SCS - Young Adult Ministry

TOT Thursday: Dear Young Friends: The Popes and Young Adults

2011-08-23T17:16:00.000-07:00

Speaker: Manolito "JR" Jaldon, Jr., Seminarian from the Archdiocese of San Francisco
Time: 6:30pm fellowship; 7:00pm talk
Where: Zio Fraedo's, Vallejo

Coming fresh off the plane from WYD, JR will talk about the relationship between young adults and Bl. John Paul and Pope Benedict XVI, with particular emphasis on Pope Benedict's words to us at World Youth Day.

Here's a little more about JR: "All my life, I loved my music. I loved serving the people through my music ministry whether it was for Sunday masses, school liturgies, weddings, or funerals. At the same time, I was involved with many youth ministries throughout the Bay Area. I came to a point in my life where I knew I could give the people of God something more in my service. In 2005 I sought out the heart of God in a new way and this discernment has led me to unravel a desire that I have had since I was a young teenager: the priesthood." (from the Archdiocese of San Francisco's website: http://www.sfvocation.com/sems/jaldon.html)

We hope to see you there! ¡Viva el Papa!

Orientation 2011

2011-07-19T12:12:00.000-07:00

Register now.

When:
Friday 8.5.11
Gathering @ 4pm – St. Catherine of Siena Parish Hall
Dismissal around 12am

Saturday 8.6.11
Day 2 Begins with Mass @ 9am – St. Catherine of Siena Church
Dismissal around 12am

What:
A 1.5 day retreat where College age young adults can reflect on the lives God has given them. Find ways to stay spiritual in this secular world. Know yourself before you leave home. Learn college survival tips. Think college is gonna be tough? Easy? Spent a year or a couple in college, and need to strengthen your faith? Gain resources to defend your faith on your college campus or workplace. Meet new people your age. Explore the meaning of TRUE Freedom. Strengthen your relationship with God. Fun and Games. Come, join us, (re)ORIENT yourself to CHRIST.

Cost:
$10 Pre-Registration by 7.31.11
$20 Registration after 7.31.11
$25 Registration @ The Door

"Christ offers more! Indeed he offers everything! Only he who is the Truth can be the Way and hence also the Life. Thus the "way" which the Apostles brought to the ends of the earth is life in Christ. This is the life of the Church."
--Benedict XVI, July 16, 2008 - WYD Papal Arrival Address

Register now.

The Mystery of Holy Saturday

2011-04-23T22:29:00.001-07:00

On May 2, 2010, Pope Benedict XVI visited the Shroud of Turin, the traditional cloths which Joseph of Arimathea used to wrap Jesus body before laying it in the tomb. During this visit, the Holy Father gave an address which included a reflection on Holy Saturday. Besides his Address to Artists in 2009, to me this speech is one of the most profound things that Pope Benedict has ever said. Please take a few minutes to slowly read the text below (with my emphasis in bold).

Dear Friends,

This is a moment that I have been waiting for for quite some time. I have found myself before the sacred Shroud on another occasion but this time I am experiencing this pilgrimage and this pause with particular intensity: perhaps because the years make me more sensitive to the message of this extraordinary icon; perhaps, and I would say above all, because I am here as Successor of Peter, and I carry in my heart the whole Church, indeed, all of humanity. I thank God for the gift of this pilgrimage, and also for the opportunity to share with you a brief meditation, which was suggested to me by the title of this solemn exhibition: “The Mystery of Holy Saturday.” One could say that the Shroud is the icon of this mystery, the icon of Holy Saturday. It is in fact a winding sheet, which covered the corpse of a man who was crucified, corresponding to everything that the Gospels say of Jesus, who was crucified about noon and died at about 3 in the afternoon.

Once evening came, since it was Parasceve, the eve of the solemn Sabbath of Passover, Joseph of Arimathea, a wealthy and influential member of the Sanhedrin, courageously asked Pontius Pilate to be able to bury Jesus in his new tomb, that he had made in the rock not far from Golgotha. Having received the permission, he bought linen and, taking the body of Jesus down from the cross, wrapped him in the linen and put him in that tomb (cf. Mark 15:42-46). This is what is related by the Gospel of St. Matthew and the other evangelists. From that moment, Jesus remained in the sepulcher until the dawn of the day after the Sabbath, and the Shroud of Turin offers us the image of how his body was stretched out in the tomb during that time, which was brief chronologically (about a day and a half), but was immense, infinite in its value and its meaning.

Holy Saturday is the day of God’s concealment, as one reads in an ancient homily: “What happened? Today there is great silence upon the earth, great silence and solitude. Great silence because the King sleeps … God died in the flesh and descended to make the kingdom of hell (‘gli inferi’) tremble” (“Homily on Holy Saturday,” PG 43, 439). In the Creed we confess that Jesus Christ “was crucified under Pontius Pilate, died and was buried; he descended into hell (‘negli inferi’), and the third day he rose again from the dead.”

Dear brothers and sisters, in our time, especially after having passed through the last century, humanity has become especially sensitive to the mystery of Holy Saturday. God’s concealment is part of the spirituality of contemporary man, in an existential manner, almost unconscious, as an emptiness that continues to expand in the heart. At the end of the 18th century, Nietzsche wrote: “God is dead! And we have killed him!” This celebrated expression, if we consider it carefully, is taken almost word for word from the Christian tradition, we often repeat it in the Via Crucis, perhaps not fully realizing what we are saying. After the two World Wars, the concentration camps, the gulags, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, our epoch has become in ever great measure a Holy Saturday: the darkness of this day questions all those who ask about life, it questions us believers in a special way. We too have something to do with this darkness.

And nevertheless, the death of the Son of God, of Jesus of Nazareth, has an opposite aspect, totally positive; it is a font of consolation and hope. And this makes me think that the sacred Shroud acts as a “photographic” document, with a “positive” and a “negative.” And in effect, this is exactly how it is: The most obscure mystery of faith is at the same time the most luminous sign of a hope without limits. Holy Saturday is the “no man’s land” between death and resurrection, but into this “no man’s land” has entered the One, the Only One, who has crossed it with the signs of his passion for man: “Passio Christi. Passio hominis” ["Passion of Christ. Passion of man"]. And the Shroud speaks to us precisely of that moment; it witnesses precisely to the unique and unrepeatable interval in the history of humanity and the universe, in which God, in Jesus Christ, shared not only our dying, but also our remaining in death. The most radical solidarity. In that “time-beyond-time” Jesus Christ “descended into hell” (“agli inferi”) What does this expression mean? It means that God, made man, went to the point of entering into the extreme and absolute solitude of man, where no ray of love enters, where there is total abandonment without any word of comfort: “hell” (“gli inferi”). Jesus Christ, remaining in death, has gone beyond the gates of this ultimate solitude to lead us too to go beyond it with him.

We have all at times felt a frightening sensation of abandonment, and that which makes us most afraid of death is precisely this [abandonment]; just as when as children we were afraid to be alone in the dark and only the presence of a person who loves us could reassure us. So, it is exactly this that happened in Holy Saturday: In the kingdom of death there resounded the voice of God. The unthinkable happened: that Love penetrated “into hell” (“negli inferi”): that in the most extreme darkness of the most absolute human solitude we can hear a voice that calls us and find a hand that takes us and leads us out. The human being lives by the fact that he is loved and can love; and if love even has penetrated into the realm of death, then life has also arrived there. In the hour of extreme solitude we will never be alone: “Passio Christi. Passio hominis.”

This is the mystery of Holy Saturday! It is from there, from the darkness of the death of the Son of God, that the light of a new hope has shone: the light of the Resurrection. And it seems to me that looking upon this cloth with the eyes of faith one perceives something of this light. In effect, the Shroud was immersed in that profound darkness, but it is luminous at the same time; and I think that if thousands and thousands of people come to see it -- without counting those who contemplate copies of it -- it is because in it they do not see only darkness, but also light; not so much the defeat of life and love but rather victory, victory of life over death, of love over hatred; they indeed see the death of Jesus, but glimpse his resurrection [too]; in the heart of death there now beats life, inasmuch as love lives there. This is the power of the Shroud: from the countenance of this “Man of sorrows,” who takes upon himself man’s passion of every time and every place, even our passion, our suffering, our difficulties, our sins -- “Passio Christi. Passio hominis” -- from this moment there emanates a solemn majesty, a paradoxical lordship. This face, these hands and these feet, this side, this whole body speaks, it is itself a word that we can hear in silence. How does the Shroud speak? It speaks with blood, and blood is life! The Shroud is an icon written in blood; the blood of a man who has been scourged, crowned with thorns, crucified and wounded in his right side. Every trace of blood speaks of love and of life. Especially that large mark near the side, made by blood and water that poured copiously from a great wound caused by a Roman spear, that blood and that water speak of life. It is like a spring that speaks in silence, and we can hear it, we can listen to it, in the silence of Holy Saturday.

Dear friends, let us praise the Lord always for his faithful and merciful love. Departing from this holy place, we carry in our eyes the image of the Shroud, we carry in our heart this word of love, and we praise God with a life full of faith, of love and of charity.

Thank you.

Young Adult Night @ St. Pat's

2011-03-31T13:02:00.000-07:00

Passing along this info from a seminarian brother at St. Pat's. Check it out:

Here's a pdf file to go along: [YA_Adoration.pdf]

Short List: Short Books for Lenten Reading

2011-03-02T12:54:00.000-08:00

Lent is nigh, brethren!

There are plenty of other great Lenten Spiritual reading lists out there. I thought I would take a different approach.

Spiritual reading is one of those potentially great things we could do for Lent that unfortunately falls to the wayside in the busy lives of Young Adults. Some of us just don't have enough time to do spiritual reading. So, I am here to help y'all out. I have compiled a list of books that are 200 pages or less. 200 PAGES OR LESS! That's less than 5 pages a day, and you don't even have to read on Sundays. Even if you are uber busy, you can handle that - that's something like the equivalent of watching one youtube video a day.

You can sacrifice watching the cat dancing to Justin Bieber in order to grow a bit spiritually. I believe in you.

Plus, even though they are short, they are still great books.

Priestblock 25487 by Jean Bernard (177 pages)

4 & 1/2 pages a day
In May 1941, Fr. Jean Bernard was arrested for denouncing the Nazis and imprisoned in Dachau's "Priest Block," a barracks that housed more than 3,000 clergy (the vast majority Roman Catholic priests). Priestblock 25487 tells the gripping true story of one remarkable priest's survival amid the inhuman brutality and torture of a Nazi concentration camp.

Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis(160 pages)

4 pages a day
This book is for someone who wants to have their mindblown to the reality of sin and insight on the tactics the devil uses to draw us away from God.The story takes the form of a series of letters from a senior demon, Screwtape, to his nephew, a junior "tempter" named Wormwood, so as to advise him on methods of securing the damnation of a British man, known only as "the Patient".

Blessed are the Bored in Spirit by Mark Hart (129 pages)

3 1/4 pages a day
Too many young Catholics experience their faith as Mark Hart did. They rarely miss Mass even if they don't understand it; they have a Bible even if they never read it; they go to confession even if they are not particularly repentant. Is that your experience of Catholicism? Is yours a religion of Thou Shalt Nots? If so, forget about a dreary life of mindless obedience and rules you don't understand. It's time to enter into the transforming light of your Creator who invites you to live from the still center of his undying love. The author's humorous and hard-hitting reflections drive home the point that God isn't calling the reader to be a good person--someone who merely obeys the rules--but a new person in Jesus Christ.

Adventures in Orthodoxy by Father Dwight Longenecker (192 pages)

5 pages a day
In this book, Father Longenecker breaks down the Creed line by line. In a word, says Longenecker, the Creed catapults believers to the brink of mystery and invites them to dwell there, in silent wonder and contemplation. Here you'll finally encounter the Creed as it really is: a striking affirmation that bears us not into theological dead ends, but unto a world that never ends; not into an obsolete medieval universe — closed, dark, and dying — but unto a bright and exciting world that moves in ever increasing spirals of glory, a world to which the only natural response is a grateful and hearty "Amen!"

Journey to Easter by Pope Benedict XVI (184 pages)

4 & 1/2 pages a day
I had to include something from the Holy Father. Pope Benedict shares a Lenten blessing that evaluates the meaning of the season, the significance of the birth and death of Christ, and the meaning of Jesus in the lives of Christians everywhere, in a spiritual meditation that follows such themes as the mystery of Mary and the Pentecostal sending of the Spirit.

What Happens at Mass by Fr. Jeremy Drischoll, OSB (144 pages)

3 & 1/2 pages a day
For anyone who is interested in deepening their understanding of the mass. Father Jeremy is a priest at my school. Do you want to know the meaning behind all the actions we do at mass? Read this book. Father Jeremy explains it all in an engaging and easy to read manner. Beautiful stuff.

Visits to the Blessed Sacrament and to Blessed Mary: Prayers and Meditations for Thirty-One Visits (106 pages)

2 & 1/2 pages a day*
There are 31 visits so although you could do 2 1/2 pages a day, if you have the time, hop into a church for even 10 minutes a day and do these reflections... given that it is only 31 visits you can miss 9 days. Be prepared to have your heart broken open to the realities of Jesus' love for you, and the power of the Real Presence.

Honorable mentions (Books slightly over 200 pages)

Faith at the Edge: A New Generation of Catholic Writers Reflects on Life, Love, Sex and Other Mysteries (224 pages)

5 1/2 pages a day
Okay... so this is over 200 pages, but it is a collection of essays and so it is easy to pick and choose which ones you want to read. Honestly once I picked up this book I couldn't put it down. I finished it in two plane rides. Gathering the experiences, fears, and joys of young adult Catholics whose search for faith often puts them on a collision-course with modern society, this anthology explores the mysterious, exhilarating, and sometimes infuriating terrain of faith. With celebrated contributors like Paula Huston, Matthew Lickona, and John Zmirak, and compelling personal narratives like "Porn and the Sacred Heart" and "My Tallahassee Purgatory," these essays give voice to the struggles and triumphs of a new generation of Catholics who are transforming the Church.

Story of a Soul: the Autobiography of St. Therese (216 pages)

5 1/2 pages a day
It is the story of Saint Therese. She is beautiful. Changed my life. Read it. That is all.

Hope that helps.

Those are brief descriptions, but I am hoping to do more in depth descriptions of these books before Lent begins. (Yikes... one week)

Those are my suggestions. Any additions or further comments?

Be God's, brethren.

Love and Stuff

2011-02-11T07:12:00.000-08:00

Thank you to all of those who attended. Big thanks to Tove Ann and Dennis Purification for speaking about Christian courting/dating, marriage, and "stuff". Praise God for His love and truth.

*Video of the brothers serenading the sisters. A Valentine's Day gift for the ladies.

Ticket Request form for Warriors Friday Night Fellowship

2011-02-07T08:59:00.000-08:00

If you would like to request tickets, please fill out this form.

Thank you.

"Love and Stuff"

2011-02-03T21:03:00.000-08:00

" Love and Stuff" - Thursday, Feb 10th 6:30-9pm

We will have two special guest speakers, husband and wife Dennis and Tove Ann Purification. They will be discussing dating and marriage from a Catholic perspective.

What better way to celebrate Valentine's Day but with learning about the love of Christ between man and woman.

We will be meeting at La Petite. It is the small school right off of St. Catherines.

Please come and learn about love and stuff!! Teens are encouraged to attend!

Light finger food will be served

*First 10 people to arrive get a sweet surprise

Come and let us praise Him together!

Friday Night Fellowship - Golden State Warriors

2011-01-27T18:48:00.000-08:00

Join the Warriors and the St. Catherine of Siena Young Adult Ministry in an exciting evening of Faith, Fellowship, Music and Entertainment, and watch the team take on the Atlanta Hawks! Every ticket purchase assists YAM in their ministry efforts.

FESTIVITIES INCLUDE:

• Testimonial from Golden State Warriors players Reggie Williams and Brandan Wright!

• Live musical performance

• Raffle prizes featuring autographed items and more

• Savings of up to $15 per ticket

----------------------

$55.00 each - (Reg. $70 – Lower Level)

$26.00 each - (Reg. $36 – Club 200 Sideline)

22.00 each - (Reg. $30 – Club 200 Baseline)

Oracle Arena Seating Chart

TO BUY TICKETS PLEASE SEND A REQUEST TO SCSYAM@GMAIL.COM

UPDATE: Una Luz De Esperanza

2011-01-13T22:40:00.000-08:00

If you want to buy some rosaries or bracelets to support Una Luz De Esperanza (see the previous article), Lily now has a booth at the YA Conference this Saturday and she will be selling them.

Bring your money. Tell your friends.

=)

UNA LUZ DE ESPERANZA

2011-01-11T22:27:00.000-08:00

So for those of you who were at the Young Adult Christmas party, you were blessed to hear a wonderful presentation by two beautiful women of God, Lily Figueroa and Cecilia Flores.

Many of you even had the chance to buy some rosaries and bracelets from them either at the party or beforehand.

These are the ones that I bought:

Simply beautiful.

