BIG C CATHOLICS

This is the 2003 document from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in respect to homosexual unions and the legal recognition of gay "marriage"entitled Considerations Regarding Proposals to Give Legal Recognition to Unions Between Homosexual Persons . From the document: In those situations where homosexual unions have been legally recognized or have been given the legal status and rights belonging to marriage, clear and emphatic opposition is a duty . … If all Catholics are obliged to oppose the legal recognition of homosexual unions, Catholic politicians are obliged to do so in a particular way , in keeping with their responsibility as politicians.

A faint faith is better than a strong heresy. — St. Thomas More 

The love of husband and wife is the force that welds society together. —  St. John Chrysostom

Moral principles do not depend on a majority vote. Wrong is wrong, even if everybody is wrong. Right is right, even if nobody is right. — Venerable Bishop Fulton J. Sheen Let nothing disturb you; Let nothing frighten you, All things pass away. God never changes. Patience obtains all things. He who has God, finds he lacks nothing. God alone suffices. — St. Teresa of Avila … all manner of thing shall be well — Julian of Norwich Peace I bequeath to you, my own peace I give you, a peace which the world cannot give, this is my gift to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid. Christ reassuring His disciples before His departure. (Jn. 14:27) You judge a medicine by those who take it, not by those who pour it down the sink.  — Frank Sheed Though an army encamp against me, my heart does not fear; Though war be waged against me, even then do I trust. — Psalm 27 I command you: be firm and steadfast!  Do not fear nor be dismayed, for the Lord, your God, is w

Fr. René J. Butler, M.S. Director, La Salette Shrine Enfield, NH  Raising of Jairus' Daughter , James Tissot , c.1871 ( Click here for today's readings ) In today’s Responsorial Psalm we have the splendid verse: “At nightfall, weeping enters in, but with the dawn, rejoicing.” This reminds me of a book I encountered as a high school seminarian. The title was But with the Dawn Rejoicing . It was the autobiography of a woman named Mary Ellen Kelly. In her teens she had begun to develop rheumatoid arthritis. By the age of 20 she was almost totally immobile. On a train she couldn’t use the sleeper car, but had to travel in the baggage car, strapped to a board. She had the use of only two fingers on one hand; it once took her over two hours to write a note just twenty-five words long. She had plenty of reason to feel sorry for herself, and indeed she did. In due time, however, she met Fr. Joseph Higgins, a Missionary of Our Lady of La Salette. One day he “read her the

The Supreme Court's 5-4 decision on marriage is not a surprise. The surprise will come as ordinary people begin to experience, firsthand and painfully, the impact of today's action on everything they thought they knew about marriage, family life, our laws and our social institutions. The mistakes of the court change nothing about the nature of men and women, and the truth of God's Word. The task now for believers is to form our own families even more deeply in the love of God, and to rebuild a healthy marriage culture, one marriage at a time, from the debris of today's decision.    +Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap.,  Archbishop of Philadelphia Truer words were never spoken. Because of today's ruling Christian businesses will have to choose between their most deeply held beliefs and their livelihoods. The faithful will be harassed. Expressions of Christian orthodoxy will be mocked and ridiculed. Houses of worship that oppose gay "marriage" will l

Image a World Were Catholic Social Services Do Not Exist. It is Perilously Close to Reality. In 2012, Cardinal Francis George predicted that faithful Catholics would close down nonprofits rather than violate Church teaching under the HHS contraceptive mandate. That prediction is closer to reality after the Supreme Court's decision upholding federal subsidies under the Affordable Care Act. Court observers acknowledge the King v. Burwell case gave opponents of Obamacare the best chance to derail it. Among the remaining challenges to the law is a class action lawsuit brought by The Becket Fund on behalf of the Little Sisters of the Poor, seeking to uphold their right to carry out their vows of obedience in their service to the poor. The suit seeks protection not only for the Little Sisters, but for other Catholic organizations that provide health benefits consistent with their religious faith. What has happened to our vaunted American liberties? Except for property rights, th