Don Lapre, best known for his infomercials selling “The Greatest Vitamin in the World” and facing a fraud trial that could land him in jail for 60 years, committed suicide two weeks ago in an Arizona jail cell.
Yearly Archives: 2011
Critically Injured Toddler Left to Die in Streets of Chinese City
International outrage is growing over surveillance video showing a two year-old girl being hit and run over by two vehicles in the streets of Foshan, China with no passersby offering to help.
Protestors Desecrate Church in Rome
The Italian version of the “Occupy Wall Street” movement turned violent in Rome this weekend and resulted in the desecration of a Catholic church where a statue of the Virgin Mary were destroyed.
Agence France-Presse (AFP) is reporting that rioters broke into the 18th century church of Santi Marcellino and Pietro near St. John Lateran square where much of the violence was centered.
“When I came down, I saw the entrance door had been smashed in,” the church’s parish priest, Father Giuseppe Ciucci, was quoted by Italian media as saying.
“The Virgin Mary’s statue, which was at the entrance, had been taken away and I saw it had been thrown into the street and smashed,” he said.
“I went into the sacristy and I saw the door there was also destroyed. The large crucifix at the entrance had been vandalized,” he added.
Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said he “condemned the violence and the fact that a church was desecrated by some protesters who broke in and destroyed some images.” He called the clashes between police and protesters “horrific.”
During the course of the melee, hooded protesters torched cars, smashed banks and hurled rocks at police. The perpetrators of the violence were said to have infiltrated the larger and more peaceful demonstration of malcontents who turned out to protest Italy’s high unemployment, political class, and $83 billion in austerity measures that resulted in the raising of taxes and the cost of health care.
About 70 people were injured during the demonstrations which results in millions of dollars in property damage.
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Photo is by Alessandro Bianchi of Reuters
The Rosary
“[The Rosary’s] form is that of a prayerful and contemplative presentation, capable of forming Christians according to the heart of Christ.”
Pope John Paul II
For Reflection:
Have I experienced my own heart being conformed to that of Christ as I have prayed the mysteries of the Rosary? Have I witnessed an increased desire for virtue in my life? How have my attitudes, habits, actions, and reactions come under the influence of Christ as a result of my prayer time?
(Read the next three Grace Lines to see how this is accomplished through the Rosary).
The Rosary
“Christian prayer tries above all to meditate on the mysteries of Christ, as in lectio divina or the Rosary. This form of prayerful reflection is of great value, but Christian prayer should go further: to the knowledge of the love of the Lord Jesus, to union with him.”
Catechism of the Catholic Church, #2708
For Reflection:,br> How can meditating on the mysteries of the Rosary help to move me toward “the knowledge of the love of the Lord Jesus, to union with him?”
The Rosary
“Meditation engages thought, imagination, emotion, and desire. This mobilization of faculties is necessary in order to deepen our convictions of faith, prompt the conversion of our heart, and strengthen our will to follow Christ.”
Catechism of the Catholic Church, #2708
For Reflection:
How does this depiction of Christian meditation differ from other ideas of meditation presented in the secular culture? Why do you think all of the faculties of the soul are helpful in entering into prayer? How can I engage my intellect, imagination, emotion and desire when I pray the Rosary?
Two New Studies Raise Concerns About Vitamin Safety
Two new studies on the efficacy of vitamins released this week reveal that taking vitamins may not be as harmless as previously thought.
Pro-Abortion Hysterics Greet Passage of Protect Life Act
Commentary by Susan Brinkmann
The passage of a law in the U.S. House yesterday that will prevent all coverage of abortion in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) has drawn the usual histrionics from pro-abortion lawmakers and the promise of a veto from President Obama.
Tired of Church Bashing at AA Meetings
I received this post from a reader who quit Alcoholics Anonymous because he got so tired of all the Church-bashing at the meetings. But I’ll let him tell you for himself . . .
Outrage Grows Over Obama’s Call for Christian Restraint in Egypt
After the senseless slaughter of dozens of peaceful Christian protestors in Cairo last weekend, President Barack Obama is causing outrage among the world’s Christian community by calling upon that country’s battered minority to show restraint.
