Baker ordered by state to bake cake for same-sex reception

Posted on 4 June 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From the NY Daily News:

Colorado baker ordered to serve gay couples vows to stop making wedding cakes

This takes the cake.
A Colorado baker has pledged to stop making wedding cakes after his state’s Civil Rights Commission ordered him to start baking for same-sex couples.
Jack Phillips, owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop in Lakewood, was willing to go to court to defend his decision to refuse service to two grooms who walked into his shop last year looking for a way to celebrate their marriage.
Phillips’ crusade turned out to be a giant failure after the Commission unanimously ruled that he had violated civil rights law by discriminating against the couple.
The devout Christian is retaliating by refusing to make wedding cakes altogether.
“We would close down the bakery before we would complicate our beliefs,” Phillips told CBS Denver.
The man said that he would be happy to make cakes for an LGBT person’s birthday party. But he believes making a wedding cake would be equivalent to participating in the ceremony.
“My issue is that I don’t want to be forced to participate in a same-sex wedding,” Phillips said.
The grooms at the center of the controversy, David Mullins and Charlie Craig, tied the knot in Massachusetts. They wanted to order a cake for a reception in Colorado.
Phillips isn’t too worried about his business shutting down—he says business is booming at Masterpiece Cakeshop. His brownies and cookies are reportedly flying off the counters, snatched up by people who agree with his stance on gay marriage.
But [get this…] for the next few months, he’ll have to submit quarterly reports about who he refuses to serve. He’ll also have to give his employees anti-discrimination training.
Same-sex marriage is legal in nineteen states, plus Washington D.C. But in Colorado, marriage is still defined as a union between a man and a woman.
Phillips’ attorney says they are considering appealing the Commission’s ruling.

John 16:2.

Posted in One Man & One Woman, Our Catholic Identity, Sin That Cries To Heaven, The Coming Storm, The future and our choices | Tagged , , , , , , ,
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A Novena of Prayer to the Holy Spirit: Day 6 (Audio)

Posted on 4 June 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

A Novena of Prayer to the Holy Spirit: Day 6 (Audio)Let us, upon our knees, pray in a special way to God the Holy Spirit during this time between Ascension Thursday and Pentecost.

This is one way to pray.  I invite the readership to join in.

MANNER OF PRAYING THE NOVENA

Each day the meditation and prayer for the particular day is said, followed by 1 Our Father, 1 Hail Mary and 7 Glory be to the Father, followed by the Act of Consecration and the Prayer for the Seven Gifts.

SIXTH DAY OF THE NOVENA

If Thou take Thy grace away,
nothing pure in man will stay,
All his good is turn’d to ill.

Understanding, as a gift of the Holy Spirit, helps us to grasp the meaning of the truths of our holy religion. BY faith we know them, but by Understanding we learn to appreciate and relish them. It enables us to penetrate the inner meaning of revealed truths and through them to be quickened to newness of life. Our faith ceases to be sterile and inactive, but inspires a mode of life that bears eloquent testimony to the faith that is in us; we begin to “walk worthy of God in all things pleasing, and increasing in the knowledge of God.”

Come, O Spirit of Understanding, and enlighten our minds, that we may know and believe all the mysteries of salvation; and may merit at last to see the eternal light in Thy Light; and in the light of glory to have a clear vision of Thee and the Father and the Son. Amen.

(Our Father and Hail Mary ONCE. Glory be to the Father 7 TIMES. Act of Consecration, Prayer for the Seven Gifts)

ACT OF CONSECRATION TO THE HOLY GHOST

On my knees before the great multitude of heavenly witnesses, I offer myself, soul and body, to Thee, Eternal Spirit of God. I adore the brightness of Thy purity, the unerring keenness of Thy justice, and the might of Thy love. Thou art the Strength and Light of my soul. In Thee I live and move and am. I desire never to grieve Thee by unfaithfulness to grace, and I pray with all my heart to be kept from the smallest sin against Thee. Mercifully guard my every thought and grant that I may always watch for Thy light, and listen to Thy voice, and follow Thy gracious inspirations. I cling to Thee and give myself to Thee and ask Thee, by Thy compassion, to watch over me in my weakness. Holding the pierced Feet of Jesus, and looking at His five wounds, and trusting in His Precious Blood, and adoring His opened side and stricken Heart, I implore Thee, Adorable Spirit, Helper of my infirmity, so to keep me in Thy grace that I may never sin against Thee. Give me grace, O Holy Ghost, Spirit of the Father and the Son, to say to Thee always and everywhere, “Speak Lord, for Thy servant heareth.” Amen.

