Monthly Archives: January 2012

Alfonso Pedrozo is the baby of the “AlwaysCatholicBlog” family. We have a nice group of contributors who truly enjoy our time together on Twitter and blogging about all things Catholic. Most of us are older than we want to admit (what is it about being over 40 that makes us like that?) but we all have a youthful attitude about life.

Maybe that’s what attracted Alfonso to “hang out” with us on Twitter discussing our Faith and yuking it up on many a Fri and Sat night. He has been a terrific supporter of Always Catholic Blog and a good friend and prayer warrior. Now, finally, Alfonso has decided to blog. His love for Jesus, his obedience to the Church and youthful exuberance are the perfect recipe for a successful Catholic blog.

So proudly, we add him to our Contributing bloggers and continue to pray for him to bring pen to paper (hah! I’ll NEVER put computers number one!) as the Holy Spirit inspires him. The greatest thing we can do now is to support young Catholics who want to embrace their Faith publicly.

Welcome, Alfonso…I am proud to call you friend.

God love you,

Sofia

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From Alfonso’ blog, “A Th0tful Journey”

“A Th0tful Journey Begins”
by Alfonso Pedrozo
Monday, January 30, 2012

Well, here I go! I finally joined the blogiverse. Possibly a step that has been delayed but finally made.

I pray that the Lord guide me with His Holy Spirit and Holy Word as I begin this “Th0tful Journey” (Th0t pronounced thought) and that every letter I type may be filled with His grace.

It’s kind of ironic how Lent is coming up and I made the commitment to give up social networking but I will be using my blog to record my spiritual journey from now on.

I want to give glory to my Almighty Father in Heaven, my Lord and Savior, and the Holy Spirit for being the reason I strive to live a passionate and zealous life for the Kingdom.

Please go to Alfonso’s Blog for the rest of his first blogpost, click HERE!

You can find Alfonso on Twitter @iTH0t and on FB HERE…

Bishop Daniel Jenky: Is Scandalized By “Catholic” Politicians Who Collaborate With Evil

Bishop Daniel Jenky of Peoria, Ill. has asked parishes, schools, hospitals and religious houses to insert the Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel into the intercessions at Sunday Mass to pray for Catholics’ freedom.

The move comes in response to a new federal requirement that will force many Catholic organizations to provide insurance coverage for sterilizations and contraceptives.
“It is God’s invincible Archangel who commands the heavenly host, and it is the enemies of God who will ultimately be defeated,” the bishop said in a Jan. 24 letter to the Catholics of his diocese.
The prayer should take place in the general intercessions before the concluding prayer, Bishop Jenky said. He asked that the intention of the prayer be announced as “for the freedom of the Catholic Church in America.”
The St. Michael prayer was authored by Pope Leo XIII, and was once commonly said in U.S. Catholic parishes as part of a petition for the freedom of Soviet Russia.
He said it is his duty to summon the local Church into “spiritual and temporal combat in defense of Catholic Christianity.”
“If these regulations are put into effect, they could close down every Catholic school, hospital and the other public ministries of our Church, which is perhaps their underlying intention,” Bishop Jenky said. “What is perfectly clear is that this is a bigoted and blanket attack on the First Amendment rights of every Catholic believer.”

For the rest of this powerful story please go to BattleBeadsBlog by clicking HERE… For the most beautiful Rosaries, Religious & secular jewelry please go to BattleBeads.com

Yes, Catholics are right. According to Michael Coren anyways. He says he wants to set the record straight: there is apparently little worse in modern, Western society than being a devout Roman Catholic. And he’s tired of apologizing for his faith.

Michael is the host of The Arena, a nightly (7pm) TV show on Sun News. For more than twelve years he was host and producer of The Michael Coren Show on CTS, presenting more than 3000 episodes and winning numerous awards. The Arena stresses international coverage – particularly the Middle East, the US and Europe – but also takes on social, moral, and religious issues and Canadian life and politics.

Michael is a weekly columnist, published every Saturday, with the Toronto, Ottawa, Calgary, Edmonton and Winnipeg Sun and The London Free Press and in more than a dozen other daily and weekly newspapers across Canada. He is also a columnist for Women’s Post, The Catholic Register, The Landowner and The Interim.

He is the best-selling author of thirteen books, including biographies of GK Chesterton, HG Wells, Arthur Conan Doyle, JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis. He has contributed to the Dictionary of National Biography and several other anthologies. He is published in many countries and in more than a dozen languages.

He has received several honorary doctorates and awards for his writing and broadcasting. In 2005 he won The Ed Murrow Award for Radio Broadcasting, in 2006 The RTNDA Radio Broadcasting Award, in 2007 the Communicator Award in Hollywood and in 2008 the Omni Award for his television show.

Michael’s book, Why Catholics Are Right (McClelland & Stewart)

is now available at most book stores, or on-line.

“Michael Coren has written a case for the Catholic faith that is the rarest kind of book: wonderfully readable, intellectually vigorous and stylish in its force. His chapter on Church history is worth the price alone; but the whole text is alive with fidelity, penetrating intelligence and the irony of our times, expressed with consummate skill. Highly recommended.”

Charles Chaput,
Archbishop of Denver

Today AlwaysCatholicBlog received an email from CatholicVote.org. It was so powerful we felt that it was of utmost importance to share it with those who are not on the mailing list:

From Brian Burch of CatholicVote.org…

The sleeping giant has been awakened.

