Barack Obama Elected President!

Si se puede!

Yes we can!

Election 2008 Coverage

Today is pregnancy and infant loss day

October 15th is the National Day for Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance.

As a Chaplain who has worked in the women's and children's services unit in a hospital, I feel that more people need to be aware of how many families have been affected by pre-natal, peri-natal, or infant death.

Too often the issue of infant mortality and health is something that is considered "solved" in the US - many people consider it only an issue in developing nations. Our society - which doesn't handle death in a constructive and healthy manner - ignores the fact of mis-carriage and infant death because it is a difficult subject.

Every day couples have to deal with this heartbreaking reality, and often they receive neither support nor understanding from those around them; some individuals have been judged harshly and even criticized at a time when support and acceptance is most important.

If you are currently experiencing or have experienced the death of a child - whether in utero, after birth, or during childhood - please get help:

• Talk to either a therapist or chaplain experienced in grief work and the death of children.
• Take time to heal - understand that it will take time, as with all losses.
• Take time to remember - remember your child on key dates, talk to them, let them know that you love them and care for them, know that one day you will be able to have a full relationship with them within the afterlife.


• Finally, understand that it not because of anything that you or your child did - unfortunately we are immortal souls in mortal, physical bodies. Eventually those bodies become unable to support life, and that is when death occurs; while it seems normal to expect that babies should be exempt from this dictum, it is not. It is not a failure of God, yourself, medicine, the doctors, the nurses, or the child him/herself. It is not the "fault" of anyone, it simply is.

If anyone reading this would like more information, resources, or counseling, please contact me and I will help you.

Pax!

The Truth About Iraq

Christians moving towards Obama

In a significant political shift, monthly churchgoers are backing Democrat Barack Obama in this year’s presidential race, according to a new poll by the nonpartisan group Faith in Public Life.

The results of this poll show that Mr. Obama's move to reach out to faith-based voters has been very successful; the survey shows that over 60 percent of Americans who attend religious services once or twice a month support Obama/Biden. This demographic shift is significant because Democrat John Kerry lost that group in 2004, and it may have cost him the election.

It is also important to look at how Christians of different generations are viewing the election and the candidates:

On a broader range of issues from gay marriage to the role of government at home and abroad, the survey suggests that the contours of the culture war are fading.

“Younger Americans, including younger Americans of faith, are not the culture war generation,” said Robert Jones, who conducted the survey. “Young Catholics, Protestants and evangelicals are really bridging the divides that have really entrenched the older generation.”

For example, white evangelicals between 18 and 35 strongly oppose abortion rights but are less conservative than older evangelicals about same-sex marriage and more supportive of active government providing services at home and engaged in diplomacy abroad. Young first-time voters are heavily supporting Mr. Obama. Among those voting for the first time, 71 percent favor the Illinois senator.

Younger Catholics more strongly support Mr. Obama, abortion rights and more active government than their elders. While older Catholics are split between the presidential candidates, those 18-35 favor Mr. Obama by 15 points (55 percent to 40 percent).

Support for same-sex marriage is significant among young religious Americans. Among young white mainline Protestants and Catholics, close to half (48 percent and 44 percent respectively) support same-sex marriage. And Young white evangelicals are twice as likely as older evangelicals to say that gay couples should be allowed to marry.

Latinos are driving the young Catholic vote. Four in 10 young Catholics are Latinos. Mr. Lindsay cites Texas as an example where many young Hispanics are mobilizing for the election, motivated in part by Catholic social teaching to encourage a bigger role for government in solving society’s ills.

When analysing the above information, it is important to also consider the following:

Shortly before he became Pope Benedict, in his letter to Washington Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger explained what a voter’s attitude should be toward abortion.

“There may be a legitimate diversity of opinion even among Catholics about waging war and applying the death penalty,” he said, “but not, however, with regard to abortion and euthanasia.”

But he added that a Catholic must sometimes vote for a candidate who is not perfect: “When a Catholic does not share a candidate’s stand in favor of abortion and/or euthanasia, but votes for that candidate for other reasons, it is considered remote material cooperation, which can be permitted in the presence of proportionate reasons.”

While Obama is not 100% in line with all of Catholic Tradition and Teaching -- and why should he be, since he is a member of a United Churches of Christ congregation? -- many Catholic youth and young adults feel that in the words of Benedict XVI, they have good reason to vote for Obama/Biden on Election Day because they support key beliefs about the life and dignity of the human person.

Pax!

The survey of 2,000 adults, conducted Aug. 28-Sept. 19, has an error margin of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points, meaning results can vary by that much in either direction. For results among young adults, the error margin is 3 percentage points.

Torture in the News and the Catechism

Our Lady Help of the Abandoned Ones


Today, in an article written by AP News reporter Pamela Hess, a U.S. military officer warned Pentagon officials over six years ago that an American detainee was being slowly, cruely, driven insane by months of punishing isolation and sensory deprivation in a U.S. military jail. An American, in an American jail, on American soil was being subjected to grueling mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual torture... and this was brought to the US Government's attention in 2002!

