As I have followed the news concerning the banking bailout and read about the supposedly “better” bailout plan that is currently being considered, I came to the conclusion that since I don’t have a degree in economics and have never served in any government capacity I could craft a bill to handle the mortgage crisis that is at least as bad as what is currently on the table but do it in one page in terms that everyone can understand. Here goes:

1. The US Treasury shall make available funds in 100 billion dollar increments that can be loaned to these irresponsible financial institutions at some low interest rate.
2. Any institution that accepts these funds agrees to the following for eligibility:
   1. If the institution still fails (as it should), all its assets shall be processed through bankruptcy court like any other bankrupt institution.
   2. All bonuses that would normally be given to an irresponsible * executive when he is fired, leaves or destroys the company are void.
   3. Until the loan is paid back, no executive level employee will be given a bonus.
   4. The institution will no longer offer any ARM products.
3. Additional funds will be available in 100 billion increments if passed by a super majority in both houses of Congress.
4. The Community Reinvestment Act is repealed.
5. All mortgages created in the future in the US will require the following if the bank wants its assets to be insured by the government:
   1. Proof of borrower’s legal status in the United States
   2. Proof of borrower’s income
   3. Proof of property value
   4. Race-blind processing
6. A joint congressional oversite panel will be created that will be responsible for producing a semi-annual report detailing what institutions received loans and what progress they are making paying them back. This report will be understandable by anyone who has ever created a budget. If it is not, the panel will be locked in a room with Bill Maher and Anne Coulter until such a document is produced.

* Irresponsible in this case is defined as any executive working at one of these financial institutions. This should probably be extended to include Congress but it is doubtful the bill would pass if it did.

Whether or not you like this plan, you should email Congress and let them know that you oppose the bailout. Here are ten reasons why to oppose the bailout.

Last week I saw a thought-provoking movie that I wanted to get your input on.

The movie featured a brooding hero who really just wants to marry his girl and leave the vigilante justice of his town to someone else. His black sidekick is a quiet man who is always there with the right weapon to help in a pinch.

The villain is a maniacal sadist in a suit who has a couple of equally nutty sidekicks.

In to town rides the idealistic “kid” who thinks that the town deserves better than fist-packing, guns-blazing justice and wants to bring law and order to the town.

The kid ends up realizing that his kind of law and order still needs some good-old-fashioned head-knocking and maybe a gun or two to bring order to the town. In the meantime, he falls for the hero’s girl, she falls for him and the hero saves the town while making it look like the kid is responsible.

The kid becomes the town’s new hero and the real hero rides off into the sunset without the girl. Oh, his house burns down along the way.

In the end those who are in the know about the real story decide not to let the secret out because ” When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.”

This movie was nominated for the Best Costume Design Oscar but didn’t win back in 1962.

Sound familiar?

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance has always been one of my favorite movies. How can you go wrong in a movie with both Jimmy Stewart and John Wayne playing leading roles?

What struck me about the movie is how closely it mirrors The Dark Night, a movie that I wrote about earlier this summer. Both movies feature a hero who saves the day and gives someone else credit but there is a difference.

Ransom (Stewart) ends up building his legacy as “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance” even though Donovan (Wayne) tells him at the end of the movie that he’s the one who really killed Liberty. Ransom is elected as the territorial representative and eventually becomes a US senator. At the end of the movie it is clear that he has never been comfortable with the way he achieved his fame but apart from the newsmen who interview him, he never tells anyone. It isn’t even clear that he tells his wife. He ends up doing good and bringing his territory into the US as a state and order does come to Shinbone but it is because of a lie of ommission that it happens. He had already been nominated by his town to the territorial convention before the gunfight and even though those who oppose him label him as a “cold-blooded killer” for killing Liberty, he doesn’t reveal the truth and gets elected as the representative in spite of that.

Should he have told what really happened? Donovan obviously didn’t want anyone to know so was there anything really done wrong by not revealing the truth?

In the Dark Knight, Batman takes the blame for what Two-Face did in order to preserve the image of Harvey Dent as the city’s white knight. Should he have? There does seem to be a problem with his ending line that “sometimes people deserve more than the truth,” as if covering up a person’s problems is okay if it leads to a greater good. Again, a sin of omission to preserve a greater good.

