The L.A. Times actually had a Catholic-friendly article last week

Did you see the L.A. Times article (click on this post's title) last Wednesday about St. Catherine of Siena Parish in Reseda and its pastor, Fr. Paul Griesgraber, and the parishioners?

It's pretty good!

News stories and photos for the Reception Mass for Archbishop Gomez

Click on this post's title for the L.A. Times story.

See the Daily Breeze story here: http://www.dailybreeze.com/news/ci_15169180?source=rss

See the Daily News story here: http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_15166706

KABC photos are here: http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/gallery?section=news&id=7464109&photo=3

Watch the welcoming Mass for Archbishop Gomez

Click on this post's title to watch today's (May 26) historic welcoming Mass. (I don't know how long this video will be available online like this.)

There were many touching moments in the Mass, of course.

It was so great when Archbishop Gomez entrusted us all to Nuestra Senora -- Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Let's keep praying for our Archdiocese, for Archbishop Gomez, for Cardinal Mahony, and for all our bishops and priests and deacons. Let's pray too for all consecrated religious and all laity.

The Year for Priests is drawing to a close, but let's perpetuate it and remember all priests, always, with this tremendous prayer

This venerable prayer is on the great blogspot A Catholic Mom in Hawaii (click on this post's title):

Prayer: Year for Priests
O Jesus, Eternal Priest;
keep all Your priests within the shelter of Your
Sacred Heart, where none may harm them.
Keep unstained their anointed hands
which daily touch Your Sacred Body.

Keep unsullied their lips purpled with Your Precious Blood.
Keep pure and unearthly their hearts sealed with the
sublime marks of Your glorious priesthood.
Let Your holy love surround them and shield them
from the world's contagion.

Bless their labors with abundant fruit,
and may the souls to whom they have ministered to
be their joy and consolation
and in Heaven their beautiful and everlasting crown.

O Mary, Queen of the clergy, pray for us;
obtain for us many holy priests.

Archbishop Gomez's welcoming Mass is this Wednesday

The big day is almost here -- and by the way, I'm sorry for not posting for almost two weeks. Please forgive me, and I'll try to do much better.

Yes, the big day is almost here, the welcoming Mass for Archbishop Gomez. Have you seen Rocco Palmo's predictions about it (click on this post's title)?

Lots of info there, including this:

"The rite is rare: only twice before has an American cardinal ever welcomed the coadjutor who would succeed him... and only once since 1890 has it taken place on these shores."

Mr. Palmo predicts the Mass will be "Congress"-style but -- gasp! -- will have some Latin.

He says the Mass will be webstreamed. I'll try to find out where, or maybe you already know?

Our Lady, Queen of the Angels, pray for our Archdiocese, for Archbishop Gomez, for Cardinal Mahony and for all our bishops!

Remember to keep Archbishop Gomez in our prayers every day, and Cardinal Mahony too, and all our L.A. bishops. Here are prayers for bishops...

I'm sure you're a good pray-er and already praying daily for Archbishop Gomez, Cardinal Mahony and all our L.A. bishops. But maybe someone else needs to hear a reminder like this.

So, let us pray / oremus / oremos!

Click on this post's title to read about Archbishop Gomez.

Here is a prayer for bishops that was posted on the Catholic Answers forum in 2004:

Lord Jesus Christ, you sent your Apostles to proclaim the Good News with Peter at their head and you strengthened them with the Holy Spirit. Remind us that our bishops are appointed by that same Spirit and are the successors of the Apostles as Pastors of Souls.

Together with the Pope and under his authority they have been sent throughout the world to continue your work. Help our bishop to teach all members of his diocese, to sanctify them in the truth, and to give them your nourishment.

Make us obey his teachings and love him as the Church obeys and loves you. May we remain united with him, growing in faith and love, and attain eternal life with you. Amen.

Here is a Knights of Columbus prayer, from the same 2004 source:

Heavenly Father, in these trying times when the spirit of the age threatens Christian values, give our (arch)bishop holiness of life and wisdom to direct and guide our (arch)diocesan family so that we may grow in your love. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

And here is a Diocese of Orange (County) prayer for bishops, from the same 2004 source:

Heavenly Father, in (Arch)Bishop N., you send us a shepherd in the model of your Son.

Hear our prayer for (Arch)Bishop N., as he asks your grace in this time of need.

Purify him, Lord. Make him strong, loving and wise. Remake his shepherd's heart once again: conformed to the Sacred Heart of your Son, who knows his sheep, whose sheep know him, and who alone can lead us through the valley of death.

Fill (Arch)Bishop N. with your heavenly gifts. May he show Christ's compassion to all who are in pain. May he be the sure path to God for all who are lost. May he preach the unwavering Gospel to the victims of lies and sin.

May he show patience and sound teaching to those confused and afraid. May he show Christ the teacher to those who know no hope. May he show Christ's healing to those caught up in sin's deceit. May he be the gentle good shepherd to the victims of violence and abuse.

Make him a good shepherd, Lord. May he repent of his sins and accept your mercy. May he consecrate himself to the truth with the strength of your grace. May he worthily celebrate the Sacred mysteries and wisely govern and protect your Holy Church. May he know the peace of those who do your will and the fortitude entrusted to him by Holy Orders. May he know his sheep, and knowing him, may they be led to you, through Christ Jesus, your Son, who lives and reigns with you for ever and ever. Amen.

The U.S. Left hates and excludes refugees, and lots of them: The anti-Communist,, liberty-loving ones, who deserve first place in line

Nobody should imagine that U.S. Leftists are really "pro-immigrant" and want to let everyone into the USA. On the contrary, they have fought to keep many deserving people out.

