Pages

Monday, February 28, 2011

"Reel Love" winning video

It was a blessing to attend the Ruth Institute's "Love and Life in the Divine Plan" conference at Aquinas College this weekend. While there, they announced the winner of the Reel Love Video Challenge:

Sunday, February 27, 2011

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Quote book

"Do not accept anything as the truth if it lacks love. And do not accept anything as love which lacks truth!" -- St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein)

Friday, February 25, 2011

"Where have all the good (wo)men gone?"

Yesterday I read Jennifer Fulwiler's article, "Where have all the good (wo)men gone?" It was a good look at the blame game that goes on between the sexes, both pointing figures and saying, "But there are no good men/women out there."

But there are.

In fact, Kenosis teens spent their Tuesday night giving witness to this fact by creating various projects. While I can't share the details yet, I did want to share one young woman's reflections, which she left on my desk after the meeting.

This high school student wrote: "A real man has the courage to put his heart on the line for the girl he loves, even if there is a chance of rejection. He has the humility to show her that he is willing to do anything for her. A man should protect your heart and purity by taking his time. He shouldn't give himself or ask for you to give yourself before he knows for sure that he is willing to love you forever. By waiting and getting to know your whole person, he will protect you from possible heartbreak."

Thursday, February 24, 2011

"A knight worth waiting for"


My fellow John Paul II Institute graduate, Shaina Tanguay-Colucci, shares some awesome reflections about authentic masculinity in her latest blog post for the Diocese of Portland, Maine. She examines three different examples of manhood from popular movies to point to traits of authentic masculinity.

To get you started:

I used to have a long list of the qualities I believed a guy needed to have
to be worthy of respect (I wanted a Eucharist-loving, guitar-playing, Knight of
Columbus, song-writing, sports-loving, rugged, foreign, cleans up well but also
can rock a beard, empathetic, generous, solid man…). I have slightly adapted
this list to:

· A man of deep, abiding faith
· A man of integrity
· A man who embodies authentic masculinity

(If he could be all these
three and also leave me in stitches with his sense of humor, that would be
awesome, or as some might say, phenomenal.)

Though Flynn Rider does come to embody these qualities, I’d like to turn to
three other examples from popular culture of authentic
masculinity…

Read the rest here.

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

New birth control commercial -- It's all about me

Thanks to American Papist for highlighting a new Beyaz birth control commercial. First, take a moment to watch the commercial:



While it may seem that strolling through a pristine department store with long flowing curls and little pink dresses gives a vision of womanhood that will make the Pill overpoweringly attractive, I think this commercial does the opposite. The commercial highlights, ironically, that the lifestyle encouraged by contraceptive is inherently unattractive. We see this when one young lady scowls at another, after she walks away with the “man” they both were pursuing. And there is something absolutely chilling about seeing a woman laughingly decline the stork’s offer of a child, as if she were telling the woman at the grocery store she’s not interested in trying today’s pizza roll sample.

Each of these women has chosen a self-enclosed lifestyle. Notice that none of them interact with one another as they meander through the mall of their dreams. In their individual little worlds they choose a “significant other,” a dream house, a vacation, a picnic by a waterfall, a graduate degree. But how is this a joyful life? To live by oneself, separated from others, yet accumulating the “stuff” that one desires will hardly lead to a lifetime of happiness. (And does it even need to be said that women who are not on birth control have been known to find significant others, dream houses, vacations, picnics by a waterfall and graduate degrees?)

Bayer Beyaz has done a remarkable job highlighting the self-centered nature of a contraceptive culture. But without sacrifice, self-control and generosity, these young women are going to discover that a pill a day doesn’t keep discontent away. It’s only in embracing the sacrifice, self-control and generosity that they will respond to their true call to greatness and find themselves amidst other human beings who long to give and receive love.

Thank you, Bayer Beyaz, for articulating the emptiness of a contraceptive culture. Now, can you please remove your commercial and your product?

TOB for Teens retreat is full!

It's rare to have a retreat filled to capacity a month before the event begins. Our first Theology of the Body for Teens retreat can claim that rare distinction. Please keep the high school students in your prayers, as they prepare for their weekend retreat in March.

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

"We can no longer pretend the fetus is invisible"

Francis Kissling, the former president of Catholics for Choice, recently penned her thoughts on the pro-abortion "side." Her words are not optimistic ... for those who support abortion. Read some of her comments here, and then continue to pray that the seeds of a culture of life will flourish in our world.

