"the evidence relied upon by Planned Parenthood acknowledges a significant, known statistical correlation between abortion and suicide." You can find this quote here.

This is concerning a ruling on a South Dakota law that states that women who are coming in for an abortion must be told that abortion leads to an increased risk of depression and suicide. Well of course it does. No matter what society or Planned Parenthood tries to tell the woman who obtains an abortion she still knows somewhere in her soul that she is killing her baby by having an abortion.

But what so many of those women do not know is that there is forgiveness for all sins and that they need not take their own life. True, the pain of having taken the life of their own child will never go away completely. But through the Sacrament of Penance they can be reconciled to God and be forgiven of this horrible sin. If only all the women who have had an abortion would stand united and tell just how horrifying their experience was then we would probably get abortion outlawed quickly in this country. But they are kept quiet by their own grief and by a society that says it is not a big deal.

May God bring to repentance all those who have obtained, have supplied or have supported abortion so that we can be rid of this terrible plague on our society.

Jesus commanded us to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. But how do we do that when our neighbor, i.e. the President and his minions, are trying to destroy our society? I will answer with a summary of what C.S. Lewis had to say on the matter.

We are supposed to love our neighbor as we love ourself. But how do we love ourself? Most certainly it doesn't mean that we always like ourself. Sometimes we do very despicable and horrible things and when we do we don't like ourselves very much at all. In fact, when we do bad things we tend to loathe ourselves. But, it can be said that we still love ourselves at those times because even at our worst we still want what is best for ourselves. In a similar way, when our neighbor is doing or is trying to do something wrong to us, like take away our freedom, then we can still fulfill Christ's command to love him by wanting what is best for him. And ultimately, what is best for anyone is the salvation of his soul.

Everyday at Mass I pray for the President. I don't do this because I like him (because I don't) or because I support his policies (which I don't) I pray for him out of concern for his immortal soul. We should never want another person to spend eternity separated from God. And because of that we should pray for anyone who is an enemy of the Truth.

This is how I pray for the President everyday during the intercessions at Mass: For the President, for the leaders of the nations and for all in authority that they may know the Truth, follow it and defend it or else be removed from their positions of power, let us pray to the Lord.

I think that deserves an "Amen!" Don't you?

The above picutre is of St. Joseph's Catholic Church in downtown San Antonio, Texas. There are many historic and beautiful Catholic churches in and around downtown San Antonio but this is my favorite. The primary reason is not because it is beautiful but because of the priest who is its pastor: Fr. Mario Marzocchi.

Fr. Mario has been my confessor, mentor and friend for the past 3 or 4 years, basically, ever since I first went to confession at St. Joseph's. He is a wonderful priest who is definitely not one of those namby-pamby types. So, if you are ever in downtown San Antonio visiting the Alamo or walking down the Riverwalk (St. Joseph's is very close to both) then I highly recommend that you stop in for confession and stay for the daily Mass. Confession starts at 10:45 and Mass is at noon.

But the primary reason for this post isn't to give accolades to Fr. Mario. The primary reason for this post is to talk about confession. I go to confession on a regular basis: at least once every 3-5 weeks. I am not letting you know this to pat myself on the back. I am making this public in the interest of practicing what I preach, or rather preaching what I practice, because I think all Catholics should go to confession on a regular basis.

The official rule of the Church is that all Catholics are obligated to go to confession and confess their grave sins at least once a year. (See the Code of Canon Law #989.) But 988.2 states that it "is recommended to the Christian faithful that they also confess venial sins." Notice, though, that it doesn't say you can only go once a year. Rather, that is our obligation. (Meaning that you must do it - a hint for those for whom it has been years since your last confession.) But why only go once per year?

Having grown up without confession as a Baptist I can say, looking back, that confession is a very crucial aspect that was missing from my Christian Faith. I am not saying I would now be a saint if I had confession while growing up, but I know that it would have helped me a great deal. After all, through confession we are given the forgiveness of post-baptismal sins. And we can be sure of that forgiveness based on Christ's promise to the Apostles, "If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven." (John 20:23a) If that is the case then why wouldn't we avail ourselves of this Sacrament on a regular basis?