For those that weren't there here is a brief explanation from Cece's site:

Mission: Our mission is to improve the quality of life of women by forming them in their Catholic faith, helping them to receive an education, providing them with a means to support themselves and their families through basic skills development, and above all, witnessing Christ to them, in them, and through them.

Vision: Our vision is that in accomplishing our mission we will see the dignity of women restored. We hope to be a source of healing, a source of strength and grace to women living in poverty: materially, spiritually emotionally. To be a light of hope.

Cece's Personal reflection:
This ministry means the world to me. Having the privelege to be a part of these women’s lives has been a challenge yet a freedom. Their strength in the midst of chaos is inspiring, and though I am supposedly a missionary coming to them, they do not realize that they are missionaries to me, as they bring God’s love and hope to me each time I am with them or think of them. Please keep these beautiful women, their children, and their families in your prayers.

Good stuff. Please support. Tell your friends.

If you want more information you can visit the UNA LUZ DE ESPERANZA website or Cece's Blog.

If you want to buy some rosaries or bracelets click here. And there's a link for Cece's email there, shoot her an email and she'll take care of you.

Events for the rest of December!

2010-12-17T15:36:00.001-08:00

Hey there guys! Here is what is going on for the rest of December!

Tomorrow (12/18) is the Young Adult Mass. Our Presider will be Father Michael. And Deacon Chuy Beltran will be giving the Homily!

On December 28th-29th we are having a "Holy Warriors Training." We will be watching all, I repeat, ALL "Lord of the Rings" movies. Yes, ALL THREE MOVIES! After the a movie ends we will have some warrior training from Fr. Avram Brown. Also at night we will be having a mini-Brother/Sisterhood. It will be held at AJ's house. Look out for the FB event to get more information!!

And finally, we are have our Young Adult Xmas party on December 30th. It is a ugly sweatshirt party! Again check out the FB event for more information!

That is all for this month of December! See you guys at the events!!

events this week!

2010-10-20T20:39:00.000-07:00

Here's what's going on for the week:

1. A.R.K. Meeting is meeting up again tomorrow night, Oct. 21! Same place, same time. Starbucks in Benicia next to KFC, from 6:30-8:30pm. Be ready for another thought-provoking discussion

2. YACS The third class is this Saturday, so calling all you future Basic Catechists! Study hard and I suggest a little review of last time would be a good idea =)

3. YA Mass We're having our Young Adult Mass this Saturday, Oct. 23, at 10:30 pm. So if your schedule is getting craaaazzzyyy, maybe this Mass time is just what you need. So come down to St. Cat's and celebrate Mass with us!

4. 40 Days for Life in Vallejo is still going on in front of Planned Parenthood (990 Broadway St. Vallejo, CA 94590). Join us in prayer and fasting to help save our little brothers and sisters.

Have a blessed week!

General Meeting this Thursday!

2010-10-12T18:53:00.000-07:00

Hey there guys!

We will be having our general meeting on Thursday in the 7th grade classroom. Fellowship will start at 6:30pm.

It is Halloween season and the talk is entitled "Beyond Death." We will be talking about what Catholics believe about heaven ,hell, purgatory, ghosts, demons, Ouija Boards, witches, poltergeists, vampires, werewolves, aliens, ladies in white, and everything else that goes bump in the night.

It will be a very spooky talk. See you guys there!

Theology on Tap Tomorrow!!

2010-09-29T14:11:00.000-07:00

How's it going everybody!?

I would like to invite all of you to tomorrow's Theology On Tap!

It will be held at Zio Fraedo's (23 Harbor Way Vallejo,CA).

Our topic is "FREE WILL & GRACE: Using her own personal story, a former lesbian discusses the Church teachings on homosexuality, the psychology of homosexuality, the role of Courage in healing, and the irresistible force of God’s grace, love, and mercy."

Our speaker is: Rilene Simpson.
She is not a psychologist, sociologist, apologist, theologist or even a philosopher. However, she spent most of her adulthood fallen-away from the Catholic Church, was involved in a same-sex relationship for 25 years, and returned to the Church on July 4, 2009.

Rilene is a member of Courage, an apostolate endorsed by the Holy See (http://couragerc.net/endorsement.htm), which serves people who experience same-sex attraction that desire to live chaste lives in fidelity to the teachings of the Church.

Fellowship begins at 6:30pm and the talk will begin at 7pm. And as always it is a free event, but it would be nice if we can patronize Zio Fraedo's!

See you guys there!

Paul Kim featuring guests

2010-09-19T17:39:00.000-07:00

Announcements!

2010-09-14T01:02:00.001-07:00

Hello hello!

Here's a bunch of our upcoming events for YAM. Take note and be excited because we got A LOT going on for the next couple months!

Sept. 16 & Oct. 7 - A.R.K. of the Covenant 6:30pm-8:30pm @ Conference room in Starbucks (corner of First St. & Millitary, Benicia; next to KFC). Fr. Elijah: An Apocalypse by Michael O’Brien. By next Thursday, read ch. 1-3. Facebook group: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=157533780926776&ref=ts

Sept. 18 - Young Adult Mass 10:00pm @ St. Catherine’s church

Sept 22 to Oct. 31 - 40 Days for Life: 40 days of fasting, prayer, community outreach, and 24-hour peaceful vigil outside Planned Parenthood: 990 Broadway, Vallejo. Kick-off Mass & rally: 2pm @ St. Basil’s. facebook.com/40DFLVallejo * 40daysforlife.com/beniciavallejo

Sept. 23 – Next SCSYAM Meeting 7-9pm @ 7th grade classroom. $35 for On Fire Nor Cal Jam due!

Sept. 30 - Theology onTap 6:30pm = fellowship; 7:00pm = talk begins @ Zio Fraedo’s (23 Harbor Way, Vallejo). “FREE WILL & GRACE: Using her own personal story, a former lesbian discusses the Church teachings on homosexuality, the psychology of homosexuality, the role of Courage in healing, and the irresistible force of God’s grace, love, and mercy.”

Oct. 2 – 1st Class of Young Adult Catechist Society (YACS) 10am-noon @ 7th grade classroom. Learn more about your faith with other young adults and how to effectively teach others about what Catholics believe. Upon completion of these classes (generally 2 or 3 a month), you may be eligible to apply for your Basic Catechist Certification. Last day to register is Oct. 9 (2nd class). Facebook group: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=130739253608420&ref=ts

Oct. 15 - Word Made Fresh Open mic

Oct. 16 - On Fire Nor Cal Jam 9am-8pm @ Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, Vallejo. $35 due to JP by SEPT. 23. Featuring David Bisono; Mass with the bishops; unlimited rides at the park; concert with Matt Maher, Tenth Avenue North, & Addison Road. norcalcatholicyouth.com

Aug. 9-24, 2011 - World Youth Day: International gathering of youth and young adults with Pope Benedict XVI. Pilgrimage to Lourdes, Barcelona, Montserrat, Madrid, Toledo, & Sevilla. Option A = $4,229 (with 3-star hotels in Madrid). Option B = $3,669 (“simple accommodations” [e.g. sleeping on the floor of a classroom] while in Madrid but hotels in the other cities). Deposit of $600 due on Oct. 4.http://worldyouthdaymadrid.blogspot.com/

Tips for College Freshmen - Chris Stephanick

2010-09-09T21:35:00.001-07:00

Catholic attendance on the rise at Colorado University

2010-09-09T21:32:00.000-07:00

University of Colorado mass attendance way up!
Beautiful stuff:

Many students with the St. Thomas Aquinas parish are looking to make faith not just a part of their lives, but a place where all other decisions they make start, too, he said.
"By placing God first in their life, everything else will find its proper place," Augustyn said. "If you put something else first, everything else gets distorted. It strengthens them to live a more balanced life."

Updates for this month.

2010-09-07T14:08:00.000-07:00

How's it going everyone!?

It is a new month and that means meetings and events!

This Thursday (9/9) is a YAM meeting. It will be held in the 7th grade classroom at St. Cats. It will start at 7pm and end around 8pm. We will be talking about Metaphysics and the existence of God. Sounds hard but don't worry! Our speakers will go slowly on the topics and will be there to answer questions!

September 18th will be the Young Adult Mass. Praise and worship w/ the rosary will start at 9:15pm and the Mass will start at 10pm. Please come to the mass!

On September 23 there will be another YAM meeting! The topic and location will be posted as soon as I get it! Also if you plan to go to "On Fire," the money is due at that meeting! Please give your money to JP on that day!

The last event that is happening this month is Theology on Tap! It will be held on September 30th at Zio Freado's.

That is all for now! See you guys at the events!

A message from the Young Adult Catechist Society

2010-08-30T15:39:00.000-07:00

For those of you who want to join the Young Adult Catechist Society's Basic Catechist classes, we have good news for you!! The first class is on October 2nd @ 10am. It will be held at the 6th grade classroom at St. Catherine of Siena School. (3450 Tennessee St. Vallejo, CA 94591) The cost is $25. The money is due at the second class (Oct. 9th). So you get one class for free!

For more information please email us @ youngadultcatechistsociety@gmail.com

I know it's long but you just need to copy and paste it!

Theology On Tap w/ Bishop Soto!!

2010-08-23T10:46:00.001-07:00

Come to Theology on Tap this Thursday! Why?

Two words: Bishop Soto!

Fellowship starts at 6:30pm and the talk will begin at 7pm.

YA Mass - 10pm Sunday

2010-08-20T01:05:00.000-07:00

This Sunday, August 22nd, 10pm.

Young Adult Candlelight Mass.

All are welcome.

3450 Tennessee St., Vallejo, California

stcatherineyam.com

hot cocoa fellowship afterwards.

Video Game Tourney Fundraise for American Cancer Society

2010-08-09T17:30:00.000-07:00

UPDATE: TOURNAMENT POSTPONED. NEW DATE: TUESDAY, 8.10.10. CHECK BACK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION.

Hey everyone! so the Young Adult Ministry at St. Catherine of Siena in Vallejo is putting on a video game tournament to help raise money for our teams for Relay for Life!

If you did not know, Relay is an annual fundraising event by the American Cancer Society. Help us reach our goals this year by participating in THREE highly competitive video games.

2-3pm: Open Floor [Check in, Casuals, Money Matches, Socializing]
...3-4pm: Super Smash Brothers Brawl [$5 participation fee]
4-5pm: Super Smash Brothers Melee[$5 participation fee]
5-8pm: Super Street Fighter 4 [$7 participation fee]

EDIT: SSBB and SSBM will be [EDIT: double elimination]
EDIT: SSF4 will be played on the XBOX 360, double elimination.

$2 from all participation fees will be allotted to help fundraise for our relay team and the rest will be put in a pot for winnings for 2nd and 1st place. the more who compete. the bigger the winnings so invite everyone you know!

You are more than welcome to compete in any or all games.

We will ask for a $1 donation from each money match to help fundraise as well.

You can bring your own controller, but we will also have some controllers on hand for rent.

food and beverages will be sold at the event as well. so bring your friends to compete or cheer you on as you go head to head with top players in the bay area!

CLICK HERE FOR THE OFFICIAL RULES

YAM Meeting this Thursday!

2010-08-09T10:50:00.000-07:00

Hey there guys!

As the title says, there will be a meeting this Thursday. The meeting starts at 7pm - 9pm @ the St. Cat's Gym. Please come to the meeting, we will be talking about spirituality and how to maintain the Catholic faith in the secular world. We also have a lot of things planned that we want you to know about!

Speaking of things planned here is a list of events we have planned.

August, 22 - The next Brotherhood and it will conclude with the Young Adult Mass @ 10pm.

August, 26 -a Theology on Tap @ 6:30pm. It will be held at Zio Fraedo's Restaurant (23 Harbor Way, Vallejo, CA 94590
). Our guest speaker is our very own Bishop Soto!

September 3 and 4 - The next Sisterhood

For more information, please go to the meeting this Thursday!

Coldstone Fundraiser

2010-08-02T17:16:00.000-07:00

VG Tourney Flyers

2010-08-02T10:46:00.000-07:00

UPDATE: TOURNAMENT POSTPONED.
NEW DATE: TUESDAY, 8.10.10.
CHECK BACK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION.

VG Tourney Info
Take your pick:

Official Rules - VG Tourney

2010-08-01T20:50:00.001-07:00

Here are the official rules for the VG Tourney.

Hit the jump to view all the rules.

Read More.
(1) Super Smash Bros. Brawl
-8 minutes
-3 stock
-no items
-neutral stages: Final Destination, Battlefield, Smashville
-other stages have to be mutually agreed upon by both players
-all characters are playable
-best out of 3, grand finals best out of 5
-winner of losers bracket plays loser of winners bracket, who will then play the undefeated player in the grand finals

(2) Super Smash Bros. Melee
-8 minutes
-4 stock
-no items
-starter stages: fountain of dreams, dream land, final destination, battlefield, yoshi's story
-counter stage: pokemon stadium, brinstar, rainbow cruise, kongo jungle
-all characters are playable
-best out of 3, grand finals best out of 5
-Double Elimination = winner of losers bracket plays loser of winners bracket, who will then play the undefeated player in the grand finals.

Counter Pick rules

Blind Picks character selection.
Stage Striking: Players eliminate stages from the Starter Stage List until only 1 remains, and the players then play the first match on that stage. Players strike stages in 1 2 2 1 order.
The first match is played.
Winning player of the preceding match bans a stage.
The losing player of preceding match picks stage for the next match.
The winning player of preceding match picks character.
The losing player picks character.
The next match is played.
Repeat 4-8 for all consecutive matches as necessary until the set is complete.

(3) Super Street Fighter 4

-double elimination rules
-counter pick character selection apply:

Blind Picks character selection for first match.
Winning player of preceding match picks character.
Losing player picks character

TOT: Boy Meets Word. Tonight.

2010-07-29T10:50:00.000-07:00

WHAT: Theology on Tap is a Catholic speaker series geared towards young adults (18-39)

DATE: Thursday, July 29th

TIME: 6:30 p.m. - Fellowship; 7:00 p.m. - talk
…
PLACE: Zio Fraedo’s Restaurant (23 Harbor Way, Vallejo)

COST: Free!

THEME: “Boy Meets Word: Encountering Christ in the Scriptures”

SPEAKER: Fr. Avram Brown

SUMMARY: In this “Bible Basics” for young adults, Fr. Avram will help us to deepen our relationship with Jesus, the Word made flesh, and offer tips on how to incorporate scripture into our daily lives.

Lastly, don’t forget to BRING A BIBLE WITH YOU!

Checkout the Facebook Event Page.

What is SCYAM all about?

2010-07-27T16:17:00.000-07:00

Young Adult Candlelight Mass

2010-07-24T00:41:00.000-07:00

10pm.

Young Adult Candlelight Mass.

All are welcome.

3450 Tennessee St., Vallejo, California

stcatherineyam.com

First meeting... SUCCESS!

2010-07-21T09:24:00.000-07:00

Our first meeting took place in the St. Catherine gym last Thursday. We were blessed to have around 20 people attend. We started off the night with drinks, desserts, and socializing. Afterward we continued with an unforgettable ice breaker (hilarious!). Then Raj and JP gave an over view on what to expect in our ministry, events we have planned, up coming services, and so on. We ended the night with Remilla sharing her experience in young adult ministry, which was followed up with a group discussion about our own experiences. Over all the night was a success. Thank you everyone who came out and participated! See you this Saturday, 10pm in the Church for our first Young Adult Mass.

Some pictures of the night:

For more pictures please visit our facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/StCatherineYAM

The Angelus

2010-07-20T21:08:00.000-07:00

Click here to see "The Angelus."

YAM featured on ConsiderPriesthood.com

2010-07-12T01:45:00.000-07:00

Although Colin got the name wrong (it is YAM, not YAG, Colin), he did write a fun, short recap of our Dinner Dialogue/social this past Thursday.

Good times.

Complete with pictures.

Check it out.

Upcoming events for YAM

2010-06-30T16:07:00.000-07:00

Here are the events we are doing in July, August, and October!!

July 1: "Word of Mouth" Open Mic 7pm @ St. Cat's Gym. $2 or 2 cans.

July 8: 6pm @ Zio Fraedo's- Dinner Dialogue featuring Seminarian Colin Wen.

July 15: @ Gym - Official opening of YAM.

July 24: 10pm @ St. Catherine's - Young Adult Mass

July 29: 7pm @ Zio Fraedo's - Theology on Tap

July 30-31: Orientation Retreat 2010 (If you haven't registered please do it!)

Aug. 26: 7pm @ Zio Fraedo's - Theology on Tap w/ Bishop Soto

Oct. 16: 9am-10pm @ Marine World - ON FIRE: Nor Cal Jam 2010 (http://norcalcatholicyouth.com/)

We are also planning a Camping Trip. So be on the look out for that!!

