I’m singin’ along and then I think, “Stop! Wait! That’s not true! You are irreplaceable!”

Beyonce sings some more…

You must not know about me
You must not know about me
I could have another you in a minute
matter fact he'll be here in a minute – baby

Okay, more disturbing stuff. Apparently Beyonce has another man already lined up! The first guy was totally replaceable in her eyes.

So since I’m not your everything
How about I'll be nothing
Nothing at all to you
Baby I won’t shed a tear for you
I won't lose a wink of sleep
Cause the truth of the matter is
Replacing you is so easy

The song ends and I continue to think, “What does she mean she won’t shed a tear or lose a wink of sleep for this guy? I’ve shed tears and lost winks of sleep for people. This is not fair. This song does not represent the truth. Replacing people is not “so easy.”

The song claims, “Don’t you ever get to thinkn you’re irreplaceable…”

The truth is, though, that we are all irreplaceable.

Not even the groovy rhythms and hip harmonies can convince me otherwise.

Missionaries in the News

Missionaries of the Eucharist make the Brooklyn paper.


Click here for the story.

NFP Youtube!!!

This totally made my day.

Dirty Dancing and Abortion

As a child I was never sure what "that scene" was all about.

You know the scene! (No, that THAT scene...the other one!)

The one where Baby's father, a doctor, cleans up a girl after she had an abortion.

Though it's not entirely spelled out in the film, careful viewers can pick up the subplot.

Penny, one of the professional dancers, has a medical emergency. This is pivotal to the entire movie since this is why Baby ends up getting her private dancing sessions from Johnny (Patrick Swayze) in the first place.

Penny's medical emergency was an abortion. The movie is set in 1963, before abortion was legalized. Note that the word "abortion" is never said in the movie. Can't say the word!

The movie implicates that because abortion is illegal, complications will surely follow.

Note though that upon the legalization of abortion, doctors that were doing it "on the side" were simply able to come out of the darkness and set up a storefront without legal ramifications. In other words, before 1973 and after 1973 it was the same people performing the abortions. While held up as helping women, legalizing abortion was a major step in protecting the doctors that were doing it anyway. Of course, before 1973 many people sought out abortionists that were not medically trained- which was probably less expensive. For more info see Bernard Nathanson's testimony on the legalization strategies for abortion.

After Penny's illegal abortion she is seen in bed having post-abortion internal bleeding. This scene is set up for the savvy viewer to perceive that if abortion is illegal then women will have medical problems, leading many to assume that if abortion is legal, that abortion will automatically be completely safe. This, we have seen, has not been the case. Women still suffer from post-abortion medical problems, including infection, infertility, incomplete abortion, post-abortion syndrome, and death.

Baby runs to her father who then saves Penny's life. The rest of the movie spins out amid Hamlet like misunderstandings, ending with everyone seeing each other for who they truly are.

Oh, and there's some dancing.

I remember that at some point in college I figured out what "that scene" was all about. I guess I just sort of skipped over trying to understand it while watching the film as a kid. I wonder how many kids see Dirty Dancing these days and never think to question, "What's wrong with Penny?"