OUTRAGEOUS!!  HYPOCRISY!!

The astonishing hypocrisy of Medicaid opponents

as reported by Jack Lessenberry,

political Commentator

and professor of journalism at Wayne State University.

 

          You know by now that the Michigan Senate has finally voted to approve expanding Medicaid benefits.

POOR RECEIVE AFFORDABLE HEALTH CARE

          Eventually nearly half a million of our citizens [those who earn less than $15,000.00 per year] will have at least basic health care, these are people who do not now have health care. The benefits in terms of human decency and a healthier workforce are enormous!

MISDIRECTED THINKING?

          Those who opposed Medicaid expansion said they didn’t think we should burden future generations with another “entitlement cost.”  **

BUT, HATRED WINS THE DAY!

          Many of them also admitted their opposition was based on their hatred of President Obama’s Affordable Care Act, which they continue to oppose even though it was passed by U. S. Congress, and passed constitutional  scrutiny of the United States Supreme Court.

Sore losers, or are they just plain “Losers!!”

          14 of the 18 senators who lost by voting against the expansion of health care by voting “No” - now, however, are determined to do something spiteful to hurt both the state and the poor.

$7 MILLION DOLLARS A DAY!

          After the expansion of health care was approved, 14 senators voted against giving the bill immediate effect. This means that instead of health care benefits beginning on January 1, 2014, when the Medicaid expansion officially begins, Michigan won’t be able to take part until April 2014. Because of this spiteful and horrendous action by these senators, our state stands to lose $7 MILLION DOLLARS A DAY in money Washington is making available.  That means our State of Michigan (You & Me) will lose six hundred and thirty million dollars in January, February and March. That is $630,000,000.00 dollars!!

LOSERS!

** HERE IS THE WORST PART!!

          Brian Dickerson of the Detroit Free Press has reported that every one of the eighteen senators WHO VOTED AGAINST expanding Medicaid to the poor – VOTED FOR GIVING ALL BUT ONE OF THEMSELVES LIFETIME HEALTH CARE – AT TAXPAYER'S (OUR) EXPENSE. 

The Hall of Shame!

         The 13 senators who successfully voted themselves lifetime health care benefits and voted to make the state and the poor who suffer financially before getting basic health care under Medicaid – are as follows:

Darwin Booher of Evart

Jack Brandenburg of Harrison Township

Bruce Caswell of Hillsdale

Judy Emmons of Sheridan

Mike Green of Mayville

Joe Hune of Hamburg Township

Rick Jones of Grand Ledge

John Moolenaar of Midland

Mike Nofs of Battle Creek

Phil Pavlov of St. Clair

John Proos of St. Joseph

Dave Robertson of Grand Blanc

Tonya Schuitmaker of Lawton

 NOT SO MUCH PURE MICHIGAN

– JUST PURE DISGUST!

          As a citizen of this beautiful State of Michigan, the above listed senators bring me immeasurable embarrassment, and demonstrate unbelievable fiscal irresponsibility for our beautiful State of Michigan. 

Pure Michigan  – Pure Disgust!

 

 

 

 

 

Do you believe in “Angel” Priests?

            A  Missouri car crash last weekend that left a 19-year-old woman critically injured, and the world wondering about the identity of the "angel" priest who prayed with her until rescuers could free her from the mangled wreck -- and then disappeared.

            Officials are still scratching their heads over the cleric, who appeared out of nowhere. Perhaps more mysteriously, the local fire chief said he does not appear in any of 80 photos from the accident scene.

 “Will someone pray with me?”

            The crash went global after reports of the mysterious priest who stepped forward when Lentz asked someone to pray with her while firefighters struggled to free her from the wreckage.

            “The fire chief, Raymond Reed, had stepped back and came up to me and said he was concerned because he was out of options. His tools weren’t working and by that time, it was almost an hour and said I don’t know how we’re going to get her out,” Ralls County Sheriff’s Deputy Richard Adair told KHQA.

 “I Don’t want to send the wrong message!”

            Then the priest appeared – although the highway was blocked for two to three miles and emergency responders were not letting anyone past the roadblocks.

            “He came and he asked to anoint the girl in the car,” Adair said. “My first thought was that it would possibly send the wrong message to Katie that maybe we had called a priest and thought she wasn’t going to make it. So I went back and talked to the priest and told him we were worried she would think we’d given up hope. He said, ‘I just want to anoint her and so we just let him come up to the scene.”

            Witnesses said he anointed Katie and her rescuers with oil, prayed with them and asked them to remain calm.

