Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Meatless Fridays back in style?

Yes!

Says the Jesuits' magazine America. May 30, 2011 edition.

"NEWS BRIEFS

"Catholics in England and Wales will be obliged to abstain from meat every Friday after a restoration of the discipline takes effect on Sept. 16, the first anniversary of Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Britain ..."

Latest sage advice from that whimsically legendary Oracle of Brackettville, d.b.a. the Reverend Net Sitzes!

Pastor of Frontier Baptist Church.

Brackettville, Texas 78832.

"Dry Spells Cause Roots To Go Deeper"


May 31. Feast Day of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary.


Saturday, May 28, 2011

"Políticos, unos babosos: Alejandro Martí.

"Llamó a la sociedad a romper su apatía.

"Es mezquino estarnos echando la culpa entre nosotros,

"ahora es la hora de actuar."



Fuente original El Zócalo de Ciudad Acuña. Viernes 20 de marzo de mayo de 2011.


"Alejandro Martí, presidente de la organización SOS, pidió ayer a los políticos que dejen de hacer los babosos y actúen verdaderamente para consolidar el estado de derecho, plasmar la reforma constitucional penal y obtener mejores condiciones de seguridad en el País.

"Ante un centenar de invitados, Martí llamó a la sociedad a exigirle cuentas a los gobernantes..."

Así lo es, Señor Profesor ... :)

Friday, May 27, 2011

May 27. Feast Day of Saint Augustine of Canterbury.

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Brackettville, Texas 78832.

Where:

The young girls search for months ... don't forget nail design and color - fingers and toes ...



The era of 2010 Brackett High's Prom Queen Ms. Nydia Talamantes & Prom King Mr. Raúl Rivas gracefully faded into history with last Saturday night's election of a new generation of royalty.

2011 Brackett High Royalty are Prom Queen Ms. Susu Seargeant & Prom King Mr. Jaime Sandoval.


The Kinney County Post of Tuesday, May 24, 2011 -- gives us the following historical summary: and this is the way the legend was born...!

"Brackett High Royalty

"Brackett Prom Presentation originated and is organized by Yolanda Rueda with the help of Helen Seargeant.

"The Presentation has gained in popularity each year.

"Citizens from the community gather before the ceremonies to stake out their territory for the best view for taking pictures and watching the students.

"The young girls search for months to find the most beautiful dress to coordinate with an escort's attire.

"Everything has to be considered, don't forget nail design and color -- fingers and toes.

"This is truly an event to remember ..."

You bet! :)

May 26. Feast Day of Saint Philip of Neri.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Vietnam 2011 -- the killing just goes on and on! :(

From the Jesuits' magazine America.

Monday, May 23, 2011.

"SIGNS OF THE TIMES:

"Vietnam -- Dozens Reported Killed In Hmong Protest"



"Dozens of Christian and animist members of Hmong communities in Vietnam near the border with Laos have been reported killed by Vietnamese police and military.

"Hundreds of people are missing, according to sources inside Vietnam; many escaped into the bush fleeing from attack helicopters.

"A clampdown on Montagnard and Hmong Christians by the government of Vietnam has been accelerating in recent weeks, building up to an outbreak of violence during the first week of May after a rare, large - scale protest for land rights and religious freedom by Hmong..."


Communist spokeswoman blames it all on a sort of Vietnamese tribal version of the old Native American Ghost Dance movement, huh??!!


"A spokeswoman for the Foreign Ministry, Nguyen Phuong Nga, said that conditions in Dien Bien, where apparently thousands of Hmong had gathered in protest, had stabilized.

"She said that Hmong from Muong Nhe district began gathering on May 1 after hearing a rumor that a supernatural force would appear to bring the people to the promised land, where they would find health, happiness and wealth.

"Nga said, Taking advantage of the situation, the sabotage forces stimulated people to call for independent state, causing public disorder in the district.

"But sources close to the Hmong community say the conflict has less to do with the supernatural and more to do with land grabs by Vietnamese officials and growing demands by the Hmong for religious freedom.

"According to osurces inside Vietnam, Hmong demonstrators were broken up on May 3 by forces from both Laos and Vietnam and that elements of the Vietnam People's Army opened fire on demonstrators ..."

May 25. Feast Day of Saint Bede the Venerable.

May 25. Feast Day of Pope Saint Gregory VII.