PRAYER FOR THE SEVEN GIFTS OF THE HOLY GHOST

O Lord Jesus Christ, who before ascending into Heaven, didst promise to send the Holy Ghost to finish Thy work in the souls of Thine Apostles and Disciples, deign to grant the same Holy Spirit to me, that He may perfect in my soul the work of Thy grace and Thy love. Grant me the Spirit of Wisdom, that I may despise the perishable things of this world and aspire only after the things that are eternal; the Spirit of Understanding, to enlighten my mind with the light of Thy divine truth, the Spirit of Counsel, that I may ever choose the surest way of pleasing God and gaining Heaven; the Spirit of Fortitude, that I may bear my cross with Thee and that I may overcome with courage all the obstacles that oppose my salvation; the Spirit of Knowledge, that I may know God and know myself and grow perfect in the science of the saints; the Spirit of Piety, that I may find the service of God sweet and amiable; the Spirit of Fear, that I may be filled with a loving reverence towards God and may dread in any way to displease Him. Mark me, Dear Lord, with the sign of Thy true disciples, and animate me in all things with Thy Spirit. Amen.

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POTUS’ Period

Posted on 3 June 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Pres. Obama released 5 terrorists for 1 U.S. soldier, now accused of desertion, held by Taliban terrorists (not by a nation).

He said:

“Whatever those circumstances may turn out to be we still get an American soldier back if he’s held in captivity,” he said during remarks in Warsaw. “Period. Full stop.”

However, on other occasions he said:

“If you like your current insurance, you keep that insurance. Period, end of story.“

 

Posted in Liberals, The Drill | Tagged , , , ,
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Of unlikely martyrs and unlikely converts

Posted on 3 June 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Of unlikely martyrs and unlikely convertsI draw your attention to a DVD/movie I saw recently: Jerzy Popieluszko: Messenger of Truth – A Polish Martyr and 21st Century Hero.  I get a message that the DVD isn’t available at the moment, but when it is again, consider it.  I found it informative and moving, especially as a priest.  An amazing man in a horrific time.  I hope we will see his like when it is out turn.

Of unlikely martyrs and unlikely convertsThis dovetails well with the next item, from CWN and Phil Lawler:

A happy epilogue for the Cold War

One of the most enduring visual images of the Cold War—one of the early signs that the Soviet empire was doomed—was the sight of General Wojciech Jaruzelski, the Polish strongman, literally shaking as he addressed the enormous crowd that gathered to greet St. John Paul II on his triumphant return to his homeland.

Make no mistake about it; Jaruzelski was a formidable enemy of the Catholic Church. With his Soviet comrades watching over his shoulder, he launched a harsh crackdown on the Solidarity movement. He was responsible for the imprisonment of hundreds of human-rights activists. He probably gave the order for troops to fire on striking workers, killing several; he may well have approved the brutal murder of Blessed Jerzy Popieluszko, the “Solidarity priest” who was bludgeoned to death in 1984. But Jaruzelski was also a realist, and when the Pope arrived in Poland, the general knew in his heart that he was overmatched. As indeed he was—not only by the man, but by the spiritual force the Pontiff represented.

General Jaruzelski lost the battle for Poland, of course. But for years he kept fighting another battle: to justify his leadership, to rationalize the decisions he made while he held power. Shortly before his death last week he surrendered that battle as well. Before he lost consciousness, Reuters reports, Jaruzelski “asked a Catholic priest to administer the last rites.” No longer an atheist, no longer an enemy; Wojciech Jaruzelski died a Catholic.

God’s ways are not our ways.  Our strength is not His strength.  He chooses the least likely to do great things.  His timeline is a mystery.

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, Modern Martyrs, Saints: Stories & Symbols | Tagged , , ,
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Short video about power of prayer and fasting

Posted on 3 June 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

In light of the fact of the continuing erosion of our civil liberties and the marginalization of religion (Christianity) and religious (Christian) values, and in light of the fact that we are in the mysterious period between Ascension Thursday and Pentecost, I share here a video from the USCCB, posted in 2013.  A reader sent it to me.  It only has 8481 views as I post this.

