On the road again

Okay, before I continue story telling, I would just like to say that I decided to go to evening daily Mass yesterday due to being the feast day of St. James (patron St. of the church I grew up attending and at which I have made all of my sacraments thus far). It was my first attempt to attend Mass at St. Joe's; however, I was sorely disappointed. There were only like 6 other people I believe and one left after the readings. Everyone was so scattered a part it was ridiculous. Everyone also decided to say the prayers during Mass so softly that I was wondering if they all had just left and weren't there any more. And they forgot what the cues are to stand/kneel and so forth. I'm hoping that the small turn out was due to the fact that there was a funeral that afternoon and the regulars decided to go to that, but still from the people that attended, it made me feel like I didn't really want to be there anymore. Oh well, had to get that off of my chest, sorry about the short rant.

Since I was asked to go to the shrine, although I was already a little worn down after standing outside for over 4 hours, guess what I did? I ran back, cleaned up, and drove to the shrine. I had never been down there before, but found out that it takes 1 1/2 hours. Well, I prayed the Chaplet of Divine Mercy in the lower chapel, hung out in the upper church, walked around the gift shop for a while and bought some stuff. Well, I spent 2 hours there and really enjoy the awesomeness of the place, but I didn't see any of the walkers. Darn.

Well, I made the 1 1/2 hour drive back so that I could chaperone 14 high schoolers at our Youth Group lock-in for the next 12 hrs. I did lay down for an hour, and got a little bit less in sleep. We ended with early Mass where Brendan and Shannon, two of the walkers talked and had info afterwards. Yay! Shannon told me that they ended up running out of time to go to the shrine, so they didn't end up going. Well, lucky for me, there weren't many musicians showing up for the next Mass, so I stayed to sing for that one too. I remembered that I had a large denomination bill in the car from Christmas and decided to donate it to Crossroads. After Mass, it was time to go take another shower so I could go to a Baby Shower.

Well, the baby shower went well, and afterwards I had to stop by the adoration chapel since I promised the walkers that I'd pray for them. I prayed the glorious mysteries, and it was probably the most devout rosary that I've prayed in a long time. Then I final got to bed after about 39 hours.

Well, I got information from them about where they will be prayin' in ATL next weekend, so I figured since it's only 4 1/2 hours away, I can go out there and TRY to hang out with my friends and family ^_^

Sure it ended up being an extremely long and jam packed weekend, but it was full of life (quite litterally!) and Church and was actually rejuvinating. There are 3 treks of walkers (northern, central, southern) that will be covering about 60 miles per day until they all arrive in DC on Aug. 12. Please take some time in the upcomming weeks to pray for these great individuals. Also, if you are graduating high school, in college, or a young adult pray to see if you might be willing to donate all or some of your time next summer to walk across the country! To check out more about their group, go to Crossroads

Paix du Christ!

How great is our God!

This weekend didn't work out at all for me. It ended up much, much better! Isn't God wonderful?

I was going to go to Atlanta to see a high school group do Les Mis, and hopefully spend time with my cousins, and maybe even hang out with a friend that has a great personality and attractive (wink, wink, nod, nod). Anyway, work had other plans, that made me not be able to cut out early on Fri. So, I stayed in town. You know what that means... that's right, another downtown ritual and have I got a story for you!

This Sat. was overcast, okay it was down right cloudy and definitely going to rain sometime that day. But, that was a good thing as it made it a nice temperature to be outside. Well, at first we were 6 strong and actually, all of the first bunch were all Catholic. And we got a few thumbs up from passers. 2 of our group left only after a little while. Not too much later, we get a call (a little after 9) from some of our friends to see if we had been rained out since they are about 1/2 hour away and didn't know if they should come out. It hadn't rained all morning, and we told them we were out, so they said they would join us. Not too much later, it started sprinkling, and some Episcopalian friends showed up. One of the members wanted to call it quits when the rain came because she thought it was going to storm pretty soon. So, we armed ourselves with umbrellas and stayed. After awhile our Baptist friends from out of town, the ones that called, showed up with the kids. And the rain stopped. I joked with Mike that we didn't get any 1 finger salutes from passers until they showed up. And then some more Catholic friends came by.

