The Human Experience

My family and I just watched a pre-screening of this movie and to say the least, it was very moving. These are the same guys that did "Fishers of Men"!
This is a full length movie of what most of us would deem hopeless circumstances in the lives of real people. You won't catch this stuff on REALITY TV, but it is more real than those shows ever will be.
Please see this movie if you get the chance. Contact the people at Grassroots films and see if you can get a showing in your area, it is well worth the effort.

Good Quotes

I will continue to add to these, so please check back!!


A woman’s womb is the place where heaven and earth meet.---author unknown

When Satan is knocking at your door,simply say,'Jesus, could You please get that for me.--author unknown

In the culture of death in which we live in today, the family is the heart of the culture of life.--author unknown

It has been said that our goal is not to be good, but to be God’s.--author unknown


Pain reveals whether the professed loves of the untroubled are genuine. --author unknown

We give unto Caesar what is Gods--author unknown

Just as the soul cannot enlighten itself by itself, so it cannot satisfy itself by itself ---St. Augustine

Jesus not only rose from the dead, He changed the meaning of death. --author unknown

All evil needs [to prosper] is for good men to do nothing--author unknown

Freedom is doing what you should do, not what you want to do

This Christmas may you join the angels in rejoicing, the shepherds in believing and the wisemen in seeking.---Fulton J. Sheen

You can’t have a rainbow without the rain---Fulton J. Sheen

Life only comes from life---Fulton J. Sheen

There's nothing on earth that can completely satisfy the "soul hunger" of man, simply because it is an unearthly hunger, it is a spiritual hunger---Fulton J. Sheen

Our desires are greater than our satisfactions…Peter Kreeft

When a poor person dies of hunger, it has not happened because God did not take care of him or her.It has happened because neither you nor I wanted to give that person what he or she needed.---Mother Teresa

I always say that our misery is the throne of God’s mercy, and so we must realize that the greater our misery, the greater should be our confidence in Him.---St. Francis de Sales

Many politicians, like much of the American public, seem to be unaware that abortion and euthanasia are serious violations of the inalienable right to life. These are not just 'Church' issues but are governed by the natural law of God, which is binding upon all human beings. The right to life is the most fundamental of all rights, since a person deprived of life has no other rights.---Cardinal Dulles

A thing cannot be reborn to a higher form until it has died to the lower form.---Bishop Sheen

Those who want to be complete human beings must live with heaven in their sights; otherwise, they will lose track of who they are and where they are going.---Benedict J. Groeschel, CFR

Do not accept anything as the truth if it lacks love, and do not accept anything as love which lacks truth because one without the other becomes a destructive lie---Edith Stein

For even to be at peace with all men profits us nothing if we are at war with God. Similarly, if all men count us as enemies, it is of no harm to us if with God we are at peace.---St. John Chrysostom

One of the worst things pain does is turn our eyes inward, to ourselves. Sick people often say that the worst thing about being sick is that it makes you so self centered.----Peter Kreeft

I have wondered at times about what the Ten Commandments would have looked like if Moses had run them through the U.S. Congress.--- Ronald Reagan

Precisely in an age when the inviolable rights of the person are solemnly proclaimed and the value of life is publicly affirmed, the very right to life is being denied or trampled upon, especially at the more significant moments of existence: the moment of birth and the moment of death.--Pope John Paul II

Walk along the path of sublimity with the feet of humility.---St Augustine

Life is short but eternity is forever---author unknown

Love is a fruit in season at all times, and within reach of every hand.--- Mother Teresa

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it--George Santayana

Is everything light, surrounded by little pockets of darkness? Or is everything darkness, surrounding little pockets of light?--Peter Kreeft

When a society moves towards the denial or suppression of life, it ends up no longer finding the necessary motivation and energy to strive for man's true good. If personal and social sensitivity towards the acceptance of a new life is lost, then other forms of acceptance that are valuable for society also wither away--Pope Benedict XVI (CARITAS IN VERITATE)

No one can understand life if he is ungrateful for it.--Peter Kreeft

"He who sacrifices freedom for security is neither secure nor free."-- Benjamin Franklin


A life is either all spiritual or not spiritual at all. No man can serve two masters. Your life is shaped by the end you live for. You are made in the image of what you desire--Thomas Merton

The very contradictions in my life are in some ways signs of God's mercy to me--Thomas Merton

