Catholics Care. Catholics Vote.

Tuesday, November 8

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#PopeinDC Francis reminds us in address to Congress we must encounter, engage in the marketplace of ideas.

A Priest First, and Always

Rev. Theodore  M. Hesburgh, C.S.C.

Veni Sancte Spiritus.  Come, Holy Spirit.

With these daily words of prayer, Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C., implored the Holy Spirit to fill the hearts of thefaithful and to kindle in us the fire of God’s love.  Last night, at theage of 97 and after 71 years of priestly ministry in the Congregation of HolyCross, Father Ted has gone home to the Lord. 

(from statement of Notre Dame President Rev. John Jenkins, C.S.C.)

Personal note:  Fr. Ted was a Catholic priest who brought together in one special man the identity of the American Catholic.  In the mid 1970's, during late night strolls on the campus, I recall often seeing the light from his office under the Golden Dome. Working, studying, praying, he was ever dedicated to the service of God, Country and Notre Dame. 

One Nation Under God

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

 

(Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776)

Another Man for All Seasons

 

During this Fortnight for Freedom, Cardinal Timothy Dolan reminds us that our religious liberty is foremost among American freedoms and must remain more than a dream or vision.  Here is an excerpt from his June 21 homily, where he invokes St. Thomas More, whose feast day is today.

The Great Week

Palm Sunday, outside the Basilica of the Blessed Sacrament, Sacramento, California
(C) 2013 On Being Roman Catholic in America

For Catholics, the focus of the entire year is found in Holy Week, or what is sometimes referred to as "the Great Week"--as we re-live the Passion of Our Lord, Jesus Christ and ponder the power of unconditional love and utter freedom found in obedience to the will of the Father.

Pater, si non potest hic calix transire, nisi ibam illum: fiat voluntas tua. (Luke 22:42)

After the Green Beer

St. Patrick, Patron Saint of Ireland
(statue in the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, Sacramento, California)
(C) 2013 On Being Roman Catholic in America 

Never canonized by the Church, but affirmed as a saint, St. Patrick is dear to the hearts of the Irish and Irish-Americans.  Click here to learn why.

No News?

Life advocates march in downtown San Francisco
(C) 2013 On Being Roman Catholic in America

Despite some 50,000 people in support of life flowing like a river down Market Street in San Francisco, California, on a beautiful Saturday afternoon on January 26, 2013, it hardly made the news at all. 

Odd.  No news?

First, news because the event marked the 40th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade 1973 legal ruling by the United State Supreme Court that set into motion the legal-ized killing in the United States of an estimated 55,000,000 human lives to date--with no end in site. 

Second, news because the number of life advocates continues to appear on the rise in polls and, over this weekend, in person.  In Washington, D.C., on Friday, January 25, some 500,000 people marched in protest to the steps of the United State Supreme Court.  The next day, on the West Coast, in the City of Saint Francis, some 50,000 showed up, but, thanks to the mainstream media, unaccounted for.

Third, news because technological changes, such as 3-D ultra sound imaging, is offering stark truth about the reality of abortion on demand.  And changing hearts--and minds.

Fourth, news because a growing number of young women--and young men--are rejecting the false truths of our "culture of death"--as evidenced especially in advertising, movies, television, and video games--in favor of choosing life.

Fifth, news because recent legal decisions and legislative actions are, at last, beginning to cause the unravelling of Roe '73.

At least five news angles for a thoughtful exercise in journalism.  And here's one more:  the fact that there was hardly any reported news over this weekend from our "Fourth Estate," well, that's the real story!   Need pictures?

Hold the press!

-30-

55 Million

January 22, 1973

55,000,000

If a number like “55 million” is hard to grasp, think of it this way—if you added together the populations of New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Antonio, San Diego, Dallas, Jacksonville, Indianapolis, and San Francisco, you would only have about 26.1 million people—less than half the number aborted. –LifeNews.com

Throughout the United States, there are established memorial sites for the victims of the abortion holocaust.  Let us remember.

Let us pray.

