Smoky Mountains Sunrise

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

New York's St. Patrick's Cathedral to be Restored; Will Cost $175 Million Over 5 Years

It has just been reported that New York's Saint Patrick's Cathedral will undergo a $175 million restoration over the course of 5 years.

I have a great deal of affection for the magnificent St. Patrick's Cathedral; it is where my grandparents were married. It was built for the greater glory of God by generations of poor immigrants, and it is an unintended monument to their courage and faith. One feels in St. Patrick's Cathedral an ineffable sense of the sacred, a connection to the divine, not always apparent even in the most august churches and cathedrals. It is truly the heart and center of the city.   We should rejoice that this great prayer in stone will once again gleam the way it did on the day of its dedication. However, if it is possible for the New York Archdiocese to raise $175 million for the completion of this project, it should be possible to raise sufficient money to endow the schools and hospitals of this and other dioceses before any more are lost.

As we have written previously, the parochial schools of the New York Archdiocese and its neighbors are also the legacy of saints - thousands of dedicated religious sisters, brothers and priests gave their entire, holy lives.  And those institutions were also built with the contributions of a laity that was far poorer than that of today. It was these institutions that formed the Church militant and ensured that the culture was transformed by the living God and His Word. By the time Saint Patrick's Cathedral was built in the nineteenth century, three successive Councils of Baltimore had not only affirmed the importance of formation in Catholic schools, they committed themselves to building a massive parallel school system. The bishops agreed that every parish should have a tuition-free Catholic school, supported by the whole parish, and instructed parents that they “must send their children to such schools unless the bishop should judge the reason for sending them elsewhere to be sufficient.” What meaning will a great gleaming cathedral have, if no one remembers why and for Whose glory it was first built?

We have great hope and expectations for New York's new Cardinal Archbishop. He is a man whose intellect is as large as his very buoyant and good heart. As the scholarly new president of the US Conference of Catholic bishops, we hope he will restore in our day the dedication that the Cathedral's builders also had to a vibrant school system which forms whole persons in the faith, and through them transforms the world.


Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Nationwide Rally - STAND UP FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM - This Friday at Noon

Please join Sunlit Uplands this Friday in standing up for religious freedom in America before it is too late.


The Nationwide Rally for Religious Freedom is being held Friday, March 23 at noon, local time, outside federal buildings, Congressional offices and historic sites across the country. The theme for the Rally is “Stand Up for Religious Freedom—Stop the HHS Mandate!”

Thousands of Americans of all faiths will be participating in these peaceful rallies, organized by the Pro-Life Action League and Citizens for a Pro-Life Society to oppose the new mandate from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that requires all employers provide free contraceptives, sterilization and abortion-inducing drugs through their health plans, even in violation of their consciences.

Religious leaders and other public figures will speak out against the HHS Mandate at each Rally site. Holding signs reading “Stand Up for Religious Freedom” and “Stop the HHS Mandate,” participants will offer hymns and prayers for our nation and pass out literature to the public about why the HHS Mandate is unconstitutional and un-American.

The Nationwide Rally for Religious Freedom will be a peaceful, family-friendly, non-partisan, ecumenical event. For more information, please see the Rally Guidelines and Protocols, below.

If you don’t see a city near you listed below and would like to volunteer to organize a Rally for Religious Freedom, please contact the Rally Team for more information.

Cities and Towns Participating in the Rally

Obama Seizes Control Over All Food, Farms, Livestock, Farm Equipment, Fertilizer and Food Production Across America


(NaturalNews) "We told ya so" just doesn't quite cut it anymore. As the American sheeple slept, selfishly refusing to take a stand against tyranny, the Obama administration has been plotting what can only be called a total government takeover of America.

On March 16, 2012, President Obama issued an executive order entitled, "NATIONAL DEFENSE RESOURCES PREPAREDNESS.

This executive order states that the President alone has the authority to take over all resources in the nation (labor, food, industry, etc.) as long as it is done "to promote the national defense" -- a phrase so vague that it could mean practically anything.

The power to seize control and take over these resources is delegated to the following government authorities:

(1) the Secretary of Agriculture with respect to food resources, food resource facilities, livestock resources, veterinary resources, plant health resources, and the domestic distribution of farm equipment and commercial fertilizer;

(2) the Secretary of Energy with respect to all forms of energy;

(3) the Secretary of Health and Human Services with respect to health resources;

(4) the Secretary of Transportation with respect to all forms of civil transportation;

(5) the Secretary of Defense with respect to water resources; and

(6) the Secretary of Commerce with respect to all other materials, services, and facilities, including construction materials.


