Titus3_5's Xanga

Learn From Mary

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 21:50:43 GMT

Pope Benedict XVI is encouraging Catholics
to learn from the Blessed Virgin how to
follow the Holy Spirit with docility and recognize
His voice in daily life. He gave the
message at a Marian celebration after reciting
the Rosary at the Grotto of Our Lady of
Lourdes. "The great Feast of Pentecost invites
us to meditate upon the relationship
between the Holy Spirit and Mary, a very
close, privileged, indissoluble relationship,"
the pontiff affirmed. He continued: "Mary's
immaculate heart, in perfect consonance with
the divine Son, is the temple of the Spirit of
truth, where every word and every event are
kept in faith, hope and charity." The pontiff
affirmed that in "Mary's school we too learn
to recognize the Holy Spirit's presence in our
life, to listen to his inspirations and to follow
them with docility." He expressed the hope
that Catholics will "walk with Mary according
to the Spirit." (Zenit.org, 5/31/09)

Obama and the Gospel Musicians

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 00:43:53 GMT

Radical imam praises alleged Fort Hood shooter

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:12:01 GMT

Radical imam praises alleged Fort Hood shooter

By PAMELA HESS and EILEEN SULLIVAN - Associated Press Writers

WASHINGTON -- A radical American imam on Yemen's most wanted militant list who had contact with two 9/11 hijackers praised alleged Fort Hood shooter Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan as a hero on his personal Web site Monday.

The posting on the Web site for Anwar al Awlaki, who was a spiritual leader at two mosques where three 9/11 hijackers worshipped, said American Muslims who condemned the attacks on the Texas military base last week are hypocrites who have committed treason against their religion.

Awlaki said the only way a Muslim can justify serving in the U.S. military is if he intends to "follow in the footsteps of men like Nidal."

"Nidal Hassan (sic) is a hero. He is a man of conscience who could not bear living the contradiction of being a Muslim and serving in an army that is fighting against his own people," Awlaki wrote.

Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, an Army psychiatrist, is accused of killing 13 and wounding 29 in a shooting spree Thursday. Hasan's family attended the Dar al Hijrah Islamic Center in Falls Church, Va., where Awlaki was preaching in 2001.

Hasan's mother's funeral was held at the Falls Church mosque on May 31, 2001, according to her obituary in the Roanoke Times newspaper, around the same time two 9/11 hijackers worshipped at the mosque and while Awlaki was preaching.

Awlaki is a native-born U.S. citizen who left the United States in 2002, eventually traveling to Yemen. He was released from a Yemeni jail last year and has since gone missing. He is on Yemen's most wanted militant list, according to three Yemeni security officials.

The officials say Awlaki was arrested in 2006 with a small group of suspected al-Qaida militants in the capital San'a. They say he was released more than a year later after signing a pledge he will not break the law or leave the country. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

A former senior U.S. intelligence official said Awlaki is well known in the intelligence community.

The Homeland Security Department's intelligence division became concerned about Awlaki late last year when he published a new group of violent lectures targeting U.S. audiences, according to a Jan. 22, 2009 intelligence note.

On Dec. 23, 2008, Awlaki, on his Web site, encouraged Muslims across the world to kill U.S. troops in Iraq. Awlaki also used these postings to declare his support for the Somali terrorist group, al-Shabaab, according to the Homeland Security intelligence note, obtained by The Associated Press.

In December of last year, Customs officials intercepted a flash drive of Awlaki's lectures that his wife sent from Yemen to an Islamic publishing house in Denver, the intelligence note said.

Awlaki told the FBI in 2001 that, before he moved to Virginia in early 2001, he met with 9/11 hijacker Nawaf al-Hazmi several times in San Diego. Al-Hazmi was at the time living with Khalid al-Mihdhar, another hijacker. Al-Hazmi and another hijacker, Hani Hanjour, attended the Dar al Hijrah mosque in Virginia in early April 2001.

In his FBI interview, Awlaki denied ever meeting with al-Hazmi and Hanjour while in Virginia.

