Has Amazon Gone Mad?

by John Horvat II 

In the ever-increasing frenzy to increase purchases, Amazon.com has announced that it now wants to ship packages before they are ordered.


The Seattle retail giant is developing a patented process known as“anticipatory shipping,” which aims to start the delivery of packages based on previous orders, product searches, shopping-cart choices, wish
lists and even how long customers keep their cursors over items. The firm has a vast treasure trove of personal data that it hopes to mine.


By anticipating orders, the online store hopes to deliver items more quickly and thereby discourage shoppers from visiting physical stores.One of the ways it would accomplish this is by having anticipated items packaged and waiting at strategic hubs until the customer orders. Amazon
also may box and ship products it expects customers from a specific area will want, again based on previous orders and other factors. It could even ship without an actual order in consideration of past
patterns.


The move is part of a growing trend of companies that are using mathematical algorithms to calculate and anticipate customers’ needs even before they do. There are already smart refrigerators that indicate when to buy more milk or smart televisions that will predict which programs the owner will want recorded. Amazon’s new venture is just one more use of technology to shave off time in product delivery and increase sales. The retailer had also announced earlier its desire to
use small drones to deliver orders to customers’ doorsteps.


While there are those who might welcome the development of  “anticipatory shopping” as yet another convenience of modern technology, it does have its troubling aspects.



By reducing customer choices into algorithms, the consumer is reduced to proclaiming: “I am an algorithm.” A person becomes mathematically defined and shaped by the choices set before him. Gone is the human element and customer input which traditionally helped shape demand.


More and more choices are put in the hands of machines who determine what is best for the consumer—and when things should be purchased.


Another matter of concern is the frenzy of mass and instant consumption.



When consumption is reduced to a click or even an anticipated click, it becomes frantic and unbalanced. It leads to a culture of instant gratifications which fuels what I call the “frenetic intemperance” of modern economy where everyone must have everything instantly—or pre-instantly. This fast-paced rush has a corrosive and stressful effect on society and economy. It takes its toll upon the algorithm-individual.


So much of today’s postmodern economy is based on wrong premises and the Amazon case is but one example. Technology exists to serve people not to insert them into frantic processes. People have natural rhythms proper to their nature and they should not be subjected to machine-like speeds that
harm their well being and favor their disordered passions. People are not algorithms. People should be treated like people.

I Am an Algorithm | Return to Order

Impresive March for Life Video: Why We Are Winning

If You Want True Marriage To Survive For Your Children…

…then please become a rally captain in the
St. Joseph Crusade for Traditional Marriage.

You are invited to be a Rally Captain in the St. Joseph Crusade for Traditional Marriage, which is scheduled for Saturday, March 22, 2014, at noon local time.
You.  Yes, you! 

Because our political and church leaders are proving themselves unable or unwilling to stop the stunning advances of the homosexual revolution.

• Homosexual “marriage” is already legal in 18 states 
• Young children are forced to learn about homosexuality in public schools
• Clergy almost never preach against the sin of homosexuality from the pulpit
• Homosexuals serve openly in the military

So:

It’s time for the common person, for the God fearing American, to stand up and take the traditional marriage message to the man in the street!

Today, you are invited to join a huge grassroots crusade to directly impact the broader culture of America in favor of God’s marriage and against the sin of homosexuality.

Become a Rally Captain
WHEN: Saturday, March 22, at noon local time

HOW:  each rally captain and his or her group will hold a banner and a “HONK for traditional marriage” sign in a public and visible place.  
It’s that simple. 

Preferably at a very busy traffic intersection, where the greatest number of people can see you in the shortest amount of time. 

You will receive in the mail a free banner that says “God’s Marriage = 1 Man & 1 Woman.”  We’ll also send along some free handouts that you can use during your rally.

And you can make signs that say:
“HONK for traditional marriage!”
These signs are easy to make and are VERY effective.

Become a Rally Captain
My TFP-America Needs Fatima colleagues and I have done hundreds of traditional marriage rallies in cities all across America with excellent results.   

But we cannot reach the entire country by ourselves.  We need you to help us reach each and every city in America.

Every American, at this very instant, is deciding for or against God.
To be for God’s marriage (1 man + 1 woman) is to be for God.  To be for homosexual “marriage” is to be against God.   

There’s no third position.
The legalization of homosexual “marriage” in 18 states is a wake up call for every American who cherishes God’s marriage.

So please give prayerful and serious consideration to becoming a Rally Captain in the Saint Joseph Crusade for Traditional Marriage.  

Become a Rally Captain
For inspiration and know-how, see this exciting video of a previous public crusade for traditional marriage:   

What New Yorkers Really Think About Same-Sex “Marriage”
To get more information and advice, please call (866) 584-6012.
 