But I think we can easily understand why some people don't - because it is painful to face our own sinfulness. Some people want to think that they are basically good and don't do anything that is really wrong. But if we are basically good then why did Christ have to die for us on the Cross? Christ died for us because all mankind was completely separated from God by a chasm that we could not cross over on our own effort. Therefore, if a particular man says "Well, I'm basically a good person", implying that he doesn't need to go to confession, then he is also in effect saying that Christ didn't need to die for him. And if that is the case then why would this same man call himself a Catholic or even a Christian?

But I believe most Catholics are aware that they are in fact sinners in need of forgiveness. And if you are a part of that majority and haven't been to confession in a few years, or even a few months, then why not go this week?

Apparently, Obama was in town today. Well, you know what they say, if you can't say anything nice then don't say anything at all. So here's what I have to say...

One thing that really, really, REALLY bothers me is when people change the masculine pronouns that refer to God during the Mass or other liturgies. For instance, when the priest says, "Pray, brethren, that my sacrifice and yours etc." And then the response is changed to "May the Lord accept the sacrifice at your hands for the praise and glory of God's name, for our good and the good of all God's holy Church." Now in both instances where I inserted God's the word is of course supposed to be 'his', which is referring to God. This is especially noxious when it is done by one of my namby-pamby brethren. And why do people do this? I suppose they're afraid of offending some ultra-feminist nun that wears a pant suit instead of a habit.

I will admit that God is neither male or female, except of course for our Lord, the second person of the Trinity, who is still a man even though He has ascended into Heaven. But, even though God is neither male or female, to omit the masculine pronoun and change it to God doesn't make sense for the following reason. Christ, when His disciples asked Him to teach them how to pray, taught them to say "Our Father...". Are not fathers referred to with masculine pronouns? So why is it that some people, even some priests, insist on changing the words in our sacred liturgies? Well, I don't know why they do it, except for the reason listed above, but I can tell you that they are not supposed to do so.

First of all, in the General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM), it states in instruction #24, "the Priest will remember that he is the servant of the Sacred Liturgy and that he himself is not permitted, on his own initiative, to add, to remove, or to change anything in the celebration of Mass." (For those who don't know, the GIRM is the rule book for how priests are required to celebrate Mass.) And attached to this is a footnote that directs you to Sacrosanctum Concilium #22 which states, "no...person, even if he be a priest, may add, remove, or change anything in the liturgy on his own authority." In other words, for those who are guilty of doing this - stop it!

The words of the Mass have been carefully translated from the Latin original into a multitude of languages for a reason: to convey the same beliefs to all Catholics around the world. And when namby-pamby priests and the sheep they have led astray just change the words on a whim then that meaning is lost. As a result we begin to worship differently than our brothers in other parts of the world. If you want that then why do you want to be Catholic at all? I know I have asked that question in a different post and I will probably ask it many more times. It seems to make sense that if you want something different than what the Catholic Church is then why not just go somewhere else. On the other hand, you could stop trying to change what the Church is, and instead, become a part of it. Please, for your own sake and for the sake of your fellow Catholics, stop interjecting your own false opino.

 "A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master; it is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Be-el'zebul, how much more will they malign those of his household. So have no fear of them; for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. What I tell you in the dark, utter in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim upon the housetops. And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell...So every one who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven; but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven."

Sobering words from our Lord don't you think? These words of our Lord are exactly what I was trying to get at in yesterday's post about my brother priests. Of course all Catholics have a responsibility to bear witness to our Faith but the clergy have even more responsibility to do so because we will be held to a higher standard when we are judged by our Lord. A priest who knowingly does not bear witness to the fulness of the Truth is in some way denying our Lord and could very well be condemning himself to eternal separation from God. Therefore, pray for your priest, especially if you know him to be theologically weak. But, if he is outright heretical and unwilling to change then by all means pray for him but go to another parish in order to protect yourself and your family.

So what do I mean by ‘namby-pamby priest’? I will try to explain in the spirit of Jeff Foxworthy.

