Philip Johnson is a Seminarian for the Diocese of Raleigh, North Carolina

He has terminal brain cancer and is an extraordinary witness to how God brings good out of evil.   

On the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes last Friday, he delivered the following message to students at St. Thomas More Academy in Raleigh. You will want to pray for this extraordinary apostle.

Mr. Johnson concludes with the following prayer of Saint Bernadette.  It requests graces that God has clearly showered on his life and ministry.

O my God, I beg You, by Your loneliness, not that You may spare me affliction, but that You may not abandon me in it. When I encounter affliction, teach me to see You in it as my sole Comforter. Let affliction strengthen my faith, fortify my hope, and purify my love. Grant me the grace to see Your Hand in my affliction, and to desire no other comforter but You. Amen.

The Director of National Intelligence is an Idiot or a Traitor

John McCain has said we should have seen developments in Egypt coming. But what is becoming painfully obvious is that James Clapper, the Director of National Intelligence, is more intent of forwarding Obama's Muslim worldview than in providing "intelligence" essential to national security. 

Clapper has demonstrated that he not only fails to see events coming, he doesn't have a knowledge of current events available to any kid with a subscription to the Weekly Reader.

In the following videos he presents the kind of misinformation about the Muslim Brotherhood that might be disseminated by ... let's say ... a Muslim from Kenya.  In the second video he is unaware of a headline story about the largest terrorist bust of the year.

From the Pastor - 'The Light of the World'

A weekly column by Father George Rutler

While people can shed the light of goodness and truth in the world, Christ is the source of that light. “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). He also says, “You are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14). This means more than catching a spark of Christ the Light: it means to have Christ’s Light in the soul, enlightening the intellect and strengthening the will. This is the “state of grace” which describes any one of us who has worthily received a sacrament.

There is a Latin expression, “cupio dissolvi,” which means that I wish to dissolve, or be annihilated, expressing what St. Paul meant when he wrote: “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Gal. 2:20). Paradoxically, it is by this self-annihilation, that the personality becomes more vivid. This is the opposite of the “self-affirmation” conceit of our narcissistic culture, and it helps explain why the “Greatest Generation” has been followed by the “Smallest Generation.”

Isaiah says that when you help the hungry, homeless and naked, “your light shall break forth like the dawn” (Isaiah 58: 7ff). Without these “corporal works of mercy,” all spiritual aspirations are escapist sentimentality. But for the Light of Christ to shine fully, the corporal works of mercy work in tandem with the “spiritual works of mercy, which help the ignorant, doubtful and sinful while bearing wrongs patiently, forgiving offences willingly, comforting the afflicted, and praying for the living and the dead.”

When the Light of Christ is hidden, life and death alike become puzzles. Our morally darkened age thinks it has autonomy over life, and at the same time it fears death. It is appallingly logical that a culture which destroys innocent life should avoid funerals, not even knowing how properly to bury the dead.

St. Bonaventure says: “Christ is the lamp that illuminates the whole of Scripture: he is its gateway and its foundation. For this faith is behind all the supernatural enlightenments that we receive while we are still separated from the Lord and on our pilgrimage. It makes our foundation firm, it directs the light of the lamp, it leads us in through the gateway.”

On the centenary of the birth of President Reagan, words of his farewell address were recalled: “I wasn't a great communicator, but I communicated great things, and they didn't spring full bloom from my brow . . .” Moving from civic discourse to divine revelation, St. Paul communicated the Light of Christ: “I did not come with sublimity of words or of wisdom. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified” (1 Cor. 2:1-2).

Father George W. Rutler is the pastor of the Church of our Saviour in New York City. His latest book, Coincidentally: Unserious Reflections on Trivial Connections, is available from Crossroads Publishing.

The Taverner Choir and Consort - 'Beatus Vir' - Claudio Monteverdi

Beatus Vir

Translation

Blessed is the man who fears the lord:

He delights greatly in his commandments.

His seed will be mightly on earth;

The generation of the upright will be blessed.

Wealth and riches are in his house;

And his righteousness endures for ever and ever.

Unto the upright there arises light in the darkness:

He is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous.

Good is the man who is full of compassion and lends.

He will guide his affairs with discretion:

Because he will not be moved for ever.

The righteous will be in everlasting remembrance.

He will not be afraid of evil tidings.

His heart is fixed, trusting in the lord;

His heart is established:

He will not be moved,

Until he gazes at his enemies.

He has dispersed, he has given to the poor:

His righteousness endures for ever and ever,

The strength of his soul will be exalted with honour.

The sinner will see it, and will be grieved;

He will gnash with his teeth, and melt away.

