tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39319639947042053562024-03-15T21:13:07.360-04:00Justin's CornerDedicated to Fr. Richard John Neuhaus (1936-2009)Justin Soutarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11817269656991983943noreply@blogger.comBlogger630125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3931963994704205356.post-2317164501508627302024-02-29T10:30:00.003-05:002024-02-29T10:30:15.435-05:00Quote of the Day<blockquote>"During these weeks of Lent, let us make space for the prayer of silent adoration, in
which we experience the presence of the Lord, like Moses, like Elijah, like
Mary, like Jesus. Have we noticed that we have lost the sense of worship? Let
us return to worship. Let us lend the ear of our hearts to the One who, in
silence, wants to say to us: 'I am your God – the God of mercy and compassion,
the God of pardon and love, the God of tenderness and care… Do not judge
yourself. Do not condemn yourself. Do not reject yourself. Let my love touch
the deepest, most hidden corners of your heart and reveal to you your own
beauty, a beauty that you have lost sight of, but will become visible to you
again in the light of my mercy.'"
<br />
<br />
--Pope Francis, Homily, February 14, 2024</blockquote>Justin Soutarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11817269656991983943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3931963994704205356.post-48372648768738266742024-02-12T15:15:00.001-05:002024-02-12T15:15:14.949-05:00Quote of the Day<blockquote>“With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God
gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to
bind up the nation’s wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle
and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a
just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.”
<br />
<br />
--Abraham Lincoln, Second Inaugural Address, March 4, 1865</blockquote>
Justin Soutarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11817269656991983943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3931963994704205356.post-5849046157668637682024-02-01T11:26:00.000-05:002024-02-01T11:26:11.033-05:00Reflection for the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord<blockquote>“'A light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people
Israel'” (Luke 2:32). With these words Simeon describes the Messiah of the
Lord, at the end of his hymn of blessing. The topic of light, that
reechoes the first and second songs of the Servant of the Lord in Isaiah (cf. Is 42:6; 49:6), is vividly present in this liturgy.
It was in fact opened by an evocative procession, in which the Superiors
and General Superiors of the Institutes of consecrated life represented
here took part and carried lit candles. This sign, specific to the
liturgical tradition of this Feast, is deeply expressive. It shows the
beauty and value of the consecrated life as a reflection of Christ’s
light; a sign that recalls Mary’s entry into the Temple. The Virgin
Mary, the Consecrated Woman par excellence, carried in her arms the
Light himself, the Incarnate Word who came to dispel the darkness of the
world with God’s love."
<br />
<br />
--Benedict XVI, Homily, February 2, 2013</blockquote>Justin Soutarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11817269656991983943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3931963994704205356.post-76133243529691815612024-01-24T16:20:00.003-05:002024-01-24T16:20:54.529-05:00Quote of the Day<blockquote>"The word of God unleashes the power of the Holy Spirit, a
power that draws people to God, like those young fisherman who were struck by
Jesus’ words, and sends others, like Jonah, towards those distant from the
Lord. The word draws us to God and sends us to others. It draws us
to God and sends us to others: that is how it works. It does not leave us
self-absorbed, but expands hearts, changes courses, overturns habits, opens up
new scenarios and discloses unthought-of horizons."
<br />
<br />
--Pope Francis, Homily, January 21, 2024
</blockquote>Justin Soutarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11817269656991983943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3931963994704205356.post-67890194722842334532024-01-15T11:33:00.002-05:002024-01-15T11:34:02.652-05:00 Quote of the Day<blockquote>“A true revolution of values will soon look uneasily on the
glaring contrast of poverty and wealth. With righteous indignation, it will
look across the seas and see individual capitalists of the West investing huge
sums of money in Asia, Africa and South America, only to take the profits out
with no concern for the social betterment of the countries, and say: ‘This is
not just.’”
<br />
<br />
--Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929--1968)
</blockquote>Justin Soutarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11817269656991983943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3931963994704205356.post-46333638215887006172023-12-29T22:05:00.004-05:002023-12-29T22:25:08.098-05:00Reflections on A.D. 2023<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">by Justin Soutar</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Looking back on the Year of Our Lord
2023, I find many things to be thankful for and some things to pray for, personally and professionally as well as nationally, internationally
and ecclesiastically. Here are just a few highlights.<br /></span></p>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI7MJXhF11E-2LF6m4SrK6-BGr-QR_FrS01R5Rj1dfXH2MilVR_l6hwP8t-W-OLYsbf9ZL4E8olwhnk-kHBg9EFycSQX1QGE9Cx02tW0engnPSokgZ0DDq-jFX6iW55RwWh9U6PVs2QJFiQuTHBM88FRwQOFqrA5PhcDk5oQib9dqvMzdgUMuFykIHFxY/s3264/IMG_1402.JPG" style="font-family: arial; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2448" data-original-width="3264" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI7MJXhF11E-2LF6m4SrK6-BGr-QR_FrS01R5Rj1dfXH2MilVR_l6hwP8t-W-OLYsbf9ZL4E8olwhnk-kHBg9EFycSQX1QGE9Cx02tW0engnPSokgZ0DDq-jFX6iW55RwWh9U6PVs2QJFiQuTHBM88FRwQOFqrA5PhcDk5oQib9dqvMzdgUMuFykIHFxY/w400-h300/IMG_1402.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Photo by Justin Soutar</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Personally, I was blessed to make
four brief road trips this year. The first was with a friend of mine to
Richmond on February 1 for the Virginia March for Life. We joined with Bishop
Barry Knestout, Bishop Michael Burbidge, Governor Glenn Youngkin, Attorney
General Jason Miyares, and thousands of fellow Catholics and Christians from
across the Commonwealth to peacefully demonstrate and advocate for the legal
protection of the unborn in our state and to support and encourage single
mothers to choose life for their babies. The second trip, in mid-April, was to
the National Shrine of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton and the nearby National Shrine
Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes (on the campus of Mount Saint Mary's University)
in Emmitsburg, Maryland. The awe-inspiring Byzantine architecture and unique
history of the Shrine as the birthplace of the Catholic school system, and the
peaceful, prayerful atmosphere of the Grotto with its outdoor Stations of the
Cross, many statues of saints, tiny Blessed Sacrament chapel, and towering gold
statue of Mary nearby, renewed and uplifted my spirit as I continued to recover
