Sunday, October 29, 2006



For all of you who have followed the story (Go down 1/3 page) on Jimmy Akin's Blog, it's true--- I too believe the Easter Bunny really is evil. I mean, c'mon, if that face doesn't convince non believers, what will???

Sunday, October 22, 2006

I have had enough: just STOP!
(Note: Thanks be to God, the situation described below is no longer occuring in my parish, however, I wish to leave this article here for readers to be informed of what a terrible liturgical abuse this is. Thank you to all who prayed for the end of this abuse!)
Today I was serving at the altar as an altar boy, as I have been doing now for about 3 years, and I have run across a problem that has been going on for WAY to long. Let me start from square one...
Our Church has a habit of during the offertory, receiving the wine in glass flagons and then of pouring a small amount of wine into the celebrant's cup, and leaving the rest of the wine to be consecrated in the glass flagons. Then, after consecration, the no longer wine but Precious Blood of our Lord is poured from the flagons into separate chalices so the people can receive the Precious Blood in that form. (I hope I made that clear enough.) The Church has already stated that doing this is a problem. In Redemptionis Sacramentum it says: "[106.] However, the pouring of the Blood of Christ after the consecration from one vessel to another is completely to be avoided, lest anything should happen that would be to the detriment of so great a mystery. Never to be used for containing the Blood of the Lord are flagons, bowls, or other vessels that are not fully in accord with the established norms." (Italics added by me). I have already done some action to try to stop this practice but to no avail at present. Before, I knew that by pouring the Precious blood we were in danger of spilling and disregarding even in accident our Lord's Body. Now, I know that we must have done this already it seems. You see, about two weeks ago when I was serving at the altar, the Deacon who would normally (but not always) pour the precious blood was not at the particular mass. So, one of the Extraordinary Minister's of Holy Communion came to pour the Precious Blood from chalice to chalice. The person who does the pouring will then hand the flagon to the Altar Server who will then take the flagon and place it on the credence table. I happened to be one of the Altar Server's being handed a flagon. I noticed as I was carrying the flagon that I felt something wet drip onto my hand. In horror I looked down to see that the Precious Blood was dripping down onto my hand. I consumed what I could and took a purificator and wiped up the flagon. Now, think about what another altar server (Or even myself, God forbid) could have easily done. By instinct, many people will simply wipe there hand on their clothes if they feel a wet substance. Imagine an altar server doing that, or perhaps the Precious Blood simply dropping on the floor where people will walk on it without a care.
Ok, so maybe what happened that Sunday was just a spoof. Maybe that never happens. Well, today when I was serving again, and the Deacon this time did the pouring and handed me the flagon---guess what???---the same exact thing happened!!!! I knew what I should do, and did pretty much the same exact thing. But this time, I was extremely angered. How can this be happening?
1. The Church has already told us not to be doing this.
2. It is extremely practical to pour the WINE before consecration (so it is wine, and will be no problem if it's spilt) and it would in fact save time.
3. Not only the situation I am talking about is obviously happening, but what if one day, a person pouring the precious blood accidentally drops one of the glass flagons on the floor? Our Lord's precious blood would be all over the floor!
I have had enough! There are no excuses for this. I will write our liturgist, my priest, my bishop, and even the Pope if I have to. I will not tolerate this! Our Lord's precious blood is being disregarded. Please pray for my parish and our diocese during this time, that we would come to a loving reverence of our Lord in the Eucharist. Pray, that this abuse would come to an end, please! I will close with this prayer:
"Our Lord told St. Gertude the Great that the following prayer would release 1,000 souls from Purgatory each time it is said. The prayer was extended to include living sinners as well:
Eternal Father, I offer thee the most precious blood of thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the masses said throughout the world today, for all the Holy Souls in Purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal church, those in my own home and within my family. Amen."

Saturday, October 21, 2006



Voting: A moral issue?
Is voting a moral issue? Should religion at all be a factor for deciding who you should vote for? I mean, haven't you heard about separation of Church and State? (Oh, please, I could blow up my TV next time I hear that phrase misused again!) First of all, as a committed Catholic, my religion will influence my everyday to day actions: my relationships with others, my entertainment, my time, and a lot of other stuff. As Catholics we CANNOT allow politics to be totally separated from our religion. Our religion influences our decisions, and the politicians we elect should reflect our morals, that is, if you believe that what you believe is worth fighting for. That is, if you are 100% convinced of what you believe is true. I cannot in good conscious vote for a man that is ok with killing un born children. I cannot support someone who thinks it's ok for two same sex people to "marry". I don't care if a politician says he's Catholic! What does that mean? I can't think of a whole lot of TRUE Catholics running in our government right now. Just because he says he's Catholic, doesn't make him a true Catholic.
Do you realize that Adolph Hitler was elected? It was through a sort of vote that Jesus was put to death. Does voting make a difference? You better believe it! Even if this person is a local politician running, you should put the same standards before them. (e.g. The President was once a Senator, and the Senator was once a local mayor. )
What should your standard be? Here's a list of some of the essentials:
1. Is he/she 100% pro life from natural conception to natural death.
2. Is he/she against moral ethics the Church has clearly shown as wrong? (e.g. Homosexuality, Euthanasia, Cloning, ESCR, and abortion, etc...)
3. Is he/she against restricting religious or educational freedom.
Please take your time to research what the different folks running for office stand for, and vote for good and wholesome politicians.

