Saturday, October 21, 2006

Father John Carville on Rome During Vatican II This Sunday Night

Father John Carville will be the Parousians' special guest this Sunday at 8pm when he shares his memories of being a student in Rome during Vatican II and elaborates on the continuity between the popes of the Council (John XXIII and Paul VI) and the popes of our lifetime (John Paul II and Benedict XVI.) Call Ryan Hallford for directions to Mary Grace Westphal, Fay Thibodeaux, and Sarah Berard's apartment (601 East Campus Apartments)at (504) 952-0247. Please come and bring a friend.

Thursday, October 19, 2006

Of Course They Don't Go There: Planned Parenthood's Vox Responds to Emily Byers

"Sex is no longer sacred. Tragically, many of us are stunned to hear anyone claim it ever was.

Thankfully an alternate view exists, one which holds that our sexual nature speaks staggering truths about who we are, about the human capacity for relationship, intimacy and participation in the creation of new life.

That's heavy stuff. No wonder Planned Parenthood and its pro-choice confederates are afraid to go there."

And Parousian Emily Byers was right, but the Vox officers felt compelled to speak out anyway.

Columnist was wrong about PPFA

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Wednesday Audience

From Founding Parousian Member Caleb Bernacchio:

At the today's Wednesday Audience the Holy Father spoke about a text from the Gospel of St Matthew, which spoke of Judas' betrayal of Jesus, his subsequent guilt and suicide.

Pope Benedict, summarizing his speech, given in Italian, to the English speaking pilgrims, said that different theologies have tried to explain the motivation that lead to the betrayal of Jesus by Judas but, the Pope said, the gospels tell us that Judas gave in to the temptation of the Evil One. He said it is surprising to many that someone who lived so closely with Jesus could betray him. But, he emphasised, Christ respects our freedom, and does not force our will. He leaves us free to seek complete happiness in a life of complete obedience to the Father, a life of following Christ.


Incidentally, the Bishop who announced the Pilgrims from English speaking countries, mentioned a group from Assumption Parish in Franklin, LA. Assumption Parish is the home parish of the renowned Luke Ordogne's mother.

Curt Jester Cites Emily Byers and the Parousians


Unhappy Anniversary


The clown prince of Catholic commentary critiques one of Emily's critics:

"You just got to enjoy those bumper sticker platitudes like "Don't like abortion - don't have one." Don't like slavery, don't own one. Don't like murder, don't kill anyone. Though what immediately comes to mind is in this commenter's case "Don't like reason, don't use it."

Thanks for the comeback.

Mark Shea Cites Emily Byers and the Parousians Again


Parousian Emily Byers takes on Planned Parenthood


Thanks to preeminent Catholic blogger Mark Shea for recognizing Emily and the Parousians first.

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Dawn Eden Cites Emily Byers

Dawn Eden, the beloved Catholic convert, columnist, rock journalist, take-no-prisoners blogger, and author of The Thrill of the Chaste: Finding Fulfillment While Keeping Your Clothes On cites our own Emily Byers as her quote of the day.

She has also added a link to the Parousians blog. Many thanks and tremendous fan support from the Parousians to Dawn Eden.

Maclin Horton Cites the Parousians

Rod Dreher describes Maclin Horton as "a Catholic convert who went from 1960s counterculturalist to faithful orthodox Catholic without ever losing his sense that something was seriously wrong with mainstream American society." Horton has two blogs, and they both recognize the Parousians today. Light on Dark Water deals with faith, literature, and music, while Caelum et Terra (a project with Daniel Nichols, the founder of the magazine of the same name) deals with social concerns. Both are priority stops for anyone surfing the net.

Horton's post from Light on Dark Water:

"What's more depressing than the drunks and joyless libertines who seem to comprise a good percentage of today's college students? What's more heartening than a bright, lively bunch of Catholic students challenging the conventional morbid hedonism? The Parousians are such a group at LSU, doing good things. Here's one of them taking on Margaret Sanger in the LSU student paper. That's nerve. And they have an interesting blog: a look at their links indicates a healthy disregard for some of the unhealthy divisions in the Church: First Things alongside the Catholic Worker. Good for them.