May 25. Feast Day of Saint Mary Magdalene de Pazzi.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

The life of a formerly abused daughter of a child - sodomizing California school psychologist and his equally depraved "homeschooling" wife now on the upswing!

For certain, for sure! :)

"From brutal childhood to head of the class ...

"Top grad at St. Mary's law school overcame a youth filled with abuse at home;

"she's also an author, mother."


Snippet from Melissa Ludwig's front page article in the SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS - NEWS. Tuesday, May 17, 2011.

"Melissa Anderson's worst childhood memory is shepherding her siblings into the closet while they sang loudly to drown out the sounds of her father beating her younger brother.

"Anderson's brother was repeatedly sodomized and forced to sleep in handcuffs or chained to the bathub.

"Vice grips were routinely applied to his groin area.

"While the parents ate steak and lobster, the children starved, Anderson said.

"When her parents were finished, the children stood around grawing on bones and corn cobs.

"At 17 she joined the army, where she met and married Jared Anderson in 2001.

"On Saturday, she graduated from St. Mary's University School of Law at the top of her class, and she plans to practice family law or represent abused and neglected children in the court system..."

Way to go, Melissa! :)

Monday, May 23, 2011

Saturday's Brackettville H. S. Junior - Senior Prom 2011 rated a great success.

In Brackettville, Texas 78832.


A certain Mr. Joelson Joaquin Terrazas reportedly even found an uncle who remembered how to put on a real - deal neck tie! :)

Saturday, May 21, 2011

" ... how to make a human zombie with poison extracted from a blowfish ..."

Meet Mr. Jerry Gandolfo, New Orleans' reigning Voodoo savant!

"Gandolfo, 58, is a caretaker, not [a] voodoo witch doctor --

"in fact he's a practicing Catholic..."


Of the Brackettville, Texas - style of Catholicism, maybe??!! :)


Snippet from the Smithsonian magazine's profile, New Orleans Historic Voodoo Museum. In the June 2011 edition.

"A former insurance company manager, Gandolfo, 58, is a caretaker, not [a] voodoo witch doctor -- in fact he's a practicing Catholic."

Inside the museum: "Labels are few and far between, but the objects all relate to the centuries - old religion, which revolves around asking spirits and the dead to intercede in everyday affairs."

There are also "statues of the Virgin Mary, a clay govi jar for storing souls, and the wooden kneeling board allegedly used by the greatest voodoo queen of all: New Orleans' own Marie Laveau.

"Gandolfo says, I try to explain and preserve the legacy of voodoo.

"Gandolfo, who is unmarried and has no children is usually on hand to discuss voodoo history or to explain -- in frighteningly precise terms! -- how to make a human zombie with poison extracted from a blowfish.

"[H]e says, Put it in the victim's shoe, where it is absorbed through sweat glands, inducing a death - like catatonic state.

"Later the person is fed an extract containing an antidote to it as well as powerful hallucinogens.

"Thus the zombie appears to rise from the dead, stumbling around in a daze ...

"[S]ays Martha Ward, a University of New Orleans anthropologist who studies voodoo, The museum is an entry point for people who are curious, who want to see what's behind this stuff. How do people think about voodoo? What objects do they use? Where do they come from? [The museum] is a very rich and deep place...

"It's unclear how many New Orleanians practice voodoo today, but Gandolfo believes as much as 2 or 3 percent of the population, with the highest concentrations in the historically Creole Seventh Ward.

"The religion remains vibrant in Haiti ..."

Kinda of curious, when you stop to think that New Orleans was "visited" by Hurricane Katrina & Haiti by an earthquake, huh? :(

May 21. Feast Day of Saint Christopher Magallanes and his Companions.

Friday, May 20, 2011

Mr. Paul Kengor has an upbeat message for us today!


"And in places like Berkeley, California, liberals gathered for seminars titled:

"I don't Believe in God, but I Know America Needs a Spiritual Left."

Anthony Esolen whimsically "defines" all - American political campaigns!


"[C]ampaigning: a sport wherein knaves lie to fools ...

"... and are rewarded for the outlandishness and frequency of their lies..."


Wow!

¡Guau! :)

French origin of the ...

... Man on Horseback ...



Maybe Mexico's turn will be next ... ??!!



William Manchester on Boulanger:


"Georges Ernest Jean Marie Boulanger, a French general of the 1880s who aspired to political power always appeared in public astride a magnificent stallion.