from COVID. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdkDhH4wLCrlMRVcp6aOa6dTRD8otqWQ5SvY3U02IbR2jo7yFY0G7N19O0ZqRrrHoGDrQ5hPAXXvWkhTNlFvSZauLB2-yFGry88HWouBIio3_-tOXbnnh4gqexs22ZUByVY_KxxJSqjtp1_i6WngAQACnGEHivhieO8hm-FsGckPm7RTR9bZ6S8aWug3k/s3264/IMG_1430.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2448" data-original-width="3264" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdkDhH4wLCrlMRVcp6aOa6dTRD8otqWQ5SvY3U02IbR2jo7yFY0G7N19O0ZqRrrHoGDrQ5hPAXXvWkhTNlFvSZauLB2-yFGry88HWouBIio3_-tOXbnnh4gqexs22ZUByVY_KxxJSqjtp1_i6WngAQACnGEHivhieO8hm-FsGckPm7RTR9bZ6S8aWug3k/w400-h300/IMG_1430.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Photo by Justin Soutar</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">My third trip was to the northern
West Virginia panhandle in early July to visit a good priest friend and former
boss of mine. We enjoyed an afternoon and evening together, with the beautiful
scenery of the Mountain State and the Ohio River a pleasant bonus. The fourth
and most memorable trip was to the historic Basilica of the National Shrine of
the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. on October 21 to participate
with more than 1,000 fellow Catholics in the Diocese of Richmond's pilgrimage
led by Bishop Knestout. It was a partly cloudy and windy autumn day, and every
time the sun came back out it would pour through the many stained-glass windows
onto different areas of the walls and columns and mosaics of the massive
basilica. I took advantage of this opportunity to tour and photograph the many
Marian chapels and mosaics adorning the magnificent Great Upper Church, and to
go to confession as well as pray the Rosary and attend Mass and Eucharistic
Exposition and Benediction with fellow pilgrims. The bishop's homily on the
great treasure of our faith did not disappoint, and the world-class music
provided by the Shrine choir and organist for the Mass and Eucharistic
procession through the basilica was so glorious, majestic, and overpowering at times
that I could scarcely hold back tears. I will continue to treasure this
day-long visit to Mary's Shrine for years to come.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtaIRyGdX4VMUzT0YEGi8iJsxvkjr0XyjIc3LGFcyu0XAsrXa5Nb3kLhKx28yJxc-W-W8zxt843eZfDmGQ31MHkH5MhZCgPRuGlVDYSIxEm9ARhJyBL3RU_4vuvf6vyE5RFI851lixPO0zCWxWulReOFDdgufHLwLhwiD-aUx_kgC0S7d6xcpOl8wUhzA/s4000/20231021_100615.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtaIRyGdX4VMUzT0YEGi8iJsxvkjr0XyjIc3LGFcyu0XAsrXa5Nb3kLhKx28yJxc-W-W8zxt843eZfDmGQ31MHkH5MhZCgPRuGlVDYSIxEm9ARhJyBL3RU_4vuvf6vyE5RFI851lixPO0zCWxWulReOFDdgufHLwLhwiD-aUx_kgC0S7d6xcpOl8wUhzA/w300-h400/20231021_100615.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Photo by Justin Soutar</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Professionally, from January through
June, as music minister and liturgical assistant, I was blessed to continue
leading Saint Patrick Catholic Church in Lexington, Virginia, through the
sesquicentennial celebration of its establishment in 1873. To commemorate this
historic event, the adult choir performed renowned sacred masterworks, several
for the first time, including Palestrina's "Sicut cervus", Faure's
"Cantique de Jean Racine", Bruno Vlahek's "Ave Maria",
Mozart's "Ave verum", and Handel's "Hallelujah!" Chorus
from <i>Messiah</i>. I was further blessed to begin leading the parish through
the National Eucharistic Revival this year, highlighted by a Eucharistic
healing service in April led by Father John A. Boughton, C.F.R., and a remarkably
successful Forty Hours devotion to the Blessed Sacrament in October--the first
such event at this parish in decades.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpc1TvLVDLfFw4C0CtmOt1LoF3UWNIMO2QjIMjjSvk2aIUB0M7sTQxyBeF9yz6G28brMRz71o47nSphIH1DZvrCVEre853hc8sD8APTrEGHjzimKj2b1coZjMiDgHZ4aHuTi8aJpmuoSTMyokJ-IO6rb_btCmviXywRLNBx6QA_umhyphenhyphenkkCXTtVvkZu1_A/s3264/IMG_1463.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3264" data-original-width="2448" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpc1TvLVDLfFw4C0CtmOt1LoF3UWNIMO2QjIMjjSvk2aIUB0M7sTQxyBeF9yz6G28brMRz71o47nSphIH1DZvrCVEre853hc8sD8APTrEGHjzimKj2b1coZjMiDgHZ4aHuTi8aJpmuoSTMyokJ-IO6rb_btCmviXywRLNBx6QA_umhyphenhyphenkkCXTtVvkZu1_A/w300-h400/IMG_1463.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Photo by Justin Soutar</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Also professionally, a few months
ago I learned that the publisher of my first book, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">America’s Back-Door Enemy </i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">(see right sidebar photo)</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">, </i>went out of business in 2017 under a
cloud of corruption and scandal. Back in 2008 when they accepted my manuscript
and offered me a contract, Tate Publishing was a small but idealistic and
high-quality Christian publisher located in Mustang, Oklahoma. By 2014 they had
grown dramatically to become the third-largest Christian publishing house in the United
States, but I was unaware that this position had been attained through the dishonest
practices of senior management. I pray for the conversion of those who grew
wealthy by violating the Seventh Commandment on such a massive scale. If you
haven’t read this important book about American foreign policy in the Middle
East but would like to, please write to me and I’ll obtain a used copy for you.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Nationally, it was a tumultuous year
in government and politics, reflecting our ever-deepening philosophical and
moral divide and the increasing totalitarianism of the Democratic Party
leadership. Having secured a narrow majority in the House of Representatives in
the 2022 election, Congressional Republicans under the capable and effective
leadership of Speaker Kevin McCarthy proceeded to act in the best interests of
the country while holding the illegitimate Biden administration accountable for
its flagrant abuses of power; opening a corruption investigation into Joe and
Hunter Biden’s shady business dealings with Communist China, Russia, and
Ukraine; and launching overdue impeachment proceedings against "Crooked
Joe." Congressional Democrats and eight Republicans In Name Only joined
forces to brazenly retaliate by firing McCarthy as House Speaker in September. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG5mj7hmsuK4mPqQzEEZcLHSGGWoDm168Sl-SZgy4CB_PeR2FQ8kLSbkVTC01MTJiIO_iflEmCxQat_RFW368Iixpu1D4UD_yA7WQ7lXOu3hjQ2tklrZXZVjgumIy6bKmDSe5UeXJVvijKjgX5R7oYQ_a7WVUjpBvhqMfJN88gbgWikRVPoFbgXg4vzFM/s279/220px-Donald_Trump_official_portrait.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="279" data-original-width="220" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG5mj7hmsuK4mPqQzEEZcLHSGGWoDm168Sl-SZgy4CB_PeR2FQ8kLSbkVTC01MTJiIO_iflEmCxQat_RFW368Iixpu1D4UD_yA7WQ7lXOu3hjQ2tklrZXZVjgumIy6bKmDSe5UeXJVvijKjgX5R7oYQ_a7WVUjpBvhqMfJN88gbgWikRVPoFbgXg4vzFM/w315-h400/220px-Donald_Trump_official_portrait.jpg" width="315" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Meanwhile, "former"
President Donald Trump, the rightful winner of the 2020 presidential election,
spent the entire year preparing for his 2024 presidential campaign by traveling
the country, speaking to and raising money from millions of ordinary Americans
who are grateful for what he did for the nation during his first term as
president and who are appalled by what has transpired under Biden's misrule.
