A Deo et Rege

I’ve put up a new post at Per Christum about why my Catholic and conservative principles have led me to reject the death penalty in most cases. I guess this puts me in the traditions of those two great Pauls: John and Ron.

Read: Catholic, Conservative, and Against Capital Punishment 

This to me sums up most of the so-called “top-tier” presidential candidates from both parties: they are pro-war, pro-abortion and/or stem cell research, and favor the interests of multi-national corporations over the national interests of the American people. These values would be most pronounced in a Clinton vs. Giuliani contest in 2008. As much as I value voting, what kind of choice would that be?

I’m amazed especially by how many candidates and politicians in general espouse an interventionist foreign policy. The American people keep saying “no, no, no” and the presidential (and other) candidates are saying “yes, yes, yes.” Don’t be fooled by the Democrats who oppose the Iraq war. If you listen to most of them, they just have a problem with the Iraq War or its execution. They would gladly station American soldiers in dangerous parts of the world that fit their pet agendas. When the American people clearly desire a change and a Democratic Congress and a Republican President both act like they could care less, I seriously question the value of the two party system.

It seems now there are two groups of people who should avoid Michael Schiavo like the plague:

1) Women
2) Politicians

A tendency towards obesity runs in my family, something my dad constantly reminds me. With the exception of my mom, all of my immediate family have struggled to remain fit and thin. With an occasional up and down here and there, I’ve still managed to stay in consistently good shape since I’ve been a teenager. It’s not easy. It takes a lot of effort and I thought I’d share a few of my tips.

1. Count calories- I know many diets say not to, but losing weight is ultimately about math: taking in fewer calories than you burn (to maintain weight you need to eat the same number as you burn).  In addition, counting calories is a good way to expose the hidden calories many people consume. I use Fitday, a free, online calorie tracker that also keeps count of nutrients, activity, etc.

2. Motivation is the key to exercise- You can’t have a great workout at the gym if you can’t get to the gym. Finding ways to stay motivated and enthusiastic about working out is vital. One thing that keeps me going to the YMCA regularly is always going there straight after work. If I get in my house and sit down, it’s all over!

3. Listen to Music- I read awhile back that people were able to work out longer (I can’t recall the details, but it was significantly longer) while listening to music. This is certainly the case for me. It may be for you!

4. Substitute or cut- When choosing foods, substitute and cut wherever possible. If a recipe calls for 3 tablespoons of butter, see if one will work. If you like beef, try ground turkey. Instead of sugar in your coffee, try Equal or Splenda. The list goes on and on.

…You’ve just been treated to the AFCM tips for keeping your ideal weight and staying in shape. "Lose Weight the AFCM Way" is coming soon to a store near you (kidding).

A great piece by the pro-life Nat Hentoff (incidentally also atheist, liberal, and Jewish, demonstrating that respect for life can be diverse)

A friend of mine told me of a recent conversation at his family’s dinner
table that keeps reverberating in my mind. His wife, a physician, also
performs abortions. And their 9-year-old son — hearing the words and
curious about its meaning — looked up from his plate and asked, "What
is an abortion?" His mother tried carefully to describe it in simple
terms.

    "But," said her son, "that means killing the baby." The mother
then explained that there are certain months during which an abortion
cannot be performed, with very few exceptions. The 9-year-old shook his
head. "But," he said, "it doesn’t matter what month. It still means
killing the babies." Hearing the story, I wished it could be repeated
to the justices of the Supreme Court, in the hope that at least five of
them might act on this 9-year-old’s clarity of thought and vision.

Read it all (Washington Times)

Today is the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the decision that legalized abortion. Since then, over 40 million babies have been killed. The numbers are staggering, but on a more personal note, how many great leaders, scientists, saints, actors, sports heroes, family members and friends were never even given a chance because of our country’s sinfulness? Although the courts and many people see it as a "choice," it really is a life. No euphemism can hide that. Our society has made a terrible mistake, one that someday we may have to pay dearly for. Let us all pray for an end to the evils of abortion.