The least of the work of learning is done in the classroom--Thomas Merton

"Do not abandon yourselves to despair. We are the Easter people and hallelujah is our song."--Pope John Paul II

Saints are nothing but sinners that kept trying--author unknown

Poverty consists in being deprived of not only what is convenient but of what is necessary--
St. Thérèse of Lisieux

True greatness is not found in a name, but in the soul --St. Thérèse of Lisieux

Heaven is very high, the gate to it is very low, humility is the condition of entering it -- Fulton J. Sheen

It will be one of the confusions of the damned to see that they are condemned by their own reason, by which they claimed to condemn the Christian religion--Blaise Pascal

The most unreasonable things in the world become most reasonable, because of the unruliness of men--Blaise Pascal

We do not believe ourselves to be exactly sharing in the vices of the vulgar when we see that we are sharing in those of great men; and yet we do not observe that in these matters they are ordinary men--Blaise Pascal

Hell as well as Heaven helps to explain suffering. Not all suffering is a way to God; some is a foretaste of hell. Suffering is a reflection of death, a reminder of mortality. Death, in turn is a punishment and consequence of sin. Sin, in turn, is the distant echo in our lives of hell. ---Peter Kreeft

I look up at the night sky, is anything more certain than, that in all those vast times and spaces, if I were allowed to search them, I would never find her face, her voice, her touch..she died, she is dead…is the word so difficult to learn? (From C.S Lewis "A grief observed"….after the loss of his wife.)

Christ promised the dying thief on the cross, "Today you shall be with Me in paradise" . Yet Christ did not ascend into Heaven until 40 days later. The explanation of the puzzle, I think, that where Christ is, there is paradise. Heaven doesn’t make Christ Christ; Christ makes Heaven Heaven. ---Peter Kreeft

If God did not exist, everything would be permissible---Dostoyevski

There is good and there is evil; there is truth and there are lies; there is life and there is death. Being neutral is a myth. Sitting on a fence is an accident waiting to happen. In the end you will be "for me or against me," as Jesus says.-- Father Corapi

Look at that man, who is so active and restless, who makes a noise in the world, who wants to govern everybody, who thinks himself of consequence, who seems as if he would like to say to the sun, "Go away, and let me enlighten the world instead of you. " Some day this proud man will be reduced at the utmost to a little handful of dust, which will be swept away from river to river, from Saone to Saone, and at last into the sea.— Saint John Vianney

See, my children, we must reflect that we have a soul to save, and an eternity that awaits us.— Saint John Vianney

The saints did not all begin well; but they all ended well.— Saint John Vianney

Man, being created by love, cannot live without love: either he loves God, or he loves himself and he loves the world.-- Saint John Vianney

"Give us this day our daily bread. " We are composed of two parts, the soul and the body. We ask the good God to feed our poor body, and He answers by making the earth produce all that is necessary for our support. . . . But we ask Him to feed our soul, which is the best part of ourselves; and the earth is too small to furnish enough to satisfy it; it hungers for God, and nothing but God can satiate it. --Saint John Vianney

No one is born an atheist or a skeptic, one who doubts the possibility of ever discovering truth. These attitudes are made less by the way one thinks than by the way one lives. If we do not live as we think we soon begin to think as we live. We suit our philosophy to our actions. --- Fulton J. Sheen

"It is important to recognize dissent for what it is, and not to mistake it for a mature contribution to a balanced and wide-ranging debate. It is the truth revealed through Scripture and Tradition and articulated by the Church’s Magisterium that sets us free. Cardinal Newman realized this, and he left us an outstanding example of faithfulness to revealed truth by following that 'kindly light' wherever it led him, even at considerable personal cost. Great writers and communicators of his stature and integrity are needed in the Church today, and it is my hope that devotion to him will inspire many to follow in his footsteps.”
— Pope Benedict XVI’s address to the Bishops of England and WalesVisit “ad limina apostolorum,”    

There aren’t ten people in the United States who hate the Catholic Church, but there are millions who hate what they mistakenly think the Catholic Church represents. –- Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

Conscience has rights because it has duties --- Cardinal John Henry Newman

America, it is said, is suffering from intolerance. It is not. It is suffering from tolerance: tolerance of right and wrong, truth and error, virtue and evil, Christ and chaos. Our country is not nearly so overrun with the bigoted as it is overrun with the broad-minded. --Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

“Faith in Christ is more than a ‘Jesus and me’ matter. He founded a Church to be the custodian of his message, the place where the sacraments are celebrated, the home of love and support for all its members, the source of hope for the poor, the lost, the sinful, and the seekers for God in all the world.” --Alfred McBride, O.Praem.

