The Catholic Monitor

http://www.unitypublishing.com/Apparitions/ShepherdsKings.htm Not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. Rather, God chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise, and God chose the weak of the world to shame the strong, and God chose the lowly and despised of the world, those who count for nothing, to reduce to nothing those who are something, so that no human being might boast before God. (New American Bible, 1Cor 1:26-30) How many times have we heard the Christmas story of the angels appearing to the shepherds in the fields announcing that this day a Savior was born to them and that they would find the newborn Babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger? How many times have we questioned why were shepherds the first to hear this Good News? To answer that question we must ponder the pattern of God’s behavior throughout the Ol...

By Fred Martinez Steve Ditko, the original artist and co-creator of the Spider-Man comic, is the Greta Garbo of comic books. Even after Spider-Man 3 Ditko is still refusing to give interviews after 20 years. He refused interviews for major articles about him by the Los Angeles Times and one of Canada's leading newspapers, the National Post during the cinema run of the original Spider-Man movie. Ditko, however, explained his philosophy of art in a narrative on a 1987 video titled "The Masters of Comic Book Art," hosted by author Harlan Ellison. In his introduction, Ellison dismissed Ditko's plea that heroes in art and literature be measured by the moral courage shown in objective good vs. evil choices. The artist now seems prophetic for saying in the show that if we glorify the anti-hero in art, then anti-life and violence will come into our culture. The anti-heroes of the Columbine-like killings in public schools and the Sept. 11 terrorists seem to justify his claim....

The California appeals court ruled that libraries must not use computer filters to disallow kids from viewing Internet pornography. A San Jose Mercury News editorial inferred that the First Amendment was invoked so the adult’s right to view porn would not be encroached. One can see the Civil Liberties Union-who won the case- standing with hand over heart as the Constitution upheld this new right. If Internet smutt is authorized why not have smutty magazines lying around the newspaper section. Also, we mustn’t forget the kid’s right to check out dirty magazines and videos. It would never get that far because parents don’t allow their children into porn shops. The libraries funding would soon be voted down. Why aren’t parents angered by library Internet obscenity? It is the same reason abortion is legal while infanticide is not. Babies and dirty magazines can be seen, but babies in the womb and Internet porn usually are unseen by parents. Of course, the media could show the American publ...

"Yet everything depends on this ability to stand still and to be present with full inner awareness." "The basic meaning of the word 'collected' is to be gathered together, united. A glance at our life will show how much we lack this aptitude. We should have a fixed centre which, like the hub of a wheel, governs our movements and from which all our actions go out and to which they return; a standard, also, or a code by which we distinguish the important from the unimportant, the end from the means and which puts actions and experiences into their proper order; something stable, unaffected by change and | yet capable of development, which makes it clear to us who we are and how matters stand with us. We lack this; we, the men of today, lack it more than did those who lived in earlier ages. "This becomes evident in our attempts to pray. Spiritual teachers speak of 'distraction' as that state in which man lacks poise and unity, that state in which though...

http://www.barbsbooks.com/logic.htm BOOKS FOR CHILDREN, EDUCATION, AND HOMESCHOOLING Home of Barb's People Builders Education is our business! We supply the literature, workbooks, and teaching materials you need in all subjects, preschool through high school. Price codes and discount policy Prices are subject to change at any time. Please check availability by email before calling. Order by title, catalog number, and complete price with code letter. How to find what you need on this site. What's New? / Articles / Catalog / Blogs To Make a Purchase Order Frequently Asked Questions / Links Used Books / Sale / Bargain Books Keep informed about special offers & new books Important Contact Information Upcoming Events We accept PayPal and school purchase orders. Search LOGIC AND CRITICAL THINKING Materials supplied by Edupress, Dandy Lion Publications, Educational Impressions, Evan-Moor, Prufrock Press, Steck-Vaughn,and EPS Images on this page may take a bit of time t...

http://patrickmadrid.blogspot.com/ This story is linked to prominently today on the Drudge Report, so perhaps you've already seen these pictures of unusual and inexplicable columns of colored lights in the European night sky. But I just want to add that this phenomenon of strange lights in the sky is unsettlingly reminiscent of what the Blessed Virgin Mary promised to the three children at Fatima in 1917: namely, that when the world saw a "great light" in the sky, a terrible war would soon commence. This startling phenomenon was observed across Europe on January 25th, 1938. The war started the following year, and tens of millions perished. Just . . . something . . . to . . . think . . . about. http://www.ewtn.com/Fatima/apparitions/July.htm Our Lady of Fatima said: "You have seen hell, where the souls of poor sinners go. It is to save them that God wants to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart. If you do what I tell you, many souls will be saved, ...

