How come?

Why don't Catholics think it is a sin to vote for an abortion candidate? I was talking to a woman at morning Mass and she said she voted for obama because she wanted change. She had no idea what kind of change she wanted, however. I said that a vote for obama was a vote to kill the unborn. She quickly assured me that obama had stated in his campaign that he was against abortion. It only took a matter of minutes for me to pull up eight pages of his pro-abortion votes and actions. The woman was shocked. She wanted to know how come I knew about this but it was the first she had heard about it.

I asked her what news she watched and she happily told me she watched CNN and MSNBC faithfully. I said she should listen to conservative talk radio and watch Fox News. She blanched and said, "Oh, NO! Fox News is mean-spirited and very liberal. Rush Limbaugh is prejudiced." I just said, "I know way your prefer CNN and MSNBC . . . they tell you what you want to hear." She looked taken aback but ventured, "You know, I think I will give Fox and Rush Limbaugh another chance."

The sad thing is that she is ONE of the over 50% of the Catholics that voted in an abortion regime with their Democratic vote this past presidential election. They put the welfare of the unborn on the back burner because obama promised change, jobs, and financial security. Instead, we got unemployment, financial disaster, and a lot of change we would . . . well, change from obama that we'd like to change!

Can't entirely blame the Catholic congregations for their vote although in the information age, they'd have a hard time proving invinciable ignorance. Nope, I know of too many priests and seminarians that happily voted for and celebrated obama's election. The guardians of Christ's flocks voted to keep the killing of our future legal. If unemployment and financial ruin is all that God visits upon us, I'd say we got off easily.

We each have one vote and our vote does count. Here's hoping we all use it wisely this November. It could make all the difference in the world.

Do you make your vote count . . .?

There never is a line anymore. In this last local election, my husband voted on the way to work. I went in to vote almost an hour later. My husband was the 15th person to vote. I was the 16th. Our district is now represented by a pro-choice politician.

And if you felt that one vote wouldn’t make a difference, did you vote anyway . . . in case it did? What about our example to our children. Ever since my children were babies, they have accompanied us to the polls to learn that we think this democratic process is important. What does one vote matter? It could be a matter of your soul when Judgement Day finds God asking you why you didn’t care. When we have to contend with a pro-death culture, don’t blame the politicians so much as the people who didn’t use the influence of their vote to make a difference.

Evelyn Waugh, a famous writer, once said that when times are bad, the only way to cope is to pretend we are tourists in a foreign land. Judging from our elected officials, most of us have been acting that way for years.

Nothing new . . .

“The budget should be balanced, the treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest Rome becomes bankrupt. People must again learn to work, instead of living on public assistance.” Marcus Tullius Cicero, 55 BC

Cold Oatmeal!

This looked like an interesting way to have breakfast at the ready for a busy morning.

5 cups uncooked quick oats
1 green apple, shredded
1 red apple, shredded
1 cup grapes, chopped
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup honey
3 cups milk (or more to reach desired consistency)
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Toss the shredded apples with a bit of lemon juice to keep them from turning brown. Combine all the ingredients and refrigerate overnight. Serve cold for a quick, easy, healthy breakfast.

Where's the joy . . .?

We have a wonderful new priest in our parish from Nigeria. It is amazing to see the cultural differences in the perception of joy. Yesterday, was the Feast of the Assumption and Father could barely contain himself with the joy of the occasion. He rightfully pointed out that we probably express more joy at Thanksgiving. We should treat the wonderful feast days of the Church in that manner, too. He even broke out in song at one point during his sermon. You could sense the sincerity. He was actually joyful and expressing a full heart.

A friend said he met a Nigerian in the seminary and the young Nigerian's main confusion was how quiet our Masses are. I guess that we have sort of evolved into a people who are more afraid of what others will think rather than face true emotions.

My husband likens our priest to a crashing wave and the congregation are the rocks on the shore. Water doesn't wear down rocks immediately but, perhaps, we eventually learn to break out into joyful song when we mean it.

Always go to the source . . .!

used to think that the brain was the most wonderful organ in my body. Then I realized who was telling me this.
- Emo Phillips

Love this quote . . .!

If you just set out to be liked, you would be prepared to compromise on anything at any time, and you would achieve nothing.

Margaret Thatcher