So, we had our group of 13, which is pretty hardy. Just before 10:00 something absolutely amazing happened. An RV passes the street we are standing on with writing all over and it says PRO-LIFE WALK ACROSS AMERICA in bold letters! It goes around the corner and pulls into the parking lot on the corner. A couple of the ladies run down and then comeback saying that the new comers are coming up to join us (okay, thanks, but I already had that one figured). So, around the corner come 10 young adults with white shirts and PRO LIFE covering the front. Everyone else on that side of the sidewalk started talking to them, so I didn't rush over there. But, after awhile, I looked back and they were standing in a line holding books. Ah, I see, they had started praying the rosary! Excellent, just what I've been wanting. So, I make my way over there and then stand next to Major, who had joined them, and told him I was going to jump when the next set started (I had already silently prayed through the first 3 sets, so I figured it was alright if I missed the joyful since I wasn't there at the begining). Major said that he'd go stand at the other end then. So we go on to the luminous. During the song after it and before starting on sorrowful, God neglected to give us warning, but the sky just opened up and huge drops of water came flooding out. Major and I jumped for the umbrellas we had laid aside from the earlier rains and covered whoever we could. The walkers made it to an overhang at the building on the corner and we stood there talking for a while. I offered to run to a store and find ponchos for everyone, but they declined and 2 of the guys came back from the RV with small trash bags with holes in the top to cover at least the girls (well, their t-shirts were white). After ahile, the rain had washed out all of the rest of the locals, but after it let up, we headed back out to continue God's work. They lined back up, I joined them and we went through the other 2 sets of mysteries. It started raining again, and I noticed that one of the girls, Libby, didn't get a trash bag, but a fuzzy jacket. Bad idea. I popped open my umbrella and huddled with her. We finished up about 11:30, I walked over to the RV with them and asked some information including how to find out where they were going to be praying in ATL next weekend so I could let my friends out there know. They were all really nice and excellent people. I invited them over so they wouldn't have to cram back in their small space, but they said they were going to cleanup and head down to the Shrine (Mother Angelica's shrine) so they wouldn't have time, but they invited me to show up there and hang out with them and they eventually left.

To be continued...

Paix du Christ!

Slow days

Sorry that it's been a little on the light side. We moved into a new office building. I've made a couple of trips back home. I've been assigned stuff at work that is really frustrating and time consuming. And I've also gotten involved in LibriVox that I found out about from Julie D. at Happy Catholic

Let's see; first, I was in town this past weekend, so, of course, I was out praying Sat. morning. Our group was a small crowd, it was very hot, and the traffic seemed light, even the flow of women coming in. I still haven't seen any of the vehicles of any of the first people that we met from the Hospitality House (I hope that's a good sign). The funniest thing happened. Some guy passing on the other side of the road decides to lean quite a ways out of his van window and yell, "GET A JOB!" I died laughing. I didn't know that being out on a Sat. morning meant that you didn't have a day job. I don't think that got the memo that the usual yell out the window is: "GET A LIFE!" Which Mom apparently finds highly ironic. There was a white SUV that passed kind of slowly (ie not speeding) with a 2 people, the driver was male, and it looked like the passenger was a female and there was a large AU magnet on the back. He turned around at the parking lot at the end, usually these are all signs that they are scoping out the place on the first pass, so they can be sure to make the correct turn on the second pass, and possibly to make sure that we aren't blocking the entrance. So, when I saw them turn, I let everyone know that one was coming. The passenger was definitely female, and they both had on white shirts saying they worked security for the VBC. He pulled up to the curb and slowed down. But, having the passenger window rolled down kind of caught me off gaurd. Instead of pulling in, he leaned across so he could see better out the other window and said "You're doing a good job," smiled, and drove off. Wow! If you ever stumble across this, thank you so much. You really made my day.

Other than that, it was pretty quite on the front. I went back to my ol' theatre company who was putting on Seussical. Let me tell you, I was pretty skeptical going in, but coming out, I was a fan. They had a great cast for the show, and I thought the show was pretty excellent. If you ever have a chance to see it, go. Although it will be in Huntsville soon and they are charging $21 O.o I don't know about paying that price for a community theatre.

Well, my recent online hobby is LibriVox. FREE Audiobooks. That's right, absolutely free books that you can download in MP3, you don't have to login or provide an email address or anything, just save the file. The books, of course, have to be in the public domain, but they are still great books and a lot of great readings. If you like it, support them, no money needed, but there are a few different ways to go about it. First, you can print off posters and put them in your library/work/where ever, or email, or tell people, or post in your blog, just get the word out. Second, you can listen. Pick a chapter or 2 and listen to it to make sure that there's not too much background noise or no long pauses and things like that. Thrid, you can read. We already know that you have a computer and are online since you are reading this, all you need is a microphone and a free program to download and you can record poems, chapters, or even whole books and have everyone across the world listening to you!

Before I go, there was a news story on Fri. about some child that has a disease and has all of these hospital visits and needs that are very costly. The reporter in the story said that when they went in to some financial aid person to ask for more monetary help, they were told that they could only help them if the couple got a divorce. WHAT?!? That just makes me boil. Of course, they said they couldn't do that. No duh, they love each other. There's just too much to complain about there, so since there is nothing good to say about it...

Paix du Christ!

My Mom Rocks!

At least that's what Lynne told me. As I went back downtown this Sat. morning, I wore my T-shirt that has a picture of a fetus with its hands folded in a bubble being held with two large hands. At the bottom is Mother Theresa's quote: "It is a poverty to decide that a child must die so that you may live as you wish." All day long I was asked where I got it so I told people that Mom made it for her youth group when they were doing something. So, when I told Lynne she replied with "Your Mom Rocks!"

It was another short morning as many people had family coming in around luch time for the holiday and had to make it back earlier than normal, but it was definitely still interesting. We still have people stopping and telling us to "get a life" which seems to be the best thing they can say, because they usually degrade to vulgar language quickly after that and end up using just one finger as a final retort.