Right now we’re witnessing an unprecedented response to the Obama administration’s decision last Friday to proceed with their new mandate forcing all Americans (including the Catholic Church) to fund birth control, sterilization, and some abortion-inducing drugs.

Since Friday we have been receiving reports from individuals and parishes across the country. Catholics of all stripes, left, right, and center — “political” categories that are not typically helpful — are nevertheless coming together like never before.

We are united as one Church.

Bishops, priests, pastors and the laity are rising up. Many priests and bishops preached last Sunday on the threat, with numerous reports of congregations spontaneously erupting with standing ovations. Blogs, news sites, and grassroots organizations (on both left and right!) have erupted. The emails and calls to CV are pouring in.

Retired Cardinal Mahoney in Los Angeles responded to the decision saying: “This decision must be fought against with all the energies the Catholic Community can muster…there is no other fundamental issue as important as this one as we enter into the Presidential and Congressional campaigns…[i]f any candidate refuses to acknowledge and to promote those rights, then that candidate will not receive my vote.”

And just this morning, New York’s Cardinal-designate Timothy Dolan authored a blistering editorial in the Wall Street Journal in which he concluded:

“This latest erosion of our first freedom should make all Americans pause. When the government tampers with a freedom so fundamental to the life of our nation, one shudders to think what lies ahead.”

The assault on our religious freedom may not come as a surprise to many of you. For years, hostile groups and some elected officials have been working to destroy the influence of the Church in America. For years they have flaunted our social teachings, insulted our clergy and hierarchy, and mocked our Pope. The attacks are endless.

And now they want us to fund their agenda.

NO WAY.

We will not accept this new mandate, and we will not rest until it is overturned.

Our goal: Ensure that every Catholic voter in every swing state understands this decision – and what is at stake in November.

As Catholics, we are a diverse bunch. We argue about politics, candidates, and the issues. We disagree on how to solve our economic problems, immigration, and the role of government. There are even some Catholics who struggle with the Church on the foundational issues of life and marriage.

But on the issue of religious liberty — our First Freedom — there must be unity.

This is not the time for “I told you so,” or finger pointing.

We must lock arms with each other. Pray. Fast. And fight back like never before.

We are united.

We are Catholic.

And we won’t back down.

CatholicVote.org needs out support. Please go to the site and signup for their feed and email updates. Stay informed. Our Faith and country staying free depend on it.

A priest I know answered a question of mine about voting when I was 18. I asked him, “Father, how do I know how to vote?” I was very young and getting a ton of misinformation from other Catholics.

He looked at me and answered quietly, “You hold the Crucifix in one hand and pull the lever with the other…”

To this day, I never have a problem voting. The teachings of Our Lord entrusted to Holy Mother Church and her Vicar are here for all of us so we know what that Crucifix means, in all stages and phases of our lives. The Church and Her Teaching is a constant that never leaves me…Deo Gratias!

Thank you to Michael Voris and Real Catholic TV for giving voice to those who desire to be obedient to our Faith. In addition, a big thank you to @ToddyLittman for tweeting this to us, knowing we would definitely want to post it.

Obama’s Counterfeit Catholics

Learn the truth behind the fake Catholics who have helped an atheist billionaire dominate the Democratic party…

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We Told you So!

Dissenting and indifferent Catholics in the voting booth have significantly contributed to putting the most anti-life president ever to occupy the Oval Office into power.

Lord, help us!

Outrageous HHS Final Rule: Catholic Groups Must Cover Contraceptives

This is outrageous. HHS has issued its final ruling on exemptions from contraceptive coverage for health plans even in the face of religious obejctions. Too bad.

And in what passes for compromise for the lunatic secular left currently running the country, they will give religious groups an extra year to comply if you can PROVE you are really a religious group (which is difficult to impossible with these people), but comply you will.

This is outrageous. We must demand that the next President/Congress reverse this on day 1.

A statement by U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius

In August 2011, the Department of Health and Human Services issued an interim final rule that will require most health insurance plans to cover preventive services for women including recommended contraceptive services without charging a co-pay, co-insurance or a deductible. The rule allows certain non-profit religious employers that offer insurance to their employees the choice of whether or not to cover contraceptive services. Today the department is announcing that the final rule on preventive health services will ensure that women with health insurance coverage will have access to the full range of the Institute of Medicine’s recommended preventive services, including all FDA -approved forms of contraception. Women will not have to forego these services because of expensive co-pays or deductibles, or because an insurance plan doesn’t include contraceptive services. This rule is consistent with the laws in a majority of states which already require contraception coverage in health plans, and includes the exemption in the interim final rule allowing certain religious organizations not to provide contraception coverage. Beginning August 1, 2012, most new and renewed health plans will be required to cover these services without cost sharing for women across the country.

After evaluating comments, we have decided to add an additional element to the final rule. Nonprofit employers who, based on religious beliefs, do not currently provide contraceptive coverage in their insurance plan, will be provided an additional year, until August 1, 2013, to comply with the new law. Employers wishing to take advantage of the additional year must certify that they qualify for the delayed implementation. This additional year will allow these organizations more time and flexibility to adapt to this new rule. We intend to require employers that do not offer coverage of contraceptive services to provide notice to employees, which will also state that contraceptive services are available at sites such as community health centers, public clinics, and hospitals with income-based support. We will continue to work closely with religious groups during this transitional period to discuss their concerns.

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