http://catholicamericatoday.net/ Catholic America Today a FREE / online magazine, join us, support our anti-pornography efforts, support family values. Tue, 22 May 2012 16:35:02 -0600 http://www.konsort.org en http://catholicamericatoday.net/article/article_11/ http://catholicamericatoday.net/article/article_11/ Sun, 17 Aug 2008 21:49:44 -0600 paulhee http://catholicamericatoday.net/article/article_11/
http://catholicamericatoday.net/gallery/view/id_2/]]> http://catholicamericatoday.net/article/article_12/ http://catholicamericatoday.net/article/article_12/ Mon, 18 Aug 2008 01:41:17 -0600 paulhee http://catholicamericatoday.net/article/article_12/
Vernon Peter has been a steadfast supporter of our Parish and has donated countless hours to the new construction. During his time with us Vernon dedicated hours to helping others and nurturing his family. The one thing that I remember about Vernon was that he was a family man first. Then came his church and then his golf.

Vernon was a civil engineer by trade and workded for over 30 years in public service, serving the County of Los Angeles Flood Control District, The City of Palos Verdes Estates, and then the City of Los Alamitos. His las job was in the private sector working with Wildan, a private engineering firm.

Vernon will be deeply missed by his Church, and neighbors, God rest his soul.

]]> http://catholicamericatoday.net/article/article_15/ http://catholicamericatoday.net/article/article_15/ Tue, 26 Aug 2008 10:20:15 -0600 paulhee http://catholicamericatoday.net/article/article_15/
Disney's new pirate game fashioned from its famed movie triology about Caribbean Pirates is a great family game and deserves a look. The game itself is rather simple to play. You design your own pirate and head out into the pirate world looking to complete a quest for gold or fight on the high seas for gold. What is great about it is that the design is patterned after the adult universe of "Second Life". Of course Pirates is much more family oriented. One could almost say that this is the Disney pirate version of Second Life. You have a pirate and your pirate grows in power and skill as you travel through the Pirate world.

It is definitely a place for kids to feel free to play and not be harassed by stalking adults. For instance you can chat with whomever you please but the chat guidelines prevent you from saying anything that would be considered offensive. If a child felt threatened in any way or form there exists a report button that he or she could report someone that is threatening in any manner or form.

The pirate universe is crafted to fit the needs of both adults and children. An adult will find the quest challenging and fun.]]> http://catholicamericatoday.net/article/article_16/ http://catholicamericatoday.net/article/article_16/ Tue, 26 Aug 2008 11:10:49 -0600 paulhee http://catholicamericatoday.net/article/article_16/
Click on headline for more details]]> http://catholicamericatoday.net/article/article_17/ http://catholicamericatoday.net/article/article_17/ Tue, 26 Aug 2008 12:37:33 -0600 michele http://catholicamericatoday.net/article/article_17/ Written By Michele McDonald

I wrote this article solely based on my personal experiences. Obviously. everyone will have different online dating experiences.

These internet dating sites, have, no doubt, become a big booming money making business. Yes, through internet dating quizzes, brain teasers, technology has allowed us to define our personal needs targeted towards others who we feel, are most compatible, thus making “a match.”

While there are many positive and negative aspects to online dating, I personally, cannot stress enough that although internet, email, and even snail mail is great, to receive, do not make any major decisions about a person till you actually, physically meet them.

Is there a difference in religious dating sites and a non-religious dating site?

My learned short answers - No. It actually comes down to what is most important to you. What lifestyle you choose to live.

Let me begin with religious dating sites first. Conversing and meeting people, I’ve had thoughts run across my mind, such as, “Are these folks truly serious about using internet dating to find a serious relationship partner or just taking part for fun?" I believe, and have seen; many happy couples meet and live happier lives.

I have concluded that at least to me, for both the one looking for serious relationship as well as the one just doing it for the fun of it, either case is achievable. After all, a relationship is what two people put into it. I used to believe in that full heartedly. Until the experiences I learned through internet dating.