Monday, February 21, 2011

Former abortionist dies


Dr. Bernard Nathanson, a leading pioneer in the early abortion movement in the United States, and a later convert to Catholicism and a defender of life, has died. Dr. Nathanson was also the creator of the film, "The Silent Scream," which shows an abortion by ultrasound. More on his life and conversion can be found here.

May he be welcomed into heaven after many years of defending life.

Bishop Novell: 'I changed my opinion of John Paul II during one of his e...

Watching this young bishop of the "John Paul II generation" in this video made me think, for the first time, of the future bishops of the Church, who were formed by Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI. Very exciting times ahead!

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Quote book

"Beauty on the outside never gets into the soul, but beauty of the soul reflects itself on the face." -- Archbishop Fulton Sheen

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Diocese of Covington promotes TOB for Teens retreat

The Diocese of Covington has been working overtime to promote our upcoming Theology of the Body for Teens retreat. In fact, any moment now we are expecting to have to close registration because we are nearly at capacity. In this week's edition of "The Messenger," they provided a front page article about the retreat, inviting local teens to register before the event is full. It is so encouraging to see the enthusiasm of those who are promoting the events in parishes, schools and youth groups.

Friday, February 18, 2011

This just in ...

Whispers in the Loggia reports the latest Vatican news about John Paul II's upcoming beatification. The late Holy Father's remains will be placed by the High Altar at St. Peter's Basilica until all have had the opportunity for the veneration of the faithful. Following the beatification, John Paul's body will be moved into the main church in the side chapel next to the Pieta.

Thursday, February 17, 2011

The Edith Stein Project


It's been such a busy week that I have not had a moment to sit down and reflect on the 6th annual Edith Stein Project at the University of Notre Dame. This was my first time to attend. It was incredible to see 200 people roaming McKenna Hall, eagerly attending various sessions about authentic femininity, chastity, the nature of vocation and the identity of the human person. There were women and men, married, single and religious, college students, grad students and graduates, professors, pregnancy center employees and perpetual students. Even with such a variety of backgrounds, there was a unity in each person's desire to answer the question, "Who am I?"


While I could write about various sessions, different reflections shared or summaries of each presentation, one thing that most struck me was the witness of the final presenters I heard. Both women were the original founders of the conference. Both were alumni of Notre Dame. Both had been brilliant students, expected to do great things after graduation. But both now confidently shared that the turns on which life has taken them were quite unexpected. One of the young women shared that an illness has inhibited her ability to attend medical school. She is now a middle school teacher in her hometown. It was certainly not the path which she had planned as an ambitious pre-med undergrad.

The other young lady is now a wife and stay-at-home mother of two children. She received her Master's in Theological Studies recently, but her one frenetic lifestyle has had to change in favor of her family. Instead of writing books, planning conferences or leading pro-life organizations, she is spending her days washing the floor, preparing dinner and playing with her children.

What struck me in both women's eloquent examples was their true femininity. Many times in conferences with a theme of womanhood, the various attendees and presenters confidently stride through the halls in professional clothing, with resumes as long as the staircase and aspirations higher than a president's. There is nothing wrong with the clothing, the resumes or the aspirations, but often one is left, unintentionally, with the feeling that a true woman of God must be constantly producing, constantly striving, constantly working in order to be the woman God is calling her to be. What these two women testified to was the beauty of a life lived in receptivity to God's plan -- a plan that may or may not be the one we thought up ourselves. And being present to God and present to those He has placed in our life in this moment is more fruitful, beautiful and life-giving than a focus on success.

After all, as Mother Teresa reminded us, we aren't called to be successful, but to be faithful.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Priestly skiing tournament

It's a busy day, making real blogging a bit difficult. But check out some pictures and a brief description of the Polish skiing tournament for priests -- the "John Paul II Cup."

Monday, February 14, 2011

"Of twiblings, terminations and twisted generosity"

My latest is up at Catholic Exchange, and can be found below:

IVF has been around a long time. In fact, the first child to be born from an IVF “conception,” made her appearance out of the womb on the tenth anniversary of the promulgation of “Humanae Vitae.” Still, in the past couple of weeks I have been overwhelmed by the number of articles, radio interviews and stories dedicated to artificial reproductive technologies.

