Monthly Archives: July 2010

by Ancient Soul

A year ago today, I sold the first BattleBeads Rosary. Hard to believe it’s a year later and I’m still getting special requests. Just got one today in fact regarding a 6 decade Brigittine Rosary that I’ll be making shortly. I always very much like to design something new or something uniquely custom … really looking forward to it!
I was going to let this anniversary go by, but decided not to after a dream I had last night that was completely unrelated to making rosaries and an email I just received from someone that found me after prayer to our Lady. I believe the dream was actually an answer to a petition that I’ve been praying about for a few months now. I had been asking to be led more deeply into our Lord’s Passion and to understand more and love Him more perfectly.
Upon retiring last night, I was thinking how FULL of grace Mary was and how at such a young age, she was able to accept such monumental tasks that were wrought with the possibility of dire consequences. I thought too about how she had to endure the swords piercing her Immaculate Heart that Simeon spoke of. I thought of her horror and anguish at learning Jesus had been arrested. I was brought to a place where I could barely watch as He was horrifically mauled, maltreated, humiliated and in torturous pain as He was being mocked carrying His Cross. How could Mary have stood this? Yes … grace, I know … but she was fully human! Watching this … standing at the foot of the Cross after watching them drive the nails into Him … hearing His WORDS to the Father, her and John … holding His Lifeless Precious Body in her arms when they took Him down and then the finality of placing Him in the tomb. I was just in awe … totally and literally. I fell asleep praying.

So, now my dream. Short .. but just as profound. Please read on at Battlebeads.com Blog

Editor’s Note: This post is so very dear to my heart. Mary (@Ancientsoul on Twitter) is the website designer at AlwaysCatholic.com as well as a contributor. We came together because of Twitter and because of her magnificent Rosaries. I humbly ask my followers to go to Battlebeads.com to see what I consider the most artistic Rosaries I have ever owned. The Rosaries are so beautiful to pray on that nothing less is acceptable for the Queen of Heaven. God Love you, Mary!! As ever, Sofia

Champaign, Ill., Jul 29, 2010 / 05:27 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- A professor who was recently fired for explaining the Catholic teaching on homosexuality will be reinstated, according to the University of Illinois. Dr. Kenneth Howell’s position at the school was terminated at the end of the Spring Semester this year after teaching in a class on Catholicism that the Church believes homosexual behavior violates natural law.

A Thursday letter from the University of Illinois Office of University Counsel told Howell’s lawyers at the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) that “The School of Literatures, Cultures and Linguistics will be contacting Dr. Howell to offer him the opportunity to teach Religion 127, Introduction to Catholicism, on a visiting instructional appointment at the University of Illinois, for the fall 2010 semester. Dr. Howell will be appointed and paid by the University for this adjunct teaching assignment.”

Howell had been teaching at the university since 2001 and consistently gained high approval ratings on student evaluations. In a class on Catholicism last spring, he followed up a classroom discussion with an e-mail contrasting the ways in which utilitarianism and natural law theory would each determine the morality of homosexual conduct.

A student complained that Howell’s words were “hate speech” in an e-mail to the head of the department, Dr. Robert McKim. Howell was called into McKim’s office at the end of the semester and told that he would no longer be allowed to teach for the university because his e-mail had “violate[d] university standards of inclusivity.”

In Howell’s defense, the ADF declared that the First Amendment exists to keep controversial ideas from being suppressed. “A university cannot censor professors’ speech–including classroom speech related to the topic of the class–merely because certain ideas ‘offend’ an anonymous student,” said ADF Senior Counsel David French.

“We greatly appreciate the university’s move to put Professor Howell back in the classroom,” he continued, “but we will be watching carefully to make sure that his academic freedom is protected throughout the university’s ongoing process.”