To find out where Christian churches stand on abortion, go here. Some people may be unpleasantly surprised (and apalled).

Photo (click on it to see what it says) from the Sorrowful Mother Shrine, Bellevue, OH (taken by Jonathan or David Bennett, I can’t remember!)

This, of course, is not a shock. However, an interview of author Pamela Paul by Rebecca Phillips did have quite a few surprises. When Paul researched pornography use, she expected it to be the activity of a few losers and loners. Nope. Here are her chilling conclusions:

… I thought, "It’s no one that I know, it’s no one who’s really well-educated or self-aware or who has been in a serious relationship. Porn is for losers who can’t get a date." And I thought porn was for kids–a phase that all teenagers go through. In fact, porn is for everyone; everyone is using pornography. I talked to people who were Ivy League-educated, people who were engaged, people who were married, people who were divorced, people who were parents of young children. It went across all socio-economic, all racial, all ethnic, and all religious lines. I spoke with men who consider themselves to be devout church-goers and one man who taught at a Jewish seminary. I talked to a monk. I talked to people of all kinds of backgrounds and beliefs, and they all used pornography.

I have a feeling this is true and yet, how often does anyone ever heard it talked about? Perhaps it’s because we as a society have bought into the lies of the sexual revoltion. It’s actually quite scary that so many people are getting a perverted view of sexualility, many no doubt from a young age. Sadly, a good deal of them, especially the religious users, are probably addicted. The Catholic Church’s supposedly "backwards" stance seems more and more prophetic.

Virgin Most Pure, Pray for America

Amazing words from a man whose trust in God through his actions should inspire us all:

The natural aversion to death and this incipient hope of immortality are illumined and brought to fulfillment by the Christian Faith, which both promises and offers a share in the victory of the Risen Christ: it is the victory of the One who, by his redemptive death, has set man free from death, the wages of sin (Rom. 6:23), and has given him the Spirit, the pledge of resurrection and of life (cf. Rom. 8:11). The certainty of future immortality and hope in the promised resurrection cast new light on the mystery of suffering and death, and fill a believer with the extraordinary capacity to trust fully in the plan of God.

From The Theology of the Body (Human Love in the Divine Plan) (pp. 546-567)

I must sadly report that Terri Schiavo has died. Today our country has witnessed and even legally facilitated the death of an innocent woman. This is truly a dark day. May God have mercy on her soul and and be with her family May God have mercy upon us.

The old order has passed away:
welcome her then into paradise,
where there will be no sorrow, no weeping nor pain,
but the fullness of peace and joy
with your Son and the Holy Spirit
for ever and ever. Amen.

Prayer from Fr. Pat’s Place

On
Good Friday, as Terri Schiavo lay dying of thirst in Woodside Hospice,
Gabriel Keys took her a cup of water. Gabriel was arrested, handcuffed
and taken away.

Apparently,
no one taught Gabriel that you do not disobey a judge’s order, even to
bring water to someone dying of thirst. As he is 10 years old, he is
probably not yet conversant with the new morality, where a corporal
work of mercy can be a crime. Perhaps his parents filled his mind with
such subversive texts as, "Whoever shall give to drink to one of these
little ones, a cup of cold water" shall not lose eternal life.

Continue reading Culture of Death Advances (Pat Buchanan, Worldnetdaily)

Once again the liberal, Jewish, atheist Nat Hentoff (so much for the media stereotype about prolifers) has spoken articulately and forcefully about Terri Schiavo:

For all the world to see, a 41-year-old woman, who has committed no
crime, will die of dehydration and starvation in the longest public
execution in American history.