And, all together now: Wouldn't That Be A Good Name For A Band? Or an interesting one, anyway."

Again, many thanks to another role model for his support.

Bishop Robert Finn on the Rosary

October is month of the Rosary: Mary of Victories pray for us!

"In his 2002 letter, the Holy Father recommended the rosary as a contemplative prayer deeply rooted in the Sacred Scriptures. He suggested that we turn to the Bible in the course of our recitation, reading a short or longer portion of God's Word that corresponds to the mystery we reflect on while saying the beautiful prayers, the "Our Father" and the "Hail Mary," which themselves are echoes of Gospel. In this way we unite ourselves more completely not only with the power of the revealed Word, the Scriptures. It also becomes more likely that we will find in this prayer a meaningful coincidence between the mysteries of Christ's life and the dynamics of our own daily spiritual mysteries."

Archbishop Alfred Hughes on the Gospel of Life

The great source of hope for New Orleans' recovery is a passionate rebuilder of the culture of life.

Respect Life Sunday

"Why are the rich so miserable? They are miserable, if they have been unjust; if their ill-gotten gains came from defrauding their employees and ignoring the cries of those who were deprived. Even if their ears have been closed to the cry of their victims, these cries "have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts." Their crying is clear: "You have murdered the righteous one."

The application of this text to those who would contribute to the killing of a child in her mother's womb is frightening. But so, too, is it application to those who refuse to work for the Gospel of Life. There are those who would choose political expediency over the life of the unborn child. There are those who would attend to their own comforts when defenseless children need their support. There are those who consider the Gospel of Life an abstraction, not a personal responsibility. There are those who never visit their parents or listen to their children. There are those who would never work for a just penal system and the elimination of the unnecessary execution of those condemned to capital punishment. There are those who would never grapple with the moral dimensions of war or embryonic stem cell research. So God asks us today: Do you; do we work for the Gospel of Life?

Some would ask: What is the worst sin? Murder; apostasy? Christ has indicated that the greatest sin is to lead a "little one" into sin. The "little ones" are Christ's disciples. It is clear from Christ's words that nothing in life is worth more than virtue. Not even my hand, my foot, my eye is worth more than doing what God asks of me. That is why embracing the Gospel of Life is so essential. We cannot lead others into sin by disregarding or rejecting the Gospel of Life."

Archbishop Alfred Hughes on the Gospel of Prosperity

God’s will and human possessions

"In the human effort to respond to this teaching, there is always going to be a tension between greed and generosity. Greed is one of the fundamental ways in which our fallen human nature disorients us. It leads to a desire to amass earthly goods. This can take the form of personal avarice for riches or power. It can also take the social expression of injustice by harming others in order to amass wealth.

On the other hand, generosity leads us to largeness of heart. The widow in Serephta in the time of Elijah who was willing to share her limited flour for food and ended up being able to live more than a year with her son is an example of generosity of heart. The Lord Jesus also drew the attention of his disciples to the widow who placed a small mite in the Temple basket but, in doing so, gave all that she had to live on. In my own experience growing up in a post-Depression period, I marvel now at the sacrificial and generous way in which my parents provided despite the extraordinarily limited income on which we were living.

The experience of Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath has presented us with an opportunity to re-look at the way in which we have amassed possessions. We have lost homes, possessions, jobs and a way of life. The Gospel calls us to place God first and to allow everything else to fall into its proper perspective. We have a responsibility to evaluate our approach to possessions and finances in light of the Gospel."

Monday, October 16, 2006

Emily Byers Critiques Planned Parenthood

Emily takes a hard look at the PPFA on the 90 year anniversary of their founding.
Planned Parenthood Denies its Roots