JMJ

Creche at St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church, Pismo Beach, CA
(c) 2012 On Being Roman Catholic in America

JMJ - Jesus, Mary and Joseph.  The Holy Family.  Years ago, and perhaps still today, Catholic school children wrote JMJ across the top of every paper.  The Most Reverend Fulton J. Sheen popularized JMJ as he wrote the initials across the top of the blackboard during his weekly television series.  Once, as he "signed in" as a guest on the popular television show, What's My Line? he wrote JMJ and then his own name.

The Holy Family--Jesus, Mary and Joseph--models the love of the family unit, which instructs us in the perfect Love of our Triune God found in the relationship of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.  During Christmastide, we are reminded of the formational love of the Christian family, which love, by its example, teaches us to reach out to all "men of good will."  

In establishing the tradition of the nativity scene, St. Francis continues to teach the world about the love of the Holy Family.

End of Days

(C) 2012 On Being Roman Catholic in America

Some said the Mayan calendar predicted the end of the world, but doomsday, December 21, came and went.  But not without incident.  In this part of the world, a beautiful rainbow painted a glorious arch across the early morning sky.  A sign perhaps.  As the story goes, after the Flood, the rainbow was given as a sign of the Creator's covenant with Noah for a New Beginning.  (Gen. 9:13-17.)  Only hours from now, if we open our hearts, we may find another sign of a New Beginning:  A Child in a manger.  (Luke 2:7.)  A sign of New Life.   Of Hope. 

Mary, Full of Grace - Patroness of the United States

Immaculate Conception - Side Altar, Basilica in Denver, Colorado (C) 2012 On Being Roman Catholic in America

 



On December 8, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, we celebrate Mary, full of grace.  We celebrate Mary's participation in salvation history by her faithful "yes"--her acceptance, fiat, of God's will.  On this day, of all days, we are reminded that our relationship with God, the Creator, begins at the moment of our conception.  We ask Mary, Patroness of the United States, to pray with us for an end to the evil that promotes a cultural of death, and especially to safeguard and protect the child in the womb.

Respect Life Sunday

Litany to Mary (click picture)

 

On "Respect Life" Sunday, we are reminded of the beautiful prayer of John Paul the Great, entrusting the cause of life to Mary, "Mother of the living."

Year of Faith Begins October 11

Click on the logo to learn more about the design

 

 

A “Year of Faith” begins October 11, 2012.  What is the “Year of Faith,” and why?  Read here and here.

 

 

Lino Under the Dome

"Touchdown Jesus" mosaic, University of Notre Dame (source:Lino Rulli Facebook page)

A part of today's American Catholic culture, Lino Rulli, the Catholic Guy, brings a special brand of Catholic humor to every event:  the Home of the Fightin' Irish, Notre Dame, being no exception when Rulli recently visited the campus and its icons and tweeted from the Michigan game.  

Our Conscience Cries Out

"I cannot! I must not! I will not!"  At the recent San Franciso "Stand Up" rally, Fr. Keyes explains how this rallying cry of the past intersects with our historical present.  (Click here or photo for video link.)



Fr. Keyes at S.F. "Stand Up" Rally, June 8, 2012

Excerpt from full speech:

We are not imposing our values on anyone. The government has dictated that employees at Catholic institutions are provided with free contraception, and that is the imposition on our faith and on our conscience. The government doesn't want so much to advance the cause of women's health, but rather, they seek to demonize a faith group that has the "audacity of hope," that they might live their faith free from government interference and intrusion.

Beyond Protest: Prayer and Procession

Source:  Diocese of Sacramento

Beyond the witness of protest, there is witness by prayer and procession

Excerpt from the Sacramento Diocese website:

eucharistic procession through the streets of downtown sacramento

Hundreds join Bishop Soto in Sacramento on 'Walk for Religious Freedom' on Feast of Corpus Christi June 9

Bishop Jaime Soto led some 1,000 people on a "Walk for Religious Freedom" on the Feast of Corpus Christi, June 9, in downtown Sacramento. Following celebration of the 5 p.m. Mass at the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, the bishop led a eucharistic procession through the streets of downtown Sacramento, ending at the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, located at 711 T Street.

The procession included several stops for prayer for Catholic education, Catholic Charities and Catholic health care, all of which could be impacted by the mandate issued earlier this year by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. If the mandate stands, the federal government will force Catholic institutions to provide insurance coverage for sterilization and contraception, including abortion-inducing drugs, even though it violates the religious beliefs of Catholics.

Similar processions took place on June 9 after the 5:15 p.m. Mass at Sacred Heart Church, in Red Bluff, with Father Joyle Martinez, and at St. John the Baptist Church in Chico, following the 5 p.m. Mass, with Father Michael Baricuatro. On Sunday, June 10 there was a procession at St. Vincent Ferrer Parish in Vallejo following the 2 p.m. Mass, led by Father Stephen Borlang, pastor.

Dioceses nationwide will highlight religious liberty during the "Fortnight for Freedom" from June 21, the vigil of the feasts of St. John Fisher and St. Thomas More, to July 4, U.S. Independence Day.

Corpus Christi

(C) 2012 On Being Roman Catholic in America

Appropriately enough, on the weekend of the Feast of Corpus Christi, Sacramento, California, being named for the Blessed Sacrament, the Most Holy Eucharist, was one of many sites across the United States where Americans stood up for religious freedom.  More photos on facebook.

(C) 2012 On Being Roman Catholic in America

Our Champion

Cardinal Dolan on CBS News

Roman Catholics in America have a true champion in USCCB President Cardinal Timothy Dolan, who lays out the case for how government interferes with "the free exercise of religion" by defining the scope of Catholic ministries.  Watch the video.

Cheer! Cheer!

The University of Notre Dame Sues to Stop HHS Mandate

In a U.S. federal district court complaint by the University of Notre Dame filed today against the Obama administration’s HHS Mandate, numbered paragraphs from the legal pleading outline how the federal mandate violates religious liberty for Catholic institutions:  

271. The Free Exercise Clause and Establishment Clause protect the freedom of religious organizations to decide for themselves, free from state interference, matters of church government as well as those of faith and doctrine.

272. Under these Clauses, the Government may not interfere with a religious organization’s internal decisions concerning the organization’s religious structure, ministers, or doctrine.

273. Under these Clauses, the Government may not interfere with a religious organization’s internal decision if that interference would affect the faith and mission of the organization itself.

274. Notre Dame is a religious organization under the general control and direction of the Roman Catholic Church.

275. The Catholic Church views abortifacients, sterilization, and contraception as intrinsically immoral, and prohibits Catholic organizations from condoning or facilitating those practices.

276. Notre Dame has abided and must continue to abide by the decision of the Catholic Church on these issues.

277. The Government may not interfere with, or otherwise question the final decision of the Catholic Church that its religious organizations must abide by these views.

278. The Government may not interfere with the Catholic Church’s affiliated religious organizations, including Notre Dame, with regard to their religious beliefs on abortifacients, sterilization, and contraception.

279. In accordance with this Catholic doctrine, Notre Dame has made the internal decision that its employee and student health plans may not cover, subsidize, or facilitate abortifacients, sterilization, or contraception.

280. The U.S. Government Mandate interferes with Notre Dame’s internal decisions concerning its structure and mission by requiring it to either facilitate practices that directly conflict with Catholic tenets or face substantial penalties.

281. As a University with a publicly stated goal to ensure that its Catholic character informs all its endeavors, Notre Dame is an integral part of the Catholic Church.

282. The U.S. Government Mandate and its religious employer exemption interfere with the organizational structure of Notre Dame as part of the Church by requiring Notre Dame to include or facilitate coverage for practices that directly conflict with its Catholic tenets but purporting to exempt the Church.

283. Because the U.S. Government Mandate interferes with the internal decisionmaking and organizational structure of Notre Dame in a manner that affects its faith and mission, the U.S. Government Mandate violates the Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment.

284. The Government is also requiring student health plans, including the one currently offered by Notre Dame, to include abortion-inducing drugs, sterilization, and contraception, and related education and counseling.

285. Defendants have again violated the Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment by requiring Notre Dame’s student health plan to include services that violate its religious beliefs, and thereby interfering with the internal decisionmaking and organizational structure of Notre Dame in a manner that affects its faith and mission.

Read the full complaint here.