The treatment of prisoners at detention facilities located off of US soil - like those in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; Eastern Europe; Afghanistan; and Iraq have long been the subject of human rights abuses and protests by religious and secular groups who complain about them. Members of the Bush Administration, as well as others in the US Government stated that these jails only existed off of US soil and did not contain any US citizens or residents. The new documents reveal how at least two American citizens and a legal U.S. resident were treated in military jails inside the United States. The documents also reveal how the Bush administration ordered the men to be held in military jails as "enemy combatants" for years of interrogations without criminal charges, which would not have been allowed if they were held in regular civilian jails. This is clear evidence that the Bush administration violated the most basic of human rights, and is involved in the abuse and detainment of US Citizens and Residents.

The documents given to the AP also show that the men were interrogated by the CIA and Defense Intelligence Agency. They were repeatedly denied access to attorneys, mail from home, and contact with anyone other than guards and their interrogators. This sort of isolation would not be tolerated in even the most secure of civilian prisions. It is clearly cruel and inhumane to treat prisoners in this manner.

In addition to an environment of social and religious isolation, the prisoners were also subjected to a physical environment of abuse and neglect. All of the men were deprived of natural light for months. For years they have been forbidden hobbies or amusements - not even books for personal reading, a soccer ball, or a dictionary. Nothing. This is detrimental to the emotional and mental well-being of the men, as it begins to erode their sense of self. As one of the officials who was responsible for prisoner Yaser Esam Hamdi in 2002 stated, "I will continue to do what I can to help this individual maintain his sanity, but in my opinion we're working with borrowed time. I would like to have some form of an incentive program in place to reward him for his continued good behavior, but more so, to keep him from whacking out on me."

That's right - one of the jailers is worried that the prisioners they are responsible for are in danger of "whacking out" due to the pressures of the environment and the abuse they are recieving.

As Catholics, Chrisitans, and members of the human world community, we MUST speak out against this. The Catechism CLEARLY teaches against both TORTURE and the INHUMANE and CRUEL treatment of prisioners - both civil and military. The following is from the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

Respect for bodily integrity

2297 Kidnapping and hostage taking bring on a reign of terror; by means of threats they subject their victims to intolerable pressures. They are morally wrong. Terrorism threatens, wounds, and kills indiscriminately; it is gravely against justice and charity. Torture which uses physical or moral violence to extract confessions, punish the guilty, frighten opponents, or satisfy hatred is contrary to respect for the person and for human dignity. Except when performedfor strictly therapeutic medical reasons,directly intended amputations, mutilations, and sterilizations performed on innocent persons are against the moral law.

2298 In times past, cruel practices were commonly used by legitimate governments to maintain law and order, often without protest from the Pastors of the Church, who themselves adopted in their own tribunals the prescriptions of Roman law concerning torture. Regrettable as these facts are, the Church always taught the duty of clemency and mercy. She forbade clerics to shed blood. In recent times it has become evident that these cruel practices were neither necessary for public order, nor in conformity with the legitimate rights of the human person. On the contrary, these practices led to ones even more degrading. It is necessary to work for their abolition. We must pray for the victims and their tormentors.

These paragraphs make it clear that by using torture, we have become like those we sought to oppose in the "War against Terror". We have become just like those who George W. Bush and members of his administration labeled "The Axis of Evil".

The CCC also talks at great legnths about what Peace is, how it is to be achieved, and even what it looks like in modern society. Peace is what we should be working for - not a way to vent our anger and frustration onto others. Let us learn how to be peacemakers, instead of abusers.

The CCC has the following to say in regards to being Peaceful and Peacemakers:

Peace

2302 By recalling the commandment, "You shall not kill,"94 our Lord asked for peace of heart and denounced murderous anger and hatred as immoral.

Anger is a desire for revenge. "To desire vengeance in order to do evil to someone who should be punished is illicit," but it is praiseworthy to impose restitution "to correct vices and maintain justice." If anger reaches the point of a deliberate desire to kill or seriously wound a neighbor, it is gravely against charity; it is a mortal sin. The Lord says, "Everyone who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment."

2303 Deliberate hatred is contrary to charity. Hatred of the neighbor is a sin when one deliberately wishes him evil. Hatred of the neighbor is a grave sin when one deliberately desires him grave harm. "But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven."

2304 Respect for and development of human life require peace. Peace is not merely the absence of war, and it is not limited to maintaining a balance of powers between adversaries. Peace cannot be attained on earth without safeguarding the goods of persons, free communication among men, respect for the dignity of persons and peoples, and the assiduous practice of fraternity. Peace is "the tranquillity of order." Peace is the work of justice and the effect of charity.

2305 Earthly peace is the image and fruit of the peace of Christ, the messianic "Prince of Peace." By the blood of his Cross, "in his own person he killed the hostility," he reconciled men with God and made his Church the sacrament of the unity of the human race and of its union with God. "He is our peace." He has declared: "Blessed are the peacemakers."

