The Catholic Defender: The Four Chaplains

World War I gave rise to submarine warfare as the Germans attempted to use Submarines to defeat England and America.

They felt that if they would have had 100 submarines they could have completed their task.

Because of the technology developed by Germany in submarine warfare, this has caused the major powers to develop and improve the technology.

Today, we have submarines that have nuclear capability.

During World War II, ships at sea were sometimes vulnerable to the threat of submarine warfare.

After putting together my article on the Titanic, a friend of mine from DCF, Defenders of the Catholic Faith (GKC), asked me if I were aware of The Four Chaplains?

I did remember this story because of their bravery. The following is their story:

The Dorchester was sent on mission leaving New York on January 23, 1943.

It's mission: to transfer 900 civilians and military to Greenland, this included the four chaplains.

The Dorchester was escorted by the Coast Guard traveling in convoy (SG-19 convoy).

The Coast Guard Cutters Tampa, Escanaba, and Comanche embarked the journey.

Captains log, February 3, 1943 at 12:55 a.m., the Dorchester was hit by a torpedo by the German submarine (U-223) just off Newfoundland.

Notice how close to home this was? The torpedo knocked out the electrical system causing a wide panic among the passengers.

Despite the fact that the Commander, Captain Hans J. Danielson ordered for the ship's crew to sleep in their clothing and life jackets, the order was largely ignored and when the torpedo hit, you can imagine the chaos that followed.

With the panic, the Chaplains tried to help calm the situation as they attempted to evacuate the ship in an orderly fashion. There were wounded Sailors and the Chaplains were seen helping the wounded.

As the supplies ran out so did the life jackets and so the Chaplains offered theirs to those who had none.

One of the survivors, Grady Clark, stated, "As I swam away from the ship, I looked back. The flares had lighted everything. The bow came up high and she slid under. The last thing I saw, the Four Chaplains were up there praying for the safety of the men. They had done everything they could. I did not see them again. They themselves did not have a chance without their life jackets" (source: Kvaran, Einar Einarsson, An Annotated Inventory of Outdoor Sculpture of Washtenaw County, unpublished document, 1989).

Other eye witness accounts heard the Chaplains praying in Latin along with Jewish prayers (UnionPresbyterian.com).

Of the 904 passengers aboard the Dorchester, 230 were rescued. Because of the cold water, hypothermia nutralized the life jackets as most perished in the water.

The water temperature was 34 °F (1 °C) and the air temperature was 36 °F (2 °C).

By the time additional rescue ships arrived, "hundreds of dead bodies were seen floating on the water, kept up by their life jackets." (Morison, Samuel Eliot (1975). History of United States Naval Operations in World War II, Volume I The Battle of the Atlantic 1939-1943. Little, Brown and Company).

Of the Four Chaplains, one was a Catholic Priest, one was a Jewish Rabbi, one was Church of Christ, and the other was a Methodist.

These men: George L. Fox, Alexander D. Goode, Clark V. Poling, and John P. Washington are American heros who displayed exceptional heroism in the face of danger.

They were seen going down arm in arm locked singing praise to God.

"No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us" (Romans 8:37).

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Do you have miracles in your church?

Catholics do.

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Tonight on Deepertruth: Sammy Blaze

Deepertruth (John and Don)  hosts Sammy Blaze - Saturday, 13 April, live on http://www.blogtalkradio.com/deeper-truth/2013/04/13/deepertruth-presents-sammy-blaze

Bio
Rap is an art of verbal expression. Born and raised Catholic, I gave my life to the service of Christ in 2001 at a retreat.

I began freestyling and performing at youth events and retreats at age 17, mostly as a joke. But since I'd always grown up accustomed to hip hop culture, I decided to write as a hobby.

About a year later, I joined Phatmass in the fall of 2003 and the dream began... The incredible journey through self-examination, questioning everything I had once just accepted, finding my individuality, and the never ending search for the Truth, has led me to this point now...

I strive to make music that reflects life and humanity in all aspects and relates universally to people of all walks of life. The joy, the pain, the struggle, all that is real, all that is within me all that I experience goes into my music, it is the window to my heart, mind and soul.