Taking a Principled, not a Personal Stand, On Homosexuality & Homosexual “Marriage”: we have no intention to defame or disparage anyone. We are not moved by personal hatred against any individual. In intellectually opposing individuals or organizations promoting the homosexual agenda, our only intent is the defense of traditional marriage, the family, and the precious remnants of Christian civilization. As practicing Catholics,…[ read full message]

From Robert Ritchie

Scenes from the Midwest Pro-Life March

Mark Serafino reports:

 

Today we had the privilege of attending the Midwest March for Life today in Jefferson City. Valerie and I estimated 300+ people in VERY windy and cold conditions. Bishop Gaydos (Jefferson City Diocese) gave an excellent talk along with so many other inspirational speakers. Life Runners was very well represented, it was such an inspiration to see Ed H. there who was receiving his 33rd round of chemotherapy WHILE the event was going on. For those of you who don’t know him, he is perhaps the toughest man I have ever met. Ed is fighting cancer and has fought as bravely and ferociously as anyone I’ve ever seen. He’s run full marathons while receiving chemo treatments through a portable pack! He carries and runs with the American Flag at all events.

There were many priests there and the crowd was decidedly Catholic! Below are some candids taken during the March

Anyway, Missouri is so close to becoming the first Abortion Free State in the Country. We’re down to one abortion mill…please keep praying and standing up for the unborn.

 

Ryan Anderson Testifies Before the Indiana House Judiciary Committee

Health Care: Take Down the Spider Web, Put Up the Safety Nets

Written by John Horvat II

Before
entering into the Obamacare debate, I should probably mention that I am
among those who suffer from a major pre-existing medical condition. It
is not pretty but I have to deal with it. This condition has no cure. I
know it can strike me at any time and leaves behind enormous hospital
bills. There are things I can do to take care of myself and attenuate my
condition’s bad effects. But the painful fact is that, as it reaches
its final phases, the more the health establishment works to defeat this
condition in me, the more expensive it becomes. 




The sad thing is that I am not the
only one with this pre-existing condition. In fact, I share it with
everyone. My pre-existing condition is called death. We all suffer from
it, and it is like a ticking time bomb inside of each of us that can at
any time explode and land us in the hospital with all its liabilities.




And so in discussing health care, we
should begin with the premise that there is no single health care
system in the world that can defeat death. The health establishment will
always lose since the numbers are stacked against it. If a system is
forced to deal with every single threat to the body, it will either go
bankrupt or provide substandard subsidized service.









Indeed, the monopoly of death is so
strong that even the free market cannot withstand its unfair advantages
without help. Death does not believe in level playing fields but rather
ruthlessly levels anything in its way.




There is only one way a health care
system can survive the universal pre-existing condition of death. It
must share the responsibility, costs and risks with those outside the
system. It must enlist the help of society to meet the challenge and
minimize the costs.




This can be done in two ways: one positive and one negative.




The positive way is by promoting good health and thus preventing illness.


Society does this by promoting the natural institutions that make for good health. It puts up the safety nets of family, community and faith that keep us healthy.




It is especially true in the bosom
of the traditional family where the individual finds affection,
wellbeing and security that put up strong defenses against death’s
inroads. When people are inserted into thriving families,
communities and parishes, they more easily lead moral lives, which not
only support physical health but also the all-important spiritual and
mental welfare. These safety nets significantly diminish the immense
tribute that we must pay to death.




Indeed, to survive, any health care
system must cooperate with these natural institutions that keep out
sickness, which is the breach through which death frequently tries to
enter our lives.




There is a second way to enlist help
against death. It consists not of preventing but dealing with illness
and death when it inevitably comes.




Once again, it involves the safety nets of family, community and faith since they provide the natural means to treat sickness and share the burden of illness and death. 




Most health problems, for example,
can be resolved inside the family without cost to the health
establishment. Inside the family, everyone from tender children to
elderly parents finds spiritual comfort, psychological well-being and
physical care in times of illness. Even when death strikes, the family
softens the blow with solace and support. It is around this affectionate
relationship that a true health policy must be constructed since the
family has the resilience and resources to absorb death’s repeated
attacks.




But the family alone is not
sufficient. There are times when it is overwhelmed by health challenges.
It is then that associations and communities must provide a second line
of defense. Employers can provide health benefits. Communities can
sponsor health programs. Associations of all sorts can pool resources to
lessen the burden. A grateful nation can reward the sacrifices of
veterans of war by caring for them. A highly innovative free market can
provide numerous options that aid the family in its resistance to
death’s fatal charges.




In this way, families and
communities can usually take care of almost all health problems. They
cannot stop death but they can certainly minimize its devastation and
cost.




But death is a terrible and
formidable enemy. At times, even these two safety nets are not enough.
Catastrophes frequently strike and leave us prostrate.