Catholic Tumbl..ers

2010-06-28T16:35:00.000-07:00

Do you have a Tumblr? I do. And just looking around Tumblr it can get kinda crazy. I found some blogs that are Catholic.

fearlesswriter.tumblr.com

He is a peer minister in the Diocese of Orlando. He answers a lot of questions that are sent to him and his answers are detailed. He is incredibly Catholic. A lot of good posts are on that blog. Check him out and add him!

phatmass.tumblr.com

Phatmass.com is a website that talks about Catholic culture. The "Phorum" is a nice place to ask questions and just have interesting conversations with other Christians. Also you can buy t-shirts and cds from the website. And they have a bunch of Resources to help you learn more about the Catholic Church and its teachings.

classic-catholic-artwork.tumblr.com

merecath.tumblr.com

These sites provide Catholic art. I just found them so I don't have that much information about them.

I will post more as I find them. Til then, check these out!

OPEN MIC THIS THURSDAY

2010-06-28T10:39:00.000-07:00

Toll is increasing on Thursday, don't leave Vallejo.
Stay in town and come to the Word of Mouth Open Mic.

July 1st, 2010 - 7pm
St. Catherine of Siena Parish

$2 or 2 canned goods or equivalent non-perishable items.
Interested in sharing your poetry? Send an e-mail to wordmadefreshpoetry@gmail.com and we will put you on the list.

More info @ wordmadefresh.tumblr.com

Young Adult Survey

2010-06-26T16:18:00.000-07:00

Hey there.

Could you do me a favor?

Fill out this survey.

Orientation 2010 Registration

2010-06-20T16:48:00.000-07:00

Register today.

When: Friday 7.30.10
Gathering @ 4pm – St. Catherine of Siena Parish Hall
Dismissal around 12am

Saturday 7.31.10
Day 2 Begins with Mass @ 9am – St. Catherine of Siena Church
Dismissal around 12am

What:
A two day retreat where College age young adults can reflect on the lives God has given them. Find ways to stay spiritual in this secular world. Know yourself before you leave home. Learn college survival tips Think college is gonna be tough? Easy? Spent a year or a couple in college, and need to strengthen your faith? Gain resources to defend your faith on your college campus or workplace. Meet new people your age. Explore the meaning of TRUE Freedom. Strengthen your relationship with God. Fun and Games. Come, join us, (re)ORIENT yourself to CHRIST.

Cost:
$15 Pre-Registration by 7.11.10
$20 Registration after 7.11.10
$25 Registration @ The Door

"Christ offers more! Indeed he offers everything! Only he who is the Truth can be the Way and hence also the Life. Thus the "way" which the Apostles brought to the ends of the earth is life in Christ. This is the life of the Church."
--Benedict XVI, July 16, 2008 - WYD Papal Arrival Address

Register today.

15 ways to ruin your marriage

2010-06-10T11:46:00.000-07:00

The Church is unavailable on Saturday afternoons?! White vans keep pulling up on weekends?! The parish pianist is reviewing Pachelbel's canon?! Yup, that's right. We are smack dab in the middle of wedding season. What's that mean for me? Another opportunity to discern my vocation, as well as watch Bridezillas to remind myself why I'm not getting married (only joking). What's that mean for you? Well as a young adult maybe it's a great time to think about the vocation of marriage and maybe even your future spouse. Consider reflecting on matrimony by watching the movie Up. Also, take a second to look at this list put together by Aggie Catholic:

Top 15 Ways To Mess Up A Marriage
Have Premarital Sex - This can be with your future spouse or not. Regardless, the statistics show that it means a much higher chance of a failed marriage.
Cohabitate - This doubles your chance of divorcing your spouse well over 60%! Go with this one if you almost certainly want to mess up a marriage.
Cheat on your spouse - This can be with a real person or with porn. Either messes up a marriage.
Drink too much or use drugs - This one is a great way to love a thing more than your spouse.
Marry a non-Christian - Now, there are certainly marriages that succeed between believers and non-believers, but at the least you are putting a big strain on a relationship.
Marry for the wrong reasons - Marrying someone because you have strong emotions about them (which will eventually go away) or because they are good looking (which won't last) is a great way to eventually ruin a marriage.
Never Work on Communication - talking is over-rated. You should just learn to tolerate one another, not really communicate.
Be a Workaholic - being rich and successful is the most important thing on earth. Right?
Be selfish - expect your spouse to serve your every need and never expect to return the favor.
Have Different expectations about money or debt - Spend too much, live beyond your means, and then pay the price. Money is the #1 reason that couples argue.
Don't tithe - The money is your own, do what you want with it.
Use contraception - kids are a burden that make life miserable. Why take the risk? Of course couples that use NFP are happier, have better sex-lives, and stay married more than 95% of the time.
Talk negatively about your spouse - who needs to be built up anyway?
Make big purchases without talking about it first - want that new car? Go get it!
Spend more time with your friends than your spouse - they are probably more fun anyway.

"Despite years of proclaiming that I was pro-life..."

2010-04-21T00:31:00.000-07:00

The Susan B. Anthony list, a pro-life group, recently honored several young women for their work in the pro-life movement.

One of the stories echoes stories very familiar to many college students. Many of us who are living through or have lived through the college years know someone who considered having an abortion or actually did have an abortion. The pro-life issue becomes totally different when someone you know becomes unexpectedly pregnant. Your best friend who has their whole life planned out tells you she is devastated because she just found out she is pregnant, how do you react? Your young cousin whose parents would throw her out if she was pregnant wants to have an abortion, what do you say? Despite years of proclaiming you are pro-life, what would you do if someone close to you was considering an abortion?

This is Jill Sander's story...

From Catholic News Agency:

“My 18-year-old roommate got pregnant during our first semester away at school,” Sanders explained. “Despite years of proclaiming that I was pro-life, this was the first time I was faced with a real situation where a dear friend had to make a choice.”

“She decided to have an abortion, and I supported her,” Sanders recalled. “I put myself in her shoes and knew that I wouldn’t be able to raise a baby, when I was barely old enough to vote! How would she finish school, get a job, or ever find a man that would love her and her child?”

After she went home for Christmas break, Sanders remembers feeling “overwhelmingly guilty” for advising her friend to have abortion.

“I imagined the void in my life, had my brother’s biological parents chosen abortion,” she said. “I spent a month doing research about the effects of abortion on the woman, the abortion procedure itself, fetal development, and what the Catholic Church taught about life issues.” After emailing her friend “almost daily” on the information she discovered, Sanders prayed fervently that she would change her mind.

“She did,” Sanders recalled. “And now her son is 10 years old and the greatest joy of her life. All of the obstacles that a scared pregnant 18-year-old thought she’d never overcome, she has, with flying colors.”

“She finished school. She got a great job. She got married to a wonderful man. And lives a full and happy life.”

Read the rest of the article here.

Crisis pregnancies are tough situations - no one denies that - but too often the pregnancy is terminated because people think these young mothers couldn't handle it or that they "wouldn't be able to raise a baby" - that's what Sanders thought. The truth is, as highlighted by Sanders' friend, young mothers can live joyful lives - all they need is the right support.

The answer to crisis pregnancies is to end the crisis, not the pregnancy.

If you have a friend who is considering abortion, find them the resources that will help support them through this tough time. Do what you can to support them. Again, end the crisis not the pregnancy.

---------------------------------------------

Resources:
Alpha Pregnancy Resource Center
Call any of the three locations for your FREE and CONFIDENTIAL appointment.
Vacaville Clinic
138 S. Orchard Ave.
Vacaville, CA 95688
707-449-8991, Clinic & Client Services
dianeleslie@alphaprc.org

Fairfield Center
1044 Empire St.
Fairfield, CA 94533
707-428-3300, Client Services
nicolepense@alphaprc.org

Vallejo Center
1024 Tennessee St.
Vallejo, CA 94590
(707) 643-2575, Client Services
janepollard@alphaprc.org

Alpha Pregnancy - Client Page:
Pregnant? We Can Help.
http://www.rupregnant.org/

-------------

Unplanned Pregnancy Option Line
24 Hour Hotline: 1.800.395.HELP
http://www.OptionLine.org

------------

Don't dumb it down for teens.

2010-04-13T14:22:00.000-07:00

This is for all my youth ministers out there...

"The thing is, when you dumb stuff down, you know what you get?

Unformed and uninterested teens.

And unformed and uninterested teens don’t spend as much time joyfully serving, don’t read the Bible as much, don’t pray as much, don’t go to Mass and Confession as much and don’t Evangelize as much. In other words, they’re the hardest ones to end up with."

-- Randy Raus, Lifeteen

Read the rest: Why you shouldn't dumb it down for teens.

Marriage and the Movie "UP"

2010-02-03T17:06:00.000-08:00

Kudos to the movie Up for garnering an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture. I believe it deserves the nomination wholeheartedly. In my book, although the whole movie is great, it deserves an award based on one particular 4 minute montage alone.

So what does a cartoon have to do with this young adult blog? Well let me explain. Many of us are at the point in our lives where we are discerning our vocations - that could mean religious life, but most likely it will mean marriage. Contrary to (quasi) popular belief, the fact that I am a seminarian studying to be a celibate priest does not mean my understanding about the married life is malformed. Actually, I am proud to say that through my discernment and formation I have come to a better appreciation and understanding of what the marriage covenant is. This appreciation and understanding of marriage are two areas very lacking in our society today.

Too often in our society the beauty and power of the marriage covenant has been mutated (same-sex unions), downplayed (pre-marital sex), or rendered pointless (divorce).

Now back to the movie Up. In four beautiful and powerful minutes, a cartoon (YES! A cartoon!) does a better job at representing the marriage covenant than too many of the other presentations our society offers us. It does not portray love and marriage as a fairy tale. It does not portray marriage as complete bliss. Suffering exists in love. Sacrifice exists in love. Up does a wonderful job of showing a love that is not based on give and take, rather a love based solely on give. To quote Deacon Greg, who I found this newsbit from: The movie Up "distills the heart and soul of a long marriage down to just four poignant, bittersweet, silent minutes. Hopes and disappointments, dreams and frustrations, life and death -- it's all here. And it never fails to move me to tears. Significantly, the sequence begins and ends in church."

Do yourself a favor and watch this 4 minute clip. Meditate on the meaning of marriage. Pray for your future spouse (or current spouse if that works for ya).

Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church. Ephesians 5:25

FREE CONCERT for YAs: Jacob And Matthew

2010-01-11T21:33:00.000-08:00

So the Young Adults of the West Placer Deanery in our Diocese are hosting a FREE CONCERT for Young Adults on January 30th in Roseville.

The concert will be @ St. Clare Church in Roseville, 1950 Junction Blvd. Again it is on Saturday, January 30 and it begins @ 7:00pm. Although the concert is free, seating is limited so call ahead for reservations.

More info from their Facebook:

Don't miss this opportunity to gather with other young adults (age 18-39) for a praise and worship concert with the Jacob and Matthew band http://jacobandmatt.com No host bar. Coffee drinks will also be available. Limited number of FREE seating is available, so be sure to RSVP. Free will offering will be taken. The event is sponosred by the West Placer Deanery Young Adults. For more information, contact Paula Staszkow at scpaula@surewest.net or call 916-772-4717 x112.

Here's a link to the flyer [pdf].

And here is a youtube video of Jacob and Matthew if you haven't heard them before:

Thousands flock to FOCUS Conference

2010-01-07T14:56:00.001-08:00

" The basic message is this: The Catholic faith works...
We are not doing anything special, we are simply inviting young people to know Christ personally and to follow Him in the Church He founded, where they find the fullness of truth and grace.”
-- Curtis Martin, President of FOCUS

Recently, thousands of Catholic University Students gathered together to grow deeper in their faith and worship the Almighty God. FOCUS, Fellowship of Catholic University Students, is a lay movement that acts like a group of missionaries, but their mission is not to Africa or China. They send missionaries to universities across our nation calling Catholics to be Catholics and inspiring others to find truth in our faith. From their website:

"FOCUS, the Fellowship of Catholic University Students, is a national collegiate outreach that meets college students where they are and invites them to examine the meaning and purpose of their lives. Through large group outreach, Bible studies and one on one mentoring, FOCUS missionaries are equipped to introduce college students to the Person of Jesus Christ and the Catholic faith, empowering them to share His love with the world."

Oh yea... at the conference... they even celebrated New Years' Eve together. Say What!?

More information about FOCUS can be found at its website: www.focusonline.org

Hit the jump to read the story about lives changing because of Focus' biannual conference.

READ MORE

From the Catholic News Agency:

Orlando, Fla., Jan 6, 2010 / 05:06 pm (CNA).- More than 3,500 students attended the Fellowship of Catholic University Student's (FOCUS) biannual conference last week in Orlando, Florida. The success of the event caused the group's president, Curtis Martin, to describe it as “packed with memorable moments.”
           The five day 'Made for More' conference took place Dec 30 through Jan 3 and included a wide range of speakers such as Fr. Benedict Groschel, Matthew Kelly and Dr. Ted Sri, as well as performers Matt Maher, Matthew West and Tim Hawkins. Students also had the opportunity to celebrate the New Year together and participate in Mass and Confession.
“Each year one of the most dramatic events is our time of Eucharistic Adoration and Confession,” Martin told CNA. “If you have never seen thousands of young people fall to their knees (and some completely prostrate themselves) before Jesus Christ veiled under the appearance of mere bread, it is an amazing experience.”
             “For several hours the students sat in silent prayer,” Martin recounted. “During the event, lines began to form so that these young leaders could make a Sacramental Confession, some for the first time since their First Confession.”
          Recalling past FOCUS conferences, Martin said, “Two years ago after a similar experience in Grapevine, Texas, a priest that I had never met asked me how things were going and I responded, 'They seem to be going really well.' To which he replied, 'You will never know how well things are going, because you can not hear Confessions, this is the single most impressive experience of my priesthood!'”
           The impact of the Orlando conference was also pointed out by FOCUS Team Director Patrick Rivera of Montclair University, who said, “I can't remember coming across a single student that did not feel as though they were having a life changing experience.” “The energy was one that was very, I would say … was very encouraging.”
        FOCUS Communications Director Jeremy Rivera echoed the same sentiment, saying, “I kept hearing stories of transformative moments.”
          “People had decided to become Catholic, I heard a lot of people being moved to a vocation to religious life,” Rivera said.
       When asked how this event compared to ones in the past, Rivera told CNA that “we saw over a thousand more students at this conference.”
         The organization, founded in 1998, has been lauded by Church leaders such as Archbishop Charles Chaput of Denver, who has stated that “no one does a more dynamic job of reaching college students for Christ than FOCUS.”
         Speaking on the successes of the organization, Martin told CNA that “this conference marks the conclusion of our 11th year” and that “we began with 22 students and no full-time staff and now have 250 full-time staff and thousands of students involved.”
           In describing the work of FOCUS, Martin explained that “The basic message is this: The Catholic faith works. We are not doing anything special, we are simply inviting young people to know Christ personally and to follow Him in the Church He founded, where they find the fullness of truth and grace.”

Verses Protestants Miss

2009-11-22T22:05:00.000-08:00

"behind the Greek was the Aramaic which Jesus originally spoke, in which the word for Peter and rock are identical—kepha. Once I saw that Jesus had said essentially “You are kepha and on this kepha I will build my Church,” I knew I was in trouble."

This is a great read:

Verses I never saw.

As a Catholic in college, one of the things my Protestant friends often did was to show me all the Bible passages that "proved" Catholicism to be wrong. It was a humbling experience to discover I didn't know the Bible as well as I should, and definitely not as well as they did. Those experiences did, however, teach me two things. One, the importance of reading scripture and learning how the Church has interpreted it. Second, often our protestant brothers and sisters simply pick passages from the Bible that bolster their case and often miss, leave out, forget, or deny ones that do not. This article by a former protestant preacher, Marcus Grodi, highlights several passages that protestants seem to miss or ignore. When these passages were brought charitably to light to Grodi, they "sent [his] mind and essentially [his] whole life reeling." Eventually he longed for Truth and made it home, to the Catholic church.

Maybe these are some passages you might find fruitful discussing with your protestant friends.

YA Conference: Called and Chosen

2009-11-02T09:22:00.000-08:00

The first annual diocesan Young Adult Conference for the Catholic Diocese of Sacramento will be held on Saturday, December 5, 2009 at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in El Dorado Hills. The conference is designed for young people between the ages of 18 and 39 who are serious about responding to the words of John's gospel,"You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide . . ." (John 15:16)

Guests and speakers will include Stan Cordero, Youth Minister from the Diocese of Santa Rosa, and Delis Alejandro and her young adult ministry team from Southern California, who will present on effectively engaging young adults with the Catholic faith. Music for the day will be provided by "Papa" Joe and Persuaded from Vallejo, CA.
Complete registration information may be found at the link below.

Link to information and registration details for Called and Chosen 2009 Young Adult Conference

I would pretend to be surprised.

2009-10-04T15:16:00.000-07:00

Found this over at Insight Scoop. An interesting read: "I would pretend to be surprised"

Young men and women from strong religious backgrounds, these professors say, often do better than their peers, if only because they are more engaged with liberal-arts subject matter and more inclined to study with diligence...

...young religious people have been made to think seriously and speak publicly about Big Questions from a young age. They do believe in a reality "out there" that can be studied and apprehended. Their answers to the study's questions are crisper and surer than those of their nonreligious counterparts."

"Why I will be a virgin until I marry."

