Saint Joseph Parish:
Receipts for parish purposes: $1,201.00 from the Sunday envelopes; $85.00 from the Dues envelopes; $32.00 from the Building Maintenance envelopes.
Total: $1,318.00
Receipts for non-parish purposes: — $61.00 from the Eastern Europe envelopes; $457.00 from the Mission Cooperative Collection (loose)
Analysis: When one deducts from the total of the receipts for parish purposes ($1,318.00) our weekly financial obligation to the Diocese, i.e. assessments ($329.54), plus our weekly premium for property and casualty insurance ($464.00), plus our weekly subsidy to Trinity Academy ($358.17), the sum total of which is $1,151.17, one sees that $166.83 is available from this collection for operating the parish.


Saint Vincent DePaul Parish:
Receipts for parish purposes: Receipts for parish purposes: $800.00 from the Sunday envelopes; $40.00 from the Dues envelopes; $53.00 from the Building Maintenance envelopes.
Total: $893.00.
Receipts for non-parish purposes: — $81.00 from the Eastern Europe envelopes; $568.83 from the Mission Cooperative Collection (loose)
Analysis: When one deducts from the total of the receipts for parish purposes ($893.00) our weekly financial obligation to the Diocese, i.e. assessments ($229.38), plus our weekly premium for property and casualty insurance ($282.46), plus our weekly subsidy to Trinity Academy ($250.98), the sum total of which is $762.82, one sees that $13.18 is available from this collection for operating the parish.

If these times don't suit you, you can always call for an appointment to go to Confession. If you don't like Fr. Connolly, you can always confess your sins to Kateri, but keep in mind that she is not bound by the seal and she does tend to be a blabbermouth.

Wednesday, 28 July
02:00 to 04:00 pm
St. Vincent dePaul Church
(Scripture Rosary at about 03:40 pm)

Friday, 30 July
06:00 to 08:00 pm
St. Joseph Chapel
(Vespers followed by Chaplet of Divine Mercy at about 07:30 pm)

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Did you know that St. Joseph Chapel is air-conditioned?
We mention this not, of course, as a motive for attending Exposition, but simply as an incentive!

PREFACE TO THE ARTICLE ON PAGES 03 TO 06 OF THIS BULLETIN
The first reading of this weekend’s Mass (17th Sunday of Ordinary Time) is Genesis 18, 20-32. It is the famous “Abraham tries to bargain with God” passage. What is Abraham trying to get from God? He is trying to get God to change His mind about destroying the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham succeeds in getting God to agree to spare the cities on condition that “ten innocent persons” can be found there. Unfortunately for Sodom and Gomorrah, ten innocent persons could not be found there and, so, God destroyed the cities. What was God’s complaint about Sodom and Gomorrah? His complaint (and you can read it for yourself in Genesis 19) was that the cities were rife with homosexual activity. Notice, not simply homosexuality as an inclination or tendency, but homosexuality as a practice or dominant theme — or lifestyle as people like to say today.
Because so many persons (including not a few Catholics) are confused about the authentic teaching of the Church — which is the authentic teaching of God — about homosexuality, we are using quite a bit of bulletin space this weekend in order to set the record straight.
I am well aware of the fact that some persons will think that it is excessive to use four pages of an eight-page bulletin to teach the truth about homosexuality. I exercise my pastoral judgment to say that it is not excessive, given the times in which we live.
It is not too much to say that the acceptance and promotion of homosexual behavior in our society constitute WAR AGAINST GOD — nothing less than that!
Let no one tell you otherwise! Let no one dissuade you from the Catholic truth by pointing out that various and sundry Protestant denominations (not all of them, thank God!) have come to terms with homosexuality, even to the extent of having marriage ceremonies for persons of the same gender and by ordaining “openly gay” pastors and bishops. Those Protestant denominations that do such things are an abomination to God.
Let no one confuse you by saying that the explicit condemnation of homosexual activity is “un-Christian” or “judgmental” or “uncharitable” or “intolerant” or “bigoted” or “medieval”. This kind of invective is utterly transparent. All of them are attempts to evade the Truth. (The best defense is a good offense!)
It is really quite the contrary. The explicit repudiation of homosexual activity is an act of Charity. Charity is always passionate for the Truth, because it is the Truth that sets us free. Without firm grounding in the Truth, we become suckers and slaves to every huckster who comes to us from the Abyss of Hell, knocking on our doors in order to sell us his pretty lies.