I hope to create a fusion of musical styles and lyricism, philosophical and theological thought,and all the cultures that effect me, all the while grounded and inspired by the beautiful Catholic Faith.

I speak of all that I am, I am Catholic, So I speak Catholic.

I hope to be apart of an inspired movement of Catholic artists that invade all genres and aspects of art, culture, and media in an effort to reclaim the world for the Greater Glory of God.

All things are possible....

 Influences
My Creator, Sustainer and Savior: The Father, Son and Holy Spirit, The Holy Catholic Church, Blessed Virgin Mary, JPII, The Eucharist, Divine Mercy, Reconciliation, Mother Teresa, Gandhi, Caesar Chavez, The Fransciscan Friars for the Renewal, The Phatmass/Aftermass family, Catholic Social Teaching, Existentialism, Postmodernism, Philosophy, Hip-Hop, U2, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Muse, Switchfoot, Jay-Z, Kanye West, Common, Mos Def, Life, The World I Experience, Pain, Happiness, Faith, Hope, Love .

Sounds Like
Life. Somewhere between Kanye West and Mat Kearney

Massmatics: Catholic Hip-Hop Volume 2


Sammy “Blaze” Argumaniz has been involved actively in ministry since high school.

He has 5 years full-time ministry experience and is entering his 4th year as a campus minister at Southern Methodist University Catholic Campus Ministry in Dallas, TX.

He previously served as a Youth Minister in Abilene, TX. He has been producing Catholic hip hop since 2004 and has released two albums with Phatmass / AfterMass Records. His first release, “The Meaning of Life” was named the 2008 Catholic Hip Hop album of the year by the UMCVA and produced a music video for “4 Marks” from Lifeteen.

In the fall of 2010 he completed his Masters in Theological Studies from the University of Dallas.

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The Catholic Defender: A small group of Obnoxious Protestants

Editors Note: (George Lujack has been seen at McDonald's, be ware) Now back to the regular programing. Last year while Dr. Gregory Thompson and I were meeting Senators at the Jefferson City Capital Building, I happened to run into the chief attorney representing the ACLU.

I informed him that we would be butting heads if I had the time to hang around. I told him that in America, we have the right to practice our faith in public.

Considering what the ACLU did to fight Dr. Gregory Thompson and many others across America, I was not to sympathetic to his cause.

I would find out from one of the Senators that this guy also represented the Westboro Baptist group that protest at the funerals of Soldiers killed in action and little girls who are shot by murderers.

I did not know that when I spoke with him and he escaped me after that. There are right ways to take a stand for God and there are wrong ways. The following is an example of a wrong way: When you see this video, it is interesting that the Protestants were the ones who were filming the scene they were creating making themselves look bad.

Editors note, these obnoxious Protestants were disrupting an out door Mass as people were trying to listen. Can you imagine what it would sound like if Catholics were to barge in to disrupt Protestant services? These people do not know Christ nor do they no how to be Christ-like.

These people attacking the Catholics at Mass are in truth voice pieces of the evil one spouting out lies and misinformation about the Church. They make charges but cannot back anything up. Notice they do not even try. Their purpose here was not to show Christian love by example, but to bring hate and sow anger.


Sometimes the most anti-Catholic people out there are fallen away Catholics. Pray for them, like Saul's attack on Jesus Christ in the earliest years of the Church, these people are doing the same thing today.

I want to point out that most Protestants love the Lord and would never think of such action. What these people were doing was taking pot shots at Catholics, at the Pope and Jesus Mother. They were trying to get a rise from Catholics. I thought that over all the Catholics held themselves in check very well.