"[H]e left the expression Man on Horseback to describe an officer who wishes to seize control of a civil government ...."

From page 355 of Manchester's American Caesar.


If I remember from my college days at Lamar U. -- in Beaumont, Texas -- as a history major correctly, Boulanger ended his dazzling fantasy career by blowing his own brains out while standing at the grave of his favorite mistress in someplace like the Isle of Guernsey.

Unless that was another French general! :)

May 20. Feast Day of Saint Bernardine of Siena.

Thursday, May 19, 2011

"The Greener Grass Next Door,

"Is Just As Hard To Cut!"

Rev. Ned Sitzes, Frontier Baptist Church.

Brackettville, Texas 78832.

John L. Lewis said:

"He who tooteth not his own horn, the same shall not be tooted..."


Quoted by William Manchester, in his book, American Caesar, page 307.

Monday, May 16, 2011

Hic sunt dracones -- There be dragons

"The phrase There be dragons is a loose translation from the Latin Hic sunt dracones...,"



Snippets from Kerry Weber's movie review called Dragon - Slayer -- Roland Joffé presents a prehistory of St. Josemarí Escrivá.

In the Jesuits' magazine, America. Monday, May 16, 2011.

As he continues:

"...which appeared on ancient maps to warn travelers of potential dangers in unexplored waters.

"Although the title is hard to parse and sounds more like the name of a sword - filled fantasy flick than a fictionalized historical drama involving the Spanish Civil War and a saint, the message is an apt one for this film, thick with symbolism.

"In an early scene the camera offers the audience an unusual point of view.

"A shot, angled upward, encompasses a room in which two boy ssit in chairs, side by side.

"In the foreground, a pair of glasses rests on a table, and each lens frames one of the boys.

"One is a young Josemaría Escrivá; the other is Manolo, a foil and fictional childhood friend of Escrivá.

"In the film, as one might expect of a future saint, Escrivá takes to heart the values of faith, community and forgiveness.

"Manolo takes a different path, one of revenge, betrayal and soltitude.

"Manolo is the film's most conflicted character and often represents humankind at its most fearful or selfish.

"Yet his name is the Spanish equivalent of Emmanuel, God with us, which shows how close to him God actually is despite his sins.

"When Manolo dismisses his time in the seminary, saying I wasn't priest material; Escrivá replies, That doesn't mean you're not saint material ..."


Sounds like a pretty good movie, huh??!! :)


Saturday, May 14, 2011

Cows break loose in Brackettville, Texas 78832!


From: "The Kinney County Sheriff's Report. " Courtesy of the Brackett News Weekly. Thursday, May 12, 2011.

"Monday, May 2

"A 911 call was made in reference to three cows out on Highway 90 near Pinto Creek Park ..."

Today @ U.T. El Paso!

"UTEP to Celebrate 100,000th Degree"

And The UTEP Prospector's Mr. Chris Lechuga has the story.

¡Adelante, Chris!


Snippet from the online edition of 5/10/2011.

"The University of Texas at El Paso will bestow the 100,000th degree in its 97 year history during the Spring commencement ceremonies on May 14 at the Don Haskins Center.

"The graduating class, which could reach 2,600 will be recognized collectively aas having received the 100,000th degree..."

Wow!

¡Guau!

So much for Higher Mathematics these days! :)

¡Ora, UTEP!

¡Ora, MEChA!

¡Adelante, DESTINO!

Next stop?

Summer I!

Meanwhile:

The best of luck to each and every one of you great people! :)

May 14. Feast Day of Saint Matthias.

May 13. Feast Day of Our Lady of Fatima.

Thursday, May 12, 2011

May 12. Feast Day of Saint Nereus.

May 12. Feast Day of Saint Achilleus.

May 12. Feast Day of Saint Pancras.

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

International Christian Concern...

... reports that in Ethiopia
:

"10,000 Christian families flee homes.

"69 churches burned ...


"46 of them Pentecostal ..."


Snippet from The Catholic World Report, May 2011.

"Muslim extremists have burned down 69 Protestant churches -- 46 of them Pentecostal -- in southwestern Ethiopia.

"The violence started in the town of Asendabo following reports that the Qur'an was being flushed down the toilet at one of the churches.

"Thirty homes, a school, and an orphanage have also been burned down; the number of Christians who have fled their homes has risen to 10,000, according to International Christian Concern, a human rights organization that assists victims of persecution.

