The iPadre Catholic Podcast

I have so many stories of how St. Anthony has found lost objects for me.  Back in 1980, a friend of our family, Cardinal Ciappi lost his ring when we were traveling with him through Italy  I asked and St. Anthony responded, and I could tell you so many more.

Well, my faithful companion Mickey, whom many of you know, has had a pretty large Miraculous Medal hanging from his collar since he was a puppy.  I found the medal when I at the beach when I was a little boy.  Last Thursday, as Maria was cleaning the rectory she told me that Mickey’s medal was gone.  I could not believe it.  The ring that held the medal was still securely on his collar.  Maria reminded me that a few weeks earlier, she saw him chewing something shiny, and when she tried to take it from him, he swallowed it.  I was pretty upset when the medal went missing.  I know it may sound foolish, but I placed Mickey under Our Lady’s care from the time I got him.  I place everything under Our Lady’s care.  You know, “Totus, thus.”  Everything I have is hers.  As soon as I found out the medal was missing, I began to ask St. Anthony to find it.  It seemed that he was deaf to me for a while, so last night, I said a simple prayer, as I usually do with St. Anthony: “Tony, do your thing!”  This morning, as I was answering eMail, the parish maintenance man called me from downstairs.  He handed me the medal and asked if it was mine.  Jim was giving the lawn behind the rectory it’s first cut, when he saw something shiny in the grass.  I guess Mickey did swallow the medal, but St. Anthony came through again, as did the medal!

If your not as bold as me in my simple prayer to St. Anthony, here is the novena we pray before Mass every Tuesday morning in my parish.

O glorious St. Anthony, safe refuge of the afflicted and distressed. Who by miraculous revelation has directed all those who seek aid to come to Thy altar with the promise that whosoever visits it for nine consecutive Tuesdays, and there piously invokes Thee, will feel the power of Thy intercession. I, a poor sinner, encouraged by this promise, come to Thee, O powerful Saint, and with a firm hope I implore Thy aid, Thy protection, Thy counsel and Thy blessing. Obtain for me, I beseech Thee, my request in this necessity. But if it should be opposed to the will of God and the welfare of my soul, obtain for me such other graces as shall be conducive of my salvation. Through Christ our Lord, Amen.

There was a great little story on the Catholic News Agency about Vice President Joe bid en’s visit to the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico.  He prayed and was very moved.  Here is part of the story below.

Vice President Biden arrived the evening of March 6, accompanied by the U.S. Ambassador to Mexico, Anthony Wayne. Placing flowers before the image, he knelt down to pray for a few minutes and afterward took out a white handkerchief to wipe tears from his eyes. [Biden is not a stoic, he was touched by Our Lady.  Hopefully, the touch lasts, and inspires him to work for great good in our nation!]

In comments to reporters, an emotional Biden said, “My mother was very devoted to the Blessed Mother. [He’s in good hands.  Once you belong to Our Lady, she will always work to keep you faithful to her Son and His Church] She taught her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren to seek the intercession of the Blessed Mother and I regret that she’s not here with us.”

“I’d rather not talk about the candidates,” he said in response to questions by reporters. “I had a wonderful day with the candidates, but I had a better day here. I would have come just for this. It’s a great treasure.” [I would say he was very deeply touched]

May I suggest that the Vice President study the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe.  That he gaze upon her belly, swollen with her unborn child – Our Lord Jesus Christ.  He should also meditate on the human sacrifice that took place in the culture and was stopped immediately by Our Lady’s Apparition.  Maybe, Mr. Biden is being used by Our Lady to begin a new work for the end of the “human sacrifice” we call abortion, taking place in our nation today.

And, all of us need to pray for Joe Biden, that he fully embrace his Catholic Faith as did many of the saints and martyrs of old.  Could it be that Our Lady of Guadalupe is calling the Vice President to be a strong and vocal voice for the New Evangelization, like the one she began in Guadalupe?

Read the whole story here.

UPDATED (3/5/12 8:00 pm):  See below!

You may have heard that Rush Limbaugh, used a certain word to describe a young woman at a Catholic college who is demanding they pay for her contraception.  She explained that she has frequent sexual encounters and cannot afford to pay for her contraception, because her education is so expensive.

Well, today, Rush apologized for that he “chose the wrong words” in explaining the situation.  Here is part of his statement.  My comments in red, highlights in bold.

