Question: what was the Sacrament instituted right before Christ’s passion?
Answer: The Eucharist (Luke 22: 14-20)

Bonus question: What was the sacrament instituted right after Christ’s resurrection?
Answer: Reconciliation (John 20:23)

Check our the stats on these two sacraments regarding World Youth Day. In case anyone is unsure what the whole thing is about. THIS is what it’s about. Christ in the world - calling us to repentance and communion with Him.

From Catholic World News:

Australian officials report that the Sunday-morning Mass at Randwick on July 20 saw the largest single gathering of people in the country’s history. An estimated 400,000 people joined in the congregation as Pope Benedict presided at the closing Mass of WYD.

Earlier, at a Saturday-evening prayer vigil, about 200,000 young people joined the Holy Father in silent prayer before the Eucharist after Benediction. The Blessed Sacrament was exposed for 24-hour veneration in a tent maintained by the Missionaries of Charity at one side of the racetrack venue. The tent remained crowded, with prayerful pilgrims coming and going throughout the night.

WYD organizers had set up 250 locations around Sydney for young people to receive the sacrament of reconciliation, and recruited priests to hear confessions in a number of different languages. Long lines formed for confession, noted Msgr. Marc Caron, who organized that aspect of the WYD project. He reported that over 1,000 priests were busy hearing confessions at a time to accommodate the young pilgrims.

Praise God!

Nintendo Co Ltd sold 666,000 units of its Wii video game console in the United States in June, becoming the country’s best-selling video game console, the company said on Thursday, citing figures from market research firm NPD.

I am wondering why they didn’t report 665,000 or more than 660,000 or even the exact number (clearly 666,000 is too round). It kind of makes you wonder about these insidious devices. I just think it’s kind of interesting. I mean, who is delighted when we are all glued to the idiot boxes interacting with bazillions of pixels and bytes rather than flesh and blood people.
Well, got to go - I’m absolutely hooked on a new PlayStation game, I don’t have time to talk.

John Herron has been a very public Catholic all his life, as a senator for 11 years, as a Howard government Aboriginal affairs minister, and as the ambassador to Ireland and the Holy See.

He advised the Pope there were five types of Catholics in Australia. There were relapsing Catholics, who returned to the faith when stressed; and nominal Catholics, the tick-the-census-box types. There were anti-Catholic Catholics, baptised but who hate Catholicism (”There are a lot of them around,” the Pope told Herron), and smorgasbord Catholics, who take bits they like and leave those they don’t (the Pope called them “cafe Catholics”).

And then, Herron told the Pope, there are practising Catholics. “Like you and me.”

You gotta love this. In hearing all of the negative from many of the MSM outlets in Australia it is pleasant to here this one (and others that are not protester obsessed). It makes me wonder how many anti-Catholic Catholics and smorgasbord Catholics work for the ABC or the Melbourne Herald Sun or some of the other outlets.

By the way, what kind of Catholic are you?

H/t to Creative Minority Report

click here for a larger image It’s about 85 degrees where I am today, though it feels hotter. I wish I was down in Newport Beach where I took this picture. It’s supposed to be 79 degrees there today, and with that cool Pacific to dive into, it would be a sweet place to be. Hope you are enjoying your summer and are staying cool. ]]> http://kaiserfam.com/kyrieeleison/2008/07/17/summer-fun/feed/ http://kaiserfam.com/kyrieeleison/2008/07/16/the-texture-of-being/ http://kaiserfam.com/kyrieeleison/2008/07/16/the-texture-of-being/#comments Wed, 16 Jul 2008 17:01:17 +0000 RobK http://kaiserfam.com/kyrieeleison/2008/07/16/the-texture-of-being/
click here for a larger image

I was praying as I was driving the other day. It was in a back road on a hill with a beautiful view. I am not sure why the pavement at the edge of the road drew my attention, besides the obvious reason of staying away from the edge, but it did. I noticed the pebbly nooks and cranny in the asphalt next to the powdery dirt with the smooth yellow of a flower from a manicured yard next to the red bricked driveway leading to someone’s home. Over the edge of the hill I could see the the variety of trees in the narrow valley below and on the hills across the valley - eucalyptus, oak, pine as well as others. Where there were no trees I could see the long dry chaparral in the golden brown it wears during the hot summers in Southern California. A mere months ago, the fields were a vibrant yellow from the wild mustard together with the green the chaparral dons in winter and spring. The attached picture was from that springtime.

