Opinion: Fr. Markey on 'Communion on the Hand'

I believe that until we regain our reverence for the blessed Eucharist, it's going to be difficult, at best, our country's conversion through the blessing of Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.


We need to be reminded of (CCC 1324): The Eucharist is "the source and summit of the Christian life." "The other sacraments, and indeed all ecclesiastical ministries and works of the apostolate, are bound up with the Eucharist and are oriented toward it. For in the blessed Eucharist is contained the whole spiritual good of the Church, namely Christ himself, our Pasch.  

And the sentence in (CCC 1331) that states: Holy Communion, because by this sacrament we unite ourselves to Christ, who makes us sharers in his Body and Blood to form a single body".  

In addition also read the Gospel of  St. John (6: 51-58): "I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh." The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you; he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats me will live because of me. This is the bread which came down from heaven, not such as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live for ever."


Then there would be such reverence for the Eucharist that articles, such as the one below, would not be be necessary.


 
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)
I encourage parishioners to give prayerful consideration to following Pope Benedict XVI’s lead by receiving Holy Communion on the tongue in the New Year.

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (Catholic Online) - The beginning of each year is often a time of “New Year Resolutions”, and a wonderful resolution for 2009 would be to start exercising the option of receiving Holy Communion on the tongue in Mass. Let me explain why.  Full story at Catholic Online

The battle lines are drawn: the pro-life challenge in America today

Jan. 22, 2009 (CWNews.com) - Tens of thousands of pro-lifers marched in Washington today. Their mood was somber-- not only because they were marking the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that ushered America into the era of abortion-on-demand, but also because the newly inaugurated President Obama has announced his determination to extend that era. Full story at CWNNews.com

Archbishop Chaput: 'Let your voice supporting life be heard'

By Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M, CAP.
1/22/2009

Denver Catholic Register (www.archden.org)
When bad laws and court decisions cripple the soul of a society, Christians must work to change them as a matter both of justice and charity.

DENVER, CO (Denver Catholic Register) - Christians have an obligation to love their country, build on its greatest qualities and serve its best ideals. We also have the duty to pray for our leaders and obey the law—insofar as the law does not violate human dignity in some systematic, gravely evil way. When bad laws and court decisions cripple the soul of a society, Christians must work to change them as a matter both of justice and charity. Otherwise we risk colluding in the evil of their outcome.

Obviously with families to raise, jobs to pursue and lives to live, not all Christians can be engaged in the many important issues facing our country. But we can always at least serve the truth by not lying to ourselves and to each other.

Full story CatholicOnline

This explains a lot (Updated)

from Sarah Palin for President by Josh Painter

Remember Nefarious Nichole Wallace? She's the former McCain staffer who was assigned to be one of the "handlers" of then-vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin. It was none other than Nefarious Nichole who arranged the Palin interview with her former CBS buddy Katie Couric. It was later learned that Couric prepped for her ambush of Gov. Palin by studying with then-candidate Barack Obama's informal chief advisor Sam Nunn.

Wallace has also been named by multiple sources as the bright idea behind the RNC's purchase of $150,000 in clothes for the Palins which they never asked for, and Wallace's is the name which surfaced most often as one of the sources inside the McCain campaign who "leaked" lies to the media that the governor didn't know Africa was a continent or that she was not able to name the members of NAFTA. They were foolish lies for Wallace to tell, because Gov. Palin was required to follow NAFTA guidelines to conclude her agreement with a Canadian company for a gas pipeline deal, and she has been involved in her church's extensive relief and missionary work in Africa.

For the record, Wallace has denied being the source of the leaks. But if anyone has any doubts that she was a saboteur on the inside of the McCain campaign, let them read this. It's pretty clear now where her sympathies have been all along.

Update: Erick Erickson, my boss at RedState.com and Commander of Operation Leper has read Nicole Wallace's shout out to Republicans to get on the abortionist-in-chief's love train, and he is not pleased.

- JP

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More Boos Than Balls

from Ann Coulter's Townhall.com Column

 

It will not be easy for President B. Hussein Obama. More than half the country voted for him, and yet our newspapers are brimming with snippy remarks at every little aspect of his inauguration.

Here's a small sampling of the churlishness in just The New York Times: 

-- The American public is bemused by the tasteless show-biz extravaganza surrounding Barack Obama's inauguration today. 