Weather it was a religious dating site or non- religious. You see, I was naive, as I thought people would be like me, honest and trust worthy in their profiles. I soon learned not to be so gullible, unfortunately.

I met guys on my journey to internet dating, that I formed wonderful friendships with. I really enjoyed talking to, each of them. Then there were those, that once meeting, learned they were married, or some other unfortunate circumstance. For example, let me share a few of my personal dating experiences, embarrassing as they may be, perhaps it may help those of you who just started internet dating, or thinking about a dating site. Maybe I could give you some “infinite wisdom” to this world, thus sparing you the unnecessary heartache and the pain.

The first guy I met, we were sitting on his couch watching TV after a wonderful dinner he made for me...it was great. He had made a lovely fireplace roaring in his marble fireplace. His two little boys were so cute! Well, once the kids were in bed, he sat next to me and wrapped his arm around me and gave me a big kiss on the lips. The atmosphere was so romantic. Afterwards, he looked deeply in my eyes, and told me "I need to tell you something very important, Michele. I am still married." My response was, "Oh my God, you’re kidding, right? Why are you doing on a Catholic Single Dating Site? His response was, "Because SHE is doing it." I felt sick. I left immediately to the airport. He lived out of state and paid my way to and from Kentucky from New Hampshire.
I swallowed my pride, and moved on .Put that experience behind me. He wanted to continue. But, morally, I just couldn’t. Call me old school, but it's just how I am. What amazed me about the whole thing was he was also Catholic! He could not see why it was so wrong. We eventually parted and I wished him well.

Moving onward, I met a guy on a non-catholic website that he claimed he was a Carpenter over in Nigeria, and had a sick little girl at some children’s hospital in Florida. We IM a lot, I even spoke to him over the phone a few times, he had a cool accent. It was planned that we were going to plan that Christmas together (this was the Christmas of 2007). He, (Damian) was coming back to the states for Christmas; Damian had a house, in Washington. I was all excited, that he was coming to New Hampshire with his little girl to spend it with me, as I had not made any Christmas plans yet. I was thrilled I was not going to spend it all alone. Who knows - perhaps I would get a huge Happy New Year kiss!
(Been years)

I went all out and decorated my apt, with Christmas decorations, did all the holiday cooking, couldn't wait, and was counting the days! Then out of the blue, one day, Damian told me that a friend of his owes him money, and wanted to send it to him. But was apparently, having difficulty doing so. Damian asked me if he could tell this friend to mail the check to my address in NH, and I deposit the check (over 4,000.00) in my personal checking account, and then he would get the money to come to New Hampshire for Christmas, and the money was also going to go towards his little girl's stomach surgery at the Florida Children’s Hospital.

My gut told me this was obviously weird. Red flags went off in my head. So I decided to play his game. I said to Damian, to go ahead and tell his friend to mail that check to me. Sure enough, about 4 days later, it arrived to my door at my apt. I opened it and took it to the bank it was drawn off of. I asked for the bank manager to take a look at this check. I wanted to know if this was a real check or not. The manager took one peek at it, and was so relieved that I asked for her prior to doing anything else with the check. Right away, she told me it was a scam.

Next time I spoke to Damian, I told him never to contact me ever again, that I reported him to the proper authorities. I also mentioned he should be ashamed of himself as he ruined Christmas for me with this charade.

I ended up taking most of my decorations down Christmas Eve; I didn’t get “in the spirit” at all. Watching” Scrooge” that night, took on a whole new meaning as I wiped my tears watching it. I was so depressed. I missed my daughter. She was with her dad in a different state, far away. I ended up giving my cooking away to neighbors, family members. I investigated Damian further with other dating sites (by his username) and even today, he has a membership on several. I did what I could do with this man, and I hope that he does not bring more harm to other woman. Be aware ladies -profiles are not always what they make themselves to be. That is why it is important to meet before making any major moves. Also, if a guy keeps asking you for cash to come see you, as he is over seas, (or any other sad scenario), red flags should be flying off everywhere in your head. (I’ve had 3 Afro-American men living in Africa, who have told me they have found their African queen. After saying, "Hello". Each one told me they were coming to America to “get” me. (I wonder if they even read my profile, seen my picture, or even care that I have no desire to leave the USA). With the candle lit, I sat in the dark. It helped me to remember Christ’s love…He is the light of the world. Even during times when we are feeling down.