These paragraphs from the Catechism link to Monday's Gospel reading of Luke 10:25-37:

There was a scholar of the law who stood up to test Jesus and said, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you read it?” He said in reply, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” He replied to him, “You have answered correctly; do this and you will live.”

But because he wished to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
Jesus replied, “A man fell victim to robbers as he went down from Jerusalem to Jericho. They stripped and beat him and went off leaving him half-dead. A priest happened to be going down that road, but when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side.

Likewise a Levite came to the place, and when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side.
But a Samaritan traveler who came upon him was moved with compassion at the sight. He approached the victim, poured oil and wine over his wounds and bandaged them. Then he lifted him up on his own animal, took him to an inn, and cared for him. The next day he took out two silver coins
and gave them to the innkeeper with the instruction,‘Take care of him. If you spend more than what I have given you, I shall repay you on my way back.’ Which of these three, in your opinion, was neighbor to the robbers’ victim?”

He answered, “The one who treated him with mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”

Now it is clear that American citizens and residents are being treated as political prisioners by the Bush Administration. As Jonathan Hafetz of the ACLU's National Security Project in New York said, "These documents are the first clear confirmation of what we've suspected all along, that the brig was run as a prison beyond the law. There was an effort to create a Gitmo inside the United States." This is important because the Guantanamo jail was created by the Bush administration specifically to avoid allowing detainees any constitutional rights. The Bush Administration's lawyers believe and act as if the Constitution does not apply outside the US... which shows that the Bush Administration has no respect for international human rights as contained in the UNDHR.

This November, remember these three men - and the others that we do not know about - when you vote for President and local government. Please vote for the candidate who is most likely to be a force of change and end these abuses - Barack Obama. And please remember that John McCain blasted both Obama and the Supreme Court earlier this year when both moved to give prisioners more rights and protections.

Our Lady of the Rosary

Today is the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary; this most holy feast of our lady was established as the Feast of the Holy Rosary in 1573 by Pope Gregory XIII
.

The earliest traditions of the Holy Rosary dates back to the year 1208, when Saint Dominic had a Marian Apparition of Our Lady of the Rosary, who revealed the chaplet of either fifty or one hundred and fifty Hail Marys to him.

To help with devotion to this particular method of prayer and meditations, I have made a slideshow so that you can say the Rosary while online.

The Joyful Mysteries (Mondays and Saturdays; also Sundays in Advent)

The Luminous Mysteries (Thursday; Sundays in Ordinary Time from Epiphany to Palm Sunday)

The Sorrowful Mysteries (Tuesday and Friday;the Sundays of Lent)

The Glorious Mysteries (Wednesday; Sundays of Ordinary Time from Easter to Advent)

The Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary

Pray for those lost in Hurricane Ike

For most people in the US, Hurricane Ike is old news... it is something that "just happened" and in many ways is "still happening" for those on the Texas and Louisiana Gulf Coasts. I urge you to pray for those who are continuing the long, slow, and emotionally draining process of rebuilding their lives after the storm.

I also urge you to pray for those who are still missing, as well as for those who died in the storm; pray for their families and friends also, as they are facing the duty of rebuilding their lives while mounrning the loss of a loved one.

If you can afford it, please donate to either the American Red Cross or Catholic Charities to help people rebuild their lives.

By MONICA RHOR,
Associated Press Writer –
1 hr 18 mins ago
GALVESTON, Texas –

The final hours brought the awful realization to victims of Hurricane Ike that they had waited too long. This storm wasn't like the others, the ones that left nothing worse than a harrowing tale to tell.

George Helmond, a hardy Galveston salt, watched the water rise and told a buddy: I was born on this island and I'll die on this island.

Gail Ettenger, a free spirit who adopted the Bolivar Peninsula as her home 15 years ago, told a friend in a last phone call: I really messed up this time.

Within hours, the old salt and the free spirit were gone as the powerful Category 2 hurricane wracked the Texas Gulf Coast on Sept. 13, flattening houses, obliterating entire towns and claiming at least 33 lives.

The dead — as young as 4, as old as 79 — included lifelong Galvestonians firmly rooted on the island and transplants drawn by the quiet of coastal living.

Seven people drowned in a storm surge that moved in earlier and with more ferocity than expected. Nine others died in the grimy, sweaty aftermath, when lack of power and medicine exacted its toll. Eleven people were poisoned by carbon monoxide or killed in fires from the generators they used in their own attempts to survive.

Hundreds of people remain missing three weeks after Ike's assault on Texas. Local and city officials are no longer keeping their own count of missing residents, and the estimate varies wildly from one agency to another.

According to the nonprofit Laura Recovery Center, about 300 people are missing. Of those, about 200 from Galveston. However, the number "goes up and down by the minute" as people call in to remove or add names, cautioned executive director Bob Walcutt.

Some vanished during the evacuation of towns in the storm's path. Many were last heard in desperate, last-ditch calls for help.

Immediately after the hurricane, Galveston officials conducted door-to-door searches for survivors and possible victims. But the city is no longer taking an active role in the search, city spokeswoman Alicia Cahill said.