Do either of these movies provide a satisfactory answer? I’m still trying to figure that out.

Did you know that there’s a presidential election coming up here in the United States? This election has brought people into the discussions who might not normally be very interested in politics, because everyone seems to have very strong feelings about the election is this year. Since it is often the case that the candidate who wins the Catholic vote wins the election, Catholics are being particularly sought after in this election. Both of the major parties know this and are doing whatever they can to convince the majority of Catholics to vote for their respective candidates. Both make convincing arguments for different parts of their platforms that might appeal to Catholics who want to vote based on their Catholic beliefs. Catholic bishops are trying to help people get informed (even turning to avenues that seem to reach out to younger voters, such as offering iPods, loading videos onto YouTube, and using Facebook), and the website CatholicVote.com is meant to help encourage and inform Catholic voters.

So, what does all of this mean for those of us who want to vote as Catholic citizens?

I recently bought the book Render Unto Caesar by Archbishop Charles Chaput, because I’ve been struggling with deciding who to vote for and I had been looking forward to reading what Archbishop Chaput had to say about being Catholic and American in political life today. I’ll admit that voting for Obama has never been much of an option for me because I disagree with him on too many issues, most importantly life issues. But does not voting for Obama mean that I should automatically vote for McCain, since I agree with him on more issues? McCain, as far as I know, still supports embryonic stem cell research. And I’m not sure that I want to vote for someone who continues to support such an intrinsic evil. At the same time, though, I happen to live in a swing state where it seems that every day the majority support switches between Obama and McCain. Knowing this, and knowing that I would much prefer Obama not win the election, I can’t help but wonder if it would be better for me just to vote for McCain (instead of a third party) so that Obama doesn’t win the state. (Having Sarah Palin as McCain’s vice presidential pick has definitely made voting for McCain more appealing than it was previously, but McCain is still the one running for president.)

In Render Unto Caesar, Chaput spends some time discussing the more general issue of being Catholic in America, and what our responsibilities are as Catholics. He makes the point that it is absurd to try to separate our Catholic beliefs with how we vote politically. It’s impossible to say and believe in one thing while doing something else without making a mockery of what it is we say we believe. It shouldn’t just be a belief, it should be a way of life. Everything we do, including how we vote, must reflect what we believe. As Catholics, we should believe that all life is sacred and precious, and as Chaput says, “deliberately killing innocent human life, or standing by and allowing it, dwarfs all other social issues.”

I certainly believe other issues are important. We’re facing tough times right now, and this election stands to be one of the more important elections in recent history. I think McCain has a lot of good to offer the country, and I’m fairly certain that if I vote for a third party candidate who agrees with the Church on all the life issues, he wouldn’t win. But, to quote Chaput again, “we’re not called to get results. We’re called to be faithful.” Render Unto Caesar doesn’t say who we should vote for. There is no chapter entitled “Don’t Vote for Obama” or “Vote for This Candidate, and Here’s Why.” The Church can’t tell us who specifically to vote for, and neither can anyone else. There is not a rule that states that if a candidate holds a certain position, we absolutely should or should not vote for that candidate. There are many Catholics who seem to be quite faithful, and still are able to justify voting for Obama. There are also those Catholics who can’t even justify voting for McCain, despite his more pro-life stance, because he still supports things that don’t fit very well with Catholic teaching, and so they’re turning to candidates outside of the two major parties. It is times like this that make it so important for Catholics to have fully-formed (and, hopefully, correctly informed) consciences, so we can make the decisions we need to, on our own.

I’m by no means an expert about politics. Nor am I an expert in Catholic teaching, beyond what I learned growing up, in college theology classes, and learning from those around me who are much more knowledgeable than I am. I read through Chaput’s book rather quickly this first time because I just wanted to get the basics of what he said. A part of me was hoping that at the end he would say that, this election, Catholics should vote for (fill in the blank here). Of course, he didn’t. But his message is unmistakable even in a quick read-through: as Catholics, we can’t compromise our beliefs just to fit in with a majority or to soften Christ’s message to make it more palatable. We have to hold firm to what he commanded, even if it seems hopeless. (And let’s face it, in today’s society, it often seems nearly hopeless more than it doesn’t.) If we all follow Christ, we can each make a difference even if it’s just a small one. If none of us follow Christ’s will, who will be left to change the world?