California Wants Lesbians as Mandatory 'Role' Models

Family advocates call plan 'worst school sexual indoctrination ever'

Lawmakers in the state of California are proposing a law that would require schools to portray lesbians, homosexuals, transsexuals and those who have chosen other alternative sexual lifestyles as positive role models to children in all public schools there. 

Read the rest of this entry >>

President Ronald Reagan Birthday Concert and Centenary Ceremonies

Sunlit Uplands was very pleased to offer live, streaming video last weekend of events at the Reagan Library marking the 100th birthday of that great president.  For those who may have missed the "Concert for America: A Tribute to Ronald Reagan" and the ceremonies on Sunday marking the President's birthday, we highly recommend them and are pleased to provide both below.

The Concert for America includes The Beach Boys, Lonestar, Lee Greenwood, Fred Thompson, Jerry West, and video tributes from Presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush.

Ceremonies marking the President's 100th birthday on February 6, included remarks by Mrs. Ronald Reagan, Mr. Gary Sinise and Secretary James Baker. The program also included a wreath laying, flyover and 21-gun salute.

Enjoy full screen viewing by clicking the arrows at the lower right corner of each video.

Sarkozy Acknowledges Multiculturalism Has Failed

The Battle of Tours, October 10, 732

It is good that European leaders are finally acknowledging that they have a civilization to defend  -  a civilization that has been overrun and is dying, but one which can still be saved and renewed, if only they would recognize what Pope Benedict has called the "unrenounceable Christian roots of its culture."

The crisis, at least now acknowledged by the German Chancellor, the British Prime Minister, and the French President, was foreseen by Enoch Powell in 1968.  He was denounced as a racist, and that brilliant political leader was shunned for the rest of his life.  His "rivers of blood" are now all too real in London, Paris, Madrid, and throughout the continent.

Another prophetic voice was also raised in 1968, that of Pope Paul VI.  In his encyclical, Humanae Vitae, he spoke of "God's loving design" for "the life and happiness of human beings," and warned of the dire consequences that result in a rejection of the natural law.  He, too, has been vindicated by the world around us.

Acknowledging the failure of a half-century of secular liberalism is a necessary first step toward rejecting a narcissistic culture  of contraception, abortion, and same-sex "marriage."  These will continue to create the vacuum into which the enemies of Christian culture will pour.  And they will lead to the certain death of European civilization in less than a half century unless hearts are changed and demographic trends are reversed.  

May we hear God speaking through His prophets and the "signs of the times" before it is too late.

From Agence France-Presse

French President Nicolas Sarkozy speaks during a media conference at an EU summit in Brussels. Photo: AP

French President Nicolas Sarkozy declared Thursday that multiculturalism had failed, joining a growing number of world leaders or ex-leaders who have condemned it.

"My answer is clearly yes, it is a failure," he said in a television interview when asked about the policy which advocates that host societies welcome and foster distinct cultural and religious immigrant groups.

"Of course we must all respect differences, but we do not want... a society where communities coexist side by side.

"If you come to France, you accept to melt into a single community, which is the national community, and if you do not want to accept that, you cannot be welcome in France," the right-wing president said.

"The French national community cannot accept a change in its lifestyle, equality between men and women... freedom for little girls to go to school," he said.

"We have been too concerned about the identity of the person who was arriving and not enough about the identity of the country that was receiving him," Sarkozy said in the TFI channel show.

British Prime Minister David Cameron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Australia's ex-prime minister John Howard and Spanish ex-premier Jose Maria Aznar have also recently said multicultural policies have not successfully integrated immigrants.

Merkel in October said efforts towards multiculturalism in Germany had "failed, totally."

The comment followed weeks of anguished debate sparked by the huge popularity of a book by a central banker saying that immigrants, in particular Muslims, were making Germany "more stupid."

Britain's Cameron last week pronounced his country's long-standing policy of multiculturalism a failure, calling for better integration of young Muslims to combat home-grown extremism.

He urged a "more active, muscular liberalism" where equal rights, the rule of law, freedom of speech and democracy are actively promoted to create a stronger national identity.

The prime minister, who took power in May 2010, argued that "under the doctrine of state multiculturalism, we have encouraged different cultures to live separate lives, apart from each other and the mainstream".

He said this had resulted in a lack of national identity in Britain which had made some young Muslims turn to extremist ideology.

Sarkozy said in his television interview Thursday that "our Muslim compatriots must be able to practise their religion, as any citizen can," but he noted "we in France do not want people to pray in an ostentatious way in the street."

French far-right leader Marine Le Pen late last year came under fire for comparing Muslims praying in the streets outside overcrowded mosques in France to the Nazi occupation.

Marine Le Pen said there were "ten to fifteen" places in France where Muslims worshipped in the streets outside mosques when these were full.