"Just 1 percent of the nation's 79.2 million people are Catholic, according to Vatican statistics; 50 percent are Oriental Orthodox, 10 percent are Protestant, and 33 percent are Muslim..."

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Thank you:

Auxiliary Bishop of San Antonio, Texas, Oscar Cantu!


Happy parent estimates that you confirmed 25 here last Saturday night.

At Saint Mary Magdalene's Catholic Church.

Brackettville, Texas 78832.

Five more Brackettville, Texas High School Class of 2011 all have plans!

From the Kinney County Post. Tuesday, May 10, 2011.


Mr. Brandon Allen's plan: "... to attend Baylor University and major in engineering ..."


Mr. Daniel H. Castillo's plan: "... to go to the Border Patrol ..."

Ms. Celina Calvillo's plan: "... to work and attend SWTJC in Del Rio ..."

Ms. Bianca Victoria Cruz's plan: "... to attend either ASU or St. Mary's University ..."

Mr. Ezequiel Salazar's plan: "... to work ..."


The best of luck to each and every one of you great people! :)

At last!

México NOW has a chance for sheer physical survival!

Thanks to:

... a shoot - first, ask - questions - later style of policing ...

Retired Mexican army general Carlos Bibiano Villa Castillo ...

"Relative of Pancho Villa challenges drug lords.


"Retired general now top cop in state critical to cartels"


Snippets from E. Eduardo Castillo's article for the Associated Press. In the Thursday, May 5, 2011 edition of the San Antonio EXPRESS - NEWS.

"CHETUMAL, México -- Much like his great uncle, revolutionary leader Pancho Villa, retired Mexican army Gen. Carlos Bibiano Villa Castillo is not easily frightened.

"Even before Villa started his job as top cop for Quintana Roo, he had received a grisly welcome from Mexico's most ruthless drug cartel, the Zetas.

"It was no idle threat.

"Two years ago, retired Gen. Mauro Enrique Tello was tortured and killed shortly after he was hired to root out corruption in Cancún

"The 62 - year old Villa, who shares the intense stare and strong features of his famous relative, is undeterred.

"He started his new job April 5.

"Villa said, Good that they sent me a warning. If they are warning me, I'll be ready.

"Such bravado has been a trademark for Villa as he has joined the struggle to contain Mexico's drug wars and said publicly that he subscribes to a shoot - first, ask - questions - later style of policing.

"A father of three, Villa sleeps with a rifle and a .44 - caliber pistol.

"He joined the military at age 16, happy to receive three hot meals a day after a youth spent herding cattle in Durango.

"A telecommunications and intelligence expert, the general spent 43 years in the army and now calls it his father, and Mexico his mother."

In the Mexican state of Coahuila, we are told, Villa previously served "as police chief in Torreon, a battleground between the Zetas and Sinaloa cartels.

"By his own count, his force carried out 76 gunbattles with the cartels.

"In fact, Villa represents a new mold of top cop in a country where all levels of law enforcement have been co - opted by drug cartels..."

Who knows? Maybe he's even a future caudillo mexicano, should it ever be necessary! :)

May 10. Feast Day of Saint Damien Joseph de Veuster:

"The Leper Priest of Moloka'i."

Monday, May 09, 2011

"All of a sudden a terrible fight started among the dogs and from the outcry,

"they knew the dog had gone out of one of them mighty quick ..."


A real -deal adventure of oldtime cowboys Frank Meredith & Hamp Newcomer in the 1880s!

A snippet from Laban Samuel Records' own true - life story, Cherokee Outlet Cowboy.


"Newcomer and Hamp Meredith, a regular - type cowpuncher, camped together in a dugout and done their own cooking.

"In the rear corner of the room was a bed of regulation height, solidly attached to the wall.

"They kept a lantern hanging to the support of the ridgelog where they could reach it from their bunk.

"When they wanted a light during the night, they could strike a match and light the lantern.

"They kept three dogs in their dugout.

"I thought that one dog was one too many.

"One night Meredith and Newcomer had gone to bed; the dogs were sleeping outside close by.

"All of a sudden a terrible fight started among the dogs and from the outcry, they knew the dog had gone out of one of them mighty quick.

"Since another one was doing more howling than barking, they guessed it was badly wounded.

"The third was still barking good.

"Suddenly something dashed in and darted under their bed.