For sure, I can go on about my personal online dating experiences. I don't like to talk about them much. Not only are they embarrassing, but because, the final outcome is, at least, speaking for myself, the same. You end up being alone and hurt. Over someone, you had such high hopes for.
In conclusion, on the other hand, I must say that through all the trips and falls I have had in finding my “true companion”, I have made wonderful friends. Friends, both male and female, they have made this journey light and not so hard. They have been there to make me laugh at not only myself, but the internet dating world, behind the tears, as they too, are in the same boat.

At times, I feel after 40, the dating world becomes an impasse. But I go through life with the hope before I leave this earth, I will feel and know true unconditional love, by a man who loves me, and only me. Christ says the greatest love of all is to lay down one’s life for another. I wonder if there is a man in this world who would seriously, go that far for me. I know I would.

I will end this article by sharing one of my most hilarious experience, (as if what I already have gone through is not bad enough, this truly is icing on the cake!)

I was a member of a non-catholic dating site, and I was to meet this man, after being “matched”. We ended up speaking a few times, and I was to meet him downtown, at a restaurant. It was a cold winter day, in New Hampshire.

Once we hooked up, went through the usual introductions, we sat in a booth. Joe ordered a soda for each of us. As we waited for our soda and sandwich, (as it was our lunch hour), Joe was telling me, that he was a Para legal, but that he was from Ireland, that he was a popular radio station personality over there. I was courteous, curious, and intrigued, as to why he was in New Hampshire.

The waitress brought our sodas, and I started to sip on mine. As I was sipping my soda, Joe goes on to tell me he wanted to bring me back to Ireland with him to be his wife. Well, my eyes got as big as hen’s eggs, and the soda I had in my mouth, sprayed all over him. His nice shirt, tie, and cuff links (Lord knows how much they all were) it was so embarrassing!! After I had recuperated, I asked him, “Are you crazy? You just met me, you don’t even KNOW me.” Joe went on to say that all he needed was a beautiful smile, and I had it. I said to Joe I was flattered, but there was NO WAY me going to Ireland was happening. I had no intentions of leaving the states. Joe said he could provide whatever I needed. He spoke of his materialistic world- the land, money, trying to entice me to go with him to Ireland. He even pulled out his wallet and showed me all these hundred dollar bills. (I was thinking,” He has GOT to be kidding!".) I held out my hand and stood up and apologized for “spraying” all over him, but I had to go.

Joe wanted to call me that night. But I told him, we simply were not right for one another. Yeah, I will admit, hearing all this stuff, I did have my fantasies. Because when my daughter was very young, I was very poor. I could have taken Joe’s offer of becoming his wife. To make up and buy things for my daughter, myself, and family, that I never could, when I was raising her as a single mother. But for love to be bought, that just disgusted me. Some things have no price.

Online dating is indeed; if I had to sum it up in a word, a phenomenon. For all intent and purposes, I hope exposing some of my internet dating experience; I may have touched someone to not fall in some of the pit falls that unfortunately, can happen, in online dating. But to also give hope, those of us who are seeking a serious relationship, and not just doing it for fun, may one day find. There are just as many good experiences as there are bad.
Good Luck!
]]> http://catholicamericatoday.net/article/article_18/ http://catholicamericatoday.net/article/article_18/ Tue, 26 Aug 2008 13:38:22 -0600 michele http://catholicamericatoday.net/article/article_18/
With no light or heat of its own, it reflects the radiance of that greater heavenly body. It appears to be relatively insignificant. Yet, the moon quietly and almost imperceptibly moves the oceans of the world by gravitational pull.

Most of us may not seem all that influential or well-known. We don't have the giftedness, the wealth, or the position to make much of an impact on our society.Our names don't appear in the newspaper, nor are they mentioned on television.

