The "Pink Book" release....what a joke!
Judy Sgro is a demagogue...
The Liberal party, with the release of its’ “Pink Book”, once again shows how out of touch with real women they actually are. And what a surprise! None other than the shining example of a well-adjusted, stable woman, Belinda Stronach, heads the group. The Liberal policies to help further women’s economic status are nothing more than thinly veiled attempts to further their elitist and completely undemocratic militant feminist agenda.
Judy Sgro, chairman of the Commons committee of the status of women; (the same Judy Sgro of the Stripper affair, the pizza restaurant affair, and general heckler of Conservatives) claims that the “Conservative government, based on their policies, would clearly prefer women stay barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen and move us backwards 40 years.” Ms. Sgro and Ms. Stronach would have the public believe that all Conservative women are subservient and oppressed. They are hoping use this perception to manipulate the public to advance their political agenda, for their own personal advancement and power. This is demagoguery at its’ finest!
In my experience, the vast majority of Conservative women are intelligent, dignified, caring and committed to their values. Let the Liberal party take note: Canadians are sick and tired of the Liberal propaganda regarding women. If the best spokespeople you can come up with are Belinda and Judy, your party is in more trouble than you think!
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Feast of All Souls and Purgatory....
So many people, Catholics and non-Catholics alike, do not understand the meaning of or the IMPORTANCE of praying for the dead. I recently wrote an article for our church bulletin regarding this, in an effort to shed some much needed light on this subject:
During the month of November we set aside time to remember the deceased. It is a time to pay respect to the souls of friends and loved ones who have died, as well as to offer prayers for those who have no one praying for them. We pray for their souls that they may be received into Heaven. Beginning in the year 998, all souls -- the "faithful departed" -- were officially remembered in the Church's prayers on the evening of November 1, and with Requiem Masses on November 2. All Souls Day is now a feast of the universal Church honoring all saints, known and unknown.
We pray for our dead to show respect. Respect for the dead is part of respect for all human life, which comes from God. Our heavenly Father gave us life, and we are all infinitely precious to Him. This act of charity of praying for our deceased is a stewardship we are all called to share in.
In the Apostle’s Creed, we state emphatically “we believe in the Communion of Saints”. What does this mean for us as Catholics? This is the belief that all of God's people, on heaven, earth, and in the state of purification, or Purgatory, are connected in a communion. The Doctrine of the Church teaches that the communion of saints is “the spiritual solidarity which binds together the faithful on earth, the souls in purgatory, and the saints in heaven in the organic unity of the same mystical body under Christ its head.” (Taken from the Catholic Encyclopedia).
Because of our communion through Jesus Christ, our prayers are joined with the heavenly community of Christians. Throughout the Gospel of Matthew and the letters of St. Paul, we are taught about this solidarity. Jesus is the vine, and we are the branches; He is the Head of the Mystical Body of which all Christians are a part.
There are three levels of existence for the Mystical Body of Christ. On earth we invoke the prayers of the saints in heaven, honor them as glorified Christians and seek to imitate them. The Saints in Heaven pray for the saints on earth and for the souls in purgatory. Those in purgatory can invoke the saints in heaven and pray for us struggling with the world. The saints are continually praying for us and interceding before God on our behalf. The feast of All Souls is a reminder to pray for the "faithful departed". It is a time for celebrating Life, not mourning its loss. Jesus said, “My God is not the God of the Dead, but the God of the Living.” We are given New Life in Christ – a life in which we continue and complete the Communion of Saints. This month let us take this opportunity to introduce memories of loved ones to our children, and celebrate what their lives meant to us. Let us all take the time to reflect and share in the glory of belonging to the Body of Christ.
So many people, Catholics and non-Catholics alike, do not understand the meaning of or the IMPORTANCE of praying for the dead. I recently wrote an article for our church bulletin regarding this, in an effort to shed some much needed light on this subject:
During the month of November we set aside time to remember the deceased. It is a time to pay respect to the souls of friends and loved ones who have died, as well as to offer prayers for those who have no one praying for them. We pray for their souls that they may be received into Heaven. Beginning in the year 998, all souls -- the "faithful departed" -- were officially remembered in the Church's prayers on the evening of November 1, and with Requiem Masses on November 2. All Souls Day is now a feast of the universal Church honoring all saints, known and unknown.