Remarkably, Trump has successfully weathered multiple violent storms of
personal attacks, baseless indictments and lawsuits involving his finances and
eligibility to run for president, arrest and imprisonment, and FBI surveillance
from Crooked Joe and his Democratic cronies, all coupled with pervasive
anti-Trump bias from major media outlets--steadily increasing his support base
to the point where he is now clearly leading not only Biden, but all of the
other Republican presidential candidates combined, in the polls in all of the
key battleground states. May God grant this fearless champion of the
American people victory over his enemies and return him to the White House in
2025.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">At the same time, independent
thinker and plain-spoken maverick candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. successfully
connected with millions of voters disenchanted with both major parties, adding
another element of interest to the early presidential contest. He promised to
break the unholy alliance between Big Government and Big Business and to do an
even better job than Trump of draining the D.C. swamp. Mainly an old-fashioned
liberal with a handful of conservative issue positions, he will likely draw
many more votes away from Biden than from Trump in November 2024. Some of his
derided "conspiracy theories," such as the link between childhood
vaccines and autism and the CIA's role in the assassination of John F. Kennedy,
are actually true (check out the books <i>Autism--Prevention Care and
Management </i>by Marvin Anderson, M.D. and <i>Plausible Denial </i>by Mark
Lane).</span></p>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAJR8vwyFApDx5kgGYfrJxkl2v7OqiQO2no1nkXYSdknxYbO4XG7z4Sfiy0e2_4wlnc_56koJ44pSFnlaW0KTjLdSZwMn1xL7n0aMYavZ4UlN96-H6ZFUTXD33wMyAUglMFoSXuZLPXq1j8X7YrixwAIJQpDZr45N3Wmt3750MCJqNGY8f5mDSpfHrhpc/s3264/IMG_1394.JPG" style="font-family: arial; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3264" data-original-width="2448" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAJR8vwyFApDx5kgGYfrJxkl2v7OqiQO2no1nkXYSdknxYbO4XG7z4Sfiy0e2_4wlnc_56koJ44pSFnlaW0KTjLdSZwMn1xL7n0aMYavZ4UlN96-H6ZFUTXD33wMyAUglMFoSXuZLPXq1j8X7YrixwAIJQpDZr45N3Wmt3750MCJqNGY8f5mDSpfHrhpc/w300-h400/IMG_1394.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Photo by Justin Soutar</i></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We pro-lifers were disappointed that
voters passed pro-abortion laws in Ohio and Kentucky and elected pro-abortion
majorities to the Virginia Senate and House of Delegates, but we shouldn't have
been surprised. The Planned Parenthood abortion cartel and its loyal Democratic
allies poured millions of dollars into false advertising in these states to
frighten and deceive voters regarding the nature of the proposed laws and to
convince them to vote for Democrats. Just like the fight against slavery, the
fight against abortion will not be won quickly or easily. It takes time to
change hearts and minds and to defeat rich and powerful enemies.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Internationally, the tragic and devastating
war in Ukraine continued unabated with the tide gradually turning in Russia’s
favor, and the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict re-erupted with a
brutal Hamas terrorist attack on Israeli civilians and an invasion of Palestinian
Gaza by the Israeli army. Both conflicts have been viewed too simplistically by
many prominent observers and ordinary people who are unaware of the
complexities involved. Russia and Ukraine share a close ethnic, cultural, religious,
and geographical relationship going back many centuries, and eastern Ukraine is
more Russian than the rest of the country. Russian naval access to a Black Sea port
is a key issue at the heart of the conflict that Ukraine has failed to address.
In recent years, many Western leaders ignored the lessons of twentieth-century
history, failing to realize that by siding with Ukraine and
expanding NATO on Russia’s western flank, they would provoke a full-scale
Russian invasion of Ukraine. While some of Russia’s grievances and territorial claims
may be legitimate, they do not justify the murderous and destructive military invasion
and occupation of Ukraine. And while Ukraine has the right to defend herself
against Russian aggression, there is a great deal of corruption in the
Ukrainian government.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Neither is the Israel-Hamas
confrontation as black and white as conservative American commentators paint it. It is
not a “war,” properly speaking, between the armies of two nations, but rather a
violent conflict between the Israeli army and Hamas terrorists. Nor is Hamas an
entirely evil entity; it is primarily a humanitarian, social, and educational
Palestinian institution with a radical terrorist fringe. The peaceful
organization operates quietly, enjoying broad support among the Palestinian
people for its good works, while its violent wing grabs the media
headlines. Although nothing justified the October 7 Hamas terrorist attack on
innocent Israeli civilians, this atrocity did not justify Israel’s unilateral military
invasion of Gaza with its unacceptable collateral damage to Palestinian homes, churches,
hospitals, and innocent civilians either. Hamas terrorism is fueled by
the situation of political and economic injustice to which the state of Israel
has unfortunately subjected the Palestinian people for more than seventy years.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict will not be resolved until a Palestinian state
is officially established alongside Israel; both sides agree to respect the
borderlines drawn by the UN in 1948; and Jerusalem is placed in an
international zone. (For a more thorough examination of this topic, please
request a copy of my book mentioned above.)</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZwMZYDjYkUfn66pZXexAPj2PF7txM98bf2K-CYw5gNPdxHJm3TS7D1AH94CoryO7Y4GGMiYVaz6A2bXVTgRKQR9juZH1L2O5XX0_DAu7xIr-tI4uhCRIUVgdi6wb3X99sGViWJNNlSbiUHKjGnHWwpuDzINyXFxuoREy6_ZYnAid3p4A6HGldaafZlMk/s724/Pope%20Francis%2003-19-13.jpg.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="695" data-original-width="724" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZwMZYDjYkUfn66pZXexAPj2PF7txM98bf2K-CYw5gNPdxHJm3TS7D1AH94CoryO7Y4GGMiYVaz6A2bXVTgRKQR9juZH1L2O5XX0_DAu7xIr-tI4uhCRIUVgdi6wb3X99sGViWJNNlSbiUHKjGnHWwpuDzINyXFxuoREy6_ZYnAid3p4A6HGldaafZlMk/w400-h384/Pope%20Francis%2003-19-13.jpg.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Ecclesiastically, Pope Francis--at
age 86 the oldest pontiff in recent memory--marked the tenth anniversary of his election and continued his holy and generally
wise leadership of the Church, unruffled by constant criticism from certain
faithful and well-meaning Catholic bishops and media outlets, delivering
insightful homilies and addresses and visiting several foreign countries