The beauty of nature never ceases to impact me, but that is not what drew my attention. It was the texture of being, It was the tangibility of it all; the grainy texture of the dirt, the roughness of the gravel, the brittleness of the brush. The sheer being of it all. I think I was given a reminder about the tremendous gift of being. The fact that this physical world is a gift that we so often don’t recognize because we are to busy living in it. God has bestowed on man a unique gift of being in both body and spirit. This physical world, and our physical being is good and a marvel to behold.

One of the things that I like about Catholicism is that the sacraments given to us by Christ (Eucharist, Baptism, Confirmation, Confession, Matrimony, Holy Orders, and Anointing of the Sick) all incorporate physical as well as spiritual. Our sacramentals as well, holy water, scapulars, candles, incense, bells, etc. also incorporate appeal to the whole man. Christ came to us bodily and engages with all of our senses - we are not disembodied spirits, but are grounded in this beautiful world created for us by God.

When you have a moment, sit back and appreciate the texture of being. It is a gift.

Obama’s pro-abortion views are so extreme that, while an Illinois state senator, he refused to vote for a bill for three years that would have protected babies born alive after an abortion. The Infant Born Alive Act was passed in that state only after he left the senate.

Minnesota professor encourages theft and desecration of Eucharist

A Minnesota professor and science blogger has said he will personally desecrate the Eucharist and publish photos of the desecration on the internet if any of his readers acquire a consecrated Host and mail it to him. “I’ll show you sacrilege, gladly, and with much fanfare,” he has written.Paul Zachary Myers, an associate professor of biology at the University of Minnesota at Morris, made the threat while commenting on a University of Central Florida incident in which a student senator stole and held hostage a consecrated Host from a June 29 Mass.

I wonder if he knows (or cares) that people have given their life in defense of the Eucharist; that there are so many of us today who would do the same. I wonder if he knows (or cares) that priests have risked everything and even given their lives in bringing the Eucharist to people under persecution. Or if he knows that our priests have made given to our Church their very lives so as to confect the Eucharist?

Does he really mean to dehumanize each of us who believes in th real presence?

Is he really willing to spit in the face of Christ?

As someone who has raised his hand as an enemy, we should pray for him.

O God, the Lord of all
your Son commanded us to love our enemies
and to pray for them.
Lead us from prejudice to truth;
deliver us from hatred, cruelty and revenge;
and enable us to stand before you,
reconciled through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

The prayer is taken from Catholic Household Blessings and Prayers

Abortionist hires assailants to harass pro-lifers in Austria

Human Life International is asking for prayers in response to the “vile attacks” in Vienna, Austria, against pro-life demonstrators by assailants who are being paid to harass them by the owners of abortion clinics. Pro-life demonstrators who are sidewalk counseling outside the clinics have been sexually assaulted, and some of the attacks have been captured on video.

The Planned Parenthood Action Fund, the political arm of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, has endorsed presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama, citing his 100 percent pro-abortion rating. The presidential endorsement is only the organization’s second in its history.

John Kerry was the first candidate they endorsed.

Here are some facts about this abomination that wants to turn the US into an Obama-nation :

• Obama received a 100 percent rating from the Planned Parenthood Action Fund.
• Obama is co-sponsor of the Freedom of Choice Act.This is an act that would nullify all legislation that seeks to limit abortions.
• Obama wants to increase government sponsored birth control.
• Obama is opposed to the Mexico City policy which prevents organizations from promoting abortion in foreign countries with US tax dollars..
• Obama promotes sex education to children as young as kindergarten.