Continue Reading Terri Schiavo: Judicial Murder (Village Voice)

Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor (Westminster, UK) has given a great Easter sermon, one that mentions Terri Schiavo and the defense of life. Here is the excellent text on her:

In the United States this week we have had the moving case of Terri
Schiavo, the brain-damaged woman who is now starving to death because a court ordered her feeding tube to be removed; the view of the
court is that her life is not worth living. People say that withdrawing
her tube is to let nature take its course. But how natural is it to
starve to death? She is totally dependent on others for food and water,
it has been argued. But so is a baby. So are many elderly people. What
is wrong with being helpless and dependent? Our true nature is one of
dependence of dependence on God for life, on our parents for nurture,
on our friends, and our colleagues. Human beings were created
interdependent; only our fallen nature believes we can make it alone. How well do our institutions and our laws safeguard protect those most
deserving of our protection? In Britain, there are now 180,000
abortions a year the highest ever because these are not lives
considered worth saving. Research embryos, surplus to in vitro
treatment, are created, then discarded, because they do not have the
right tissue type; they did not meet the criteria for life. The
pressure to allow euthanasia is mounting; is it any wonder our elderly
people are increasingly disrespected?

In all these cases, the terrible truth is that it is the strong who
decide the fate of the weak; human beings therefore become instruments
in the hands of other human beings. But that way, as we have seen so
often in human history, lies disaster for us all.

The intrinsic dignity of human life the source of our hope - comes
from knowing that God died for us, and raised up his only Son, his only
Son who died the death of a worthless criminal. The dignity of life is
not naturally apparent to human beings; it is the gift of faith, God’s
gift to us. A Christian country is one that starts from that gift, that
believes that the most helpless are those who most deserve our
protection even the poorest and most despised of creatures. They
deserve our protection because God created them, God died for them, God
rose for them. But do we in Britain really embrace this? Do we raise
our voices on behalf of those who no one to protect them? Do we really
believe that God is the author of life, our Father?

Read the whole sermon (highly recommended)

As bloggers fighting for Terri, many of us have become personally invested in this case. I know that I personally have woken up each day since her feeding tube was removed worried that I’ll hear the dreaded news that she has died. At the beginning of the court fight I had great hope that the federal judges would intervene, but now I don’t think so. The only secular solution seems to lie with Jeb or George W. Bush and action from them is looking less likely by the hour. A new report says that Terri is bleeding from the eyes and tongue. After more than a week without food and water, time is seriously running out. Barring a miracle, Terri doesn’t have much time left. We must pray hard. God is the author of life as we are especially reminded as we approach the holiest of holy days.

Ah, for the days of Teddy Roosevelt, someone who spoke his mind and more importantly acted on principle. During a strike of coal workers Roosevelt was so annoyed with the intransigence of the mine owners who refused to even to talk to the union workers gathered together at the White House that the President threatened to take over the mines and use the army to run them. When a congressmen questioned the constitutionality of this act, Roosevelt grabbed the man and said: "to hell with the Constitution when the people want coal."

The move would have been illegal or at least semi-legal, but the mine owners knew he’d probably at least try to do it. The result? The owners relented and agreed to submit to arbitration chosen by Roosevelt.

Terri Schiavo is being starved and dehydrated to death in Florida and the President throws up his arms in the air and says he’s done all he can do. Really? In the face of intractable and capricious courts, perhaps Bush needs to have a Teddy Roosevelt moment and threaten to send in the federal marshals to rescue Terri. Perhaps that would at least wakeup the courts. When a US Citizen is being murdered with explicit approval of the judiciary and this is considered "constitutional" (which, by the way, I think it isn’t), then to hell with this so-called interpretation of the Constitution.

Hours after a judge ordered that Terri Schiavo was not to be removed
from her hospice, a team of state agents were en route to seize her and
have her feeding tube reinserted — but they stopped short when local
police told them they would enforce the judge’s order, The Miami Herald has
learned.

[Update: New link does not require registration]: Continue Reading Florida Officials attempt, fail to seize Schiavo (Knight Ridder, sanluisobispo)

Hat Tip: David