despite his declining health. Some of the most powerful and memorable words he
spoke this year were uttered to government leaders in Budapest, Hungary, in
April:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 5pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-family: arial;">"In the world in which we presently live, however, that
passionate quest of a politics of community and the strengthening of
multilateral relations seems a wistful memory from a distant past. We seem to
be witnessing the sorry sunset of that choral dream of peace, as the soloists
of war now take over.... <br /></span>
<span style="font-family: arial;"><br />
"Peace will never come as the result of the pursuit of individual
strategic interests, but only from policies capable of looking to the bigger
picture, to the development of everyone: policies that are attentive to
individuals, to the poor and to the future, and not merely to power, profit and
present prospects. <br /></span>
<span style="font-family: arial;"><br />
"At this historical juncture, Europe is crucial, for thanks to its
history, it represents <i>the memory of humanity</i>; in this sense, it is
called to take up its proper role, which is to unite those far apart, to
welcome other peoples and to refuse to consider anyone an eternal enemy. It is
vital, then, <i>to recover the European spirit</i>: the excitement and
vision of its founders, who were statesmen able to look beyond their own times,
beyond national boundaries and immediate needs, and to generate forms of
diplomacy capable of pursuing unity, not aggravating divisions." </span></blockquote>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In October, Catholic bishops,
priests and lay leaders from around the world converged on Vatican City for the
Synod on Communion, Participation, and Mission (sadly misnamed the "Synod
on Synodality"), in a serious and mostly sincere attempt to first listen
to the concerns of Catholics worldwide and then to discern where the Holy
Spirit is leading the Church today. As with so many other high-profile events
in Francis' pontificate, this worthy undertaking has been unnecessarily
controversial. For example, some prominent faithful Catholics harshly
criticized Pope Francis for allowing certain dissident and unfaithful Catholics
to participate in the Synod, forgetting that the Synod is merely an advisory
body to the pope and that Jesus himself regularly associated with notorious
public sinners.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Likewise, in December, the Holy
See's issuance of new guidelines for blessings for homosexual couples ignited
unnecessary controversy among many faithful Catholics. The secular media didn't
help by quickly spreading the lie that the Church now officially recognizes
homosexual unions on a par with traditional marriage. Bishop Robert Barron's
analysis of both the Synod and the official blessings document from the
Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith is correct: the pope is not trying to
change Church doctrine (as if he had the power to do that in any case), but rather trying to draw people who are not fully
living the doctrine closer to the fullness of life in Christ. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: arial;">Indeed, many things to be thankful for and some things to pray for. Let us continue to pray the Rosary for the conversion of sinners and for peace in the
world as Our Lady of Fatima requested.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: arial;">Happy New Year!</span></p>
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</p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">Copyright
© 2023 Justin D. Soutar.</span></p>Justin Soutarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11817269656991983943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3931963994704205356.post-16838256248891214532023-12-26T10:36:00.001-05:002023-12-26T10:36:23.213-05:00Reflection for the Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPNapSNWq8bfgn_HiWWUVCqOao3DHZ4fwnWZ50nJcp6ssrFZkBPaEQBeH1xxF5xS1HlkHsiKnw_ICqN9ORbyVJ8AFIUSu7vdcNtYujThi-JguZ-D2y71rK5AlXee_SIaE4rTI4FmZ8UwhaU_iMJTb790bdp-SNwvDYO-yUlAnP6iTYXkJk6BWGN3gFVQQ/s500/Botticelli_Nativity.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" height="400" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="451" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPNapSNWq8bfgn_HiWWUVCqOao3DHZ4fwnWZ50nJcp6ssrFZkBPaEQBeH1xxF5xS1HlkHsiKnw_ICqN9ORbyVJ8AFIUSu7vdcNtYujThi-JguZ-D2y71rK5AlXee_SIaE4rTI4FmZ8UwhaU_iMJTb790bdp-SNwvDYO-yUlAnP6iTYXkJk6BWGN3gFVQQ/s400/Botticelli_Nativity.jpg"/></a></div><blockquote>"Yet what do those words--<em>for us</em>--really
mean? They mean that the Son of God, the one who is holy by nature, came to
make us, as God’s children, holy by grace. Yes, God came into the world as a
child to make us children of God. What a magnificent gift!... Dear sister, dear brother, never
be discouraged. Are you tempted to feel you were a mistake? God tells you, 'No,
you are my child!' Do you have a feeling of failure or inadequacy, the fear
that you will never emerge from the dark tunnel of trial? God says to you, 'Have courage, I am with you'. He does this not in words, but by making himself
a child with you and for you. In this way, he reminds you that the starting
point of all rebirth is the recognition that we are children of God. This is
the undying heart of our hope, the incandescent core that gives warmth and
meaning to our life. Underlying all our strengths and weaknesses, stronger than
all our past hurts and failures, or our fears and concerns about the future,
there is this great truth: we are beloved sons and daughters."
<br />
<br />
--Pope Francis, Homily, December 24, 2020 </blockquote>Justin Soutarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11817269656991983943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3931963994704205356.post-76164456520061535232023-12-07T11:24:00.005-05:002023-12-07T11:24:43.878-05:00Quote of the Day<blockquote>"The servants’ vigilance is not one of fear, but of longing,
of waiting to go forth to meet their Lord who is coming. They remain in
readiness for his return because they care for him, because they have in
mind that when he returns, they will make him find a welcoming and
orderly home; they are happy to see him, to the point that they look
forward to his return as a feast for the whole great family of which
they are a part. It is with this expectation filled with affection that we also want
to prepare ourselves to welcome Jesus: at Christmas, which we will
celebrate in a few weeks; at the end of time, when He will return in
glory; every day, as He comes to meet us in the Eucharist, in His Word,
in our brothers and sisters, especially those most in need. So, in a special way during these weeks, let us prepare the house of the heart with care, so that it is orderly and hospitable."