(By the way, I do highly recommend Render Unto Caesar. It’s not a very big book, and it’s incredibly easy to get into. Archbishop Chaput includes a lot of history, both Catholic and American, which was really helpful to put things into context and showing how other Catholics throughout history have dealt with having to make tough political choices like we do today. I’m planning on reading it again so I can pick up what I missed during my first quick read. There’s so much to take in that I’m sure a more thorough read will have a lot to offer.)

What are your thoughts on the election? Is it better to vote for the “lesser of two evils” while acknowledging that we are not voting to promote those morally objectionable positions that the lesser evil might hold, or should we avoid the evils altogether and find someone else to vote for, even if doing so is seen as a wasted vote by the majority of the country?

Today is the feast of St. Pio of Pietrelcina, our beloved Padre Pio.

In light of the recent exhumation of Padre Pio, St. Pio of Pietrelcina, and as the Church celebrates his feast day September 23, we recall the life of this miraculous saint - his tireless battles against evil and sin, and his unshakable devotion to God.

St. Pio was born to humble beginnings in 1887 to a Southern Italian farm family in Pietrelcina; given the name Francesco Forgione, he was one of 8 children - three of whom would die young. The family was not rich by any means, but young Francesco’s home life was rich in love and faith. There was no excess, but Padre Pio’s mother, Maria, managed the household well and the family was always well cared for and well fed, and she was generous in giving fruits from the farm to the poorer families. The family prayed the rosary together at night, and from an early age Francesco displayed deep appreciation for his faith. He wept when he heard a blasphemy once at the age of 5, upset at seeing God insulted, and as he grew he had an uncompromising attitude towards sin and devoutly attended Mass. Also as a child, he began to have visions, both heavenly and beautiful, and also frightening and ugly. As a child, he didn’t realize that these phenomena did not happen to everyone, but they led him at an early to age to see the clear choice between God and the reality of the devil, and to choose God always.

To read the rest of this article on St. Pio, please go here.

Starting next Wednesday, people all over the country will be taking part in the 40 Days for Life campaign. Beginning as a local campaign in Bryan/College Station, Texas, the 40 Days for Life was the answer to the prayers of a pro-life group there who wanted to find a way to reduce abortions in their area. 1,000 people participated and directly caused a 28% decline in abortions there. Because of this success, in 2005 and 2006 more communities held their own 40 Days for Life programs, and then in 2007 the first national 40 Days for Life campaign began. More than 80 cities in more than 30 states took part in this campaign from September 26 to November 4, 2007. Because of the positive results of this national campaign, a second national campaign was scheduled during Lent in 2008, from February 6 to March 16. More than 50 cities participated in this campaign. Now it is time for another national campaign, which takes place September 24 - November 2, finishing just before election day.

The 40 Days for Life campaign involves fasting and prayer, constant vigil, and community outreach. According to the official website, “Christ told us that some demons can only be driven out by prayer and fasting. The two go hand in hand. Prayer keeps us rooted in the fact that it is our desire to carry out God’s will. Fasting is a sacrifice that helps us reach beyond our own limitations with God’s help.” Fasting does not necessarily have to be from food, as is commonly thought - it can be from anything that separates you from God. The constant vigil aspect of the 40 Days for Life involves keeping, ideally, a 24-hour, 7-day-a-week prayer vigil outside of places where abortions take place. (So if there’s a vigil going on near you, go sign up for a time slot so all the hours are covered throughout the 40 days!) This makes the campaign visible, and shows the workers of the clinic, the patients who go there, and the community in general that there are people who are committed to doing something to end abortions. The community outreach branch of the campaign has a similar goal - through door-to-door petitions, informational flyers, and educational drives those participating hope to be able to show their communities why they are taking part in this campaign, and why the campaign is important for each community and society in general.