To be truly Born Again, please read the following:
http://deepertruthblog.blogspot.com/2010/08/born-again.html
To know the truth about the Pope, please read the following:
http://deepertruthblog.blogspot.com/2010/09/authority-of-keys.html
To know more about the truth of Mary, please read the following:
http://deepertruthblog.blogspot.com/2010/08/this-woman.html

To know more about the truth of the Bible, please read the following:
http://deepertruthblog.blogspot.com/2010/09/it-was-germany-in-1988-operation.html

To know where Catholic is found in the bible, please read the following:
http://deepertruthblog.blogspot.com/2010/08/whats-in-name.html
When people like this come to disrupt for the purpose of picking a fight, it only makes me wish I could have been there. By comparison, I recommend the following:

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Catholic Defender: This Is Freedom

Consider the following statement: 

Dr. Melissa Harris-Perry of MSNBC, a Professor of political science at Tulane University, states the “private idea that kids belong to their parents or kids belong to their families,” and instead institute a “collective notion” that kids “are our children,” they belong to the community.

We have never invested as much in public education as we should have because we’ve always had kind of a private notion of children: your kid is yours and totally your responsibility. We haven’t had a very collective notion of these are our children.

So part of it is we have to break through our kind of private idea that kids belong to their parents or kids belong to their families, and recognize that kids belong to whole communities,”

Once it’s everybody’s responsibility and not just the household’s, then we start making better investments,”

Is this freedom? Is this where our Country is heading? Do we really stand for the Red, White, and Blue today? 

James 2:22-25 states, "Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deluding yourselves.  For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his own face in a mirror.  He sees himself, then goes off and promptly forgets what he looked like.  But the one who peers into the perfect law of freedom and perseveres, and is not a hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, such a one shall be blessed in what he does".

The perfect law of freedom is built upon the shore of true liberty where God is worshiped in true freedom.  More than 1,300,000 people have died defending this very basic right to stand on that "perfect law" of liberty.

Today, there are those who want to forsake the Bill of Rights and the Constitution of the United States opening us up for what President Reagan called "A thousand years of darkness".  

America is the last bastion of freedom in the world.

Where do we go should America fall? What happens should America fall from within.  

What was a threat 20 years ago seems to be everywhere today knocking down the wall of freedom one inch at a time.  

They first took the scripture and prayer out of public school, based in the Secularist view of "Separation of Church and State", which does not exist in the American Constitution.  

The Baptist Dansberry Association asked Thomas Jefferson who would be the State Church of the Land.  Jefferson responded that there would be no State Church, but each person would have the right to practice their faith. 

There has been a systematic attempt to erode our Nations Christian foundations, so much so that President Obama says "America is not a Christian Country".

He plans to widen the gap between faith and tradition from the American establishment.

I remember in the 1970's when nobody worked on Sunday because American's honored God's Commands, this was our foundation.  

Christmas break is now "Winter Break" and Holy Week is no longer part of "Spring Break".  

In todays public schools the progressives seek to eradicate anything Christian.  Our institutions have renounced our history accepting homosexuality, Abortion, and Artificial Birth Control just to name a few.

Luke 4:18-19 states, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor.  He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord".

By virtue of our Baptismal and Confirmational vows, we are call by the Spirit of the Lord, to proclaim liberty to the captives.

The Church must not waiver during this crisis in America today.

The Catholic Church is celebrating a year of faith giving us the opportunity to get back to the basics.

Then the year of evangelization will begin.  This is what true freedom really is.

To be free to live a love honoring God's Commands, To be free to help those in need, to help the sick, to heal the broken hearted, to visit the prisoner, to be free of sin. Freedom to lead our families and raise our Children to honor God and His Church.

We need to trust in God and have courage to pass through tomorrow the freedom that has been given to us. One Nation under God, this is freedom.


"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it on to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free."

Address to the annual meeting of the Phoenix Chamber of Commerce, (30 March 1961)

"We'll preserve for our children this, the last best hope of man on earth, or we'll sentence them to take the last step into a thousand years of darkness."

Next time you see a veteran, tell them thanks for their sacrifice for freedom.  The following is taken from the movie, "Last Ounce of Courage", a truly inspiring movie.  I highly encourage you to watch this.  Here at Deepertruth, we have a true member who was attacked by the ACLU, Dr. Gregory Thompson.  He chose freedom over their bondage.

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The Catholic Defender: Suicide Hill

The past several months, I have been working at a new job at the Veteran's Administration supporting our many Veterans in the area.