“There needs to be a new sense that being human is subject to a higher set of standards, indeed, that it is precisely these demands that make a greater happiness possible in the first place. There needs to be a sense that being human is like a mountain-climbing expedition that includes some arduous slopes. But it is by them that we reach the summit and are able to experience for the first time how beautiful it is to be.” ---Pope Benedict XVI

The penalty of those who live too close to the flesh is never to understand the spiritual.~~~Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

All the human satisfactions of the cravings of body and soul have one defect; they do not satisfy forever. They only serve to deaden the present want; but they never extinguish it. The want always revives again. ---Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

Calvary was the price He (Jesus) paid for the Sermon on the Mount. Only mediocrity survives. Those who call black black and white white, are sentenced for intolerance. Only the grays live.                                             Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen What we call misfortune is not misfortune at all, it is God waking us up. ---Father John Hardon The most powerful prayer is not with our lips, the most powerful prayer is with our lives.--- Father Hardon "Our salvation may cost us nothing, but true discipleship costs us everything."---Mark Hart "God knows us best of all. He knows our capacities—His knowledge of each one is complete. Something of His beauty is in each person. We are made to the image of God. His lovableness is in each one, so let us see what there is of God in each person."--Mother Teresa "The child [conceived in rape] is an innocent victim. To be victimized twice is a horrible thing. It is an innocent human life, genetically human from the moment of conception and is a human life...we should help women in those terrible situations that have been traumatized already. To put them through another trauma of an abortion is too much to ask...one violence is enough."--- Rick Santorum When evil is revealed in the light, it does not always repent; sometimes it becomes more evil---Fulton J. Sheen Freedom is not an heirloom, but a life. Once received it does not continue to exist without effort… ---Fulton J. Sheen "Refuse nothing, ask for nothing, and like that you will never complain. To complain is very easy, but to be happy to be anybody's walking stick is very difficult. What a lot we lose when we grumble; what a waste of energy. How foolish we are. We must all watch out because we are all inclined to it--let not our likes and dislikes be the measure of our actions. Remember, we have come to do the will of Him who called us."---Mother Teresa "Evil becomes possible when human beings decide to use the good things that God created in ways that are not truly part of their purpose."---Fr. Mitch Pacwa, SJ What is of the world, the world never opposes. What is of God, the spirit of the world opposes, maligns, persecutes, and crucifies.---Fulton J. Sheen This comes from God, for you have been granted the privilege for Christ's sake not only of believing in him but of suffering for him as well---Philippians 1;29 "We can't avoid reasoning; we can only avoid doing it well." — Peter Kreeft "The first thing that Jesus taught us was PRAISE -- Our Father, hallowed be Thy Name. Praising God takes us out of self and puts us into God. Spirituality is not so much inviting God into our little, picayune hearts as it is accepting God's invitation to come up into His heart that has a length, breadth, height and depth that is beyond anything we can think of or imagine."---Fr. Bill McCarthy, MSA Truth can be hated when it reveals falsity within---Fulton J. Sheen "We always find that those who walked closest to Christ were those who had to bear the greatest trials."---St. Teresa of Avila Very often, we will find, that an attack upon religion, satisfies for the moment, this uneasy conscience.---Fulton J. Sheen

It's the principle of the matter...

For our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens. ---Ephesians 6:12

As I try to practice Christian charity in this materialistic, culture of death, relativistic world we live in today, I must say it isn’t easy.
Dealing with everyone from the deathscorts at the abortion mill, people in our parish community, to our own families whom we would love to see converted, there are many different values and opinions among people.
You may start a conversation in a loving, gentle, concerned manner and end up like some
insane, raving lunatic wishing bad things upon the person and their next ten generations.

Doesn’t sound very Christian does it?

I remember one time at the abortion mill when one of the deathscorts taunted the crowd with a comment from the bible that she was using out of context (of course).
Normally I keep my mouth shut and just pray the rosary, but, after some of the things I had seen that morning, I tore into her.
I asked her to give me chapter and verse of where that comment came from. Of course she couldn’t and just shrugged me off….but I wasn’t having any of that!!!
So, for the next few minutes I was raving lunatic staying on her like “white on rice on a paper plate in a snow storm”. By the time my tirade was over, I had called her an idiot and was about to be a victim of spontaneous human combustion.
Not very Christian of me. After a while I calmed down and felt bad for what I done although I never apologized to her.