EBC

LIVING IN TRUTH
Eleven Church Teachings on Homosexuality
"...an overly benign interpretation was given to the homosexual condition itself, some going so far as to call it neutral, or even good." Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on the Pastoral Care of Homosexual People," no.3, Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), 1986

We Need to Know What the Church Teaches
We sometimes hear: "The Church accepts homosexuality as natural and normal," or "The Church condemns homosexuals." To clear up that confusion, this article will quote and comment on eleven statements from a 1986 CDF letter entitled, "Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on the Pastoral Care of Homosexual People." (This letter was signed by Cardinal Ratzinger and was approved by Pope John Paul II.)

1. Loving and Life-Giving Union
"The Church... celebrates the divine plan of the loving and life-giving union of men and women in the sacrament of marriage." CDF Letter, no.7
God created sex for two combined purposes: the happiness of a man and woman uniting in married love, and the happiness of new life being born from that union. Take away either one -- for instance with adultery, prostitution, masturbation, premarital sex, or homogenital activity -- and sexual activity turns negative and limiting, because those two purposes are built into us. We are made physically for loving and for generating new life. Sexual acts which are anything less than that will separate us from part of our selves and from what God wants for us; they leave out and suppress part of what sex is and part of who we are.

2. A Complementary Sexual Design
"To choose someone of the same sex for one's sexual activity is to annul [erase] the rich symbolism and meaning, not to mention the goals, of the Creator's sexual design. Homosexual activity is not a complementary union able to transmit life..." CDF Letter, no.7
God's plan for us is to engage the mystery of male and female, travel the distance between the sexes, and unite. Homosexuality uses sex for something other than what the Creator intended. The nature of our bodies requires no elaborate scientific data to prove the obvious fact that our bodies are not made for same-sex union. The Church is saying our hearts aren't either, and so it's not good for us or for our long-term happiness and growth. God created us physically and emotionally for "complementary union" and procreation.

3. The Homosexual Inclination is Objectively Disordered
“Although the particular inclination of the homosexual person is not a sin, it is a more or less strong tendency toward an intrinsic moral evil; and thus the inclination itself must be seen as an objective disorder." CDF Letter, no.3
Homosexual feelings do arise. Sometimes they're temporary -- especially for adolescents -- but for some people, homosexual feelings are deep-rooted and difficult to overcome. The Church says it's not a sin to have such feelings, but it is an objective disorder, a problem.
It can be difficult to understand what an "objective disorder" is. It means that the very inclination toward a same-sex act indicates that the desire itself is moving in the wrong direction; ordinarily the vast majority of men and women have a natural God-given attraction toward physical union with a person of the opposite sex. This is natural and good because it leads the majority of people into marriage, whereas same-sex attractions, while not sinful, end up in a disordered act if one gives into them.
It may be objected that a man lusting for a woman is a disordered act, but the inclination to such an act is considered natural but misdirected under ordinary circumstances. Under the circumstance of marriage however this inclination is good because it leads to strengthening the union between a man and a woman and the procreation of a child.
The same-sex feelings do not lead to strengthening the union between a man and a woman nor to the procreation of a child; therefore they are considered objectively disordered but not sinful in and of themselves.

4. Not Morally Acceptable
"Therefore special concern and pastoral attention should be directed toward those who have this condition, lest they be led to believe that the living out of this orientation in homosexual activity is a morally acceptable option. It is not. It is only in the marital relationship that the use of the sexual faculty can be morally good." CDF Letter, no.3 & 7
The only reason the Church goes to the trouble of calling certain activities morally wrong is that those activities cause real harm. To act on homosexual feelings is to increase their strength. Many who were formerly active in the homosexual life-style report that the temporary sexual pleasure -- and this is true of every form of unhealthy sex-- left them profoundly empty. On the other hand, when they abstained from illicit sexual activity, even if abstaining was a struggle, they found they experienced greater peace and confidence.

5. The Church Calls No One "A Homosexual"
"Today, the Church... refuses to consider the person as a "heterosexual "or a "homosexual," and insists that every person has a fundamental identity: the creature of God, and by grace, His child and heir to eternal life." CDF, no.16
The Church won't put a label on anyone. To say someone is "gay" or "lesbian" or a "homosexual" is to define a whole person by just one aspect. It can lock up a person's identity and block further emotional growth. That's just the sort of labeling which gives rise to prejudice and discrimination. The Church stands against any behavior it calls immoral, but always teaches support and respect for the person. Labeling limits and disrespects people.