What a great opportunity to continue to serve our nations Veterans of all ages.

Every morning and evening, I take the drive from Copperas Cove to Temple which is always an adventure on the road.

 Especially in the morning when all the population is out trying to get to work in the morning.

For me it is about a 45 to 50 minute drive one way. At times this gives me the opportunity to pray the Rosary and the Divine Mercy, other times I listen to the news on the radio.

There can be times when the morning sun coming up gives a majestic picture pointing to the majesty of God.

The cloud cover, the rays of the sun bursting through, sometimes the moon, it can give you something to think about as you drive along the route every morning.

Sometimes I might see five or six police cars with their blue/red lights flashing as they pull over a speeding vehicle, other times you don't see any of them out there.

There have been some bad accidents out there on this route, especially when you get close to Interstate 35 towards Temple and Waco.  Sometimes the traffic will be at a stand still.  I've seen as many as 20 cars involved and that can be serious.

I have been very blessed in that I have not been involved in any accident, I've had a couple of close calls.

One time I was driving home when the traffic in front of me just went from 70 miles per hour to 45 in a heartbeat.  Sometimes, we have drivers who drive the fast lane that should be on the outside lane.

I had to put on the brakes more than once to avoid hitting someone in the rear, I'm glad that I've been able to react as I have.

Many of you can certainly identify with what I am saying.

This one particular morning, I was coming upon a well known hill known as "Suicide Hill",just as I have every morning. As I was driving up this hill, which is not really that large of a hill.

I've traveled far larger hills in the Ozark Mountains heading towards Branson Missouri. I've driven through the Mountains in West Virginia, so this hill has not been a challenge to me.

As I continued to drive I began to feel a certain thankfulness for not having any car problems along the way.

That is another thing I see often, cars stranded along the route. Just as I was about halfway up this winding hill, I was driving about 70 miles per hour when my vehicle died.

It didn't sputter, it didn't cough, there was no sign of anything wrong, it just quit.

I kind of coasted to the side of the road thinking that I would have to call my work and tell them I might be late. I was thinking I might have to call for a tow truck to pick me up, I dreaded the situation.

I came to a complete stop with traffic flying right on by, I looked at my instrument panel and the break light, the oil light, the engine light all came on and there was no power.

I sat there for a moment thinking how my blessings were about to change. I looked back and noticed a line of cars racing on by.

I simply turned the key off the ignition and simply started my vehicle thinking it would not start, but it did.

It started right up and I was ready to roll back up the hill and continue to work. I wondered about this episode as I made it to work.

I parked the vehicle and I started it two or three more times just to test it. I walked into my office and began my day as if nothing had happened. Thankfully, I have had no further incidence with my vehicle.

I survived Suicide Hill, thankfully, but as I think about this, we walk by faith and not by site. There are times when we kind of coast along with our faith, but it is only sharpened when it is tested. We must always keep Jesus as our co-pilot, he is the one who is the navigator, we are the branches.

Sometimes we might be traveling down a dark valley, but we are not to fear the arrow that fly's by day. We do not have to fear because we have the grace of God to overcome all obstacles we might face. Even should we stumble down a rabbit trail, the Catholic Church is a City on a hill if we look up and see.

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The Catholic Defender: A football Favorite

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The Catholic Defender: My Discussion with a Muslim

Today I had the opportunity to sit at a table and speak with a Muslim and his family.

What a great opportunity I was given as the discussion began over donuts and coffee.

At first I did not know he was a Muslim until after talking to him for a couple of minutes.

I explained why I believe that Jesus is the true Messiah, the holy one of God.

 I was able to compare Jesus and Mohammed exposing Mohammed as a false prophet.


The Gentleman listened closely as I relayed the prophecy of Moses, "A prophet like me will the Lord, your God, raise up for you from among your own kinsmen". Who most closely resembles Moses, Jesus or Mohammed? That was the distinction I wanted to show.