As I reflect back on that situation, and many more times when I have bad thoughts towards my fellow (mislead) mankind, I have to keep in mind Ephesians Chapter 6:12.

Our battle is not against our brothers and sisters upon this earth, but against Satan and the
mind set that he can lead us in to, with the principles of false teachings, unformed consciences, and to the passion of our feelings.

Conscience, values, feelings, standards, ethics, attitudes, belief, opinions….everyone has these, and when viewed through the light of Christ, they can be very beneficial, very life giving; but when used in a secular way, they can damn your very soul.

Good morning!

In the classic struggle of trying to juggle work, family time, prayer time, play time, and “spousal counseling” time, there is always a feeling of lacking.
I could name off 100 things that I would like to do but never have time to do.

While eating breakfast one morning, the back of the “fun” cereal box had a list of
“10 things you should do before the age of 18” (or something to that effect).
You think they would have some good wholesome items on the list like seeing historical places, something to help with your educational decisions, or even something spiritually uplifting.

WHAP!!!!!!!!! (hand to forehead)

I forgot that we were living in a relativistic, pop culture of death, where “fun” consists of “anything goes”.
While I won’t waste too much space on all the nonsensical listings, there were items such as “ride the worlds biggest rollercoaster” and “meet your favorite singer backstage”…..

What a crock!

Anyway, here is a list I composed of things I wish we (and everybody) could do as a family daily or at least weekly;

1) Pray the rosary…the whole rosary…all 20 mysteries.
2) Read a chapter (or more) of the bible.
3) Read the Catholic Catechism all the way through.
4) Pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet every day at 3:00pm.
5) Read about a different saints life every day or week.
6) Go on a pilgrimage of all the shines and holy places in the world.
7) Go to Confession/Reconciliation every week (whether we need to or not) lol
8) Read Papal encylicals as they are issued.

9) Read writings from the early Church Fathers.

Most of these goals are attainable, but of course Satan does his best to keep us too busy or puts some kind of trauma in our lives to make it hard.
I dare say, that, if we all could do these things in our vocations in life (married or single), there would be less troublesome cereal boxes in the world.

Pope Benedict XVI newest encyclical

http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/encyclicals/documents/hf_ben-xvi_enc_20090629_caritas-in-veritate_en.html

Students Rebel at Graduation Against the ACLU’s Bullying Tactics

www.LC.org
Santa Rosa County, FL - Nearly 400 graduating seniors at Pace High School stood up in protest against the ACLU and recited the Lord’s Prayer during their graduation ceremony on Saturday. Many of the students also painted crosses on their graduation caps to make a statement of faith. This event follows a lawsuit the ACLU filed against the Santa Rosa County School District, claiming some of the teachers and administration endorsed religion. Liberty Counsel represents Pace High School Principal Frank Lay and clerical assistant Michelle Winkler.
The graduation prayer protest by the students was preceded by a lawsuit filed six months ago by the ACLU. The school district entered into a consent decree, which essentially bans all Santa Rosa County School District employees from engaging in prayer or religious activities. The ACLU alleges that during a dinner event held at Pace High School, Principal Lay asked the athletic director to bless the meal. In another incident, the ACLU alleges that Michelle Winkler’s husband, who is not a school board employee, offered prayer at an awards ceremony. Leading up to the graduation ceremony, the ACLU demanded the school to censor students from offering prayers or saying anything religious. The ACLU then charged Principal Lay and Ms. Winkler with contempt of court.
The students at Pace High School were furious with the ACLU hijacking their free speech rights and decided to take a stand at graduation. As soon as Principal Lay asked everyone to be seated at the ceremony, the graduating class remained standing and recited the Lord’s Prayer. The ACLU has not taken any legal action yet but has stated that something should have been done to stop the prayer.
Mathew D. Staver, Founder of Liberty Counsel and Dean of Liberty University School of Law, commented: “Neither students nor teachers shed their constitutional rights at the schoolhouse gate. The students at Pace High School refused to remain silent and were not about to be bullied by the ACLU. We have decided to represent faculty, staff and students of Pace High School, because the ACLU is clearly violating their First Amendment rights. Schools are not religion-free zones, and any attempt to make them so is unconstitutional.”