-If you have ever had a ‘clown Mass’ at your parish then you might be namby-pamby.
-If you have ever been unwilling to speak the Truth of the Catholic Faith because you were afraid of offending someone then you might be namby-pamby.
-If you have ever told people that it is OK to vote their conscience and elect a pro-death, pro-abortion candidate as long as the politician is an advocate for social justice then you might be namby-pamby.

Now all joking aside, this term namby-pamby, with the way I am using it, doesn’t have anything to do with physical stature. Instead, it has everything to do with whether or not my brothers in the priesthood believe in the Truth of the Catholic Faith as it has been handed down to us. And not just believe in it but are they willing to give their lives for it?

But it seems that more than just a few of them would not be willing to do so. Too many of my brother priests are willing to compromise with what society wants instead of insisting on the fullness of the Faith. I have heard horror stories of this or that doctrine being changed or a particular dogma being ignored either because the priest doesn't believe it or because he is afraid of the backlash from the congregation if he does preach the Truth. That is not how it should be.

If you believe in the Truth of the Catholic Faith, as you should, then stand like a man and boldly preach the Truth. Scripture is very clear that if you don't do so then you will be held responsible for leading your flock into sin.

But what about those who don't believe? If you're a priest and don't believe everything that the Church teaches then why are you a priest in the first place? If you think the Church is out of touch with the times or has outdated beliefs then why are you even Catholic? If you are unwilling to repent of this wrong thinking and believe in and teach the fullness of the Gospel then we would all be better off if you would just leave. Please understand, I pray that you don't leave. I pray that you will have a revelation given to you by God so that you could see the beauty of the Catholic Faith just the way it is. I pray that you will grab hold of the Truth and zealously guard it with your life. And I pray that God will strengthen me to do the same.

This is sort of a part 2 to my earlier post 'Political Correctness'. This is an explanation of why I am happy to be politically incorrect. Basically, I see it as an antidote to all the political correctness that surrounds me in this country. And how do I accomplish this in practice? Primarily by being anti-green. First of all, I have a large V8 SUV with four wheel drive. The fuel economy is so bad that I'm not sure you can even measure it in miles per gallon. Gallons per mile might actually be more appropriate. I think there should be at least one on the road for every Prius.

Next, things like glass bottles, plastic containers and even batteries go straight into the regular trash. I only use the recycling bin for large items like cardboard boxes in order to cut down on the amount of trash bags I have to use. Now,  don't get me wrong - I don't do this in order to keep the plastic bags out of the land fill. No, I do it so I don't have to take the trash out so often. With four kids our family generates a lot of trash and it becomes a real hassle to empty the trash can multiple times per day. As soon as my son is big enough to empty the trash, thus giving me some help, we may never use the recycling bin ever again.

But let me be serious for a moment. Why would I want to jump on the 'green' bandwagon? It is an idea that is being championed by the liberal media and the crazy people in Hollywood so why would any sane person want to be a part of it? And isn't it interesting that so many of these people who want to 'save the planet' care nothing at all about saving unborn babies? And with that we come to the real reason for this post.

I will not be green or try to save the planet or any other such nonsense until such a point that the unborn are completely protected. The reason for this is that there seems to me to be a huge fallacy behind the idea of being 'green'. It is the idea that mankind is here to serve the planet instead of the planet having been created by God for the use of mankind. Now, I am willing to admit that men are the stewards of the planet and that it actually belongs to God. Therefore, we don't have the right to treat it in whatever way is convenient to us: such as dumping toxic waste into rivers or lakes. But all the other 'being green' nonsense that is touted by the pro-abortion liberals is absolutely ridiculous. Why would I want to save the planet unless all the people who it was created for are allowed to be born so that they too may use it as God intended?

Now that's a little about how and why I am anti-green. But let's be honest: I'm only one man. If this anti-green campaign is going to catch on and succeed I will need your help. So the next time you're at your favorite fast food restaurant make sure you use the drive-thru. Also, make sure you don't turn the engine off; instead, crank up the A/C and rev the engine. Next, when lighting your house use only the biggest, brightest incandescent bulbs you can find and leave all of your lights on 24 hours a day. Lastly, whenever you're at a red light and the light turns 'green' then floor it and burn rubber.