We may think that all we can do is practice our faith in the hum-drum routines of everyday life. But, perhaps unnoticed by us, we are having an influence on the people around us by our Christ like attitudes and actions.


EVEN THE SMALLEST LIGHT CAN MAKE A DIFFERANCE IN THE DARKEST NIGHT.]]> http://catholicamericatoday.net/article/article_20/ http://catholicamericatoday.net/article/article_20/ Tue, 26 Aug 2008 13:47:34 -0600 JoeCatholic http://catholicamericatoday.net/article/article_20/ By Joe Catholic staff writer

Obama is playing with the American public's heads when he states he can not determine for himself weather or not a fetus is life. If this is too complex of an issue for him how can we expect him to solve our nation’s complex health care issues or figure out how to solve the Middle East Peace problems? Surprisingly Senator Obama does not feel that he can determine that. In a recent interview when asked point blank if life begins at conception he stated the following:

Q: Do you personally believe that life begins at conception?
A: This is something that I have not come to a firm resolution on. I think it's very hard to know what that means, when life begins. Is it when a cell separates? Is it when the soul stirs? So I don't presume to know the answer to that question. What I know is that there is something extraordinarily powerful about potential life and that that has a moral weight to it that we take into consideration when we're having these debates.
Source: 2008 Democratic Compassion Forum at Messiah College Apr 13, 2008



My next question to Mr. Obama would be what kind of Christian believes that abortion is ok for medical reasons or otherwise? Obama in a different interview with Christianity Today stated, “Ultimately, women are in the best position to make a decision at the end of the day about these issues. With significant constraints. For example, I think we can legitimately say — the state can legitimately say — that we are prohibiting late-term abortions as long as there's an exception for the mother's health.”

The problem I see with the woman making the decision is that in most cases the reason she is thinking about an abortion in the first place is because she made a bad decision. Should people like that be in charge of deciding weather a human lives or dies? I know this is a very touchy issue for non Catholics. I hope that my Catholic Brethren are on board with me here. For Catholics abortion should be a no brainer.

The man is for pro choice and yet in Christianity Today he states firmly that he is a devout Christian. I find that to be contradicting. Am I right on this? Here is Obama’s statement, or creed on his Christian beliefs: http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2008/januaryweb-only/104-32.0.html?start=2

I am a Christian, and I am a devout Christian. I believe in the redemptive death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I believe that that faith gives me a path to be cleansed of sin and have eternal life. But most importantly, I believe in the example that Jesus set by feeding the hungry and healing the sick and always prioritizing the least of these over the powerful. I didn't 'fall out in church' as they say, but there was a very strong awakening in me of the importance of these issues in my life. I didn't want to walk alone on this journey. Accepting Jesus Christ in my life has been a powerful guide for my conduct and my values and my ideals.


OBama and Abortion: His record


Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973) is a controversial United States Supreme Court case where the supreme court ruled that most laws restricting abortion were against a woman’s constitutional right to privacy. Senator Obama comes out strongly in favor of a woman’s right to choose. Which brings up the question, What kind of Christian is Obama?

According to the New York Times, Senator Obama is in favor of maintaining Roe vs Wade. There is no doubt that Senator Obama has picked the side of Pro Choice. In a recent debate Senator Obama made his views quite clear when he stated,

"I think that most Americans recognize that this is a profoundly difficult issue for the women and families who make these decisions. They don't make them casually. And I trust women to make these decisions, in conjunction with their doctors and their families and their clergy, and I think that's where most Americans are."
— Democratic debate, April 26, 2007

In a statement that criticizes the Supreme court he states,

"I strongly disagree with today's Supreme Court ruling, which dramatically departs from previous precedents safeguarding the health of pregnant women. As Justice Ginsburg emphasized in her dissenting opinion, this ruling signals an alarming willingness on the part of the conservative majority to disregard its prior rulings respecting a woman's medical concerns and the very personal decisions between a doctor and patient."
— Statement, April 18, 2007

When running against Hillary Clinton, Obama was criticized by the Clinton Campaign for voting “present” in the Illinois State Legislature and not taking a stand on Abortion.