2009-09-25T12:33:00.000-07:00

Here is a great article from a college-aged person being honest about her quest for chastity:
"Why I will be a virgin until I marry."

Now, many people in our world today, might think virginity is weird. Some (like a few of the commenters to the article) may even be hostile to the idea of virginity. Before you dismiss virginity and chastity as a fad of the past, or a strange phenomena, please take the time to consider what the beautiful gift of sex means and was designed for. Oh and by the way, if you are practicing abstinence, YOU ARE NOT ALONE: teen sexual activity rates have dropped more than 10% since 1991.

If you are looking for more information about the beauty of sex and chastity, check out chastity.com (formerly pureloveclub.com)

"His grace lifts up our nature"

2009-08-31T00:37:00.001-07:00

On May 9, 2009, His Excellency, Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of the Archdiocese of New York, ordained five men to the royal priesthood of Christ: Christopher Argano; Vincent Druding; Anthony Mizzi–Gili; Jacob Marie Hausman, C.F.R.; and Louis Marie Leonelli, C.F.R.

In his homily, Archbishop Dolan said, "These five men will literally fall to the floor in powerlessess, helplessness and humility," then he added, "It's not a bad place to be."

For all my Sister's Discerning... and their parents

2009-08-09T11:23:00.000-07:00

This is probably one of the best things I have read from a parent of a child who has answered a call to a religious vocation. In this piece, Robert Miola describes with great prose his experience of letting two of his daughters trade away years of higher education and distinguished accolades for blue habits and lives of prayer. A MUST READ for anyone discerning, and THE PARENTS of anyone discerning as well.

It started back in May 2001, at a graduation party in my daughter’s tiny New York apartment, just off Broadway, five flights up. Christine has won prizes in classics and Italian, a set of other honors, and she has no use for any of them. She has dropped two decades of aspiration and academic achievement, two decades of building a self in society, two decades of dreams about the future, without so much as a whistle.

“I’m not interested in that any more,” she says. I am proud of her... [More]

YAR: Orientation 2009

2009-07-05T11:08:00.000-07:00

Click Here to Register

When: Friday 8.7.09
Gathering @ 4pm – St. Catherine of Siena Parish Hall
Dismissal @ 12am

Saturday 8.8.09
Day 2 Begins with Mass @ 9am – St. Catherine of Siena Church
Dismissal @ 12am

What:
A two day retreat where College age young adults can reflect on the lives God has given them. Find ways to stay spiritual in this secular world. Know yourself before you leave home. Learn college survival tips Think college is gonna be tough? Easy? Spent a year or a couple in college, and need to strengthen your faith? Gain resources to defend your faith on your college campus or workplace. Meet new people your age. Explore the meaning of TRUE Freedom. Strengthen your relationship with God. Fun and Games. Come, Join us (re)ORIENT yourself to CHRIST.

Cost:
$15 Pre-Registration by 7.31.09
$20 Registration @ The Door

"Christ offers more! Indeed he offers everything! Only he who is the Truth can be the Way and hence also the Life. Thus the "way" which the Apostles brought to the ends of the earth is life in Christ. This is the life of the Church."
--Benedict XVI, July 16, 2008 - WYD Papal Arrival Address

For more info or to register please visit: scsyam.blogspot.com

NOTE: If you are under 18, you will need to turn in a Waiver Form, which will be provided upon registration.

Lenny Kravitz thinks sex is important

2009-06-18T18:17:00.000-07:00

[Picture courtesy of The Telegraph]

Ok, Let me lay out the whole quote:

"I think sex and intimacy and all that is very important. It’s just that I’m going to do it with my wife. And not everybody else."
- Lenny Kravitz

But of course you would never hear that on MTV.

With all the amount of news we are inundated with about celebrities "hookin' up" and cheating on one another, it is both surprising and refreshing to see a mainstream news agency like the The Telegraph report a story about a celebrity who proudly practices celibacy. Seriously this article is a good read. I couldn't stop once I started reading. Lenny Kravitz allows the world into his world, his spirituality, and his philosophy on sex, love and intimacy. Kravitz's point of view of sex and love is one that is pretty much absent from mainstream thought, and the lips of almost all the celebrities out there.

Read the rest of the article here: Lenny Kravitz Interview

It is a reminder for all of us that just because the whole world says something is true, doesn't mean it is. It is quite possible that everyone else could be wrong. History has shown us how true that can be. Whole societies can be living wrong, and using God's gifts in ways they weren't intended to be use. The same could be said about our society and sex.

Honestly, the "come on everybody's doing it," wasn't necessarily a annoying motto friends spewed about during my high school and college years, it was more of a fact that I silently accepted because I heard no one challenge it - and definitely not celebrities. But Kravitz points to himself and shows the world that not everyone is doing it.

His story is also a reminder that just because we are living a certain way doesn't mean we can't change.

When did Kravitz have his epiphany? Lying in bed next to his lover.

"I knew it was not consistent with my beliefs. So that’s hypocritical, and I don’t want to be a hypocrite. And I could just feel the emptiness… it didn’t feel good. The feeling afterwards. Just that empty sort of… weird space. And I’d had enough."

Kravitz unapolegetically lives out his faith and doesn't conform to what the music industry or the world of celeb-dom wants to mold him into. While other celebrities far too often use spirituality as a fashionable accessory or publicity stunt, Kravitz balks at that idea. This counter-cultural zeal is exemplified with these words from Kravitz:

"I really do use Christ as my example and try to live this life and not just bullsh** with it."

Honest. Frank. Definitely something to meditate on. Kravitz admits to himself and others that he isn't perfect, but he's striving for holiness. And with four years of living chastely already, he continues to patiently wait for God to put a woman in his life for him to love and marry, and one day share the gift of sex with.

To quote the title track from his debut Album: We got to let love rule.

Reducing abortions...

2009-05-23T09:39:00.000-07:00

Here is a little thing to think about from Dr. Beckwith, author of several books, including Defending Life: A Moral and Legal Case Against Abortion Choice. He provides some insight to those who use the argument that what we need to do is work together to "reduce abortions." (H/T to Insight Scoop):

The "reduce the number of abortions" argument is virtually unmeasurable. For example, suppose that abortions increase dramatically over the next five years. Then, two decades later the abortion rate decreases. Why? There were fewer females conceived two decades earlier to have the abortions two decades later. So, ironically, one way to decrease abortions is to increase abortions.

On the other hand, suppose abortions decrease after Obama institutes certain social programs. How do we know that the decrease is not the consequence of fewer females conceived in the 1980s when abortion was at its peak? Also, how do we know that this approach just reinforces the idea that abortion is a right that should be exercised if the government does not provide assistance. So, ironically, the very programs that decrease abortions may help to nurture the very moral sentiments that produced the abortion mentality to begin with. Thus, reducing the number of abortions may have the unintended consequence of creating citizens who do not understand the real reason why abortion is wrong: it unjustly kills an intrinsically valuable human person.

...Reducing the number of abortions is not the goal of the prolife movement. However, one goal of the prolife movement is to reduce the number of people who believe that reducing the number of abortions is the goal of the prolife movement.

Theology on Tap - THIS FRIDAY, May 8th

2009-05-06T13:18:00.000-07:00

EVENT: Theology on Tap (ToT), a Catholic speaker series for young adults. To learn more about the history of the ToT program, please read this great article by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

DATE: This Friday, May 8th.

TIME: Fellowship at 6:00 p.m.; talk starts at 7:00 p.m.

WHERE: Zio Fraedo's (23 Harbor Way, Vallejo, CA 94590) http://www.ziofraedos.com/ziofraedos_v1.htm

WHO CAN ATTEND: Anyone over 18 years old can attend, but ToT is mostly geared to young adults in their 20s and 30s.

COST: Free! But we encourage everyone to patronize Zio Fraedo's, our generous sponsor.

SPEAKER: Br. Dominic David Maichrowicz, OP, a young Dominican brother studying at the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology in Berkeley and residing at St. Albert's Priory in Oakland. For more information about Br. Dominic David, please read his profile.

TOPIC: "Seeking Her Smile: Contemplating the face of Christ at the school of Mary"

To seek Mary’s smile is not an act of devotional or outmoded sentimentality, but rather the proper expression of the living and profoundly human relationship which binds us to her whom Christ gave us as our Mother...the smile of the most eminent of all creatures, looking down on us, is reflected our dignity as children of God, that dignity which never abandons the sick person. This smile, a true reflection of God’s tenderness, is the source of an invincible hope...How true was the insight of that great French spiritual writer, Dom Jean-Baptiste Chautard, who in "L’âme de tout apostolat," proposed to the devout Christian to gaze frequently “into the eyes of the Virgin Mary”! Yes, to seek the smile of the Virgin Mary is not a pious infantilism, it is the aspiration, as Psalm 44 says, of those who are “the richest of the people” (verse 13)...To seek this smile, is first of all to have grasped the gratuitousness of love; it is also to be able to elicit this smile through our efforts to live according to the word of her Beloved Son, just as a child seeks to elicit its mother’s smile by doing what pleases her. And we know what pleases Mary, thanks to the words she spoke to the servants at Cana: “Do whatever he tells you” (cf. Jn 2:5).

- Papa Benedict XVI

BABY ITEMS COLLECTION:
At all Theology on Tap events, we will be accepting donations of maternity clothes as well as baby items (e.g. toys, clothes, blankets, cribs, new car seats, etc.). These items will be donated to Alpha Pregnancy Resource Center. Your generosity is appreciated. Thanks!

Also, join our facebook group (we have over 100 members!): Solano Deanery Young Adults

Catholics Evangelizing on Campus

2009-05-04T21:33:00.001-07:00

Great things happening on Secular Campuses, from Via Media:

Center director Father Steve Beseau had heard of a program at Texas A&M University where students wore T-shirts that invited others to "Ask a Catholic a Question."

"I brought the idea to [the staff for discussion]," he said. "I thought it was a very non-threatening way of evangelization, and I liked that."

The center staff liked it, too, but decided to tweak the question in order to provide more opportunity for personal witness. They then had bright red T-shirts printed up, with the center's logo on the front and "Ask me why I'm Catholic" on the back.

Meitl then arranged for the campus center to host a table each Tuesday at Wesco Beach, a centrally located area on campus, and word soon spread that Catholic students should wear red on Tuesdays. The second day of the school week quickly became known on campus as "Red Tuesday."

"We asked all the students to wear red and keep us in their prayers," said Meitl, "so they would be in solidarity with us, even if they were unable to stop by the table."

Click the link for the whole article - Catholics Evangelizing on Campus

Airplane Apologetics

2009-05-02T02:17:00.001-07:00

Lol... Pardon the picture, but I had to post it. I googled "Jesus AND airplane" and this came up.

Hilarious.

As a Young Adult, you probably have many opportunities to share your faith, to evangelize. The question is do you? I know when I was in college, I had plenty of opportunities and I either ignored them, or dismissed them. Sometimes we even convince ourselves that the people around us don't want or don't need us to share Christ with them. Even now, I will be honest, I don't use these blessed opportunities to share the love of Christ as often as I could or should.

Now I am not saying, start a praise and worship session next time you are on the BART, or write scripture passages on the whiteboards of all your classrooms. What might be more benificial, and more in accordance with God's will and plan, is for us to be open to those blessed opportunities God graces us with to share a little about our faith, or a little bit of our lives.

In the last year I have been on more airplanes then I ever have in the rest of my lifetime. Almost 20 flights. Often times I will do some spiritual reading, and as I read, I will gently hide it away so that others won't see it and ask me questions about it. And even if they do ask, I usually give some short answer like: "Some book for school," or "Philosophy..."

What a wasted opportunity to say even something as simple as, "Oh I am reading about this cool Saint, St. Therese," or "It's a book called 'Blessed are the Bored in Spirit'". or how profound would it be to say, "taking a break from the distractions of this world to focus on the amazing joy of God for a bit."

Little things, my friends.

I'm working on it.

This article from Envoy Magazine, is a great inspiration. Look at how powerful of an effect reading your Bible and Catechism, and answering some questions during a plane ride could be: Airplane Apologetics.

GettoMass

2009-04-23T10:10:00.000-07:00

I remember when I saw this lifeteen shirt a few years back... It was simple. Yet for some reason I still remember it. Maybe it is because I wished ~~more people~~ anybody wore the shirt when I was in vallejo, thus, reminding me to get to Mass on a more regular basis.

I have made this bold statement before, and it has been met with a bit of opposing view, but I stand firm in this belief: Every Catholic should want to go to daily Mass.

Now, let's be clear, I am not saying that every Catholic MUST go to daily mass, or that Catholics should feel guilty if they don't make it to daily mass, or that those Catholics that don't make it to daily mass are less faithful than those that do. Those are all preposterous assumptions. I just believe that a Catholic who is serious about their faith should have the desire to receive Jesus, receive the sacraments, as often as they possibly can. Now I know that work, and school, and/or whatever your primary vocation may be might interfere with the opportunity to attend daily mass, but at the very least my hope and desire is that people would want to go whether they can or not. The world will be changed by the Sacraments and prayer.

“We cannot separate our lives from the Eucharist; the moment we do, something breaks. People ask, ‘Where do the sisters get the joy and energy to do what they are doing?’ The Eucharist involves more than just receiving; it also involves satisfying the hunger of Christ. He says, ‘ Come to Me.’ He is hungry for souls.”
-- Mother Teresa

Given all that, Ironic Catholic has provided us a list of twelve reasons to go to daily mass. Snarky, just how I like it.

1. It's kind of like facebook with God, the angels, and the saints
2. Breaking in the day to pray tames the craziness better than your Blackberry
3. The local Caf still serves lunch at 12:37pm. No lines either
4. A miracle occurs. every. single. time.
5. God wants to hear about your romantic woes more than your Twitter audience
6. Actually, God wants to teach you something about Romance. Think of it as going on a spiritual date
7. Under the (affectionately offered) "if you would just shut up, you could hear God's voice" advice: lots of precious, rare, ear-opening silence
8. It's not for the perfect--that's actually part of the point
9. Did the sun rise this morning? Did you have a good breakfast? Did you get to dress warmly and well? Did you think about giving thanks for all that?
10. Because Jesus is present to us in a particular way--the way he chose as the perfect way--in the sacrament of the altar. (Want to meet him?)
11. Life is mysterious. But being present at this Mystery will make the mystery of your life much more clear
12. Because this act “identifies us with his Heart, sustains our strength along the pilgrimage of this life, makes us long for eternal life, and unites us even now to the Church in heaven, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and all the saints.” (CCC #1419)

(...even at your imperfect parish)

Passion: the Facebook version

2009-04-07T17:10:00.001-07:00

I don't have a facebook, but I found this amusing.

Will Catholic Hospitals be forced to perform abortions?

2009-04-03T11:20:00.000-07:00

Honestly, when I used to work at a national pharmacy chain, one of the things that worried me about ever pursuing a position in management was the necessity to at times work in the pharmacy and sell certain prescriptions.

Big whoop, right?

I guess. And for the most part this wouldn't be an issue. But what sent chills down my spine was the thought that there might be a time when I would be asked to assist the pharmacist in fulfilling an order for Plan B, or worse asked to sell this drug to a young mother. Now, the debate over what Plan B does and whether or not it is an "emergency contraceptive" or an "abortion pill" can be discussed at a different time - although, both descriptions are an affront to human sexuality and contrary to Catholic morality.

Luckily, my former company did protect their employees by making provisions in their policies that allowed employees to refrain from the production and distribution of prescriptions that they found morally objectionable, and another employee without moral objection would conduct the work.

But, those things could change. If certain law makers have their way, pharmacists, doctors, nurses, Catholic hospitals, could all be "forced" - and that is not an over-exaggeration - to perform morally objectionable acts, such as provide condoms, perform abortions, and allow for assisted suicide.

What ultimately is the fear, is that if Catholic hospitals are forced to provide for these heinous acts, then, sadly, these Catholic hospitals will have to shut themselves down. This means almost 600 hospitals (not including 400+ health care centers) would be shutdown. Sad. What would happen to the 85 million patients they treat every year, or the over 500,000+ Full-time employees? [source: CIP] Who knows. Now, some would say that the hospitals should stay open because it would be depriving people of charity, however, it must be made clear that the Catholic church would not be able to cooperate with evil - and providing abortions et al is evil.

Want the facts? Visit the USCCB's Conscience Protection Rights Resource page to read Statements from Bishops and Cardinals, find common Questions and Answers, and send an e-mail to the National Human Health and Services Dept. asking them to not eliminate Conscience Protection Rights.

Hurry you only have until April 9th to e-mail the HHS stops collecting feedback.

Good news at USF! They are Catholic!

