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Wednesday, April 27, 2011

The Divine Mercy Project

(click to enlarge)

This is so cool!!!

The Divine Mercy Project
  • A ten foot tall icon of the Divine Mercy, next to an empty wooden cross, in the public square of Daley Plaza (Washington & Dearborn St.), in Chicago, IL for nine days beginning on Good Friday to Divine Mercy Sunday.
  • 24 hrs/ 9 day round the clock prayer vigil to
    • 1) “bring souls to the fountain of My mercy,”
    • 2) to intercede by asking the Heavenly Father to “have mercy on us and one the whole world,” and
    • 3) to ask Jesus at the 3 o’clock hour for the conversion of Chicago, America and the Whole World as He said, “In this hour you can obtain everything for yourself and for others for the asking; it was the hour of grace for the whole world – mercy triumphed over justice.” (Diary, 1572)
  • To promote personal deeds of mercy because Jesus said, “Be merciful even as your Father is merciful” (Lk 6:36) and “I demand from you deeds of mercy which are to arise out of love for Me. You are to show mercy to your neighbors always and everywhere. You must no shrink from this or try to excuse yourself from it. . . Even the strongest faith is of no avail without works .. . If a soul does not exercise mercy in some way, it will not obtain My mercy on the day of judgement.” (Diary, 742, 1317)

For more information go to:
http://thedivinemercyproject.org/

Also see this article Catholic News Agency article:
"Divine Mercy image in Chicago's Daly Plaza reaching thousands"

Bonus video:
I couldn't find a video of the Chicago pro-Life "Flash Mob" at the Divine Mercy Project as described in the CNA article, so here is another "Flash Mob" video instead.



Related posts:
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UPDATE:

I found a video of the Chicago pro-Life "Flash Mob" at the Divine Mercy Project with a giant Rosary made from balloons.

Friday, April 22, 2011

Mary Magdalene and the Resurrection

"Rabboni!"
 – Mary Magdalene

"Noli me tangere." "Do not touch me."

After Lazarus died and Jesus came to visit, first Martha came out to meet him. And she told him that if He had been there then their brother would not have died. Jesus then questioned her. And Martha responded correctly.

Then Mary came out to meet Jesus and repeats the same words that Martha had said earlier, but Jesus does not question her. Why?

I believe it is because Mary already had the Holy Spirit within her. Her faith was complete and she was led by the Spirit. And Jesus could see this so that he had no need to test her faith.

Martha in some ways though is perhaps the more heroic figure. She struggles with her faith. She sincerely wants to believe, but there is a film covering her eyes. She has not completely given up her attachments to the world. She tries to overcome this with reason, but reason can only take a soul so close to God's love. Reason too must be abandoned in the end. Then the scales will fall from the eyes, and the heart will be healed of its calluses.

Mary stands before the face of God and recognizes Him for who He is. She accepts what she is seeing with her soul and does not let reason stand in her way. Reason says that there was nothing Jesus could have done to keep Lazarus from dying. It casts a shadow of doubt over faith.

Reason is faulty. It can lead us to certain truths, but not to the eternal Truth.

When Mary speaks it is not she who is speaking, but the Spirit within her. Doubt has no place in her heart. When Mary walks her feet are guided by the same Spirit of Truth.

On Easter Sunday, Mary is guided by the Spirit to the tomb of Jesus. She cannot begin to understand what she sees there. Even her amazing faith is not ready to accept the reality which she encounters.

Her faith is so strong however, that she does not give up looking for the body of Jesus. When she first sees Him she is overcome with emotion and imagines Him to be the gardner. Her faith never falters though because she demands to see Him.

Finally, Jesus speaks her name: "Mary". And in a rush of supreme emotion and spiritual ecstasy, she recognizes Him.

She falls at His feet and says "Rabboni!"

Even Jesus had not expected this extreme devotion and He warns her not to touch Him because He has not yet risen to the Father. ("Noli me tangere." "Do not touch me.")

Mary goes running to the Apostles to tell them what she has seen. There is not even an inkling of doubt in her soul. And they begin to believe also.

Christ has risen!

