Musings of a Catholic Convert

Excellencies,

We, the Catholics in the United States of America, need you now more than ever.  We are in need of your shepherding and your teaching.  We are in need of clarity regarding social evils.  We are in need of clarity regarding our social and political duties as faithful citizens.  We are in need of a properly formed conscience.  We can't do it on our own.  There are too many distractions, too many slick video edits and sound bytes.  We are distracted.  We are confused.  Deep down, faithful Catholics want to do what's right, but we often cannot discern the correct path to take.  So much is hidden and obscured.  Many priests and lay leaders are afraid to speak up because of fear of losing a tax status or being sued.  We need your help!

We are aware of the faithful citizenship documents published by the USCCB.  Tell me, how are parishes supposed to get that information?  How are the laypersons going to receive that document and, furthermore, how will they understand what you are trying to teach us?  We need you, as our Bishops, to explain things to us.  Explain to us when life begins.  Explain to us why the right to life is a fundamental issue that cannot be lumped together as just another social issue.  Tell us why we cannot support a candidate who opposes the right to life.  Share with us why claiming personal opposition to abortion while voting "pro choice" is still support for abortion.  Teach us that the Catholic Church has never and will never change her position on abortion and euthenasia. 

We need your help.  We beg for your help.  There are already a few Bishops who have begun to educate the public, and for that we are grateful, but we beg for all of our Bishops to stand up and speak out.  November will be here soon.  Citizens will go to vote, but who will they vote for?  Whose rhetoric will be slick enough to get their vote?  Will the truth of the Faith be in the hearts and minds of the people at the polls, or will people even know that the Faith matters in politics?

We love you.  You are our Bishops.  God has appointed you as our shepherds for a reason.  Please help us and guide us.

Sincerely,

Catholics from every parish, mission, and diocese in the United States of America

Let me share a recent article with you.  Or have I already done this?

From Yahoo News:

DENVER - Two prominent Roman Catholic archbishops say House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Catholic Democrat, misstated church teachings about abortion in a recent television appearance, the latest sign that the U.S. Catholic hierarchy will not stay silent about politics this election year.

In an appearance Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press," Pelosi said "doctors of the church" have not been able to define when life begins and that "over the history of the church, this is an issue of controversy."

Washington Archbishop Donald Wuerl, citing the teaching responsibility entrusted to bishops, issued a statement late Monday that read, in part: "Since the first century the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable."

Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput and his auxiliary bishop, James Conley, said in a statement posted on the archdiocesan Web site: "Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is a gifted public servant of strong convictions and many professional skills. Regrettably, knowledge of Catholic history and teaching does not seem to be one of them."

Abortion "is always gravely evil, and so are the evasions employed to justify it," the statement continued.

Over the weekend, Chaput said in an e-mail to The Associated Press that Democratic vice presidential nominee-in-waiting Sen. Joseph Biden should refrain from receiving Communion because of his abortion stance.

A Pelosi spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

2270 Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception. From the first moment of his existence, a human being must be recognized as having the rights of a person - among which is the inviolable right of every innocent being to life.⁷²

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you.⁷³

My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately wrought in the depths of the earth.⁷⁴

2271 Since the first century the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable. Direct abortion, that is to say, abortion willed either as an end or a means, is gravely contrary to the moral law:

You shall not kill the embryo by abortion and shall not cause the newborn to perish.⁷⁵

God, the Lord of life, has entrusted to men the noble mission of safeguarding life, and men must carry it out in a manner worthy of themselves. Life must be protected with the utmost care from the moment of conception: abortion and infanticide are abominable crimes.⁷⁶

2272 Formal cooperation in an abortion constitutes a grave offense. The Church attaches the canonical penalty of excommunication to this crime against human life. "A person who procures a completed abortion incurs excommunication latae sententiae,"⁷⁷ "by the very commission of the offense,"⁷⁸ and subject to the conditions provided by Canon Law.⁷⁹ The Church does not thereby intend to restrict the scope of mercy. Rather, she makes clear the gravity of the crime committed, the irreparable harm done to the innocent who is put to death, as well as to the parents and the whole of society.