He was investigated by the FBI in 1999 and 2000 after it was learned that he may have been contacted by a possible procurement agent for Osama bin Laden. During this investigation, the FBI learned that Awlaki knew people involved in raising money for Hamas, a Palestinian group on the U.S. State Department's terrorist list.

Imam Johari Abdul-Malik, outreach director at Dar al Hijrah, said he did not know whether Hasan ever attended the mosque but confirmed that the Hasan family participated in services there. Abdul-Malik said the Hasans were not leaders at the mosque and their attendance was normal.

The Falls Church mosque is one of the largest on the East Coast, and thousands of worshippers attend prayers and services there every week. Abdul-Malik said it's a mistake for people to conflate regular attendance at a mosque with extremism.

Many Muslims pray at the mosque multiple times a day, he said. "It's part of family life. It's like going out for ice cream after dinner."

Faizul Khan, former imam of the Muslim Community Center in nearby Silver Spring, Md., where Hasan also worshipped, said he was not aware that Hasan had attended services at Dar al Hijrah but said it would not be unusual for Hasan to attend more than one mosque concurrently.

Khan said he did not recall Hasan mentioning having been taught or preached to by Awlaki.

The London Telegraph first reported the potential link between Hasan and the mosque.

Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey said Sunday it's important for the country not to get caught up in speculation about Hasan's Muslim faith, and he has instructed his commanders to be on the lookout for anti-Muslim reaction to the killings at the Texas post.

Casey said evidence to this point shows that Hasan acted alone. He toured Fort Hood on Friday with Army Secretary John McHugh. Casey appeared on ABC's "This Week" and CNN's "State of the Union."

Separately, the CIA denied an ABC News report saying that the agency has refused to brief Congress on the case.

"This is a law enforcement investigation, in which other agencies, not the CIA, have the lead. Any suggestion that the CIA refused to brief Congress is flat wrong," said George Little, CIA spokesman.

Associated Press Writers Ben Nuckols, Devlin Barrett and Matthew Barakat contributed to this story. AP reporter Ahmed al-Haj contributed from San-a, Yamen.

10 Signs You May Have Just Entered an Emergent Church

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:39:53 GMT

10 signs you have just entered a emergent church.

Honor Killings

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 05:31:59 GMT

Woman hit with car by Iraqi father dies

- 11/2/2009 10:26:48 PM var addthis_pub = 'onenewsnow';

Authorities say a 20-year-old woman from Iraq whose father allegedly hit her with his car in a Phoenix suburb has died from her injuries.

Noor Faleh Almaleki had been in a local hospital since Oct. 20. Peoria police spokesman Mike Tellef says she died Monday.

Family members say Faleh Hassan Almaleki believed his daughter had become too Westernized and was not living according to his traditional Iraqi values.

Faleh Almaleki fled after the attack but was arrested Thursday when he arrived at Atlanta's airport, where he was sent from the United Kingdom after authorities denied him entrance.

He was returned to Arizona last weekend. Tellef says the charges will be upgraded in light of his daughter's death.

Praying Before Remains of Pope Remits Sins

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 20:46:40 GMT

Praying Before Remains of
Pope Remits Sins
Pope Benedict XVI announced a special plenary
indulgence for those who pray before
the remains of 13th century pope, St.
Celestine V during the 800th anniversary of
his birth. His remains will be on pilgrimage
during the year so that the faithful can receive
the indulgence. Celestine V is remembered
for promulgating a pardon for sins. He
decided that those who confessed and were
sincerely repentant, and visited the Basilica
of Santa Maria di Collemaggio would receive
the remission of sins and the absolution of
punishment. Until then, a plenary indulgence
was only granted to those who went to the
Holy Land as crusaders. (Zenit.org, 8/26/09)

Pro-Life Groups Raise 100-Foot Tall Banner at White House to Oppose Abortion

Fri, 02 Oct 2009 18:47:51 GMT

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Several pro-life groups have banded together to hoist a 100-foot tall banner of the number 71 on the west lawn of the White House. The number is representative of the percentage of people in a recent Zogby poll who said they don't want their tax dollars to pay for abortions.