I think it is absolutely absurd that during these very serious political times, we are discussing personal sexual recreational activities [That is the problem with out society, sexual relations has been separated from marriage.  It is now a form of recreation!  Are we becoming a society that will one day go through a drive through for sexual favors – “I’ll have one of these and one of those, but I don’t want any commitment!”  It seems we are heading that way!]  before members of Congress. I personally do not agree that American citizens should pay for these social activities. What happened to personal responsibility and accountability? [Right on Rush!  Where is personal responsibility?  It’s out the window, remember, everything is relative!] Where do we draw the line? If this is accepted as the norm, what will follow? Will we be debating if taxpayers should pay for new sneakers for all students that are interested in running to keep fit? [Yes, while your at it, I need a new MacBook Pro, come on Obama, where is my MacBook Pro]  In my monologue, I posited that it is not our business whatsoever to know what is going on in anyone’s bedroom nor do I think it is a topic that should reach a Presidential level.

This whole situation is so sick.  Imagine a young woman, studying in a Catholic University that is demanding free contraceptives because she is having so much sex.  Something is wrong with the Catholic University.  They are NOT fulfilling their mission as a Catholic institution of learning.

You can read the whole statement here.

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UPDATE:

You will notice below that I received  some feedback from Margo, to my post on Rush Limaugh’s apology.  Here is my response to Margo:

In response to Margo, I am not “misrepresenting” Sandra Fluke’s testimony.  I was only giving Rush Limbaugh’s story to make a point.  I did not and have no intention of judging Fluke, let the facts speak for themselves.

At the same time, I need to point out some new information that has since come up.  This is not a first for Sandra Fluke.  Ms. Fluke is  not only pushing for birth control.  Here is part of an article from The College Politico.

Again, my comments in RED and highlights in BOLD

Sandra Fluke is being sold by the left [The Left always has a way of using people and than throwing them away] as something she’s not. Namely a random co-ed from Georgetown law who found herself mixed up in the latest front of the culture war who was simply looking to make sure needy women had access to birth control. That, of course, is not the case.

As many have already uncovered Sandra Fluke she is, in reality, a 30 year old long time liberal activist who enrolled at Georgetown with the express purpose of fighting for the school to pay for students’ birth control. She has been pushing for mandated coverage of contraceptives at Georgetown for at least three years according to the Washington Post.

However, as I discovered today, birth control is not all that Ms. Fluke believes private health insurance must cover. She also, apparently, believes that it is discrimination deserving of legal action if “gender reassignment” surgeries are not covered by employer provided health insurance. [I would like to know who is paying for her education!  Who is slipping money into that private bank account?  “What is done in the dark, will be proclaimed from the rooftops!”]  She makes these views clear in an article she co-edited with Karen Hu in the Georgetown Journal of Gender and the Law.

The title of the article, which can be purchased in full here, is Employment Discrimination Against LGBTQ Persons and was published in the Journal’s 2011 Annual Review. [So this IS NOT a first!]  I have posted a transcript of the section I will be quoting from here. In a subsection of the article entitled “Employment Discrimination in Provision of Employment Benefits” starting on page 635 of the review Sandra Fluke and her co-editor describe two forms of discrimination in benefits they believe LGBTQ individuals face in the work place:

• Discrimination typically takes two forms: first, direct discrimination limiting access to benefits specifically needed by LGBTQ persons, and secondly, the unavailability of family-related benefits to LGBTQ families.

Their “prime example” of the first form of discrimination? Not covering sex change operations:

• A prime example of direct discrimination is denying insurance coverage for medical needs of transgender persons physically transitioning to the other gender.

So, I ask this question: Is Ms. Fluke the innocent young college student who needs contraception for a true medical issue, or is she a puppet in the hands of the liberal democratic establishment?  Or, is she just another liberal, trying to shove her point of view down the Catholic conscience throat?

You can see the whole article on The College Politico here.

Abstinence from meat on Ash Wednesday and the Fridays of Lent (for those 14 and older) is required by Church law. Also, Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are fast days: those between the ages of 18 and 59 should eat less, meaning, take no solid food between meals and only one full meal that day.  Serious health conditions excuse a person from these precepts.

Pastors and parents are encouraged by the law of the Church to ensure that minors who are not bound by the law of fast and abstinence are educated nonetheless in an authentic sense of penance.

Following the implementation of the revised Code of Canon Law on November 27, 1983, the National Conference of Catholic Bishops in the United States determined that the rules of fast and abstinence which have existed for the last several years in this country be maintained.  Namely, that the faithful observe suitable penitential practices on all Fridays throughout the year. These penitential practices need not include abstaining from meat. However, as indicated above, the faithful must not eat meat on all the Fridays of Lent as well as on Ash Wednesday.  They must also observe faithfully the fast regulations as they have been stated above in accord with the universal law of the Church (Cf. Code of Canon Law, Canons 1250-1252).