The New York Times introduced us to Melanie Thernstrom in its weekly magazine. Ms. Thernstrom’s lengthy article, “Meet the Twiblings” chronicled her experiences with IVF, egg donors, “gestational carriers” and eventually holding two babies created with the same woman’s egg and her husband’s sperm, born five days apart to different “gestational carriers.”

Then there was the Australian couple who aborted their twin sons in the hopes of creating a baby girl through IVF to “replace” the daughter they lost soon after her birth.

Britain’s “Daily Mail” alerted us to the trend of women conceiving babies by IVF, only to later abort them when they get cold feet about mothering.

We learned about the future of Elton John’s son who will never know his mother – neither the egg donor, nor the surrogate.

And before all of these, the Wall Street Journal told us about, “Assembling the Global Baby,” with babies being produced with egg donors, sperm donors, parents, brokers and surrogates on different continents. Couples in the United States get their egg donors from Eastern European women, but they are implanted in Indian women, because these things just get too expensive otherwise.

The more my horror grew, the more these stories were being lauded, the individual players held up as heroes of generosity – the egg donors and “gestational carriers” for their selflessness, the doctors and brokers who operate in poorer countries for their economic concern, the parents for their desire to raise children. Children who were manufactured, whose origins were purchased and who were chosen for their desirability. Children whose parents decided to choose the smartest egg donor or the sperm donor who looks like their favorite celebrity.

Perhaps one of the most frightening things is to know that artificial reproductive technologies will be supported by Catholics, and even by many who claim the moniker “pro-life.” To be pro-life is to be pro-baby, so why not help women have babies? After all, instead of ending lives, they are creating them.

If we look at people’s intentions, they seem good at first glance – having children, providing children a good life, serving others. But then the closing comment of Ross Douthat’s much touted New York Times op-ed, “The Unborn Paradox,” comes to mind: “This is the paradox of America’s unborn. No life is so desperately sought after, so hungrily desired, so carefully nurtured. And yet no life is so legally unprotected, and so frequently destroyed.”[1] There is an added paradox here – even in the seeming care and nurture of the artificially conceived children, there is selfishness and mistreatment.

How, after all, are these babies treated? They become objects for the parents to control and manipulate. Or they are trophies – the “perfect” child, the “perfect” genes, the “perfect” gender. And above all the parents become the replacement gods. In the end, it’s all about “my choice,” which is ironically how advocates of abortion speak as well. In both cases, the culture of death puts me in the place of God.

The dehumanization is evident in the terminology used. Melanie Thernstrom refers to her pre-born babies as “drafts” in order to “remind ourselves that they were notes toward the children we wanted, but if they died, they were just beginnings like all the embryos had been, and we would start again.”[2] There are donors, clinics, retrievals, fetuses, “gestational carriers.” Where are the babies, the fathers, the mothers, the marital embrace uniting love and life?

These tales of twiblings, terminations and twisted generosity sound vaguely familiar. There was once a woman who was offered the chance to be like God. She eagerly snatched the opportunity, grasping for whatever power and control she could get. But the irony was that this woman – Eve – was already like God. She was made in His image and likeness. She was called to receive everything that He had for her – more than she could have possibly imagined or planned on her own.

But Eve said no. And the people in these articles said no. And before we start pointing fingers, we say no all the time. No, I know what will make me happy. No, I can take care of myself. No, I don’t trust God to fulfill my deepest desires. No, I don’t believe that suffering can be a way of opening me to God and to others.

And Eve could have easily found the serpent to be so generous. He was sharing with her. He was offering something to her that she thought she couldn’t have. And she said yes. But her yes to the serpent was her no to God. And what has followed is chaos, death, sadness, confusion, and the culture of death.

Here we are many years later with the same classic story playing out once again. It’s not to assign a one-to-one relation between the people of Genesis 3 and the players involved in an artificial conception. But the temptations remain the same.

We have a twisted generosity that allows Melanie Thernstrom to refer to the egg donor as the “Fairy Goddonor” and the “gestational carriers” as angels. It allows a doctor to feel selfless in assisting a couple to abort their son and to use genetic manipulation and IVF to grasp at a “replacement” daughter.