"Both had grabbed their six - shooters when the commotion started.

"When they realized the dog - exterminator was under their bed, they needed a little light on the subject.

"They lit the lantern and set it down at the foot of their bed to shine on the dog - killer.

"They began to turn up the bedding with one hand with their guns in the other.

"Whenever they seen anything that looked like an animal, they gave it a forty - five bullet.

"Such animals will fight instead of running away when wounded.

"The animal was on its back under the bed and tore their bedding and anything else it got its claws into.

"They kept pouring the lead into it until it lay still.

"They reached under the bed and pulled it to see if it had any more fight left.

"When they were assured it was peaceable, they stepped onto the floor and pulled it out.

"It was a large panther.

"They had one dead dog, one with a big patch of hide torn off, and one dead panther -- the fruits of the chase.

"Meredith and Newcomer had quite a bit of patchwork to do so their bedding would stop the north wind ..."

Still, I'd say these two cowboys were lucky, overall! :)

Saturday, May 07, 2011

"Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect (Mt. 5:48)."

As Fr. William Clark, O.M.I. tells us:

"Jesus' exhortation is truly troublesome, and Scripture scholars know this ..."



Snippet from his article The problem of being perfect: A real versus an ideal spirituality. In the May 2011 issue of the Homiletic & Pastoral Review.

After giving us the above, he goes on to discuss different versions of Mt. 5:48 given in various alternative translations.

Then, the good father tells us:

"Despite these various versions, the problem remains.

"The Nestle Greek text and the corresponding Latin clearly suggest the traditional translation, Be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect.

"Read in that way, the passage can hardly mean what a literal, surface understanding of the words suggest.

"One interpretation of this passage is based on what meaning perfect had for a Jew of St. Matthew's time.

"It is quite different from the meaning of the English word, which is defined as entirely without fault or defect.

"For the Jew of Matthew's time it could not mean absolutely flawlessness.

"That would be blasphemous, since only God is perfect in that sense.

"According to some scholars, the Hebrew word translated as perfect actually translates better as compassionate or merciful.

"The passage is impossible in a literal English sense, possible in the Hebrew sense.

"We interpret literally at our own peril.

"If we take that passage in a Western literal sense we cripple our lives and the lives of those around us by fretting about an unrealized and unrealizable goal..."

And then after more discussion, Father Clark concludes:

"Someone is quoted as saying to Mother Teresa: You face such overwhelming problems of poverty and disease, how do you expect to be successful? How do you keep going?

"And Mother Teresa replied: God does not expect us to be successful, only faithful..."

Yeah! Way to go, Father! :)

Friday, May 06, 2011

"Here is a layman's view of the priesthood.

"In Graham Greene's 1940 novel The Power and the Glory,

"set during the Mexican government's persecution of the Church,

"the last priest has been chased, starved, hobbled by fever, imprisoned, ...."



Snippet from Monsignor Stephen DiGiovanni's article, True priestly identity: Fidelity, conformity and Graham Greene. In the May 2011 issue of the Homiletic & Pastoral Review.

Now. as Monsignor DiGiovanni continues Greene's story:

"... and stripped of everything, including his pride, yet continues because of one thing he alone can offer people: Jesus in the Mass.

"In one scene, the whiskey priest (he is nameless, referred to only by his human weakness) grudgingly acquiesces to the peasants' request for Mass.

"In a hovel, with no vestments or altar, the priest hurriedly offers Mass for the impoverished gaggle of people, waiting for the government troops to uncover their illegal religious observance and execute the last priest ...

"Greene describes the scene and the priest's thoughts: Far a matter of seconds he felt an immense satisfaction that he could talk of suffering to them now without hypocrisy -- it is hard for the sleek and well - fed priest to praise poverty. He began the prayer ..."

Yes, indeed!

"Even Graham Greene's whiskey priest contributed by offering the Mass, baptizing and hearing confessions -- Christ efficaciously sharing himself with the poor, despite the priest's obvious flaws.

"And the priest responded in a humanly imperfect manner, but he responded as a priest, even to the point of martyrdom by a Mexican firing squad, hidden behind the walls of the local police station.

"The novel ends with another priest arriving in secret to continue Christ's work of sanctification, 'for your Heavenly Father who sees all that is done in secret will reward you (Mt. 6:4).'

"The Church and the world need priests, since that is how our Lord established hisChurch to be: a person - to - person work of holiness.