Mary has been touched by the Fire of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. She has been burned. She has offered herself as a holocaust – a burnt offering.

Her soul is on Fire within. She may very well be the first Holy Saint of the New Covenant of God.

Saint Mary Magdalene,
sister of Martha and Lazarus,
companion of the Virgin Mary at the foot of the Cross,
Ora pro nobis.
Pray for us.

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Where was Jesus when Peter and the beloved disciple first came running to the tomb? Could it be that he was always standing there, but they did not have the eyes of faith to see Him?

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(I imagine "Rabboni" to be a diminutive form of Rabbi – "Master" or "Teacher". As if to say "dear Master" or "beloved Teacher.")

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Related Posts:
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John 20:1-22

Now on the first day of the week Mary Mag'dalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb.

So she ran, and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him."

Peter then came out with the other disciple, and they went toward the tomb. They both ran, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first; and stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in.

Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; he saw the linen cloths lying, and the napkin, which had been on his head, not lying with the linen cloths but rolled up in a place by itself.

Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not know the scripture, that he must rise from the dead.

Then the disciples went back to their homes.

But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet.

They said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him."

Saying this, she turned round and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom do you seek?" Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away."

Jesus said to her, "Mary."

She turned and said to him in Hebrew, "Rab-bo'ni!" (which means Teacher).

Jesus said to her, "Do not hold me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brethren and say to them, I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God."

Mary Mag'dalene went and said to the disciples, "I have seen the Lord"; and she told them that he had said these things to her.

On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you."

When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.

Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you."

And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit."

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John 11:18-33

Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother.

When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary sat in the house.

Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. And even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you."

Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again."

Martha said to him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day."

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?"

She said to him, "Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, he who is coming into the world."

When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying quietly, "The Teacher is here and is calling for you." And when she heard it, she rose quickly and went to him.

Now Jesus had not yet come to the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him. When the Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary rise quickly and go out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there.

Then Mary, when she came where Jesus was and saw him, fell at his feet, saying to him, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died."

When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled.

Sunday, April 10, 2011

X-Rated Planned Parenthood

"He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters."
 -- Luke 11:23
This is a description of the Title X program that we heard so much about during the Planned Parenthood defunding debate. This description is straight from the website of the U.S. government's Health and Human Services Dept.
The Title X Family Planning program ["Population Research and Voluntary Family Planning Programs" (Public Law 91-572)], was enacted in 1970 as Title X of the Public Health Service Act. Title X is the only federal grant program dedicated solely to providing individuals with comprehensive family planning and related preventive health services. The Title X program is designed to provide access to contraceptive services, supplies and information to all who want and need them. By law, priority is given to persons from low-income families.
Notice the words "Population Research" in the official name of the program. This is nothing but population control. And this program is aimed at "low-income" families. And when they say "family planning", you can be sure that what they really mean is contraception, abortion and sterilization.


Planned Parenthood's objective is also a population control. It has nothing to do with helping women -- low-income or otherwise. It is all about keeping low-income women from having "too many children". Here is the real purpose of PP as documented in their 2008 tax filing.
VOLUNTARY FERTILITY REGULATION, INCLUDING CONTRACEPTION, ABORTION, STERILIZATION, AND INFERTILITY SERVICES .... ACHIEVING, THROUGH INFORMED INDIVIDUAL CHOICE, A U.S. POPULATION OF STABLE SIZE
In China they have a one-child policy. In the U.S. we have Planned Parenthood and Title X. The goals are the same -- population control. Planned Parenthood tries to pretend that it is pro-women, but it is not. It is anti-women and anti-children.

PP is X-rated because it pushes sex and violence on women. It pushes sex in the form of contraception and encouraging young women to be sexually active right from the moment of puberty. It pushes violence in the form of abortion -- right up to the moment of birth. How is this any different from killing a new born baby? Is it justified just because the child is still in the womb?

Once we realize that the main purpose of PP is population control, then the pretense of being pro-women  is exposed as a lie. This is what Lila Rose's group Live Action has worked so hard to expose. Many have questioned her group's methods, but how else can one go about exposing this organization that hides behind a pro-woman public relations campaign?