Consider Moses being in the presence of the Lord, Exodus 35:29-30 states, "As Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the commandments in his hands, he did not know that the skin of his face had become radiant while he conversed with the Lord. When Aaron, them and the other Israelites saw Moses and noticed how radiant the skin of his face had become, they were afraid to come near him".


Jesus has this experience, it is important to see the connection between Moses and Jesus.

They both radiated brightly after being in the presence of God. Jesus reveals his own divinity:


"After six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves. And he transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no fuller on earth could bleach them. The Elijah appeared to them along with Moses, and they were conversing with Jesus. Then Peter said to Jesus in reply, Rabbi, it is good that we are here! Let us make three tents: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah. He hardly knew what to say, they were so terrified. Then a cloud came, casting a shadow over them; then from the cloud came a voice, This is my beloved Son. Listen to him. Suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone but Jesus alone with them. As they were coming down from the mountain, he charged them not to relate what they had seen to anyone, except when the Son of Man had risen from the dead. So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what rising from the dead meant" (Mark 9:2-10).

Jesus fulfills hundreds of such prophecies from where he would be born to the Wise-men, to the passion to the parables.


 In contrast, where is Mohammed in all this? The only kind of fulfilled prophecy that would be of Mohammed would be for the false prophet.

We talked about this for a few minutes until I directed his attention to the New Testament and that Jesus truly was raised from the dead. The resurrection is denied by Islam.

After a few minutes of this discussion, I was asked about the Catholic Church, why not any of the various other denominations?

I explained that Jesus Christ founded the Catholic Church giving it his protection (Matthew 16:18), his promise (Matthew 28:20), and his seal (Acts 2:1-2), all of which represents the Lord's authority.


What I did not expect was that my friend was beginning to open up that he was beginning to see the truth of Jesus through His Church.

What a great joy for this young man to begin a journey towards the one true God. What a joy for me to witness this as we spoke.

His family was very interested in what was happening through our discussion. I believe this young man will soon be participating in the RCIA next year.

I am reminded that in the Divine Mercy Novena, the Fourth Day, the Lord calls, "Today bring me those who do not believe in God, and those who do not yet know me. I was thinking also of them during My bitter Passion, and their future zeal comforted My Heart. Immerse them in the ocean of My mercy".

By the end of the discussion, the young man became more open to listen to our holy Faith, we are going to continue talking about this subject at a later date. I certainly gave him much to check out.

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The Catholic Defender: Father Byles Made a Difference

I have met some great Catholic Priests in my 26 years in the United States Army.

There are great stories of heroism and courage displayed by many Catholic Priests.

Throughout the history of the Catholic Church beginning with the Apostles on down many gave their lives.

Of the original faithful eleven Apostles, 10 of them gave their lives for the Lord and His Catholic Church.

Father Maxmillian Kolbe, Father Kapaun and Father Capodanno are three great examples during World War II and the Korean War.

I can give some great examples as recently as the Iraqi Freedom Campaigns, there are many Catholic Priests as well as the faithful who have suffered great persecution and trials.

I want to remember another Catholic Priest that few are aware of the heroism displayed by this man of God.

This week many of us will remember the sinking of the Titanic, something that had been thought impossible.

On it's first voyage, the Titanic struck an iceburg and as a result, the ship sunk. There have been movies that have given the story, there have been songs performed that told the tale of the sinking of the Titanic.

I do not recall in any of the stories about the Titanic the heroism of Father Thomas Byles. Father Byles had been given two opportunities to get into a lifeboat, but instead, he continued to give spiritual aid to the other victims hearing confessions and showing the true love of God.

Father was an Eglish convert to the Catholic Faith and was on his way to America to officiate his Brother William's marraige.

Eye witness accounts show that Father Byles was offering his breviary and the Rosary at the time of the collison with the iceberg.

It was April 14, 1912, according to witnesses, Father Byles was seen helping the women and children get into lifeboats.

He heard confessions and calmed the frantic with the Rosary.

What a picture this places in my mind, what a great focus that none of the movies and songs I've heard have presented.

Father Byles standing on the deck with people on their knees praying.