Co-Creator of the Pill Laments Resulting Demographic "Horror Scenario" http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/jan/09010806.html By Kathleen Gilbert VIENNA, January 8, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - An Austrian chemist who helped spearhead the creation of the earliest contraceptive pill has expressed dismay at the severance of sexuality and reproduction made possible by widespread use of the pill, and has warned against the impending demographic disaster from plummeting birth rates. Carl Djerassi wrote of his concern in a commentary appearing in the December issue of Austria's Der Standard, where he described couples who regularly contracept as "wanting to enjoy their schnitzels while leaving the rest of the world to get on with it." Djerassi, who is a chemist, novelist, and playwright, is best known for helping create the synthetic hormone progestin norethindrone in 1951, together with Mexican Luis E. Miramontes and Hungarian George Rosenkranz. The far more potent syn...

From: "Newsmax.com" Add sender to Contacts Al Franken's Funny Business Exposed By: Dick Morris and Eileen McGann As John F. Kennedy once said, "sometimes partisanship demands too much." Watching Al Franken and the Democrats steal this election, vote by vote, is a horrific sight that makes a mockery of the electoral process, the fundamental element in our democracy. If this travesty is allowed to stand, it essentially means that any close election constitutes an open invitation to steal the victory. We must not allow the Minnesota Democrats to get away with this election heist. The Republican National Lawyers Association is litigating the issue and needs all the support they can get to fund their court case. You can help stop Al Franken by supporting the Republican National Lawyers Association fight — Go Here Now. Those who want the recount actually want to count ballots in 25 precincts — that would bring the total number of votes cast higher than the actual num...

Palin Weighs in on Media Slander against Her Family By Kathleen Gilbert WASILLA, Alaska, January 9, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Though Sarah Palin has reportedly declined hordes of journalists requesting interviews, the Alaskan governor opened the door of her home to freelance documentarian John Ziegler when he asked for her opinion on media bias in the 2008 elections. Ziegler has released some footage of the Wasilla interview, which will appear in an extended version in his upcoming documentary, "Media Malpractice: How Obama Got Elected." In the video, Palin reveals her attempts to rectify falsehoods perpetuated by a recalcitrant media, and her particular dismay at slurs aimed at her family. "Quite absurd was my interpretation of what was being said," said Palin, adding that she is "frustrated" that the false rumor that she is not the real mother of her infant son Trig perpetuates even to this day. "When did we start accepting as hard news sources blo...

From: connierezasmile@yahoo.com NOVENA TO STOP FOCA If you are apposed to abortion then there is bad news on the horizon. For those of you who do not know, the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) is set to be signed if congress passes it on January 21-22 of 2009. The FOCA is the next sick chapter in the book of abortion. If made a law then all limitations on abortion will be lifted which will result in the following: 1) All hospitals, including Catholic hospitals will be required to perform abortions upon request. If this happens Bishops vow to close down all Catholic hospitals, more then 30% of all hospitals in the United States . 2) Partial birth abortions would be legal and have no limitations. 3) All U.S. tax payers would be funding abortions. 4) Parental notification will no longer be required. 5) The number of abortions will increase by a minimum of 100,000 annually. Perhaps most importantly the government will now have control in the issu...

James Hitchcock’s article “Abortion and the ‘Catholic Right’” in the Human Life Review says that The Wanderer has a “seamless garment” agenda. Does this Catholic weekly put economic issues and the Iraq war ahead of the sin of abortion? My guess is no. I believe, that like the weekly columnist Pat Buchanan whom The Wanderer publishes, the newspaper would hold their nose and vote for a W. Bush over an anti-war, but radically pro-abortion Democrat candidate. Hitchcock makes a good point about the newspaper’s “unacknowledged internal conflict” on economic views. Joe Sobran who recently retired does “espouses a minimalist view of the state, according to which almost every project that government undertakes does nothing but harm,” whereas Rupert Ederer, who is the economic expert for the newspaper thinks the government should get more involved in “trade, tax, and monetary” issues as Hitchcock noted in his article. Both Ederer and Sobran have appeared to write that other issues are of equal w...