2273 The inalienable right to life of every innocent human individual is a constitutive element of a civil society and its legislation:

"The inalienable rights of the person must be recognized and respected by civil society and the political authority. These human rights depend neither on single individuals nor on parents; nor do they represent a concession made by society and the state; they belong to human nature and are inherent in the person by virtue of the creative act from which the person took his origin. Among such fundamental rights one should mention in this regard every human being's right to life and physical integrity from the moment of conception until death."⁸⁰

"The moment a positive law deprives a category of human beings of the protection which civil legislation ought to accord them, the state is denying the equality of all before the law. When the state does not place its power at the service of the rights of each citizen, and in particular of the more vulnerable, the very foundations of a state based on law are undermined. . . . As a consequence of the respect and protection which must be ensured for the unborn child from the moment of conception, the law must provide appropriate penal sanctions for every deliberate violation of the child's rights."⁸¹

2274 Since it must be treated from conception as a person, the embryo must be defended in its integrity, cared for, and healed, as far as possible, like any other human being.

Prenatal diagnosis is morally licit, "if it respects the life and integrity of the embryo and the human fetus and is directed toward its safe guarding or healing as an individual. . . . It is gravely opposed to the moral law when this is done with the thought of possibly inducing an abortion, depending upon the results: a diagnosis must not be the equivalent of a death sentence."⁸²

2275 "One must hold as licit procedures carried out on the human embryo which respect the life and integrity of the embryo and do not involve disproportionate risks for it, but are directed toward its healing the improvement of its condition of health, or its individual survival."⁸³

"It is immoral to produce human embryos intended for exploitation as disposable biological material."⁸⁴

"Certain attempts to influence chromosomic or genetic inheritance are not therapeutic but are aimed at producing human beings selected according to sex or other predetermined qualities. Such manipulations are contrary to the personal dignity of the human being and his integrity and identity"⁸⁵ which are unique and unrepeatable.

Euthanasia

2276 Those whose lives are diminished or weakened deserve special respect. Sick or handicapped persons should be helped to lead lives as normal as possible.

2277 Whatever its motives and means, direct euthanasia consists in putting an end to the lives of handicapped, sick, or dying persons. It is morally unacceptable.

Thus an act or omission which, of itself or by intention, causes death in order to eliminate suffering constitutes a murder gravely contrary to the dignity of the human person and to the respect due to the living God, his Creator. The error of judgment into which one can fall in good faith does not change the nature of this murderous act, which must always be forbidden and excluded.

2278 Discontinuing medical procedures that are burdensome, dangerous, extraordinary, or disproportionate to the expected outcome can be legitimate; it is the refusal of "over-zealous" treatment. Here one does not will to cause death; one's inability to impede it is merely accepted. The decisions should be made by the patient if he is competent and able or, if not, by those legally entitled to act for the patient, whose reasonable will and legitimate interests must always be respected.

2279 Even if death is thought imminent, the ordinary care owed to a sick person cannot be legitimately interrupted. The use of painkillers to alleviate the sufferings of the dying, even at the risk of shortening their days, can be morally in conformity with human dignity if death is not willed as either an end or a means, but only foreseen and tolerated as inevitable Palliative care is a special form of disinterested charity. As such it should be encouraged.

I understand that Barack Obama has selected Joe Biden (Sen. Delaware) as his running mate.  Many of the newswriters have said that this was a great move and a way to gain "the Catholic vote."  Talk abounds of how this fiesty Irish Catholic senator is "in line with Catholic Social Teaching" which of course they equivocate with caricatures of social issues.  Let me make this clear, friends - and you need to tell your friends, family, and coworkers this message - take it from another fiesty Irish Catholic when he reminds you that YOU CANNOT BE IN LINE WITH CATHOLIC SOCIAL TEACHING IF YOU DENY THE RIGHT TO LIFE FOR THE UNBORN.

Catholic social teaching is based on the premise that we are created in the image and likeness of God.  This dignity of the human person exists at every stage of human life, beginning with natural conception.  Abortion is a sin against the dignity of the human person.  It is the snuffing out of an innocent human being.  It is murder.  To procure for yourself an abortion is to commit grave sin.  To encourage someone to have an abortion is to commit grave sin.  To create legislation to continue the murderous practice of abortion is grave sin.  When you as a voter cast your vote for someone who has a record of voting for such things, or who says this is their "moral conviction" or "what their conscience is telling them" you are in material cooperation with them.  Saying that you are personally opposed to abortion and voting for it or supporting those who do is still supporting abortion.  All you're saying is that you won't be the one physically butchering the baby, but that you fully support the person doing it.