"Now, more than ever, we need virtuous, healthy, merciful men, strong enough to live a celibate life, yet weak enough to know they must humbly show their love of Christ by submitting their wills in obedience to God through his Church, for the salvation of souls..."

Way to go, Monsignor! :)

Seven Brackettville, Texas H.S. Grads of 2011 all have plans!


Mr. David Castillo. "... go into the Army."

Ms. Irma Guerrero. "... attend SWTJC ..."

Mr. Jaime Sandoval. "... to attend Texas State University ..."

Ms. Marisol Aguirre. "... to attend SWTJC and become a Nurse Assistant ... "

Mr. Richard Antu. "In five years I'll be ... running a Hot Cheeto Plant ..."

Mr. Adrian R. Hernandez. "... attend SWTJC and study Criminal Justice ..."

Ms. Brenda Pacheco. "In five years I will be ... as fabulous as I am now!"


Way to go, great and good people!

Best of luck to each and every one of you! :)

From the Brackett Weekly News. Thursday, May 5, 2011.

The Most Reverend Oscar Cantu, Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of San Antonio, Texas...

Will be in Brackettville, Texas -- 78832 -- tomorrow afternoon.

To confer the Roman Catholic episcopal sacrament of confirmation!

On candidates from Brackettville's
Saint Mary Magdalene's and Spofford's / Saint Blaze / San Blas Catholic communities.



Way to go, your excellency!

You'll find the candidates well prepared, as priest, deacons and CCD teachers have all worked hard -- together! -- to get everyone ready! :)

PS:
Yet, we're just a tiny bit disappointed to hear that your Big Boss appears to have told you, your excellency:

To keep quiet about such current unpleasant Brackettville, Texas, "Catholic Realities" as:

One:
The Sacred Host as a Psychiatric Placebo.

Two:
So - called Indoor Paper - trash burning mitotes - or New Age Spiritualist Rituals.

Three:
Long - term systematic embezzlement of Church funds coupled -- as a logical consequence last December! -- with stiffing contractors up to $20,000 a pop, etc.

Four:
Which implies in turn that the so - called Missing Slush Fund of around $450,000 is now skipping its way around from one archdiocesan bureaucrat's personal bank account to another archdiocesan bureaucrat's personal bank account to -- who knows where?

Some off - shore People's Bank of Nigeria?

But, then again!

Maybe Archbishop Gustavo hasn't told you to play along ...

By this Sunday morning, we should know, huh? :)

Thursday, May 05, 2011

En su carta pastoral ...

"Nadie va a acusar al cardenal Francisco Robles Ortega de mentiroso ... "

Por Jorge Villegas, A Rajatabla ...

El Zócalo de Ciudad Acuña. Martes 3 de mayo de 2011.


"Los males de la ciudad de Monterrey, Nuevo León....


"Nadie va a acusar al cardenal Francisco Robles Ortega de mentiroso, exagerado o mal informado por el contenido de su carta pastoral sobre La Reconstrucción de Nuestra Ciudad, una tarea de todos.

"El diagnóstico que hace el pastor sobre las males que afligen a Monterrey reparte culpas y responsibilidades equitativamente:

"El mal somos todos.

"Por eso la solución tenemos que ser todos.

"Destaca en su análisis el clasismo que caracteriza a los regiomontanos:

"Una cosa es la Valle y otro la Risca.

"Los jóvenes de San Pedro se extravían en el centro de Monterrey y les repugna mexclarse con los de a pie o viajar en metro.

"En una entidad donde uno de cada cuatro habitantes vive en pobreza extrema, se venden autos Ferrari, media docena de jovencitos paga cuentas de 12 mil pesos en un restaurante japonés; y hay más fiestas celebrando los divorcios que las bodas.

"Como dijo el cardenal, es cosa de ver y avergonzarse, el alcoholismo entre los jóvenes, la moral imperante de la transa, la droga, el descontrol familiar.

"El cardenal propone, a cambio, volver a los valores de solidaridad, justicia, trabajo, honestidad, unión, sana austeridad y paz.

"Es mensaje para los que gobiernan, para los empresarios, los rectores, los dirigentes de cámaras, sindicatos, organizaciones no gubernamentales:

"Aún podemos rescatar Monterrey, y no tanto por nosotros; por nuestros hijos, por nuestros nietos ..."

