October 2007 Archives

This is actually a fascinating new turn in the debate over birth control. Basically the short version is this: birth control pills work by putting hormones into your body. These hormones are then excreted from the body and end up in our water supply. However, there is no currently used way to remove them from the water supply, so tap water now contains some of these potent hormones, which are affecting men, women, and children who drink water.

I was actually told this by a friend and started doing some research. Here are a few of the articles I uncovered:

• Gender-bender threat in Sewage. Hormones found in Australian water (one of the earlier places to test this).
  
• Hormones in water blamed as more men seek breast reduction. From the Times in the UK.
  
• CMU Chemists target sex hormones in water supplies.
  

Remember, contraception was condemned by every Christian church until the 1920's, when the Church of England first allowed it in "extreme" situations. Now only the Catholic Church stands by the 2000 year tradition of condemning birth control just as the Bible does. This acts as just another reason to follow the law of God rather than the desires of man in terms of birth control.

The consequences seem serious: breast cancer, early onset of puberty, testicular cancer, and more. Time to throw away those pills and come back to God!

God bless,
Jay

We always hear from others about the problems they see in the Catholic Church. But the reality is that a lot is "right" with the Catholic Church. This video is a homily by a priest on exactly what is right with Catholicism (worth watching):

If you can't see the video, go see it here.

It came from a new video site: Love To Be Catholic, so if you enjoyed it go check out the site!

God bless,
Jay

At a celebration honoring Pope John Paul II in Poland, an image has emerged that has some saying "Miracle." Did the late Pope drop in on the party through fire? Here's the image (along with the image it is being compared to):

What do you think? Whether you believe or not, I think there is a point here. And the point is that Catholics believe in the miraculous much more than other Christian groups. We see a miracle every Sunday in Mass when bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, so we're more likely to accept the potential of Pope John Paul II (or God) giving the celebrants this image of the late Pope. It the articles and interviews I've seen, it strengthened their faith, so even if you don't believe, it is a miracle of sorts.

May it strengthen the faith of each of us.

God bless,
Jay

PS - you can read the news article on this here.

Don't miss this week's Catholic Carnival here. It's a collection of great Catholic posts from throughout the blogosphere.

God bless,
Jay

Archbishop Raymond Burke of the archdiocese of St. Louis was asked if he would deny Communion to Giuliani or any other presidential candidate who supports abortion rights. His response was: "If any politician approached me and he'd been admonished not to present himself, I'd not give it. To me, you have to be certain a person realizes he is persisting in a serious public sin." When asked if the same would apply to politicians who support the death penalty or pre-emptive war, he said, "It's a little more complicated in that case."

I applaud the Archbishop for his leadership and clarity on the issues. Abortion is always wrong because an innocent person is always killed, but the death penalty and war, while the Church is generally against them, can in certain circumstances be used legitimately to protect life. That is why they are more complicated issues. It would be a shower of mercy if the U.S. Bishops spoke in unison on these matters.

Some U.S. bishops interpret church teaching to say that an individual examination of conscience, not a minister, should dictate whether a person is worthy to receive the sacrament. But I agree with Archbishop Burke because I think it is an act of mercy. It is a great mercy for anyone administering Communion to deny it to someone who knowingly and publicly shapes the policy of this very grave sin contrary to Church teaching. It is an incredibly strong statement and reminder that they are not in communion with the fundamental teachings on the dignity of the human person. It would be false love to help them ignore the gravity of their actions and give them the Eucharist anyway.

We have to pray fervently for our politicians and Bishops because they have the ability to do serious public good or serious public evil. Let’s pray especially that in this election we’ll have an option for a president who will do some serious public good, beginning with ensuring the right to life, and Bishops who have one strong voice in helping us know and obtain what is good.

God bless,
Daniel

As we move back into a Presidential election cycle, the issue of Abortion in politics is beginning to crop up again. And this year it seems worse than ever. Not only are Democrats bowing to the alter of Abortion, but many of the mainstream Republican candidates are also pro-Abortion. I recently noticed this:

And I agree completely with it. Just speaking about Catholics for a minute: it is ridiculous for a Catholic to even suggest that abortion is a personal matter that the government should not intrude in. Imagine someone saying that about murder or drunk driving! And it violates the core tenants of their faith, which means they are either lying about their support of abortion (not likely, this is politics) or lying about the seriousness of their faith. In the case of Rudi, there's a lot to suggest that he isn't serious about being Catholic.

The core principle here is the right to life. Everyone deserves the opportunity to carve out a life for themselves, to grow a relationship with God, and to kneel down in prayer to Jesus Christ. Any politician that supports the killing of unborn infants is not fit to serve. Period. So use your vote wisely - and go vote in the primaries for a pro-life candidate. It is a first principle above all: VOTE PRO LIFE. We need a banner for that!

By the way, we already have one party in thrall to the abortion lobby - let's make sure we don't end up with two.

God bless,
Jay

Do you ask your Guardian Angel to intercede for you? Have you given your Guardian Angel a name? I must admit I’ve been ignoring mine until recently. Fortunately the Church has a feast day for our Guardian Angels on October 2nd, where we can be reminded of their presence and helpful role in our lives.

The Catholic Church does not have a defined doctrine on Guardian Angels, but as St. Jerome states, the belief that every soul has a Guardian Angel is the “mind of the Church”. The Bible has several passages that support Guardian Angels such as Matthew 18:10 "See that you despise not one of these little ones: for I say to you, that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father who is in heaven." Or Hebrews 1:14 “Are they (angels) not all ministering spirits sent to serve, for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?"

What exactly does our Guardian Angel do? If we all have an angel personally assigned to guard us, then there must be something pretty harmful trying to get us. Indeed there is. The Church teaches that there is a hierarchy of angels, and that at some point before time began, various angels of different hierarchies chose to disobey God. These are the fallen angels. Satan is the head fallen angel and demons are the other fallen angels of different lower hierarchies.

I’ve often wondered why the fallen angels would bother attacking humans and try to make us fall like they did. Why aren’t they content with their own evil ways by themselves? But upon thinking about the nature of evil, I realize that it leads to the need for domination, power, use, abuse, unhappiness, and like the old adage says, misery loves company.

Make no mistake; the fallen angels are smarter than we are and they want to lure us down their path to claim us as a hunting prize. Thanks be to God that He has conquered evil through Jesus Christ and that He has given us many means to protect us from evil, including our Guardian Angels.

St. Michael the Archangel and our Guardian Angels, defend us in battle.

God bless,
Daniel