Do you want to avoid material cooperation in the mortal sin of abortion, DON'T VOTE FOR A PRO ABORTION CANDIDATE.  Don't buy into the lie that because someone claims to be a Christian that they are living Christian lives.  Just because Biden has a rosary doesn't mean he is in line with the teachings of the Church.  Don't be fooled by propaganda.  Don't let your conscience be improperly formed because of sound bites and what you've been duped into believing is social justice. Fight for those innocent who cannot vote for themselves.  Fight for the children who are being murdered as you read this post.  Fight against the discrimination toward the unborn.  If we would quit voting for people who support such murderous garbage, we can instead elect people who will stop the killings and restore to these United States a culture of life instead of a culture of death.

Archbishop Chaput, I know that they have not invited you to the Democratic Convention in Denver, but please try to speak with Senators Obama and Biden.  Please encourage them to fight for life instead of against it.  You're a good bishop and I know you will do your best.  Thank you for standing up for the Faith.         

My kids are out of school now, PRE for the year is officially ended, Mystagogy has ended for the RCIA, and I have my Precatechumenate group still going strong. Why? Because we are awesome, that's why. Having a year-round RCIA is a great way to make ourselves available for ministry and to make the Church even more accessible for inquirers. Add to all that my blogs, and somewhere in there there's a family and a job. Whole lot of things going on.

And, yes, I did register to win part of the $1,000,000 prize on WWE's website. 

It's so nice to do things together as a family. I'm blessed to have a job so close to home that I can skip home to have lunch with the fam or run a quick errand for my wife. We like doing most things together as a family, even our Krogering [read: grocery shopping]. Saturday we let the kids spend some gift cards at Toys R Us. And today we will get to play Lego Indiana Jones together. My kids love Lego stuff. Am I random enough yet?

I'm just overwhelmed with the concept of family and community. In a world where many people desire that children be silent, absent, or terminated, it is a great testimony to do things together as a family.

Are you going to have any more?

Why don't you get fixed?

Why don't you get your tubes tied?

I don't see how you do it?

Sometimes these "encouragements" come from the most unexpected sources. I can't let it bother me because I know that none of these people know any better. They have been trained by the culture of death and self that children are a burden. Children get in the way of the things you want to do. Children are a novelty to be taken only in small doses or not at all. This culture hates families. It centers around "me" and not God. There is no faith, no trust, and no hope. Is there any wonder why marriages crumble? Nobody understands sacrifice. Nobody understands love.

That's where our families come in. When we show our trust in God to provide by avoiding the sin of contraception (yes, it is a sin), when we do not tuck our children away from the world, when we do things together, when we stop to pray before we eat, when we give of ourselves simply because we see a need, it is then that people turn their heads. It is then that people are cut to the quick, seeing in a glimpse their own selfishness. Why else would they make the comments? Something has pricked their heart without us uttering a single word.

God help us to trust you, not just for one hour on Sunday, but every day and in every area of our life, especially those most cherished and precious to us. Conform our wills to yours and make us selfless, giving ourselves out of true love for the sake of others. May you be honored. Help us when we fall and when we fail to see rightly your will for us. Please use us as examples of imperfect human beings being changed by your grace day by day. Holy Spirit, continue to convince the world of its sin. Don't let them sleep without considering their relationship with you. Please, God, help us to love as you love.

ARTICLE 11
"I BELIEVE IN THE RESURRECTION OF THE BODY"

988 The Christian Creed - the profession of our faith in God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and in God's creative, saving, and sanctifying action - culminates in the proclamation of the resurrection of the dead on the last day and in life everlasting.

989 We firmly believe, and hence we hope that, just as Christ is truly risen from the dead and lives for ever, so after death the righteous will live for ever with the risen Christ and he will raise them up on the last day.⁵³⁴ Our resurrection, like his own, will be the work of the Most Holy Trinity:If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit who dwells in you.⁵³⁵

990 The term "flesh" refers to man in his state of weakness and mortality.⁵³⁶ The "resurrection of the flesh" (the literal formulation of the Apostles' Creed) means not only that the immortal soul will live on after death, but that even our "mortal body" will come to life again.⁵³⁷

991 Belief in the resurrection of the dead has been an essential element of the Christian faith from its beginnings. "The confidence of Christians is the resurrection of the dead; believing this we live."⁵³⁸How can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. . . . But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.⁵³⁹