The Left does not want in our country anyone who's a refugee from Communism.

By "Left" I naturally include the jerks who were toting all those RED flags at the pro-illegal alien marches and rallies around the USA last Saturday, including the one right here in L.A.

The RED flag, of course, is the Communist flag. "The people's flag is deepest red," goes the Communist lyric.

Now, I admit I didn't see any hammer-and-sickle symbols on those RED flags. And some people who were toting those RED flags might be naive and might attempt some explanation about their RED flags. Nevertheless...

And by "Left" I also include the marchers who were giving the clenched-fist salute.

The clenched fist is a COMMUNIST salute. For example, look up the photo of JFK's assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, as he gives the very same clenched-fist salute after his arrest.

Granted, many people who give the clenched-fist salute don't know its Communist nature and origin. Still, it's more than safe to say that anyone who uses it is a leftist.

But to my main point: The list is long, indeed, of people whom U.S. leftists, including liberals in our federal government, despise and have kept out of our USA, and continue to.

You won't find much documentation on it, but in 1946 and 1947 the U.S. and British governments, in their Operation Keelhaul, used literal brutality to force 2 million displaced persons (including families, women, children) and POWs into immediate mass execution, torture, rape, and slave labor by Stalin's Communist murderers. Some of the victims were brutally keelhauled to Stalin even though they were in the USA -- at Fort Dix in New Jersey.

Various U.S. administrations have refused entrance to many, many anti-Communist refugees, such as the Montagnards and Hmong who fought alongside us in Vietnam; Vietnamese; Laotians; Central Americans; and Cubans.

Yes, some have gotten in, but far, far too many have not and have paid a dire price.

Pinko Bill Clinton ended the longstanding traditional U.S. pro-freedom policy of welcoming to our shores the brave Cuban refugees who risk their very lives for liberty. He had the Coast Guard capture them and keelhaul them back to the Communist Castro regime. Disgracefully, George W. Bush continued that injustice. And of course, Barack H------ Obama to this day continues to keelhaul freedom-loving Cuban refugees back to Communist tyranny.

So let's remember that many people who claim to be for "immigration" hate and exclude lots of immigrants: the liberty-loving anti-Communists of the world.

An update about the archdiocesan personnel files

Today's (Tuesday) L.A. Times has an article (click on this post's title) with the latest on the L.A. Archdiocesan personnel files.

"Why don't they come legally? They can't"

That is the title of an April 29 column (click on this post's title) by Andres Oppenheimer in the Miami Herald.

He argues that the problem is that the U.S. legal-immigration system is dysfunctional, thanks to small quotas for unskilled workers and U.S. government bureaucrats' huge backlogs for processing immigration applications.

Columnist George Will vs. Cardinal Mahony's comments

In a column (click on this post's title) in today's Washington Post, pundit George Will criticizes L.A.'s Cardinal Roger Mahony's comments about the Arizona law.

I don't have time now to evaluate Will's column, but I wonder if Cardinal Mahony or Tod Tamberg will respond to it.

Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York City has criticized the Arizona law as being prompted by "nativism" -- sorry, I don't have a link to his essay right now.

Cardinal Mahony attended the immigration march

Our Cardinal Roger Mahony attended the immigration march, the L.A. Times says (click on this post's title).

The march, with possibly 60,000 attending, was smaller than expected, the Times said in another article.

Notice that the Times refused to even mention the huge, 400,000-strong March for Life of this past January in Washington, D.C.

Arizona modified that law already

The state government of Arizona quickly modified its law about illegal aliens, reports the L.A. Times (click on this post's title):

"Lawmakers on Thursday night changed the language to require scrutiny only of people who police stop, detain or arrest.

"They also changed a section of the bill that barred officers from 'solely' using race as grounds for suspecting someone is in the country illegally; opponents had argued that that would allow race to be a factor. The legislators removed the word 'solely' to bar race from being used by officers enforcing the law."

Opponents of the law say these changes are "cosmetic" and not enough.

The Holy See will appoint a special delegate and commission to overhaul the Legionaries of Christ

In a notably blunt statement yesterday, the Holy See announced that Pope Benedict XVI will select a special delegate and commission to overhaul the Legionaries of Christ, and that he will name a visitator to Regnum Christi.

To read Vatican Radio's English translation of the announcement, click on this post's title.

The Holy See's statement concludes with this encouraging note:

"...7. Finally, to all Legionaries of Christ, their families, committed lay people in the Regnum Christi movement, the Holy Father renews his encouragement during this difficult time for the Congregation and each one of them. He urges them not to lose sight that their vocation, which originated from Christ’s call and is animated by the ideal to witness his love to the world, is a true gift from God, a treasure for the Church, the indestructible foundation on which to build their personal future and that of the Legion."

May all go well during the overhaul process. Oremus.

Charlotte Allen demolishes the anti-Catholics

In a magnificent op-ed piece (click on this post's title) in today's L.A. Times, Charlotte Allen exposes the hypocrisy and contradictions of the anti-Catholic bigots who are attacking the Church and the Holy Father.

Charlotte Allen hits the nail on the head when she writes:

"The latest round of abuse allegations, only one of which can be said to have occurred on Ratzinger's watch, aren't really about supposed Vatican cover-ups of sexual exploitation of children by clerics.

"They are yet another effort to discredit the Roman Catholic Church wholesale by people whose beefs with Catholicism rest on entirely different grounds — namely that it forbids abortion and homosexual conduct, it doesn't allow women to be priests, and it requires men who enter the priesthood to remain celibate."

Great op-ed, Charlotte!