When catastrophe strikes, the third
safety net of faith must be employed. The fiery furnace of charity must
be unleashed to resist the cold dark grasp of death. Medicine must then
return to its origins in charity and Faith.




In modern times, civilized nations
have always promoted institutions, children’s hospitals and charitable
foundations to care for those stricken by catastrophe and incurable
disease. Even the State and secular associations engage in work of this
kind.




However, the real powerhouses of
charity are those religious institutions that have cared for the sick
and dying. It must be remembered that modern hospitals began in the
medieval monasteries where for the first time in history the poor and
suffering could gather for free care. Over the centuries, a vast network
of religious hospitals reserved beds for the unfortunate. Religious
orders of nursing sisters worked selflessly and without salaries to care
for the sick and dying.




With touching solicitude, the Church
went yet further. When the poor could not come to the hospitals, Her
ministers went out in search of them, providing them physical and
spiritual solace. Moreover, all Christians join in the mandate to care
for and comfort those who suffered illness wherever they might be.




Inside this triple safety-net
framework of family, community and faith, we have the best means to
confront the universal pre-existing condition of death. Amid the
tragedy, we can face death inside an atmosphere of support, affection
and dignity.




Our health care challenges today
come from the fact that our culture of unrestraint has led to the
breakdown of family, community and faith. The individual is left alone
to face overwhelming challenges.




The problem is aggravated yet more
when these individuals give themselves over to unhealthy practices and
promiscuous lifestyles outside these safety nets, which leads to the
shattering of good health, broken lives and psychological trauma. This
not only provokes sickness but creates an underclass that is least able
to meet the costs of its bad habits. The burden is thrown over to big
government.




The logical solution would be to
strengthen the safety nets. But on the contrary, these nets are being
dismantled and in their place is put a giant spider web of rules and
regulations that engulfs rather than protects the individual. A cold
bureaucratic government assumes all roles, makes all decisions and
spends a vast amount of taxpayer’s money. The tyranny of socialism is
joining with the tyranny of death to impose a rule of misery upon the
land.




Health care policy must be based on the premise that no health care system can withstand
an unhealthy culture that actively allies itself with the pre-existing
condition of death. No government can replace the social safety nets
that share the responsibility, risks and costs of death. Such efforts
are doomed to fail no matter how much money we pump into the system.




When it does fail, we must turn away
from those who will propose more socialism. What we need to do now is
take down the spider web of government intervention and put up the
safety nets of a sound social order. For those with the pre-existing medical condition like my own, it is the only real option.

Health Care: Take Down the Spider Web, Put Up the Safety Nets | Return to OrderReturn to Order

Favorite Quote: He Who Has Not Mary for His Mother...

Saint Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort, the great Marian apostle, has these beautiful words about our correlation with Our Lady and why devotion to Her is so indispensible.  

“Just as in the natural and corporal generation of children there are a father and a mother, so in the supernatural and spiritual generation there are a Father, who is God, and a Mother, who is Mary. All of God’s true children have Him for their Father and Mary for their Mother. He who has not Mary for his Mother has not God for his Father. This is the reason why heretics, schismatics and others, who hate our Blessed Lady or regard her with contempt and indifference, have not God for their Father—they have not Mary for their Mother. For if they had her for their Mother they would love and honor her as a true child naturally loves and honors the mother who has given him life.”

Taken from True Devotion to Mary, by Saint Louis de Montfort, (Rockford, IL., TAN Books & Publishers, 1985, pg. 18).

“A Clear Way Out of the Current Cultural Crisis” – Bishop Donald Hying

“Return to Order offers a synthesis of Catholicism’s invaluable contribution to the building of a humane and ordered society in which the human person can flourish. When culture, economy, polity, and religion form an ethical whole, children, families, businesses, religious communities and individuals find their fulfillment through making their contribution to the common good. Return to Order shows us a clear way out of the current cultural crisis which besets the great human project.”

Most Reverend Donald J. Hying
Auxiliary Bishop
Archdiocese of Milwaukee

“A Clear Way Out of the Current Cultural Crisis” – Bishop Donald Hying | Return to Order

