Shame in America's Capitol

The National Cathedral in Washington, D. C. is going to allow same-sex marriages. It is the symbol of religion in the States and is Episcopalian.

The link is here. I am amazed at the comments made by those interviewed, as well as the speed of this change. Read the article.

God will not ignore His Commandments being mocked. The sin of homosexuality is one of the four or five, depending on the list, which cries out to God for vengeance. Check out the the older catechisms on this point.

 Based on # 1867 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

(1) Wilful murder - the blood of Abel, [Gen. 4:10]

(2) The sin of the Sodomites, [Gen. 18:20; 19:13]

(3) The cry of the people oppressed in Egypt, [Ex. 3:7-10]

(4) The cry of the foreigner, the widow and the orphan, [Ex. 20:20-22] and

(5) Injustice to the wage earner. [Deut. 24:14-5; Jas. 5:4] 

http://www.catholicdoors.com/faq/qu43.htm

For my planet crazy friends........January 9th night sky planets

Planets to see tonight from Astronomy.co.uk and text is from this website.....

JUPITER

SATURN

MERCURY

MARS

VENUS

COOL, VERY COOL!

• Jupiter is high in the east after sunset, reaching its highest point due south around 21:00 UT (Universal Time) at the beginning of the month and around 19:30 UT at the end. It gets to around 60 degrees' elevation, which is about as high in the sky as it can ever be. It has a magnitude of -2.7 and is about 5 degrees to the upper-right of the star Aldebaran. Its retrograde (westward) motion continues until the end of the month. Its angular diameter drops from 47 to 43" during January, but its atmospheric bands and larger moons can still be seen using a small telescope.
• Saturn rises around 03:00 UT at the beginning of the month and 01:00 at the end. It has a magnitude of +0.6 and an angular diameter increasing from 16.2 to 17" during the month, and lies in Libra. Its rings are now at 19 degrees to the line of sight, making them more visible than they have been for the last six years. However, the planet is not very high in the sky, and so is currently seen through more atmospheric haze. On the 30th, it casts a visible shadow on its ring system as it is at western quadrature (90 degrees from the Sun in the sky).
• Mercury can just be spotted to the lower left of Venus before dawn at the beginning of January, and similarly to the lower left of Mars just after sunset at the end, but is otherwise hidden by the Sun.
• Mars is still visible just after sunset. It can be seen early in the month at an elevation of 10 degrees in the south-west, about 45 minutes after sunset. By month's end, this decreases to 6 degrees, and the planet's angular size is only 4".
• Venus is approaching the Sun in the sky and so is coming to the end of its morning apparition. Its angular size decreases from 10.8 to 10.1" over the month, while its illuminated fraction increases from 95 to 97 percent, keeping its magnitude at a constant -3.9.

The revenge of the meanies, I mean the socialists....

http://www.france24.com/en/20130108-france-depardieu-criminal-court-drink-driving

Be

Yesterday, I wrote to a young friend, ending our chat with "Be good". He wrote back "Be". How profound, how simple, how true.

God created each one of us to be and do things no one else in the world has ever been or done.

One can hardly fathom the uniqueness of each created person. One reason one can believe in a God is merely the fantastic uniqueness of each person. Only a Creative Genius, a God could create such beautiful individuality.

We have our own fingerprints and retinas. We have names given to us in baptism, which belong to us, like a badge of honour we need to earn.

Be.

Be in God.

Mary understood what it meant to be and being for her is complete uniqueness; the Immaculate Conception.

Pray to Mary to be healed of anything which stands in the way of you being you.

The fullness of one's being is found only in Christ. Only. If you give yourself to God, you will finally find yourself. Be. Be the son or daughter God created you to be. Start with baptism, when you are made an heir of heaven and son or daughter of God.

Being means becoming like the Father, through Christ, and the Holy Spirit. Such a magnificent thought can hardly be imagined.

Be.

On Meeting Saints, PT Cruisers, and Loti

Thanks, wiki

Part of the pattern of my life seems to be running into saints. This is for my own benefit, as I need to become a saint and seeing and meeting saints is becoming a habit of mine.

God has led me to the most wonderful people in Ireland, England and Malta.  I feel so honoured to run into holy people who know the Indwelling of the Trinity. This realization of the Holy Trinity dwelling within each Catholic from baptism and given increased graces at Confirmation is the key to beginning the life of holiness.

The knowledge that God is in each Catholic who is in communion with the Catholic Church gives power and insight, allowing for a deeper prayer life.  This openness to grace provides spiritual power and clarity. It is the difference from driving about in a PT Cruiser and a Lotus. Now, I had two PTs in my lifetime, and my second one looked the one above, a 2006 limited edition, only in champaign. There is nothing wrong with driving a  Cruiser, and it was fun and useful having one with a boy with sports equipment and pets in kennels in the back. But, a PT is not a Lotus.

The saint I met today is slightly younger than I am and she has finished the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises, plus the Life in the Spirit seminars, without the charismatic hype.

Her life has been changed not so that she is an obviously Spirit-filled person, but God has led her to quiet, deeper prayer and the way of purification. She understands the purgative and the illuminative states and this has all happened in two years in her life.

God is good.

What is the key? Giving Him sovereignty over one's soul and being humble form the basis for such graces.

St. Publius of Malta

We receive grace according to our ability to receive grace. God waits for us to ask. He waits for us to give Him time and energy.

I was so happy to re-meet her after a year. I could see the change. It is so humbling to be around a saint.

Lay people, we are called to be saints, and not one good work means anything until we are in the age of the virtues in our spiritual life. Only the works done by God through us count for anything.

Good works flow from God through us. We can waste a lot of time running around doing what we think are good works only to discover the time and energy were wasted, as the work was not of God, but our own strivings.

This happened to me. Only when we totally surrender to God's Life in us, the Indwelling of the Holy Trinity, do we actually start to do good works-the works of God and not ourselves.

St. George Preca of Malta

I hope you all know and meet some saints. St. Bernard was moved to tears and humility by observing the saints in his monastery. Saints are in the world as well. I hope you meet some saints.


.

Formation

To be a saint is to conform one's mind, soul, heart to the mind, soul, heart of Christ.

Daily, to pray constantly, while working, walking, waiting in line, using memory, understanding and will to be like Christ. The frequent participation in the sacraments is essential, for without sanctifying grace, one cannot be holy.

Reading and studying Scripture shows one the mind of Christ, as does the teaching of the Church. One cannot be a saint without first being orthodox.

To be a saint is to be an obedient son or daughter of the Church. Lastly, good works flow from holiness, the result of all the above. For a parent not to baptize a child is to deny that person years of formation.

Happy Birthday, Mom

I hope I make it to 85.

Happy Birthday, Mom. You taught me to be a lady.