According to FatherByles.com, a website that keeps Father's story alive, it shares the testimony of Agnes McCoy who said, "Father Byles was saying the rosary and praying for the repose of the souls of those about to perish" as told to the New York Telegram on 22 April, 1912.

Father Patrick McKenna, a friend of Father Byles, said later, "He twice refused the offer of a place in a boat, saying his duty was to stay on the ship while one soul wanted his minisreations". The Church Progress, by the end of April early May, wrote this tribute to Father Byles:

"In almost every line that has been written, and in every sentence that has been spoken, there stands boldly out above every other expression a picture of sublime heroism that will be copied into the pages of history. And well it may, for it is deserving of that honor.

But when it is, mention should be made of one whom pens and tongues have almost forgotten in their accounts of this awful sea tragedy. Among those who safely reached the land again no one seems to have been aware of his presence on the ship, but we may hope that many who meet him in a blissful eternity will praise God that Father Thomas Byles was there to administer absolution unto them."

There were other heros of great courage, Fr Juozas Montvila (27 years old), gave his life for another as he also refused to be place on one of the ship's life boats, he served out his duties with his fellow travellers.

A Benedictine Priest, Father Joseph Peruschitz (pictured left) from Scheyern was another priest who showed great courage giving his life for the victims of the Titanic.

To imagine the horror of a sinking ship and to be a source of strength to support those who were lost. These are great acts of heroism.

Annie Kate, taking the trip with a cousin, Patrick Canavan, her cousin, was 16 months older than Annie. He gave is life ensuring that Annie was placed on a life boat. Annie did survive as she became a Catholic Nun taking the name Sister Patrick Joseph Kelly.

The story of Annie and her cousin, Patrick sounds very close to the fictional story of the movie "Titanic" without the romance, of course. Annie (Sister Patrick Joseph Kelly) died in 1969 after giving her life to the service of God and recounting the Titanic.

These are but a few, how tragic was this terrible accident. It should serve as a reminder that man will never become invincible. The Twin Towers were also though to be indestructable.

Jesus commanded the Catholic Church to go to all the nations, teaching them to observe all that he commanded it. Courage is one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit that all great Saints depended on to do God's will. What an encouragement to all the faithful to have the courage and faith of Father Thomas Byles and company whose bravery recalls the Lord's words: "No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends" (John 15:13).

Of the 2223 passengers on board the Titanic, 1517 perished.

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*BEST OF DTB #57* Reagan? Obama? No comparison.

Ronald Reagan would have been 100 years old today, so it is natural that our current President Barack Obama would be compared to him, right?

Only if the purpose of comparison is contrast.

Reagan was everything Obama isn't- a man of vision, a man of principle, a man of faith and devotion who loved God, loved his country and had a deep trust in the American spirit.

Reagan's 49 state landslide reelection in 1984 is all the testament one needs to have at how Reagan did what Obama cannot possibly do.

With a political bent that is equal parts secular humanist socialist progressive-ism and psuedo-muslim fundamentalism (his claims of being a christian notwithstanding), Barack Obama is a tyrant who believes that any ends are justified to remake America in his radical image.

Reagan believed in you and me and believed (rightly so) that government was the cause of much of our economic, social and spriritual dysfunction, not the cure for it.

We miss you Ronnie.

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"Warm Up Your Wardrobe but Keep Your Cool" Episode Information

Listen to internet radio with Deeper Truth on Blog Talk Radio

Tonight's Garden of Holiness at Deeper Truth podcast featured Colleen Hammond the author of Dressing with Dignity. We heated things up by talking modesty and dignity and fashion. Colleen is a Catholic speaker, an award-winning writer, radio and television talk show host, educator, comedienne, and mother—all rolled into one!

Catholic Author and Speaker Colleen Hammond

Here are some of the links to the webpages and studies we mentioned:

"Women and Objectification" Huffington Post article:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/25/women-and-objectification_n_1701275.html

Colleen Hammond's website and Pinterest link
http://www.colleenhammond.com
http://pinterest.com/colleenmhammond/


You can have an opportunity to hear her live again soon! Colleen will be speaking at the IMH National Conference in Fredericksburg, Virginia, June 21 and 22, 2013.
Click here for more details: http://www.ihmconference.org/national/

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The Catholic Defender: Road To Emmaus

On that first Easter morning, two men were walking to a village debating the happenings of the past weekend.