H/T to CatholicTide.com

By @AncientSoul via her blog, BattleBeads…

Ephesians 6:12 has been the ‘Battle Cry’ of BattleBeads from the beginning, a year ago now. “For we wrestle NOT against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”
Any who read this … by the power of our Almighty Triune God, His Grace, the Precious Name of Jesus and the Power of the Holy Spirit … take up the fight! We ARE the Church militant who will soon join the Church suffering and triumphant. We do not stand alone in this battle. Be assured, it IS a battle. We are in communion with with all those who came before us including the angels and saints in heaven. We have some fierce warriors among us! Let us unite and hold fast to the TRUTH that we KNOW is CHRIST JESUS! So many of the leaders today have fallen to the world and the wiles of satan … yes, sadly … Bishops as well as priests. Resist the temptation to reveal their faults, but rather pray hard and do penance that they receive the necessary grace to be the servants that Jesus would have them be. They need our prayers, not our wrath and ‘righteous indignation’.
The ole boy sure has the upper hand for the moment in this battle. So many of us are so busy with our lives … our families, jobs, recreation, vacations, planning this and that, etc. What time do we REALLY DEVOTE to GOD? Why is it that it’s so hard to give Him the time we would devote to a hobby or other interest? Where ARE our priorities? Do we not realize that this short life is a passing moment at best and eternity is -F O R E V E R- ??? Where IS our TREASURE … for there our heart will also be. What IS IT we value most? If we’re smart, it will be our eternal souls and the souls of our families and dear ones.
The ole boy is betting on the fact that you’re TOO BUSY to notice what’s really going on. Or better yet, that PRIDE tells you that everything’s just fine the way it is and all this battle talk is simply nonsense. Make no mistake … the war wages. Satan and his minions are everywhere and yes .. even in the Church. More…

Awesome…

TRENTON, New Jersey, July 26, 2010 — As New Jersey’s Republican Governor Chris Christie continues to fulfill a campaign pledge to restore state government to fiscal sanity, he has vetoed a bill that would have dedicated $7.5 million in state to “family planning” clinics, most of which are run by Planned Parenthood.

New Jersey’s Star Ledger reported that Christie in his veto message said that “the state simply cannot fund every worthy program” and would not restore $7.5 million for family planning clinics that he had cut from the state’s budget for fiscal year 2011.

Marie Tasy, executive director of New Jersey Right to Life, praised Christie for standing by his decision to cut funds for Planned Parenthood.

“The taxpayers of New Jersey are under no obligation to fund the radical and failed social agenda of Planned Parenthood,’’ said Marie Tasy, according to the Star-Ledger. “We commend Governor Christie for his steadfast opposition to restoring these funds.”

Christie issued the veto along with vetoes of two bills that would have established a $100 million tax credit program for new homebuyers, and redirected government funds to enroll 39,000 low-income individuals in the state’s subsidized health insurance program.

“State spending has been reset to levels the taxpayers can afford,” said Christie in a stern message to the legislature. “Supplemental spending that would return to the unchecked spending and out of control budget shortfalls of the past will not make it past the Governor’s desk.”

Reports indicate that the Democrat-controlled Legislature may seek to mount a veto-override.

Thanks to Weasel Zippers.com for the heads up!

Dontcha’  LOVE my Gov??? Christie rocks, Jersey’s Backkkkkk….Remember… Sofia says: “Jersey is the place where pizza is religion” !  God, I love Jersey! #Christie2012

Now make sure you send your comments in to the teacher by midnight so Sofia can send out grades!!! LOL! Dont’ ya love these crazy chickens?

By Noel Sheppard
Sun, 07/25/2010

Former Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean on Sunday accused the Fox News Channel of being racist.

With the opening subject of “Fox News Sunday” being last week’s controversial termination of Agriculture Department official Shirley Sherrod,
Dean said, “I think Fox News did something that was absolutely racist. They took a, they had an obligation to find out what was really within the clip.”

Dean continued, “They have been pushing a theme of black racism with this phony Black Panther crap and this, this business, and Sotomayor and all this other stuff…The Tea Party called out their racist fringe, and I think the Republican Party’s got to stop appealing to its racist fringe.”

That apparently was all host Chris Wallace could stand, for he struck back and struck back hard beginning with, “I know facts are inconvenient things, but let’s try to deal with the facts” (video follows with transcript and commentary):

Go to Newsbusters now for transcript >>>>>>

—Noel Sheppard is the Associate Editor of NewsBusters. Follow him at Facebook and Twitter.