This year, more than 170 communities in both the United States and Canada, in 45 states and two provinces, have plans to participate in the 40 Days for Life campaign. Each location has a link you can click to see what that location is doing for the campaign, and how to sign up to participate in your area. Those organizing and taking part in the campaign hope that this might be the force necessary to lead to a few states, at least, becoming officially abortion-free. North Dakota and Mississippi each only have one abortion facility in the entire state, and vigils will be held there during this 40 Days for Life campaign in hopes that they will shut down for good and end abortion in those two states. Vigils will also be held outside the two abortion facilities remaining in both Kentucky and Nebraska. The previous campaigns have had great successes that resulted in the permanent closing of some abortion clinics where vigils took place, and the hope is that this one will have some of the same successes, if not more. The focus for this fall campaign is to get some states to be completely free of the scourge of abortion.

It is becoming increasingly clear that abortion and right-to-life issues will be playing a huge role in this year’s presidential election, and there could be some huge changes coming soon, in either direction (depending on how the election goes). John McCain has made it clear that he wants to be separated from Barack Obama’s vehemently pro-choice record by his selection of the proudly pro-life Sarah Palin as his running mate. Gov. Palin brought the issue of abortion into the election even more than it had been, especially because of the fact that in April she gave birth to her fifth child, a baby boy named Trig who has Down syndrome. While many end up aborting when they find out that their unborn baby has Down syndrome, Governor Palin refused to do this and instead accepted with joy the blessed gift God has given her family.

The 40 Days for Life website has ways for everyone to get involved, whether or not they live in a city where an organized campaign is taking place. There are devotionals for each of the 40 days, and explanations for how to start a campaign in your own community if there is not one. It is a wonderful program, one that is unfortunately necessary right now but hopefully will not be needed for much longer. It is only through prayer and hard work that we will be able to rid our country of this horrible affliction that has had such a hold for the past 35 years. The more people who participate, either by taking part in vigils outside abortion clinics or by praying and fasting, or just by getting the word out about the campaign and the issues, the hope is that abortion will be eradicated from our society. We need to show the world that not everyone is accepting with the situation as it is, and that we’re trying to do something to change it. Let’s work to make this a headline year for the 40 Days for Life campaign!

If you are looking for pro-life reading resources, we have a bunch to choose from. We also carry the Precious Feet pins.

Today, September 15, is the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows

Since the middle ages, the Church has celebrated the feast Our Lady of Sorrows in mid-September, a devotion to the suffering and spiritual martyrdom of the Blessed Mother of Our Lord. The name Our Lady of Sorrows was first used by the Servites, or the Friar Servants of Mary, an order that was founded in 1233. The original intention of the order was a devotion to the Virgin Mary, in particular Our Lady of Sorrows. As an order, the Servites promote the Scapular of Our Lady of Sorrows, the Chaplet of the Seven Sorrows of Our Lady (a special rosary made of seven sets of seven beads rather than five decades), and the Way of the Cross for the Sorrowful Mother, or Via Matris. The name Our Lady of Sorrows was given in reference to the devotion to the Seven Sorrows, or Dolors, of Mary. Devotion to the sorrows of Mary is a reminder of the bond between Mary and Jesus, and that as the Mother of God, she suffered greatly and felt very real pain on behalf of the suffering of her son.

To read more of this article, please go here.

We’re pleased to feature a new CD, the proceeds of which support the efforts of the Denver province of the Redemptorists, on praying the Seven Sorrows of Mary:

We also carry a wonderful little book to help you in your prayer life, to become closer to Our Lord through His Blessed Mother and her sorrows:

The Seven Sorrows rosary, a beautiful sacramental to use with the great Marian prayer of the Church:

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now, and at the hour of our death. Amen.

Tomorrow, as most of you are probably aware, is September 11 - the seventh anniversary of the terrorist attacks in New York City, Washington DC, and Pennsylvania. In some ways, it’s hard to believe seven years have already passed since that day. At the same time, I can barely remember what things were like before the attacks.

