George M. Sipe – Page 24 – Convert Journal

From the archive (set #21)

Thursday, September 29, 2016 A.D. Leave a Comment

This Saturday is time for New Evangelists Monthly to begin a new edition. Today, I would like to bring to your attention 3 original, brief essays that you may have missed. If you don’t have time to read all three, I especially recommend the first one — Loss of innocence. After 5 years, it remains as relevant and sadly disturbing.

The Boy Scouts, like the Catholic Church, has taken a lot of flak for standing firm (comparatively speaking) against a secular, relativistic society. Shockingly, the Girl Scouts have not. In fact, they have every intention to embrace the toxic sexual perversions of the secular world (if you think that is over-the-top, continue reading).

…read it all: Loss of innocence

Our souls are unique and so is our body. Both are a gift from God. In our mortal state, each body has unique, lifelong DNA from the moment of conception. It is intertwined with and tightly united to our soul. It is the physical temple of the Holy Spirit, belonging to Christ and not our own to use or abuse however we please.
Amen! That simple response says a great deal when we present ourselves to receive the Holy Eucharist. The priest holds our Lord’s most holy body or most precious blood and says to us “the Body of Christ” or “the Blood of Christ.” Our response affirms many things, all expressed humbly and fully by “Amen.”

…read it all: The body
The Body of Christ

In understanding the sacraments, we also see that certain requirements must be met for validity. That is, to receive the intended graces, the sacrament must meet certain requirements. Various causes may render a sacrament invalid such as some defect in the matter, form, minister or recipient. One very interesting requirement is intent. If the intent is absent then the sacrament is not received.

…read it all: Sacramental validity

Filed Under: archive

7 Quick Takes Friday (set #204)

Friday, September 9, 2016 A.D. Leave a Comment

This week: The latest issue of New Evangelists Monthly awaits your perusal. Ad orientem worship making a comeback (I hope so)? Fr. Mike urges us to let “God take his time.” Faithful Catholic video skits are a family project at the Catholic Conundrum. Black lives matter? (Not so much to the organization of that name.) You have less than 2 months to learn about the symptoms and effects of Parkinson’s disease. An internet webcam sensation to waste our time.

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Issue #45, September 2016, of New Evangelists Monthly is ready for your enjoyment! Scores of faithful Catholic bloggers have contributed their very best pieces from August. Contributing authors this month include: Stephen Korsman, Matthew Coffin, Chris Capolino, David Wong, Rick Becker, Mary Haseltine, Kathleen Laplante, Tracy Smith, Dave Wanat, Dn. Scott Dodge, Katie O’Keefe, John Schroeder, Chibuzor Ogamba, Fr. Gilles Surprenant, Carolyn Astfalk, Elizabeth Reardon, Nancy Shuman, Melody Marie, Christina Nagy, Adam Crawford, Bianca, Blythe Kaufman, Shannon, Fr. Chori Jonathin Seraiah, Nancy Ward, Carissa Douglas, Virginia Lieto, Larry Peterson, Tucker Cordani, Ebeth Weidner, Vijaya Bodach, Fr. Stephen Morris, Barbara Hosbach, Tony Agnesi, Abigail Benjamin, Ellen Kolb, Brian Gill, Frank Rega, Robert Collins, Roxane Salonen, Maria Johnson, Laura Pearl, Bonnie Way, Matthew Plese, Rich Maffeo, Matthew Rose, Margaret Felice, Leslie Klinger, Melanie Jean Juneau, John Donaghy, Rita Buettner, Bartimaeus Timeo, Anthony Layne, Fr. Errol Fernandes, Fr. Adrian Danker, Brian Mullins, Denise Hunnell, Ellen Gable Hrkach, Jamie Jo, Dennis McGeehan, Kirby Hoberg, Jennifer Elia, Susan Stabile, Fr. Richard DeLillio, Alexandrina Brant, Amy Wiggin, Tom Perna, Birgit Jones, Larry T, Sr. Maresa Lilley, Rick Rice, Alicia, Claire McGarry and Michael Seagriff.