¡Muy, muy bien dicho, Sr. licenciado Jorge Villages! :)

¡Cinco de Mayo!

¡Viva México!


Hey, UTEP!


¡Hey, FAMILIA!


S
pring Semester 2011 is fast disappearing into Ancient History 1311...

Good luck on finals, everyone!

UTEP Maymester 2011 is coming up fast, too!

Followed by UTEP Summer I ...


¡Ora, UTEP!

¡Ora, MEChA!

¡Adelante, DESTINO!

Wednesday, May 04, 2011

"Catholic Politicians versus Catholic Authority"


Archbishop Gustavo Garcia - Siller of San Antonio thinks Illinois Governor Pat Quinn is
right on.

In the latest issue of Today's Catholic he even lauds Quinn's position on the Death Penalty issue.

But!

Springfield, Illinois, Bishop Thomas John Paprocki doesn't!

For him, the issue is so - called "Civil Unions."

From the TFP's Crusade Magazine. May / June 2011.


"Bishop Thomas John Paprocki of the Diocese of Springfield, Illinois, rebuked Illinois Governor Pat Quinn after the governor claimed that his faith animated him to actively support the passage of a civil unions legalization bill.

"Bishop Paprocki said in a statement [The governor] did not say what religious faith that would be, but it certainly is not the Catholic faith... "


Bishop Paprocki then goes on to explain about Governor Quinn:



" ....if he wishes to speak as a Catholic, then he is accountable to Catholic authority, and the Catholic Church does not support civil unions or other measures that are contrary to the natural moral law..."


Way to go, your excellency! :)

"As Pedro ate his vulgar fare ..."

A fine authentic
Brazilian
make you laugh comical little story! :)

"Pedro Luiz, a friend of mine, married late when he was almost 40.

"As a single man, he stayed at home with his mother who packed the lunch he took to work ..."



From Mr. Nelson Fragelli's fascinating commentary Well - prepared Dishes: A Recipe for Charity. In the TFP's Crusade Magazine. May / June 2011 edition.


The story continues ...

"... Every day he had different well - prepared sandwiches with fresh fruit juices.

"From his Thermos, his colleagues could smell the delicious aroma of coffee.

"His tumbler, coffee cup and cutlery were all packed in a leather box -- within an immaculate and perfectly ironed napkin that could be used as a tablecloth.

"None of his colleagues had anything of this sort.

"They ate their sandwiches wrapped in plastic and drank their coffee in Styrofoam cups.

"However they enjoyed seeing Pedro eat his meal.

"But one day Pedro started taking his sandwiches bought from the supermarket out of a plastic bag.

"For dessert, he had a chocolate bar.

"His coffee now came from the office machine.

"And this went on for five days as Pedro ate his vulgar fare.

"Around the fifth day one of his colleagues inquired, Pedro, what happened? Did you get married?

"[H]e said, No, not yet. My mother is spending ten days in hospital because of her rheumatism.

"See how a simple meal can carry a message?

"Pedro's colleagues noticed it and made explicit today's sad reality: whatever the reason, nicely prepared meals are frequently neglected ..."

Good point, Señor! :)

Tuesday, May 03, 2011

Good luck to Brackett H.S. 2011 Grads:

Ms. Paige Nowlin, Ms. Janine Rex, Ms. Susu Seargeant & Mr. Damien Falcon!


Brackettville, Texas 78832



And their plans are all ready...


Ms. Paige Nowlin: "I am planning to attend college and play basketball ..."

Ms. Janine Fox: "Sul Ross State..."

Ms. SuSu Seargeant: "Texas A & M...."

Mr. Damien Falcon: "SWTJC ..."

Good luck, everyone!

From the Brackett News Weekly. Thursday, April 28, 2011.

Congratulations to 2011 Brackett High School Grads:

Mr Colten Simmons, Mr. David Villarreal, Ms. Erica Villarreal & Mr. Robert Torres!


Brackettville, Texas 78832.


All have plans...

Mr. Colten Simmons: "Go to work for Schlumbeger for a couple of years and [then] go to college to get a degree ..."

Mr. David Villarreal: "Go to college for auto mechanics..."

Ms. Erica Villarreal: "I expect to become a nurse and I plan on traveling a lot ... "

Mr. Robert Torres: "Go to college and study electrical engineering ... "

Best of luck to all you great people! :)


From the Kinney County Post. Tuesday, April 26, 2011.