            At that point the Hannibal fire department pulled up with fresh equipment and was able to free Katie. After getting her in the Air Evac helicopter, rescue workers said the priest was nowhere to be found.

 “Angel” Priest disappears!

             Fire Chief Reed said the department took 80 photos of the scene and the priest did not appear in any of them.

            The Diocese of Jefferson City says it has not located the priest involved. “Out of respect for the privacy of any priest who may have been involved and does not wish to come forward, the Diocese does not plan to further investigate this incident. The Diocese is grateful that a priest was able to exercise his ministry in this manner and requests prayers for healing of the victim, as well as prayers of thanks.” said Deacon Dan Joyce.

 

Reported on FoxNews.com on August 9, 2013

UPDATE August 12, 2013

MYSTERY SOLVED.

            The “angel priest” who appeared at the scene of a Missouri car crash, anointed and prayed with the teenage victim, then vanished has been identified as Rev. Patrick Dowling of the Jefferson City Diocese.
 

          A press release provided to FoxNews.com by the diocese said Father Dowling had been travelling Highway 19 between Mass assignments in northern and central Missouri when he arrived near the crash scene Aug. 4.

         The arrival of the unidentified priest, who seemed to come out of nowhere, then attend to the victim before disappearing just as mysteriously, touched off nationwide speculation about the identity of the “angel” cleric.

 

IN THEIR OWN WORDS!

 

A HIGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE STUDENT

REFLECT ON THE JOYS AND CHALLENGES

THAT COME WITH LIVING OUT THEIR FAITH

IN THE MIDST OF REAL LIFE.

Everything I Can Do

Living with Down syndrome
By Joey Kane

One special thing about me. . .

 is that I have Down syndrome. Down syndrome means having an extra chromosome in my body. It’s the way I was born. My parents told me that when I was born on Aug. 9, 1995, the doctor looked at my hands and eyes and confirmed that I had Down syndrome. This was not a surprise to my mom and dad because they knew I was going to have Down syndrome. That’s because of a test that had been done before I was born.

I don’t really think of myself as having a disability

          Having Down syndrome is the same as having a disability. My teacher, Mr. Beall, talks about people having disabilities. He says that it does not matter if you have a learning difference because everyone should be treated the same. Other people think and say I have a disability, but I don’t really think of myself as having a disability because I feel I fit in with other people. You should not think that you can get away with stuff just because you have a disability. If you are late to class, you should get detention just like everyone else does.

Everyone can share their talents,

even if they have Down syndrome.

          I have Down syndrome because I think that God wanted me to have it. I didn’t decide I wanted to have it. Some people think that because I have Down syndrome I can’t do what other people can do. But that is not true. Everyone can share their talents, even if they have Down syndrome. My theme song is “Anything You Can Do (I Can Do Better).”

One of the things that makes me different. . .

is that I have more trouble at school than other people. It is hard for me to take notes in class. It is hard for me to see the board because I have bad vision. I need more time to take a test because it takes me a long time to read the questions. The small print on tests also causes problems for me. Other things are also hard. It’s hard for me to remember my classmates’ names. It’s hard for me to find the right metro bus to get on. I won’t be able to get a driver’s license because my vision is not good enough to drive.

When I play X-Box I probably surprise people.

          Some people say that those with Down syndrome don’t have good eye-hand coordination. But when I play X-Box I probably surprise people because I do have good eye-hand coordination.

          Some people may think that I would be treated badly because I have Down syndrome. My experience has not been this way. God tells everyone to treat people equally, and I think that most people act in this way. I don’t feel as if people make fun of me or make me feel bad just because I have Down syndrome.

I can do things that other people can do. . .

even though I have a disability. I can swim, play basketball, play Ping-Pong, be good at math and give hugs to people. I can go to college, but I need to qualify for accommodations because of my learning disability. I am awesome at prayer because I love people and I know God loves me. I like sports like football, basketball, baseball and soccer. I love the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, the Gonzaga Bulldogs, the Washington Huskies, the Seahawks and the Mariners.

Last summer I worked for the Seattle Mariners.

I can work just like other people. Last summer I worked for the Mariners. My job was handing out items at baseball games. I handed out things like bobble-head dolls, posters, backpacks, trading cards and T-shirts. I got paid minimum wage: $9.04 an hour, plus I got half-price food. Because I did such a great job, my boss asked me to come back for the 2013 season.

I think service is what God wants me to do.