How to make an Act of Perfect Contrition

Shortly before the outbreak of World War II, Saint Maximilian Kolbe wrote a letter to his followers.
The purpose of this letter was to exhort his disciples to prepare themselves for the approaching feast of the Immaculate Conception, December 8.
But it also showed them how to receive forgiveness for sin in the coming war, where priests were scarce and it was hard to receive sacramental confession.
He wrote:
"Whoever can, should receive the Sacrament of Penance.  Whoever cannot, because of prohibiting circumstances, should cleanse his soul by acts of perfect contrition: i.e., the sorrow of a loving child who does not consider so much the pain or reward as he does the pardon from his father and mother to whom he has brought displeasure."
This is a magnificent formula and lesson on how to make an act of perfect contrition.
As most people know, there are two types of contrition:
- perfect: out of love of God;
- imperfect: out of fear of Hell.
Catholic teaching distinguishes a twofold hatred of sin; one, perfect contrition, rises from the love of God Who has been grievously offended; the other, imperfect contrition, arises principally from some other motives, such as loss of heaven, fear of hell, the heinousness of sin, etc. (Council of Trent, Sess. XIV, ch. iv de Contritione). (The Catholic Encyclopedia, "Contrition")
When we go to confession, imperfect contrition is sufficient to receive the pardon of our sins.
However, in extraordinary circumstances where [when] we cannot get to confession, we can make an act of perfect contrition, which is sufficient to have our sins forgiven.
Important: The act of perfect contrition includes the desire for the sacrament of Penance (or Reconciliation) and the intention to receive sacramental confession at the very first opportunity.
NOTE: One who is conscious of mortal sin may not receive the Holy Eucharist without prior sacramental confession.
The fact that we can always make an act of perfect contrition, in any circumstance, and at any time, is very consoling and very important to remember.
Especially when we think of our troops who are in harm's way.  They may not have a chaplain in their battalion before entering battle.  In that case, they should always say an act of perfect contrition.
Actually, not only in extraordinary circumstances should we make acts of perfect contrition. At any time, if we have the misfortune of committing a mortal sin, we should seek to reconcile ourselves with God as soon as possible by an act of perfect contrition, before going to confession.
Furthermore, even not being guilty of serious sin, we should make frequent acts of perfect contrition to ask forgiveness for the serious sins of the past, and for the venial sins of the present.
In doing so, we show our love for God. And we prove our aversion to sin, which offends Him. In doing so, we surely receive more abundant graces to sin no more. A highly recommended practice is to include an act of contrition in our "before bed" prayers.
Act of Contrition
O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee, and I detest all my sins, because I dread the loss of heaven, and the pains of hell; but most of all because they offend Thee, my God, Who are all good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of Thy grace, to confess my sins, to do penance, and to amend my life.
Amen.
- See more at: http://www.americaneedsfatima.org/Articles/how-to-make-an-act-of-perfect-contrition.html#sthash.AGBf5GWc.dpuf

Shortly before the outbreak of World War II, Saint Maximilian Kolbe wrote a letter to his followers.
The purpose of this letter was to exhort his disciples to prepare themselves for the approaching feast of the Immaculate Conception, December 8.
But it also showed them how to receive forgiveness for sin in the coming war, where priests were scarce and it was hard to receive sacramental confession.
He wrote:
"Whoever can, should receive the Sacrament of Penance.  Whoever cannot, because of prohibiting circumstances, should cleanse his soul by acts of perfect contrition: i.e., the sorrow of a loving child who does not consider so much the pain or reward as he does the pardon from his father and mother to whom he has brought displeasure."
This is a magnificent formula and lesson on how to make an act of perfect contrition.
As most people know, there are two types of contrition:
- perfect: out of love of God;
- imperfect: out of fear of Hell.
Catholic teaching distinguishes a twofold hatred of sin; one, perfect contrition, rises from the love of God Who has been grievously offended; the other, imperfect contrition, arises principally from some other motives, such as loss of heaven, fear of hell, the heinousness of sin, etc. (Council of Trent, Sess. XIV, ch. iv de Contritione). (The Catholic Encyclopedia, "Contrition")
When we go to confession, imperfect contrition is sufficient to receive the pardon of our sins.
However, in extraordinary circumstances where [when] we cannot get to confession, we can make an act of perfect contrition, which is sufficient to have our sins forgiven.
Important: The act of perfect contrition includes the desire for the sacrament of Penance (or Reconciliation) and the intention to receive sacramental confession at the very first opportunity.
NOTE: One who is conscious of mortal sin may not receive the Holy Eucharist without prior sacramental confession.
The fact that we can always make an act of perfect contrition, in any circumstance, and at any time, is very consoling and very important to remember.
Especially when we think of our troops who are in harm's way.  They may not have a chaplain in their battalion before entering battle.  In that case, they should always say an act of perfect contrition.
Actually, not only in extraordinary circumstances should we make acts of perfect contrition. At any time, if we have the misfortune of committing a mortal sin, we should seek to reconcile ourselves with God as soon as possible by an act of perfect contrition, before going to confession.
Furthermore, even not being guilty of serious sin, we should make frequent acts of perfect contrition to ask forgiveness for the serious sins of the past, and for the venial sins of the present.
In doing so, we show our love for God. And we prove our aversion to sin, which offends Him. In doing so, we surely receive more abundant graces to sin no more. A highly recommended practice is to include an act of contrition in our "before bed" prayers.
Act of Contrition
O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee, and I detest all my sins, because I dread the loss of heaven, and the pains of hell; but most of all because they offend Thee, my God, Who are all good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of Thy grace, to confess my sins, to do penance, and to amend my life.
Amen.
- See more at: http://www.americaneedsfatima.org/Articles/how-to-make-an-act-of-perfect-contrition.html#sthash.AGBf5GWc.dpuf

 Shortly before the outbreak of World War II, Saint Maximilian Kolbe wrote a letter to his followers.