We pray for our dead to show respect. Respect for the dead is part of respect for all human life, which comes from God. Our heavenly Father gave us life, and we are all infinitely precious to Him. This act of charity of praying for our deceased is a stewardship we are all called to share in.
In the Apostle’s Creed, we state emphatically “we believe in the Communion of Saints”. What does this mean for us as Catholics? This is the belief that all of God's people, on heaven, earth, and in the state of purification, or Purgatory, are connected in a communion. The Doctrine of the Church teaches that the communion of saints is “the spiritual solidarity which binds together the faithful on earth, the souls in purgatory, and the saints in heaven in the organic unity of the same mystical body under Christ its head.” (Taken from the Catholic Encyclopedia).
Because of our communion through Jesus Christ, our prayers are joined with the heavenly community of Christians. Throughout the Gospel of Matthew and the letters of St. Paul, we are taught about this solidarity. Jesus is the vine, and we are the branches; He is the Head of the Mystical Body of which all Christians are a part.
There are three levels of existence for the Mystical Body of Christ. On earth we invoke the prayers of the saints in heaven, honor them as glorified Christians and seek to imitate them. The Saints in Heaven pray for the saints on earth and for the souls in purgatory. Those in purgatory can invoke the saints in heaven and pray for us struggling with the world. The saints are continually praying for us and interceding before God on our behalf. The feast of All Souls is a reminder to pray for the "faithful departed". It is a time for celebrating Life, not mourning its loss. Jesus said, “My God is not the God of the Dead, but the God of the Living.” We are given New Life in Christ – a life in which we continue and complete the Communion of Saints. This month let us take this opportunity to introduce memories of loved ones to our children, and celebrate what their lives meant to us. Let us all take the time to reflect and share in the glory of belonging to the Body of Christ.
Monday, November 06, 2006
The Truth About Stem Cell Research....
Stem cell research is hot and heavy in the forefront of the news right now, thanks to Michael J. Fox and Rush Limbaugh. Unfortunately, so many people don't have all the facts, and therefore, even some Catholics tend to believe that there is nothing wrong with suppporting it.
There has been a great deal of misinformation fed to the public regarding stem cell research. Michael Coren’s column (Wrong side on stem cells) addressed this admirably, however, there is still much educating to be done. Michael Coren, for those who have not been blessed enough to ever read any of his columns or books, is a regular columnist for the Sun media group in Canada. Please check him out at www.michaelcoren.com. He is an AMAZING writer!
There are many problems with the use of embryonic stem cells because they are not compatible with adult tissues. Rejection of tissue, as well as the formation of life-threatening tumors is commonplace, and just two of the reasons why stem cells from embryos are not ideal. There has yet to be even ONE successful procedure using these stem cells. Embryonic stem cells are designed to further the rapid growth of a human embryo, not to further human engineering!
Adult stem cells and stem cells from umbilical cords have been shown to consistently have positive results in clinical trials. Adult and cord blood stem cell therapies are used every day in the treatment of nearly a hundred different diseases. In fact, umbilical cord blood stem cells have been used over 3000 times to successfully treat 45 different diseases. We need to do SO MUCH MORE to encourage the donations of umbilical cords...this is a highly accessible source of stem cells, made available every time a baby is born.
Well known biomedical ethicist Dr. David Reardon explains clearly on his website (www.elliotinstitute.org) why so many organizations are
pushing for embryonic stem cell research: “scientists and researchers are enamored with the possibilities of experimenting with human embryos and human cloning.” It sounds terribly "mad-scientistish", but unfortunately, many of the researchers are indeed looking to not cure current diseases, but to create beings free from these diseases in the first place. For further information, check out Dr. Reardon's website on this subject.
One reader to the Sun wrote in, complaining that Mr. Coren's language was "inflammatory", because he refers to the embryos as children. Michael Coren’s language is far from inflammatory; it is the truth. “Days-old” embryos are indeed unborn children. What do people actually think the embryos are, unborn ducks, or frogs, perhaps? Embryonic stem cells are harvested from “surplus” embryos left over from invitro fertilization. These are unborn humans already 5-7 days old, with sex, height and every other characteristic determined.
The public needs to be made aware of the overwhelming superiority of adult and umbilical cord stem cells. This will only happen through education, and the persistence of pro-lifers of ensuring the media reports the truth.