<br />
<br />
--Pope Francis, Angelus, December 3, 2023</blockquote>Justin Soutarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11817269656991983943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3931963994704205356.post-73572535858059154982023-11-26T13:53:00.001-05:002023-11-26T13:54:25.966-05:00Reflection for Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe<blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpeY4UhEbSHygOd9KXOjiKEYswmq50Lv9PvWhBwLtu_-nSbXjUbu3Jeq_14WBWeq9IjWY8a4JsJzXeAdmDm55gSSSsuKZl_b06hyizl_TmoditVG9ZRz1Sg21sxn5eeaID-gfz4nOU-GMUb9HVBncyy9N5wU_iGpQdOyQCnS9nULlSSKma4g8kqAZKzr0/s894/The_Lord_is_my_Good_Shepherd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="894" data-original-width="640" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpeY4UhEbSHygOd9KXOjiKEYswmq50Lv9PvWhBwLtu_-nSbXjUbu3Jeq_14WBWeq9IjWY8a4JsJzXeAdmDm55gSSSsuKZl_b06hyizl_TmoditVG9ZRz1Sg21sxn5eeaID-gfz4nOU-GMUb9HVBncyy9N5wU_iGpQdOyQCnS9nULlSSKma4g8kqAZKzr0/w286-h400/The_Lord_is_my_Good_Shepherd.jpg" width="286" /></a></div><br />"In the ancient Near East, in royal inscriptions from both Sumer and the area of Babylonia and Assyria, the king refers to himself as the shepherd instituted by God. 'Pasturing sheep' is an image of his task as a ruler. This image implies that caring for the weak is one of the tasks of the just ruler. One could therefore say that, in view of its origins, this image of Christ the Good Shepherd is a Gospel of Christ the King, an image that sheds light upon the kingship of Christ.
<br />
<br />
"Of course, the immediate precedents for Jesus' use of this image are found in the Old Testament, where God himself appears as the Shepherd of Israel. This image deeply shaped Israel's piety, and it was especially in times of need that Israel found a word of consolation and confidence in it. Probably the most beautiful expression of this trustful devotion is Psalm 23... The image of God as Shepherd is more fully developed in chapters 34--37 of Ezekiel, whose vision is brought into the present and interpreted as a prophecy of Jesus' ministry both in the Synoptic shepherd parables and in the Johannine shepherd discourse. Faced with the self-seeking shepherds of his own day, whom he challenges and accuses, Ezekiel proclaims the promise that God himself will seek out his sheep and care for them."
<br />
<br />
--Benedict XVI, <i>Jesus of Nazareth--Part One: From the Baptism in the Jordan to the Transfiguration </i>(New York: Doubleday, 2007), pp. 272--273</blockquote>Justin Soutarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11817269656991983943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3931963994704205356.post-6474658209862174532023-11-09T13:01:00.004-05:002023-11-09T13:04:07.497-05:00Reflection for Feast of Dedication of the Lateran Basilica<blockquote>"Christians who live<i> </i>in this city are like the river that springs
from the temple: they bring a Word of life and of hope that can make
fruitful the desert of hearts, just like the stream described in
Ezekiel’s vision which fertilizes the Arabah desert and heals
the salty and lifeless waters of the Dead Sea. The important thing is
that the course of the water leave the temple and flow towards hostile
looking lands. The city cannot but rejoice on seeing Christians becoming
joyful proclaimers, determined to share with others the treasures of
the Word of God and to devote themselves to the common good. The terrain
that seemed destined to be arid, reveals an extraordinary potential: it
becomes a garden with evergreen trees and leaves and fruit with healing
properties. Ezekiel explains the reason for such fruitfulness: 'the
water for them flows from the sanctuary' (Ez 47:12). God is the secret
of this new life-giving power!"
<br />
<br />
--Pope Francis, Homily, November 9, 2019</blockquote>Justin Soutarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11817269656991983943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3931963994704205356.post-7197643872143948822023-10-31T22:00:00.003-04:002023-10-31T22:00:43.154-04:00Reflection for the Solemnity of All Saints<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0bSWmW5F9fepyMo30WSuH2gMzUgrb3Mws0dcuyFLokPyveO6ac76tljSDhZOpP_x3X_VnILxVPmwgLEwJAiFDspDc2oUOCtrQEcOTPZ5emGVeLOBC7vPI1eoXDXco6RB6exctVxI-o7F_Jxu7skTKuqoRaKgWwAEfgFuNiO20yPIoMsYDyjlDDJO2BwQ/s300/300px-All-Saints.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="202" data-original-width="300" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0bSWmW5F9fepyMo30WSuH2gMzUgrb3Mws0dcuyFLokPyveO6ac76tljSDhZOpP_x3X_VnILxVPmwgLEwJAiFDspDc2oUOCtrQEcOTPZ5emGVeLOBC7vPI1eoXDXco6RB6exctVxI-o7F_Jxu7skTKuqoRaKgWwAEfgFuNiO20yPIoMsYDyjlDDJO2BwQ/w400-h269/300px-All-Saints.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><blockquote>"The liturgy invites us to share in the heavenly
jubilation of the Saints, to taste their joy. The Saints are not a small
caste of chosen souls but an innumerable crowd to which the liturgy
urges us to raise our eyes. This multitude not only includes the
officially recognized Saints, but the baptized of every epoch and nation
who sought to carry out the divine will faithfully and lovingly. We are
unacquainted with the faces and even the names of many of them, but
with the eyes of faith we see them shine in God's firmament like
glorious stars.
<br />
<br />
"Today, the Church is celebrating her dignity as 'Mother of the
Saints, an image of the Eternal City' (A. Manzoni), and displays her
beauty as the immaculate Bride of Christ, source and model of all
holiness. She certainly does not lack contentious or even rebellious
children, but it is in the Saints that she recognizes her characteristic
features and precisely in them savors her deepest joy....
<br />
<br />
"This, then, is the meaning of today's Solemnity: looking at the
shining example of the Saints to reawaken within us the great longing to
be like them; happy to live near God, in his light, in the great family
of God's friends. Being a Saint means living close to God, to live in
his family. And this is the vocation of us all, vigorously reaffirmed by
the Second Vatican Council and solemnly proposed today for our
attention."
<br />
<br />
--Benedict XVI, Homily, November 1, 2006</blockquote>Justin Soutarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11817269656991983943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3931963994704205356.post-90790370450412390912023-10-19T11:01:00.001-04:002023-10-19T11:01:11.656-04:00Quote of the Day<blockquote>"The operation launched from Gaza and the reaction of the Israeli Army are
bringing us back to the worst periods of our recent history. The too many
causalities and tragedies, which both Palestinians and Israeli families have to
deal with, will create more hatred and division, and will destroy more and more
any perspective of stability.
<br />
<br />
"We call on the international community, the religious leaders in the region
and in the world, to make every effort in helping to de-escalate the situation,
restore calm and work to guarantee the fundamental rights of people in the
region.
<br />
<br />
"Unilateral declarations surrounding the status of religious sites and places
of worship rattle religious sentiment and fuel even more hatred and extremism.
It is therefore important to preserve the status quo in all the Holy Places in
the Holy Land and in Jerusalem in particular....
<br />
<br />
"We ask God to inspire world leaders in their intervention for the
implementation of peace and concord so that Jerusalem may be a house of prayer
for all peoples."