But twisted generosity results in women choosing abortion when they’ve changed their minds. It gives “Fairy Goddonor” the ability to buy a classic convertible in exchange for donating a necessary ingredient to creating a child. It leads to women who die from the effects of a torturous egg donation process. It will lead a little boy like Zachary Jackson Levon Furnish-John to grow up not knowing his mother(s) and feeling rather like an object who was brought into existence to fulfill some need or want or whim of his two fathers.

All of this is not to demonize the people involved. But the question we must ask ourselves is what are we doing and how are we living? Are we living our lives as gift to be received, to be wondered at, to be received in gratitude? Are we living the gift of our lives for others, or are we preoccupied with seeking our happiness alone? Are we living the yes to God’s beautiful plan that is necessary for the culture of life, or are we fueling a culture of death by our own refusal to trust God’s loving plan for our true joy?

Nothing less than the future of the world is at stake.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/03/opinion/03douthat.html.

[2] http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/02/magazine/02babymaking-t.html?_r=1.

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Quote book

"The person who does not decide to love forever will find it very difficult to really love for even one day." -- Pope John Paul II

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Another new, young saint?


It's always encouraging to read about the canonization process of people with colored photographs. There's just something so refreshing about seeing a modern day individual known for their sanctity. And when they died at a young age it is especially intriguing.

It's worth looking into the story of Carlo Acutis, who died in 2006 at the age of 15 from leukemia. Carlos offered his suffering for the pope and the Church. His gift of an exhibit about Eucharistic miracles, which he began during his short life, is continuing to travel the world today.

Read more here.

Friday, February 11, 2011

John Paul II's beatification webpage


It's official! You can follow the road to John Paul II's May 1st beatification at its new website here. I'm sure the English translation site will continue to grow in the upcoming weeks.

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Suffering in marriage: An opportunity

Thanks to the Diocese of Portland, Maine's Office of Lifelong Faith Formation for the opportunity to share an abbreviated, non-academic version of my upcoming presentation to the Edith Stein Project at Notre Dame University. Below is the guest post:

Today’s culture runs away from suffering, marriage, commitment, children and any other attachment that might come with inconvenience, self-sacrifice or discomfort. Those who embrace the Sacrament and vocation of marriage are offering the world a sign of suffering that can bear fruit for the sake of others.

In a unique way, married couples by the fact of their entering a sacramental marriage are called to a special form of suffering. It’s not simply a matter of varying opinions on whether or not to roll the toothpaste tube from the bottom, or the annoyance of a snoring spouse. More profoundly, through their consent to marriage, the couple participates in the love between Christ and the Church.

Jesus Christ died for the Church, suffering for the sake of her salvation. In Familiaris Consortio, John Paul II wrote, “Spouses are therefore the permanent reminder to the Church of what happened on the Cross; they are for one another and for the children witnesses to the salvation in which the sacrament makes them sharers.” If a couple denies this privilege of marriage by cohabiting or “hooking up,” then they are simultaneously denying the world a sign of salvation. Without the permanent reminder of redemptive suffering presented in marriage, widespread narcissism is inevitable. On the contrary, when witnesses of self-giving love, received from God and not grasped for one’s own self-affirmation, abound in the culture, then a true culture of life and a civilization of love are able to bloom.

It seems paradoxical to say that our suffering culture needs suffering, yet this is precisely the case. The heartache caused by divorce, contraception, abortion, hooking-up and other common practices today can only be resolved by understanding suffering as a gift of offering to the world a witness of God’s love. Simultaneously, those who embrace this view are healed of a narcissistic tendency to focus on self-gain rather than self-gift. Consequently, one is freed to experience the words of Vatican II, often quoted by John Paul II: “[M]an, who is the only creature on earth which God willed for itself, cannot fully find himself except through a sincere gift of himself.” (Gaudium et Spes 24)

When the trials and sufferings of marriage seem particularly difficult to bear, couples may find some comfort in offering their suffering as part of their gift of self to God. The Lord is able to receive the couple’s suffering as fertilizer for the seeds He has already planted. In this way, the suffering of marriage is able to bear great fruit for the couple, for their family and for society at large.

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Did someone say "unfit" to live?


Chelsea Zimmerman reports on the little boy in the Darth Vader Super Bowl commercial, who was born with a congenital heart defect. For many, hearing a prenatal diagnosis like this would send them toward the abortion clinic. Fortunately for little Max Page, his parents chose differently. Get the full scoop at Reflections of a Paralytic.