Stem cell research is hot and heavy in the forefront of the news right now, thanks to Michael J. Fox and Rush Limbaugh. Unfortunately, so many people don't have all the facts, and therefore, even some Catholics tend to believe that there is nothing wrong with suppporting it.
There has been a great deal of misinformation fed to the public regarding stem cell research. Michael Coren’s column (Wrong side on stem cells) addressed this admirably, however, there is still much educating to be done. Michael Coren, for those who have not been blessed enough to ever read any of his columns or books, is a regular columnist for the Sun media group in Canada. Please check him out at www.michaelcoren.com. He is an AMAZING writer!
There are many problems with the use of embryonic stem cells because they are not compatible with adult tissues. Rejection of tissue, as well as the formation of life-threatening tumors is commonplace, and just two of the reasons why stem cells from embryos are not ideal. There has yet to be even ONE successful procedure using these stem cells. Embryonic stem cells are designed to further the rapid growth of a human embryo, not to further human engineering!
Adult stem cells and stem cells from umbilical cords have been shown to consistently have positive results in clinical trials. Adult and cord blood stem cell therapies are used every day in the treatment of nearly a hundred different diseases. In fact, umbilical cord blood stem cells have been used over 3000 times to successfully treat 45 different diseases. We need to do SO MUCH MORE to encourage the donations of umbilical cords...this is a highly accessible source of stem cells, made available every time a baby is born.
Well known biomedical ethicist Dr. David Reardon explains clearly on his website (www.elliotinstitute.org) why so many organizations are
pushing for embryonic stem cell research: “scientists and researchers are enamored with the possibilities of experimenting with human embryos and human cloning.” It sounds terribly "mad-scientistish", but unfortunately, many of the researchers are indeed looking to not cure current diseases, but to create beings free from these diseases in the first place. For further information, check out Dr. Reardon's website on this subject.
One reader to the Sun wrote in, complaining that Mr. Coren's language was "inflammatory", because he refers to the embryos as children. Michael Coren’s language is far from inflammatory; it is the truth. “Days-old” embryos are indeed unborn children. What do people actually think the embryos are, unborn ducks, or frogs, perhaps? Embryonic stem cells are harvested from “surplus” embryos left over from invitro fertilization. These are unborn humans already 5-7 days old, with sex, height and every other characteristic determined.
The public needs to be made aware of the overwhelming superiority of adult and umbilical cord stem cells. This will only happen through education, and the persistence of pro-lifers of ensuring the media reports the truth.
Thursday, November 02, 2006
Important reprint from LifeSiteNews:
I never thought I would actually have time to blog twice in one day, but I just checked Lifesite news and found something really worth passing around. A Bishop from Wisconsin has taken a rare and courageous step in ensuring the priests in his diocese follow his request to address certain life issues this coming up weekend before the election in the States. We can only pray that one day our Canadian counterparts (other than the amazing Bishop Henry, of course) will show the same conviction and courage!
Bishop Morlino's letter to priests
The letter below from Bishop Robert C. Morlino was sent to the priests of the Diocese of Madison, dated October 25, 2006 marked "Personal and Confidential." Information about the letter was reported in the Wisconsin State Journal on October 30. The full text of the Bishop's personal correspondence with the priests is reprinted here, so that the full truth regarding the content of the letter can be known.
October 25, 2006
Dear Brother Priests,
Please pray for all those who exercise their right and duty to faithful citizenship. Pray for all our candidates, that they will choose to do God's will as our elected officials, and not their own. Enclosed with this letter, you will find a recorded message from myself both on CD and ordinary-cassette-tape format, for your convenience. It is mandatory that this recorded message be played for our faithful people at all Masses of obligation on the weekend of November 4th and 5th.
Very honestly, I would prefer never to have to resort to this particular format, and you can be assured that my use of it will be extremely rare. In the slightly more than three years that I have been with you, this is the first time when it has even occurred to me that this format would be appropriate. The message is approximately 14 minutes in length, so its use at the time of the homily (when it must be used) will not prolong the duration of Mass.
I apologize in advance for this second paragraph that I must write, and I would very much prefer otherwise. My office has received reports that in isolated cases, priests have refused to cooperate with my requests in terms of preaching in defense of marriage and have even expressed disagreement with my clear wishes in this matter. Please listen to the enclosed message: it deals with the marriage referendum, the death penalty referendum, and the issue of embryonic-stem cell research.