<br />
<br />
--Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Archbishop of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, October 12, 2023</blockquote>
Justin Soutarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11817269656991983943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3931963994704205356.post-37954153483195824182023-10-07T13:02:00.002-04:002023-10-07T13:02:27.684-04:00Quote of the Day<blockquote>"Today the Church honors Our Lady of the Rosary, a liturgical Memorial
that gives me the opportunity to reassert the importance of the prayer
of the Rosary, so dear also to my venerable Predecessors.<i> </i>I commend it to you, dear <i>young people,</i> so that it may help you to do God's will and find in the Immaculate Heart of Mary a safe shelter. May it enable you, dear <i>sick people, </i>to
experience the comfort of our Heavenly Mother, so that she may sustain
you in moments of trial. May the recitation of this prayer be for you,
dear<i> newlyweds </i> a daily custom in your family which, thanks to Mary's intercession will thus grow in unity and fidelity to the Gospel."
<br />
<br />
--Benedict XVI, General Audience, October 7, 2009</blockquote>Justin Soutarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11817269656991983943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3931963994704205356.post-81696507498052627822023-09-14T12:03:00.003-04:002023-09-14T12:03:23.571-04:00Reflection for the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross<blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgqKOgScGFH5CjzQZQ7vO9jjPT3co3nAmbewQVaoDJfriEqG8H86JJ1X2xpdW5SouEpO0YuyCuR3rYZbTmb06CxXtJqfZuGD0tHb8QEP0qsKdSpfLFQkGfjsLSfqg0AZKoNJ1j_ysVp3sHE9Y8l2_pUmGvXiWnkDYTq4W1P_p180n_ey-UgfwdpRqIsI0/s328/220px-Cristo_crucificado.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="328" data-original-width="220" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgqKOgScGFH5CjzQZQ7vO9jjPT3co3nAmbewQVaoDJfriEqG8H86JJ1X2xpdW5SouEpO0YuyCuR3rYZbTmb06CxXtJqfZuGD0tHb8QEP0qsKdSpfLFQkGfjsLSfqg0AZKoNJ1j_ysVp3sHE9Y8l2_pUmGvXiWnkDYTq4W1P_p180n_ey-UgfwdpRqIsI0/s320/220px-Cristo_crucificado.jpg" width="215" /></a></div><br />"Brothers and sisters, only the ascent of the cross leads to the goal of
glory. This is the way: from the cross to glory. The worldly temptation is to
seek glory in bypassing the cross. We would prefer paths that are familiar,
direct and smooth, but to encounter the light of Jesus we must continually
leave ourselves behind and follow him upwards. The Lord who, as we heard, first
“brought Abraham outside” (Gen. 15:5), also invites us to move outwards
and upwards."
<br />
<br />
--Pope Francis, Homily, March 12, 2022</blockquote>
Justin Soutarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11817269656991983943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3931963994704205356.post-72342643511908834712023-09-07T13:51:00.000-04:002023-09-07T13:51:12.726-04:00Signs of the Times<p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-zwAXgIYt-2YHWLM_iB_O4lisbrHnIdjxhQh9tq_RZECqNZtvJj_2qGGCJpBHrpYurQ8yCJM0B78oE4CdOTlfnKazASPixOwj7sQtyHSKQcrwoSDNp9A1VMbQoAqvtUv20dptSg2Ge8VHdi4huIAZXXCj6RlbxtP84ggOrEcYLi8Tr2wE98DVAqz390Y/s3264/IMG_0816.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2448" data-original-width="3264" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-zwAXgIYt-2YHWLM_iB_O4lisbrHnIdjxhQh9tq_RZECqNZtvJj_2qGGCJpBHrpYurQ8yCJM0B78oE4CdOTlfnKazASPixOwj7sQtyHSKQcrwoSDNp9A1VMbQoAqvtUv20dptSg2Ge8VHdi4huIAZXXCj6RlbxtP84ggOrEcYLi8Tr2wE98DVAqz390Y/w400-h300/IMG_0816.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Photo by Justin Soutar<br /></i></td></tr></tbody></table><br />by Justin Soutar</p><p>In his popular 1966 book <i>What Is It About Virginia?</i>, Norfolk journalist Guy Friddell opined that there is actually a fifth season in between summer and autumn, which is not quite summer and not quite autumn. He wrote that this fifth season, which runs from mid-August to mid-September, is a mysterious period of transition and change in terms of weather and personal schedules. For me, this unique time of year is simply late summer and early autumn combined. The midday sun is getting lower in the sky and early morning temperatures are often chilly, but daytime readings can still be warm or even hot. Rainfall has noticeably declined, but occasional showers and thunderstorms still visit our area. Some tree leaves are turning color and falling, but most are still green. The growth of grass and weeds has nearly plateaued, but no frosts have yet destroyed them. Several of my garden crops are finished for the year, but several others are still producing vegetables. Some birds have already migrated south, but most are still here. Squirrels and deer are everywhere.<br /></p><p>This beautiful and special time of year is a gift from our Creator. He has designed the earth and the solar system in such a way that there are gradual transitions between not only summer and autumn, but also autumn and winter, winter and spring, and spring and summer. These significant month-long overlaps between seasons allow earth's creatures valuable time to adjust, mentally and physically, to the different weather and climate of the approaching season. Without this gentle transition period, life on earth would be much more stressful and difficult if it could survive at all. Signs of the next season unfailingly appear towards the end of the current season as if to remind us that time is marching on. </p><p>In today's overly busy and hyper-stressed world, an increasingly large number of people are so caught up in the performance of daily tasks that they no longer pay attention to signs of gradual change in the big picture in society, culture, education, the economy, politics, law, international relations, etc. However, our Lord Jesus Christ has summoned us, his followers, to pay attention to the signs of the times and to relate the truth of the Gospel to them. There is no shortage of such signs in our country and our world today. We just need to take a candid look at them and where they are pointing in the light of God's unchanging eternal reality, then respond with prayer and action as Christ calls us to do in our hearts and through the guidance of his Church.</p><p>Copyright 2023 Justin D. Soutar. <br /></p>Justin Soutarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11817269656991983943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3931963994704205356.post-27398424957816955112023-08-28T10:38:00.001-04:002023-08-28T10:38:12.413-04:00Quote of the Day<blockquote>"When it is considered how short is the span of human life, does it really matter to a man whose days are numbered what government he must obey, so long as he is not compelled to act against God or his conscience?"
<br />
<br />
--Saint Augustine of Hippo, <i>City of God, </i>Book V, Chapter 17</blockquote>Justin Soutarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11817269656991983943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3931963994704205356.post-35709931117532725622023-08-17T12:04:00.000-04:002023-08-17T12:04:24.909-04:00Quote of the Day<blockquote>"The questions you have within you, the important ones that concern your
dreams, affections, greatest desires, hopes and the meaning of life: do not
keep them to yourselves but bring them to Jesus. Call him by name, as he
does with you. Address your questions to him, entrusting to him your
secrets, your loved ones, your joys and concerns, and also the problems
of your nations and the world. Then you will discover something new and
surprising: that when you ask the Lord, when you open your hearts to him
each day, when you really pray, your interior lives are transformed."