"Spiritual Sustenance: Feed Us with Your Beauty"

Wonderful reflection to start your Tuesday morning: Spiritual Sustenance: Feed Us with Your Beauty. Katrina Fernandez shares her thoughts on the importance of beauty in our faith and in our world.

Just to get you started:

On any given day I am too-little exposed to beauty. I sit in traffic each morning staring at grey asphalt; I ride through treeless streets lined with utilitarian, ugly, ornament-free buildings and spend the remainder of my day in a cube. I imagine this is typical for most people: we go through the day surrounded by the mundane, and not realizing we miss beauty.

In my home though, I surround myself with beauty. I have it hanging on the walls and pouring out of stereo speakers. I visit it in my mind through pages in a book. And I realize that my home has become a sanctuary of beauty, because modern churches are not.

Churches used to be the source for transcendent beauty, the places where ordinary people could experience that overwhelming gasp-inspiring spiritual soaring because they were surrounded by it, immersed in it. Churches used to make the soul sing for God.

Read the rest here.

Monday, February 7, 2011

"A Family Manifesto: How to Read Familiaris Consortio"

Inside Catholic just republished an article by Dr. Joseph Atkinson (one of my favorite professors at the John Paul II Institute) about John Paul II's wonderful apostolic letter, "Familiaris Consortio."

I cannot wait to read the whole article, but for now, here is an excerpt:

Every good battle plan has a strategy. Familiaris Consortio is no different, but unlike the elaborate designs drawn by generals past, its power lies in its fundamental simplicity. The apostolic exhortation shows that the answer to the modern crisis lies in recovering the theology of creation as a vital part of any anthropological discourse. The fundamental reorientation toward the Creator requires our acceptance of creaturely status. Only in this way can the vertical dimension to human existence be rediscovered.

Of course, in a society that worships "self," it's extremely difficult to recall people to this saner view of reality -- the view that we're not the creators of our own nature. Nevertheless, Familiaris Consortio unabashedly proclaims that only in his relationship to God can man (and hence marriage and family) ever come into fullness of being: "Willed by God in the very act of creation, marriage and the family are interiorly ordained to fulfillment in Christ, and have need of His graces in order to be healed from the wounds of sin and restored to their 'beginning,' that is, to full understanding and the full realization of God's plan."

Human nature, marriage, and family are not social constructs subject to manipulation for the advancement of specific agendas. Rather, they’re formed and informed by God's loving plan and interiorly oriented toward Christ. We're called to be faithful to this will -- not to any political expediency.

Read the whole article here.

National Marriage Week -- the Maine event

In honor of National Marriage Week, the Office of Lifelong Faith Formation for the Diocese of Portland, Maine, is hosting guest blog posts all week. Be sure to stop back throughout the week for a variety of perspectives on the gift of marriage. Yours truly even gets to weigh in with, "Suffering in marriage: An opportunity for fruitfulness."

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Quote book

“Our souls should be like a transparent crystal through which God can be perceived. Our crystal is sometimes covered with dirt and dust…. God will help us to remove that dust, as long as we allow him to; if that is our will, His will comes about.” – Mother Teresa

Saturday, February 5, 2011

"Why vocations programs don't work"

This is a great article by Fr. Damian Ference, which happens also to beautifully capture the mission of Kenosis: Teen Disciples for Love and Life.

Just a taste of the article:

The root of our current vocation problem is a lack of discipleship. Of course, a disciple is one who encounters Jesus, repents, experiences conversion and then follows Jesus. All too often those of us in positions of Church leadership presume that all the folks in the pews on Sundays, all the children in our grade schools, high schools and PSR programs, all the kids in our youth groups, all the men in our Men’s Clubs and all the women in our Women’s Guilds, and all the members of our RCIA team are already disciples. Many are not. (The same can be said of staffs and faculties of Catholic institutions.) Our people may be very active in the programs of our parishes, schools and institutions, but unfortunately, such participation does not qualify for discipleship.

If the root of our vocation problem is a lack of discipleship, then the remedy is to make more disciples, just as Jesus commanded. But how is this accomplished?

