O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us!

– May those who believe that religion is “bad” understand that it is not religion which is bad; it is people who “use” religion badly.

– May we who profess belief in Jesus Christ open our hearts to God’s Truth as expressed through Scripture, Apostolic Tradition, and The Teaching Office of Holy Mother Church (The Magisterium).

– May the Holy Spirit empower us to stand up for those who are oppressed and abused; stand up for the Family; stand up for Life; and stand up for Christ and the Gospel News

– May your Christmas and the coming New Year be blessed with many graces. If you are suffering for any reason and unable to experience happiness or joy then know that the prayers of millions of Catholic Christians are being said for you around the clock, around the world every day of the year at the Holy Mass.

In the last study session I attended we began reading the first Chapter of The Acts of the Apostles. Typically we share the reading, each of us reading some verses. I like this because it affords the opportunity to think about what I’m hearing – to listen to and think about the verse as it is being read. On this occasion I was listening to these verses being read:

^8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth.” ^9 And when he had said this, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. ^10 And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, ^11 and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

As I heard these words suddenly I was understanding the Ascension in the light of the Consecration of Eucharist. By his presence with the Apostles after his crucifixion and death Jesus demonstrated very powerfully both his human and divine nature. Ascending to heaven on a cloud right in front of his Apostles; Jesus is lifted toward heaven on the “cloud” of the priests hands right in front of we who are his disciples; Jesus’ humanity is revealed to us in the appearance of bread and wine, his divinity is veiled by that very same appearance.

Simple revelations like this are what make scripture study so enriching and yes, even exciting. It may take some “shopping around” but I highly recommend a group bible study. If you can’t find one near you, start one yourself. What is important though is to begin your studies by asking God to send the Holy Spirit to inspire your studies and to end with a prayer of thanksgiving for that inspiration.

I will take a moment however to ask for prayers on a continuing basis for our fellow human beings around the globe who are, at the very moment you are reading this post, dying of starvation; watching their families die from terrible illnesses (like cholera); being evicted from their homes; getting the news they have lost their job and on and on and on.

The level of suffering is extreme and the scope is almost unimaginable. Most of us are affected in one or more ways by what is happening in the global economy and many of us find ourselves struggling to keep our heads above water.

Please offer prayers for all who are suffering in this world. Pray that mankind will come to understand that true faith in Jesus Christ does not create hardened hearts or enslaved minds. Pray that all who are able will help those who need help whoever they may be and wherever they may abide. Pray that governments will work for the common good of those who they are ordained by God to serve.

Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God.
That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

We too have blessings of life and liberty – for some the bounty is less than for others, but in all things we thank God and ask His mercy on those who suffer want of anything – particularly love.

My weekly holy hour was a little different this morning. Please pray for a woman whose name I do not know but who was clearly distressed and unhappy. I spoke with her very briefly – she needs prayer. Also in need of prayer a family going through one of the nasty divorces – children are afraid of their father and the law has forced visitation on them. Their grandmother, a saintly and prayerful woman, is at the end of her rope with worry.

“O Mary, conceived without sin, prayer for us who have recourse to thee.”

Is there going to be a rash of these copy-cat communion thieves (or worse) now that some of them have received so much internet notoriety? Every parish must be on the lookout … particularly if someone shows up that isn’t a familiar face; perhaps is alone etc.

Connecticut Man Charged With Stealing Communion Wafers During Mass

Men and women all around you have served honorably in the United States Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, and Air Force. Men and women you see every day but most don’t talk much about their experiences ~ most find it difficult to describe or explain; many simply don’t want to be see as braggarts, and tens of thousands cannot speak about their service because they gave everything they had for their Country, their homes, their families.

Update: 11/11/2008 1:00PM – Just returned from Mass and heard several times during Mass that we were “honoring those who died in war” – NOT! This is Veterans Day (formerly Armistice Day) – it is NOT Memorial Day. On Memorial Day we honor those who died in the service of our country. On Veterans Day we honor those who served their country and are fortunate enough to be alive and with us!