Instead, search teams of sheriff's deputies, volunteer firefighters and special K-9 search and recovery units have been using airboats and all-terrain vehicles to sift through debris fields, tangled and fetid marshlands, and the rubble left behind by Ike.

Bodies could have been tossed anywhere in the marshes, where thickets of trees are littered with the contents of houses. Refrigerators, office chairs, and television sets are scattered everywhere __ in the mud, in bushes, on treetops.

"We are definitely looking and are going to do anything we can to find them, but there may not be any answers to be given," said Galveston County emergency management spokesman Colin Rizzo. "There are definitely going to be people from Hurricane Ike that are never found."

_____

Gail Ettenger stumbled upon her house in Gilchrist by accident. But once she saw the site on the bay side of Bolivar Peninsula, she knew she would never leave.

Ettenger, a native of New Jersey, instilled the house with her own energy and style. The 58-year-old's garden bloomed with vibrant birds-of-paradise.

And Reba, an 11-year-old Great Dane hobbled by arthritis, was her baby. Ettenger loved to treat the dog to dinners of chicken and roast beef, recalled JoAnne Burks, Ettenger's neighbor and close friend.

Ettenger, a chemist at ExxonMobil, didn't evacuate, reasoning that her house had weathered Hurricane Rita in 2005 without a problem. She also did not want to leave Reba, who could no longer climb into Ettenger's Jeep.

Burks and her husband pleaded with Ettenger to change her mind. But she insisted.

Hours before Ike made landfall, Ettenger knew she had made the wrong choice. She called Burks and described the water pushing up under her feet, the propane tanks and other household items drifting by her windows, and wondered which would float better: her Jeep or her house.

Her voice was shaky with fear, Burks said.

Burks spent the next 10 days searching for her friend, calling local, county and state officials without success. She tried the American Red Cross, FEMA, even private investigators.

"I didn't want her to wind up like the victims of Katrina, who were never found or identified," Burks said.

Ettenger's body was found Sept. 23, tossed on a debris field in a Chambers County marsh about 10 miles from her house.

Amid the muck and remnants of homes, Burks found a pink leather collar. The name Reba was spelled out in rhinestones.

_____

At 72, George Helmond had ridden out many storms and thought he could take on Ike, too, neighbor Don Hanson said. "A lot of old Galvestonians are like that."

Helmond had been one of the first residents of Sydnor Lane, which overlooks a bayou on one side and a golf course on the other. A retired electrician, Helmond was a die-hard fisherman, a dove hunter and straight-shooter intensely proud of his Galveston roots.

Around 10 a.m., Helmond called Hanson, who had already left, to say the water had already slipped over the road and toward his house. The street — the only way out of the neighborhood — was already impassable.

At 9:30 p.m., Helmond and Hanson talked for the last time. By then, the water had pummeled through Helmond's garage, crushing the doors and submerging his Cadillac. Hanson begged his friend to grab a life vest at his house or to seek shelter there.

But at 2:30 a.m., for reasons no one knows, Helmond got in his pickup truck and drove off at the height of Ike's fury.

Neighbors found Helmond's body the next day inside the truck, which had slammed into the white golf course fence. The windshield was shattered.

Helmond's home suffered little damage. The water had reached above the first-floor garage, but not inside the house.

"If he had stayed home and hadn't gone out, he'd be OK, but he panicked," said Hanson, 66. "Life goes on, but I will miss a good friend and I will think about him."

_____

Even as Ike bore down on Texas, Jim Devine refused to leave his cream-colored house within sight of the bay in San Leon. Devine had moved to the fishing town after retiring and loved the tranquil way of life there, neighbors said.

The 76-year-old Devine drowned when Ike sent water barreling through his house, picking him off the second-story porch and dropping him a block away. Days later, Devine's empty home still bore the scars of the storm — shattered windows, twisted wood, and his boat, the Seabar, jammed under the front steps.

His daughter left a warning and a memorial in orange spray paint: "Jim Devine. No Trespassing."

_____

Port Bolivar held special meaning for 79-year-old Marian Violet Arrambide. She met her husband there during World War II. Many years later, he built the beach house where they could retire.

Arrambide, a retired nurse suffering the onset of dementia, lived with her daughter, Magdalena Strickland, and nephew, Shane Williams, in that beach house before Ike struck.

All three have been missing since the morning of Sept. 12, just as Ike began to come ashore.

"My sister said 'I'm walking out the door in a hurry. Everything's taken care of, I'll see you in a few hours.' That was it," said son Raul Arrambide, describing a 6:15 a.m. phone call.

Since then, Arrambide has had little luck getting help or information. Instead, Arrambide said, he's been passed from one agency to another.

"They send you back and forth until you're worn out," said Arrambide, his voice showing the strain of the last weeks.

After five days with no word and no answers, Arrambide borrowed a boat to search the area himself, but sheriff's deputies turned people away. He finally found a local contractor who is helping search for missing residents. That man found his relatives' vehicles, which had been washed off the road into a tree grove.