Play video

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, Religious Liberty, The Coming Storm, The Drill, The future and our choices | Tagged , , , ,
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Creepy attempted murder by pre-teens prompts a serious question

Posted on 3 June 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I was alerted by Badger Catholic to this truly horrific story

In reading this, I am prompted to ask you who are parents:

Are you paying close attention to what your children are reading and viewing and doing?

Charges detail Waukesha pre-teens’ attempt to kill classmate

The 12-year-old girls had been plotting the murder for months, police say.

Morgan E. Geyser was allowed to have two friends over each year for her birthday. This year, she’d celebrate on May 30. That is the day she and Anissa E. Weier would try to kill their friend during a sleepover.

On Monday, the two Waukesha girls were charged in Waukesha County Circuit Court as adults with attempted first-degree intentional homicide, each facing up to 65 years in prison. Their victim, another 12-year-old from Waukesha, was stabbed 19 times by either Geyser or Weier or both, according to a criminal complaint. All three attend Horning Middle School in Waukesha.

Geyser and Weier are being held on $500,000 bail each. The pre-teens attempted murder, they told police, to pay homage to a fictional character who they believed was real after reading about him on a website devoted to horror stories. [?!?]

On Saturday, a bicyclist found the victim, lying on the sidewalk and covered in blood, with injuries to her arms, legs and torso. She had managed to crawl out of the woods, where the suspects had left her. She was rushed to a hospital, where she was in stable condition Monday evening, but fighting for her life.

A Waukesha County sheriff’s deputy found Geyser and Weier hours later, walking near I-94 in Waukesha. A knife with a five-inch blade was in Weier’s backpack.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel normally does not name juveniles involved in crimes, but is naming the suspects because they are in adult court and because of the severity of the charges. A criminal complaint filed Monday detailed the allegations.

Both suspects explained the stabbing to police referencing their dedication to Slender Man, the character they discovered on a website called Creepypasta Wiki, which is devoted to horror stories.

Weier told police that Slender Man is the “leader” of Creepypasta, and in the hierarchy of that world, one must kill to show dedication. Weier said that Geyser told her they should become “proxies” of Slender Man — a paranormal figure known for his ability to create tendrils from his fingers and back — and kill their friend to prove themselves worthy of him. Weier said she was surprised by Geyser’s suggestion, but also excited to prove skeptics wrong and show that Slender Man really did exist.

The suspects believed that “Slender,” as Weier called him, lived in a mansion in the Nicolet National Forest in northern Wisconsin. The plan was to kill the victim and walk to Slender’s mansion.

[…]

Whoa….

Parents:

Are you paying close attention to what your children are reading and viewing and doing?

Posted in I'm just askin'..., The Coming Storm, The future and our choices | Tagged
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VIDEO: Children learn to sing Gregorian chant at Chant Camp!

Posted on 3 June 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

How many of you have heard someone object to Gregorian chant on the grounds that it is tooo haaard!

Right.

Here is a video about a summer camp where children as young as 8 years old are learning to sing Gregorian chant.

At St. Anne’s in San Diego, they don’t think you and your kids are too dumb to grasp and thrive within our common Catholic patrimony.

Play video

Just Too Cool file? Brick by Brick file? New Evangelization file?

Touch all the bases, St. Anne’s.

Fr. Z Kudos file, for sure.

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, Brick by Brick, Fr. Z KUDOS, Hard-Identity Catholicism, Just Too Cool, Liturgy Science Theatre 3000, New Evangelization, Our Catholic Identity | Tagged , , , , ,
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ASK FATHER: Convert ponders consequences of parents’ invalid marriage.

Posted on 3 June 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From a reader…

QUAERITUR:

I’m a convert to Catholicism, with a Lutheran mother and baptized and confirmed Catholic father. My dad fell away from the Church after college, as he married outside of the Church and all us children were nominally Lutheran. Given how his entire family hasn’t practiced their faith since before my birth, it’s something I struggle to internalize. But, it finally dawned on me that my parents’ marriage is invalid in the eyes of the Church. Now, I’m struggling with various questions I know will arise down the line: Do I acknowledge their wedding anniversaries? Should I let my parents share a room when they visit? What should my husband and I tell our children in the future, if anything? Any guidance would be appreciated.

These are tough situations for families who strive to live according to the teachings of the Church.

Yes, it is likely that your parents’ marriage is invalid due to a lack of canonical form to which your father, by virtue of his Catholic baptism, was bound. The Church reserves making that determination of validity or invalidity to herself. We can all look at the facts and draw conclusions, but in the end, the Church only has the authority to say, “this is an invalid marriage.”