This monthly “meta-magazine” showcases faithful Catholicism from theology to family life and “everything in between.” Enjoy it now at NewEvangelists.org.

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A priest celebrating Mass facing the people has a tendency to make it between him and them. A priest and the people facing God together makes our highest form of prayer clearly about HIM. Both forms are valid in the common, “ordinary form.” Interestingly, Vatican II did NOT command (or even suggest) that we change this. Learn more about it in this excellent video:

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We want what we want and we want it now. God is outside of time. Perhaps, we should let Him take his “time”! Fr. Mike Schmitz looks at our impatience:

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Blogging and videos are a family activity over at Catholic Conundrum. They make fun, faithful videos (over 2 dozen so far) on many topics. It’s a good, safe and informative place for young Catholics to visit. Check-out their blog and YouTube channel for productions like this:

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The so-called “black lives matter” movement needs a closer look. Of course, no faithful Catholic argues with the premise that all lives matter. That is not what they are about, nor are they actually about black lives mattering.

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A medical doctor looks closely at Hillary’s odd behavior and concludes it is NOT due to a concussion nor is she suffering seizures, despite what so many theorize. The evidence is quite strong however, that Mrs. Clinton has Parkinson’s disease at probably a late stage. This should not be a partisan issue (but of course, is). If she in fact is suffering from this debilitating disease, she would be certainly unfit to perform the duties of president.

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Finally, something just odd. Very odd. An internet sensation is a webcam on a Jackson Hole Wyoming intersection. Thousands of people are following it live, commenting on the vehicles and people they see. Red trucks are often noted. This must be the new “pet rock.” Just bizarre.

Some random thoughts or bits of information are worthy of sharing but don’t warrant their own full post. This idea was begun by Jennifer Fulwiler and is now continued by Kelly Mantoan. So, some Fridays I too participate when I have accumulated 7 worthy items. Thank you Kelly for hosting this project!

Filed Under: quick takes

New Evangelists Monthly – September 2016, Issue #45

Saturday, September 3, 2016 A.D. Leave a Comment

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Filed Under: New Evangelists Monthly

Elsewhere: voting for abortion

Friday, August 19, 2016 A.D. Leave a Comment

I have stayed out of commenting on particular political candidates this round. That is not changing. Our choices are truly horrid. They are not much better in congressional and other races. Horrid.

Yet, at the end of the “process,” the presidency and every one of these offices will be filled by people acting in our name. Their occupants will, for better or worse, make decisions which are binding on all citizens in both the near and long term. We should all be able to agree with this statement of fact.

What if I told you that some candidates support parental “rights” to terminate their newborns up until the age of 1. It would be a deeply personal, difficult choice, but would allow them not to be punished with a child they recognize as a mistake. Perhaps a woman might be abandoned by the child’s father. Perhaps the child was less than perfect. 100,000 would be erased per year in this way, with a societal benefit of lowering health care and education costs.

Do you support that? Would you reluctantly ignore that position of a candidate if you felt there were counter-balancing economic and structural positions? Could you tolerate it if the candidate supporting it was far less detestable to you than the alternative?

While this evolution is not yet on the table, abortion is and it is more than 10 times worse. People – Catholics – are struggling with this moral dilemma. That is so, so sad. This should not be a struggle at all for faithful Catholics. Choosing against innocent life is moral depravity. At this magnitude it is history’s greatest holocaust. Abortion is always an intrinsic evil (never justified) of the greatest gravity (life itself). Weighing this against prudential choices of economic policy or candidate likability is possible only by putting politics ahead of God.

Carl Anderson, head of the Knights of Columbus, spoke on this exact issue recently at the annual international gathering of Knights held in Canada.

“We need to end the political manipulation of Catholic voters by abortion advocates,” he said. “It is time to end the entanglement of Catholic people with abortion killing. It is time to stop creating excuses for voting for pro-abortion politicians.”

