Saint Joseph Parish: $2,039.00 from the Sunday envelopes; $87.00 from the second collection (plate); $157.00 from the Dues envelopes; $182.00 from the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception envelopes; $146.00 from the Retired Religious envelopes; $358.00 from the Christmas Flowers envelopes; $128.00 from the loose. Thank you.

Saint Vincent DePaul Parish: $1,034.00 from the Sunday envelopes; $51.00 from the second collection (plate); $314.00 from the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception envelopes; $202.00 from the Retired Religious envelopes; $71.00 from the loose. Thank you.

JOHN DAVID SMITH,
fourth child (fourth son) of Brian K. and Marie (Torquato) Smith, was baptized today (Saturday) at St. Joseph Church. Fr. Michael J. Stone, pastor of St. Ambrose Parish, Schuylkill Haven, kindly gave permission.
At the request of the child’s parents, Fr. Connolly baptized John David according to the Ordo Baptismi Parvulorum found in the Rituale Romanum By doing so, he made use of the permission granted by Pope Benedict XVI in the apostolic letter Summorum Pontificum — Article #9 of which reads as follows:

Art. 9. § 1 The pastor, having attentively examined all aspects, may also grant permission to use the earlier ritual for the administration of the Sacraments of Baptism, Marriage, Penance, and the Anointing of the Sick, if the good of souls would seem to require it.

By the will of God the Father, by the death and resurrection of God the Son and by the work of the Holy Spirit, John David Smith is now freed from the curse of Adam and Eve and is made a participant in the life of the Holy Trinity. This precious child is destined for eternal life on high with all the saints. May he attain to that exalted destiny, together with his parents, his brothers and all other members of the family.
By the way, John’s three brothers are (in order of age): Matthew, Marcus and Luke.
Some friends of the Smith family, especially those who are keen on the New Testament, suspect that there is a deliberate pattern here. Their suspicions will be confirmed if there should happen to come a fifth child to whom Brian and Marie give the name Acts (or Acta).

17 Dec
DEAR ABBY:
My 14-year-old daughter, "Melissa," is bisexual. Most girls her age have sleepovers, but my husband says that any girl Melissa likes should be considered the same as a boyfriend, so it is not appropriate for her to spend the night.
I disagree. A girlfriend is not the same -- mainly because Melissa won't end up getting pregnant after spending the night with a girl. What do you think?
MOM IN ST. PETERSBURG FL

DEAR MOM:
If Melissa is romantically attracted to a particular girl, your husband has a valid point. However, he is mistaken if he thinks that because Melissa is bisexual she is attracted to EVERY female she meets. That is no more true than the idea that heterosexual individuals are sexually attracted to EVERY member of the opposite sex. When it comes to friendships, most are platonic -- and you and your husband should keep that in mind before deciding whether or not to allow your daughter to participate in sleepovers.
ABBY

DEAR MOM:
You say that your daughter is “bisexual”. I presume you say this because, at some point in the recent past, she declared — in the fullness of her 14-year-old dignity and wisdom — that she is “bisexual”. But what prompted her to make such a pompous and preposterous declaration? Do you think that she has the slightest idea what she is talking about? I doubt it very much.
I think the poor child is the victim of (a) MTV; (b) public-school secularism; (c) non-involvement in authentic religion; (d) confused parents.
You will notice I am not trying to endear myself to you. However, hang on! No human being is absolutely beyond redemption. You might still have a chance. Listen to what I have to tell you. Let us be analytical here.
If we say that some persons are “bisexual”, then it only stands to reason that we have to say that persons who are not “bisexual” are “monosexual”.
And we are told — but don’t you believe it — that God / Nature has subdivided “monosexuals” into “heterosexuals” and “homosexuals”. The former are those who are attracted to persons of the opposite gender, whereas the latter are said to be those who are biologically determined to be attracted to persons of the same gender.
Bisexuals, so we are encouraged to believe — but don’t you believe it — are biologically determined to be attracted to persons of both genders — perhaps simultaneously, perhaps sporadically, perhaps to males on Mon, Wed and Fri, to females on Tues, Thurs and Sat and to neither or both on Sun. Who knows? God knows!
BUT THIS IS RUBBISH, plain and simple!
Well, what is NOT rubbish? What is the truth?
The truth is this: Every human being, from the very first instant of his / her existence, is either male or female. At no point in his or her existence has any human being ever been without gender. It has never happened that any human being has ever morphed from one gender to another. At no time has any human being ever been neither male nor female.