<br />
<br />
--Pope Francis, Address to Youth, Lisbon, Portugal, August 3, 2023</blockquote>Justin Soutarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11817269656991983943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3931963994704205356.post-29651733420756044582023-08-03T14:43:00.005-04:002023-08-03T14:43:44.708-04:00Quote of the Day<blockquote>"I am convinced that the destruction
of transcendence is actually the mutilation of man from which all the other
sicknesses spring."
<br />
<br />
--Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (Benedict XVI), 1927--2022
</blockquote>Justin Soutarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11817269656991983943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3931963994704205356.post-61855784067970766192023-07-27T11:32:00.001-04:002023-07-27T11:32:34.204-04:00Quote of the Day<blockquote>"When the people broke the covenant, God appeared to Moses in the cloud to renew that pact, proclaiming His Name and its meaning... God is not far away and closed in Himself, but He is Life that wills to communicate itself, He is openness, He is Love that rescues man from infidelity. God is “merciful,” “compassionate,” and “rich in grace” because He offers Himself to us to fill our limitations and our failings, to forgive our errors, to bring us back to the way of justice and of truth."
<br />
<br />
--Pope Francis, Angelus Address, June 11, 2017</blockquote>Justin Soutarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11817269656991983943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3931963994704205356.post-29091304085915094512023-07-18T10:38:00.000-04:002023-07-18T10:38:00.422-04:00Quote of the Day<blockquote>“We must reject the idea that every time a law's broken,
society is guilty rather than the lawbreaker. It is time to restore the
American precept that each individual is accountable for his actions.”
<br />
<br />
--Ronald Reagan (1911--2004), U.S. President, 1981--89</blockquote>
Justin Soutarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11817269656991983943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3931963994704205356.post-18190594833715714322023-06-29T12:29:00.002-04:002023-06-29T12:30:39.022-04:00Reflection for the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles<blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAUs3Aqy-VUfB6vcKI3XZKy1_6jHMAjWy33k7wVAULIdiX7m-3wYKCfTdpa24OI18-eItLmAAzopFgOWprp5CVDJy6DujwD47MUbF_jL8KHS0gzryTOPP0wtOppNMyszCNrW78mo6RymKN3Dv2k1xu1n1SLhztcV_zplL0qe22ZKmeQpCKY6vCD86CXr0/s1010/Saint_Paul,_Rembrandt_van_Rijn_(and_Workshop%20),_c._1657.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1010" data-original-width="800" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAUs3Aqy-VUfB6vcKI3XZKy1_6jHMAjWy33k7wVAULIdiX7m-3wYKCfTdpa24OI18-eItLmAAzopFgOWprp5CVDJy6DujwD47MUbF_jL8KHS0gzryTOPP0wtOppNMyszCNrW78mo6RymKN3Dv2k1xu1n1SLhztcV_zplL0qe22ZKmeQpCKY6vCD86CXr0/w158-h200/Saint_Paul,_Rembrandt_van_Rijn_(and_Workshop%20),_c._1657.jpg" width="158" /></a></div><p>"In the second reading, we hear the words of Paul who, looking back on his
whole life, says: 'I have fought the good fight' (<i>2 Tim </i>4:7). The Apostle
is referring to the countless situations, some marked by persecution and
suffering, in which he did not spare himself in preaching the Gospel of Jesus.
Now at the end of his life, he sees that a great “fight” is still taking place
in history, since many are not disposed to accept Jesus, preferring to pursue
their own interests and follow other teachers, more accommodating, easier, more
to our liking. Paul has fought his own battles and, now that he has run his
race, he asks Timothy and the brethren of the community to carry on his work
with watchful care, preaching and teaching. Each, in a word, is to accomplish
the mission he or she has received; each must do his or her part."
</p>
--Pope Francis, Homily, June 29, 2022
</blockquote>Justin Soutarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11817269656991983943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3931963994704205356.post-27616181958365607612023-06-22T12:39:00.003-04:002023-06-22T12:39:42.824-04:00Quote of the Day<blockquote>"For if you suffer your people to be ill-educated, and their manners to be
corrupted from their infancy, and then punish them for those crimes to
which their first education disposed them, what else is to be concluded
from this, but that you first make thieves and then punish them."
<br />
<br />
--Saint Thomas More</blockquote>Justin Soutarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11817269656991983943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3931963994704205356.post-27548019362541063162023-06-21T17:58:00.003-04:002023-06-22T10:43:03.380-04:00Marching for Life in the Post-Roe Era<p>by Justin Soutar
<br />
June 21, 2023
<br />
<br />
On February 1, 2023, I was among many thousands of faith-filled people of all ages, races, and backgrounds from across the Old Dominion and neighboring states who converged on Richmond for the Virginia March for Life. While the great majority of participants in this annual demonstration were my fellow Catholics, including hundreds of brother Knights of Columbus, Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares, Bishop Barry C. Knestout of Richmond, and Bishop Michael F. Burbidge of Arlington, there were many hundreds of people from other Christian denominations as well, including Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin. It was also an overwhelmingly younger crowd, with a large number of enthusiastic teenagers and young adults present. Despite our differences, we were all gathered for a single purpose: to respectfully demand that Virginia lawmakers protect the God-given right to life of innocent unborn children in the Commonwealth. <br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNGCoZEV2w7JxDcEw88KLr7ieXRAjWU-DVK0scSVLUlDhxUXG-xklPmug3EUL_Y9WXkDuRAX8PKNCA4WydzmRU9xRXHmBjx2I9rvIq8O1SJvck0Mr8un5xgNalDTUyXL2vZe4eSmJP--0ITkzWTpGsnyJ2-U6IUU6tVSj3fwOntw_m3lKAYOqVMevJl7g/s3264/IMG_1401.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2448" data-original-width="3264" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNGCoZEV2w7JxDcEw88KLr7ieXRAjWU-DVK0scSVLUlDhxUXG-xklPmug3EUL_Y9WXkDuRAX8PKNCA4WydzmRU9xRXHmBjx2I9rvIq8O1SJvck0Mr8un5xgNalDTUyXL2vZe4eSmJP--0ITkzWTpGsnyJ2-U6IUU6tVSj3fwOntw_m3lKAYOqVMevJl7g/w400-h300/IMG_1401.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Photo by Justin Soutar<br /></i></td></tr></tbody></table><p>
It has been a year since the U.S. Supreme Court finally rectified its erroneous and infamous 1973 <i>Roe v. Wade </i>decision that legalized the horrific practice of abortion in all fifty states and resulted in the tragic murder of more than sixty million unborn children during a forty-nine-year period. While the pro-life movement in the United States grew dramatically in the following decades, with tens of millions of believers consistently praying and advocating for <i>Roe's </i>reversal and most states enacting various effective restrictions on abortion access, we were not entirely prepared for the <i>Dobbs v. Jackson </i>decision and how to proceed in its wake.