Planned Parenthood is the first domino in a chain. Once their lies are exposed and the first domino falls then the next domino falls, which is the radical feminists. How can they claim to be pro-women when they are so devoted to the cause of Planned Parenthood? And once the lies of the radical feminists are exposed then the next domino falls, which is the liberal leftwing of the Democratic Party. Of course they know that PP is a population control organization, but they continue to preach the lies of radical feminism.

We just went through a very interesting moment in history in which the funding of Planned Parenthood by the U.S. government was challenged due to public pressure. On the one side were the pro radical feminist Democrats who supported PP. On the other side were pro life Republicans who opposed using public funds granted through Title X to support abortion providers like Planned Parenthood.

But let's not be totally naive. Was this really a "showdown" over the budget? Was there any real legitimate threat from the Republican leadership that they would shutdown the government over this issue? Or was this an elaborate staged theatrical dramatic production for the benefit of pro Life citizens? In other words, was this just a case of political kabuki?

And if the Republican leadership never had any intention on going through on their threats, then what is the end effect? It could actually help Planned Parenthood in their fundraising by picturing themselves as helpless victims.

And yet, I do feel that a historic battle was fought this past week on the issue of abortion. PP has been exposed and the pro life movement has got a taste of what a major victory could look like.

This battle is not just an earthly battle, but it is a spiritual battle as well. The very fact that such a battle took place is a sign from Heaven. The politicians may not know it yet, but the heavenly forces are realigning. For now the wind has shifted and is blowing from behind those of us on the side of life. And yet, it will still take a monumental effort to resist the counter-attack from the abortion forces.

Abortion IS the litmus issue. It IS the one issue on which we can say, "if you are not with Christ, then you are against Christ." The cross, the symbol of Christ, is the sign which we follow into battle. This is the new Christian crusade which will unite all of Christendom. Those who call themselves Christians, but do not enter into this battle are not true followers of Christ.

Please call your representatives in Congress and let them know that this battle is not over by a long shot.

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UPDATE: American Life League, the largest Catholic pro-life organization in the United States, has called on the Church to excommunicate 62 Catholic Congressmen who voted against the defunding of Planned Parenthood.



Here are the names of the US Catholic Congresspersons who support Planned Parenthood -- the largest abortion provider in the United States.
Jason Altmire, PA; Joe Baca, CA; Xavier Becerra, CA; Timothy H. Bishop, NY; Robert Brady, PA; Michael E. Capuano, MA; Dennis A. Cardoza, CA; John Carney, DE; Hansen Clarke, MI; William Lacy Clay, MO; Gerald E. Connolly, VA; Jim Costa, CA; Joe Courtney, CT; Mark Critz, PA; Joseph Crowley, NY; Henry Cuellar, TX; Peter DeFazio, OR; Rosa L. DeLauro, CT; John D. Dingell, MI; Richael F. Doyle, PA; Anna Eshoo, CA; Charlie Gonzalez, TX; Raul M. Grijalva, AZ; Richard Hanna, NY; Brian Higgins, NY; Maurice D. Hinchey, NY; Tim Holden, PA; Marcy Kaptur, OH; Dale E. Kildee, MI; Dennis J. Kucinich, OH; James R. Langevin, RI; John B. Larson, CT; Ben Ray Lujan, NM; Stephen F. Lynch, MA; Ed Markey, MA; Carolyn McCarthy, NY; James P. McGovern, MA; Jerry McNerney, CA; Michael H. Michaud, MA; George Miller, CA; James P. Moran, VA; Grace F. Napolitano, CA; Richard E. Neal, MA; Bill Owens, NY; Frank Pallone, NJ; Bill Pascrell, NJ; Ed Pastor, AZ; Nancy Pelosi, CA; Mike Quigley, IL; Charles B. Rangel, NY; Lucille Roybal-Allard, CA; Tim Ryan, OH; Linda T. Sanchez, CA; Loretta Sanchez, CA; Jose E. Serrano, NY; Albio Sires, NJ; Jackie Speier, CA; Mike Thompson, CA; Paul Tonko, NY; Nydia M. Velazquez, NY; Peter J. Visclosky, IN; Peter Welch, VT