There is no such thing as a gender-neutral human being. Gender is primarily a matter of spirit (soul) and secondarily a matter of body. We are male or female (whichever one we happen to be) not only in our physical anatomy but in our DNA, in our chromosomes. The immortal soul of a person who carries an “X” chromosome from her father is feminine. The immortal soul of a person who carries a “Y” chromosome from his father is masculine. Anatomy is almost always an unambiguous indicator of whether a person is XX or XY. The latter are unambiguous indicators of whether a person’s soul is feminine or masculine.
When we exit from this life and are temporarily souls bereft of bodily extension, we continue to be either masculine or feminine because our souls are either masculine or feminine.
When we rise from the dead (i.e. when we are re-constituted as body – spirit persons), we shall have bodies that are either masculine or feminine (not both!) and we shall be the resurrected human race: glorified masculine persons and glorified feminine persons for all eternity.
Now, let’s talk a little bit about what it means to be a successful girl as opposed to being a successful boy.
Being a successful girl involves being receptive. But, if a girl is going to be receptive, she must be trusting — as simple as a dove. But if a girl is going to be as simple as a dove, she had better be as wise as a serpent, so that she does not wind up trusting someone who is either a villain or a jerk. Contrary to what some would have us believe, most men are neither — although, sad to say, there are a few who are one or the other.
Being a successful boy involves being a generous giver of self. But, if a boy is going to be a generous giver of self, he must overcome self-centeredness, so that when he finds someone who is willing to receive him, he will be able to give himself to her in purest love. This is the great challenge for a boy: to conquer his pride and his lust.
Women and girls known as “lesbians” are tragic creatures who have given up on ever being able to trust any man enough to receive him and, so, they surrender themselves to the playing of games with one another.
Men and boys known as “gays” are tragic creatures who are so centered on themselves that they can never bring themselves to give themselves away and, so, they settle for playing games with one another.
So, dear Mom in St. Petersburg FL, when your Melissa says that she is “bisexual”, she is really saying that she thinks that she’s a lesbian but she’s not 100% sure and will let you know if and when she finds out! Don’t buy into such nonsense!
Melissa needs to learn about sex from the One Who invented it. The One Who invented it continues to teach today in and through the Catholic Church.
She also needs to be in the company of some decent girls and boys. By any chance, are you or Melissa acquainted with any decent girls and boys in the St. Petersburg area?
My bottom line: Melissa is not “bisexual”. Melissa is confused. I beg you to stop supporting her in her fantasy that she is “bisexual”.
By the way, does Melissa’s father ever validate his daughter’s femininity? It is his right and bounden duty to do so, you know. Does he know this? Make sure you tell him. If he is clueless as to what this means, tell him to contact me.

EBC

WE SHARE THE MAIL
Via email / 14 Dec 08
Dear Father:
Quick question: How can one be a "Catholic" and support Obama? Today I saw a button, about 3"- 4" in diameter on the back of an adult male attending Mass that read, "Catholics for Obama!" It really made by heart sink. I can't believe that someone would have the nerve to wear that, let alone to Mass.
God bless,
BAM

Note: The writer is a friend of mine from my former parishes in Pottsville / Mount Carbon. He now attends Mass in some other parish “south of the mountain”. My point is that he is not referring to either of the parishes in Girardville.

Dear BAM:
I’m still licking my wounds from 4 November. If you had asked me this question prior to the election, I would have given you a more polemic response. But now I’m weary — weary of trying to figure out how so many Catholics could possibly have chosen to vote for a candidate who made it perfectly clear that he is vigorously pro-abortion and who promised to do all in his power to lift all restrictions on abortion. I’ve read what some “Catholics for Obama” have written in order to justify their position. But it makes no logical sense, no sense whatsoever! I just have to fall back on something my friend and mentor, Father Bill McHale (of blessed memory), used to say to me when I expressed frustration about such people: “Well, now, you just have to give him a fool’s pardon, that’s all.”
As far as Barack Obama is concerned, I have resigned myself to the fact that, come 20 January, he will be the president of my beloved country. I offer him my respect and my good wishes. I pray for his health and his safety and — because miracles are possible — I pray for his conversion to the pro-life cause and to the Catholic Church. May God bless Barack Obama and use him to accomplish His purposes.
EBC

TO BE READ SLOWLY AND MEDITATIVELY

The Virgin is pale, and she looks at the baby. What I would paint on her face is an anxious wonderment, such as has never before been seen on a human face. For Christ is her baby, flesh of her flesh, and the fruit of her womb. She has carried him for nine months, and she will give him her breast, and her milk will become the blood of God. There are moments when the temptation is so strong that she forgets that he is God. She folds him in her arms and says: My little one.
But at other moments she feels a stranger, and she thinks: God is there — and she finds herself caught by a religious awe before this speechless God, this terrifying infant. All mothers at times are brought up sharp in this way before this fragment of themselves, their baby. They feel themselves in exile at two paces from this new life that they have created from their life, and which is now peopled by another’s thoughts. But no other baby has been so cruelly and suddenly snatched from his mother, for he is God, and he surpasses in every way anything that she can imagine. It is a hard trial for a mother to be ashamed of herself and her human condition before her son.
But I think that there are other rapid, fleeting moments when she realizes at once that Christ is her son, her very own baby, and that he is God. She looks at him and thinks: This God is my baby. This divine flesh is my flesh. He is made from me. He has my eyes, and the curve of his mouth is the curve of mine. He is like me. He is God and he is like me.
No other woman has been lucky enough to have a God for herself alone, a tiny little God whom she can take in her arms and cover with kisses, a warm-bodied God who smiles and breathes, a God that she can touch, who is alive. And it is in these moments that I would paint Mary, if I were a painter, and I would try to capture the air of radiant tenderness and timidity with which she lifts her finger to touch the sweet skin of her baby-God, whose warm weight she feels on her knees, and who smiles.

Jean-Paul Sartre

Characteristic of the Catholic mind and heart is a deep love for the Holy Mother. Let us ask the Lord Jesus to implant in our minds and hearts a tender affection for our Blessed Mother, together with a profound respect and gratitude for her role in our salvation. Ad Iesum per Mariam!