Violating The Catholic Conscience

Today, 1 out of 5 people in this country receive their medical care at a Catholic hospital. Today, the Catholic Church teaches 3 million students a day in its more than 250 Catholic Colleges and Universities, 1,200 Catholic High Schools, and 5,000 Catholic grade schools in the USA. Every day, the Catholic Church feeds, clothes, shelters and educates more people than any other organization in the world.

The new Obama Health Mandate could end all this. We have a president who, for the first time in U.S. history, is directly assaulting the First Amendment and Freedom of Religion. Once again, this administration is on the wrong side of our Constitution.

If the Catholic Church closes parochial schools where will those students be educated? They will merge with students in the public school system. If Catholic hospitals and institutions were to close its doors, where will those patients go for medical treatment?  The sick will be treated in public facilities. AND who will foot the bill? We will. AND where will we get the funds? Shrug, shrug...as we are already financially overburdened. Also, all Catholic adoption services would come to an end. A human disaster.

This is not an idle threat. It is reality. Catholics devoted to the true teachings of Christ cannot consent to abortion in any form. Catholics devoted to the true teachings of Christ know they will stand before God and answer to Him for whom we vote into office and what issues upon which we stand firm. The Sanctity of Life is not negotiable as well as the dispensing of abortifacient drugs, artificial birth control and providing sterilization.  

Cardinal Francis George of Chicago predicts that Catholic Hospitals will be gone in "Two Lents" under Obamacare regulations. The Catholic Church in the United States is being told that it must give up its health care operations, according to the cardinal. "Catholic hospitals, universities and social services have an institutional conscience, a conscience shaped by Catholic moral and social teaching" said Cardinal George. "The HHS regulations now before our society will make it impossible for Catholic institutions to follow their conscience." If the HHS regulations are not rescinded there will be few choices.  The sobering truth? Pay for practices they consider immoral, hire and serve only Catholics or Close down. This will leave millions of Americans with insufficient services and will also put their health in dire jeopardy.

 For the complete article click here. 

Statistics anyone?  Catholic hospitals serve: 16.6% on Medicare, 13.65% on Medicaid which is one in six seniors and disabled patients as well as one in eight low-income patients. 32% of these patients live in areas with few options for health care. They lead in breast cancer screening, nutrition programs, trauma, geriatric services, and social work. In many cases, they accept payment as full from Medicaid. Force Obamacare on the Catholic Church and 400+ health centers and 1,500 specialized homes will dissolve like Alka-Seltzer. Our current system will have to absorb almost $100 BILLION in costs each year. The Fiscal Times. 

As a result, the Catholic Church in the United States is being told that it must give up its health care operations, according to the cardinal. “Catholic hospitals, universities and social services have an institutional conscience, a conscience shaped by Catholic moral and social teaching,” said Cardinal George. “The HHS regulations now before our society will make it impossible for Catholic institutions to follow their conscience.” - See more at: http://cnsnews.com/news/article/cardinal-george-catholic-hospitals-will-be-gone-two-lents-under-obamacare-regulation#sthash.c2fv73FH.dpuf

Cardinal Francis George, Catholic archbishop of Chicago. - See more at: http://cnsnews.com/news/article/cardinal-george-catholic-hospitals-will-be-gone-two-lents-under-obamacare-regulation#sthash.c2fv73FH.dpuf

Cardinal Francis George, Catholic archbishop of Chicago. - See more at: http://cnsnews.com/news/article/cardinal-george-catholic-hospitals-will-be-gone-two-lents-under-obamacare-regulation#sthash.c2fv73FH.dpuf

There are more than 77 million Catholics in this country. It takes an estimated 50 million Catholic votes to elect a president. Please, for God's sake (literally), go to the polls in 2014 and be united in replacing all Senators and Reps with someone who will respect the Catholic Church, all Christians, and all Religions besides Islam.

Obama said, "The USA is not a Christian Nation." He is wrong- we are a Christian Nation founded on Judeo-Christian values allowing all religions in America to Worship and Practice Freely. Something Islam will never do. 

Pray For Our Nation               God Bless America

 

Mourning James Not Tony

The passing of any person is sad. The passing of someone at the still-young age of 51 is very sad. Actor, James Gandolfini, died in Rome on 19 June 2013. How awful to lose a person described as a "good man who never forgot his roots" a "humble, humorous man of immense talent". So I mourn the death of James Gandolfini...but not the death of Anthony John "Tony" Soprano.