2009-03-27T09:37:00.000-07:00

Many CYMers and CYM Alum are either currently pursuing higher education at the University of San Francisco, or have in the past, so this should bring a little joy to their hearts:

The new directive for the student clinic at USF's St. Mary's Medical Center states: "In keeping with Catholic tradition and teachings, voluntary termination of pregnancy will not be performed at St. Mary's Hospital and referrals for abortion will not be given to a student by USF Student Health Clinic staff. In addition, contraceptives services, in all forms, will not be provided by the USF Student Health Clinic. (read more)"

In other news, I failed to report this in December, but in response to outcry, USF rectified their Student Health Plan to ELIMINATE coverage for abortion. Praise God. With all the news going on about Notre Dame, and the bad rap that Catholic institutions of education get these days, it is great news to read about USF defending life, and maintaining and defending their Catholic identity. I will be honest, and some of you USFers can attest to this, I often lament about USF and how unCatholic it can be sometimes, but I do admit my lamenting does nothing. Rather, we must hope in Catholic institutions and do what we can to help restore Catholic identity. I truly am happy and hopeful for the things happening at USF and other schools like Boston College putting Crucifixes back on their walls, and the Jesuit Superior General's recent visit to Jesuit Catholic schools in the Sacramento Diocese.

In my opinion, all these changes at USF, and other schools have occurred as a result of two main things: One, Prayer - so keep on praying for Catholic schools and their Catholic identity (schools like Notre Dame, and SPSV); and Two, the challenge by the Holy Father during his visit with Catholic Educators last year - provided are a few excerpts (I know it is long, but it is good stuff) :

With regard to the educational forum, the diakonia of truth takes on a heightened significance in societies where secularist ideology drives a wedge between truth and faith. This division has led to a tendency to equate truth with knowledge and to adopt a positivistic mentality which, in rejecting metaphysics, denies the foundations of faith and rejects the need for a moral vision. Truth means more than knowledge: knowing the truth leads us to discover the good. Truth speaks to the individual in his or her entirety, inviting us to respond with our whole being.

...

We observe today a timidity in the face of the category of the good and an aimless pursuit of novelty parading as the realization of freedom. We witness an assumption that every experience is of equal worth and a reluctance to admit imperfection and mistakes. And particularly disturbing, is the reduction of the precious and delicate area of education in sexuality to management of ‘risk’, bereft of any reference to the beauty of conjugal love.

...

Teachers and administrators, whether in universities or schools, have the duty and privilege to ensure that students receive instruction in Catholic doctrine and practice. This requires that public witness to the way of Christ, as found in the Gospel and upheld by the Church's Magisterium, shapes all aspects of an institution’s life, both inside and outside the classroom. Divergence from this vision weakens Catholic identity and, far from advancing freedom, inevitably leads to confusion, whether moral, intellectual or spiritual.

...

To all of you I say: bear witness to hope. Nourish your witness with prayer. Account for the hope that characterizes your lives (cf. 1 Pet 3:15) by living the truth which you propose to your students. Help them to know and love the One you have encountered, whose truth and goodness you have experienced with joy. With Saint Augustine, let us say: “we who speak and you who listen acknowledge ourselves as fellow disciples of a single teacher” (Sermons, 23:2).

And for those that do not know, this is the Jesuit School USF's Motto:
"Educating Minds and Hearts to Change the World."

aaaaand the Jesuit Motto:
AMDG - Ad Meiorem Dei Gloriam - For the Greater Glory of God.

Beautiful stuff. Keep Praying.

For more about what's happening at USF click here via CalCatholic.

They closed for the day!

2009-03-16T12:28:00.000-07:00

A message from Shawn Carney, the National Campaign Director of 40 Days for Life:

"They closed for the day!"

It was a note from Elizabeth in Austin, Texas...

"The abortion clinic closed its doors Sunday," she said, "and didn't accept any clients for an entire
business day! This is the kind of clinic that does abortions on Sunday -- the Lord's day. But not this past weekend! Not only was the gate closed, but it was chained shut. Praise God!"

She added, "We are so evidently seeing the hand of God reaching down and acting through us as his peaceful instruments to help bring about the end of abortion."

Elizabeth says Austin is one of the most pro-abortion cities in Texas. "If the Holy Spirit can breathe life into such a pro-abortion community as Austin, there truly is hope for countless other cities across the country," she said. "Like Paul says in his letter to the Corinthians, keep pushing on to the end!"

Pam in Lincoln, Nebraska had similar good news. "For the first time this 40 Days for Life, Planned Parenthood was closed when we arrived this past Friday," she said. "They've been doing abortions three days a week, so this was a most welcome break. Praise God!"

As Elizabeth noted, "40 Days for Life is not just creating ripples in the pond, but huge waves!"

Those huge waves are extending far beyond the official 40-day vigils.

If you've followed 40 Days for Life, you may have read stories about Eddie and Teresa and the wonderful things that have happened in their community of Monterey, California during past campaigns.

Two of their Monterey volunteers, Shelby and Sandee, have been praying at a clinic in Salinas, which is about 20 minutes away. Though they're not conducting a full 40 Days for Life campaign, they've organized a weekday vigil there in parallel with 40 Days for Life and were prepared to continue every Monday through Friday until Easter.

But something happened -- something wonderful! A man walked up to Shelby at the prayer vigil. He said he was a doctor and was moving into that office. He said the abortion clinic had shut down.

"Wow! Oh my goodness!" said Teresa. "That facility has been open for 15 years. What a wonderful gift from God!" The prayer vigil will be moving to a new location, a nearby Planned Parenthood office where abortions are being performed.

This is what 40 Days for Life is all about.

People see the need. They feel the urgency. They get involved. And they give God the glory!

While this closure did not occur at the site of an official 40 Days for Life campaign, it serves as an example of what this effort can lead to in many other places -- and it gives us great hope!

Today's e-mail started with the sentence, "They closed for the day!"

With God's grace, we pray that a future e-mail will be about YOUR town, and will say, "They closed forever!"

Please email angelarubang@gmail.com if you would like to help in any way.

Halfway through the Desert

2009-03-14T22:45:00.000-07:00

40 Days For Life...

...only 21 days left, but already 92+ precious lives were saved!

Mid -Rally is next Sunday March 15th, 0ur 19th day at 3- 5 PM!!
Place. First Baptist Church 1055 Southampton Street Benicia, Ca 94510
Please set this date and attend to encourage every one. This is the best time to invite your friends and relatives to participate.
Let's make it a Family Day!!

We will have Ecumenical Service, meet the volunteers , songs and Praises, Fellowship
There will also be sharing experiences during the vigil.

Since it is time of Fasting- we will serve soup and bread.

(I apologize for late notice)

We still need volunteers to the vigil site specially 11AM to 5 PM. For more info or if you would like to volunteer in any way please email angelarubang@gmail.com

UPDATE: Connecticut Bill PostPwnd

2009-03-11T00:27:00.000-07:00

hahah i like that... Postpwnd

anyway.

It looks like a lot of justified phone calls, and public outcry has (for now) shutdown the Connecticut Bill mentioned in a previous post. Read about the withdrawal of the defunct bill here and here.

What happened to our constitution?

2009-03-10T17:18:00.000-07:00

Some days I just sit and wonder what the point of all the stuff I learned in elementary school regarding the constitution was all about. If people - read: lawmakers, media, the average joe - do not care to uphold certain tenets of our constitution, then what's the point. Sure we can spin certain phrases like "equality" and "separation of church and state" even the very notion of "liberty," but sometimes all this spinning makes me dizzy.

Some things in the constitution seem pretty clear to me: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;

So here's another story that will throw you for a loop. I wonder which side the ACLU will fall on this one:

From insidecatholic.com

I thought I had seen everything, and then I saw this: Unnamed legislators in the state of Connecticut have introduced a bill, #1098, through the Judiciary Committee that, if passed, would force all Catholic dioceses and parishes to appoint lay-dominated boards of directors.

In other words, a Catholic diocese or parish could not be recognized as a corporation in Connecticut unless it removes CEO authority from the bishop in his diocese and the priest in his parish.

In fact, the bill states that the pastor "shall report to the board of directors with respect to administrative and financial matters."

The bill claims that nothing contained in it diminishes the authority of the bishop or priest over matters "pertaining exclusively to religious tenets and practices."

This is what I read: "Families can not be allowed to be called families, unless the parents of said family relinquish all administrative and financial authority..... but don't worry this won't diminish their authority pertaining to other things that have to do with the family."

I know? Crazy, huh.

Or how about this version: "Pastors must allow their flock to make all the decisions in regards to money and admin, but the pastors can still love the sheep and tell them how great they look rolling around in the mud."

Okay... I am being facetious, I know. And yes, I understand that those two translations are quasi-false analogies, but still, all 3 are pretty ridiculous. Right? And that potential law seems like it could only happen in a country where religious freedoms aren't protected.

Luckily, we live in America. Oh, wait... yea.

If only.

Where are all the protestors with their "Separation of Church and State" signs now?

Sigh.

Archbishop Chaput had an interesting take on it:

"If bigots in one state succeed...bigots in other states will try the same."

Aaaaaand cue the Prop 8 Hate.

Brothers and sisters, pray, laugh and love.

Because faith, joy and the love of Christ will be the only things that save our world.

"Lord hear our prayer"

2009-03-09T22:33:00.000-07:00

We know that He indeed hears our prayer!

We know that prayer is a powerful weapon and as we fight the evil of abortion throughout these cold (and mostly rainy) 40 Days for life, let us keep in mind that even one saved life makes it all worth it.

GUESS HOW MANY LIVES HAVE BEEN SAVED SO FAR!!!

92!!!

Please continue to pray with us because it does make a difference! If you would like more information on how you can help, you can email me at angelarubang@gmail.com

Here is a message from the national director for the 40 Days For Life campaign:

"God is amazing, and He continues to shower blessing
after blessing upon this 40 Days for Life campaign.

Since this initiative began just 13 days ago in 135
cities across 43 states, Canada, Australia, and
Northern Ireland, the number of confirmed reports of
lives saved from abortion has already climbed to...

...92!!

(And those are just the ones we know about!)

Here are a few of the inspiring stories...

Susan in Houston says she's on cloud nine. And she
should be -- because by answering God's call to pray
at the 40 Days for Life vigil, she was in the right
place at the right time.

"I was standing outside of the Planned Parenthood
facility," she said, "about to light my vigil candle
in the dark, when I noticed a young girl walking down
the sidewalk. I thought she might be homeless because
she was carrying her pillow and quilt."

Susan asked if she needed some help and the girl said
no, but Susan suggested she go to the pro-life
pregnancy resource center around the corner. The girl
thanked her, but said her mom and dad wanted her to
have an abortion.

She told Susan she was afraid she would be kicked out
of her house if she didn't follow through with this.

Susan saw an opening when she asked this frightened
teen what SHE really wanted. "I don't want to have an
abortion," the young woman told her. "I would like to
have the baby and give it up for adoption." Susan
explained that she's seen a lot of coercion from
parents who think abortion is the best option.

So Susan asked the young girl, "How about seeing what
your options are? You have plenty of time before the
abortionist shows up. Would you like me to walk with
you to the pregnancy center?" She agreed. "Thank the
Lord for using me to do good!"

Bev in Orange, California says she really needs to
learn more Spanish. But the Spanish literature her
40 Days for Life team keeps at their vigil site was
all the help she needed when a young Hispanic couple
drove into the parking lot at Planned Parenthood.

"The woman was obviously crying," she said. "The
driver rolled down the window and took my Spanish
material with local phone numbers of pro-life centers.
I kept saying, 'We'll help! We'll help!' I couldn't
remember any Spanish."

At any rate, the couple drove into the parking lot,
made a U-turn and came back out. As they drove away
from Planned Parenthood, the woman rolled down her
window and was smiling. "All I could say," Bev added,
"was 'God bless you. '"

Paula in Abilene, Texas reported a life saved.

Her 40 Days for Life team feels blessed after a young
woman went into Planned Parenthood with the intention
of having an abortion. "She soon came out and told one
of our volunteers with tears in her eyes, that after
seeing all of us out there praying and sacrificing,
she had changed her mind and decided to keep her
baby," said Paula. "We are all so very excited and
thankful to God."

These victories belong to God, but YOU share in all of
them due to your prayers and faithful efforts. From
the bottom of my heart, thank you!

Today's devotional was prepared for you by Dennis
DiMauro of Lutherans for Life...

------------------------------

------------------------
DAY 13 INTENTION
------------------------------------------------------

We pray for the strength to love those who do not
love us.

------------------------------------------------------
SCRIPTURE
------------------------------------------------------

But the Lord said "You have had pity on the plant for
which you have not labored, nor made it grow, which
came up in the night and perished in the night. And
should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which
are more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons
who cannot discern between their right hand and their
left, and much livestock? Should I not be concerned
about that great city?"

-- Jonah 4:10-11

------------------------------------------------------
REFLECTION by Dennis DiMauro, Lutherans for Life
------------------------------------------------------

God doesn't value people and things like we do.

Jonah loved a shade tree more than an entire city of
sinful people. We love our dogs more than a terrorist.
We love our cars more than a beggar on the side of the
road. And sometimes, we love our money more than a
child growing in a desperate teenager's womb.

But God isn't like us. Genesis 1 tells us that humans
were the capstone of God's creation.

We were created on the sixth day after God had
completed the land, the stars, the plants and the
animals. Therefore, His love for us is greater than
His love for a plant, an animal, or any other created
thing.

And the book of Jonah tells us that He loves even the
most sinful people and seeks to bring them into His
merciful arms. And it's a love that seeks to touch all
of his created children: that desperate teenager, the
baby growing in her womb, even tyrants and terrorists.

So it's up to us to imitate God's merciful love by
helping and praying for those who persecute us, and
those who don't love us back.

------------------------------------------------------
PRAYER
------------------------------------------------------

Gracious God, loving our enemies seems like one of
most difficult things you could ask of us.

Please remind us that this is how you love and that if
you ask it of us then you will give us the grace to do
it. This we ask through Christ our Lord, Amen.

------------------------------------------------------
PRINTABLE DEVOTIONAL
------------------------------------------------------

To download today's devotional as a formatted,
printable PDF to share with friends:

http://40daysforlife.com/docs/spring2009day13print.pdf

------------------------------------------------------

How many more lives will be saved over the next 27
days of this campaign thanks to you, Lita?

I can't wait to find out! :-)

Yours For Life,

David Bereit
National Director
40 Days for Life

P.S.- Yesterday I got back from speaking at events in
Corpus Christi, Texas, and while driving home from the
airport I spoke with Shawn Carney on the phone and
heard amazing reports from his trip to Colorado over
the last couple of days. We are seeing unprecedented
levels of excitement and involvement all over the
country, and both feel that the best is yet to come!

Theology on Tap -- Fri. March 13th

2009-03-09T02:04:00.000-07:00

WHAT: Theology on Tap is a Catholic speaker series for young adults (ages 18-39).

WHO: Anyone over 18 can attend. However, Theology on Tap is geared towards young adults in their 20s and 30s.

DATE: Friday, March 13th

TIME: 6:00pm, fellowship; 7:00pm, talk begins

PLACE: Zio Fraedo's Restaurant (23 Harbor Way, Vallejo, CA 94590)

http://www.ziofraedos.com/

COST: FREE. But we strongly encourage you to patronize Zio Fraedo's, our generous sponsor.

TOPIC: "THROUGH THE DESERT: Seminarians Reflect on Prayer, Fasting & Almsgiving"

"Even now, says the Lord, return to me with your whole heart, with fasting, and weeping, and mourning; rend your hearts, not your garments, and return to the Lord, your God. For gracious and merciful is he, slow to anger, rich in kindness, and relenting in punishment." (Joel 2:12-13)

SPEAKERS: Jose Beltran and Michael Ritter, seminarians of the Diocese of Sacramento.

BABY ITEMS COLLECTION:
At all Theology on Tap events from now on, we will be accepting donations of maternity clothes as well as baby items (e.g. toys, clothes, blankets, cribs, new car seats, etc.). These items will be donated to Alpha Pregnancy Resource Center. Your generosity is appreciated. Thanks!

40 DAYS FOR LIFE

2009-02-23T22:17:00.000-08:00

40 DAYS FOR LIFE

The kick off rally is this Tuesday, Feb. 24, which is also Mardi Gras (so eat and get fat) it will be at St. Dominic's parish hall in Benicia from 6:30 pm. There will be a few speakers and lot's of food. please invite your family and friends.
[potluck and/or donations are greatly appreciated. You may also get a 40DFL t-shirt for a donation of $10]

40 days for life will begin on Ash Wednesday 2/25 to Palm Sunday 4/5 from 5 am to 10 pm.
Remember that our precious unborn brothers and sisters need our prayers so please, as a lenten sacrifice, i would like to challenge all of you to commit at least 1 hour every 168 hours a week throughout lent (only 5 1/2 weeks).

Please email me <angelarubang@gmail.com> if there is a particular hour that you would like to come so that I can put you on the schedule. Of course, you can always drop by anytime, but if you can commit to a particular hour in the week, it would be helpful to have you on the schedule so that we know someone won't be by themselves (which rarely happens, but just in case)

You are also welcome to join us in fasting every Thursday (the day when abortion procedures are performed here in Vallejo) throughout lent.
"Fasting is like an atomic bomb!" -Bridget DeMers (40DFL core member)

Let us flood Heaven with prayers for our precious unborn brothers and sisters and continue to fight this battle against the evil of abortion!

May God bless and be our guide through the desert!
Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us.
Our Lady of Victory, pray for us.
St. Michael the Archangel, pray for us.