The facts here are not in dispute. Obama did vote present on seven bills that attempted to restrict abortion. His defenders argue that it was a tactic to disrupt legislation that would be used against Democrats in swing districts. http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/339/

Illinois State Legislature, SB 230: Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act, 1997. Senate bill passed.
Illinois State Legislature, HB 382: Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act, 1997
Illinois State Legislature, HB 1900: Parental Notice of Abortion Act, 2001. Bill passed.
Illinois State Legislature, SB 562: Parental Notice of Abortion Act, 2001. Bill passed.
Illinois State Legislature, SB 1093:Law to protect Liveborn children, 2001. Bill passed.
Illinois State Legislature, SB 1094: Bill to protect children born as result of induced labor abortion, 2001. Bill passed.
Illinois State Legislature, SB 1095: Bill defining "born alive" defines "born-alive infant" to include infant "born alive at any stage of development," 2001. Bill passed.




Steve Trombley, CEO And President Of Planned Parenthood/Chicago Action Said They Worked With Obama To Implement Legislative Strategies In Illinois Protecting A Woman's Right To Choose. Steve Trombley "said there's a reason his organization has endorsed Obama throughout his political career. 'Senator Obama has been a consistent supporter of reproductive rights while in the legislature and we worked closely with him in developing and implementing legislative strategies to protect the rights of women in Illinois.'" [Chicago Tribune]

So the record states that the rights of the unborn human beings do not mean anything to Senator Obama. The one thing that we can say about this man on the topic of abortion is that he has stood by his choice. He has made his mark on this issue and is not faltering. This is the one issue that he has not flipped on. Every Christian should pray that he does chang
]]> http://catholicamericatoday.net/article/article_21/ http://catholicamericatoday.net/article/article_21/ Tue, 26 Aug 2008 13:51:55 -0600 michele http://catholicamericatoday.net/article/article_21/
It is well known that our emotions can have a profound effect on our bodies. And the conditions of our bodies can effect our emotions.

Other studies have also connected hopelessness with heart disease, heart attacks,and death. The relationship between one's emotional well-being and physical condition,however, is not a modern discovery.

It's blessed by product - abundant life. Filled with health promoting hope. The assurance of total forgiveness of sins and eternal life with Christ.

]]> http://catholicamericatoday.net/article/article_23/ http://catholicamericatoday.net/article/article_23/ Tue, 26 Aug 2008 14:25:05 -0600 michele http://catholicamericatoday.net/article/article_23/ seeing.” dance".

I remember reading that doing God's Will is a lot like dancing. When two people try to lead, nothing feels right. The movement doesn't flow with the music, and everything is quite uncomfortable and jerky.

When one person realizes that, and lets the other lead, both bodies begin to flow with the music. One gives gentle cues, perhaps with a nudge to the back or by pressing lightly in one direction or another. It's as if two become one body, moving beautifully.

The dance takes surrender, willingness, and attentiveness from one person and gentle guidance and skill from the other.

My eyes drew back the word”Guidance”.

Seeing the letter, "G”. I thought of God, followed by "U" and "I".
(GOD, YOU, and I = DANCE) As I lowered my head, I became willing .
I would get guidance about my life, with trust. Once again, I became willing to let God lead.

My prayer for you today is that God's blessings and Mercies are upon you on this day and everyday. May you abide in God as God abides in you.
Dance. Together with God, trusting God to lead and to guide you through each season of your life.
]]> http://catholicamericatoday.net/article/article_25/ http://catholicamericatoday.net/article/article_25/ Tue, 26 Aug 2008 14:39:40 -0600 michele http://catholicamericatoday.net/article/article_25/
People may seek Jesus to learn valuable lessons from his life or in hopes of finding relief from pain. But we miss Jesus’ whole message if we seek him only to heal our bodies, and not our souls. If we look to him for help only in this life, rather than for his eternal plan for us. Only when we understand the real Jesus Christ, can we appreciate how he can truly change our lives.
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