I'm fully aware that the part of Tony Soprano is fictitious...kinda. His character is loosely based on real life NJ mobster and street boss, Vincent "Vinny Ocean" Palermo. I didn't like the HBO drama, "The Sopranos". I didn't like the movies, "The Godfather or Goodfellas". I am immensely proud of being an American-Italian. I don't like those of my nationality being portrayed as goons who can't speak a sentence unless it has the "F" word. None of my relatives carried a gun. The men in my family didn't curse. They were gentlemen.
What is it about evil men that much of society idolizes? Why are some of us drawn to those who murder, cheat, lie and swear up a storm? Why are TV/Movie viewers attracted to dark characters? Lucifer is called the Angel of Light. The Ancient One holds a unique attraction for many because of its wicked beauty and cunning ways. I don't want to be in that presence any more than I want to spend precious time watching men with evil dispositions.

Sorry, but even in our enlightened age, there are those who still believe in the stereotypical Italian. Case in point...my nephew attended a southern university. He never had a run-in with the law, never carried a weapon, etc, etc. His college roommate, a home state boy, commented that he tried to get out of rooming with my nephew because he was afraid to share a dorm with a New York Italian kid. You know, a mafia boy. What?

I know that Mr. Gandolfini had many stellar performances aside from that of a mob boss. But the one that many gush over is none other than cafone, Tony Soprano. Tony Soprano was shown as a short-tempered, violent sociopath prone to depression and panic attacks. Do ya think murdering eight men had something to do with his anxiety? How messed up is it when an animal lover, such as Tony, severely pistol whips a man because he had something to do with the death of a horse? Were there animal lovers out there cheering him on? Two wrongs don't make a right.

My father, Paul Cerabona, was a 1st generation Italian-American. He was admired as a "man's man". He never slapped his wife. He never had a mistress. Tony had 4. Ya know what you feared the most about my dad? That you'd lose his respect or his friendship. He often said, "You have two people to fear...me and God up-above." Interesting and much misunderstood are the words, fear of the Lord. It's not being afraid of Him, but respecting Him with humility. You would be mortified to be disgraced in my dad's eyes...& even more of a disgrace... in God's eyes.

Now gaze upon Tom Selleck's character, Frank Reagan, police commissioner in the TV drama, "Blue Bloods". I want to cheer at the end of each episode. He's someone to look up to. Someone our kids can admire and emulate. He's a family man, fair and balanced. He admits he has flaws and tries to overcome them. Jesus is welcomed at his dinner table...saying grace isn't out of vogue in the Reagan household.
I loved Ray Romano in "Everybody Loves Raymond". Ray Barone was a goofus, sure. But he was decent, and family came first...even if it took the whole episode to prove it. He didn't lust after his daughter's Girl Scout Leader, nor abused his wife for her awful cooking. He is an Italian I can relate to.

Okay, so these are actors playing characters. But who impresses our kids the most? Hollywood stars and the characters they portray. Girls get pregnant out of wedlock because their Hollywood idol is with child. The clothes they wear are trampy because the actress they most admire walks around half nude.  I admire the actress that refuses to strip for the camera. That is a real woman. That takes guts. I don't admire characters in shows like, Sex In The City or Desperate Housewives of NJ...NY...Hollywood, wherever. My friends and I don't sit around and discuss the sordid topics they discuss. My sisters and I don't behave in the raunchy way they do. I'm not desperate enough to watch those shows no less enjoy them. But thousands of viewers are enthralled with their antics. Do you know how many can't distinguish between the character and the actual actor? People meeting a TV doctor on the street will ask for medical advice!

In real life, James Gandolfini was a swell guy. In real life, celebrities like Charlie Sheen and Hugh Hefner are unsavory, to say the least. But so many people gush at their names. Our honor is our name. It's what we leave as our family legacy. Throughout history, people have died for their name's sake. I'm proud of both my maiden and married name. We instilled in our son the importance of his last name. He knows never to sully it. He knows to be proud of his heritage, too. I guess that's what bothers me the most, that characters like Tony Soprano are synonymous with my beloved ancestry. So rest in peace James Gandolfini....and may God have mercy on the Tony Sopranos of this world.

"Madonnina" by Ferruzzi

(My print that hangs in our entry hall
Madonna of the Streets )

My love affair with "Madonnina" began in parochial school in the sixties. At Confirmation, confirmands were given a St. Joseph's missal. Mine was a handsome red bound book to help me comprehend and follow the Mass. I still have it. It's darn near miraculous that it survived a house fire, a major flood & several moves.