"Through fasting and praying, we allow Him to come and satisfy the deepest hunger that we experience in the depths of our being: the hunger and thirst for God."
-Pope Benedict XVI's 2009 Lenten Message

"Fullness of Truth ... is Powerfully Attractive" - Ministering to Young Adults

2009-02-22T11:21:00.000-08:00

Fr. DiNoia, OP NAC:
Clearing Away The Barriers:
Preaching to Young Adults Today
- Click Here FrDiNoiaOP_NAClecture

A few of Sean's fave quotes from Fr. Di Noia's lecture:

"No one in his or her right mind will be interested in a faith about which its exponents seem too embarrassed to communicate forthrightly"

"We have to be convinced that the fullness of the truth and beauty of the message about Jesus Christ is powerfully attractive when it is communicated without apologies or compromise"

"In our conversations with young people, we have to avoid the temptation to fudge -- to adapt the Catholic faith so as to make it palatable to modern tastes and expectations"

"This so-called 'accommodationist' approach generally fails, and it fails doubly with young people. There is a risk in this approach that the Christian message becomes indistinguishable from everything else on offer in the market stalls of secularized religious faith"

A walk down memory lane aka i love free speech

2009-02-20T08:57:00.000-08:00

Sigh. Although my memories aren't publicized on youtube, or quite possibly this intense... this video did remind me of the type of freedom of speech we cherish in our country.

Who do I have to side with, or what views do I have to take again for people to listen to me... oh yeah that's right religion is dumb, hey even morality is a sign of ignorance. NO SPEECH FOR YOU.

This was a common occurrence when I went to school. Anytime a pro-life speaker tried to do a presentation or civilly dialogue they would just get screamed at, called a terrorist, called ignorant. Rarely did anyone who was pro-abortion have a rational, civil discussion. Based on my experience it usually ended up in attempt at denigration, rather than debate.

sigh. pray.

Let's hear it for democracy. So when people REFUSE to listen to the arguments of an opponent, tell me again, where does the ignorance lie? What happened to the days when college campuses existed as places that fostered an environment for intellectuals to debate civilly and rationally, rather than shouting things like, "Tell me when you get pregnant!" Reminds me of a concept I used to chuckle at while I was in school before... What's the opposite of DIVERSITY?

UNIVERSITY.

sigh. sad.

Interested if anyone knows more about this video or presentation at St. Mary's. Not sure which St. Mary's this is, though.

Disease of Catholic Dissent

2009-02-20T00:50:00.000-08:00

You can read the entire post over at Acts of the Apostasy, but Larry D presents 5 diseases that Catholic Dissenters appear to have. It's humorous... but sadly there might be some truth to it.

Here is an excerpt:

2) Cataractechesis - this is a vision problem with dual symptoms: seeing things written in the Catechism that aren't there, and not seeing the things that are there. A derivative of this illness is Scrapture, where Biblical passages that challenge the patient's questionable lifestyle choices are scrapped.

and

5) Meemyselphaniophagia - a bacterial infection (Spiritus Vaticanus II) whose symptoms include, but are not limited to, the following: speaking in gender-neutral language; convulsions (often termed 'liturgical dance'); mental incoherence (typically expressed as historical revisionism); and a general abhorrence to anything 'traditional' or 'patriarchal'. If this is untreated, it can mutate into Iamdapopa carcinoma, a spiritually fatal condition.

To read the entire article, click here.

YA Relationship Stuff

2009-02-18T00:29:00.001-08:00

That's how I celebrated Saturday, with my good friends, seminarian brothers, Rence and JR, and a new friend Anton (future seminarian =]). Yup, you see that correctly. That is lbs of triple chocolate brownie with nuts and a block of the greatest rice chocolate, marshmallow concoction in the world. [not pictured Rence's $20 worth of dipped strawberries]

For those of you not in the seminary, namely those of you in relationships, you may have celebrated differently. maybe.

On that note, being a young adult and dealing with relationships is nary an easy thing.

You have to be willing to work at it, and you both have to have your eyes focused on God. If you forgot, here is the line from Passion Play last year, "True love isn't about gazing into each other's eyes, it is about focusing together in the same direction - hopefully toward Christ."

~~The Feast of Sts. Cyril and Methodius, I mean vocations awareness day~~ I mean, Valentine's Day came and went. After all the flowers have withered and the balloons have deflated, what have you left? Hopefully, love. And I mean true love. The sacrificial, self-giving, I-Choose-Love type of love. That is, the "love your Bride like Christ loves His Church" type of love. Bloody. Beaten. Love.

The other day a friend called me concerned that she feels she just says "I love you" too much, almost every time she sees her significant other. She felt it might be losing meaning. I feel I was truly inspired by the Holy Spirit, because I humbly feel these words are better than anything I could have come up with without God. I responded, "the words 'I love you' will only lose their meaning if you speak them more with your lips, than you do with your actions."

In your relationships, love like Christ loved. Stop sweet-talking. Stop buying gifts. Choose. Do. Sacrifice.

And to end it off, you all are blessed back home with some recent and upcoming occurrences that could have and can greatly help in the growth of your relationship.

For one, If you went to mass on February 9th, you may have heard a great homily by Deacon Bobby on Marriage, for World Marriage Day. If you missed it, no worries. There's a link here.

"The giving of self completely, the sacrificial love of marriage can seem to be impossible. Of course, on our own - it is impossible. But with God - it is not, nothing is impossible with God."
-- Deacon Bobby Peregrino

Another opportunity for you to grow in your relationship is the Theology on Tap on Feb. 20th: FROM ADAM & EVE TO BRAD & ANGELINA: A Scriptural Guide to Dating and Relationships with Carson Weber. I can't urge you enough. If you are in a relationship and you would love to explore how you can make it holier and center it on God, GO TO THIS EVENT. If you want to hear a great Catholic Speaker who studied under Scott Hahn, GO TO THIS EVENT. If you want an opportunity to discover what it means to love via the scriptures, GO TO THIS EVENT. If you want to make raj jealous, GO TO THIS EVENT.

Theology on Tap: FRIDAY, FEB. 20th

2009-02-12T20:46:00.000-08:00

FROM ADAM & EVE TO BRAD & ANGELINA: A Scriptural Guide to Dating and Relationships

"The Lord God said: 'It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a suitable partner for him.'...The Lord God then built up into a woman the rib that he had taken from the man. When he brought her to the man, the man said: 'This one, at last, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; This one shall be called 'woman,' for out of 'her man' this one has been taken.' That is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one body." (Genesis 2:18, 22-24)

SPEAKER:
Carson Weber, 30, is the Director of Evangelization for the Diocese of Sacramento. This native of San Antonio attended Texas A&M University where he earned a BBA in Information Systems; he also holds an MA in Theology and Christian Ministry with an emphasis in Catechetics from the Franciscan University of Steubenville. Carson is the loving husband of his wife, Rebecca, and the proud father of their one-year-old daughter, Thérèse Mary Grace. One piece of advice about boys he would give his daughter: don’t grab their noses or poke their eyes.

WHAT: Theology on Tap is a Catholic speaker series for young adults (ages 18-39).

WHO: Anyone over 18 can attend. However, Theology on Tap is geared towards young adults in their 20s and 30s.

DATE: Friday, February 20th

TIME: 6:00pm, fellowship; 7:00pm, talk begins

PLACE: Zio Fraedo's Restaurant (23 Harbor Way, Vallejo, CA 94590)

COST: FREE. But we strongly encourage you to patronize Zio Fraedo's, our generous sponsor.

BABY ITEMS COLLECTION:
At the last Theology on Tap, we began a collection of maternity clothes as well as baby items (e.g. toys, clothes, blankets, cribs, new car seats, etc.). These items will be donated to Life Abortion Alternatives Ministries (LAAM) and to Alpha Pregnancy Resource Center. You can still bring in your donation to this month’s Theology on Tap. Your generosity is appreciated. Thanks!

Oh those Canadians love freedom of speech

2009-02-12T13:07:00.000-08:00

/end sarcasm

With an attitude that is becoming less and less surprising in the land of mounties and maple syrup, "University student union revokes pro-life students’ club status."

My favorite part:

At the hearing on Tuesday, CPL secretary Asia Strezynski repeatedly asked the committee chairwoman Alex Judd to name the policy that the club had violated but the committee “only referred to a bylaw that gives the Students' Union the right to punish a club for violating policies or bylaws,”

Basically, uhm, you did something wrong, because it says that we can punish you for doing something wrong. Logical, I know. Sigh.

Ok, so I know this happened in Canada, and not America, but it might as well be the same the way things are going. I remember getting into it with friends about things like this when I was a student at UC Davis. How do we define "Freedom of Speech"? Because it seems like someone (that someone definitely not being me) has a monopoly on what type of speech is really FREE, what speech is sorta FREE, and what speech is you-really-can't-say-that-FREE. Baaah... it's so backwards.

I used to wonder what type of freedom we really had in this country, when I never felt comfortable speaking about my faith or morals in particular settings - where people are often criticized, and often silenced as the case is here, if they even mention anything close to something religious or morally right.

Long live free speech.
Long live free prayer.

"If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, the world would love its own; but because you do not belong to the world, and I have chosen you out of the world, the world hates you."
--John 15:18-19

Quote frome Rome

2009-02-09T03:22:00.001-08:00

I'm a little late on this, but with all the craziness going on in Rome, and the Catholic world as a whole, and in my life as well, you can't really blame me.

But here's a quote from Rome that speaks volumes:

"If this is one of the first acts of President Obama, with all due respect, it seems to me that the path towards disappointment will have been very short."
-- Archbishop Fisichella of the Pontifical Academy for Life, stating his displeasure with President Obama's "arrogance" in rescinding the Mexico City Policy.

Video of Father Chuck Kelly's teaching at the last Theology on Tap

2009-01-26T08:58:00.000-08:00

I promised I would upload the videos a long time ago. I apologize for just uploading them now.

Alright here are the links:

For Part 1 click here
For Part 2 click here
For Part 3 click here
For Part 4 click here
For Part 5 click here
For Part 6 click here

Again I apologize for being so late.

A little bonus video..here is a video I made of a couple of friends who went to Inspiration Tour.

Theology on Tap -- Friday, Jan. 23rd

2009-01-23T00:55:00.000-08:00

I hope that you all are doing well. I just wanted to give you information about the upcoming Theology on Tap. I apologize for sending this out last minute; I take full responsibility for not getting this out sooner. We had some administrative issues that we had to deal with, and I needed some time to make adjustments at the start of this new semester of law school.

DATE: Friday, January 23rd

TIME: 6:00pm, gathering & fellowship
7:00pm, talk begins

PLACE: Zio Fraedo's
23 Harbor Way
Vallejo, CA 94590

TOPIC:

"RACHEL" TELLS HER STORY: One Woman's Story of Suffering & Healing After an Abortion

"Thus says the Lord: In Ramah is heard the sound of moaning, of bitter weeping! Rachel mourns her children, she refuses to be consoled because her children are no more. Thus says the Lord: Cease your cries of mourning, wipe the tears from your eyes. The sorrow you have shown shall have its reward...There is hope for your future, says the Lord...." (JEREMIAH 31:15-17)

Our speaker is a woman who has had an abortion and has courageously agreed to share her story with us. I worked through Kathy Conner, the Respect Life Coordinator for the Sacramento Diocese, to arrange to have our speaker give her testimony at our Theology on Tap. However, due to the sensitive and personal nature of this subject, we are not going to publish her name nor record her talk (so this Friday will be your only chance to hear her!).

The media, on so many occasions, portrays abortion as a mere philosophical concept that journalists debate, or just a legal theory that lawyers argue, or a set of values that celebrities support or criticize. But abortion isn't just an intellectual abstraction; it has a face, a body, and a voice because it involves real people. On Friday, January 23rd, you will get the opportunity to hear one voice that has experienced abortion.

Additionally, there will be a short presentation about the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) and what we can do to help prevent it from ever becoming law.

Also, we are encouraging everyone to bring baby items (e.g. clothes, toys, diapers, wipes, car seats, blankets, etc.) and maternity clothes to Theology on Tap which will be donated to Life Abortion Alternatives Ministry (LAAM) and to Alpha Pregnancy Resource Center.

Lastly, please join our facebook group: Solano Deanery Young Adults

A.M.D.G.

I'll see you there!

2009-01-23T00:53:00.000-08:00

The San Francisco Bay Area Media Center has this lovely announcement on its website about the Walk for Life West Coast.

"[A]nti-abortion and anti-gay marriage terrorists will visit San Francisco for the 5th, and hopefully the last, time, on January 24...We need hundreds of thousands of pro-abortion and pro-gay marriage people to put this Catholic Church sponsored event back on their buses, peacefully, and send them home for good."

Really?

One Voice of Abortion

2009-01-23T00:44:00.000-08:00

As you know, today marks the 36th anniversary of the Supreme Court's decision in Roe v. Wade. Since that day, more than 49,000,000 of our brothers and sisters have been slaughtered in the womb (that's more than the population of the entire state of California!)

There are some people who would like to think about this fact as a mere abstract concept of "choice". But, the sad reality is that abortion has a face and a voice.

Here is one voice of abortion. Her name is Gianna Jessen. She was the speaker at last year's Walk for Life West Coast, and I had the amazing opportunity to meet her in person. Her story is unique because she was aborted as a baby, but survived!

Part 1:

Part 2:

The right to "choose"....CHOOSE WHAT???

2009-01-23T00:43:00.000-08:00

When people speak of "choice" or the woman's right to "choose", I always ask myself, "What choice? Woman have the right to choose what?"

Another common technique to make the slaughter of children sound nicer is to refer to abortion as "terminating a pregnancy". This video shows what, or rather who is being terminated.

In this world, there are people who want to deny the personhood of the baby in the womb, so they will use the medically correct term "fetus" in referring to the child growing in his or her mother's womb. "Fetus" is a Latin word meaning, "little one". In playing these semantic games, those who want to de-humanize unborn babies use this word because it sounds technical and scientific as if we were just talking about a clump of cells or a mother's medulla oblongata. The funny thing is that no one woman ever has a "fetus shower" or no one goes up to an expecting mother and asks, "When's your fetus do?" So you see how some people use this term to deny what we know to be true: IF IT'S NOT A BABY, A WOMAN IS NOT PREGNANT.

Life: Imagine the Potential

2009-01-22T16:49:00.000-08:00

22 Weeks

2009-01-21T22:58:00.000-08:00

This film Debuted in Washington DC Today.

It is based on a true story. It looks graphic, and chilling.

From their site 22weeksthemovie.com:

A young woman is locked in the bathroom of an abortion clinic after her young baby is born alive. A film about decisions, their effects and the echos they leave behind ... What would you do?"

This is not a film for everyone. From what I have heard around the blogosphere, it is "haunting" and "traumatizing." But it is a vivid reminder of just how heinous of an act abortion is, and how sickening a thought it is that, babies are being born alive... and allowed to die... alone. In trash cans. In locked closets. These aren't fetuses. This is not debatable. These are babies who have been born - born alive. Breathing. The same air you and I breathe. These are babies who could live normal lives if at the moment of their birth, someone would assist them medically. And in the name of "choice" are not assisted, but rather left to die.

The movie probably will be "haunting" and "traumatizing." There was a time when most people saw Abortion in that way.

pray.

I bought the pre-release of the DVD. I will let y'all know what I think once I receive it in the mail and watch it.

And on a lighter note, you know how I enjoy my Christian Clothing, check out the company that has worked in conjunction with 22 weeks, Lovesick Clothing.

See Y'all on Saturday.

10 Ways to make a Delinquent

2009-01-11T21:04:00.000-08:00

Most of you are not parents yet. A few of you are. Most of you will be a parent some day (or you know someone who will and/or is). So here's some advice from Sister Maria Philomena, MICM:

10 Ways to Make a Delinquent
The police department of Houston, Texas, gave the following ten rules for raising delinquent children.

1. Begin with infancy to give the child everything he wants. In this way he will grow up to believe the world owes him a living.

2. When he picks up bad words, laugh at him. This will make him think he is cute. It will also encourage him to pick up “gutter” phrases that will blow the top off your head later.

3. Never give him any spiritual training. Wait until he is twenty-one and then let him “decide for himself”.

4. Avoid use of the word WRONG. It may develop a guilt complex. This will condition him to believe later, when he is arrested for stealing a car, that society is against him and he is being persecuted.

5. Pick up everything he leaves lying around — books, shoes, toys and clothes. Do everything for him so that he will be experienced in throwing all responsibility on others.

6. Let him read any printed matter he can get his hands on. Be careful that the silverware and drinking glasses are sterilized, but let his mind feast on garbage.

7. Quarrel frequently in his presence. In this way he will not be shocked when the home is broken up later.

8. Give a child all the spending money he wants. Never let him earn his own. Why should he have things as tough as you had them?

9. Satisfy his every craving for food, drink, and comfort. Denial may lead to harmful frustrations.

10. Take his part against neighbors, teachers, policemen. They are all prejudiced against your child.

A Pro-life MTV?