I. CHRIST'S RESURRECTION AND OURS

The progressive revelation of the Resurrection

992 God revealed the resurrection of the dead to his people progressively. Hope in the bodily resurrection of the dead established itself as a consequence intrinsic to faith in God as creator of the whole man, soul and body. The creator of heaven and earth is also the one who faithfully maintains his covenant with Abraham and his posterity. It was in this double perspective that faith in the resurrection came to be expressed. In their trials, the Maccabean martyrs confessed:The King of the universe will raise us up to an everlasting renewal of life, because we have died for his laws.⁵⁴⁰ One cannot but choose to die at the hands of men and to cherish the hope that God gives of being raised again by him.⁵⁴¹

993 The Pharisees and many of the Lord's contemporaries hoped for the resurrection. Jesus teaches it firmly. To the Sadducees who deny it he answers, "Is not this why you are wrong, that you know neither the scriptures nor the power of God?"⁵⁴² Faith in the resurrection rests on faith in God who "is not God of the dead, but of the living."⁵⁴³

994 But there is more. Jesus links faith in the resurrection to his own person: "I am the Resurrection and the life."⁵⁴⁴ It is Jesus himself who on the last day will raise up those who have believed in him, who have eaten his body and drunk his blood.⁵⁴⁵ Already now in this present life he gives a sign and pledge of this by restoring some of the dead to life,⁵⁴⁶ announcing thereby his own Resurrection, though it was to be of another order. He speaks of this unique event as the "sign of Jonah,"⁵⁴⁷ the sign of the temple: he announces that he will be put to death but rise thereafter on the third day.⁵⁴⁸

995 To be a witness to Christ is to be a "witness to his Resurrection," to "[have eaten and drunk] with him after he rose from the dead."⁵⁴⁹ Encounters with the risen Christ characterize the Christian hope of resurrection. We shall rise like Christ, with him, and through him.

996 From the beginning, Christian faith in the resurrection has met with incomprehension and opposition.⁵⁵⁰ "On no point does the Christian faith encounter more opposition than on the resurrection of the body."⁵⁵¹ It is very commonly accepted that the life of the human person continues in a spiritual fashion after death. But how can we believe that this body, so clearly mortal, could rise to everlasting life?

How do the dead rise?

997 What is "rising"? In death, the separation of the soul from the body, the human body decays and the soul goes to meet God, while awaiting its reunion with its glorified body. God, in his almighty power, will definitively grant incorruptible life to our bodies by reuniting them with our souls, through the power of Jesus' Resurrection.

998 Who will rise? All the dead will rise, "those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of judgment."⁵⁵²

999 How? Christ is raised with his own body: "See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself";⁵⁵³ but he did not return to an earthly life. So, in him, "all of them will rise again with their own bodies which they now bear," but Christ "will change our lowly body to be like his glorious body," into a "spiritual body":⁵⁵⁴But someone will ask, "How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?" You foolish man! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. And what you sow is not the body which is to be, but a bare kernel. . . . What is sown is perishable, what is raised is imperishable. . . . The dead will be raised imperishable. . . . For this perishable nature must put on the imperishable, and this mortal nature must put on immortality.⁵⁵⁵

1000 This "how" exceeds our imagination and understanding; it is accessible only to faith. Yet our participation in the Eucharist already gives us a foretaste of Christ's transfiguration of our bodies:Just as bread that comes from the earth, after God's blessing has been invoked upon it, is no longer ordinary bread, but Eucharist, formed of two things, the one earthly and the other heavenly: so too our bodies, which partake of the Eucharist, are no longer corruptible, but possess the hope of resurrection.⁵⁵⁶

1001 When? Definitively "at the last day," "at the end of the world."⁵⁵⁷ Indeed, the resurrection of the dead is closely associated with Christ's Parousia:For the Lord himself will descend from heaven, with a cry of command, with the archangel's call, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.⁵⁵⁸

Risen with Christ

1002 Christ will raise us up "on the last day"; but it is also true that, in a certain way, we have already risen with Christ. For, by virtue of the Holy Spirit, Christian life is already now on earth a participation in the death and Resurrection of Christ:And you were buried with him in Baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead . . . . If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.⁵⁵⁹