In between the whisper-thin pages are Holy Cards. Girls collected them like boys collected baseball cards. They were inspirational and often stunning portrayals of the saints, Christ, the Blessed Mother, the Holy Family or as He was called then, the Holy Ghost. Often on the back of the card was a prayer. My most beloved holy card was the "Madonna of the Streets".

Gaze upon the face of the "Madonnina", the little mother, in the photo above. Have you ever seen a more angelic expression? She is so young, innocent yet there is a strength about her....that mother's protectiveness for her child. Meditating on this lovely girl, a sense of peacefulness washes over me. It's exactly how I'd picture Blessed Mary, a young mother holding the Christ Child safely against her heart.

Truth be known, the beauty in the portrait is only 11 years old and she's cradling her year old brother. Angelina and Giovanni Cian caught the eye of Italian painter,  Roberto Ferruzzi, while he was in Venice. Intrigued by the girl, he asked her to model for him. I'm sure the family was scandalized by such a proposition. Perhaps, the family desperately needed the money. If that had been the case, they accepted it with the promise that no one would know of the arrangement. The fact that the painting was also entitled, "Madonna of the Streets", was enough reason to keep the identity of the girl a secret.

"Madonna della Strada" was exhibited in 1897, and although Ferruzzi did not intend the painting to be a depiction of the Blessed Mother and Child, it was immediately seen as such by Italian Catholics. In the early 20th century, Italian immigrants to America were enraptured with the painting and so began a love affair with Ferruzzi's, "Madonnina".

The identity of the lovely girl and child remained a secret until 1984. No one could have been more surprised at the true identity of the Madonna than Mary Bovo who later became Sr. Angela Marie, order of St. Joseph of Carondelet.

Mary's parents, Angelina and Antonio Bovo, left Italy and settled with their 10 children in Oakland, California, in 1906. The family lived comfortably until 1929, when 42-year-old Antonio died of influenza. Angelina struggled to provide for her family, the stress causing her a nervous breakdown that confined her to a mental institution until her death in 1972.

The children had been placed in orphanages and foster homes, but by the grace of God, were able to keep track of one another. It is not unusual for a person that has experienced family separation to seek their roots. This was so with Sr. Angela Marie. On a visit to Italy in 1984, she was reunited with two elderly aunts. Her resemblance to her mother had not gone unnoticed by the relatives. Excitedly, Aunt Giulia showed Sr. Angela Marie a special print of Roberto Ferruzzi's beloved portrait  "Madonnina".

Sister Angela Marie was informed, "this is your mother". The nun agreed, thinking her aunt referred to Our Blessed Mother. "No,"  her aunt insisted. "Your real mother." What a revelation, what a shock that the serene girl in the print was none other than her mother, Angelina Cian-Bovo. The truth of this discovery had been verified in preserved personal notes belonging to Ferruzzi. For her entire life, Angelina, treasured this secret in her heart. It is much like the Blessed Mother treasuring the many mysteries and prophecies concerning her Son in her heart. 

Sadly, the original painting has never been found. The last known owner was John George Alexander Leishman, a diplomat and steel millionaire who died in France in 1924. It is thought that the original vanished during WWII and could now be in a private collection somewhere in Pennsylvania. 

The remarkable story associated with this portrait continued to unfold. A few years ago, Sr Angela Marie was rummaging through the meager belongings of her mother when she came upon a photo taken at St. Theresa's Convalescent Home. There was Angelina with a shawl gently draped over her head, her gaze heavenward, hands clasped together.
Was this just a pose of an eccentric woman confined to a sanatorium for a half a century? Or had a long ago promise finally been broken? 75 years of silence and the secret had found a voice. God had opened a window for this tucked away promise to be freed, at last. Nothing is a coincidence.

 There are many renditions of this famous painting. In some, the Madonna is wearing a blue cloak or a gold hood. In another she is surrounded by clouds and celestial beings. But all have one thing in common, the ethereal countenance of Angelina Bovo. So beatific is her expression that members of the Sisters Of Life receive a medal of the "Madonnina" at their first profession.

Though Ferruzzi's other works,

"The Girl"

"The Girl", "La Prima Penitenza", and "Zitto" to name a few, have enjoyed recognition among Italian painters, his "Madonnina" is the most famous. I believe the success of this painting is a message from God Who found favor with Angelina Bovo. The little Madonna beckons His children to open their hearts to her Son, the Christ.

(Sr Angela Marie 50th Jubilee)

   

 

Our Lady of Guadalupe: Amazing Facts

As a practicing Catholic, I think a lot about the birth of Christ during the Sacred Season.  This past season was no exception. The event never ceases to amaze me and the older I get the more amazed I am. The miracle is too enormous to put into thought or words.

