Mark P. Shea's Blog, page 1242

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We live in wondrous times![image error]

Palestinians Christians Reach out to Other Christians for Help

Unfortunately for them, their existence constitutes a threat to the State of Israel, the dogma of whose immaculate conception and preservation from all sin both original and actual, is a foundational theological principle for much of American politics and theology.

Nonetheless, for those who allow the duties of truth and charity to transcend tribal fealties and political expedience, it's worth giving this a read.

Car-Free Weeks...

are for the little people, not our Ruling Class--like so many other initiatives, rules and laws they inflict on their inferiors.

Ted Naff writes:

Friends,

Catholic Professionals of Seattle is very privileged to welcome His Excellency, Archbishop Sartain, at our next event on October 7th. He will be our featured speaker and the chief celebrant at Mass. We hope you will consider coming for this unique opportunity to spend a couple of precious hours with the new shepherd of our Archdiocese.

Our schedule is:

6:30 a.m. - Check-in; confession available
7:00 a.m. - Mass, followed by breakfast
8:30 a.m. - Presentation by Archbishop Sartain;
event will close by 9:15 a.m.


The event will be at the Newman Center, next to the UW. The cost is $20 for members and $35 for non-members. We hope to see you there!

Also, please help us to spread the word about this wonderful event by sending this email out to your friends and inviting them to come! God bless!

Be there! Aloha!

The Ranter...

just passed his 1st Anniversary as a blogger.

Karlo Broussard...

has a cool new website for his Divine Child Institute.  Check thou it out!

James Felak, Professor of Pure Awesomeness

I happen to be a friend of Felak's. He goes to my parish, teaches History of Christianity at the University of Washington (among other courses) and teaches a four week series for our parish adult ed series every February. (Hands down he is our biggest draw out of all the adult ed we offer each year, and deservedly so). I can personally attest that absolutely everything in this student's account is 100% accurate, including the bit about turning water into wine. This student's assessment is in no way clouded by hero worship.

Prayer Requests and Praise Report

A reader writes:

My dear friend who is a priest and Benedictine monk is dying from colon cancer and is only been given 4 to 6 weeks to live. Please keep him in your prayers as he prepare to meet our Lord and His Mother.

Father, we ask that you would grant your servant and son the grace of a happy death . Grant skill and compassion to his caregivers, and grace, consolation and peace to him and all who love him. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Mother Mary, pray for all concerned here. Amen.

Another reader writes:

Lots and lots of prayers are needed: for the convicted criminal who is very close to death, for his many victims, and for the families and friends of his victims...

Father, hear our pray for all these people, and for the salvation of this man's soul through Christ our Lord. Mother Mary, pray for all concerned here. Amen.

Finally, a reader writes:

Two things. Firstly, I'd like to once again thank your readers. I underwent back surgery over the summer and have recovered so quickly that it's amazing. My lower back, although still healing, is almost entirely pain-free – and I consider that to be a major miracle. I lived with debilitating pain for 5 years, and now I hear people telling me how wonderful I look – and it's just due to the fact that the pain is gone. Thanks be to God!

Secondly, I have a prayer request for you – it may seem minor compared to the often very serious requests you get, but any prayers you and your readers could offer on this matter would still be greatly appreciated.

My sister attends the same public high school from which I graduated, and is one of the leaders of the drama club. The director, who is relatively new, is trying to ram through a grossly inappropriate musical for their upcoming spring production. My sister, along with a few other students, bravely took a stand against it and the show was changed. Now, she and her friends who also objected weren't cast in the fall drama.

She is devastated; it is her senior year and she really loves acting (and is very, very good at it), but now she's been shut out of the show – and I truly do believe it was because she had the guts to stand up to him, since she's been in every show since her freshman year. It breaks my heart. She is a classic overachiever and therefore is very stressed out this year in general (college applications, SATs, AP classes), and this only makes things that much worse. I ask for prayers that she stops beating herself up over this and that she has a happy and successful senior year no matter what happens. Prayers for the director would probably be good too, although admittedly I'm having rather a hard time formulating a prayer for him that doesn't make my blood pressure shoot through the roof… so I'll just leave it at that – pray for him.

Father, thanks be to you and praise for hearing our prayer for your servant. We also want to pray for this unjust situation and ask that you would straighten it out as well as help this young woman learn to bear wrongs patiently and grow in the image and likeness of Christ. We ask this through Christ our Lord and we ask the intercession of Mother Mary. Amen.

Excellent!

Troy Davis gets a stay of execution.

Simplicities of Life...

...is a cool little operation in the Chestertonian/Schumacher Small is Beautiful mold that makes the finest and most unique rosaries and religious jewelry out there. Fr. Bryce Sibley tells me, "I have one of their rosaries, and not only is is very beautiful but it is also 'indestructible' (they make it with some high-tensile wire)." What with Christmas coming soon (not to mention the Feast of the Rosary on October 7), you could do yourself proud with some lovely giftage for someone you love, as well as advance the Faith *and* help small Catholic businessfolk do good and honorableo work. Check thou them out!