-- There is something to be said for some showiness in an inauguration. But one felt discomfited all the same. 

-- This is an inauguration, not a coronation. 

-- Is there a parallel between Mrs. Obama's jewel-toned outfit and somebody else's glass slippers? Why limousines and not shank's mare? 

-- It is still unclear whether we are supposed to shout "Whoopee!" or "Shame!" about the new elegance the Obamas are bringing to Washington. 

Boy, talk about raining on somebody's parade! These were not, of course, comments about the inauguration of the angel Obama; they are (slightly edited) comments about the inauguration of another historic president, Ronald Reagan, in January 1981.

Full story at Townhall.com 

More watched Reagan's inaugural than Obama's

How about this !!!! To listen to the MSM, you would think  no previous Ignauguration has come close to this past week's.

Nielsen: 41.8 million saw 'Gipper,' 37.8 million tuned in for Barack.

Full story at THR.com

Day 1: White House bashes George Bush

Official U.S. site rips ex-prez for 'unconscionable ineptitude'

Unable to let go of its campaign mantra blaming the nation's ills on the "failed policies" of George W. Bush, the White House of President Barack Obama immediately posted on its website charges that Bush broke promises and allowed "catastrophic failures" responding to the needs of Americans.  Full story at WorldNetDaily.com

Pelosi glad Bush is gone

It's so nice that Mrs. Pelosi is living up to her promise of 'civility'.. ""It felt like a 10-pound anvil was lifted off my head," she said about former President George W. Bush's exit from Washington. maybe that '10-pound anvil' that was lifted off was the last of her conscience.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, in a post-inauguration interview with Bay Area reporters Wednesday, said she will move far-reaching climate change legislation this year, but opposes - at least for now - the idea of Congress approving another costly bailout for troubled banks. Full story here





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Obama’s Decision to Close Gitmo Called ‘Dangerous and Irresponsible’

Heads up those of you that live in  Rep. John Murtha's (D-PA) district. You may have some new neighbors!!!

The Associated Press recently reported that detainees who have been released from Guantanamo Bay are “increasingly returning to the fight against the United States and its allies.” The report says 61 terrorist detainees released have rejoined the fight.



By Susan Jones, Senior Editor

(CNSNews.com) - President Barack Obama on Thursday is expected to issue an executive order that would close the Guantanamo Bay detention center with one year.

He campaigned on the promise to do so, something that cheered those who say the prison at the U.S. Naval base violates the human rights of America's terrorist enemies.

The Obama administration already has suspended trials for terrorist suspects at Guantanamo for 120 days pending a review of the military tribunals.

According to the Associated Press, a draft of the executive order to close Gitmo reads as follows:

Full story CNSNews.com

Pope prepared to lift excommunication of SSPX bishops

Let us pray that The Church welcomes the members of the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) back. The link to Rorate Caeli is very informative and provides background to the issue.

According to multiple reports from reliable Vatican-watchers, Pope Benedict XVI will soon lift the decree of excommunication imposed upon four traditionalist bishops who were consecrated by the late Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre in 1988. Italian journalists report that the Pope's action will be made public within a matter of days. The move would be a major step toward reconciliation with the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX).


SSPX leaders-- including the bishops living under the decree of excommunication-- have consistently stated that before ending their break with the Holy See, they would insist on the removal of that excommunication and the right of every Catholic priest to celebrate the Mass using the traditional rite. With the publication of Summorum Pontificum in 2007, Pope Benedict fulfilled the latter condition; lifting the excommunication would satisfy the former SSPX demand. Still to be resolved, however, would be the serious disagreements over the authority and interpretation of Vatican II documents.

The Rorate Caeli blog is carefully following the latest reports, from Rome and elsewhere, on the Pope's reported plan.

Removal of the excommunications of SSPX Bishops Updates here. (Rorate Caeli)

New Archbishop of Detroit Calls for Opposition to Obama Abortion Agenda

By Tim Waggoner


DETROIT, January 22, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The newly appointed Archbishop of Detroit, Allen Vigneron, has wasted little time in confronting President Barack Obama's notorious support of abortion, calling for forceful opposition of the new government's anti-life agenda.

In an interview with The Detroit News, Vigneron addressed several current issues, such as Catholic higher education and the failing economy's impact on the Church's social ministries, but indicated that challenging the new US government's radical anti-life positions is of the highest priority.

