The Holy Father, Pope Francis, has released an Apostolic Exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium, on November 24, the Feast of Christ the King. The document can be found HERE.
I have not read the document yet (its been a busy week!), though I now have it copied to my Kindle and plan on reading it after the kids go to bed. Everything I have heard about it is good though 
The document is long, so it may take you a bit to get through it.
God Bless the Holy Father, Pope Francis.
The newest version of the Traditional Latin Mass Finder iPhone app is now available on the AppStore. The website for the app is HERE. A direct link to the app on the AppStore is HERE.
The newest version of the app is basically a paint job, giving the TLM Finder the iOS 7 look and feel.
I have been working at adding more Latin Masses to the United Kingdom lately, so if you are in the UK, download the app and check it out. Note that I can update the Mass listings without updating the TLM Finder app itself, so when you are traveling, be sure to re-fire up the app to see if there are new Masses.
As always, if you have additional Masses not listed in the app, please email me! (@ leetaurapps@yahoo.com).
Thank you to those who have emailed me with additional Mass information!
Tracy Tucciarone, the owner of Fisheaters.com (known as Vox Clamantis on the site), was interviewed by Christine Niles on the “Forward Boldly” radio show. The interview is HERE. Tracy discusses why she started Fish Eaters, and what information can be found on the site. She also discusses the forum, and how she tries to keep the forum positive.
One of the things I found interesting is Tracy discussing the “voice” of Traditional Catholicism on the internet, and how it does not reflect the “voice” of Traditional Catholicism in real life, in the parish. Specifically, she says that Traditional Catholics are nice, beautiful people, but a lot of what you encounter on the internet does not reflect that reality, and how she is trying to keep the forum from being a place where Traditional Catholics bash the Holy Father, etc.
My experience is the same thing, that Traditional Catholicism is much better represented off the internet than on.
[EDIT: There are a lot of great Traditional Catholic websites out there from Rorate Caeli, to Remnant Newspaper, to "What Does the Prayer Really Say", etc). It is in comment boxes, and on some forums, that I have found much of the nastiness].
The interview lasts about 10 minutes, toward the end of the radio show. It starts around the 49:20 mark. I had a little trouble listening to it on the web, so I downloaded it. There is a link provided right on the page. So if you have any trouble, go that route.
-Average Catholic
I found this Mic’d Up, from Church Militant TV, very interesting. It dealt with two primary subjects. One was new facts that have come to light about the murder of Matthew Shepard, where Michael Voris interviews Stephen Jimenez, the author of the book ”The Book of Matt“. Whatever the truth, please pray for Matthew Shepard and his family members.
Mr. Voris also discusses the theory of evolution, with representatives from the Kolbe Center for the Study of Creation.
I don’t remember the Matthew Shepard case real well, though the interview was interesting, in that the story we heard about the murder of Matthew Shepard back in 1998 was incorrect (according to the author), and you get some idea of how the media works.
I was particularly interesting in the evolution discussion.
For the record, I am a creationist.
-Average Catholic
This is a video I put together, a sample “Intro” for a Fish Eaters “TV show” (I’m hoping anyway!). I posted a link to the video here in the Fish Eaters forum.
Note this was on my own initiative, not approved by Vox Clamantis (the owner of Fish Eaters), as I was just having trouble sleeping one night last week and needed something to do. Though Vox seems to have liked it
Another forum member had an absolutely hilarious (and great) idea for a TV show. That starts on page 2 of the thread.
-AC
At the First Things website, Janet Smith DISCUSSES the Holy Father’s interview with La Civilta Cattolica ,in which he stated:
But when we speak about these issues [ed: abortion, contraception, homosexual marriage], we have to talk about them in a context. The teaching of the church, for that matter, is clear and I am a son of the church, but it is not necessary to talk about these issues all the time.
Dr. Smith does not agree with the Holy Father about most people being “obsessed” about abortion, etc (neither do I). And she views hers, and others dedication to promoting pro-life issues (some may call it obsessed) as very important. From Dr. Smith’s article:
Let me talk about the legions of pro-lifers who run pregnancy help centers (which outnumber abortion clinics), of those who host pro-life websites and give pro-life talks, of those who try to get pro-life politicians elected, of those who do the hard work of trying to find jobs, housing, and other kinds of support for single mothers, of those who provide healing ministries to women who have had abortions, such as Rachel Weeping. Let me talk about teachers of Natural Family Planning and the Theology of the Body and abstinence educators. Let me talk about those who work for and promote Courage, a compassionate ministry to those who experience same sex attraction and about those who against strangely strong odds make the case against same sex “marriages.” Let me talk about those who use Facebook, blogs, and comments on blogs to try to dialogue with those who reject and even despise Church teaching and those who defend it.
and
My friends definitely talk about these issues “in context,” in fact in many contexts. Again, their reason for boldly and sacrificially and ardently addressing these issues is precisely because they love Christ and the Church and want others to do so. They are trying to save people, to save them from ignorance about Church teaching, to save them from serious sin, to save them from missing out on the great joys of accepting Christ as their savior and the Church as their home. And—praise God—sometimes they succeed. In fact, my own reversion to the Church was greatly facilitated by an anti-Catholic professor who patiently argued with students that truth exists. It pained him that many of his students converted to Catholicism, once they came to accept that truth exists, and even moral truths that require most students to change their behavior radically.
Read the rest over there! (link above)
Also, Dr. Janet Smith has a great CD titled “Contraception, Why Not?” You can order that HERE. It does a great job of explaining why contraception is wrong, and what happened as a result of large-spread contraception within our culture.
From the Catholic Herald:
Pope condemns abortion as product of ‘throwaway culture’ | CatholicHerald.co.uk.
From the text:
Pope Francis characterised abortion as a product of a “widespread mentality of profit, the ‘throwaway culture’, which has today enslaved the hearts and minds of so many.”
That mentality, he said, “calls for the elimination of human beings, above all if they are physically or socially weaker. Our response to that mentality is a decisive and unhesitating ‘yes’ to life.”
The Pope grouped together unborn children, the aged and the poor as among the most vulnerable people whom Christians are called especially to love.
Be sure to read the rest over at the Catholic Herald!
One of the comments on this story at the Catholic Herald’s site linked the breaking of the 5th and 6th Commandments – “Thou shalt not commit murder”, and “Thou shalt not commit adultery” (note: most Protestants have those as the 6th and 7th Commandments. Catholics use the ordering of Saint Augustine). Yes, there is a definite connection between the two.
I tend to think of abortion as part of a consumerist culture. When we no longer listen to God, and His will in our lives (including things we don’t want to hear), and turn our thoughts to making profits, “owning things” etc, abortion is one of the natural side effects. Instead of accepting the gifts of our loving Creator, in our families, in our relationship with one another, instead we try to own property, own experiences, and even own other people (such as the unborn, or the elderly). And we try to control what we own. Abortion is very much part of the materialist ideology, and thus a fundamental part of both Capitalist and Communist systems (both materialist systems).
Abortion is rooted in greed.
As Blessed John Paul II once stated, “Capitalism, undisciplined by morality, will ultimately self destruct.”
God Bless Pope Francis.
Blessed John Paul II, pray for us.