This takeover is designed, in part, to "stockpile supplies" for the U.S. military. Authority for this total takeover of all national resources is granted with nothing more than the writing of a single statement that claims these actions are necessary to "promote the national defense." As stated in the order:

the authority delegated by section 201 of this order may be used only to support programs that have been determined in writing as necessary or appropriate to promote the national defense:

(a) by the Secretary of Defense with respect to military production and construction, military assistance to foreign nations, military use of civil transportation, stockpiles managed by the Department of Defense, space, and directly related activities;


What all this means is that the U.S. government now claims the power to simply march onto your farm with guns drawn and demand all your crops, seeds, livestock and farm equipment.

Think I'm exaggerating? Read it yourself!

And for those living in denial who refuse to accept the reality of what's happening in America, remember the following:


• When NaturalNews reported on the existence of the NDAA, we were told our reporting was misleading because Obama opposed it and wouldn't sign it.

• When Obama betrayed America and signed the bill, we were told our reporting was misleading because "it didn't apply to Americans."

• When Obama admitted it did apply to Americans, he announced that he would choose "not to use it on Americans" but only by the grace of his restraint. Nobody who previously accused us of misleading the public had the integrity to offer us an apology and say, "Gee, you were right, it DOES apply to Americans!"

• Now Obama has seized control over all food, farms, livestock, water and transportation across America. How many brain-dead Americans will continue to live in denial and try to convince themselves this is not happening? Sticking your head in the sand does not make this go away...

What California did to Rawesome Foods, the Obama administration can do to everyone

Remember the armed raids on Rawesome Foods? With guns drawn, California authorities assaulted the food distribution center, arrested the farmers, then proceeded to destroy $50,000 worth of food including milk, eggs, cheese and watermelons. (http://www.naturalnews.com/033220_Rawesome_Foods_armed_raids.html)

As outrageous as that raid was, it's only the beginning. Now, thanks to Obama's executive order, the federal government can conduct Rawesome-style raids on all farms, all grocery stores, all food co-ops and even individual home gardens.

It's written in plain English. This is no longer debatable and it's not a conspiracy theory. It's Obama administration policy. For what other purpose would this be issued in an executive order if it was not seen as actionable by the government? This piece of paper, you see, gives them the (false) authority to do whatever they want and then have the front-line soldiers who carry it out claim "we're only following orders."

Sound familiar? Heil Hitler!

Understanding the fraud

This executive order starts out by stating that the U.S. President is the "Commander in Chief" of the U.S. military. This is false. He is not the commander in chief unless and until Congress declares an Act of War. No acts of war have been declared in recent memory, and certainly not under Obama who doesn't even seek congressional approval for war.

So Obama is in no way a "Commander in Chief." In fact, it is questionable whether he is even a U.S. citizen.

The phrase "national defense" can be twisted to mean almost anything. It could be invoked from something as harmless as a barge sinking in the harbor. It could even be invoked based on fabricated intelligence such as a fake website post from someone alleged to be "Bin Laden's second in command" who appears to shout some sort of threat against the United States of America. So the claim that this seizing of national resources will only be done under some sort of national defense emergency is pure bunk -- both Obama and Bush before him have already declared we are living under a national defense emergency! Thus, the conditions described in this executive order have already been triggered. It is already in effect!

Notice how nothing in this document talks about protecting the People? Serving the People? Supporting the People? It's all about protecting the government! The government needs stockpiles of weapons, food and resources -- but YOU don't! Such is the philosophy of current government which sees itself as all powerful and the People as helpless, mindless slaves of the state.

Tyrannical governments concern themselves with important concepts such as continuity of government but never the continuity of liberty for the People. At the first drop of a hat, liberty gets thrown out the window to keep government in power.

Other signs of the takeover


• Last year, I interviewed Farmer Brad in central Texas, who openly stated, on camera, that FEMA has already started calling farms across Texas and demanding an inventory list of all their crops and seeds. Watch this interview yourself at: http://tv.naturalnews.com/v.asp?v=72620642EB2DE54931674ED4857C08EC

• Yesterday in Chicago, the police arrested NBC reporters outside a hospital, screaming that their First Amendment rights could be taken away from them at any time:
http://www.prisonplanet.com/cop-arrests-nbc-reporters-says-your-first...

• Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta recently revealed in U.S. Senate testimony that the Obama administration takes its orders from the UN and that the U.S. Congress is now null and void. (http://wethepeoplefree.com/constitution/senator-sessions-leon-panetta...) and (http://www.infowars.com/coup-detat-pentagon-obama-declare-congress-ce...)

• When MF Global head Jon Corzine stole billions of dollars from investors (many were farmers), there were absolutely no investigations, no indictments and no criminal arrests! Massive financial theft is now openly tolerated in America as long as those doing the stealing are politically connected to the Obama administration. (http://www.prisonplanet.com/the-cojones-defense-of-jon-corzine.html)

Of course, it's not an Obama thing. Bush was much the same. It's not the name of the person in the Oval Office who matters, it's the fundamental lack of principles and ethics reflected across government today. Instead of protecting the rights of the People, today's corrupt governments are little more than criminal gangs who steal power and resources for themselves (and their connected buddies) while destroying the economy and stealing everything in sight from the real workers upon whose sweat-drenched backs America was built.

Pope Names William Lori as New Archbishop of Baltimore




The Glaring Inequality of Obamaville

By Patrick J. Buchanan

Rising inequality "is the defining issue of our time," said President Obama in his Osawatomie speech that echoed the "New Nationalism" address Theodore Roosevelt delivered in that same Kansas town a century ago.

In the last two decades, the average income of the top 1 percent in the U.S. has grown by 250 percent, bemoaned our populist president, while the income of the average American has stagnated.

"This kind of inequality -- a level we haven't seen since the Great Depression -- hurts us all," said Obama.

Queen Praises British Virtues in Diamond Jubilee Address to Parliament

The Queen celebrated her Diamond Jubilee today by paying tribute to the British virtues of "resilience, ingenuity and tolerance", and to the Duke of Edinburgh, her "constant strength and guide" over the decades. 



In a landmark address to both Houses of Parliament the monarch repeated her vow made on Accession Day in February to "rededicate myself to the service of our great country".

In the ancient Westminster Hall the monarch stood to give her address, telling MPs and peers that since she came to the throne she has been a regular visitor to the Palace of Westminster.

She added: "During these years as your Queen, the support of my family has, across the generations, been beyond measure.

"Prince Philip is, I believe, well-known for declining compliments of any kind. But throughout he has been a constant strength and guide."

This was the monarch's sixth address to both Houses of Parliament. She gave similar speeches in celebration of her Golden Jubilee in 2002 and Silver Jubilee 25 years earlier in 1977.


The window has been paid for personally by members of both Houses and designed by British artist John Reyntiens. It will be presented in a display case and installed above the North Door of Westminster Hall later this year.

In her 2002 address, the Queen spoke about "50 unforgettable years" on the throne, telling MPs and peers: "I would like above all to declare my resolve to continue, with the support of my family, to serve the people of this great nation of ours to the best of my ability through the changing times ahead."

The monarch's speech to both houses to mark her 1977 silver jubilee reflected on the historic events of the first 25 years of her reign, which had seen the final break-up of the British Empire.

She said: "No longer an imperial power, we have been coming to terms with what this means for ourselves and for our relations with the rest of the world."

Monday, March 19, 2012

Land Purchased for Possible Southern Regional Seminary


From left, Billie Mobley, Mother Dolores Marie and Bishop Peter Jugis look at plans for the newly purchased land. The Poor Clares of Adoration and the Te Deum Foundation have announced the purchase of 484 acres in Mooresboro, about 60 miles west of Charlotte. (SueAnn Howell, Catholic News Herald)

Boiling Springs, North Carolina--a town of 4,700 that is home to a Southern Baptist university--will soon be the site of a Poor Clare monastery and may one day be the location of a Southern regional seminary.

The Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration and the Te Deum Foundation have announced the purchase of 484 acres in a rural area south of the town. 333 of the acres will provide a permanent home for the cloistered nuns, whose temporary home is at a parish in Charlotte.

The Te Deum Foundation, a lay foundation whose work has won the praise of Bishop Peter Jugis of Charlotte, purchased the other acres in order to help prepare the way for the potential establishment of a Southern regional seminary. There is no diocesan seminary in Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, or Virginia.

“The faith is growing, there is conversion among the Protestants, and there is a need for evangelization here,” said foundation executive director Billie Mobley.

“Seminarians for Southern dioceses would be blessed if they could stay in their own area and receive not just the necessary academics and formation for the priesthood, but also learn how to face the everyday challenges of living in the Bible Belt: learn about apologetics, learn how to open parishes, and learn how to build churches.”