It is during this most holy time that much attention is given to the Christ Child, the Blessed Mother and dear St. Joseph. Church pews are full and greetings of peace and good-will abound. 

This year, I devoted more thought to Our Lady. The story of the Annunciation and her "yes" is profound, to say the least.

I love the fact that there are many images of the Blessed Mother...Our Lady of Fatima, Our Lady of Lourdes, Our Lady of Grace, Madonna of the Streets. She is beautiful in each one. But the most unique is Our Lady of Guadalupe.  What a wondrous story to read on Catholic Online.

Our Lady of Guadalupe is considered the patron saint of the Americas. Mexican Catholics have a particular attachment to this image. Due to a claim that her black girdle on the image indicates pregnancy, the Blessed Virgin Mary, under this title is popularly invoked as The Patroness of the Unborn and a common image for the Pro-Life movement.  

Miracles are associated with many images of the Blessed Mother. Healings, both physically and spiritually, are documented at Lourdes, Fatima & Medjugorje, to name a few. But the amazing facts associated with the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe are simply astounding! May your faith be strengthened by what you read below:

Ophthalmalgic studies made on the eyes of Mary detected that when the eye is exposed to light, the retina contracts, and when the light is withdrawn, it returns to a dilated state, just as happens with a living eye.

The temperature of Juan Diego’s tilma, made of a material that comes from fibers of the maguey cactus, maintains a constant temperature of 98.6 degrees, the same as that of a living human body.

One of the doctors who analyzed the tilma placed his stethoscope below the black band at Mary’s waist, and heard rhythmic beats at 115 pulses per minute, the same as that of a baby in the maternal womb.

No sign of paint has been discovered on the tilma. From a distance of 3-4 inches from the image, one can see only the maguey cactus fibers of the material: the colors disappear. Scientific studies have not been able to discover the origin of the coloration, nor the way the image was painted. They cannot detect vestiges of brush strokes or any other known painting technique. NASA scientists confirm that the paint material does not belong to any known element on earth.

 When the material was examined under a laser ray, it was shown that there is no coloration on the front or the back of the cloth, and that the colors hover at a distance of 3/10th of a millimeter (1/100th of an inch) over the cloth, without touching it.

The colors actually float above the surface of the tilma.

                                                               Isn’t that amazing?

The rough material of the tilma has a lifespan of no more than 20-30 years. Several centuries ago, a replica of the image was painted on an identical piece of maguey cloth, and it disintegrated after several decades.

Nonetheless, during the almost 500 years of the miracle, the cloth with the image of Mary remains as strong as it was on the first day. Science cannot explain why the material has not disintegrated.

In the year 1791, muriatic acid accidentally spilled on the upper right side of the tilma. During the period of 30 days, without any special treatment, the affected fabric re-constituted itself miraculously.

The stars that appear on the Mantle of Mary reflect the exact configuration and positions that could be seen in the sky of Mexico on the day the miracle happened.

On the right side of the Virgin’s mantle, the southern constellations are indicated:At the top are four stars that form part of the Ophiuchus constellation.Below it to the left, one finds Libra, and to its right, at what seems an arrow point, is the beginning of Scorpio. In the middle are the constellations of Lupus and to its left, an end point of Hydra. Further down, one can clearly see the Southern Cross; above it appears the slightly inclined square of the Centaurus. 

On the left side of the Virgin’s mantle one sees the northern constellations: At her shoulder, a fragment of the stars of the Herdsman constellation; below it and to the left is the Great Bear. To its right is Berenice’s Hair; below it, Hunting Dogs, and to its left, the Thuban, which is the brightest star of the Draco constellation. Below the two parallel stars (which still form part of the Big Bear), one finds stars from another pair of constellations: the Auriga and at the bottom, three stars of Taurus.Thus, in their totality and proper places, the 46 most brilliant stars that can be seen on the horizon of the Valley of Mexico are identified.

In the year 1921, a man concealed a high power bomb in a flower arrangement, and placed it at the feet of the tilma. The explosion destroyed everything around it, except for the tilma, which remained intact.

Scientists discovered that the eyes of Mary have the three refractive characteristics of a human eye.

In the eyes of Mary (only about 1/3rd inch in size), minuscule human figures were discovered that no artist could have painted. The same scene is repeated in each eye.

Using digital technology, the images in the eyes were enlarged many times, revealing that each eye reflected the figure of the Indian Juan Diego opening his tilma in front of Bishop Zumarraga.