My Father John

My mother’s second husband, Robert

My first wife Barbara; her parents Maurice and Kathryn; niece Lauren, Frank, Helen, and Bill

My second wife’s family including her father Douglas J. Stanton; her brother Joseph; Grandmother Arline; Uncle Kenneth

Maternal Grandparents James and Juanita; their children Charles and Bernadette

Paternal Grandparents Louis and Rebecca; their children Louis, John (my Father), Bob, Palmer, and Vera. Vera’s husband Joe and their son Robert.

Maternal Great-Grandparents James and Della; their sons Ralph, James,

Homer J. Anderson a dear family friend

Jim McIntyre, High School friend; Deacon Leonard and Florence Monnat; Deacon Pat Whipple; bible study companions Angela Bowe, Peg Slattery, and Kathy Matott; Mrs. Anna Teachout.

Priests who have given me Holy Communion, heard my confessions, and for whom I served as an altar boy – Fr. Stokes, Duncan, Woods, and Wilkin.

 but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. ^?13? Therefore take the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. ^?14? Stand therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, ^?15? and having shod your feet with the equipment of the gospel of peace; ^?16? besides all these, taking the shield of faith, with which you can quench all the flaming darts of the evil one. ^?17? And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. ^?18? Pray at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, ^?19? and also for me, that utterance may be given me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, ^?20? for which I am an ambassador in chains; that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.

Ephesians 6:10–20 (emphasis mine)

There is no other explanation for a people who will, behind the facade of the “right to privacy”, willfully and with barbaric means take the lives of innocent children. And having killed more than 48 Million of them in the wombs of their mothers by burning them alive with salt; ripping their tiny bodies apart with forceps; crushing their skulls and then, God help us, they toss the little ones into the trash like so much discarded waste. How is this different from pagans who over centuries have offered their own children to be brutally killed in sacrifice to various gods and goddesses (and in some places this still happens today)? Their sacrifices were made in the hope of receiving good crops, victory over enemies or peace with neighbors, riches, good health or merely to placate the bad tempered god who caused volcanoes to erupt, earthquakes and other disasters. What is it that we sacrificed 48 million babies for? What is it that makes those who want to sacrifice children spew filthy language at those who oppose the sacrifice? What is it that makes those who support abortion become so vile and angry against the proponents of life?

It is not flesh and blood . . . of that I am certain.

Mary, mother of God, pray for us. Our Lady of Guadalupe, patroness of the unborn, patroness of the Americas, patroness of the Church Militant, pray for us.

Among the most important titles we have in the Catholic Church for the Blessed Virgin Mary are Our Lady of Victory and Our Lady of the Rosary. These titles can be traced back to one of the most decisive times in the history of the world and Christendom. The Battle of Lepanto took place on October 7 (date of feast of Our Lady of Rosary), 1571. This proved to be the most crucial battle for the Christian forces against the radical Muslim navy of Turkey. Pope Pius V led a procession around St. Peter’s Square in

Vatican City praying the Rosary. He showed true pastoral leadership in recognizing the danger posed to Christendom by the radical Muslim forces, and in using the means necessary to defeat it. Spiritual battles require spiritual weapons, and this more than anything was a battle that had its origins in the spiritual order—a true battle between good and evil.

Today we have a similar spiritual battle in progress—a battle between the forces of good and evil, light and darkness, truth and lies, life and death. If we do not soon stop the genocide of abortion in the United States, we shall run the course of all those that prove by their actions that they are enemies of God—total collapse, economic, social, and national. The moral demise of a nation results in the ultimate demise of a nation. God is not a disinterested spectator to the affairs of man. Life begins at conception. This is an unalterable formal teaching of the Catholic Church. If you do not accept this you are a heretic in plain English. A single abortion is homicide. The more than 48,000,000 abortions since Roe v. Wade in the United States constitute genocide by definition. The group singled out for death—unwanted, unborn children.