Another job I had was working at Mount St. Vincent’s. This is a nursing home where I would talk to people, help them get to places and bring trays of food to them. I also cleared off tables. This job gave me a good chance to make friends and do service. I think service is what God wants me to do, along with following the commandments.

I would like to do something where I am with the team.

          Also, I had a job watering my neighbors’ plants for the whole summer. Twice a week I had to water plants and flowers so that they would not die. I got paid $5 each time. Someday, I will have a job where I work almost every day. I hope it is for the Mariners. I would like to do something where I am with the team. That way I would get to meet the players.

I don’t think that having Down syndrome would be a problem.

          I might be a teacher someday. I would like to teach little kids because they are cute. I would want to teach math. I don’t think that having Down syndrome would be a problem in doing this.

Another way I am the same as other people. . .

is that I like food. Maybe I like food more than most other people. I really like pizza, pasta, gold fish, hot dogs, ramen, french fries, hamburgers and milkshakes. If I were a babysitter, I would probably order pizza for the kids and myself.

People can look at me and know that I have Down syndrome.   

But they don’t see me as having Down syndrome. They see me as myself. I can recognize people with Down syndrome. Mostly it is the shape of their face and how they walk. When I look in the mirror I don’t see myself as having Down syndrome.

God loves me because God made me.

          He made me just the way I am, and he loves me just the way I am. Because I have a good sense of humor, people feel more comfortable around me. Sometimes someone in my class says that he feels embarrassed to be around me. On the other hand, this same person asked me to sit at his table. This is a good example of the way it should be. I should be treated as if I don’t have Down syndrome. In fact, I do not even think of Down syndrome as being a disability, but many people think it is.

 

I think people know I’m a good guy

even though I have Down syndrome.

This is the first time I’ve really talked about having Down syndrome. I don’t tell people because I guess I think people know I’m a good guy even though I have Down syndrome. Not to be cocky, but I’m a popular guy.

 

Joey Kane is beginning senior year at

John F. Kennedy Catholic High School

in Burien, Wash.

 

          Below is a reflection by Matt Kane, Joey's brother, on the way Joey has changed his view on life.

  What Joey’s brother Matt says about him.

By Matt Kane

          The grandest and most spectacular acts of social justice often seem to occur in foreign lands and involve the improvement and preservation of thousands of lives, but the most meaningful act of social justice in my own life occurred much closer to home. It succeeded in saving the life of only one.

           Some 17 years ago my parents were confronted by a physician who wanted to discuss the fate of a soon-to-be-newborn baby. It had recently been discovered that this baby would be born with Down syndrome, and the physician assured my parents that there was still time to abort. Today it is estimated that 60 percent to 90 percent of babies with Down syndrome are aborted, but for my parents this was never an option. My younger brother Joey was born on Aug. 9, 1995.

          Reflecting on this act of social justice invokes a reflection on the importance of not only my brother’s life, but of the right to life itself. When my parents chose life for Joey, they knew that many trials and challenges lay ahead, but they were able to embrace the possibility of difficulty and accept whatever God had in store for them. They could not have foreseen the immense love and joy Joey’s presence would create in our family and our community in the coming years. Living and growing up with Joey has given me a rare perspective on the value of life. Over the years I have watched him sculpt the very foundation of our family into one of profound patience and tolerance, and he continues to influence the way I interact with others inside and outside the family. He is a testament to the effects of social justice, and I cannot imagine the void that would be left in my own life if my parents had not recognized the value of Joey’s.

          The invariable aspects of human-kind define who we are as a people, but the unique and subtle differences by which we are individually defined make us who we truly are. As I reflect on how much Joey has changed the way I see the world, it saddens me to think of all those whose differences not only cost them their lives, but also the opportunity to change the lives of others. Without diversity our world would be stagnant and our thoughts without purpose, for it is often through our differences that we are able to enrich the lives of those around us. While it is true that my parents’ act of social justice saved the life of only one person, it served to transform the lives of countless people in my community, whose world would be a little less bright, less full, were it not for Joey.

 

Matt Kane, who is beginning senior year at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind., is the brother of Joey Kane.

 

 

"In the early days of the western United States,

a masked man and an Indian rode the plains,

searching for truth and justice."

"Return with us now

to those thrilling days of yesteryear,

when from out of the past

come the thundering hoofbeats

of the great horse Silver!

The Lone Ranger rides again!"

"Come on, Silver!

Let's go, big fellow!

Hi-yo Silver! Away!"