And:

When young people come to know Jesus, they will develop a deeper appreciation for the Eucharist. And when young people finally find their identity in the Eucharist (and not a pizza party, bowling or laser tag), young people will naturally want to socialize and do service projects, because these activities will flow out of their discipleship. When their lives are formed by the self-giving love of Jesus in the Eucharist, they will want to make themselves a gift for others, and their service projects will take on new meaning as acts of justice. Once young people become disciples, they will want to come to Mass, to spend time at the parish, to serve those in need, to gather for recreation, and to read good books and articles about the faith, and to really help build the Kingdom of God. But none of this can ever happen without the most foundational, and often forgotten, principle of discipleship.

Fr. Ference is right. Many vocations programs aim to recruit. But if a vocation is a call from God (and the word itself comes from the Latin "to call"), then a true vocations program will lead young people to hear God's voice more clearly. This involves being Christ's disciple.

Read the whole article.

Friday, February 4, 2011

Expose Planned Parenthood

The battle between Live Action and Planned Parenthood is heating up, with several video's released by Live Action this week, which expose Planned Parenthood's willingness to turn a blind eye -- even to encourage! -- to child trafficking. You can follow the latest developments at Expose Planned Parenthood. This is the perfect opportunity to put more pressure on our government officials to pull the millions of dollars given by the government to Planned Parenthood annually.

YouCat = Youth Catechism


Pope Benedict XVI sounds excited about "YouCat," a new youth catechism, which will be distributed at World Youth Day, and published in 13 languages by April 4. The Holy Father's thoughts concerning the new youth catechism, as well as a description of the process of its preparation, are available in this article.

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Nine Days that Changed the World


Last night, Ruah Woods was one of the sponsors of a Cincinnati screening of the documentary, "Nine Days that Changed the World." More than 700 people registered for the event long before Feb. 2 arrived. It was wonderful to see a variety of people in attendance -- children, teens, parents, grandparents, priests, government officials.

The film focused on Pope John Paul II's nine day pilgrimage to Poland, beginning June 2, 1979. The effect of his first papal visit to his homeland was the eventual end of Communism in Eastern Europe. During the documentary, never-before-seen footage of the pilgrimage is shown, and several Polish and American experts are interviewed about the peaceful end to a dehumanizing vision of the human person.

Perhaps I missed it because the acoustics made the film difficult to hear, but I was surprised at the lack of personal stories about John Paul II's encounter with his homeland. The beauty of his visit was that he heralded the unique and unrepeatable nature of each and every human person -- a message inimical to Communism's tenets. To focus on the personal stories of some of the Polish people would have made a fascinating sidebar to the grand story of the pilgrimage's historic consequences.

Nevertheless, having been to Poland, the frequent scenes from the nation make one feel present in the country. Powerful stories are shared. Videos of the late Holy Father speaking to enormous crowds are featured. And a glimpse of the message of John Paul's life and pontificate -- the greatness of the human person made in God's image and likeness and redeemed by Christ -- is given.

To order copies of the DVD, visit the documentary's website.

Suffering and joy

Many thanks to Chelsea Zimmerman for sharing these videos of Garvan Byrne. In this interview, he is 11 years old and discusses with remarkable joy his lifelong suffering from a rare bone marrow disease, as well as his impending death. It's well worth the time to watch Garvan and to learn from his joy, sacrifice and faith. Once again, an individual whose life is seen as unfit to live to many is the one who speaks a message we all need to hear.






Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Another couple faithful to their vows


As I typed the heading for this post, I was struck by the irony that a couple being faithful to their vows would constitute a headline. Nevertheless, I think it's important that we see stories like the one below in order to be reminded that there really are married couples who remain faithful to their vows, even "in sickness and in health."

So, meet Tim and Ali Delgado.

And then watch the rest of their story.


And then if you want to learn more about Tim and Ali, read this article.

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Be Bold ... with a Cast Your Nets T-shirt

Cast Your Nets was an awesome event on Sunday night. The evening's theme -- "Be bold!" -- is an important one to live out daily as Catholics. The new Cast Your Nets T-shirts are a wonderful way to remember this message and to proclaim it to others. The designs (see below) feature Bl. Miguel Pro and St. Rita Cascia as two saints who boldly lived their faith.

You can order T-shirts through the Cast Your Nets webpage.

Planned Parenthood aids sex trafficking

I have long been aware of the terrible things that occur at Planned Parenthood, but the latest Live Action video is the most horrifying example I have seen yet. Rather than discuss it, just watch: