A Finger in The Dike

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:GrandHarbourValletta1801.jpg

Malta is under siege again. Pray, as ssm legislation will be voted upon in the next month, the Maltese tell me.

For hundreds of years, Malta stood against the enemies of Christ's Church. The Great Siege of Malta occurred in 1565, when the Catholics overcame the Muslims.

It was a miracle that the battle was won. This graph shows the sides.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Malta_(1565)

The Knights Hospitaller	The Ottomans
500 Knights Hospitaller	6,000 Spahis (cavalry)
400 Spanish soldiers	500 Spahis from Karamania
800 Italian soldiers	6,000 Janissaries
500 soldiers from the galleys (Spanish Empire)	400 adventurers from Mytheline
200 Greek and Sicilian soldiers	2,500 Spahis from Rouania
100 soldiers of the garrison of Fort St. Elmo	3,500 adventurers from Rouania
100 servants of the knights	4,000 "religious servants"
500 galley slaves	6,000 other volunteers
3,000 soldiers drawn from the Maltese population	Various corsairs from Tripoli and Algiers
Total: 6,100	Total: 28,500 from the East, 48,000 in all

Priest Locked Out of Church

Priest: Obama Admin. Denied Mass to Catholics

How about trying this one on for size? Here is the press release headline from Congressman Tim Huelskamp’s office this afternoon:

Obama Administration Denies Mass to Catholics

Apparently, a priest was denied access to a military chapel this weekend. Father Ray Leonard serves at Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay in Georgia but because of the government shutdown, he wasn’t allowed to go to celebrate Mass this past weekend.

He is contracted by the Defense Department to meet the spiritual needs of Catholics, but not now. The chapel doors were locked and the sign said, “Shutdown: No Catholic service till further notice.”

Father Leonard said the following:

“This is our church, Catholics have an expectation and obligation to attend Mass and we were told, ‘No you can’t go to church this week…“ My parishioners were upset. They were angry and dismayed. They couldn’t believe that in America they’d be denied access to Mass by the government.”

Rep. Tim Huelskamp had this reaction:

“Time and time again this Administration demonstrates it is waging a war against the very religious freedoms upon which America was founded. This is exactly why we worked to pass legislation (House Concurrent Resolution 58) this past weekend – to protect the religious liberties of all those who bravely serve in our Armed Forces.”

http://blogs.cbn.com/thebrodyfile/archive/2013/10/08/priest-obama-administration-denied-mass-to-catholics.aspx

Cookie Monster vs. Cancer Victims

http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2013/10/08/government-gives-445-million-to-corporation-for-public-broadcasting-on-first/

The Tapestry of The Triumph of the Church in Valletta

The Binding Force of Tradition

It is good to know that modern popes made mistakes talking to the media in the not so distant past. Fr. Ripperger in his book on tradition mentions one huge blooper from Paul VI.

Thankfully, there have been no mistakes from the Chair of Peter.

I am enjoying this book and highly suggest it.