"I want to keep the hope that they are still alive, but by not hearing from any of them, that hope is getting smaller and smaller," he said. "They helped people all their lives. They did not deserve to go this way."

Reflections on Lessons Learned From Financial Crisis

Today, an Archbishop addressed the faithful on issues of the economic crisis, ethics, and caring.
The news of the Economic Rescue Bill in the US House of Representatives has sent shock waves across the globe... worldwide people are asking themselves, "Are we facing another Great Depression?"

Churches in New York's financial district have had greater numbers of worshippers in attendance over the past week as economic storm clouds gather on the horizon. People are asking themselves what The Church has to say about the current economic climate; the following statement by The Most Reverend Diarmuid Martin sums Church up teaching on the economy, as it pertains to the current crisis:

The economy has a social function. Economic growth, no matter how important, is never simply an end in itself. It should lead to social equity, to an equitable growth of society and to enhancing the people and the human infrastructures which strengthen society. Economic growth always brings with it social responsibility. Uncontrolled growth has rarely produced sustainability.

If I were asked for my description of uncontrolled economic growth I would turn to the biblical insight of the Tower of Babel. The biblical story talks about people who felt that they now had the ability to build a tower which would link heaven and earth. When people think that they can have uncontrolled growth, very often what happens is what happened at Babel -- the tower collapses and the people become divided.

Let me not be drawn into “I told you so”; far from it. The market is vital, but the market has an essentially social function. It can only function in an ethical and judicial framework where the vulnerable are protected and the natural arrogance of the powerful is curbed. We see today how gross and unregulated individual misbehaviour in market activity affects the stability of companies but also of countries and then of the men and women who make up the society in which we live. Irresponsible traders do not just gamble with the future of a big multinational firm -- they eventually affect the lives of people all over the world.

Government and business need to work together. Government and business have the same interest in many ways when one is talking about economic growth. This means that there can be a legitimate corporate interest in shaping aspects of the politico-economic environment. But this interest can also easily become damaging if there are insufficient regulatory mechanisms in place. Unregulated market speculation or unfair interference in competition law damage the economy. But powerful governments can also fall prey to corruption. We need both market and government.

We need the market and we need a market which has the freedom to operate as it should. We also need government. Smaller government may be more desirable than some of the past experiences of massive and unproductive government interference in society and the market. But lack of effective government is equally disastrous, just as inefficient government is. Government is essential to guarantee the ethical and juridical framework within which the market can flourish and within which ethical market behaviour will be fostered.

Some would say -- and to a certain extent rightly -- that running a good business means ensuring gain for the shareholders, making a profit through providing a quality product or service and of course that this also involves giving employment. The market involves risk, they would say, and no one should complain when the person who takes risk makes a healthy profit. That has traditionally been the way in which the businessperson looked at good business. And anyone who challenged that viewpoint would be reminded -- also rightly -- that putting yourself out of business through increasing your costs helps no one.

On the other hand there are many, myself included, whose conscience is left uneasy by a discomfort about huge profit and would stress that business is embedded in the reality of society and shares some responsibility for society. In some way, part of that profit should be directed not just to the shareholders but also to wider concerns of the society in which the business is embedded and from which it benefits. Investment will be attracted to places where a creative and innovative workforce is available. But can business simply take that for granted and the plea for a form of small government which is then less able to provide ongoing investment in the type of education and research which made strong growth possible in the first place? Everyone must assume responsibility.

We also need law and we need law enforcement and we need that today within an architecture of business which has become international and reaches beyond national boundaries, both as regards its activities and its effects. It is interesting to note that organized crime was one of the first groups to recognize the advantages of globalisation. I don’t just mean drug or weapons dealers, but also new forms of irresponsible speculation and dishonest behaviour within the business community. An ethical framework is not just pretty words on a piece of paper or in a mission statement but is something that must be integral to the way people work and their role in society. The new globalised nature of the economy requires new structures on an international level to combat irresponsible behaviour.

What can and should a religious leader say in the current situation. Should he or she just leave it to “the experts” and return to the sacristy? Can religious values influence economic and social stability?

The job of the Christian churches is to preach the message of the Gospel. This is a message that is addressed to every individual and that has social implications for the people who follow the message of Jesus Christ. The basic message of the Christian churches is about the love of God, and there are two characteristics of the love of God that I believe are particularly interesting in the modern world. One is gratuity.

God loves people without any conditions. Take the story of the Prodigal Son, who comes back home to find that his father is there, waiting for him. The son has his little negotiating speech ready, but he doesn’t have to use it. The son is just welcomed -- that is gratuity, going beyond what is expected or necessary. The other is super-abundance. The love of God surprises you -- it is so generous that it turns you head over heels.

These two values stand in opposition to a market-driven consumer society in which everything is precisely measured out. If the label says 16 ounces, you won’t get an ounce more. If we truly lived in an environment like this, where you got only what you paid for and nothing beyond, none of us would be where we are today. The world needs these values that create generosity; that make you care about another person even if that person is weak; that motivate you to make a huge investment in a person.

