Author of “What Happened at Vatican II”

Author of “What Happened at Vatican II” to Lecture at Josephinum

Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Announcement of the Second Vatican Council, the Pontifical College Josephinum welcomes the general public to “What Happened at Vatican II: The Author Reports Back,” a presentation by Rev. John W. O’Malley, SJ.


Sunday, January 25, 20097:00 p.m.Jessing CenterRev. John W. O’Malley, SJ, University Professor of Theology at Georgetown University, is regarded as the dean of American historians of Christianity. His newest book, What Happened at Vatican II (Harvard UP 2008), is being heralded as the most important and detailed synthesis of the Second Vatican Council ever written.

Rev. John W. O'Malley, SJ

“Some of the finest contemporary Catholic theologians and students of the Second Vatican Council have described this book as a masterful one volume account of the Council that will become the obligatory point of reference for anyone in this generation interested in studying the Council and its background,” said Msgr. Paul J. Langsfeld, Josephinum Rector / President.
“Father O’Malley’s talk will be the highlight of our academic year.”

John W. O’Malley, SJ, PhD (Harvard) is a specialist in the religious culture of early modern Europe, especially Italy. He is widely published: Among his five monographs are Praise and Blame in Renaissance Rome, which received the Marrow Prize from the American Historical Association, and Trent and All That, which received the Roland Bainton Prize from the Sixteenth Century Studies Conference. His best known book is The First Jesuits, which received both the Jacques Barzun Prize for Cultural History from the American Philosophical Society and the Philip Schaff Prize from the American Society for Church History.

Father O’Malley has lectured widely in North America and Europe on both professional and more popular topics. He has held fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the American Council of Learned Societies, the American Philosophical Society, Villa I Tatti (the Harvard University center for Italian Renaissance Studies, Florence), and the American Academy in Rome (Prix de Rome). He is a past president of the American Catholic Historical Association and of the Renaissance Society of America. Father O’Malley was honored with lifetime achievement awards from the Society for Italian Historical Studies in 2002, and the Renaissance Society of America in 2005.

“Both Pope Benedict XVI and Pope John Paul II have made the implementation of the teachings of the Second Vatican Council the key priority of their pontificates, “said Father John Allen, who teaches Church History at the Josephinum. “For that reason, we are honored to have such an eminent scholar as Father O’Malley to address our seminarians, faculty and many friends from the wider community. His lecture, like his new book, promises to be an enriching and deeply rewarding experience.”

“What Happened at Vatican II: The Author Reports Back” is part of the Josephinum’s annual Building Spiritual Bridges to the Community lecture series, supported by a grant from Our Sunday Visitor Institute. All lectures are free of charge and open to the public.


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http://www.pcj.edu/2008-09/omalley.html

President Obama and abortion policy changes

It is with a heavy heart that I read CNN.com and observe that only a few days into office, President Obama is ready to make some changes to the current abortion policies. And it's not good.

The article found here http://news.aol.com/article/officials-obama-to-reverse-abortion/316108?cid=12.


"President Barack Obama plans to sign an executive order ending the ban on federal funds for international groups that perform abortions or provide information on the option".

Basically he is allowing tax payer money to be given to international groups that perform and provide information on abortions. (Since the order was created it has been reinstated or banned depending on the political party). Apparently Former Pres. Clinton had ended the ban and one of the first things Pres. Bush did was make sure the ban was back in place. *Way to go Former-president Bush!

SO BASICALLY IT WILL TAKE OUR TAX MONEY AND SEND IT OVERSEES TO FINANCIALLY SUPPORT ACTUAL ABORTIONS, THE EDUCTION OF ABORTIONS, AND PROMOTION OF ABORTIONS AS A VIABLE CHOICE.

"In a move related to the lifting of the abortion rule, Obama also is expected to restore funding to the U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA), probably in the next budget. Both he and Clinton had pledged to reverse a Bush administration determination that assistance to the organization violated U.S. law.".

This is nuts. Basically Obama provides financial assistance to UNFPA. UNFPA supports the Chinese family planning policy. You know, the one where women are forced to have abortions if they have more than one child in the home and there is forced sterilization. And if they do have the second child they can be fined up to $25,000.


"President Obama not long ago told the American people that he would support policies to reduce abortions, but today he is effectively guaranteeing more abortions by funding groups that promote abortion as a method of population control," said Douglas Johnson, legislative director of the National Right to Life Committee.

I guess we all knew it was coming... but I wanted to ignore the scary possibilities and hope for the best. At this point all the worst situations possible are beginning to come to the surface. This is a full blown war on the sanctity of life. So now we pray....and pray...

Fighting the good fight

Today as I sit here in my warm and cozy home I am full of so many mixed emotions, what a horrific day and yet what a day of hope. As you know today is the anniversary of Roe v. Wade one of the most monumental and life changing decisions this country has made. Today is the day we said as a country that life no longer has intrinsic value, that someone else has the right to decide how much your life is worth. Ever since we have been sliding down a slippery slope towards a day that I hope never comes. Today I am unable to be in Washington along with all the faces of hope and I am so sad. I wish I could be there marching along side the brave men and women who are standing up for life. I wish I had a big banner to wave in the wind and proclaim my support of life and my abhorrence of this countries abortion policies, but instead I am at home praying and hoping that this is the year that our country will wake up. I pray that this is the year our president will have a major conversion and spearhead the movement towards valuing life. But most of all I pray that I will have the courage to do my part in the fight for life. I pray that I will not be complacent and that I will stand up for those that have no voice.