"I share the concern of all of the bishops of the United States that the administration has, at least prior to the election, given us indications that they are going to rescind some of the protections of the unborn," Vigneron said. "And I am very disappointed in that."

"We are going to have to represent our opposition as forcefully as we can and try to build coalitions to dissuade the administration from moving to that," said Vigneron, referring indirectly to President Obama's potential signing of the Freedom of Choice Act, which permits late and partial birth abortions and calls for domestic and international government funding of abortion, among other things.

The newly appointed archbishop was also asked to address the Church's position on refusing pro-abortion politicians Holy Communion. Canon 915 of the Catholic Church's Code of Canon Law states that those "who obstinately persist in manifest grave sin are not to be admitted to communion."

"I am not going to answer any hypothetical questions like that, especially from this distance," said Vigneron. "I simply want to affirm that part of being a Catholic is having a conviction that on these moral matters, the church speaks the mind of Christ. And I want to help Catholics, especially Catholics in responsible positions, to maintain the integrity of their professions."

Vigneron touched on this issue back in 2004, when in an article he stated, "Whenever a politician or political party promotes the acceptance and support of abortion or euthanasia, no matter how morally compelling their stands may seem on other issues, their stand on these crucial life issues must be judged as fundamentally flawed.”

Archbishop Vigneron concluded with a message of hope to Christians in the face of the severe moral and societal problems present today: "But I think that Christianity and the other faiths have some particular contributions to make, and one is to give people encouragement and to remind them that there is a tremendous reason for hope: God is with us, and he has seen us through tough times before."

The Archbishop is set to be formally installed in the Detroit Archdiocese on January 28.

LifeSiteNews.com

Philadelphia Cardinal Rigali Warns of "Eternal" Consequences of Abortion at March for Life Mass

By John-Henry Westen

WASHINGTON, DC, January 21, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Speaking to some 16,000 in attendance at the Vigil Mass for the March for Life this evening, principal celebrant Cardinal Justin Rigali, Archbishop of Philadelphia gave a stirring homily, rousing the massive crowd to applause at several points.

After a quote from the late Rev. John Neuhaus on the vitality of the pro-life movement, Cardinal Rigali expressed on behalf of the US Bishops "deep admiration" for the efforts of pro-life activists.

The Philadelphia Archbishop praised the fact that Barack Obama was the first African-American President, but used Obama's rhetoric of change to clamor for a "change" towards a "culture of life." From the US Bishops, and Catholics, he said, the new President can expect "respectful but impassioned protest" where needed in defending life.
The Cardinal encouraged prayer to end abortion and advocacy for legal protection of unborn children. All pro-life work is to be undertaken, he suggested, with the knowledge that "Christ is our Hope, and in Him the victory is already won."

Archbishop Rigali acknowledged that standing up for life can bring trials. "We can be rejected because we confront society," he said. "Are we prepared to say yes to His will without counting the cost?"

Those sacrifices, he suggested, are most necessary since many "people greatly loved by God are being deceived" into accepting abortion, and the "consequences of abortion can be devastating and eternal."

Such heroic courage is needed, he said, "now more than ever." He noted abortion's toll of over 50 million killed children, and the looming Freedom of Choice Act which would "pave the way for more wholesale assaults" on unborn children.

"What is at stake," he said, quoting the Pledge of Allegiance, "is 'liberty and justice for all.'"

LifeSiteNews.com

Barack Obama Postpones Decision to Send Tax Dollars Overseas for Abortion

I am conflicted by this. On one hand, the longer it is before the Mexico City Policy is overturned, the more lives are saved. But let's face it, postponing the reversal of the Mexico City Policy is nothing but a cheap political trick.

by Steven Ertelt

LifeNews.com Editor
January 22, 2009

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- In a move to downplay his pro-abortion agenda, President Barack Obama has decided to wait a little longer to reverse a Bush policy preventing taxpayer funding of abortions overseas. The Mexico City Policy prevents sending public funds to groups that perform or promote abortions in other countries.

The new president could either issue an order tomorrow or in the near future to reverse the policy or allow Congress to do it.

Obama was expected to overturn the pro-life policy on his first or second full days in office and to possibly do so today, on the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision.