The purpose of this letter was to exhort his disciples to prepare themselves for the approaching feast of the Immaculate Conception, December 8.

But it also showed them how to receive forgiveness for sin in the coming war, where priests were scarce and it was hard to receive sacramental confession.

He wrote:
"Whoever can, should receive the Sacrament of Penance.  Whoever cannot, because of prohibiting circumstances, should cleanse his soul by acts of perfect contrition: i.e., the sorrow of a loving child who does not consider so much the pain or reward as he does the pardon from his father and mother to whom he has brought displeasure."

This is a magnificent formula and lesson on how to make an act of perfect contrition.
As most people know, there are two types of contrition:

- perfect: out of love of God;

- imperfect: out of fear of Hell.

Catholic teaching distinguishes a twofold hatred of sin; one, perfect contrition, rises from the love of God Who has been grievously offended; the other, imperfect contrition, arises principally from some other motives, such as loss of heaven, fear of hell, the heinousness of sin, etc. (Council of Trent, Sess. XIV, ch. iv de Contritione). (The Catholic Encyclopedia, "Contrition")

When we go to confession, imperfect contrition is sufficient to receive the pardon of our sins.
However, in extraordinary circumstances where [when] we cannot get to confession, we can make an act of perfect contrition, which is sufficient to have our sins forgiven.

Important: The act of perfect contrition includes the desire for the sacrament of Penance (or Reconciliation) and the intention to receive sacramental confession at the very first opportunity.

NOTE: One who is conscious of mortal sin may not receive the Holy Eucharist without prior sacramental confession.

The fact that we can always make an act of perfect contrition, in any circumstance, and at any time, is very consoling and very important to remember.

Especially when we think of our troops who are in harm's way.  They may not have a chaplain in their battalion before entering battle.  In that case, they should always say an act of perfect contrition.
Actually, not only in extraordinary circumstances should we make acts of perfect contrition. At any time, if we have the misfortune of committing a mortal sin, we should seek to reconcile ourselves with God as soon as possible by an act of perfect contrition, before going to confession.

Furthermore, even not being guilty of serious sin, we should make frequent acts of perfect contrition to ask forgiveness for the serious sins of the past, and for the venial sins of the present.

In doing so, we show our love for God. And we prove our aversion to sin, which offends Him. In doing so, we surely receive more abundant graces to sin no more. A highly recommended practice is to include an act of contrition in our "before bed" prayers.

Act of Contrition
O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee, and I detest all my sins, because I dread the loss of heaven, and the pains of hell; but most of all because they offend Thee, my God, Who are all good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of Thy grace, to confess my sins, to do penance, and to amend my life.
Amen.

Shortly before the outbreak of World War II, Saint Maximilian Kolbe wrote a letter to his followers.
The purpose of this letter was to exhort his disciples to prepare themselves for the approaching feast of the Immaculate Conception, December 8.
But it also showed them how to receive forgiveness for sin in the coming war, where priests were scarce and it was hard to receive sacramental confession.
He wrote:
"Whoever can, should receive the Sacrament of Penance.  Whoever cannot, because of prohibiting circumstances, should cleanse his soul by acts of perfect contrition: i.e., the sorrow of a loving child who does not consider so much the pain or reward as he does the pardon from his father and mother to whom he has brought displeasure."
This is a magnificent formula and lesson on how to make an act of perfect contrition.
As most people know, there are two types of contrition:
- perfect: out of love of God;
- imperfect: out of fear of Hell.
Catholic teaching distinguishes a twofold hatred of sin; one, perfect contrition, rises from the love of God Who has been grievously offended; the other, imperfect contrition, arises principally from some other motives, such as loss of heaven, fear of hell, the heinousness of sin, etc. (Council of Trent, Sess. XIV, ch. iv de Contritione). (The Catholic Encyclopedia, "Contrition")
When we go to confession, imperfect contrition is sufficient to receive the pardon of our sins.
However, in extraordinary circumstances where [when] we cannot get to confession, we can make an act of perfect contrition, which is sufficient to have our sins forgiven.
Important: The act of perfect contrition includes the desire for the sacrament of Penance (or Reconciliation) and the intention to receive sacramental confession at the very first opportunity.
NOTE: One who is conscious of mortal sin may not receive the Holy Eucharist without prior sacramental confession.
The fact that we can always make an act of perfect contrition, in any circumstance, and at any time, is very consoling and very important to remember.
Especially when we think of our troops who are in harm's way.  They may not have a chaplain in their battalion before entering battle.  In that case, they should always say an act of perfect contrition.
Actually, not only in extraordinary circumstances should we make acts of perfect contrition. At any time, if we have the misfortune of committing a mortal sin, we should seek to reconcile ourselves with God as soon as possible by an act of perfect contrition, before going to confession.
Furthermore, even not being guilty of serious sin, we should make frequent acts of perfect contrition to ask forgiveness for the serious sins of the past, and for the venial sins of the present.
In doing so, we show our love for God. And we prove our aversion to sin, which offends Him. In doing so, we surely receive more abundant graces to sin no more. A highly recommended practice is to include an act of contrition in our "before bed" prayers.
Act of Contrition
O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee, and I detest all my sins, because I dread the loss of heaven, and the pains of hell; but most of all because they offend Thee, my God, Who are all good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of Thy grace, to confess my sins, to do penance, and to amend my life.
Amen.
- See more at: http://www.americaneedsfatima.org/Articles/how-to-make-an-act-of-perfect-contrition.html#sthash.AGBf5GWc.dpuf