1003 United with Christ by Baptism, believers already truly participate in the heavenly life of the risen Christ, but this life remains "hidden with Christ in God."⁵⁶⁰ The Father has already "raised us up with him, and made us sit with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus."⁵⁶¹ Nourished with his body in the Eucharist, we already belong to the Body of Christ. When we rise on the last day we "also will appear with him in glory."⁵⁶²

1004 In expectation of that day, the believer's body and soul already participate in the dignity of belonging to Christ. This dignity entails the demand that he should treat with respect his own body, but also the body of every other person, especially the suffering:The body [is meant] for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? . . . . You are not your own; . . . . So glorify God in your body.⁵⁶³

II. DYING IN CHRIST JESUS

1005 To rise with Christ, we must die with Christ: we must "be away from the body and at home with the Lord."⁵⁶⁴ In that "departure" which is death the soul is separated from the body.⁵⁶⁵ It will be reunited with the body on the day of resurrection of the dead.⁵⁶⁶

Death

1006 "It is in regard to death that man's condition is most shrouded in doubt."⁵⁶⁷ In a sense bodily death is natural, but for faith it is in fact "the wages of sin."⁵⁶⁸ For those who die in Christ's grace it is a participation in the death of the Lord, so that they can also share his Resurrection.⁵⁶⁹

1007 Death is the end of earthly life. Our lives are measured by time, in the course of which we change, grow old and, as with all living beings on earth, death seems like the normal end of life. That aspect of death lends urgency to our lives: remembering our mortality helps us realize that we have only a limited time in which to bring our lives to fulfillment:Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, . . . before the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.⁵⁷⁰

1008 Death is a consequence of sin. The Church's Magisterium, as authentic interpreter of the affirmations of Scripture and Tradition, teaches that death entered the world on account of man's sin.⁵⁷¹ Even though man's nature is mortal God had destined him not to die. Death was therefore contrary to the plans of God the Creator and entered the world as a consequence of sin.⁵⁷² "Bodily death, from which man would have been immune had he not sinned" is thus "the last enemy" of man left to be conquered.⁵⁷³

1009 Death is transformed by Christ. Jesus, the Son of God, also himself suffered the death that is part of the human condition. Yet, despite his anguish as he faced death, he accepted it in an act of complete and free submission to his Father's will.⁵⁷⁴ The obedience of Jesus has transformed the curse of death into a blessing.⁵⁷⁵

The meaning of Christian death

1010 Because of Christ, Christian death has a positive meaning: "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain."⁵⁷⁶ "The saying is sure: if we have died with him, we will also live with him.⁵⁷⁷ What is essentially new about Christian death is this: through Baptism, the Christian has already "died with Christ" sacramentally, in order to live a new life; and if we die in Christ's grace, physical death completes this "dying with Christ" and so completes our incorporation into him in his redeeming act:It is better for me to die in (eis) Christ Jesus than to reign over the ends of the earth. Him it is I seek - who died for us. Him it is I desire - who rose for us. I am on the point of giving birth. . . . Let me receive pure light; when I shall have arrived there, then shall I be a man.⁵⁷⁸

1011 In death, God calls man to himself. Therefore the Christian can experience a desire for death like St. Paul's: "My desire is to depart and be with Christ. "⁵⁷⁹ He can transform his own death into an act of obedience and love towards the Father, after the example of Christ:⁵⁸⁰My earthly desire has been crucified; . . . there is living water in me, water that murmurs and says within me: Come to the Father.⁵⁸¹ I want to see God and, in order to see him, I must die.⁵⁸²I am not dying; I am entering life.⁵⁸³

1012 The Christian vision of death receives privileged expression in the liturgy of the Church:⁵⁸⁴Lord, for your faithful people life is changed, not ended. When the body of our earthly dwelling lies in death we gain an everlasting dwelling place in heaven.⁵⁸⁵

1013 Death is the end of man's earthly pilgrimage, of the time of grace and mercy which God offers him so as to work out his earthly life in keeping with the divine plan, and to decide his ultimate destiny. When "the single course of our earthly life" is completed,⁵⁸⁶ we shall not return to other earthly lives: "It is appointed for men to die once."⁵⁸⁷ There is no "reincarnation" after death.