“Abortion is the killing of the innocent on a massive scale,” he added.

Anderson said politics does not mean partisanship, but a stand for the common good and for moral and religious values that make free, democratic institutions possible.

Foremost among these values, he said, is “the equal dignity of every human life and the right of every person to freely practice their religion.”

“We will never succeed in building a culture of life if we continue to vote for politicians who support a culture of death.”

He reflected on the political question of whether one should support a candidate attractive for many reasons but who supports abortion.

“Some partisan advocates have sought to excuse support for pro-abortion candidates through a complex balancing act. They claim other issues are important enough to offset a candidate’s support for abortion,” he said.

“But the right to abortion is not just another political issue,” Anderson said. “It is, in reality, a legal regime that has resulted in more than 40 million deaths.”

He noted that 40 million is a figure greater than the entire population of Canada.

“What political issue could possibly outweigh this human devastation?” he asked. “The answer, of course, is that there is none.”

Anderson’s comments are reported in the National Catholic Register: Carl Anderson to Voters: ‘Stop Creating Excuses for Voting for Pro-Abortion Politicians’.

Please, please reconsider your support of anyone you know is going to continue the tragedy of abortion (even if they disingenuously claim to be “personally against it”).

Filed Under: elsewhere

7 Quick Takes Friday (set #203)

Friday, August 12, 2016 A.D. Leave a Comment

This week: The latest issue of New Evangelists Monthly awaits your perusal. Grassroots Films is releasing a wonderful new film on the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal. One 90 year old man has been single-handedly building a cathedral for the last 53 years. Lutheran Satire pokes fun at the absurdity of radical feminism. Video snap-shots from World Youth Day. Why does God let bad things happen? Which causes more selfishness: socialism or capitalism?

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Issue #44, August 2016, of New Evangelists Monthly is ready for your enjoyment! Scores of faithful Catholic bloggers have contributed their very best pieces from July. Contributing authors this month include: Matthew Coffin, Chris Capolino, Nancy Ward, Birgit Jones, Tracy Smith, Matthew Plese, Joseph Shaw, Denise Hunnell, Stephen Korsman, Dave Wanat, Kathleen Laplante, Roxane Salonen, Tony Agnesi, Nancy Shuman, Carissa Douglas, Larry T, Rick Becker, Blythe Kaufman, Michael Seagriff, Vijaya Bodach, Frank Rega, Bartimaeus Timeo, Elizabeth Reardon, Larry Peterson, Ellen Gable Hrkach, Allen Hebert, Barbara Hosbach, Mike Landry, Rich Maffeo, Fr. Stephen Morris, Mary Keane, Kirby Hoberg, Alicia, Leslie Klinger, John Schroeder, Carolyn Astfalk, David Wong, Ellen Kolb, Thomas and Deborah Richard, Fr. Adrian Danker, Christina Nagy, Fr. Errol Fernandes, Robert Collins, Claire McGarry, James Milliken, Jenn Tatum, Fr. Richard DeLillio, David Cooney, Sr. Maresa Lilley, Pat and Nicole Padley, Jeff Walker, Catherine Prady, Tom Perna, Bonnie Way, Tom Zampino, Rick Rice, Katie O’Keefe, John Russell, Virginia Lieto, Amy Wiggin, Jennifer Elia, Justin Soutar, Margaret Felice, Susan Stabile and Ebeth Weidner.

This monthly “meta-magazine” showcases faithful Catholicism from theology to family life and “everything in between.” Enjoy it now at NewEvangelists.org.

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Grassroots Films will release a new documentary film next month: Outcasts. It follows the ministry of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, taking 10 years to produce. Here is the trailer:

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The movie Field of Dreams popularized following a crazy dream, promising “if you build it, he will come”. That could also be the motto of Don Justo (Justo Gallego Martínez) who has been building Nuestra Señora del Pilar, a cathedral outside of Madrid — by himself — for 53 years.