I was in high school at the time, and the attacks had a very big impact on me emotionally even though I was miles and miles away in Colorado. I can remember a classmate coming into our second class of the day, mentioning something about the Pentagon being on fire. We didn’t know what was going on or what had happened. By the next class, some people who had been in classes where the teachers let them watch the news about what was going on told the rest of us that the World Trade Center in New York City had been hit by airplanes, and had collapsed. Some people in my classes tried to downplay the importance and some made jokes, but most of us knew that this was something major that was going to change things. My mom picked me up during lunch, and we drove down deserted streets in the middle of the lunch hour to get home, where I spent the rest of the day glued to the TV like so many other Americans. It was almost incomprehensible what had happened, and I was so far removed from it in most respects. I still can’t imagine what it would have been like to have been where the attacks happened, or to have known someone who died.

Even seven years removed, we still see the effects of that day in our lives now. Airline travel has changed drastically from what it used to be - only those with tickets can go up to the gate at the airport, there are fewer flights in order for the airlines to save money, which means every flight is full, and security is much more tight. We’ve been at war for several years now, in part because of the terrorist attacks and the threat of terrorism in general. My own brother is currently over in Iraq, and has been for a year now. The New York skyline will never again be what it was, with the famous Twin Towers. There are 3,000 families who are still missing their family members, and always will.

For several years now, bloggers all over have gotten together to pay tribute to those who died in the attacks seven years ago. This blog honors the victims, and includes links to those who have done tributes in past years. Tomorrow, take some time out of your day to send up a prayer for those victims and their families, and everyone still suffering because of what happened on September 11, 2001.

Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis. Te decet hymnus Deus, in Sion, et tibi reddetur votum in Ierusalem. Exaudi orationem meam; ad te omnis caro veniet. Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis.

There are quite a few new items this week here at Aquinas and More. We work diligently to continue to bring you the largest Catholic online selection in the country!

Our large selection of Christmas cards for Christmas 2008 are now online and ready for sale. Be sure to order yours early so you have time to get them sent out to your family and friends well before Christmas!

The 2009 guides for the Liturgy of the Hours, Christian Prayer, Daytime Prayer and for the Sunday and Weekday Missals are now available. Order yours today!

We added several more designs to our already popular line of Catholic t-shirts which promote chastity and purity, in sizes for both women and men, youth and adult.

Based on the very popular traditional Catholic art designs of our desk plaques, diptychs, and note cards, we are adding the full selection of key chains from the same Catholic family-owned supplier.

From our favorite supplier of Catholic religious goods made in and imported from Italy, we recently added a new selection of beautiful crucifixes. Here is just one example -

Finally, Fr. Benedict Groeschel C.F.R., one of the most admired and popular Catholic spiritual writers of our time, has a new book out. We think you’ll be interested in this one -

As always, we hope that you have a wonderful week. God bless.

From St. Mary’s in Norwalk, CT:

St. Mary’s is pleased to use for the first time this weekend the Parish Book of Chant, a brand-new publication from the Church Music Association of America. St. Mary’s was able to purchase the PBC thanks to the generosity of a donor who wishes to remain anonymous. This book is arguably the first to provide a practical means for parishes to implement the wishes of the Second Vatican Council with respect to sacred music and liturgy. It encourages the participatio actuosa (participation in the act) of those who pray the Mass with the music that is integral to the rite itself, namely Gregorian chant.

The Second Vatican Council, echoing the influential 1903 motu proprio on sacred music of Pope St. Pius X, asked that the congregation learn to sing the parts of the Mass that pertain to them; the Parish Book of Chant enables this by providing beautiful, clear typesetting of these chants. There are eleven chant settings of the Mass Ordinary (Kyrie, Gloria, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei), several of which we already sing at St. Mary’s on a regular basis, and many more of which we will now begin to sing in the coming months and years.

Summorum Pontificum, the recent motu proprio of our present Holy Father, Benedict XVI, emphasizes the connectedness of the old and new forms of the Mass. To this end, the PBC provides the Latin texts and English translations for both forms. The Order of Mass for the Ordinary Form begins on p. 2; for the Extraordinary Form, on p. 22. For the Ordinary Form, these pages will take the place of the orange “Mass of Vatican II” booklets that we sometimes use at the 11:30 Mass; for the Extraordinary Form at 9:30, these can take the place of the red Ecclesia Dei Latin Mass booklets.