With Congress considering health care reform proposals -- all of which contain abortion funding -- the polling figure is especially poignant.

The Christian Defense Coalition and other pro-life groups are raising the banner to remind Congress that Americans don't want abortion funding in the health care bills.

In collaboration with other pro-life groups, Operation Rescue is launching the "I AM 71" Project.

"We are asking Americans to take a digital photo of them holding a paper with the number 71 and send it to Operation Rescue," the group tells LifeNews.com. "These photos will be posted on the Internet and compiled and sent to members of Congress and President Obama."

"We want Obama and Congress to have to look at the faces of the citizens they are betraying by ignoring their will on this critically important issue," OR president Troy Newman said today. "Seventy-one percent is not just a number. We are Americans of good conscience who deserve to be heard."

"We are also urging our supporters to spread the word to their friends and family members, and post our request for photos on their social networking sites," Newman said.

The project comes after the latest votes from members of the Senate against amendments to strike abortion funding from the Baucus version of the health care bill.

http://lifenews.com/nat5533.html

Steven Crowder and the KORAN - challenge

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 00:57:50 GMT

Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus: we need the pope's voice of truth

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 13:37:38 GMT

by William Gomes
On the occasion of Benedict XVI's birthday, representatives of various religions in Bangladesh pledge their prayers "for his life and ministry." The venerable Dhirbangsha Bikkhu, a Buddhist monk: "we want to see the pope in our midst, his presence will bring peace and happiness to the nation."

Dhaka (AsiaNews) - "We want to see the pope in our midst, we will be blessed to see him in Bangladesh, his presence will bring peace and happiness to the nation, I wish and pray his long life.” This is the wish that the venerable Dhirbangsha Bikkhu, a Buddhist monk of the international monastery in Dhaka, has sent to Benedict XVI on the occasion of his 82nd birthday.

In Europe, the direct attacks on the pope continue, not least among them the official protest presented to the Holy See by the Belgian parliament, because of "the unacceptable stance taken by the pope on the occasion of his trip to Africa." But the messages coming from Bangladesh, which has an overwhelming Muslim majority population (more than 88% of the 144 million inhabitants), instead express respect and closeness to the pope.

The venerable Dhirbangsha Bikkhu tells AsiaNews that "Benedict XVI is the father of peace, he works for peace and a religion of peace." Together with the wishes from the Buddhist monk, there are others from Muslims like Ubaidur Rahman Khan Nadwi, assistant editor of the newspaper Daily Inqilab: "We appreciate his firm work for interreligious peace and harmony. We especially appreciate his deep concern over states declaring war, propagating evil policies and oppressing the Muslims. We need his voice of truth and peace. We pray for his long life."

Among the Hindus as well, there is no lack of those who have taken Benedict XVI's birthday as an opportunity to express their closeness to him. B K Sreekanto of the Brahma Kumari Institute in Daka recalls that "the pope is holy, and wherever he will go in the world he will bring success. He works for the well-being of the people. We pray for his long life and ministry."

In addition to the various religions of Bangladesh, birthday greetings have also been expressed by a small Catholic community in the country, 1.1% of the population. Msgr. Kurian Matthew Vayalunkal of the Holy See embassy in Bangladesh explains that the faithful are preparing to celebrate the anniversary of Benedict XVI's election, which will be commemorated in the whole country on Sunday, May 19.

Marian Devotion and Love for the Eucharist

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 12:07:54 GMT

Bishops and other clergy from Central Asia met recently with Pope Benedict at the Vatican. The Holy Father encouraged the prelates to "keep the flame of faith alive" and warned about the dangers of religious fundamentalism. He said, "Continue to educate everyone in listening to the Word of God and arouse Marian devotion and love for the Eucharist. Spread the practice of the Rosary among families." CNA 10-2-08