Well last week, although we had all gone, the police were called out. One of the people in the group was relating the story since they saw the police pull up and start talking to Mr. Scott (the guy that was talking to people from the Hospitality House porch, so we figured that was the reason the cop was there in the first place) as they were leaving. As the cop was pulling out, they asked if Mr. Scott was in trouble. The cop just smiled and said, "Nah, he's fine."

This week, the cops were also called. Apparently, some chick didn't like her picture to be taken (Mike has his camera just in case some altercation happens and wears it kind of as a slight threat, and takes it out to take pictures of cars and people sometimes). So, she called the police because she thought she had a right to arrest him. The cop came to ask for our permit, glad the only person that had a copy of it on them showed up just before (I didn't even know there had to be one). And then told Mike he had to give her his name and she would have to file suit if she wanted something done since it would be a civil matter and not a criminal matter. Although both parties were a little rude. The cop was nice enough to point that out when he was getting a little tired and said all he was there for was to make sure nothing happened when she asked for his information and until the parties were seperated (i.e. she drove off) On her way out, she took a picture of him with her cell phone. There goes her case if she thought she had one to begin with. Afterwards, Mike said he felt a little bad that he was slightly rude to the officer, but I found out that one of the other officers that showed up is usually confrontational and a little pushy with the group, so they were kind of edgy with him there. Now, you have to understand, in Huntsville, when the cops hear something on their radio 3 or 4 cars show up because they feel that there's nothing else going on (even when it's just a speeding ticket), so 1 works while the others just sit around and watch and chat off to the side. It's never anything big unless there's more than 5 cop cars.

Other than that it was a pretty uneventful morning. Everyone always thanks me for being there after something like that happens. I guess they like the thought of a bigger guy hanging around. Also, I'm pretty cool headed in that type of instance and they appreciate it too. The people we met from the Hospitality House were still there plus a couple more. When people on their way out saw us talking to the other people, they would roll down there windows and wait to say hi and tell us the names of their family members in the hospital so that we would pray for them. That was cool that they were pretty much waiting to ask us to pray for them. All of the residents always said that we were doing a great thing out there.

So, continue to pray for Mr. Scott's son. Josh and Clay were the 2 others from last week. Josh is the younger one and they may release him soon, yay! Clay, the one in worse shape is in the hospital and they said was able to take the tube out on his own, but of course he still needs it in (so that's some positive and negative). Jefferey and Hallie are some others in the hospital who need some praying power.

Paix du Christ!

Why stop now?

Since I have a string of posts going about abortions, why not keep up the trend for the time being ^_^ Plus, I read somewhere on the internet that not too long ago, San Francisco had more abortions than births occuring. How awful.

You may remember this post I wrote in April around Easter time about a group of students at NKU that were incited by a professor to destroy and vandalize a pro-life display. Well, the issue has recently been settled as the professor has agreed to pay for the damages, donate money to a local life center, and issue an apology. You can read more over at ProLifeBlogs

Here are some videos of abortions on the interent. Clearly, some videos are not for all people. You may choose not to view them which is fine. These are links to pages with links to the video, so clicking on this link will not start the video and you still have time to decide if you wish to watch it. I'll provide a little of what you'll see in the videos; the videos are very graphic and it is up to you to decide if you should watch them:

• Abort73 - This video has number statistics and then shows still photographs of aborted babies that you might have already seen.
• Choice Blues - You've seen the pictures, now watch it in live action. This is a video from the perspective of the abortionists as they pull the baby out in pieces. (Probably the most graphic and most disturbing)
• Silent Scream - This video is in 5 parts, all of them are good (but if you're crunched for time, Part 3 is the most important one). This video is from the perspective of the baby, or as close as you can get, during an abortion by using ultrasound. The purpose is because you can see the baby thrashing, opening its mouth as if to scream, and the heart rate rise to 200. Pay close attention to what the doctor says in the very begining. The abortionist (who had preformed over 10,000 abortions) and the attendant (who was a "pro-choice" feminist) both never did an abortion after participating in the experiment and seeing its results.

And people think that I'm crazy for taking action by using some Sat. mornings to go and pray and stand up for these children. There are no rights when it comes to an abortion; only wrongs.

Ken at Time Immortal has a post with an absolutely amazing picture of a C-section birth. And read the post, he notes that sadly, at the time the picture was taken that in Canada and some states the child is not considered a human being and could still legally be killed. If the doctors raise the baby a foot or two, it's then a human being and illegal to kill it. What's the physical and medical difference in those two "organism?" I can't tell, can you?

Paix du Christ!

Weekend for Life

Wow, what a weekend it turned out to be and the theme throughout all of it was LIFE!

Friday - As I mentioned before, Catholic Answers had 2 hours devoted to pro-life topics. Go listen. The first hour is a former abortionist and his wife talking. Their story is absolutely AMAZING. Towards the middle/end of the hour another ObGyn who has always been pro-life calls in to talk about the one time he did do an abortion and how it has affected him. You'll hear a girl calling in that had an abortion that she didn't want donw. Definitely worth the time.