The message is educational in its purpose, and is certainly non-partisan. What I expect of each of you is a simple introductory statement that the bishop has required this message to be played during the homily time at all Masses of obligation on November the 4th or the 5th. If you can express some support for the message that I offer that would be appreciated but not expected.
I must make it very clear that any verbal or non-verbal expression of disagreement with this teaching on the part of the priest will have to be considered by myself as an act of disobedience, which could have serious consequences. I am sorry that a few isolated reports cause me to write to all of you in this vein. Up to this point I have not investigated the accuracy of those reports and at the moment I am giving the priests involved the benefit of the doubt, as is my custom. But it would be less than fair for me to leave any lingering ambiguity in anyone's mind about my seriousness in this particular matter. As always you are welcome to discuss the matter with me, through the use of my private phone number.
The episcopal consecration of Bishop Paul Swain provides us an opportunity to celebrate all that is holy, and good, and inspiring in our presbyterate. Make no mistake that I am far more impressed by that holiness, goodness, and inspiration, than I am troubled by the difficulties that we may encounter with each other along the way.
With deep gratitude for all that you are and for all that you do in the Lord's service, I am
Fraternally yours in Christ
Most Reverend Robert C. Morlino
Bishop of Madison
I never thought I would actually have time to blog twice in one day, but I just checked Lifesite news and found something really worth passing around. A Bishop from Wisconsin has taken a rare and courageous step in ensuring the priests in his diocese follow his request to address certain life issues this coming up weekend before the election in the States. We can only pray that one day our Canadian counterparts (other than the amazing Bishop Henry, of course) will show the same conviction and courage!
Bishop Morlino's letter to priests
The letter below from Bishop Robert C. Morlino was sent to the priests of the Diocese of Madison, dated October 25, 2006 marked "Personal and Confidential." Information about the letter was reported in the Wisconsin State Journal on October 30. The full text of the Bishop's personal correspondence with the priests is reprinted here, so that the full truth regarding the content of the letter can be known.
October 25, 2006
Dear Brother Priests,
Please pray for all those who exercise their right and duty to faithful citizenship. Pray for all our candidates, that they will choose to do God's will as our elected officials, and not their own. Enclosed with this letter, you will find a recorded message from myself both on CD and ordinary-cassette-tape format, for your convenience. It is mandatory that this recorded message be played for our faithful people at all Masses of obligation on the weekend of November 4th and 5th.
Very honestly, I would prefer never to have to resort to this particular format, and you can be assured that my use of it will be extremely rare. In the slightly more than three years that I have been with you, this is the first time when it has even occurred to me that this format would be appropriate. The message is approximately 14 minutes in length, so its use at the time of the homily (when it must be used) will not prolong the duration of Mass.
I apologize in advance for this second paragraph that I must write, and I would very much prefer otherwise. My office has received reports that in isolated cases, priests have refused to cooperate with my requests in terms of preaching in defense of marriage and have even expressed disagreement with my clear wishes in this matter. Please listen to the enclosed message: it deals with the marriage referendum, the death penalty referendum, and the issue of embryonic-stem cell research.
The message is educational in its purpose, and is certainly non-partisan. What I expect of each of you is a simple introductory statement that the bishop has required this message to be played during the homily time at all Masses of obligation on November the 4th or the 5th. If you can express some support for the message that I offer that would be appreciated but not expected.
I must make it very clear that any verbal or non-verbal expression of disagreement with this teaching on the part of the priest will have to be considered by myself as an act of disobedience, which could have serious consequences. I am sorry that a few isolated reports cause me to write to all of you in this vein. Up to this point I have not investigated the accuracy of those reports and at the moment I am giving the priests involved the benefit of the doubt, as is my custom. But it would be less than fair for me to leave any lingering ambiguity in anyone's mind about my seriousness in this particular matter. As always you are welcome to discuss the matter with me, through the use of my private phone number.
The episcopal consecration of Bishop Paul Swain provides us an opportunity to celebrate all that is holy, and good, and inspiring in our presbyterate. Make no mistake that I am far more impressed by that holiness, goodness, and inspiration, than I am troubled by the difficulties that we may encounter with each other along the way.
With deep gratitude for all that you are and for all that you do in the Lord's service, I am
Fraternally yours in Christ
Most Reverend Robert C. Morlino
Bishop of Madison
Check out LifesiteNews to hear Bishop Morlino's tape.