However, a CBN News report indicates Obama will not overturn the policy on a day that pro-life advocates mourn the Supreme Court allowing virtually unlimited abortions.

Full story at LifeNews

Barack Obama Statement: Reduce Abortions by Honoring Pro-Abortion Decision

Sadly this is what is to be expected from our new President. The fact that 54% of  US Catholics voted for him is a signal on how much we need to repent. 

by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
January 22, 2009

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- President Barack Obama used the occasion of the thirty-sixth anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision to issue a contradictory statement. The new president called for reducing abortions but honored the radical decision that ushered in an era of 50 million abortions and virtually no limits.

Obama praised the Supreme Court for issuing what has been one of the most condemned rulings in its history.

"[T]his decision not only protects women’s health and reproductive freedom, but stands for a broader principle: That government should not intrude on our most private family matters,” Obama said in a statement.

Full story at LifeNews

Obama Mania Will Eventually Collide With Reality

Ultimately, the Barack Obama house of cards will not endure. Let the liberals of Capitol Hill and on the nightly news tell the nation that its future lies in the rotting carcass of collectivism.

Christopher G. Adamo

Conservatives, real conservatives, are by now thoroughly nauseated from all of the inaugural gushing and fawning over Obama. But if they think that this slobber-fest was going to end now that he has assumed the presidency, they are going to be sorely disappointed. The leftist cheerleaders will continue trumpeting the supposed grandeur and majesty of this day long after its fabricated luster has thoroughly dulled in the eyes of the thinking public. Full Story at Alains Newsletter

Archbishop Vigneron calls for opposition to Obama abortion stand

Oakland, Jan 22, 2009 / 06:25 am (CNA).- Archbishop Vigneron, the next Archbishop of Detroit, has expressed disappointment with Obama’s position on abortion and has called for forceful opposition and coalition-building to counter it.
Archbishop Vigneron, speaking in an interview with the Detroit News, said he shares other bishops’ concerns that the Obama administration has given indications that the president is going to rescind some protections for the unborn. Full story at CNA

The Difference Two Days Makes

 By Steve Skojec *

As Washington D.C. geared up (or in my case, hunkered down) in preparation for the unprecedented influx of people expected to attend the inauguration of President Barack Obama today, a telling paradox came to light.

Officials estimate at least 1.5 million people are in town for the historic swearing-in of our nation's first black president. Security is tight, with some 25,000 police officers on duty, all bridges into the city shut down to motor traffic, and enforced attendance cutoffs once parade routes reach capacity. The enterprising people of the D.C. metropolitan area capitalized on booked-solid hotels by renting out their homes for thousands of dollars a night to visitors with cash in hand. To be blunt, this city has never seen anything like what is unfolding today.

Absent from all this anticipation is the fact that just two days later, another group of people will be arriving in D.C. They won't have money to spend on hotels, let alone privately rented accommodations, so many of them will get what sleep they can aboard charter buses, stay with friends, or sprawl out with sleeping bags on the hard concrete floor in the basement of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. They are here for a far more important purpose than even this historic election, and in fact many (if not all) of them live in fear of how this 44th American president might worsen the crisis they are coming to protest.  Full story at InsideCatholic.com

Wounded Vets Walk Out on Onaugural Ball

Posted by Josh Painter (Profile)

An inaugural ball honoring U.S. military veterans ended in a kerfluffle as several veterans walked out when a musical act’s attempt at humor backfired.
During the Heroes Red, White & Blue Inaugural Ball honoring the nation’s veterans, a vocalist with George Clinton and the P. Funk All-Stars held up a white towel with large block letters saying “[Expletive] GEORGE,” perturbing many audience members who walked out after the display, interpreting it as a jab at the outgoing commander-in-chief, George W. Bush.

Full story at Red State.com

Abortion: The Unspoken Jihad

By Matt Spivey

In Arabic, the word "jihad" means "inner struggle," and for those involved in one particular battle, there is no simple answer and varying perspectives cause, in many cases, violent reactions and repercussions.  That word has come to signify the murder of innocence and the demolition of security in a time of worldwide uncertainty.  The death toll keeps rising as years keep passing, and fighting in this war guarantees earning the label of "radical," "extremist," or "fanatic."  Yet those who do keep fighting are actually trying to save lives.  With the 36^th year of Roe v. Wade passing today, the war rages on.  Full story at American Thinker