1014 The Church encourages us to prepare ourselves for the hour of our death. In the ancient litany of the saints, for instance, she has us pray: "From a sudden and unforeseen death, deliver us, O Lord";⁵⁸⁸ to ask the Mother of God to intercede for us "at the hour of our death" in the Hail Mary; and to entrust ourselves to St. Joseph, the patron of a happy death.Every action of yours, every thought, should be those of one who expects to die before the day is out. Death would have no great terrors for you if you had a quiet conscience. . . . Then why not keep clear of sin instead of running away from death? If you aren't fit to face death today, it's very unlikely you will be tomorrow. . . .⁵⁸⁹ Praised are you, my Lord, for our sister bodily Death, from whom no living man can escape.  Woe on those who will die in mortal sin!  Blessed are they who will be found in your most holy will, for the second death will not harm them.⁵⁹⁰

IN BRIEF

1015 "The flesh is the hinge of salvation" (Tertullian, De res. 8, 2:PL 2, 852). We believe in God who is creator of the flesh; we believe in the Word made flesh in order to redeem the flesh; we believe in the resurrection of the flesh, the fulfillment of both the creation and the redemption of the flesh.

1016 By death the soul is separated from the body, but in the resurrection God will give incorruptible life to our body, transformed by reunion with our soul. Just as Christ is risen and lives for ever, so all of us will rise at the last day.

1017 "We believe in the true resurrection of this flesh that we now possess" (Council of Lyons II: DS 854). We sow a corruptible body in the tomb, but he raises up an incorruptible body, a "spiritual body" (cf. 1 Cor 15:42-44).

1018 As a consequence of original sin, man must suffer "bodily death, from which man would have been immune had he not sinned" (GS § 18).

1019 Jesus, the Son of God, freely suffered death for us in complete and free submission to the will of God, his Father. By his death he has conquered death, and so opened the possibility of salvation to all men.

Everyone shoudl check out this video of Fr. Euteneuer publicly confronting Sean Hannity on his open support of contraception.

 

 Fr. Euteneuer Is Awesome!: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Note how Hannity immediately attempts to steer the argument AWAY from the issue at hand via an ad hominem attack.  He might as well have said, "well, you're argument is false because I'm calling you a stupidhead."  It would have held just as much weight.  The argument against contraception DOES NOT HOLD WATER.  People choose to sin through contraception because something is more important than self control, more important than total self-giving love, and more important than openness to God and complete trust in Him.  What's more important?  Self, that's who.

Thank God for priests who are not afraid to call sin what it is.  God, raise up more men like Father Euteneuer who will stand firm on principles of right and wrong, who will not back down in the face of public ridicule, and who will do so with charity.  I've met good priests like this.  They are out there.  Let's ask God for more, and let's ask God to strengthen those men who just need the push to regain that fire and passion for truth.  God, revive your people.  Continue to renew your Church.  Grant that we will be bold for the faith.

Blessed Mary, Ever Virgin, pray for us.  Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on us. 

Karl Kohlhase is more than just one of my favorite Contemporary Christian music artists, he’s also one of my best friends. We are both Catholic converts, meeting online through the Coming Home Network. We even worked together for about 4 years before Karl moved closer to his hometown.

He created this song, Give Me a Chance, on his first album. He told me this week about the video he had made for the song so I’m sharing it with you. It’s one of my favorites. You can watch the video in the player embedded in this post or at Karl’s site. Karl’s music is his ministry and he gives it away for the glory and honor of God. Please drop by his site and download free Catholic music and learn more about his music ministry.

http://www.k4communications.com

One last thing. The file below is a Flash video. You’ll need the free Adobe Flash Player for your web browser. Secondly, since it’s flash, the video will loop. When you’re ready to close the file, click “hide player” just below the video window.

Washington DC, March 27 (CNA).-Supporters of all major party candidates for the United States presidency are angling to discover how to best appeal to Catholic voters, who could be a key swing vote in the November presidential election. According to Robert Reilly, a successful McCain campaign must win over Catholics to win the White House. 

Robert R. Reilly, who was President Ronald Reagan's liaison to Catholics between 1983 and 1985, wrote in an article published on Wednesday that Senator John McCain could not win the presidential election without the Catholic vote, which makes up about 25 percent of the electorate.  "The worst thing he could assume is that [the Catholic vote] is going to fall into his lap because Catholics will have nowhere else to go," he said.