Saturday - Well, I decided to head down to the abortion mill at about 8:00, to see if there were any wackos out there. There were. I guess I didn't really plan on seeing anyone or maybe just one or two people because I didn't grab a rosary, and the one that I keep in the car is broken right now. But, upon arrival, it seemed like a fairly average size crowd, so I decided to stop and stay. The people I met are really great people, probably the nicest and most welcoming pro-lifers I've met (although pretty much all pro-lifers you meet are nice and respectful people). Including myself, there were 9 adults and 4 kids, which they said was a large crowd. Of course, there was a mix of different Christians as you will pretty much always find. There wasn't any real organized prayer going on, but a man by the name of Major had a Rosary of the Unborn with interesting beads that you can find at Holy Love Missions, so I think I might get together with him to see if he would start praying out loud with me.

We shared some interesting stories, and had some interesting experiences. The pro-aborts are ALWAYS more threatening, foul, and down-right mean than the pro-lifers and we experienced a couple of them. My favorite story they told me was about a man driving in by himself with a top-down convertible, they said hi and he said he was there to fix the air-conditioning. So, they nicely informed him that they do abortions here and apparently his response was "They didn't tell me that," and decided to drive off and take his business somewhere else.

The sadest part is that the mill is situated about half-way between downtown and the hospital and it is only 1 1/2 blocks down the street (same street, same side) as the Early Child Works Museum! Also, directly next door is the Hospitality House for the hospital (like a Ronald McDonald House if your more familar with that). Apparently, the people that run that place are sympathetic to the evil and let the clients park in their lot and will call the police to arrest pro-lifers if they step into the parking lot. However, all of the residents that went in or out were very pro-life and sympathetic to us. One guy even even sat out on the side porch that overlooked the abortion mill's parking lot and would talk to the people getting out of their cars. What a great man! His son has been in the hospital for 5 weeks due to a motorcycle accident, obviously has other things he could be thinking about, but takes time to try to save some babies lives. Please, please pray for Mr. Scott's son. Two other ladies were in there for 2 guys in a car accident, apparently, the one's husband isn't doing so hot. If you have time to add these men to your prayer list, please do.

Later on, one of my friends at the picnic that I went to later who kept asking what I'd been upto in the morning, I went ahead and told him to see what he would think (plus I was interested in his stance since he was a nurse). I didn't really find out officially how he feels, but he didn't seem too pro-life. He said he knew a nurse that works at this(?) mill and she carries a gun for her own protection. That comment kind of stunned me off guard, and also was pretty scary. I wonder who that gun is ment for, she doesn't need it for any of us.

Also, Stella posted an abortion-related article over at The Wandering Moon

Sunday - The Mass intention was said for the cause of pro-life. How neat, and how well it rounded out the whole weekend.

Paix du Christ!

Romania is in a terrible state

Reading over the Choose Life of North Alabama's quarterly newsletter for the Summer of 2006, I found some interesting news. If you think Abortions in America is bad, take a look at this excerpt from the article:

It is mind-boggling to know that the very fi rst act of the new Romanian government after the fall of communism was the legalization of abortion. Three out of four pregnancies (75%) are terminated. Women in Romania average fi ve abortions. Many have 20 or more.

We're winning in this country. Let's keep things going in the right direction.

Paix du Christ!

Starting a war path?

Yesterday driving around I finally found the abortion mill in Huntsville. I couldn't find the PP center (although I drove up and down that street for quite some time, I even got out and walked the block that the signs said was the 300 block), but it still eluded me. I hope to start taking some actions. There is a pro-life group here called Choose Life, I've tried to ask them a couple of times to send me information since I moved here last year, but never saw anything come through the mailbox. So, I might still see if I can help them with anything, and probably get some of my information from them.

I need to find out what their hours are especially on Sat. In KY, there was a group that prayed at the one in Louisville every week. I joined them a couple of times. They would have a blitz during the first couple of weekends in May for Mother's Day. The turn out was absolutely amazing those days, Christians of all types, genders, races, and sizes. No one around here seems to know if anyone prays down there, I think that's something I'd like to start doing again and even more regularly, but I might be there alone and that would definitely be tough. Maybe I'll try to get up early tomorrow and just sit across the street and see what kind of activity is there (the Louisville group started praying at 7:00). In KY, they would have to find on-street parking or park in another lot and walk down the sidewalk on the street to get into the mill. Unfortunately, down here there is a small lot off of the road and the door faces away from the road. But, there is only one way in or out of the lot and it's a narrow driveway, so people would still have to see you as they drive up.

There's also something else that would be a lot easier to do and I want to try. But first, I need to find the PP center and a nice young lady who can role play and be mature about it. I'd like to go in acting as a young, sexually-active couple and see what they offer and things they have to say. I think it would be interesting to see if they mention anything about abstinence. It would also be interesting to see what they say if you go in as a young, unmarried, pregnant couple to see how much emphasis would be put on abortion. However, only one of those is probably possible, unless on the different occaissons there would be different workers and counselors so no one would know that you had already been in about something different.

What's more? Catholic Answers is having a former abortionist tell all during the first hour and the second hour is a pro-life open forum for all call-in questions devoted to a worthwhile topic. And it's all happening today at 18:00 ET, so tune in! Can't spare that time of the day on the internet, get this information too late, don't have an EWTN radio broadcast station near you, or don't have Sirius to tune into Channel 160? No problem, subscribe free to the Catholic Answers podcast through iTunes Music Store or your favorite aggregator. Technology challenged with podcast downloaders? No problem, go to Catholic.com, click on archives at the bottom right and download the mp3's yourself to listen when you have the time.

Paix du Christ!

Why so down?

Let's see, yesterday, I tried to make the apricot bread recipe Stella has over at The Wandering Moon. It's pretty good!

I'm starting to get a little frustrated with the stories the producers are chosing on Good Morning America. Yesterday there was a story about how marriages can be more vibrant after one of them has an affair. What load of garbage is THAT?!? Also on GMA, I heard about a crippled woman singing the national anthem in the house of representatives (I assumed national, since I was getting ready in the bathroom at the time, but it was actually in CO) and everyone started singing with her when she got nervous. However, thanks to Stella pointing me to Cvstos Fidei's site I found the rest of the story since they were unwilling to divulge that she was a baby that survived a failed abortion and now has CP because of it (the news story). And then today, they were talking about how condoms are pretty successful (70%) at preventing the transmission of HPV (the virus that can cause cervical cancer). One more time, I have a better way ... DON'T HAVE SEX!!! Come on, It's really a no-brainer. How many times am I going to have to say that here?

Anyway, in other news, I was kind of depressed yesterday. No one would answer their phones, so I couldn't find anyone to share my apricot bread with. Some out-o-town folks are in that I would really like to see, but again, no one will answer their phones so I can't find out where anyone is. Bummer. So, I went out just driving around town for an hour or so and turned on the Broadway Station (of course). That did alright, like usual, but when I was sitting around flipping through stations, I stopped on APT. There was a story about a man with Downs Syndrome named Jon.

When he when he was born, in the early 60's the parents talked to a doctor friend with a handicapped brother. He said that he would definitely put the child in an institution because keeping his brother had ruined his family's life. What a horrid thing to say! The grandparents weren't even supportive. His middle name, was going to be the mom's maiden name, but her parents put up a stink about that when they found out he was retarded. When they asked the father's parents for money to help with the institution after being in debt due to the hospital bills, they were sent $5. Apparently, it was a hard decision, but the parents went with it. 7 years later they get a call saying that the person taking care of Jon had died and he would need to be moved. They went from Charleston to St. Louis to pick him up and bring him to a nursing home closer to them. Apparently, he didn't have the best care as he couldn't chew food or talk. Their other children were frightened of their brother. Eventually, they decided to keep them in their home. They said that it's the best thing they have ever done and regret not being able to spend the first part of his life with him. Now Jon is 43 and still doesn't talk, he uses a modified sign language to communicate, he always wears blue Mickey Mouse shirts and eats an egg sandwich for every meal. His biggest pleasures in life are folding sheets of paper, Furbies, and swimming.

It got me thinking how complex our world has gotten and how wonderful it would be to enjoy such simple things in life. And why should I worry about not having anything to do on a Wed. or how to go about resolving my single situation. There are way too many things to be thankful for and way too many things to enjoy. I also thought about the things Jon could never experience. He can never experience the sacrements except baptism. He probably couldn't understand too much about God and faith, he only has an IQ of 20. But, its so relieving to see someone so happy with themselves and their life.

To find out more about Jon's story, buy the documentary, or see when it will be on TV near you, check out theteachingsofjon.com

One more thing, some girl from the other side of the building apparently walked into my co-worker's office across the hall and fainted while I was sitting here typing. I had no idea that anything was going on until I heard the first responder's radio. Please say a prayer for Lisa that she's alright.

Paix du Christ!

Abortion Mill CLOSED!

Sorry that I didn't foreworn everyone here, I kinda got caught up in the jobs at work and getting ready. Last week, I was on a mission trip to D.C. with the youth group from back home in the Archdiocese of Louisville. It was a very long and busy weekend, but fun and spiritually rejuvinating. I'll get around to posting some of the activities and lessons learned from the trip later on this week.

For those of you paying attention, you know that today there was supposed to be a hearing about the license of an Abortion Mill in Birmingham, AL that was temporarily suspended in the middle of May. Well, our prayers were answered sooner than expected, but alas, I was away from the internet last week, so I still didn't find out until today. Here is a segment of a news article from Thursday:

State health department officials announced Wednesday (June 14) that the clinic at 1801 14th Ave. South in Birmingham waived its right to a June 20 hearing in Montgomery and agreed to remain closed. Health officials closed the center on May 17, citing the violations.

You can read the whole story by using the link in the header. Unfortunately, there have been 4 death camps to open in the past month, bringing the total to 740 in our country. Let's keep those prayers going to get rid of this scourge.

Paix du Christ!

666 - A Day of Death and Destruction - 666

Okay, so the world didn't end on June 6, 2006, or 06/06/06 (no matter what part of the globe you live on). But, then again, I guess the same could be said for the 19 other centuries that didn't happen either. But yesterday's theme was definitely pain, death, and destruction. Or at least in my life; rest assured, no one that I know died.

Work was awful, just one of those bad days where you want to strangle someone. A great way to start of the day! I went to help out with middle school youth group, but no one showed up. When I got back to my place, I pulled a back mussle getting out of the car, what the heck?!? Needless to say that I didn't do much of anything but lay on the couch with the TV on and taking a nap for the rest of the night.

On PBS, they had a show about Alfred Nobel. Yeah, the Nobel Peace Prize guy. He invented Nitro Glycerin, dynamite, and esentially ended up starting the arms war with the introduction of high explosives. He thought if he could create the ultimate weapon then there would be no need for war, kind of like the idea of a war to end all wars I guess. And we know how far both of those theories got us towards peace. They contiuned the destruction theme by covering the advent of the atomic bomb.

The next show, Frontline, kept the spirit of the culture of death going with an episode called "The Last Abortion Clinic." It was really a great show to watch about the abortion issue with a bit of history of court cases and where we are now. They also take cameras into abortion mills and a pregnancy crisis center (where they try to help women with options and refuse to refer them to an abortion). I was absolutely baffled to see the workers in the mill consulting with people in person and on the phone asking them to pray to God for the strength and courage to go through with their choice. Now, talking about using God's name in vain; I can't think of anything worse against this commandment. Also, you get to hear the pro-aborts make it sound like killing these childern is the only option that these poor, young women have, and the pro-life people are standing in the way of their last, best hope to rectify what they chose to do. What about better education in our school systems? What about NOT HAVING SEX? It is wonderful to hear that in some states the women have an ultra-sound before an abortion. The abortion mills in these areas say that the women can't afford it and they have to refer them to some place that will do it for free, which are crisis centers. The best quote in the whole episode is when the person running a mill says, "We are loosing." It's nice to hear you admit it! You should definitely go to the web page to find when it might be on in your area. Can't find a time it's on TV when you're around? No problem, look to the right side or the top of the page and you can watch it online.

One more proof that 06/06/06 has this running theme is that for the past 2 days (I fortunately saved the very first part before the problems started, so I'm still using the original date stamp), blogger has been severly acting up. I've tried posting this thing 3 times already, hopefully this time I won't loose it again.

One more thing, dealing with topics in this post, please remember to pray for the permanent closing of the Birmingham abortion mill which is temporarily closed right now. The hearing on June 20th is less than 2 weeks away.

Paix du Christ!

We are family!

Everything that I had planned for this weekend failed. But it ended up being an excellent weekend! I still went out to Atlanta like I had planned, but with the encyclical study apparently being on holiday with the rest of the world I ended up helping Allen move his dorm stuff from the van into the house instead. On Sunday, I figured that I would go the the IATT (It's a TEC thing) they were having in NE ATL. Well, at the gas station on the way out, my keys locked themselves in my car, so I showed up an hour late to a 2 hour program, but there was Mass afterwards. I also wanted to watch the Indy 500 like I do every year and thought that I might try to catch a LifeTeen Mass since Linda keeps mentioning trying to do LifeTeen sometime in the future. Guess what! I didn't do either of those either. Previously, on my way drive over on Sat., I called up some distant family that I haven't seen or talked to in over 16 years. That's right, before I was 10 years old. They live in Newnan, so I went to meet up with them.

So, my cousin, Mary, got married almost 17 yrs ago, which was the last time I saw them. And now they have a 16 yr old daughter that I have never met. We use cousin to define most people in our family, we don't particularly break down relationships, but I figured out that Mary and her sister are my half first cousins twice removed and their daughter would be my half second cousin once removed. When I called out of the air when I was driving we talked for awhile and Mary invited me to a cook-out on Sunday. So, I decided to take her up on it. When I showed up, she had old pictures out of a really, really young me. I pulled out pictures of Me and my family now, so she could see all of us now. After that part, we were all chit-chatting and having a grand time until 2:00 in the morning. And she kept suggesting that I spend the night there. So, in the morning, we still talked and were having fun. She kept trying to talk me into staying, but I had stayed long enough to prevent me from getting to Linda's cook-out on time (the last planned malfunction of the weekend), so I left, but they sent me back with left-overs and told me to make sure to come back soon and often and to make their house my own.

So, although nothing worked out, it was definitely a wonderful weekend. It also reminded me how much I love family, especially mine, and that family is definitely the most important. It doesn't matter how far distant of a relative you are, if you haven't seen each other in 16 years, or don't even remember seeing each other, in my family every one truly is part of the family!

Paix du Christ!

Much ado about life

Okay, so maybe I lied a little. I didn't go see Over the Hedge, but I didn't go to see DVC either, of course. What I did do this weekend was much better than sitting in a movie theatre.

I showed up in Peachtree City, GA in time for 5:30 Mass on Sat. Actually, I missed the first two readings, darn road paving going on. Afterwards, a small group gathered for study on "Ecclesia de Eucharistia" parts 16-33. It's a wonderful piece of work on the Eucharist and will definitely re-invigorate you in church.

I truly suggest anyone within driving distance of PTC to check it out. Don't forget to look at the website for info, Pope of Love. Not close enough, no problem, check out the webpage anyway for ideas on how to start your own encyclical study.

One of the guys there offered his floor space, so I decided to take him up on it. He also prays Vespers and Matins, so that was nice to get in on. In the morning, he offered me to spend the day with him. We went to the northside of ATL to visit his dad in the nursing home and took him out to sit outside a table a Starbucks since it was such a nice day. He also stops by to see another lady to take her out of the room too. We wheeled her in a wheelchair a couple of blocks to another restaurant with outdoor seating where she ordered a hotdog and a Bud which is the highlight of her life. She also reveled in being so scandalous that she was drinking a beer on Sunday. Spending time with these people and seeing the smiles on their faces was far better than trying to see a movie, a musical, or anything else I could have figured to do on my own in ATL.

We also went to a boys club group called Conquest (I think) run by a local Regnum Christi group where dave talked about heros, and being a real man is to be a Christian and not what we usually see on TV and movies. Afterwards, I called up and got to spend some time with more friends in PTC before I headed back to my vacant appartment.

I'm pretty sure that I'm headed back this weekend for more encyclical talking, and I found out that I have some distant relatives in the area that I'm going to try calling up. Now, I realize why I've only gone to see 3 movies in the past year. There are so many other things to do, and people to enjoy in life than to tie up 2 hours in a dark room where you can't talk to anyone else.

Paix du Christ!

Good news on the abortion front!

That's right, there's good news, but you can make it better ... PRAY, and pray hard for the next month. An abortion mill has been ordered to temporarily close which would be in effect for 90-120 days. However, there is a hearing setup for June 20 to determine the outcome (whether the license should be reinstated or revoked). A woman who was being seen by this death camp was told that she was 6 weeks pregnant and given an abortion-inducing drug. She later gave birth at a hospital to a pretty badly-looking 6 pound stillborn baby. Whoops! I can't stress how important it is that everyone pray hard this month for this victory in the cause for the culture of life. Maybe, to start out the summer we can all praise the fact that there is one less place killing innocent babies. A link to a Birmingham News article is included in the header for those looking for the information.

Furthermore, I'm planning on heading out to Atlanta this weekend and next weekend to check out an encyclical study at one of the churches. It sounds like a fantastic idea, and I really want to see how they run it. This month they are looking at "Ecclesia de Eucharistia" and these are the last 2 weeks. If anyone has a free weekend I suggest taking a drive and checking it out. If you're interested in doing something similar for your college or church, check out their webpage for more information: Pope of Love. Jenn, the lady that runs it is an absolutely wonderful person whom I had the pleasure of meeting on the TEC retreat weekend.

I just remembered that I need to print that off before I leave work today so that I have a copy to read. Also, I remembered that I never got around to finishing off the RVM I was looking at. I suppose I really need to get back around to it. Anyway, off to get ready for this weekend.

Paix du Christ!

Wow, time flies

Sorry, that I had kind of abandonned posting here or reading other blogs for awhile. Life kind of got in the way of everything with cars breaking down, confirmations, graduations, and we've lost 36% of our work force at our company. So, it's been busy around here.

Of course, the big news this week is the release of The Da Vinci Code this weekend. Sunday morning as I was getting ready for Mass, many of the church services on TV were talking about how in accurate the book is and that it is awful and stupid. Which is great that Christian groups are taking a stand for Christ. Unfortunately, they stayed away from trying to disprove any of the hideous allegations made against the Catholic Church and the grotesque portrayal of Opus Dei.

People have all kinds of theories, on how to "stick it to 'em," from not seeing the movie, to protesting, to seeing other movies. I, myself, believe that I'm going to try to see Over the Hedge this weekend, to essentially vote for a family-oriented film with my money in the box office numbers. I do actually want to see the DVC to see how close it is to the book, and because it has Audrey Tautou in it, but I don't want to spend my money on it, so I'll wait until I have an opportunity sometime in the future.

Paix du Christ!

The souls who have become lukewarm

Most compassionate Jesus, You are Compassion Itself. I bring lukewarm souls into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart. In this fire of Your pure love, let these tepid souls who, like corpses, filled You with such deep loathing, be once again set aflame. O Most Compassionate Jesus, exercise the omnipotence of Your mercy and draw them into the very ardor of Your love, and bestow upon them the gift of holy love, for nothing is beyond Your power.
Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon lukewarm souls who are nonetheless enfolded in the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. Father of Mercy, I beg You by the bitter Passion of Your Son and by His three-hour agony on the Cross: Let them, too, glorify the abyss of Your mercy. Amen.

Paix du Christ!

The souls who are detained in purgatory

Most Merciful Jesus, You Yourself have said that You desire mercy; so I bring into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart the souls in Purgatory, souls who are very dear to You, and yet, who must make retribution to Your justice. May the streams of Blood and Water which gushed forth from Your Heart put out the flames of Purgatory, that there, too, the power of Your mercy may be celebrated.
Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon the souls suffering in Purgatory, who are enfolded in the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. I beg You, by the sorrowful Passion of Jesus Your Son, and by all the bitterness with which His most sacred Soul was flooded: Manifest Your mercy to the souls who are under Your just scrutiny. Look upon them in no other way but only through the Wounds of Jesus, Your dearly beloved Son; for we firmly believe that there is no limit to Your goodness and compassion. Amen.

Paix du Christ!

The souls who especially venerate and glorify Jesus' mercy

Well, for anyone wondering how the meeting went last night. It was so frustraing, there are a couple people there that go off on their own ideas with just the slight mention of something and when they do, they are so stubborn that it has to be their way. It would have been so much better if I never said anything and did something on my own. Thankfully, God lightened my day at the end of the meeting. One of the quiet ones who had gone to GA Tech came up to me and told me that he thought I had some great ideas and he understood me, but didn't think the rest of the group got a good grasp. Oh well, I want to have a one-on-one meeting to see if I can't get my idea across, but whatever happens, happens. I tried.

Most Merciful Jesus, whose Heart is Love Itself, receive into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart the souls of those who particularly extol and venerate the greatness of Your mercy. These souls are mighty with the very power of God Himself. In the midst of all afflictions and adversities they go forward, confident of Your mercy; and united to You, O Jesus, they carry all mankind on their shoulders. These souls will not be judged severely, but Your mercy will embrace them as they depart from this life.
Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon the souls who glorify and venerate Your greatest attribute, that of Your fathomless mercy, and who are enclosed in the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. These souls are a living Gospel; their hands are full of deeds of mercy, and their hearts, overflowing with joy, sing a canticle of mercy to You, O Most High! I beg You O God:
Show them Your mercy according to the hope and trust they have placed in You. Let there be accomplished in them the promise of Jesus, who said to them that during their life, but especially at the hour of death, the souls who will venerate this fathomless mercy of His, He, Himself, will defend as His glory. Amen.

Paix du Christ!

The meek and humble souls and the souls of children

Happy Anniversary Papa! Not only did Benedict XVI celebrate his 79th birthday on Easter Sunday this past weekend, but today is the anniversary of taking office. Congratulations on your first year!

Most Merciful Jesus, You yourself have said, "Learn from Me for I am meek and humble of heart." Receive into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart all meek and humble souls and the souls of little children. These souls send all heaven into ecstasy and they are the heavenly Father's favorites. They are a sweet-smelling bouquet before the throne of God; God Himself takes delight in their fragrance. These souls have a permanent abode in Your Most Compassionate Heart, O Jesus, and they unceasingly sing out a hymn of love and mercy.
Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon meek souls, upon humble souls, and upon little children who are enfolded in the abode which is the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. These souls bear the closest resemblance to Your Son. Their fragrance rises from the earth and reaches Your very throne. Father of mercy and of all goodness, I beg You by the love You bear these souls and by the delight You take in them: Bless the whole world, that all souls together may sing out the praises of Your mercy for endless ages. Amen.

Paix du Christ!

The souls of separated brethren

The LOCO group (for young adults) at St. John the Baptist is having a planning meeting tomorrow and they want me to attend although I don't typically go to that parish. It sounds like they want to do some jockeying around with people in charge. I know that I want to do something with young adult ministry in order to expand it to some of the other parishes in the area. I don't know how I'm going to go about it, I don't know what I'm going to approach them with, and I don't know what they are going to ask of me. Anyway it turns out, it's in God's hands because it's for His Church. If you feel like you have advice or words of wisdom, feel free ^_^

However, save your prayers for the likes of some students at NKU. Apparently a british lit teacher decides to encourage her students to excercise "free speech" by means of vandalizing a display put up by the pro-life student organization. The teacher decided to join the festivities as well when some of her students took her up on it. Luckily, they were caught on film. Ooops! And they will be prosecuted and could face felony charges. I guess speech isn't all that free when it includes illegal actions. Who would have thunk that people supporting the destruction of life would support the destruction of property?

Most Merciful Jesus, Goodness Itself, You do not refuse light to those who seek it of You. Receive into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart the souls of those who have separated themselves from Your Church. Draw them by Your light into the unity of the Church, and do not let them escape from the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart; but bring it about that they, too, come to glorify the generosity of Your mercy.
Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon the souls of those who have separated themselves from Your Son's Church, who have squandered Your blessings and misused Your graces by obstinately persisting in their errors. Do not look upon their errors, but upon the love of Your own Son and upon His bitter Passion, which He underwent for their sake, since they, too, are enclosed in His Most Compassionate Heart. Bring it about that they also may glorify Your great mercy for endless ages. Amen.

Paix du Christ!