The market is an extraordinarily effective instrument. But there are basic human needs which do not belong in the marketplace, which cannot be bought or sold like commodities. For those we need something else. The economy will attain its role if it is complemented by effective government, but also by a society with a heart and with generosity. This last will be needed more and more in hard times.

Archbishop Diarmuid Martin is the archbishop of Dublin, Ireland. That's right. Ireland. The problem isn't just confined to the United States - although depending on where and how you recieve your news, it mightn't seem that way.

Pray a Rosary for the economic leaders of the world, so that they may take the proper action at the proper times, and protect the common good of all peoples on Earth. Pray for Peace and Social Justice for all people.

St. Thérèse of Lisieux, The Little Flower

I sense in myself the vocation
of Warrior, Priest, Apostle,
Doctor, and Martyr.


In the heart of the Church,
my Mother,
I will be love.

—St. Thérèse

Today is the feast day of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, who is also known as "The Little Flower". She is the patron of Missions, even though she herself never left her cloister. How can this be? Thérèse Martin entered the convent at the age of 15 and died in 1897 at the age of 24, yet she is one of the most popular Saints of our day.

From Saint of the Day:

All her life St. Thérèse suffered from illness. As a young girl she underwent a three-month malady characterized by violent crises, extended delirium and prolonged fainting spells. Afterwards she was ever frail and yet she worked hard in the laundry and refectory of the convent. Psychologically, she endured prolonged periods of darkness when the light of faith seemed all but extinguished. The last year of her life she slowly wasted away from tuberculosis. And yet shortly before her death on September 30 she murmured, "I would not suffer less."

Truly she was a valiant woman who did not whimper about her illnesses and anxieties. Here was a person who saw the power of love, that divine alchemy which can change everything, including weakness and illness, into service and redemptive power for others. Is it any wonder that she is patroness of the missions? Who else but those who embrace suffering with their love really convert the world?

Some people today may mock St. Thérèse and her simple love for Jesus, Mary, and Joseph; the simplicity and unobtrusiveness of her life is the very opposite of what most people in the modern world aspire towards. In the simple day to day duties of life inside a convent, Thérèse found a simple way to Jesus - which is outlined in her Spiritual Autobiography, "Story of a Soul". St. Thérèse described her "little way" as "being a lift (elevator) to the arms of Jesus". It is a simple, practical way to live a holy life in the modern world.


Novena prayer to St. Thérèse:

"St. Thérèse, the Little Flower, please pick me a rose from the heavenly garden and send it to me with a message of love. Ask God to grant me the favor I thee implore [state intention here], and tell him I will love him each day more and more."

Tradition holds that if you say the novena prayer, followed by five Our Fathers, five Hail Marys, and five Glory Be's each day for five days, you will receive a shower of roses on the fifth day.

A Special Note:
Later this month, Thérèse's parents will be beatified. Slated to take place at their daughter's shrine at Lisieux, the 19 October rites for Louis and Zelie Guerin Martin will coincide with Mission Sunday -- the same day when, in 1997, Therese became the second woman declared a Doctor of the Church.

New Years (yes, it's plural)

Today marks not only the Jewish High Holiday of Rosh HaShanah, but also the Greek New Year.

In the Jewish faith, Rosh HaShanah is a time of rebirth, blessing, and renewal for all of creation. To watch a short video about the spiritual meaning of Rosh HaShanah, click here. Not only is Rosh HaShanah seen as a New Year of the religious calendar - much like the First Sunday of Advent is within the Christian faith - it is also considered the birthday of all of nature! I am reminded of our own period of Advent and the upcoming (Oct. 4th!) Feast-day of Saint Francis of Assisi when I meditate on the meaning of Rosh HaShanah in my life.

The Greek New Year is also a time of rebirth and renewal. In the ancient Greek Faith (Hellenism), today is the day when Persephone leaves her mother, Demeter, and returns to the side of her husband, Hades, who lives in the Underworld. It was seen as a time of harvest, remebering, and getting ready for the coming winter. It was a time for families to gather together - not just the human members, but the goats, sheep, chickens, and other livestock as well. Once again, the Greek holiday - much like the Jewish one - can be found in this liturgical season's feast-days.

Resources to help you celebrate the birthday of Nature:


Dare to Dream - a short movie about the meaning and blessings of Rosh HaShanah.

US Conference of Catholic Bishops - Global Climate Change: A Plea for Dialogue, Prudence, and the Common Good.

Catholic Education Resource Center's page on current environmental issues.

A beautiful view of God's Creation

This breath-taking photo is a single exposure image that embraces the near, the far, and the in between. Astrophotographer Wally Pacholka took this photo inside one of the caves of the Canyonlands National Park in Utah, USA. In this single image, we see mother Earth, represented by the beautiful mesas in the foreground, another planet, the milky way, and deep space. In the upper left of the image we see another member of our Solar System, Jupiter. It may have been a conjunction of the planets Jupiter and Saturn in about 7 BCE (according to our way of reckoning time) that comprised the "star" of the second chapter of the Gospel of St. Matthew.

