By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Writer
It was only the intervention of a neighbor that prevented a 17 year old practitioner of black magic from stabbing his siblings to death.
Monthly Archives: August 2009
U.S. Bishops Take On Planned Parenthood
By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Writer
Responding to attacks by the president of Planned Parenthood criticizing the U.S. bishops work to exclude abortion coverage from health care legislation, an official from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) sets the record straight.
Bishop Olmsted Gives Clear Teaching On Devil
By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Writer
In the latest article in a series dedicated to the Year for Priests, Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted of Phoenix takes a thorough look at the devil in the life of the Cure of Ars, St. John Vianney, and the faithful in general.
2008 Deadly Year for Humanitarian Workers
by Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Writer
According to Caritas Internationalis, one of the world’s largest Catholic aid organizations, the first annual “World Humanitarian Day,” celebrated yesterday, marked one of the deadliest years on record for global aid workers.
President’s Conference Call to Religious Leaders Draws Criticism
By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Writer
Pro-life leaders across the country are calling on President Obama and his allies to “walk the talk” after he participated in a conference call with “progressive” religious organizations in which he denied the many anti-life provisions that are present in the current health care plan.
U.S. Bishops Launch Web Site on Health Care Reform
By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Writer
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) launched a Web page promoting its support of “truly universal health policy with respect for human life and dignity.”
Catholic Pro-Life Columnist Dies at 78
By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Writer
Robert Novak, the Catholic convert and pro-life columnist who first revealed the news that Obama’s health secretary Kathleen Sebelius once held a secret party for the notorious late-term abortionist George Tiller, has died at the age of 78.
FDA Delays Human Trials of Embyonic Stem Cells
By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Writer
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is delaying a bid by biotech company Geron Corp. to become the first to conduct human trials with embryonic stem cells, pending review of new studies.
H.R. 3200 Could Allow Planned Parenthood Clinics in Schools
By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Writer
If the current version of health care reform passes, it would do much more than just provide taxpayer funding of abortion on demand. The bill also contains a section that could allow Planned Parenthood to open clinics in public schools.
Why Doesn’t God Answer My Prayer?
From time to time we hear from people at the apostolate who are fairly convinced that God just doesn’t answer their prayers. Is it possible that we can petition the Lord and He would turn a deaf ear to us? Not if we understand the nature of God.
As St. John tells us in his epistle, God is love (1 John 4:8). And love, defines Pope John Paul II, is an act of total self-donation. All we need do is look at a crucifix to see the truth of it: “For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, that everyone who believed in Him might not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
So, it logically follows that if God is love, and love is an act of total self-donation, then God to be God, must give us all of Himself. He, who is Perfect Goodness, must give us the Good Who is Himself. Therefore, we can deduce that God not only answers our prayer, but must always be answering our prayer.
Why, then, does it sometimes seem like He isn’t? Three reasons may well answer this question.