Jesus came upon them and walked with them yet they did not recognize him. Jesus let on as if he was not aware of what took place.

Cleopas asked the Lord,"Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know of the things that have taken place there in these days".

Jesus asked them "what sort of things"?

They responded, "The things that happened to Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, how our chief priests and rulers both handed him over to a sentence of death and crucified him".

As they walked on, the two continued to recount to Jesus what had happened to include the report that his body was not there at the tomb. Angels were seen in a vision and the Lord was seen by Mary.

Jesus began to open their eyes about the Messiah when they urged Jesus stay with them and so he did. The two never did recognize Jesus until finally, when Jesus "took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them. With that their eyes were opened and he vanished from their sight. Then they said to each other, Were not our hearts burning within us while he spoke to us on the way and opened the scriptures to us" (Luke 24:32)?

Jesus opened their eyes to the truth and brought the truth of the scripture to light.

Acts 8:26 we see "the angel of the Lord" speaking to St. Philip informing him to go towards Gaza from Jerusalem through a desert route.

St. Philip encounters an Ethiopian eunuch who was a high court official of the Queen of Ethiopia. The Ethiopian was reading from Isaiah and could not fully understand what all this meant.

St. Philip, led by the Spirit, ran up and heard him reading Isaiah. Philip asked him if he understood the passage he was reading. He replied, "How can I, unless someone instructs me"?

The Ethiopian invited St. Philip to ride along with him who explained this scripture: "Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter, and as a lamb before it's shearer is silent, so he opened not his mouth. In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who will tell of his posterity? For his life is taken from the earth".

St. Philip was able to open the eyes of the Ethiopian Eunuch who requested baptism.

As quickly as Jesus had vanished from the two Disciples sight, "The Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more but continued on his way rejoicing". Meanwhile, Philip was next seen at Azotus and continued to proclaim "the good news to all the towns until he reached Caesarea".

When I read about St. Philip, and this passage where the Spirit of the Lord took him to Azotus, which was about 88 miles from there. I can't help but think about some of the extraordinary gifts God used through Padre Pio in our own time.

It's important that St. Luke, a Gentile, recognize the importance of the Holy Spirit using men to open the eyes of people to follow the Lord. Through the Lord's Church we have been given the "Deposit of Faith" to teach the nations.

We become His voice when we proclaim God's word and teach the hidden messages found in the scriptures. We become His feet when we go where he sends us to do His will. We become His hands when we serve those in need.

By virtue of our Baptism and Confirmation, we are called to open the eyes of those searching for the truth. We are obligated to follow after the Lord so that He becomes center stage in our lives. He must increase while I decrease.

The New Testament is filled with examples of conversion that should give us example to do the same. We have great opportunity through the internet and media outlets we have available today.

Even so, there is a lot of confusion out in the real world just as there was on that first Easter morning. As the Lord reached out to Cleopus and his friend on the road to Emmaus, and as St. Philip reached out to the Ethiopian Eunuch in the desert, we need to be willing to do the same.

This coming Easter Vigil, there will be many received into the Catholic Church through the RCIA from all over the world. Today, there are many Ethiopian Eunuch's asking the question: "How can I, unless someone instructs me"?

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The Catholic Defender: Avoid the Near Occasion of Sin

Lent is a reflective time when Christians look into their lives and take self inventory looking for conditions that detract from our relationship with Christ.

The Act of Contrition is a very important prayer: "O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended You, and I detest all my sins because of Your just punishments, but most of all because they offend You, my God, Who are all good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of Your grace, to sin no more and to avoid the near occasion of sin".

We are to avoid the near occasion of sin! However, how many times do we think that because we are adults, we think we have the right to participate with, entertain ourselves with, sin.