Canon 1060 reminds us that marriages are presumed to be valid until they have been proven otherwise.

They are also still your parents, which makes you subject to the obligation of the Fourth Commandment.

Ideally, you can share with your parents your new-found Faith and help your mother into and your father back into the fullness of the Church. They could then seek to have their marriage sanated, which would retroactively validate their matrimonial consent. They could join you in practicing the Catholic Faith and reception of the sacraments.

Ideally. Yet, we often find ourselves in situations that are less than ideal.

It is possible that your father entered into a marriage outside of the Church because of ignorance on his part. That would lessen his culpability for having done so. It would not make the marriage valid, but it could lessen his responsibility for entering into a marriage outside of the Church.

You could still show your fourth-commandment respect towards your parents by sending them an anniversary card and permitting them to share a room when they visit. Your Catholic Faith also obliges you to pray, fervently, for their conversion and the regularization of their situation. Perhaps, instead of a simple store-bought anniversary card, have a Holy Mass offered for their intention and send them a Mass card.  That way the proper respect is shown, and the grace of a Mass is applied to their benefit.

As for telling children in the future, instruct your children in the teachings of the Church, including the Church’s teaching on marriage and the respect to be shown to their parents and their grandparents. I wouldn’t bring up their grandparents’ less-than-ideal marriage situation until and unless the children themselves ask about it. At that point, be honest.  Lay out the issues and invite them to pray for their grandparents, just as you have been doing.

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, ASK FATHER Question Box, Hard-Identity Catholicism, One Man & One Woman, Our Catholic Identity | Tagged ,
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A Novena of Prayer to the Holy Spirit: Day 5 (Audio)

Posted on 3 June 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

A Novena of Prayer to the Holy Spirit: Day 5 (Audio)Let us, upon our knees, pray in a special way to God the Holy Spirit during this time between Ascension Thursday and Pentecost.

This is one way to pray.  I invite the readership to join in.

MANNER OF PRAYING THE NOVENA

Each day the meditation and prayer for the particular day is said, followed by 1 Our Father, 1 Hail Mary and 7 Glory be to the Father, followed by the Act of Consecration and the Prayer for the Seven Gifts.

FIFTH DAY OF THE NOVENA

Light immortal! Light Divine!
Visit Thou these hearts of Thine,
And our inmost being fill!

The gift of Knowledge enables the soul to evaluate created things at their true worth–in their relation to God. Knowledge unmasks the pretense of creatures, reveals their emptiness, and points out their only true purpose as instruments in the service of God. It shows us the loving care of God even in adversity, and directs us to glorify Him in every circumstance of life. Guided by its light, we put first things first, and prize the friendship of God beyond all else. “Knowledge is a fountain of life to him that possesseth it.”

Come, O Blessed Spirit of Knowledge, and grant that I may perceive the will of the Father; show me the nothingness of earthly things, that I may realize their vanity and use them only for Thy glory and my own salvation, looking ever beyond them to Thee, and Thy eternal rewards. Amen.

(Our Father and Hail Mary ONCE. Glory be to the Father 7 TIMES. Act of Consecration, Prayer for the Seven Gifts)

ACT OF CONSECRATION TO THE HOLY GHOST

On my knees before the great multitude of heavenly witnesses, I offer myself, soul and body, to Thee, Eternal Spirit of God. I adore the brightness of Thy purity, the unerring keenness of Thy justice, and the might of Thy love. Thou art the Strength and Light of my soul. In Thee I live and move and am. I desire never to grieve Thee by unfaithfulness to grace, and I pray with all my heart to be kept from the smallest sin against Thee. Mercifully guard my every thought and grant that I may always watch for Thy light, and listen to Thy voice, and follow Thy gracious inspirations. I cling to Thee and give myself to Thee and ask Thee, by Thy compassion, to watch over me in my weakness. Holding the pierced Feet of Jesus, and looking at His five wounds, and trusting in His Precious Blood, and adoring His opened side and stricken Heart, I implore Thee, Adorable Spirit, Helper of my infirmity, so to keep me in Thy grace that I may never sin against Thee. Give me grace, O Holy Ghost, Spirit of the Father and the Son, to say to Thee always and everywhere, “Speak Lord, for Thy servant heareth.” Amen.