2009-01-06T21:50:00.000-08:00

Maybe in a perfect world... but this might be as close as we would ever get.

When i read this article my only response was: "Wow!"

i am not sure if i will believe it until i see it with my own eyes, and because of the fact that i no longer watch MTV or BET, someone is going to have to confirm this report, but be prepared to be shocked and amazed:

Look out MTV, Pro-life Ads...

"How much do you have to hate somebody..."

2008-12-22T12:33:00.000-08:00

Just something to reflect on, for young adults, who encounter people everyday:

“How much do you have to hate somebody to believe that everlasting life is possible, and not tell them that?”

Penn Jillette is an Atheist. But in this video he reminds us Christians about what it means to love our brothers, and like he says be "a very good man."

It is humbling to see this man, who is a witty wiz with words, at a loss for them. Although, he is still an avowed Atheist, it still speaks volumes, that there was something stirred in his heart enough to share it with the world.

Courageous and inspiring.

"Preach the Gospel, and use words when necessary."
-- accredited to St. Francis

Da Mihi Animas: Peter Kreeft: How to Win the Culture War

2008-12-13T14:25:00.000-08:00

Seriously, a great read!

Peter Kreeft, How to Win the Culture War:

"But is not God a lover rather than a warrior?

No, God is a lover who is a warrior. The question fails to understand what love is, what the love that God is, is. Love is at war with hate, betrayal, selfishness, and all love’s enemies. Love fights. Ask any parent. Yuppie-love, like puppy-love, may be merely “compassion” (the fashionable word today), but father-love and mother-love are war."

Da Mihi Animas: Peter Kreeft: How to Win the Culture War

PP Covers Up Rape

2008-12-10T22:05:00.000-08:00

http://LiveActionFilms.org has more info about this story.

Planned Parenthood continues to propagate the abuse of our young girls.

Our student investigative team at Live Action Films finds Planned Parenthood of Bloomington, Indiana covering up the sexual abuse of a 13-year-old girl.

This video is first in a series of hidden camera footage, collected over the summer, documenting the sexual abuse cover-up of the abortion industry across the nation.

Despite a consistent pattern of lawlessness and abuse, Planned Parenthood, a tax-exempt "nonprofit", made over $100 million in profits last year and has a billion-dollar budget. Planned Parenthood receives over $300 million from taxpayers.

One thing that every Pro-Choice advocate I have spoken to agrees with me on is that we need to do all that we can to protect our young sisters and daughters from the horrors of sexual abuse. Sadly, abortion provides a means for adult abusers to continually perpetrate these heinous acts on young girls - these minors, these children.

You know, when we talk about outlawing abortion, we always hear from the pro-abortion side about the inevitable occurrence of "back-alley abortions" - an issue that has never been proven to be a real dominant statistic. Admittedly, some doctors and researchers have confessed that they just made up those numbers, patently lying when testifying to congress or boards about the issue of abortion just so they could better line their pockets. But this false argument is often flaunted in front of Pro-Lifers all in the name of protecting young girls from hurting themselves by going to extreme measures.

On the flipside of the coin, we rarely hear about the evil of how many cases of rape are covered up by abortion providers, namely Planned Parenthood. The gruesome truth is that Planned Parenthood is simply in it for the money. They don't counsel women. They don't explain the options. They cover up rape. It happens, all so that this Legal Non-Profit organization can make a profit of over $100 Million Dollars a year.

Watch the video, comments afterward.

DISTURBING.

What is most upsetting, is that the nurse seems so very prepared on how to handle a situation like this - it is as if she is accustomed to covering up statutory rape cases on a regular basis. This was an expose'. How many more cases like this have happened in this clinic? We know that it's happening in Los Angeles. It's happening in Georgia. How many victims will we let slip through the cracks?

Oh, yea, let us not forget my taxes and your taxes help pay for the cover up of rapes. How sad? Over 300 MILLION DOLLARS from taxpayers is given to Planned Parenthood across the country.

For all those that voted NO on Prop 4, please explain to me why again?

So where are the pro-choice feminists defending the young girl from abuse? Or in the name of her "freedom to choose" shall we forget the law, allow her to kill her child, and allow someone to continually abuse her? I guess it is more important to protect a girl's "right to choose" then it is to protect the girl.

Nonsense.

Admittedly, I probably came off very cynical and/or upset in this post.

I apologize, but the whole thing just disturbs me. Sad.

Oh and those "Back-Alley abortions" that were supposed to stop with the legalization of Abortion... still happening: Women use drugs to induce labor, cheaper than surgical abortion.

The Boltz and Babies.

2008-12-04T15:03:00.000-08:00

Okay, so my Chargers are going to need a miracle to back their way into the playoffs this year. But that's ok. I can be proud of them still, and I am.

For one, I am proud of Philip Rivers, the Chargers QB, who is currently ranked #2 in the entire NFL for Passer Rating with a 100.5, but I digress. What I am really proud of is his stance on LIFE issues. To be a high profile college athlete, and then a NFL pro, and still save sex until you marry your High School sweetheart has got to be incredibly tough. He did it. And he continues to speak on the value of Chastity:

And here's a bonus video... Kudos to Nike, Ladainanian Tomlinson, and Troy Polamalu to highlight the fact that all life (specifically the lives of these two great players) started in the womb:

3 PRO-LIFE vids I urge you to watch

2008-12-03T15:10:00.000-08:00

It is hard to be a young adult and pro-life, especially if you are a college student. When I was a college student at UCDavis I used to work for an organization that did a lot of social justice work. Working with this group I was able to in some way combat injustices like inequalities in access to education, unjust war, the denial of benefits of filipino veteranos, the horrors of modern day slavery, to name a few. However, although I was united with my coworkers and fellow activists on all these visions, I was starkly isolated when it came to the issue of the right to life. For me, I could never come to peace with myself if I could fight these injustices, yet not defend the single most unalienable right, the right to life.

Still, people challenged me on my stance on life.

So these 3 videos are videos that I encourage you to watch. These videos won't answer all your questions, but hopefully it will give you some hope. And maybe inspire you to defend life, or at least look deeper at respecting the dignity of human life.

Sometimes pro-lifers get attacked with certain arguments that are incredulous or erroneous, and my hope is that these videos will shed some light on some of these issues, and give us hope for the future of LIFE in our country.

Video 1: 40 Days for Life Report
So there are quite a few people I know sympathetic with the pro-life cause, and the dignity of life, but are discouraged. They come to me with this argument: "The abortion battle is a losing battle, we aren't making a difference, why even fight it? Lets just work on reducing abortions." True, I think we should work on reducing abortions, but that doesn't mean we give up on ending abortions altogether, to say so would be to say that those lives that are saved through abortion reduction are more important than those lives that are snuffed out. That is not true. All lives merit the same value; all lives are precious.

So for those losing hope in the fight, watch this video report of this past years 40 days for life campaign, and realize that we are making a difference.

40 days, 179 cities across 47 states, 1 territory, the district of columbia, More than 76,000 believers. Reports from around the country documented 614 lives spared from abortion -- and those are just the ones we know about. Eight abortion workers walked away from the industry of anti-life.

Video 2: Feminists for Life - Melissa Ohden
It is easy to be swayed into believing the notion that being Pro-Choice is supporting Women's Rights - that somehow women are more liberated by the gruesome privilege of destroying their own child. Lest we forget that our history's great feminists were adamantly pro-life: Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Dorothy Day, Mary Wollstonecraft.

As Alice Paul, author of the original Equal Rights Amendment, said: "Abortion is the ultimate exploitation of women." For more info visit Feminists for life, and watch the video of Abortion Survivor, and Feminist for Life, Melissa Ohden:

The lives of approximately 25 million innocent FEMALE lives have been deemed "unworthy of life" since 1973. Is this feminism? On a daily basis, mothers are forced by their lovers to give up their own children. Is this feminism? Since its legalization, abortion has been used as leverage for men to treat women as simply objects of sexual desire without any concern for consequence. Is this feminism?

“Sweeter even than to have had the joy of caring for children of my own has it been to me to help bring about a better state of things for mothers generally, so their unborn little ones could not be willed away from them.”
-- Susan B. Anthony

Video 3: Volition
From their site:

Volition (n)- The act of making a choice. Sometimes the choice of inaction has consequences stronger than we could ever imagine. Throughout history, men have been faced with difficult choices in a world that makes it easy for them to conform. This film explores the hope that lies behind every decision made in the face of adversity; the hope that is buried in the heart of those that look beyond themselves and see something bigger worth fighting for.

One of the arguments that saddens me always when used is this idea that "It isn't our duty to step into this situation. It is someone else's choice and who are we to interfere with that." This argument saddens me because it calls us to be bystanders to the death of innocents - to be silent in the name of cultural norm. Sadly, if we aren't vocal and we don't defend life, what do we defend? If people didn't make a choice to combat slavery, or to combat the Nazis how different and sad would our world be.

Watch this powerful video, Volition, to examine how our decisions to act and not act affect not only our life, but the lives around us.

Click here to watch the Video: Volition
[Ok, so the website is currently down, but out of all 3 videos I really encourage you to watch this one... just keep checking back]

They came first for the Communists, but I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist. Then they came for the Jews, but I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for the Trade Unionists, but I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Trade Unionist. Then they came for the Catholics...but I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me, and by that time there was no-one left to speak up for me.
-- Martin Niemoller, Germany 1933-1939.

In the famous film, Judgment at Nuremberg, a Nazi judge sentenced to life in prison for his role in the holocaust says to the American judge heading the tribunal, "All those millions of people, you must believe me, I never knew it would come to that." The American responds, "It came to that the first time you sentenced to death a man you knew to be innocent."

Prop 8 Apologetics

2008-11-23T10:10:00.000-08:00

It's a controversial issue.

It is a complicated issue.

And not one that can be totally explained in one blog post. Or by watching one video. Or by viewing one or hundreds of printed or hand made signs.

And before I analyze some of the arguments and issues, let me remind you that via the pure democracy that we can freely express in our great state, California voters democratically, voted in favor of defining marriage as between a man and a woman - TWICE.

And honestly it was a bit exhausting typing this all out. I hope this addresses some concerns, but I encourage you to ask questions, and ask the questions your friends have been asking you. It's a long read, but if you disagree with those in support of Prop 8, or you need help defending Prop 8 to people, I highly encourage you read it thoroughly.

This was my process of voting for Proposition 8. I researched the proposition. I turned to my Bishops - after all, they are our Shepherds, remember. I did more research. I looked at arguments against, I found responses and counter arguments. I trusted my Bishops, my Church, and my own research. I voted Yes on 8.

For my fellow Catholics, I would challenge that if you didn't listen to our bishops and you didn't really do the research, I encourage you to do the research now and see what it is exactly you disagreed with our Bishops on. It may not be as "simple" as you thought.

So, trust me when I say if you do the research and you read the information, and you look at the arguments you can only come to one conclusion: as a faithful Catholic Christian defending marriage as that which is a covenant between God and a man and a woman is the right and morally sound thing to do.

At face value, Proposition 8 might SEEM as though it was motivated by hate - or "h8" as our protesting brothers and sisters enjoy pointing out. It seems like that's the only image you could get given the types of things I've been hearing across the wire, and through the internet. I mean the media has clearly made it seem that way, and if you get your gay marriage activist judge to edit the ballot measure so that it reads "eliminating the rights", than it would seem as though it was motivated by hate and the notion that we are depriving people of their rights.

Prop 8 was not hate motivated.

At the end of this piece, I am going to highlight some good articles and resources to further address the issue. But first, a few arguments that protesters of Proposition 8 argue that sound compelling, accompanied by short (I tried) apologetic responses. Here we go:

Argument:
Prop 8 is just a Religion thing:
I am going to break this down into two parts.

First, even if it was just a religion thing, we still live in a Democracy, and the voice of the people is the voice of the people. 52 ALWAYS BEATS 48. For us Catholic Christians, there are many religious reasons why Protecting marriage is a part of our faith, and you will find resources for those reasons at the end of this post.

We have to get rid of this notion that we have to leave religion out of the voting booth. To say that voting based on your religion is wrong is both bad logic, and actually very UNDEMOCRATIC. The very notion of democracy is that we vote on positions and for politicians that we believe both represent us and our ideals. Remember: The Separation of church and state was originally intended to protect those who practiced religion from unfair policies and control. Not protect the government from religion. *Gasp* Shocker! Oh and the term "Separation of Church and State" doesn't actually even appear in our constitution. Somehow, I think that my history teachers growing up failed to mention that.

Now, there are many that will say well we can't vote on such things, because it is not our role to legislate morality. Ahhhh... the rampant moral relativism makes me want to take a shower. If we fall into this trap of of moral relativity - the idea that "well this is what I might believe (or it is what my church teaches), but I can't force that onto other people - then we have no need for our own faith. In actuality, this moral relativity has become your religion, and that is what you vote on, that is what you defend. In other words, if your faith is something that you do not defend, what exactly is your faith? Is it simply there to make you feel good? Is it something that you just pick the "comfortable" things to relish in, and allow yourself to be lukewarm when it comes to other things? or does it challenge you to be better, and help you to challenge those you love to be better?

If we fall victim to the deceptive logic of Moral relativism, why then would we have any need for any laws. After all we wouldn't want to impede on anyone else's freedom to do what they want. I mean, if we can be morally relativistic when it comes to issues like abortion and gay marriage, why not be morally relativistic when it comes to arson, or murder, or kicking babies. Remember, some people used to believe that "racism is okay". If we just said "well that's not what I believe, but it's okay for you to believe that," what a sad state our country would still be in. Moral relativity destroys any need for any order. As an American and a Christian, if you believe something is wrong, it is not only your right to defend it, it is your duty.

Pope John Paul had this to say about Moral Relativism from Veritatis Splendor:

"Indeed, something more serious has happened: man is no longer convinced that only in the truth can he find salvation. The saving power of the truth is contested, and freedom alone, uprooted from any objectivity, is left to decide by itself what is good and what is evil. This relativism becomes, in the field of theology, a lack of trust in the wisdom of God, who guides man with the moral law. Concrete situations are unfavourably contrasted with the precepts of the moral law, nor is it any longer maintained that, when all is said and done, the law of God is always the one true good of man"

and this, too:

"This is the risk of an alliance between democracy and ethical relativism, which would remove any sure moral reference point from political and social life, and on a deeper level make the acknowledgment of truth impossible. Indeed, "if there is no ultimate truth to guide and direct political activity," then ideas and convictions can easily be manipulated for reasons of power. As history demonstrates, a democracy without values easily turns into open or thinly disguised totalitarianism"

Part 2:
BUUUUUUUUUUUT, it isn't even just a religion thing. Don't be fooled into believing that this is simply a religious issue. If it were simply a religious issue, I do not think it would've passed - sadly.

There are many reasons that Gay Marriage is an ill conceived concept even outside the scope of religious morals. Here is a link for an article, co-written by an openly gay author: Answering advocates of Gay Marriage. They take a totally secular look at 20 common arguments for Gay marriage and they provide evidence to show the invalidity of these arguments [NOTE: The authors of this article have contrasting views with Catholics in regards to what they describe as "Homosexual Relationships", but nevertheless their points in regards to Gay Marriage are compelling]

In fact, there are quite a few Gay activist groups that feel that they shouldn't be fighting for marriage, because they feel a married lifestyle is oppressive to their nature. Just a thought.

Argument:
Yes on Prop 8 supporters were spreading lies:
So, the argument goes something like this: "the reason that Prop 8 passed is because those Catholics and Mormons spread lies about Gay Education and indoctrination. They also spread lies about how if Gay Marriage was allowed to continue, then people could face criminal charges for speaking out against Gay marriage. They have no support to these claims. They were just trying to scare people."

See I think the funny thing is that the No on 8 people actually hope that you hear/read this argument and go "Yea, they are right!" and believe THEIR own lies without looking for information.

The truth is, the very next day after the No on 8 people rolled out this Ad campaign saying we were spreading lies, a public school teacher in San Francisco took her FIRST graders - that's 6 year old children - to a Gay Marriage ceremony. No proof that these types of things happen? These indoctrinations of our children are happening where Gay Marriage is legal. Criminal persecutions of those who speak out against Gay Marriage is happening where Gay Marriage is legal. It was happening in San Francisco. It's happening in Massachusetts as noted both here and here. And the criminal prosecution of religious views on homosexuality, it is happening in Canada.

[UPDATE] It's happening in Brazil, too. And more on the Canada situation. Oh, and apparently you aren't aloud to run an internet business, unless you make specific efforts to cater to gay clientele, Christian-based E-harmony forced to cater to homosexuals.

Now let's make this clear, I am all for teaching tolerance and respect for those with Same Sex Attraction or those that consider themselves "Gay", but there is a strong difference in teaching tolerance and respect, versus indoctrinating children with skewed morals of the good in Gay Marriage. Teachers should not be doing this. Parents should be the ones teaching morals.