<br />
<br />
This lack of a unified and coherent plan for the post-<i>Roe </i>era was reflected in the variety of opinions and responses to <i>Dobbs. </i>Some pro-life leaders insisted that the annual March for Life in Washington, D.C. should continue to be held even though its goal of ending <i>Roe </i>had been achieved. Others favored shifting the movement's activism efforts to the state legislatures. And still others argued that pro-life activism should continue at both the federal and state government levels. Similarly, some parishes and Catholic colleges sent busloads of parishioners and students to the March for Life in our nation's capital; others sent buses to the March for Life in their state capitals; and still others participated in both the national and state demonstrations.
<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, although the abortion cartel led by Planned Parenthood was considerably less prepared for <i>Dobbs </i>than the pro-life movement was, it quickly adapted to the new legal situation to protect its bottom line, shifting its deadly operations to states with permissive abortion laws and convincing (bribing?) the FDA to allow the abortifacient drug Mifeprex (formerly UR-486) to be distributed over the counter to pregnant women in all fifty states via retail pharmacies and the U.S. Postal System in clear violation of federal drug safety guidelines. <br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifaELkSr0TbvQWl1Bm9TGOxdH3qHmir64XpE5NLUdKYX9jlm-NhPicPIwMpJT1te8eVGAZIJdIXwJ3vZXNgtpokfbuKrx87FpTmPWd0w5qGH9osVaG6yBVezwVQgASx53FhWFi4RP6PyBmu0aAI3X3M6ODyfVqgNBunBXq9euY_WFCPcONwFJ_pLMvfL4/s3264/IMG_1394.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3264" data-original-width="2448" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifaELkSr0TbvQWl1Bm9TGOxdH3qHmir64XpE5NLUdKYX9jlm-NhPicPIwMpJT1te8eVGAZIJdIXwJ3vZXNgtpokfbuKrx87FpTmPWd0w5qGH9osVaG6yBVezwVQgASx53FhWFi4RP6PyBmu0aAI3X3M6ODyfVqgNBunBXq9euY_WFCPcONwFJ_pLMvfL4/w300-h400/IMG_1394.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Photo by Justin Soutar<br /></i></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Considering that the <i>Dobbs </i>decision returned the abortion issue to the American people and their elected representatives at the state level, it makes perfect sense that pro-life efforts in the state governments, including electing pro-life representatives and governors and enacting pro-life legislation, should be intensified in order to restrict and ban abortion in as many states as possible. This will significantly reduce the number of unborn baby killings nationwide, allowing us to make good progress toward our goal of eliminating legalized abortion throughout the United States. But we simply cannot reach that goal through state-level activism alone because certain states will continue to keep abortion legal.
<br />
<br />
The inalienable right to life of each innocent person is affirmed in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States, although neither document specifies when life begins because no one knew at the time. Far more importantly, abortion is a direct violation of the Creator's natural law and basic human rights regardless of anyone's beliefs or opinions about it, so the question of whether or not it should be legal cannot simply be left to the whims of each state legislature's vote and each governor's signature or veto.
<br />
<br />
Federal legislation will ultimately be necessary to eradicate this scourge from our nation once and for all. In his famous 1983 "Evil Empire" address, U.S. President Ronald Reagan predicted that legislation to end the abortion tragedy would someday pass Congress. There is, in fact, just such a piece of legislation called the Life at Conception Act, introduced by Senator Rand Paul, that would enshrine the right to life of the unborn child into federal law. The pro-life movement should unify behind this Act and get it passed and signed into law.
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All things considered, this author believes that the American pro-life movement should be waging a two-front campaign at the state and federal government levels to end the slaughter of the unborn. The long-running March for Life in Washington should continue for as many years as is necessary until the Life at Conception Act becomes the law of the land, but the route should be altered to end at the U.S. Capitol building instead of the Supreme Court. In the meantime, every state should have an annual March for Life demonstration in its capital city to push for an end to legalized abortion in that state. Let's keep praying and marching for life until we win!
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Copyright 2023 Justin D. Soutar.<br /></p>Justin Soutarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11817269656991983943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3931963994704205356.post-37027060905047261552023-06-01T11:19:00.001-04:002023-06-01T11:19:17.261-04:00Quote of the Day<blockquote>"For not as common bread nor common drink do we receive these; but since Jesus Christ our Savior was made incarnate by the word of God and had both flesh and blood for our salvation, so too, as we have been taught, the food which has been made into the Eucharist by the Eucharistic prayer set down by him, and by the change of which our flesh and blood is nourished, is both the flesh and the blood of that incarnated Jesus."
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--Saint Justin, <i>First Apology, </i>no. 66,<i> </i>circa A.D. 155</blockquote>Justin Soutarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11817269656991983943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3931963994704205356.post-74153299973664966402023-05-29T10:20:00.005-04:002023-05-29T10:21:59.785-04:00Quote of the Day<blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3OCss7kQxk1up-4n23GGcirZ9gZvIX0Z_aZr-sCRsLPBOv5uT3OXfZcsO0YeSZKHAisn4prcjW2qwGRg2Q4MOVHzFLYg4LRBbD9nnyrzWBMS4OVumMDBCX9uTgvzHYEqrSfof0-0Ii8HVwTtqwh2aYSclMi5zG5LR3z9dwnf205U14vKHppnO6IxE/s235/Immaculate%20Heart%20of%20Mary%20(Fatima).jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="235" data-original-width="152" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3OCss7kQxk1up-4n23GGcirZ9gZvIX0Z_aZr-sCRsLPBOv5uT3OXfZcsO0YeSZKHAisn4prcjW2qwGRg2Q4MOVHzFLYg4LRBbD9nnyrzWBMS4OVumMDBCX9uTgvzHYEqrSfof0-0Ii8HVwTtqwh2aYSclMi5zG5LR3z9dwnf205U14vKHppnO6IxE/w207-h320/Immaculate%20Heart%20of%20Mary%20(Fatima).jpg" width="207" /></a></div>"Just like Mary, the Woman, so too the beloved disciple is both a historical figure and a type for discipleship as it will always exist and must always exist. It is to the disciple, a true disciple in loving communion with the Lord, that the Woman is entrusted: Mary--the Church.
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"These words spoken by Jesus as he hung upon the Cross continue to be fulfilled in many concrete ways. They are constantly repeated to both mother and disciple, and each person is called to relive them in his own life, as the Lord has allotted. Again and again the disciple is asked to take Mary as an individual and as the Church into his own home and, thus, to carry out Jesus' final instruction."
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--Benedict XVI, <i>Jesus of Nazareth--Holy Week: From the Entrance into Jerusalem to the Resurrection </i>(San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2011), p. 222</blockquote>Justin Soutarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11817269656991983943noreply@blogger.com0