Shortly before the outbreak of World War II, Saint Maximilian Kolbe wrote a letter to his followers.
The purpose of this letter was to exhort his disciples to prepare themselves for the approaching feast of the Immaculate Conception, December 8.
But it also showed them how to receive forgiveness for sin in the coming war, where priests were scarce and it was hard to receive sacramental confession.
He wrote:
"Whoever can, should receive the Sacrament of Penance.  Whoever cannot, because of prohibiting circumstances, should cleanse his soul by acts of perfect contrition: i.e., the sorrow of a loving child who does not consider so much the pain or reward as he does the pardon from his father and mother to whom he has brought displeasure."
This is a magnificent formula and lesson on how to make an act of perfect contrition.
As most people know, there are two types of contrition:
- perfect: out of love of God;
- imperfect: out of fear of Hell.
Catholic teaching distinguishes a twofold hatred of sin; one, perfect contrition, rises from the love of God Who has been grievously offended; the other, imperfect contrition, arises principally from some other motives, such as loss of heaven, fear of hell, the heinousness of sin, etc. (Council of Trent, Sess. XIV, ch. iv de Contritione). (The Catholic Encyclopedia, "Contrition")
When we go to confession, imperfect contrition is sufficient to receive the pardon of our sins.
However, in extraordinary circumstances where [when] we cannot get to confession, we can make an act of perfect contrition, which is sufficient to have our sins forgiven.
Important: The act of perfect contrition includes the desire for the sacrament of Penance (or Reconciliation) and the intention to receive sacramental confession at the very first opportunity.
NOTE: One who is conscious of mortal sin may not receive the Holy Eucharist without prior sacramental confession.
The fact that we can always make an act of perfect contrition, in any circumstance, and at any time, is very consoling and very important to remember.
Especially when we think of our troops who are in harm's way.  They may not have a chaplain in their battalion before entering battle.  In that case, they should always say an act of perfect contrition.
Actually, not only in extraordinary circumstances should we make acts of perfect contrition. At any time, if we have the misfortune of committing a mortal sin, we should seek to reconcile ourselves with God as soon as possible by an act of perfect contrition, before going to confession.
Furthermore, even not being guilty of serious sin, we should make frequent acts of perfect contrition to ask forgiveness for the serious sins of the past, and for the venial sins of the present.
In doing so, we show our love for God. And we prove our aversion to sin, which offends Him. In doing so, we surely receive more abundant graces to sin no more. A highly recommended practice is to include an act of contrition in our "before bed" prayers.
Act of Contrition
O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee, and I detest all my sins, because I dread the loss of heaven, and the pains of hell; but most of all because they offend Thee, my God, Who are all good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of Thy grace, to confess my sins, to do penance, and to amend my life.
Amen.
- See more at: http://www.americaneedsfatima.org/Articles/how-to-make-an-act-of-perfect-contrition.html#sthash.AGBf5GWc.dpuf

How to make an Act of Perfect Contrition

Pro-Life Petition to DePaul University: Don't Host Pro-Partial Birth Abortion Judge

Your polite petition urging DePaul University to cancel its invitation to pro-abortion Supreme Court Judge Breyer can make a difference.

Sign your urgent protest now

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer is pro-abortion.  He even ruled in favor of partial birth abortion, a procedure that kills partially delivered babies by puncturing the back of the child’s skull and removing the baby’s brains.