In contrast, Sen. John McCain is persona non grata from the same group with the honor of getting a 0% from them. Further, Senator McCain has publicly stated his desire to overturn Roe v Wade.

Abortion is the single greatest evil that our society has ever perpetrated. Evil is the only way to describe the murder of millions and millions children. A vote for Obama is a vote to prolong this evil.

The martyrs of Orange lived in the eighteenth century, They were thirty-two nuns. During the French Revolution, these sisters, from different religious orders, were jailed in Orange, France. There were sixteen Ursuline sisters, thirteen Sisters Adorers of the Blessed Sacrament, two Bernardine sisters and one Benedictine sister.

While the French Revolution raged, these nuns were told that they had to take an oath of loyalty to the leaders of the Revolution. The sisters believed that the oath was against God and the Church. Each refused to sign it and were taken to the Orange jail. Some of the sisters had lived in the same convents before they came to jail. Others did not know any of the sisters until they met in prison. The nuns formed a community in that dark, damp room. They prayed together at particular times during the day. They cheered up and consoled each other and bonded as the early persecuted Christian Church had. On July 6, the first sister was taken to trial and condemned to the guillotine. She never returned. Every day another sister, some days two sisters, were taken. No one knew who would be next. The group diminished in size, but the remaining sisters prayed especially for those who would die that day. Then they would sing a hymn of praise to God called the Te Deum.

By the end of July, 1794, thirty-two sisters had been condemned by the people’s court at Orange, France. Thirty-two sisters were martyrs. When the French Revolution was over, the judges of Orange were convicted for what they had done. The thirty-two sisters called the martyrs of Orange were declared “blessed” by Pope Pius XI in 1925.

Information on these saints was found at Holy Spirit Interactive.

People, abortionists are liars.  Their dishonesty runs deep.  This is just more evidence.  Watch their cover get blown in the video below.  They already tried to have it removed (and temporarily succeeded) from YouTube.  Watch it before they try and do it again.

To read more about this visit CNA by clicking here or here.

click here for a larger image To all my fellow Americans, I wish you a happy Independence Day. Raise a glass to the land of liberty. It’s good to be an American. ]]> http://kaiserfam.com/kyrieeleison/2008/07/04/happy-fourth-of-july/feed/ http://kaiserfam.com/kyrieeleison/2008/07/03/the-face/ http://kaiserfam.com/kyrieeleison/2008/07/03/the-face/#comments Thu, 03 Jul 2008 17:12:20 +0000 RobK http://kaiserfam.com/kyrieeleison/2008/07/03/the-face/

click here for a larger image I am not exactly sure why I like this image. I think it is the way she is looking at something you can’t see. I want to know what she is seeing and what she is thinking. Imho, her face has that look like the Mona Lisa - that look of pleasant mystery. I think the weathered look of the statue adds to the overall mystery. ]]> http://kaiserfam.com/kyrieeleison/2008/07/03/the-face/feed/ http://kaiserfam.com/kyrieeleison/2008/06/30/resurrection-meditation/ http://kaiserfam.com/kyrieeleison/2008/06/30/resurrection-meditation/#comments Mon, 30 Jun 2008 15:40:42 +0000 RobK http://kaiserfam.com/kyrieeleison/2008/06/30/resurrection-meditation/ When praying the rosary it is important to meditate upon the mysteries for the day. Yesterday, being Sunday we said the Glorious mysteries. The first mystery is the resurrection and my meditation centered on Mary Magdalene.

Mary was at a complete loss. The man she thought was the Savior, the one whose feet she washed with her hair, the one to whom she listened while her sister was at work in the kitchen, her friend whom she loved dearly was dead. She had stood at the foot of the cross and watched him die. But even after death, even in this darkest hour she looked for him - though she thought she was looking for a body. Can you imagine the pain and anguish? Can you imagine the prayers of lament that went up to the Father? But her prayer had already been answered! She just didn’t know it. So wrapped up in her pain, she did not realize that it was Christ who stood before her. Can you imagine the joy when she finally saw him, really saw him?