Reilly argued that McCain could emulate Ronald Reagan's successful appeal to the Catholic vote during his 1984 presidential campaign.  Reagan's campaign ran advertisements in Catholic newspapers featuring a photo of Reagan and Pope John Paul II smiling together.  The photo, Reilly claimed, was effective because Reagan shared positions "completely congruent with those of the Catholic Church" on issues like the family, the sanctity of human life, pornography, and school prayer.

Senator McCain, Reilly said, "cannot simply claim that point of view; he needs to promote it."  Reilly noted that Reagan held a White House screening of Bernard Nathanson's film of an abortion, titled "The Silent Scream."  Reagan also published a noteworthy essay, "Abortion and the Conscience of the Nation," in the Human Life Review.  The essay helped convince Catholic pro-lifers of Reagan's sincerity, Reilly said.  

Reilly suggested McCain ask his Democratic opponent to watch "The Silent Scream" or an equivalent film with him.  He said McCain should write a pro-life essay similar to Reagan's for publication in a prominent Catholic-friendly journal.

Senator McCain could also make the upcoming U.S. visit of Pope Benedict XVI an opportunity to display his understanding of the Pope's thought on the family, the sanctity of human life, and the nature of radical Islam.

McCain needed to take risks to show his conviction in order to appeal to Catholics, Reilly claimed.

"If he throws as much conviction and energy into these issues as he did into his backing of the surge, Catholics and others will flock to his banner — and he can win. If he tries to coast on the moral issues, he will not," said Reilly.

The Democrats, too, are debating how to capture the Catholic vote in the presidential primary contest between Illinois Senator Barack Obama and New York Senator Hillary Clinton.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the Clinton campaign has argued that its strength among Catholics in the Democratic presidential primaries could mean their candidate would be stronger than Senator Barack Obama against Republican candidate Senator John McCain.

Clinton won 63 percent of the Democratic Catholic vote in Ohio and 65 percent in Texas.  Even in states where she lost to Obama, Clinton in some cases still won the Catholic vote in those states. 

Catholics are also poised to play a large role in the Democratic primaries since a recent survey of 19 states that have held presidential primaries this year shows  63 percent of Catholics identified themselves as Democrats, while 37 percent identified themselves as Republican.  In 2005, Edison/Mitofsky polls claimed that only 42 percent of Catholics identified themselves as Democrats.

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My 2 Cents:  I know for a fact that if McCain wanted to write a strong pro life article, CatholicDestination.com would publish it for him.  PLEASE spread the word. 

Mr. McCain, CatholicDestination.com is not a tax free non-profit.  They are not limited by the threat of losing their tax free status because they are not tax free.  This is a great freedom and platform if you choose to use it.  

Mr. McCain, if you are truly conservative, and truly pro-life, let's make it undeniably clear.  Don't alienate conservative voters and assume they will vote a party line.  They will vote elsewhere (or not vote at all) if they are not convinced you are the candidate whose ideals match their own.         

So who do you vote for this year?  I read an article about Pennsylvania "Catholic voters" that may vote for Clinton in the Democratic primaries.  You need to read this article provided to CatholicDestination.com by Fr. Frank Pavone of Priests for Life.

Ten Easy Steps to Voting With a Clear Conscience

It still baffles me that Catholics would vote for abortion "rights".  Actually it baffles me that ANYONE would vote for this.  The right to choose to kill your baby?  Are you serious?  

This reminds me of what I told my Catholic Social Teaching class last night.  We cannot address properly the moral problems of our age by merely treating symptoms.  We must go to the source - page one, if you will - and re-inform the consciences of entire generations of people.  Morality has never been the product of popular opinion, a book club, or even a democracy.  Morality has its root in the Divine Creator.  God is the source and standard of morality and He is unchanging.  Not only that, but God is alone worthy of our worship.  We must obey Him before all others.  People must unlearn all the garbage they have accumulated and internalize this truth.  Then they must internalize the Dignity of the Human Person and the love of neighbor as one's self.  If  we can love God as we ought and love our neighbors as God loves us and as we love ourselves, we can overcome sins like abortion and contraception.  From the basic principles of human existence as beings created in the image and likeness of God stem all our other beliefs, including the proper view of human sexuality.  

The answer is not condoms, it is not the pill, it is not abortion rights.  Go to page one.  What has God revealed about Himself and humankind?  How do they relate one to another?  How is humankind to relate to itself?

Looking for a good primer on the subject?  The Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace has a Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church.  Every Catholic should read it.