The ring of stones in the foreground is known as a false kiva, as it is merely a ring of stones on the surface without a subterranean room. It is uncertain when it was made, nor who made it. It is a class II archaeological site, which means that it is not on maps, but park personel will let you know its location if you ask in person.

Hockey Fans for Obama/Biden

US Conference of Catholic Bishops Statement on the Economy

September 26, 2008

Dear Secretary Paulson, Majority Leader Reid, Minority Leader McConnell, Speaker Pelosi and Minority Leader Boehner:

The economic crisis facing our nation is both terribly disturbing and enormously complicated. I write to offer the prayers of the U.S. Catholic Bishops and express the concerns of our Conference as you face difficult choices on how to limit the damage and move forward with prudence and justice. As pastors and teachers, my brother bishops and I do not bring technical expertise to these complicated matters. However, we believe our faith and moral principles can help guide the search for just and effective responses to the economic turmoil threatening our people.

* Human and Moral Dimensions: This crisis involves far more than just economic or technical matters, but has enormous human impact and clear ethical dimensions which should be at the center of debate and decisions on how to move forward. Families are losing their homes. Retirement savings are at risk. People are losing jobs and benefits. Economic arrangements, structures and remedies should have as a fundamental purpose safeguarding human life and dignity. The scandalous search for excessive economic rewards even to the point of dangerous speculation that exacerbates the pain and losses of the more vulnerable are egregious examples of an economic ethic that places economic gain above all other values. This ignores the impact of economic decisions on the lives of real people as well as the ethical dimension of the choices we make and the moral responsibility we have for their effect on people.

* Responsibility and Accountability: Clearly, effective measures are required which address and alter the behaviors, practices and misjudgments that led to this crisis. Sadly, greed, speculation, exploitation of vulnerable people and dishonest practices helped to bring about this serious situation. Many blameless and vulnerable people have been and will be harmed. Those who directly contributed to this crisis or profited from it should not be rewarded or escape accountability for the harm they have done. Any response of government ought to seek greater responsibility, accountability and transparency in both economic and public life.

* Advantages and Limitations of the Market: Pope John Paul II pointed out that the free market is the most efficient instrument for utilizing resources and effectively responding to needs, but there are many human needs which find no place on the market. It is a strict duty of justice and truth not to allow fundamental human needs to remain unsatisfied. Both public and private institutions have failed in responding to fundamental human needs. A new sense of responsibility on the part of all should include a renewal of instruments of monitoring and correction within economic institutions and the financial industry as well as effective public regulation and protection to the extent this may be clearly necessary.

* Solidarity and the Common Good: The principle of solidarity reminds us that we are in this together and warns us that concern for narrow interests alone can make things worse. The principle of solidarity commits us to the pursuit of the common good, not the search for partisan gain or economic advantage. Protection of the vulnerable - workers, business owners, homeowners, renters, and stockholders - must be included in the commitment to protect economic institutions. As Church leaders we ask that you give proper priority to the poor and the most vulnerable.

* Subsidiarity: Subsidiarity places a responsibility on the private actors and institutions to accept their own obligations. If they do not do so, then the larger entities, including the government, will have to step in to do what private institutions will have failed to do.

This is a challenging time for our nation. Everyone who carries responsibility should exercise it according to their respective roles and with a great sensitivity to reforming practices and setting forth new guidelines that will serve all people, all institutions of the economy and the common good of the people as a nation. This includes not just the leaders of the economic life of our country. It means the political leaders and all those whose own expertise can contribute to a resolution of the current situation.

Our Catholic tradition calls for a society of work, enterprise and participation - which is not directed against the market, but demands that the market be appropriately controlled by the forces of society and by the state to assure that the basic needs of the whole society are satisfied (Centesimus Annus). These words of John Paul II should be adopted as a standard for all those who carry this responsibility for our nation, the world and the common good of all.

Sincerely,

Most Reverend William F. Murphy
Bishop of Rockville Centre
Chairman, Committee on Domestic Justice and
Human Development

Saints Cosmas and Damian

Lectio of the Day
Readings of the Day

Ss. Cosmas and Damian

Little is known of the lives of this set of twins from Aleppo, Syria. They are honoured throughout the Mediterranean, where they are called the anargyroi, or the money-less ones. They acquired this appellation because they were doctors who healed people without pay. It is known that they healed people in Syria and Arabia, and taught many the Catholico-Orthodox faith (as they taught what has become in the region the modern Orthodox and Byzantine Catholic Churches).

Palin "blessed to be free of witchcraft"?!?

Today, Yahoo!News reported that Sarah Palin was once "blessed to be free of witchcraft" at one of the churches which she attends. This may sound quaint or possibly reminiscent of another era, but it is both disturbing and bigoted. I feel that this news story needs to recieve more coverage in the press, as it points to the fact that having an Administration with Palin in it would be far worse than the Bush Administration has been. Numerous people have made fun of Bush's mis-interpretations and mis-applications of Christianity over the past eight years; Palin it seems would provide even more egregious examples of "bad Christianity".