Shockingly, DePaul University (Catholic) has invited Justice Breyer to deliver a special address in April.  Please oppose this scandal today by signing your respectful and peaceful e-protest, calling the university to rescind its invitation.


Take Action: Everyone who supports the God-given right to life should join this protest. You don't need to be a student.


Sign your urgent protest now
http://www.tfpstudentaction.org/pro-lifers-to-depaul-university-dont-host-pro-partial-birth-abortion-judge?utm_source=petitions&utm_medium=ty-email&utm_campaign=SAE0229

Return to Order Wins Honorable Mentions at New England, London Book Festivals

CHANDLER, AZ (January 2014) – Return to Order:From a Frenzied Economy to an Organic Christian Society —Where We’ve Been, How We Got Here, and Where We Need to Go by John Horvat II has earned Honorable Mentions in the General- Nonfiction categories at the 2013 New England Book Festival and the 2013 London Book Festival.

 “This is quite an honor,” says Horvat, who is vice president of the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property. “I am very excited to have my book recognized not only in the U.S., but internationally as well.“

Without relying solely on statistics, formulas and economic indicators, Return to Order shows how society’s obsession for a secular, materialistic culture is causing social and psychological emptiness and economic ruin. But most importantly, it addresses solutions that correspond to the longings many men and women now have for timeless traditions, family and authenticity.

In addition to Return to Order, Horvat is the author of hundreds of articles, some of which have appeared worldwide in The Wall Street Journal, FOX News, The Christian Post, The Washington Times, ABC News and C-SPAN, as well as other publications and websites.

At 400 pages, Return to Order:From a Frenzied Economy to an Organic Christian Society —Where We’ve Been, How We Got Here, and Where We Need to Go in hardcover (ISBN: 978-0988214804) retails for $21.95 U.S., while the e-book version (ASIN: B00B5HED8W) is $4.95.

To set up an interview or to book Mr. Horvat for a possible event, contact Linda F. Radke at 480-940-8182 or email info@fivestarpublications.com. For more information or to purchase copies of the book, call 855-861-8420 or visit www.ReturnToOrder.org.

True Sanctity Lies in Strength of Soul and Not in Sentimental Softness

by Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira

The Church teaches that true and complete sanctity is the heroism of virtue. The honor of the altars is not granted to weak, hypersensitive souls that flee from profound thoughts, from acute suffering, from the fight, in short, from the Cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Mindful of the words of Her Divine Founder, “the kingdom of heaven belongs to the violent,” the Church canonizes only those who, in life, authentically fought the good fight, those who plucked out their own eye or cut off their own foot when it caused scandal, and sacrificed everything to follow only Our Lord Jesus Christ.

In reality, sanctification entails the greatest heroism, for it presupposes not only the firm and serious resolution to sacrifice life itself if need be to remain faithful to Jesus Christ, but even to live a prolonged existence on earth if God so desires, constantly renouncing everything most dear in order to adhere only to the divine will.

A certain iconography, unfortunately much in use, presents the saints quite differently: they appear soft, sentimental, with neither personality nor strength of character, incapable of serious, solid and coherent ideas; they seem to be souls guided only by their emotions and, therefore, totally unsuited for the great fights that always accompany earthly life.

The figure of Saint Theresa of the Child Jesus was especially deformed by bad iconography. Roses, smiles, inconsistent sentimentality, a soft life free of cares, a person with bones of rock candy and blood of honey — this is the idea they would like us to have of that great, that incomparable saint.
How all this differs from her true spirit — vast and profound like the firmament, shining and burning like the sun, yet so humble and so filial — which one finds upon reading her autobiography, The Story of a Soul.

Our two pictures represent, so to speak, two different and even opposite “Theresas.”

In the first, there is nothing heroic; this is insignificant, superficial and perfumed Theresa imagined by romantic and sentimental iconography. The second is authentic Theresa, photographed on June 7, 1897, shortly before her death on September 30 of the same year.

Her countenance is marked by the deep peace earned by great and irrevocable renunciations. Her features have a definition, a strength and a harmony possessed only by souls with an iron logic. Her gaze bespeaks tremendous sufferings in the deepest recesses of the soul yet, at the same time, reveals the fire and courage of a heroic soul, determined to advance cost it may.

Contemplating this physiognomy, strong and profound as only the grace of God can make a human soul, one thinks of another Face: that of the Holy Shroud of Turin, which no man could have imagined and perhaps none dare describe. Between the Face of Our Dead Lord, which has a peace, a strength, a profundity and a sorrow that human words cannot express, and the face of Saint Theresa, there is an imponderable yet very real similarity. And why should it be though surprising that the Holy Face impressed something of Itself on the face and the soul of one who in religious life called herself Theresa of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face?