Sometimes, our own pain from loss or trial can be so intense. We may even feel like God has abandoned us; that our hope has died. But if we look, we can see him. He is standing right in front of us.

click here for a larger image Do you ever get that feeling…? ]]> http://kaiserfam.com/kyrieeleison/2008/06/25/surrounded/feed/ http://kaiserfam.com/kyrieeleison/2008/06/23/sarahs-law-video-competition/ http://kaiserfam.com/kyrieeleison/2008/06/23/sarahs-law-video-competition/#comments Mon, 23 Jun 2008 21:42:05 +0000 RobK http://kaiserfam.com/kyrieeleison/2008/06/23/sarahs-law-video-competition/ Sarah’s Law is an initiative in California to require consent before a minor is given an abortion. From the friendsofsarah.com:

 In California, a girl under 18 years can’t get a flu shot, a cavity filled, or an aspirin dispensed by the school nurse without a parent knowing BUT a doctor can perform a surgical or chemical abortion on a minor girl (under 18) without informing her parents.

There is a contest that anyone can enter to promote Sarah’s law. Details on the proposition and the video can be found at friendsofsarah.com.  Entries for the video are not limited to Californians - so get busy with your video making skills.

This first video is titled “Child Predator”.

click here for a larger image For those of you headed out for a summer vacation trip, I offer a picture from our last year’s vacation. Have fun! ]]> http://kaiserfam.com/kyrieeleison/2008/06/21/c-ya/feed/ http://kaiserfam.com/kyrieeleison/2008/06/18/it-is-about-events/ http://kaiserfam.com/kyrieeleison/2008/06/18/it-is-about-events/#comments Wed, 18 Jun 2008 18:23:10 +0000 RobK http://kaiserfam.com/kyrieeleison/2008/06/18/it-is-about-events/

Christianity is not about ideas. It is about events.

I heard this quote in a talk by Gil Bailie. You can here the talks at the Emmaus Road Initiative website. Here is what he recommends you ask if you are suffering an identity crisis.

By whom am I called and to whom am I sent?

“If one, because of one’s sincerely held moral beliefs, whether it be Jew, Muslim, Christian, Catholic, opposes the idea of same-sex marriage in Canada, is that considered ‘hate’?”The question was not rhetorical. Nor was it theoretical. Fr. Alphonse de Valk, a Basilian priest and pro-life activist known throughout Canada for his orthodoxy, is currently being investigated by the Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC) — a quasi-judicial investigative body with the power of the Canadian government behind it. The CHRC is using section 13 of Canada’s Human Rights Act to investigate the priest. This is a section under which no defendant has ever won once the allegation has gone to tribunal — the next stage of the process.

Most defendants end up paying thousands of dollars in fines and compensation. This is in addition to various court costs. Moreover, defendants are responsible for their own legal defense. In contrast, the commission provides free legal assistance to the complainant.

A persecution is coming. The values that Catholics (and other people of faith) hold as sacred are being outlawed. Ostensibly this illegalization of faith takes the guise of creating new “freedoms” or “rights.” These new “rights” are new and are false - rights are not created by the state - rights are endemic to being human - they can be recognizes by a state, but they cannot be created. When a new “right” is created by a state is better termed license (as in permission). These new licenses are beginning to be used to deny actual rights. We already see the right to life denied in the name of “freedom to choose abortion,” expect to see freedom of religion fall as it becomes illegal to hold religious beliefs.

This looming persecution seems inevitable with the West on its continuing 40+ year hedonistic binge, and rejection of morality. The time is coming when we will each need to choose what side we are on. Will you worship God and follow his precepts? Will you stand up and be counted no matter what the cost? Or will follow the state - supporting the “change” that it and its ministers preach?

I would say, on average, this is true - though there are some exceptions.

The implication is that the difference is negative, at least in terms of the commenter’s reading preferences. In terms of reading preferences, this can be fair. Beyond that, I think not.

