David Ancell / Tuesday, June 12, 2007 / Comments(0)
I’ve really let this go for too long. No, I’m not gone, and I certainly want to try to keep something up here. Things have been a bit busy. I’ve been at a baptism of a friend’s child, a retreat, and some other things. I have more planned starting Thursday. I’ve also joined a gym because I need the exercise. Being out of shape gets old.
Hopefully, I’ll be back again before long.
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David Ancell / Friday, May 11, 2007 / Comments(0)
I remember not long ago reading a New York Times article about how parents would abort their children with certain genetic diseases. With that having happened, it’s rather refreshing to see this article about the parents who have chosen to give birth to and raise children who have Down’s Syndrome. I’m surprised to see this in the New York Times, but it’s good to see this here.
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David Ancell / Monday, April 23, 2007 / Comments(0)
I have in the past brought forth how the Komen Foundation is diverting money that people donated for breast cancer research to Planned Parenthood. Needless to say, this prevents my giving to the organization. In the interest of fairness, I wanted to share what I got from Tennessee Right to Life.
There are five state associations that do not have a relationship with Planned Parenthood. Tennessee is one of them. So, if you live in Tennessee and want to contribute locally, you may not have to worry about unintentionally funding Planned Parenthood. Now, I’m not sure yet how this will affect what I decide to do. For one thing, this can change without it being publicized for some time. However, my main concern is how much they might be giving the national chapter. At this point, I haven’t decided to contribute to the Komen Foundation, but if anyone wants to chime in on the comment box as to why I should, please feel free.
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David Ancell / Saturday, April 21, 2007 / Comments(0)
I once listened to a six-part series on the Mass, and the book that was regarded highly by the Father of Mercy who gave the talks was The Pope, the Council, and the Mass. I just found out that it is now reprinted as I had heard that it would be. This book is an answer to the concern of Traditionalists about the Mass and what happened after Vatican II. I ordered it immediately even though my bookshelf runneth over.
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David Ancell / Saturday, April 21, 2007 / Comments(0)
I just found this letter written by Bishop Francis X. DiLorenzo, Bishop of Richmond, VA, to the president of Virginia Tech. The message was simple, but I hope that the simplicity doesn’t keep it from being taken seriously. Our only hope is to turn to God and realize that death does not get the final word. Then again, it’s all we ever had anyway.
My hope and prayer is, of course, for both the souls of the deceased, including Cho Seung-Hui, and the survivors who will have to face what happened for some time. I pray that, through all the investigation that must take place, they will get past finger-pointing and seek to do what is best for everyone. This can be something to bring everyone together. It’s a sad thing that our society often requires such a shake-up to bring people together, but God can bring great good out of evil.
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David Ancell / Thursday, April 12, 2007 / Comments(0)
It seems like it would be a wonderful Christian thing to do to support research for the treatment of crippling or life-threatening illnesses. However, it’s getting harder and harder to do that in good conscience. Recently, I found out that the National Multiple Sclerosis Society has come out in favor of federal funding for stem cell research. Well, that’s it. I won’t give them another dime. If they favor federal funding, then it’s hard to imagine that they wouldn’t give grants from their own money. They might also use money given to them for activism in favor of embryonic stem cell research.
Their reasoning for doing this leaves out something very important. They say that “all promising avenues that could lead to the cure or prevention of MS or relieve its most devastating symptoms by repairing MS damage must be explored,” but they forget that one should not do an evil in order to accomplish a good. Using human embryos as products on which to do research is an offense against human life and dignity. It treats human life as a product to be exploited for one’s own purpose. As long as the MS Society supports this immoral research, I cannot in good conscience support them.
To their credit, they do say that, if one makes a request, they will direct funds that one gives only to other purposes. However, all they have to do is then take some other money from that purpose and send it for support of embryonic stem cell research. This just isn’t going to cut it. The MS Society must stop supporting embryonic stem cell research before I will give them any more money.
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David Ancell / Thursday, April 05, 2007 / Comments(0)
As I get ready to go to Holy Thursday Mass, I wanted to wish all of my readers a Happy Easter Triduum. One of these days, maybe the world really will stop to remember the reason why we have hope beyond this life. After all, we really do need hope beyond this life because we know for certain it won’t last forever.
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David Ancell / Thursday, April 05, 2007 / Comments(0)
I just looked at an article on Pope Benedict’s new exhortation on the Eucharist from the National Catholic Register. It’s amazing what the difference is between that and what Fox News said. If you are a subscriber, the article is here.
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David Ancell / Sunday, March 25, 2007 / Comments(0)
Take a look at this article. It deals with the Holy Father’s new exhortation on the Eucharist. The text of that document is here. I hope to read it in the near future.
Now, the headline of the article is “Pope Upholds Celibacy for Priests and Ban for Communion for Divorced Catholics Who Remarry.” The rest of the article is similar in nature. Do you think this does justice to what the Holy Father has said? Without having read the Holy Father’s words, I seriously doubt it. When I finally get to read this, I believe it will go to show why we shouldn’t get our information on the Church and her documents from the media.
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David Ancell / Sunday, March 25, 2007 / Comments(0)
I recently received further news that the USCCB has sent out a notification regarding some pamphlets sent out by theologian Daniel Maguire of Marquette University. In them, Maquire basically gives a defense of abortion, contraception, and same-sex marriage. He sent it to the bishops, and they responded by saying that his views “cross the legitimate lines of theological reflection and simply enter into the area of false teaching.”
Did you get that last line? The USCCB Committee on Doctrine not only said that these don’t represent the views of the USCCB, but that these views are “false teaching.” They defended the Catholic faith. I hope that this is a sign that some things are going to change.
What is deplorable to me are the people on the Sound Off in the linked-to blog page who insist on responding with cynicism. Have they made a spirituality out of being critical to the point that nothing can satisfy them? Well, it’s quite possible. Even if what they insist on (e.g. “tail wagging the dog” or “the bishops were ‘forced’ to respond to this one”) is true, we need to show support when support needs to be shown. It’s the best way that we can help to get more of these badly needed clarifications.
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