6. The Church Condemns Violent Malice
"It is deplorable that homosexual persons have been and are the object of violent malice in speech or in action. Such treatment deserves condemnation from the Church's pastors wherever it occurs." CDF Letter, no.10
Some people despise those who struggle with homosexual attractions. The Church condemns any expressions of that attitude, for instance: anti-gay or anti-lesbian jokes, verbal and physical attack, social exclusion, rejection of friends or family members, avoidance of the topic of homosexuality, and so on. That behavior is all very wrong. It's what the Church calls "a sin against charity." People with homosexual struggles face many challenges. They need love and encouragement, not mistreatment.

7. Respect Each Person
"The intrinsic dignity of each person must always be respected in word, in action, and in law." CDF Letter, no.10
When you hear insulting remarks about people who struggle with homosexuality, the Church is saying: Don't stand for it. Speak up. And when a friend or family member confides in you about experiencing homosexual attractions, that's the moment your friendship and Christian response really count. Good friends also challenge one another, so you can and should say what you believe. You can continue to show both Christian love and faithfulness to the Truth, no matter what decision they make.

8. Pressure on the Church
"...increasing numbers of people today, even within the Church, are bringing enormous pressure to bear on the Church to accept the homosexual condition as though it were not disordered and to condone homosexual activity." CDF, no.8
One of the Church's toughest duties is to speak the truth with love and confront the self-destructive ideas and behavior of any society, and often those societies resist. Our Christian "tough love" insists that God intends more for us than homosexual activity can ever offer. Our long standing Judeo-Christian tradition is coming under strong attack, especially in America. Every young Catholic can expect to feel this pressure -- some of it even from dissenters within the Church, some of it from otherwise respected teachers or counselors. If you openly affirm the Church's teaching and ask your friend to question the "gay-positive" path, you will very likely get labeled "homophobic." It takes courage to speak an unpopular truth, but it's an act of real love. Reaffirm your love to your friend and hold your ground.

9. Generous and Giving People
"Homosexual activity... thwarts the call to a life of that form of self-giving which the Gospel says is the essence of Christian living. This does not mean that homosexual persons are not often generous and giving of themselves; but when they engage in homosexual activity they confirm within themselves a disordered sexual inclination which is essentially self-indulgent." CDF, no.7
What if your actively homosexual friends are otherwise good people? Their sexual activity still works against that goodness, and for friendship's sake and honesty's sake you need to say clearly, at least once, what you believe and why. Apart from that, you can still affirm other good things you see in your friend, as the Church does. And you can still be there for your friend no matter what, and say so. Such loyalty has at times been the life-line for people who, deep down, didn't want the homosexual identity and life but had been convinced they had no choice in the matter — because they'd never heard anyone say anything different.

10. Always and Totally Compulsive?
"What is at all costs to be avoided is the unfounded and demeaning assumption that the sexual behavior of homosexual persons is always and totally compulsive and, therefore, inculpable." CDF Letter, no.11
"I can't stop" is the cry of the addict and it means a person feels that his / her freedom has been taken over by something else. But not all homosexuality is compulsive, especially at first. Some people experiment with homosexual sex just to see if they like it. Sex just for pleasure, however, often leads to sexual addiction — whether it's heterosexual or homosexual. Catholic teaching reminds us that our free will is God's gift, and anything that controls us is against God's purposes. Some people who were once actively homosexual testify that it didn't take long to become deeply addicted to gay or lesbian sex. Overcoming the addiction was a very difficult, but not impossible, struggle.

11. Abandoning Homosexuality
“Abandonment of homosexual activity will require a profound collaboration of the individual with God's liberating grace”. CDF Letter, no.11
Many people experience difficulty in trying to leave the terribly risky homosexual life. Four factors are necessary for success: deep conviction that only chaste living is good, sturdy support from others, total personal effort, and reliance on God. Many people do successfully establish a life of sexual self-control. But are they happy? Popular opinion says, "No!" — imagining a never-ending torment of suppressed desire. “Not so!” say these over-comers. They report instead great happiness and much gratitude to God for being set free at last from the demeaning power of their lust. The result is increased self-confidence and inner peace.