The You Tube Video of the blessing is problematic because the Bishop Thomas Muthee (note he is NOT a Bishop in the Catholic or Othodox faith, but in the Word of Faith Church!) and the church of which he is a part focuses their doctrine and actions "on ridding the world of demons — and witches". This is disturbing as many conserative "christian" sects view Catholicism and Orthodoxy as being "pagan" or "witchcraft". Consider how members of faiths such as Heathenism, Wicca, Asatru, Hellenismos, Hindusm and others which practise polytheism or pantheism would be viewed by Palin.

I am so upset by this, that I can't really say much more than this is just one more reason why I do not see how a Christian who beleives in Social Justice, Human Rights and Good Stewardship as taught by Christ himself in the Gospels can vote for McCain/Palin.

I will comment more later.

St. Padre Pio

"The life of a Christian is nothing but a perpetual struggle against self; there is no flowering of the soul to the beauty of its perfection except at the price of pain" (a saying of Padre Pio)

Lectio of the Day
Daily Mass Readings Online

Saint of the Day:
Padre Pio of Pietrelcina

EWTN has a special site set up to celebrate the life of Padre Pio, which is loaded with facts, quotes, personal history, and photos of the saint.

Today's First Reading, from the Wisdom book of Proverbs is most interesting and relevant considering the economic news :

Like a stream is the king's heart in the hand of the Lord;
wherever it pleases him, he directs it.

All the ways of a man may be right in his own eyes,
but it is the Lord who proves hearts.

To do what is right and just
is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrafice.

Haughty eyes and a proud heart --
the tillage of the wicked is sin.

The plans of the diligent are sure of profit,
but all rash haste leads certainly to poverty.

Whoever makes a fortune by a lying tongue
is chasing a bubble over deadly snares.

The soul of the wicked one desires evil;
his neighbour finds no pity in his eyes.

When the arrogant man is punished, the simple are the wiser;
when the wise man is instructed, he gains knowledge.

THe just man appraises the house of the wicked;
there is one who brings down the wicked to ruin.

He who shuts his ear to the cry of the poor
will himself also call out and not be heard.

My Personal Commentary:

I look at the news headlines and consider how ignorance of these proverbs on the part of our leaders has led to the crisis we now face. It isn't that people have not been speaking out for months that our economy was headed for trouble - it was that the Bush Administration and those responsible for the health of the economy in our country didn't heed their warnings. The Bush Administration and the Republicans worked hard to deregulate the mortgage and investment banking industries so that they could profit, and now the retribution for their risky behaviour and predatory lending to the economically disadvantaged is at hand.

Pope Benedict XVI, in his recent visit to Lourdes warned against placing too much reliance upon money and material goods. The Pope focused on the ills of modern materialism, taking time to specifically condemn unbridled passions for power, possessions, and money. It seems as if the past eight years in this country have been ruled by these very passions; despite all their talk about being "good Christians", the Republicans have made idols out of money and power.

Let us consider the following as we meditate on today's proverbs:

"Have not money, the thirst for possessions, for power - and even knowledge - diverted man from his true destiny?" Pope Benedict XVI

The Autumn Equinox

Today is the Autumn Equinox, which is a harvest festival in many faiths. The beginning of Autumn is viewed as a time for introspection and balancing. This festival is sometimes called Second Harvest or Harvest Home because it is the time of the harvesting and preparation of the second round of crops. It is a time to store up goods and foods for the coming winter months. The full moon following the equinox is known as the "harvest moon" because before electric lights, the full moon's bright light helped workers in the fields to gather crops.

The Fall Equinox is a holiday that Catholics share with Pagans, Wiccans, and anyone wanting to live in harmony with nature and the seasons. An inclusive way to celebrate the holiday with friends and family of other faiths is to decorate your home and altar with brilliant autumn leaves, ears of corn, stalks of wheat, pine cones, and gourds as an offering of thanks for the harvest, and have a dinner party that incorporates fresh fruit, vegetables, and meats harvested locally by farmers in your area.

Over the next few weeks, make sure that you take time for reflection on your words, thoughts, and actions, as this can help you to analyze your own personal harvest... this is also a good period of the year to take time to bring projects to a close (especially those that are taking many moons and seasons to complete) so that you can accept newness in your life. It is also a time for you to look at areas of your life to see if there is chaff which needs to be winnowed out - fall is a good time to get rid of the old to make way for the new which is to come in future seasons.

Finally, be sure to enjoy the changing of the seasons - appreciate the cooler air, say thanks that soon the hurricane season will be over, praise God that we have a harvest and food, and most of rejoice and praise the beauty of the leaves. If possible, go to a state or national park near you and just spend some time among the trees and nature and thank God for life and the seasons. If you do visit a park, make sure to make a donation to the park rangers and staff in thanks for their work and to support the preservation of nature!

To see where fall foliage is changing in your area, or to see pictures on your computer, click here.