Christians killed for their faith doubled in 2013: survey

Picture: ReutersReported cases of Christians killed for their faith around the world doubled in 2013 from the year before, with Syria accounting for more than the whole global total in 2012, according to an annual survey.

Open Doors, a non-denominational group supporting persecuted Christians worldwide, said on Wednesday it had documented 2,123 “martyr” killings, compared with 1,201 in 2012. There were 1,213 such deaths in Syria alone last year, it said.

“This is a very minimal count based on what has been reported in the media and we can confirm,” said Frans Veerman, head of research for Open Doors. Estimates by other Christian groups put the annual figure as high as 8,000.

The Open Doors report placed North Korea at the top of its list of 50 most dangerous countries for Christians, a position it has held since the annual survey began 12 years ago. Somalia, Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan were the next four in line.

The United States-based group reported increasing violence against Christians in Africa and said radical Muslims were the main source of persecution in 36 countries on its list.

“Islamist extremism is the worst persecutor of the worldwide church,” it said.







Christians killed for their faith doubled in 2013: survey

The Rush of Twitter-Down Economics

  by John Horvat II

It is difficult to get a handle on what exactly is happening in our troubled economy. Everyone feels the malaise but few know how to explain it. Some say the economy is getting slightly better; others say it is getting much worse. There is debt, unemployment and stagnation which some say is caused by too much government and others say comes from too little. A constant stream of messages, statements and generalizations leave the normal reader struggling to keep up. In the rush, we are often reduced to basing opinions on what can be gleaned from Internet headlines.

These are dangerous times because economy is ruled today much more by the way it is perceived by the general public rather than the actual facts. It is becoming increasingly difficult to disregard the distorting hype of the media. Indeed, what passes for economics these days is not trickle-down but twitter-down economics.

In the nano-second rush of twitter-down economics, everyone grabs the part of the message they like so that it might be instantly posted. No one has time for explanations beyond those which can be texted. So much of what people believe is based on sound bytes designed to cause momentary sensations and emotional impressions. Anything vague or ambiguous can be, and is, tweeted into streams of confusing 140-character messages that cloud minds. The economic message becomes what you want it to be or even nothing at all.


All this is the result of what I call the “frenetic intemperance” of our times. We live in days of moral unrestraint and instant gratification. Everyone must have everything now, instantly and without effort or reflection. This gives rise to a whirlwind of activity that has long been tearing our economy and society apart. It even erodes our Faith. At the same time, it is breaking down economic thought since so much is based upon the instant and ephemeral. There is the general questioning of all that is reasoned or structured.

With the ever more frantic pace of today’s world, our economy is now at risk. Instead of relevant and serious economic discussion, we are seeing a fragmented postmodern mix of ideas where everything is possible and nothing is certain.

There is actually little new in the economic debate. What is new is the chaotic mixture of old rich v. poor narratives, recycled Keynesian nonsense, and impossible entitlement demands. There are distortions of free market ideas (such as the so-called trickle-down economics). There are socialist diatribes and leftover scraps from the Occupy Wall Street propaganda of the one percent. This tired and confusing mixture permeates everything and conveys the message that “capitalism” (whatever that means) has failed and we need to look elsewhere for solutions.

What is particularly dangerous about twitter-down economy is that policy becomes based on impressions that remain in the general public consciousness in the midst of this chaos. Reality risks being disregarded or contradicted. Our guiding principles are jettisoned. We head toward the coming economic storm rudderless, unaware of the real dangers that lurk ahead.

There are those who claim that the debate be carried out in this manner since a postmodern world should be addressed in postmodern terms. Such a policy only multiplies the confusion. There is really one way to deal with these matters in the rush of twitter-down economics. It involves denouncing the whirlwind of frenetic intemperance that fuels the superficial and ambiguous debates that swirl about.
At the same time, it is not enough to counter with a twitter-down defense of the free market or modern financial systems. We must return to the foundations of sound economy. This calls for reconnecting with the moral considerations and restraints that need to guide our economic actions and keep them balanced.

In short, we need a change in the dialectic that governs the debates now raging in face of the present economic crisis. Far from the tyranny of the 140-character tweet, we need to give postmodern man that for which he yearns: a categorical message presented with extreme clarity, logic and precision. There must be a return to order.

This is what I have endeavored to do in the book, Return to Order. I have sought to clearly articulate what constitutes sound economy and its necessary connection to moral law. It is a daring proposal since it is grounded on an understanding of reality long abandoned. Indeed, ever since economic thought broke free from its moorings in moral philosophy and ethics, there have been those who have sought to keep such considerations out of this debate. The time has come for such reflections to return.

They must return not out of convenience but rather of urgent necessity. We are entering dangerous waters. Without a framework of clear principles to serve as beacon, we risk becoming wrecked upon the rocky shoals.

The Rush of Twitter-Down Economics | Return to Order