Ephesians 5:11 states, "Take no part in the fruitless works of darkness; rather expose them".
There is certainly an addiction to much of this; pornography, abuse of alcohol, drugs, all of which contribute to domestic violence, divorce, rebellion.

"Bad company corrupts good morals" (1 Corinthians 15:33).

St. Paul warns us to "Become sober as you ought and stop sinning. For some have no knowledge of God; I say this to your shame".

Hosea 4:6 warns, "My people perish for want of Knowledge! Since you have rejected knowledge, I will reject you from my priesthood; Since you have ignored the law of your God, I will also ignore your sons".

When our religious leaders fail to teach us the truth from the pulpit and teach what is right and wrong, the people fall away.

I recently spoke with a Seminarian from Kenya who laments the problems his Country faces with premarital sex, abortion, violence. I told him that we face the same problems here.

In Africa, there is a huge epidemic of AIDS's and other Sexually Transmitted Diseases. It is a terrible plight there among the people.

Last year (February 2011) Missionary Intention, Pope Benedict made this statement: "That in the mission territories where the struggle against disease is most urgent, Christian communities may witness to the presence of Christ to those who suffer".

The problem is that the world is moving farther and farther from Christian foundations moving to a Secularized State.

The Culture of death continues to push Planned Parenthood around the world giving access to abortion. This is reality.

The Church cannot remain silent about these matters and we need to get back to the basics of prayer and devotion.

To get back to good religious instruction forming right consciences based from the gospel through the teaching of the Catholic Church.

There are Priests who do not see a need to evangelize people. Hosea's warning really comes to mind. We need to pray for our Priests because they are under attack.

The Catholic Church is under attack, the family is under attack. What a great opportunity this Lent can be for the members of the Church to renew their faith and commitment to live their call to follow Christ.

We can change hearts only as we clean ourselves and rid ourselves of those things that bring us down. We need to talk the talk, but also walk the walk!

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We are an Easter people

As the death of my father slowly and agonizingly approached, I really struggled internally with what my reaction would be. Would I find peace in the fact that I reconciled with this man and that he had centered God in his life or would the darker voices call on me, reminding me of a troubled past with my dad?

To be honest, there has been some of both and there has been some unexpected surprises too, both good and bad.

Such is the experience of being a Christian. The priest said it best in his homily yesterday- we are an Easter people.  Easter is about new life and new beginnings, some exciting, some terrifying. Living out life in new situations and ways, with new people and without old ones.

For all the good times and bad, my dad was a fixture in my life and yesterday was a day of firsts. It was the first Easter in my life when I could not at least call my dad on the phone and wish him a happy Easter. It was also the first March 31st when I could not wish him a happy anniversary. Both holes were there on the same day. Of course, neither had anything to do with me being sick to my stomach but how hard it was to enjoy this day nonetheless.

Strangely enough, though, I did enjoy it. That is the part that just doesn't make sense to those who are not Easter people. It is not as if we don't feel the pain- we do. It is not as if we are not aware of the absence- we are. Our joy is not contradiction, it is paradox, it is perspective. We have eyes to see through all the haze and ears to hear through all the noise. We know that, beyond all the vertigo and chaos, all the despair and pain and fear and grief, there sit three words, floating softly in the air like an empty bock rocking in the tide.....

 He is risen.

Without those three words, all is vanity, all is futility. With them, who can stand against us? What manner of assault can the devil hurl at us that will not, over time, disappear into nothingness? Without the Resurrection, our lives are hopeless and we do nothing but mark time until our damnation. Yet, with the Resurrection, it is the devil whose actions are futile at best, however malevolent and shocking they may be. We have only to embrace that truth.

He is risen.

An Easter people know that He has conquered this world. An Easter people know that not only is our glorious King in heaven, but He has raised up His servants to be there with Him. I believe that my dad is a spirit in heaven, walking along the streets of gold. The same is true of my son who died in 1998 and even the one who was miscarried years before him. Yes, I really do believe it.

We are an Easter people. We believe in new life.

Now, as I am closing in on my 50th birthday, and even my mother, past her 80th, must once again accept change and new life. We are not afraid.

He is risen. That is all we need to know.

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