PRAYER FOR THE SEVEN GIFTS OF THE HOLY GHOST

O Lord Jesus Christ, who before ascending into Heaven, didst promise to send the Holy Ghost to finish Thy work in the souls of Thine Apostles and Disciples, deign to grant the same Holy Spirit to me, that He may perfect in my soul the work of Thy grace and Thy love. Grant me the Spirit of Wisdom, that I may despise the perishable things of this world and aspire only after the things that are eternal; the Spirit of Understanding, to enlighten my mind with the light of Thy divine truth, the Spirit of Counsel, that I may ever choose the surest way of pleasing God and gaining Heaven; the Spirit of Fortitude, that I may bear my cross with Thee and that I may overcome with courage all the obstacles that oppose my salvation; the Spirit of Knowledge, that I may know God and know myself and grow perfect in the science of the saints; the Spirit of Piety, that I may find the service of God sweet and amiable; the Spirit of Fear, that I may be filled with a loving reverence towards God and may dread in any way to displease Him. Mark me, Dear Lord, with the sign of Thy true disciples, and animate me in all things with Thy Spirit. Amen.

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Pope Francis: Marriage and things Jesus does not like

Posted on 2 June 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Pope Francis and marriage… what’s up with that?

Here is something that he said about marriage in his daily, off-the-cuff sermonette:

From ZENIT:

Pope Francis celebrated Mass this morning with a group of married couples at various stages in their life’s journey in attendance.

Reflecting on the readings of the day, the focus of the Holy Father’s homily were on the faithfulness, perseverance, and fruitfulness of Christ’s love for His bride, the Church – three characteristics that are also at the heart of Christian marriage.

Fifteen couples, celebrating between 25 and 60 years’ of marriage, were present at the Mass in Casa Santa Marta to give thanks to God for the milestones they’ve reached.

After the readings of the day, Pope Francis spoke about the three pillars of spousal relationship in the Christian vision of things: fidelity, perseverance, fruitfulness. The Holy Father said that Christ, Himself, is the model measure of these, which the Pope called the “three loves of Jesus”: for the Father, for His mother, and for the Church. “Great” is His love for the Church, said Pope Francis, adding, “Jesus married the Church for love.” She is, he said, “His bride: beautiful, holy, a sinner, He loves her all the same.” His way of loving set the three characteristics of this love in relief.

“It is a faithful love. It is a persevering love. He never tires of loving his Church. It is a fruitful love. It is a faithful love,” the Pope said. “Jesus is the faithful one. St. Paul , in one of his Letters, says that, if you confess Christ, He will confess you, before the Father; if you deny Christ, He will deny you; even if you are not faithful to Christ, He remains faithful, for he cannot deny Himself! Fidelity is the essence of Jesus’ love. Jesus’ love in His Church is faithful. This faithfulness is like a light on marriage. The fidelity of love. Always.”

Always faithful, and also indefatigable in its perseverance – just like the love of Jesus for His Bride.

“Married life must be persevering, because otherwise love cannot go forward,” the Pope continued. “Perseverance in love, in good times and in difficult times, when there are problems: problems with the children, economic problems, problems here, problems there – but love perseveres, presses on, always trying to work things out, to save the family. Persevering: they get up every morning, the man and the woman, and carry the family forward.”

Then the Holy Father discussed the third characteristic: fruitfulness. The love of Jesus, he said, “makes the Church fruitful,” providing her with new children through Baptism, and the Church grows with this spousal fruitfulness. [That’s not going to happen with homosexuals.]

“In a marriage, fertility can sometimes be put to the test when the children do not arrive, or are sick,” he said, and added that in such times of trial, there are couples who look to Jesus and draw on the power of fertility that Christ has with His Church.

There are also other things that Jesus does not like – such as marriages that are sterile by choice, ones in which the spouses “do not want children” or “want to remain without fertility. [Ditto… Jesus doesn’t like homosexual unions.]

“This culture of well-being from ten years ago convinced us: ‘It’s better not to have children! It’s better! You can go explore the world, go on holiday, you can have a villa in the countryside, you can be care-free…it might be better – more comfortable – to have a dog, two cats, and the love goes to the two cats and the dog. Is this true or is this not? Have you seen it? Then, in the end this marriage comes to old age in solitude, with the bitterness of loneliness. It is not fruitful, it does not do what Jesus does with his Church: He makes His Church fruitful.”

Ut eatis et fructum afferatis!

The Pope thinks about marriage in traditional, orthodox terms.

Posted in Francis, One Man & One Woman, Our Catholic Identity | Tagged ,
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