No other issue, not all other issues taken together, can constitute a proportionate reason for voting for candidates that intend to preserve and defend this holocaust of innocent human life that is abortion.

I strongly urge every one of you to make a Novena and pray the Rosary to Our Lady of Victory between October 27th and Election Day, November 4th. Pray that God’s will be done and the most innocent and utterly vulnerable of our brothers and sisters will be protected from this barbaric and grossly sinful blight on society that is abortion. No woman, and no man, has the right to choose to murder an innocent human being.

May God grant us the wisdom, knowledge, understanding, and counsel to form our conscience in accordance with authentic Catholic teaching, and then vote that well-formed Catholic conscience.

Please copy, email, link and distribute this article freely.

God Bless You

Fr. John Corapi

www.fathercorapi.com

Whether you’re in the crowd who’ve been ranting about hate speech, tolerance, gay marriage, pro-choice, separation of church and state, and taxing the “rich” or the other crowd spouting free market, family values, marriage protection laws, tax cuts “for the middle class” then it’s likely you’ve also drunk your fill of kool-aid. Nowhere is the kool-aid being mixed in larger batches than in the press here in the United States. As of today, I am convinced that every major media outlet has demonstrated its unequivocal bias toward anyone or anything that resembles “Religious” or “Conservative”. NBC, ABC, CBS, NY Times, LA Times, Boston Globe, Time, Newsweek – and now, finally, CNN. Yes, though CNN has teetered on the edge of the idealogical abyss for some time it still managed to maintain some semblance of decorum until yesterday. By and large the overall interview conducted by CNN’s Drew Griffin wasn’t bad but buried in the interview is a short exchange in which Mr. Griffin ambushes Ms. Palin in an ugly way. Mr. Griffin cites an article in the National Review Online and he says:

CNN: Yeah. Governor, you’ve been mocked in the press. The press has been pretty hard on you, the Democrats have been pretty hard on you, but also some conservatives have been pretty hard on you as well. The National Review had a story saying that, you know, I can’t tell if Sarah Palin is incompetent, stupid, unqualified, corrupt or all of the above.

Palin: Who wrote that one?

CNN: That was in the National Review, I don’t, have the author.

In the National Review Online, Byron York wrote in an article (full text available here)

Watching press coverage of the Republican candidate for vice president, it’s sometimes hard to decide whether Sarah Palin is incompetent, stupid, unqualified, corrupt, backward, or — or, well, all of the above. Palin, the governor of Alaska, has faced more criticism than any vice-presidential candidate since 1988, when Democrats and the press tore into Dan Quayle. In fact, Palin may have it even worse than Quayle, since she’s taking flak not only from Democrats and the press but from some conservative opinion leaders as well.

Having read that and compared the two it’s obvious the man twisted the truth so completely that I was simply left breathless at his audaciousness. On top of  that, did he lie too? Would any journalist with even a modicum of professionalism, speaking to someone on a professional basis, cite a source and then declare they didn’t know the author? Talk about incompetence.

(The entire interview may be seen and the transcript read on CNN’s website.)

Without an unbiased media establishment who will act as the Guardian of fact over fiction, truth over falsehood, serious discourse over slander? We need our journalists to put aside their ideologies and do their jobs. If you want to make commentary then become a commentator – don’t hide behind the facade of “Journalist” or “Reporter”.

May Eugenio Pacelli, His Holiness Pius XII, of Happy Memory rest in peace. Deo Gratias.

The McCain-Obama debate last night was simply disappointing. Neither of these guys seems to get it … the working people in America have lost trillions of dollars they worked hard for and all because of a few greedy pinheads. I’ve been a registered Democrat for almost 30 years but I’ll be darned if I can understand why some of these people aren’t being thrown in the clink NOW.

For starters here are a few of the people that should be made to pay for their stupidity, corrupt behavior, and/or greed.