I am so hopeful when I hear of the large numbers of people in Washington marching for life ( est. at least 200,000!), how amazing and wonderful. As I sit here contemplating what I have done I know I can do more, I have a bumper sticker on my car but it is subtle maybe I need a more blatant one like my friend has ("Being Prochoice is easy when you are not the one being killed") and I know I need to pray in front of the clinics more and I know I need to offer up my intentions for pregnant women more often. There are so many things I should be doing, I truly hope in 2010 I will look back and know I fought the good fight. Until then I will keep praying and hoping and hopefully more and more will join the cause. I look forward to the day when I can say to my children today is the anniversary of the day we stopped killing babies!

Be sure to check out the powerful yet ironic video posted at Momopoly!

Holiness for Housewives- book review

Holiness for Housewives And Other Working Women

by Huberr van Zeller

Author Huberr van Zeller wrote this book as a spiritual guide for mothers. Originally written in 1951, this book addresses the monotony of household chores and child rearing and celebrates it! When reading this book, a mother will be uplifted and encouraged to continue on. He challenges mothers to utilize the daily tasks as an pathway to holiness! Whether you are a stay at home mom, a full time or part time working mother this book will challenge you to seek holiness where ever you may be in life.

It truly spoke to me on so many levels. There are times when I feel that to truly be holy I would need to spend my time in front of the Eucharist or attend daily Mass. But with two toddlers and little patience, Mass and Adoration are a rarity.


"If God wills that you should be bowed over the sink instead of over the pew at your favorite church, then washing dishes is for you, now, the most perfect thing you can possibly do." p. 14

Yay! Because seriously, I live there... over the sink that is! And I think all the time that if I could just be in Church praying before the cross or before the Eucharist, THEN I could really be holy. But alas, I am not before the Eucharist nearly as much as I would like.... so the question is how do I become as holy as God intends me to be within the constraints of the kitchen!!

"This is the first lesson for the Christian wife and mother today; to let go of what might have been- and under other circumstances might now be- a recollected self, and take on, with both hands, the plan of God. Indeed, it is the lesson for every Christian in every age: it is the gospel principle of dying on one plane on order to lie on another." p. 15

For me, this means I needed to let go of my time at Franciscan University of Steubenville. Sounds strange, I know, but let me explain. Franciscan provided me the amazing opportunity to attend daily Mass, sit before the Eucharist almost daily, pray the rosary with some of my best friends and be an active member in the community. For a long time I equated holiness with being able to continue these tasks. 'Holiness for Housewives' really made me look at my present situation and determine how to achieve holiness when changing diapers, vacuuming and paying bills. Although there is nothing more beautiful than Mass, Adoration and prayers to Our Lady, this book is helping me to be realistic on my path to holiness.

"The first necessity is to find in your soul a respect for your vocation". p. 19

Yay! Respect for my vocation! Society may not respect it.... some of my family members may not respect it.... but I am called to find peace and respect in my vocation as a housewife..... then and only then can I move forward both emotionally and spiritually.


Holiness for Housewives is divided into two parts:

Part I: Your special vocation as a housewife
Part II: How to pray amidst your daily duties
Part III: How to grow holier day by day
Part IV: Prayers for housewives


I ordered my copy on Amazon.... I couldn't find it at the library unfortunately.... but at least I could underline and highlight my personal copy! Enjoy!

What now?

Well it's official Barack Obama is now our president and while this scares me to death I feel we must find a way as Christians to see the good. Mind you I am not saying support his stance on abortion or any other of his heinous ideas but I do feel there are a few bright-ish things we can focus on.

First I am proud of our country for electing a man of mixed race. We have come very far as a nation and should be very proud of ourselves for that.

Second I think it is wonderful that people are being so passionate about politics and the future of our country. I only wish they were educating themselves on the facts and being passionate about the real issues and not the smoke screen Obama has fed them.

Unfortunately that is all I have on positive notes, but we must not lose hope and we must keep praying for a conversion of heart. Think how powerful it would be if this man who so many are blindly following would become pro-life. Who knows with God all things are possible.

FRC, Family Research Council

I received this in my email today and thought I would share it!

Dear Ellen,

As Congressman David Obey (D-Wis.) embarks on his 21st term in Congress and his new term as Chairman of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, he needs to hear from you that American taxpayers should not be supporting and paying for abortions.

For nearly three decades, Congress has enacted annual rules that ensure the American people are not forced to fund abortions or groups that practice and promote abortions here at home and around the world. This "firewall" protecting the moral convictions of U.S. taxpayers has stood us in good stead.

Now many in Congress want these rules -- 20 in all -- repealed on bills that will originate in his committee. Inevitably, they want Representative Obey to take the lead and become the nation's Abortion Czar.

Sign our petition to Chairman Obey today. FRC (Family Research Council) will deliver the petitions to his office on January 23, 2009 to express the desire of the American people not to be forced to be complicit with abortion. After you've signed, forward this petition to friends and family so that they can add their names. Let's keep Congress -- and taxpayers -- out of the abortion business.

Thank you for taking action today and God bless you.

Sign Our Petition to Help Block Tax-Funded Abortions

Sincerely,

Tony Perkins
President

FOCA donut?

It is with extreme disappointment that I share with you something that has recently come to my attention. As you know I also run a blog called Thrifty & Chic Mom which is all about saving money. I recently came across a promotion in which Krispy Kreme donuts is giving away a free donut on inauguration day. Not too surprising since they gave away a free donut if you voted on election day. What is appalling is that the donut is to celebrate Freedom of Choice, sound familiar like FOCA maybe? Hmmm read this article for the full story!