Dad’s blogs are not nearly as focused internally on the family as are mother’s blogs and there is a reason for this. It has to do with the roles that dad’s play in the family. Specifically, fathers teach children how to interact with the broader world, the harsh world. It traditionally has been that the mother tends to adopt a more nurturing role while the father provided a buffer between the hardness of the outside world and the gentle and loving embrace of the family. To a substantial extent this remains in intact families. Part of a father’s role morphs from creating and protecting the space for this family in the world into teaching his children about how to engage with this frequently hard and sometimes hostile world.

Of course there is tremendous overlap in roles. Of course fathers nurture and mothers buffer. Of course fathers show tenderness and mothers protect. Of course fathers represent mercy and mothers justice. But in general, the father is associated with protecting, buffering, and justice. The mother is associated with nurturing, tenderness, and mercy. In general when a child is hurt or in trouble, he or she will cry for their mother. Has anyone also noticed that a child in trouble will sometimes ask a mother to not tell a father? That is because fathers represent justice while mothers represent mercy. Together they teach their children about these aspects of God. This is good, not bad.

This division is not arbitrary, but suits the difference between men and women. Men are problem solvers; it is in our nature to be goal oriented. It is not that women are not, but this tends to be more salient for men. Women are more relationship oriented. It is not that men are not, but this tends to be more salient for women. These differences are good and worthy of celebration. Of course, each individual needs to incorporate both aspects into their own being, but there is always a dominant mode of relating and dealing with reality.

As we approach Father’s Day we are offered a chance at reflecting on our fathers, our role as a father, and fathers in general. Let us celebrate what makes a father different from every other being in our lives or the lives of our children. Let us recognize the tremendous gift our fathers provide us and that we provide as fathers.

Buy Mystic Monk Coffee!

My wife and I love coffee. For the longest time we were spending gobs of money on coffee that was darn good, but it was hard to justify the expense - especially in supporting a faceless company.

We found Mystic Monks Coffee and that is what we drink now. Mystic Monks coffees are actually roasted by real Carmelite monks in Wyoming. At first I wondered how good the coffee could be, but then we tried it. It is outstanding. We get great coffee, at prices less than you can get in the store, and help support monks.

My favorite is the Cowboy blend, my wife is partial to the Pascha decaf (which is flavored).

I felt so strongly about their coffee I joined their affiliate program - the first and only program I have joined to date.

I hope you check them out and give them a try.

You can get to Mystic Monk Coffee by clicking the image or by clicking here.

Yesterday, I discussed how human fulfillment develops in regards to three universal needs - work, love, and God. A society can be diagnosed according to how well it hinders or fosters development in terms of these needs. It is important to realize that these ideas stem from a realist as opposed to relativist perspective. I believe in the reality of truth, the reality of right and wrong, and that reality can be used to evaluate society. Specifically, we can evaluate society as to how well it fosters development in the three areas.

A society that does not allow its entire people to work fails at a basic level. Even if the majority of individuals have their needs met, if segments of the population are prevented from fulfilling their need to work, then society fails. This does not imply a particular system of government, but it does imply that a laissez-faire system where humans are put at the mercy of unrestrained “market forces” is inherently unjust. In western culture this unrestrained system is largely no longer existent. Western societies recognize that people must be protected from (at least) the very worst of unrestrained capitalism. But protecting an individual from the worst parts of a system is merely a down payment toward a just situation. A just system must recognize the inherent dignity of all individuals and that they have a right to develop their work potential.

Work and economic justice is only one dimension on which a society must be judged. A society must also provide for community, for the social bond. For a person to fully develop they must have sound and healthy relationships and they must be a part of a community. If a society fully employs and develops the productive talents of its members, but fails to provide for their social development, then that society has failed. It is through our relationships that we can become fully human, and a society must foster that development.

Finally, society must provide opportunity for us to reach out to God. Inherent in every man is the hunger for God. A society that thwarts that desire and purposely stands in the way of it is a failed society. But a society should not only permit reaching out to God, it should nurture it, without compelling it. A society that does not help us achieve the purpose for which we have been created is flawed, and unless changed will not last.