Thursday, October 19, 2006


St. Isaac Jogues

Sorry no good articles have been written of late, but my life has been a *little* busy (Actually, maybe more than a little)! Please read this link about my third all time favorite saint: St. Isaac Jogues. His feast day is today, and he has an extremely powerful inspiring story. Also check out the new Catholic poll and take a second to place a vote!

Saturday, October 14, 2006

Caption contest

Please post your funny captions in the comment box, and I will put the funniest one next to the picture. Keep your humor clean, and have fun!

"Officer, I was only going one way!"

"We don't care which way you go, just don't hit the house!"

Sunday, October 01, 2006

October; the month of the Rosary
October is the month traditionally dedicated to the Rosary. Here is a brief history of the Rosary: in the beginning of the 13th century the Blessed virgin Mary appeared to St. Dominic who had been struggling in fighting a certain heresy that was popular. This heresy believed that only the spirit was good while material things were evil. They believed that marriage was wrong, and would do some sorts of activities (e.g. fasting) that would bring them to harm. St. Dominic had founded the Dominican Order, which is an order dedicated to preaching primarily. However, the Dominicans were have a very difficult time with this particular heresy. St. Dominic in his distress retreated to a deserted place and fasted, prayed, and did mortification to ask God's help as what he should do to bring these people back to the truth. On the third day of his retreat, Mary appeared to St. Dominic telling him to bring about the practice of the Rosary; to preach it and to pray it. This, St. Dominic did faithfully. It proved to be the greatest weapon in defeating the false heresy of the time. However, almost 800 years have passed since St. Dominic's time. Is the rosary still appropriate? Most certainly! The power of the Rosary is needed today more than ever. Think about the problems our world is facing today: Abortion (thousands of un-born children killed every year), Euthanasia, terrorism, Relativism, and many other huge problems. Catholics unite! Let's get a prayin'!
HOW DO I PRAY THE ROSARY??? For those of you left in the dust of how in the world you pray the rosary here you go: The Rosary begins with the Apostle's Creed (on the crucifix of a rosary), then 1 Our Father (on the next bead), and then 3 Hail Marys (on the next 3 beads), and finally you say the Glory Be. Then you start the first decade of the Rosary. You reflect a few seconds on the first mystery and then you say one Our Father and ten Hail Marys and conclude each decade with the Glory Be. Also, Our Lady of Fatima in the beginning of the last century has asked us to pray after each Glory Be the following prayer: "O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of Hell. Lead all souls to Heaven especially those most in need of Thy Mercy. "
After doing five decades, you conclude the Rosary with the Hail Holy Queen prayer. That's it in a briefcase.
Decades of the Rosary
Sundays and Wednesdays-Glorious Mysteries-1. Resurrection (Luke 24:1)
2. Ascension of Jesus into Heaven (Luke 24:50)
3. Decent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost (Acts 2:1)
4. The Assumption of Mary into Heaven
5. The Coronation of Mary as Queen of Heaven
Mondays and Saturdays-Joyful Mysteries-1. The Annunciation. (The Angel Gabriel declaring the Incarnation to Mary) (Luke 1:26) 2. The Visitation (When Mary visited Elizabeth) (Luke 1:39)
3. The Birth of Jesus (Luke 2:1)
4. The Presenting of Jesus in the Temple (Luke 2:22)
5. The Finding of Jesus in the Temple (Luke 2:41)
Tuesdays and Fridays-Sorrowful Mysteries-1. The Agony in the Garden (Luke 22:39)
2. The Scourging of Christ at the pillar (John 19:1)
3. The Crowning of Thorns (John 19:1)
4. Jesus Carrying His Cross (John 19:17)
5. The crucifixion of Christ (John 19:18)
Thursdays-Luminous Mysteries-1. The Baptism of Christ (Luke 3:21)
2. Jesus' first miracle at the wedding in Cana (John 2:1)
3. The proclamation of the kingdom (Matthew 4:17)
4. The Transfiguration of Christ (Matthew 17:1)
5. The institution of the Holy Eucharist at the Last Supper. (Luke 22:19)
As you pray each decade, meditate on the particular mystery!