If you grew-up in the 40’s listening to the Lone Ranger on the radio -  WXYZ Detroit, The Mutual Broadcasting Company – then you might, like me, will find the latest movie one of the most entertaining movies ever! My wife, who fell asleep during the movie Skyfall – not only stayed awake but, like me, laughed through the entire movie, a thoroughly enjoyable time!

The movie has spectacular scenery and the special effects are awesome!  The humor with Johnny Depp as Tonto is the best ever.

So Kemosahbee, don’t miss this movie! Yes it is totally crazy and you have to use your imagination (old time “radio listeners” are naturals at this!) I had tears of laughter streaming down my face through the entire movie.  Don’t be swayed by the critics – remember they are paid to criticize (I guess if they didn’t criticize, they would be called “praisers!”)

I give this movie 20 stars!

 

Many of my friends give me 'static' about always going to, or talking about, the Old Mission Peninsula in Grand Traverse Bay, Michigan - Well, here is just one of the reasons (yes, more will follow) - the Sun Rise over East Bay!

 

GOD’S CALL AND OUR RESPONSE

HOMILY – June 29/30, 2013

The LORD said to Elijah: “You shall anoint Elisha, as prophet to succeed you.”
Elijah set out and came upon Elisha, he went over to him and threw his cloak over him.

But, Elisha hesitates and wants to delay responding to Elijah call.

“Please, let me kiss my father and mother goodbye, and I will follow you.”

And in the Gospel Jesus asks two of his followers to follow him.

And they, like Elisha, also hesitate, wanting to delay their response to Jesus’ call.

And to another Jesus said, “Follow me.”
Like the others he delays and replies, “Lord, let me go first and bury my father.”
And another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but first let me say farewell to my family at home.” 

Also in today’s Gospel, James and John – apostles of Jesus – in an act of revenge -  want to bring fire and destruction down on the people of the Samaritan village.

Jesus turns and rebukes them, not only asking for this, but even thinking of doing such an thing!

WHAT IS GOING ON HERE? 

Are these responses of self-interest and retaliation typical only of the people living at the time these scriptures were written?

No, of course not!

Have you ever felt “called to” -  or perceived a “calling to” some action and hesitated – or even neglected to respond – even though it may have been a call to great cause and worthy of your attention and acceptance?

Have you ever let feelings of uncertainty or the possible risks of accepting a call  - influence and threaten your sense of personal freedom?

I certainly can’t answer those questions for you – but I can say that like the people in the scripture readings – I too have at times have felt reluctant to risk or accept the call – having more concern or fear for myself, then venturing out into the unknown to follow even God’s call to service or forgiveness.

While all calls to growth and service come from God, it doesn't necessarily mean that they have to be a call to something “religious,” it could very well be a calling to grow in some manner, be it advancing your education, or skills, or any activity that would help build the kingdom of God by positively influencing the lives of others.

Why did St. Paul say:

“I do not understand my own actions.

For I do not do what I should do,

but I do the very thing I should not do?”  (Romans 7:14)

Why are we so much like St. Paul, often struggling with doing the “right thing?”

I remember back in the 70’s there was a comedian named Flip Wilson who had a comic routine where he had a character named Geraldine who whenever she was caught making a bad decision would say:  

“The devil made me do it!”

It’s not my intent to minimize or make light of the existence or the actions of the devil in our lives by quoting a comedian - when in fact we have good evidence and verification of the very real existence and presence of the devil recorded in the Bible and also in our liturgy.

He called the twelve . . . and gave them authority

over the unclean spirits.

They cast out many demons. (Mark 6)

There is a prayer of exorcism In the Rite of Baptism for Children:

“Now we pray for these children

who will have to face the world with its temptations,

and fight the devil in all his cunning.

And in the New Testament, 1 John, Chapter 5 verse 19:

We know that we are God’s children,

and that the whole world lives

under the power of the evil one.

Take a moment to use the gift of imagination, and visualize what God looks like.

Now, using that same imagination, visualize what the devil, the ‘unclean spirit,’ looks like.

Regardless what you just imagined - the reality is they both look the same!

You see if the devil really looked like the scary image you just imagined, there would never be a problem of avoiding giving in to the temptations of the devil; we would never have difficulty to rebuke or ignore, or condemn the attempts of the devil to influence or direct our lives.  We would  run as fast as we could from the scary and evil presence of that evil spirit – Satan, the devil.

To be effective, the devil, the “bad spirit” will always present himself as being the good guy, the helper and wise one, the “good” spirit. This is why in 1John 4 it is written:

“: . . .do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits

to see whether they are from God . . .

from this you will know the spirit of truth – and the spirit of error.