We will continue to use the red Worship III hymnals for English hymns, in addition to the Latin hymns that appear in the Parish Book of Chant. These hymns (each of which has an excellent English translation) will be delineated on the hymn board with a cream-colored “PBC” marker. Mass Ordinaries will be designated by a special marker containing the Roman numeral of the Ordinary for that Mass (e.g., “Mass VIII” or “Mass XI”).

At the back of PBC, there are guides, as helpful as they are brief, on singing chant and pronouncing Latin. Parishioners may find it helpful to consult these guides from time to time before Mass.

For more information about the work of the CMAA to promote the authentic sacred music of the Church, visit their website at www.musicasacra.com. St. Mary’s is excited to be among the first parishes in the United States to make use of this hymnal, and asks the continued intercession of Sts. Gregory and Cecilia, patrons of music, in offering worship which as beautiful as possible to the glory of Almighty God.

I recommend visiting the parish website to learn more about this parish.

We also sent 80 of the Parish Book of Chant to the North American Pontifical College a couple of weeks ago so you know that the seminarians that are there now are going to be familiar with Chant when they become priests.

In just over a week, Pope Benedict XVI will be in Lourdes, France to celebrate the 150^th anniversary of the apparitions of Our Lady to St. Bernadette Soubirous. From September 13-15 he will be at the shrine, after spending the previous day in Paris. In honor of the anniversary, the Pope will visit the grotto where the apparitions occurred, address pilgrims to the site, visit the chapel where St. Bernadette made her First Communion, and celebrate Mass, among other things. The 150^th anniversary celebration of Our Lady of Lourdes lasts from December 8, 2007 until December 8, 2008 - both beginning and ending on the feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The actual apparitions took place between February 11, 1858 and July 16, 1858, with 18 apparitions altogether. Today Lourdes is one of the most popular pilgrimages in the world, and has been the site of many miracles.

On February 11, 1858, 14-year-old Bernadette Soubirous was down by a grotto in the rock Massabielle in the small town of Lourdes. She heard a rustling noise, turned and saw the vision of a beautiful lady standing in a small hollow in the rock, and fell to her knees. She said the Rosary as the lady followed along, and once she was done, the vision smiled and disappeared. Bernadette returned a few days later and once again saw the vision. During the third apparition on February 18, the vision asked her to return every day for a fortnight, to which Bernadette agreed. It didn’t take long for people to start to wonder if she was making this up for profit, or if she was simply crazy. After she revealed the spring under the grotto, which almost immediately began to cause miraculous healings, her credibility (and that of the apparitions) grew. Between February 18, when she had been told to come every day for the fortnight, and March 4, Bernadette saw the vision all but two days. The next apparition took place on the feast of the Annunciation, March 25, at which time the lady finally told Bernadette who she was - the Immaculate Conception, a dogma that had only been declared four years previously. Mary also appeared on April 7 and, finally, July 16. The crowds who heard about the apparitions and came to watch had grown steadily bigger, to the point that by the time of the final apparition local police had closed off access to the grotto to discourage pilgrims wanting to see it. Bernadette had to see Mary for the last time from across the Gave river, although to her, Mary appeared no farther away than she had been for any of the other apparitions.

Bernadette, who had always been plagued with sicknesses, eventually joined a convent when she was 22 and lived at the convent in Nevers, France, until her death on April 16, 1879 at age 35 after a battle with tuberculosis and other ailments. Following the apparitions until her death, she was often visited by people wanting to see the girl who had seen Mary. It was a cross she felt she had to bear, because she loved her privacy but didn’t want to deny people if it could inspire them. Her body was exhumed in 1908 and found to be incorrupt, and today it is viewable in the convent chapel in Nevers. She was declared a saint on the feast of the Immaculate Conception in 1933, and her feast is celebrated April 16.

Our Lady of Lourdes with Bernadette Statue

It may seem late in the anniversary year to be acknowledging the anniversary of the apparitions of Our Lady of Lourdes, but that’s the beautiful thing about year-long anniversary celebrations: we still have three months to celebrate this anniversary! Now is the perfect time to get resources, if you haven’t yet, related to this wonderful event in the Church’s history. Aquinas and More has a special section set up for the anniversary celebration of Our Lady of Lourdes, including articles and links there so you can learn more about Lourdes, Bernadette, the anniversary and the Pope’s visit.