Archdiocese Rebukes Georgetown University Invitation to Secretary Sebelius

Her face proclaims her - wicked.

The Archdiocese of Washington has weighed in on Georgetown University’s invitation of U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius as a commencement speaker in clear terms, saying that the school has unmoored itself from Catholic identity and chosen a stance against the country’s Catholic bishops.

Secretary Sebelius is the primary figure behind the HHS mandate forcing religious groups to provide free sterilizations, abortifacient drugs, and other forms of birth control to employees under the new health care law. She is also known for her extreme pro-abortion record, most notably her close ties with late-term abortionist George Tiller during her time as governor of Kansas. She is listed as a commencement speaker at Georgetown’s Public Policy Institute.

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Australians Mourn Don Ritchie - the Angel of The Gap

Australians are mourning the death of the man known as the "Angel of The Gap", who stopped hundreds of people from leaping to their deaths at Sydney's most notorious suicide spot.

 

The Gap at Watson's Bay and Sydney Harbour  Photo: Alamy

From The Telegraph
By Jonathan Pearlman, in Sydney

Don Ritchie, 85, who lived across the road from The Gap – a treacherous coastal cliff in Sydney's east - would stop people in distress and say: "Is there something I could do to help you?" Hundreds of strangers subsequently stopped for his "kind word and a smile" and then changed their minds about jumping to the rocks below. Some had laid their shoes, wallets and a note on the coastal rocks and were poised to leap before being gently coaxed back from the edge. Officially, Mr Ritchie saved 160 people over the past 50-odd years, though his family believe the number is closer to 500.

Constitution Party Presidential Nominee Virgil Goode on Washington Journal

Former Congressman Virgil Goode talked about his recent election as the Constitution Party's Presidential Nominee on Washington Journal today.

Virgil Goode is a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives, who represented south central Virginia from 1997-2009. He was first elected to Congress as a Democrat  in 1996. He later changed his party affiliation to Independent in 2000 & then to Republican in 2002.

Record Crowd Attends Canada’s March for Life

From Catholic World News

A record crowd of 19,500 gathered in Ottawa on May 10 to attend Canada’s annual March for Life. Most attendees were under 30 years of age.

“Who is our neighbor?” preached Archbishop Terence Prendergast of Ottawa at a Mass at Ottawa’s cathedral. “The poor, the marginalized, the suffering, the defenseless, and yes, even those invisible in the womb.”

“We understand that we need to challenge the false idea that abortion is merely a private and personal decision,” he added. “The truth is that abortion hurts everyone, the developing child in the womb, the mother, the father, the extended family, and even our culture here in Canada.”

Because Canada’s population is less than 11% of that of the United States, a crowd of 19,500 in Canada is comparable to a crowd of almost 180,000 in the US. 

 

Additional sources for this story
Some links will take you to other sites, in a new window.

• Canadian March for Life smashes previous attendance records: 19,500 (LifeSiteNews.com)
• Archbishop Prendergast dissects ‘my body, my choice’ slogan at March for Life Mass (LifeSiteNews.com)
• March for Life draws nearly 20,000 people to Canada's Parliament Hill (CNS)

The 13th Day - The Miracle of Fatima

Faith's answer to the DaVinci Code, a true story of a miracle in Fatima. In a world torn apart by persecution, war and oppression, three children were chosen to carry a message of hope to the world.

Mormon Leaders Accused of Billion Dollar Gold Theft

Zions Bank

 

 Buying a Stairway to Heaven?

From Moneyteachers.org

By Paul Drockton

The following information is from phone interview conducted with Steve Davis on 6/22/11.

Clyde Davis was tied in with the Rothschilds and the Mormon Church. In fact when a member of the Swiss Rothschild family converted to Mormonism off of a missionary contact, it was Clyde Davis that met him at the airport. That same Rothschild cut a check for $100 million dollars to the Church to pay off a loan from the Rockefellers. The LDS Church apparently bought the Florida Ranch ( a massive property now used for a Church owned cattle ranch) with the expectation of reselling to Walt Disney. When good old Walt (whose wife was apparently Mormon) died instead, the crushing debt almost destroyed the Salt Lake based Church. (Source)

Now the plot thickens.

The Invisible Mom

We first posted the following on Mother's Day three years ago.  It seems to us a beautiful reflection on the life and spirituality of many mothers.  It never occurred to us that this essay would be controversial, and we are still surprised by the international rage it generated and continues to generate.  As the comments that accompany the original post indicate, it offended and inspired all the right people, and so we will continue to post it each Mother's Day. 

We have since learned that this beautiful reflection was written by Nicole Johnson, who reads it at Women of Faith conferences.

We wish all mothers a very blessed and happy day!

The Invisible Mom

The carvings depicting the Last Judgement above the central door or portal, Amiens Cathedral

By Nicole Johnson

It started to happen gradually. One day I was walking my son Jake to school. I was holding his hand and we were about to cross the street when the crossing guard said to him, 'Who is that with you, young fella?' 'Nobody,' he shrugged. Nobody? The crossing guard and I laughed. My son is only 5, but as we crossed the street I thought, 'Oh my goodness, nobody?'

I would walk into a room and no one would notice. I would say something to my family - like 'Turn the TV down, please' - and nothing would happen. Nobody would get up, or even make a move for the remote. I would stand there for a minute, and then I would say again, a little louder, 'Would someone turn the TV down?' Nothing.

Just the other night my husband and I were out at a party. We'd been there for about three hours and I was ready to leave. I noticed he was talking to a friend from work. So I walked over, and when there was a break in the conversation, I whispered, 'I'm ready to go when you are.' He just kept right on talking.

That's when I started to put all the pieces together. I don't think he can see me. I don't think anyone can see me.

I'm invisible. It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, 'Can't you see I'm on the phone?' Obviously not. No one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all.

I'm invisible.

Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this?

Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, 'What time is it?' I'm a satellite guide to answer, 'What number is the Disney Channel?' I'm a car to order, 'Right around 5:30, please.' I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated summa cum laude - but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again.

She's going... she's going... she's gone!

One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself as I looked down at my out-of-style dress; it was the only thing I could find that was clean. My unwashed hair was pulled up in a banana clip and I was afraid I could actually smell peanut butter in it. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, 'I brought you this.'

It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription: 'To Charlotte , with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.'

In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work: No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names.These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished. They made great sacrifices and expected no credit. The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.

A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, 'Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it.' And the workman replied, 'Because God sees.'

I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, 'I see you, Charlotte. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become.'

At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride. I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on. The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.

When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, 'My mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table.'

That would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, 'You're gonna love it there.'

As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.