Argument:
Prop 8 is eliminating people's rights:

This might be the most compelling argument. And taken simply as that statement, no one would wish to be the one who "takes away the rights of someone else". However, it isn't that simple. To say that we are taking rights away is to say that these rights were already there. "Ahhh, but Raj, they were already there." True, in California people had the right to marry a person of the same-sex for four months prior to the election. But how was that "right" attained. That right was given by 4 Judges of the Supreme Court of California, who felt that their voice was more important than the 4.6 million people who voted for a strong definition of marriage in 2000. That's what you call an Oligarchy. Not a democracy.

8 years later, 5.4 million people democratically vote to define marriage in our constitution, and to defend our right to democracy. And we are attacked as those "eliminating peoples' rights".

[On a tangent, I read somewhere someone arguing that "Gay Marriage" is the Civil Rights Movement of our day. Ehrm. Funny. I read an article the other day about Dr. Alveda King, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s niece where she said the Right to Life/Anti-abortion movement is the Civil Rights Movement of our day. interesting]

And when did marriage become a right? It's natural law. It is like me demanding the right to using a female restroom. Or me demanding the right to become pregnant. No one would ever think about granting me those rights. It is natural law. Gender matters.

Ultimately, is marriage a right? I would say no. Marriage is a covenant. And therefore a privilege. Where did Marriage come from? God. It is not man made. And because it is not man made we don't have the right to change how it works. The word Marriage is derived from forms of the latin root maritare which means to provide a woman. What does matrimony mean? Literally, broken down it means the act of making a mother. Gender matters to the very nature of what marriage is. We can't change that. We have no RIGHT to change that. I'll leave it there, but for more info check out the rest of the resources.

Argument:
The argument of love:
"I have two friends that really love each other and are in a same sex relationship - there love justifies their marriage" or it's been said this way "How would YOU feel if someone told you that you couldn't marry the person you loved? Because he's this or he's that. LOVE IS LOVE."

I'll keep this one short. Love IS love, and it means wanting the best for that person, and what is the best for that person: IT IS ALWAYS HEAVEN. To use the argument of love to justify any marriage, more-so gay marriage is to say that marriage is the pinnacle of love. It is not. Again, marriage is not the pinnacle of love. Sacrifice is the pinnacle of love. The cross is the pinnacle of love. Marriages need love, and in many ways are built on love. But LOVE is bigger than marriage. If love and only love is sufficient to justify both a need and a right to be married, we could argue that unmarried people love less. I beg to differ. To argue this is to say that I, studying to be a priest, truly love no one. I beg to differ. Neither love did Mother Teresa, nor St. Therese, nor Pope John Paul II. I beg to differ. To argue this is to say that Christ loved me less than a husband and wife love each other. I beg to differ.

If we say there is more to marriage than love, then we can't use love alone to justify marriage. There's more to it than that.

Likewise, the final step of love is not marriage. It is heaven.

Argument:
People who voted for Prop 8 are intolerant:

in⋅tol⋅er⋅ant [in-tol-er-uhnt]- –adjective 1. not tolerating or respecting beliefs, opinions, usages, manners, etc., different from one's own, as in political or religious matters.

This is probably the most frustrating - and most visual - argument against prop 8. People have signs calling others bigots. People automatically assume that anyone who supported Proposition 8 is a hate monger. Many don't take the time to examine that there are serious issues of Religion, Natural Law, Ethics, democracy and more when we discuss Proposition 8. It is very easy to say "Oh Prop 8 people are intolerant." To do so without respecting their beliefs, and trying to understand why they hold this position is intolerant.

Again, marriage is not ours, it's God's, and that is what we are defending. We aren't judging people, or even condemning people because of who they are. We are defending the sanctity of marriage.

I'm going to borrow from what Colin Wen said, "It is not about discrimination. It's about more than just what some people want. Marriage is about society as a whole. You have to throw out the idea that what one person does has no effect on anyone else. In fact everything you do has an effect on the world. So does redefining marriage."

I am tolerant of other people and their beliefs - I respect their beliefs so much so as I try and understand their reasoning. It is just that in this situation I respectfully disagree with their viewpoints on basis of logic and faith. Personally, I know I have made the effort to foster a sound understanding of the No on 8 arguments, I tried to see it from their side. How many of the people who call me "intolerant" have done the same? Or was it just too easy to call me intolerant and a bigot and be done with it?

Tangentially, it is very interesting some of the tactics being used by some of the so-called tolerant No on 8 people during the aftermath of the election. I understand that many on the No on 8 side condemn this type of activity and these actions, nevertheless it is both sad and interesting that these things are happening. It is very sad when people go as far as getting a "genuinely giving" person to resign from their job as an art director of a non-profit theater group, and spreading lies about a restaurant's cleanliness, quality and service. It is quite surprising, and rather disgusting, that in the two weeks after the elections, Leatherby's creamery - who supported Prop 8 - was hammered on Yelp with bad reviews, and straight out lies. You may not agree with people's views, but this is the livelihood of people and their families. Trying to destroy them is "just mean".

To put a blanket statement and call supporters of prop 8 or anyone who supports the sanctity of marriage intolerant or bigots is to call 5.4 million Californians intolerant and bigots. It is to call the majority of Black voters in California intolerant and bigots.

Oh yea, President Elect Obama: He's Anti-Gay Marriage. By your logic, I guess he's a bigot, too.

On a more peaceful note, I do welcome and sincerely appreciate the many who have peacefully engaged me in dialogue in regards to Prop 8. That is a true sign of tolerance, and the American/Christian way.

FINAL THOUGHT:
The last thing I want to add before the rest of the resources is this. A friend who is No on 8 challenged me with this question: "Do you honestly think proposition 8 will draw homosexuals closer to Christ?" My response is No. See, only Christ can draw people closer to Christ. We can and we must be instruments of that love and grace, but that doesn't mean we sacrifice our morals. First, we must defend the faith, that is the first step of love. The rest is about loving each other enough to know that we all fall short, and that we are all called to change. So, Love. That's a command. His, not mine.

be God's brothers and sisters.

RESOURCES:
An Article that tackles arguments by Gay Marriage Activists from a secular point of view (co-authored by an openly gay man)
Answering advocates of Gay Marriage.

Phatcatholic Apolegetics Prop 8 and Homosexuality:
Part 1 and Part 2

The Bible Geek via lifeteen.com:
If love makes sex sacred...

Phatmass defense directory -
Homosexuality

His Excellency, the Most Reverend Jaime Soto's keynote at the NACDLGM Conference in Long Beach:
"Do Not Conform yourself to this age"

His Excellency, the Most Reverend William Weigand defends the Mormon Church and its support of Prop 8:
Former Catholic Bishop of Salt Lake City stands up for LDS

USCCB statement "Between Man and Woman: Questions and Answers about Marriage and Same-Sex Unions"
http://www.usccb.org/laity/manandwoman.shtml

His Excellency, the Most Reverend Salvatore Cordileone, Auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese of San Diego
http://www.marriagematterstokids.org/cordileone.html

His Excellency, the Most Reverend Allen Vigneron, Bishop of the Diocese of Oakland
http://www.marriagematterstokids.org/vigneron.html

His Excellency, the Most Reverend George Niederauer, Archbishop of the Archdiocese of San Francisco
http://www.marriagematterstokids.org/niederauer.html

His Excellency, the Most Reverend Joseph Kurtz, Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Louisville speaking on behalf of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lh_81zsW6U8

Essay of Lee Harris, a man struggling with same-sex attraction who supports retaining the definition of "marriage" as between one man and one woman. NOTE: What the author refers to as a "visceral response" -- whether he intends to or not -- I think he is referring to natural law.
http://www.hoover.org/publications/policyreview/2932146.html

Article by Eve Tushnet, a woman who also struggles with same-sex attraction but still strives to live an authentic Christian life.
http://www.staycatholic.com/what_homosexuals_want.htm

Homily of Fr. Anselm Ramelow, O.P. for the feast of Pope St. Leo the Great. A cool Dominican priest and Professor of Philosophy at the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology in Berkeley.
http://johnmalloysdb.blogspot.com/2008/11/proposition-8-rights-and-duties.html

Another homily by Fr. Anselm Ramelow, O.P. on natural law.
http://johnmalloysdb.blogspot.com/2008/11/life-reality-and-natural-law.html

A Seminarian point of view on Prop 8

2008-11-22T23:02:00.000-08:00

A look at Prop 8 and Gay Marriage by Colin Wen, a Seminarian for the Diocese of Sacramento, currently studying at the Pontifical North American College, in Rome:

I'm sad to hear of so many protests against prop. 8 - especially as they get more hate-filled and intolerant - targeting certain groups with vandalism among other things - and how many friends and Christians alike I know who support gay marriage.

Why is marriage reserved for a man and a woman? Why? Why are people being so intolerant by not allowing gays to marry?

I think the better question is what's the purpose of marriage? If we understand that, we can understand whether homosexual couples have a right to marriage.

Marriage is the foundation of our society. From marriage we get...children and therefore the future of our society. I would consider marriage and therefore the family foundational. And as we know from broken families, divorced people, abusive households, and on and on, the ideal place for children to be raised is in a stable family unity - with 2 parents, man and woman. We know that children need the roles of father and mother in their lives. Each parent contributes something unique. And children need to learn that marriage is the foundation for our society for most often they will be called to imitate their parents in finding a spouse and creating a family. They also need to know what marriage is. Marriage is not simply because 2 people love each other. That is part of the equation but it can never the the full extent of it. Marriage is also for creating life. In fact, that is part of the reason the most intimate and beautiful act that can be shared between a man and a woman that expresses this love they have creates life. Marriage is not simply for love. If children know this, they create families as well that continue to grow society. If they don't, if they see sex as just something for fun and marriage as something that is for anyone for "love", they won't understand marriage and may well end up like half of all married couples in our country, divorced. See, children need to learn this marriage stuff.

You also have to wonder why marriage has been preserved as between a man and a woman for thousands of years. You have to wonder. And you also have to wonder about the fact that as marriage becomes something that is simply for love or has no aim to create life, as it has in Europe, that in fact we are destroying our own society. The population, if you have yet to realize, is going down dramatically in almost every European country from Ireland to Spain and Italy and even out in Japan. Marriage and this orientation towards creating life is essential to our society. You have to ask why marriage has been around so long largely as between man and woman before you simply began to reject that definition. It is not about discrimination. It's about more than just what some people want. Marriage is about society as a whole. You have to throw out the idea that what one person does has no effect on anyone else. In fact everything you do has an effect on the world. So does redefining marriage.

There is nothing stopping 2 homosexual people from living together. There is nothing stopping them from being who they are. There is no discrimination here. Rather it is an overreaching of rights. What stops a man from marrying his dog or a man having 4 wives? Where does it end? I think history has already decided that and I hope we learn from it.

I scream, you scream, we all scream for TOLERANCE

2008-11-22T01:56:00.001-08:00

Leatherby's ice cream is good - real good.

The Leatherby's family is great. They are kind, genuine and generous.

On a personal note, I might not even be here sitting at my desk at Mount Angel Seminary, if it weren't for the Leatherby family's commitment to the Catholic faith.

For all of those above reasons, I thank them.

Faithful to their faith, the Leatherby's supported the campaign Yes on 8.

It's a little sad that in the past few weeks after the elections they have been the targets of protests and "mean" tactics to accomplish what some No on 8 supporters say is a "goal to destroy you and your business!"

It is sad and disgusting that some people have stooped so low as making false claims on restaurant review websites about Leatherby's. For instance: "Ice cream in freezer for 6 months" - uh, sorry I've been there in the back, when they make it fresh. Or this asinine comment, "The serving was small" hmmm, anyone who has really eaten at Leatherby's knows their ice cream portions are humangous. Interestingly enough, most of the people who rated Leatherby's with low scores, didn't have active yelp accounts until after the elections... hrrrm... some of which have Leatherby's as the only restaurant that they have rated.

For those interested, a bunch of us were there last Sunday, and Leatherby's had a packed house with lines out the door in spite of those Protesters passing out free ice cream. Thanks protesters.

Support Leatherby's. Eat their ice cream. It's good.

Look out for a Prop 8 Apologetics post tomorrow.

Theology on Tap Nov. 14th

2008-11-07T09:47:00.000-08:00

Theology on Tap -tap into something more

On the Prowl Spiritual Warfare for Young Adults
“Your opponent the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion looking
for someone to devour. Resist him, steadfast in faith….” (1 Peter 5:8-9)

Friday November 14th
6:00 p.m. ♦ Cost: FREE
Zio Fraedo’s Restaurant
23 Harbor Way, Vallejo
http://www.ziofraedos.com

Reverend Father Charles (Chuck) Kelly was ordained a priest in 1999. He is currently the Pastor of St. Anthony’s Parish in Winters. Fr. Chuck is also an exorcist who was appointed by Bishop Weigand for the Diocese of Sacramento to serve those afflicted by the devil. In the past three years, he has performed three exorcisms and about thirty deliverances. Currently, Fr. Chuck is putting together a team to hold a monthly healing Mass and offer prayers of deliverance for those who need them.

What is Theology on Tap?
Theology on Tap is a Catholic speaker series for young adults. We meet in a
local restaurant or pub to connect with other young adults and to learn more
about our faith through speakers who discuss topics relevant to our lives.

Who can attend?
Anyone over 18-years-old can join us.
However, Theology on Tap is geared towards young adults in their 20s and 30s.

Facebook group: Solano Deanery Young Adults ♦
Visit our blog at: http://scsyam.blogspot.com/

VOTE! Lives depend on it!

2008-11-04T11:03:00.000-08:00

It doesn't matter what people say! VOTE!

It doesn't matter what exit polls say! VOTE!

It doesn't matter whose calling landslides and claiming victories! VOTE!

YOUR VOTE MAKES A DIFFERENCE!

There are plenty of politicians and analysts that really hope you don't go out and vote today! Make them unhappy (charitably) and go VOTE!

"...America, defend life!"

2008-11-03T14:54:00.000-08:00

"America, you are beautiful and blessed in so many ways... But your best beauty and your richest blessing is found in the human person: in each man, woman and child, in every immigrant, in every native born son and daughter...The ultimate test of your greatness is the way you treat every human being, but especially the weakest and most defenseless ones. The best traditions of your land presume respect for those who cannot defend themselves. If you want equal justice for all, and true freedom and lasting peace, then, America, defend life! All the great causes that are yours today will have meaning only to the extent that you guarantee the right to life and protect the human person."

(John Paul the Great during his 1987 visit to the United States--including the Bay Area.)

Pray.

Fast.

Vote.

Change the world.

Just ONE chance. Just ONE vote. Just ONE judge.

2008-11-02T01:18:00.000-07:00

In 2000, Angela Baraquio became Miss Hawaii. Then, in 2001, this 24-year-old P.E. teacher, sports coach, and Athletic Director won the Miss America Pageant. I remember watching the Miss America Pageant this year, and when Miss California was eliminated, I began routing for Miss Hawaii. I remember during the interview portion with Marie Osmond (who hosted the pageant that year with her brother Donny) in which Miss Hawaii made the Sign of the Cross. At that moment, I though, "Now, she has to win".

Angela Baraquio is the 8th of 10 children who all went to Catholic school. Yet, she not only received a Catholic education in school, but Angela and her 9 siblings also lived their faith in their home guided by their parents, Claudio and Rigolette Baraquio. Having graduated from Holy Family Academy in Honolulu, Angela returned there as a teacher. It was there that Fr. Maurice McNeely encouraged her to go for the crown. He told her, "You can do this. You need to do this." "Catholics," he said, "need to be in the forefront more so they can witness to Christ."

"...the biggest mistake of my life."

2008-11-02T01:17:00.000-07:00

Not Alone!

2008-11-01T02:27:00.000-07:00

Yay Area young adults speak up for preserving marriage.

2008-10-27T02:18:00.000-07:00

Upon the recommendation of the Bishops of the United States, we began a novena for faithful citizenship on October 26th. Please join us as we pray for our country whose people (except than Raj and others who already voted) will be converging at polling stations to cast their ballots on November 4th.

Click here to read more about what our bishops teach us about faithful citizenship. (or if you want to listen to each day of the novena on a podcast, click here.)

If you're facing opposition from teachers, friends, or family members who attack or question why who believe in what the church teaches about moral (not merely political) issues such as same-sex "marriage" or parental notification before a minor girl gets an abortion. Please feel free to contact me or any other Catholic strong in his or her faith...and we'll give you some facts to support the Church's position and how best to articulate this teaching.

For a rundown of what the California bishops think of each of the propositions, click here.

Lastly, please make plans to go to Confession before the election.

Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known, that anyone who fled to your protection, implored your help, or sought your intercession was left unaided. Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, my mother; to thee do I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer me. Amen.

O Mary, the Immaculate Conception, Patroness of the United States of America, PRAY FOR US!!!

From The Young Adult Assembly of the Sacramento Diocese

2008-10-26T13:56:00.002-07:00

On October 13, 2008, the Catholic Diocese of Sacramento, CA held a Young Adult Assembly at St. Isidore Parish in Yuba City, CA. This video is Raymond Vincent's presentation at that assembly. In it, Raymond gives his testimony and calls the Church to strive for authentic holiness, teach a vibrant orthodoxy, embrace a radical Gospel morality, and conduct beautiful liturgy