Acknowledgment: This article (excluding the Preface) comes from COURAGE, which is an authentic Catholic ministry to persons who experience persistent same-sex attraction. It was founded by Fr. John F. Harvey, OSFS. Fr. Harvey’s email address is nycourage@aol.com. Anyone who wants to know more about COURAGE or who wants to avail himself / herself of the services offered by this ministry is welcome to call the local office (610-217-5557) or send an email (cf above) or else go onto the website: www.couragerc.org

Ten Ways To Make An Atheist Cry

by Benjamin Wiker

01. Discuss the Fermi Paradox. Atheists love aliens because they always assume that, a) brainy creatures gushing out of every galactic cranny will show that Earth is low-rent cosmic real estate, and b) the smartest aliens will be atheists. Against this giddy optimism, the famous physicist Enrico Fermi asked a quite innocent question: If Earth is a typical planet, and there are lots of planets in the universe, then why haven’t any extraterrestrial critters dropped by, or even sent us a text message (“ur nt solo, n btw us nt vry smrt”)?

02. Join Mensa. Atheists are obsessed with their IQs and they love to flaunt their membership in an organization of people dedicated to self-congratulation. The atheist assumption is that religion is a sure sign of evolutionary atavism. A devout believer whipping out his Mensa card is entirely incomprehensible and ultimately indigestible.

03. Bait and Switch # 1. Atheists love to talk about the Spanish Inquisition. Get them, ever so casually, to talk about persecution by zealous believers in general, and then the persecution by zealous Marxists in particular. Finally, since atheists like math, have them compare the number killed by the Inquisition over several centuries (2,000-6,000) with the number killed by devout Marxists in one century (100,000,000).

04. Bait and Switch #2. Despite their pretence to moral relativity, atheists will still grant that Adolf Hitler was epically evil. Having gotten them to admit this point, offer to read aloud some of the most offending passages from Mein Kampf (a special copy of which you just happened to be carrying). After about a half-hour, suddenly strike a quizzical look and say, “Wait a minute,” removing the dust jacket, “How did that happen? This is my copy of Margaret Sanger’s The Pivot of Civilization! Say, wasn’t she the founder of Planned Parenthood?”

05. Learn to talk like the late William F. Buckley Jr. A comfortable prejudice for American atheists is that religious believers all speak with a heavy Southern accent and use small words.

06. Have Lots of Children. Atheists love humanity as long as there is less of it. They are especially grieved by biologically prodigious believers who seem to be taking Darwin at his word, but for all the wrong reasons. Nothing is more irksome than to behold their own future self-imposed extinction amidst the swelling tide of the God-fearing.

07. Host a Darwin Read-a-loud. Invite some atheist friends to read and discuss Darwin, and then read some purple passages from his Descent of Man where he waxes eloquently on the importance of eugenics, the biologically based moral and intellectual inferiority of “lesser races,” and the inevitable evolutionary extermination of the “Negroes” and the “Australian aborigines”.

08. Talk about the Impending Crash of the World Economy. Ideas have consequences, and some of the worst economic ideas were hatched by John Maynard Keynes. Make clear to your atheist interlocutor that the wide-scale adoption of Keynes’ conception of government as the grand fiddler micromanaging the economy through narcotic stimulation with freshly printed money is the single most important cause of the current American and European financial implosion. Then mention ever-so-casually, “Wasn’t Keynes an atheist?”

09. Stage a Nietzsche Practicum. Atheists love the nihilistic philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche who famously declared “God is dead.” More exactly, they love it in theory, but invariably cringe at the practical implications Nietzsche quite logically drew out: without God, there is no moral order and the strong should devour the weak, for “life itself is will to power.” Invite your favorite atheist to meet you for lunch to discuss Nietzsche. Order the most expensive meal on the menu, steal his iPhone while he’s in the bathroom, and then at the end, stick him with the check. Then on the way out snatch the keys to his Saab and speed away in it singing at full lung, “I love Nietzsche! He’s really rather peachy. A world devoid of moral qualms is far more fun than one that’s preachy teachy!”

10. Assault Them with Charity. (cont’d. from No. 9). Drive around the block to the restaurant again, and pull up to your fuming atheist friend. After returning the keys to his Saab and his iPhone, and shelling out your share of the tab, say “I just can’t bring myself to act as if God doesn’t exist.” Then, forever after, treat him with unfailing kindness, as if he were an Indian Untouchable and you were Mother Teresa.