Stewardship Campaign
“We are a gifted people”….what does this mean to us as Christians? As Catholics? As members of our local parish?
We are well into our stewardship campaign for 2006, the time where we pay particular attention to what God is calling us to do. Every year there is a particular rhythm to the Stewardship campaign. We have reminders in the bulletin; we are sent letters in the mail asking us to renew our pledges, and we have a witness speak about stewardship.
If you feel like you missed “the call” this year; you are not alone. I was more than a little embarrassed when I asked our parish priest when we were having our "stewardship presentation this year", to which he replied, “we just had it, this past weekend…” I was at Mass; I was paying attention; I just didn’t “get it”.
This year, Father explained, instead of a distinct focal point, we are being called to reflect on the blessings we receive by sharing our gifts. The person who witnessed his call to stewardship in our parish focused on how God touched him through his experience in travelling to a village in El Salvador to help with a project, and how he was blessed because of giving of his time, talent and treasure.
Our heavenly Father has blessed each and every one of us with some kind of gift. In answering God’s call to give of our time and talent, we are able to witness first hand the Kingdom of God. What gifts can we share in order to experience God’s Kingdom? Stewardship is so much more than coming to church and putting an envelope in the basket. As Christians, we are called to action: “faith without works is nothing.” In the book of James we are invited to participate in the Kingdom of God by using our gifts to help others. Our churches need us! We are blessed with talents not to keep to ourselves or for our own enrichment, but to share with our community. If we want to experience the joy of God’s blessings on us, we must answer His call to give. This does not necessarily mean having to travel to a third world country to experience the Kingdom of God. We are all called in different ways: some are called to share their faith with children in the catechetic programme; some may be called to music ministry. Some may be called to give of their time with the Knights of Columbus or the Catholic Women's League. Some are called to work in the inner city with the poor. There are many, many areas of our community both in and outside of the parish that are in need of our gifts. In sharing the time, talent and treasure that God has blessed us with we are endlessly rewarded – this is God’s promise to us through His Son.
This time of reflection is for our renewal. It is why we are asked to renew our pledge to stewardship. This renewal, or “resurrection” of our commitment of sharing our time, talent and treasure affords us the blessings of God. We are a people gifted…to give.
“We are a gifted people”….what does this mean to us as Christians? As Catholics? As members of our local parish?
We are well into our stewardship campaign for 2006, the time where we pay particular attention to what God is calling us to do. Every year there is a particular rhythm to the Stewardship campaign. We have reminders in the bulletin; we are sent letters in the mail asking us to renew our pledges, and we have a witness speak about stewardship.
If you feel like you missed “the call” this year; you are not alone. I was more than a little embarrassed when I asked our parish priest when we were having our "stewardship presentation this year", to which he replied, “we just had it, this past weekend…” I was at Mass; I was paying attention; I just didn’t “get it”.
This year, Father explained, instead of a distinct focal point, we are being called to reflect on the blessings we receive by sharing our gifts. The person who witnessed his call to stewardship in our parish focused on how God touched him through his experience in travelling to a village in El Salvador to help with a project, and how he was blessed because of giving of his time, talent and treasure.
Our heavenly Father has blessed each and every one of us with some kind of gift. In answering God’s call to give of our time and talent, we are able to witness first hand the Kingdom of God. What gifts can we share in order to experience God’s Kingdom? Stewardship is so much more than coming to church and putting an envelope in the basket. As Christians, we are called to action: “faith without works is nothing.” In the book of James we are invited to participate in the Kingdom of God by using our gifts to help others. Our churches need us! We are blessed with talents not to keep to ourselves or for our own enrichment, but to share with our community. If we want to experience the joy of God’s blessings on us, we must answer His call to give. This does not necessarily mean having to travel to a third world country to experience the Kingdom of God. We are all called in different ways: some are called to share their faith with children in the catechetic programme; some may be called to music ministry. Some may be called to give of their time with the Knights of Columbus or the Catholic Women's League. Some are called to work in the inner city with the poor. There are many, many areas of our community both in and outside of the parish that are in need of our gifts. In sharing the time, talent and treasure that God has blessed us with we are endlessly rewarded – this is God’s promise to us through His Son.
This time of reflection is for our renewal. It is why we are asked to renew our pledge to stewardship. This renewal, or “resurrection” of our commitment of sharing our time, talent and treasure affords us the blessings of God. We are a people gifted…to give.
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