Where does our society stand?

In the United States, and our materialist culture, we do reasonably well (though by no means perfectly) on providing opportunity for man to develop his need to work. There are unfortunate cases of the immigrant that is treated as sub-human or of the poor not having the resources to develop to their potential or of unjust employers. These problems should be continually improved upon starting with an understanding of the inherent dignity of each person regardless of status. As Christians in this society, we must continually advocate for these whom society would pass over. It is our responsibility to not pass by our brother in need.

Oour society is at serious risk of failure in terms of love, or social needs. There is increased isolation caused by the displacement of relationships by technology, a continual focus on the individual and material gain, and the breakdown of the family. Women (and men) are objectified. Sex has been separated from love and marriage. Hedonism rather than love is the base of too many relationships. We murder millions of our unborn children every year. About one third of pregnancies end in abortion and about one third are to unmarried mothers. The family is being systematically destroyed. With this so to falls the strength of the nation.

Our society is failing in terms of providing for the faith needs of its members. In America, if you want to go to heaven, fine - just don’t “burden” anyone else with your goals. If you want to go to hell, fine (and feel free to advertise). While so many remain nominally religions, faith is constantly pushed to the margins, exiled from public discourse. We have candidates tell us that they “condemn remarks that are, in any way, viewed as anti-anything.” and others tell us “I think that religion at it’s best comes with a big dose of doubt. I’m suspicious of too much certainty in the pursuit of understanding just because I think people are limited in their understanding.” In other words, we are not free to call anything truth, because to identify truth is to identify falsehood. God and prayer are eliminated from our schools and our values are eliminated from our laws. We find ourselves in a society that is functionally atheist. Because of our schizophrenic philosophy, we are dooming most of society to the basest common denominator. Those without the discipline to seek God on their own, will find the call to the easy road overpowering. At best, our society will not get in the way of those who have been blessed with strong family or strong character or more than ordinary virtue, but it rigs the system against the average person.

There are three basic needs each man must satisfy for fulfillment, to achieve his potential. Freud identified two of these (though he is not the first nor is he alone) when he talked about love and work. Saint Benedict had a more complete picture with “ora et labora” or pray and work - all of which takes place in the presence of a community. Together, the three basic needs can be identified as the need for work, the need for love, and the need for God.

At the most basic level, man must work. He must provide for himself and his family. But this is more than mere drudgery. Man must subdue the world around him. It is true that a consequence of original sin was that “in toil you shall eat,” but God also commanded that we should “subdue the Earth.” Work is necessary for fulfillment as a human being. It is a duty given to each and every living person - to be productive, to work.

Work alone is insufficient for man’s fulfillment. Man must be connected to others. We are created as social beings. We need one another; to be a part of a community. We are not merely isolated individuals, we are members of a people. To be achieve our potential and be fulfilled, we must connect with the people around us. We must engage with others, affect them, be affected by them. It is with other people that we achieve our full potential - not away from them.

Man needs God. Without God, everything else is merely activity - there is no fulfillment; there is no potential. All activity becomes utterly pointless. The reason fo of our being on Earth is to know God, to love God, and to serve God. We must pray, we must worship, we must seek God. This is what we are created for - to deny this is to deny our potential. The only way you or I or anyone will ever be fulfilled is in reaching out to God.

Finally, these three elements must not be separated. Our need for God is not something that is done outside of our daily lives. All of our life, all that we do, all whom we meet and love are integrated into our relationship with God. We cannot find God while neglecting our work and our neighbor. Our work, our relationships, or entire lives must become a communion with the Almighty. If you want to find God your entire life, your work, your love must become a prayer, a sacrament.

Ephesians 4:29-32

Never let evil talk pass your lips; say only the good things men need to hear, things that will really help them. Do nothing that will sadden the Holy Spirit with whom you were sealed against the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, all passion and anger, harsh words, slander, and malice of every kind. In place of these, be kind to one another, compassionate, and mutually forgiving, just as God has forgiven you in Christ.