The children of the devil are revealed in this way.”

Does the devil really exist in our lives today?

How can we be aware of, and identify, where Satan is active in our world, in our country, in our town, in our church, in our homes, and in our very lives?

THE LITMUS TEST

“TESTING” OF THE SPIRITS:

DEVIL – THE EVIL SPIRIT                 GOD – THE GOOD SPIRIT

The father of lies.                                                      The father of truthfulness.

The one who scatters and destroys.                      The one who gathers and builds.

The one who accuses and criticizes.                     The one who lifts up & affirms.

The promoter of the culture of death.                     The creator and giver of life.

The spirit of error         .                                            The spirit of truth.

The devil pushes us to self-indulgence.                 God encourages our self-sacrificing.

To which “spirit” do we most often feel compelled, forced,or attracted to?  

In the 2^nd Reading of St Paul we heard:

For you were called for freedom,

But do not use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh;

rather, use it to serve one another through love.

Thomas Merton, in his book “No Man is an Island” wrote about freedom:

The essence of freedom is making choices that perfect us

in our own being, making choices that fulfill the deepest

capabilities of our real selves.

In Psalm 16 today we petition God saying:

O Lord, you are my inheritance,

Keep me, O God,

for in you I take refuge;

Let us pray: In you Lord we take protection; it is you who counsels us, you show us the path to life. You will never abandon us; your presence is the fullness of our joy. Help us Lord, to focus on love and on service rather than on our self-indulgence and need for control.  Help us today Jesus to want to follow you with all readiness and willingness.   Amen.  

BONUS MATERIAL - The “Back-Story!”

You didn't want to mess with Elijah and Elisha.  They were “take-no-prisoners” kinds of prophets. According to the Books of Kings, Elijah has 450 prophets of the pagan god Baal killed after publicly humiliating them (1 Kings 18:20-40; 19:1-16); and when a bunch of boys called Elisha “baldy” they were attacked and killed by bears! (2 Kings 2:23-24)

Sunday’s reading only tells a very small part of the story of prophets of Elijah and Elisha – the expanded story is an interesting one!  If you don't read the “back-story” – you miss a lot of the excitement and meaning of knowing about these two prophets. I would recommend that you take the time to read “the rest of the story.”  It is there that we learn of the extreme risks God has asked Elijah to take by his returning to the land of the Israelites, and the strange (or unique) way in which God communicated with Elijah. See the Old Testament readings of Elijah’s triumph over the priests of Baal.

Corpus Christi Sunday

Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ.

 

          On Sunday, June 2^nd, the Church throughout the world celebrates the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ.

          The primary purpose of this celebration is to focus our attention on the Eucharist. At every Mass our attention is called to the Real, True, and Full, Presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist.

Catechism of the Catholic Church:

“In the most blessed sacrament of the Eucharist ‘the body and blood, together with the soul and divinity, of our Lord Jesus Christ and, therefore, the whole Christ is truly, really, and substantially contained.’ ” (1374)  

          This is the key doctrine of the faith and a teaching that sets Catholics apart from most other Christians.

          The secondary focus of this celebration is the Body of Christ as it is present in the Church. The Church is called the Body of Christ because of the intimate unity which Jesus shares with his disciples – and with us

 

Gospel of John 6:51-54, 55-67

 

                   “I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.”

 The disciples quarreled among themselves, saying,

 “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”

 

Jesus said to them,

                   “. . . unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and me in them.”

 

Then many of his disciples who were listening said,

“This is hard to understand and to believe; who can accept it?”

Since Jesus knew that his disciples were murmuring and complaining about this, he said to them,

 

                   “Does this shock you? The words I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But there are some of you who do not believe.”

 

As a result of this, many his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer followed him or believed in him.

 Jesus then said to the Twelve,

“Do you also want to leave?”

 Did Jesus mean that it is necessary to really eat his flesh and drink his blood?

Did Jesus mean that the bread and wine only “figuratively” represented His flesh and blood? 

 

Did Jesus ever imply that the Eucharist was just a mere symbol?

 

DID JESUS REALLY MEAN WHAT HE SAID?

 

          The disciples would probably not have been so outraged and scandalized if they had thought or believed that Jesus was talking only about a mere “symbol” of His Body and Blood.

           If they had misunderstood Jesus, thinking that He meant to literally eat His flesh and drink His blood – then Jesus could have very easily clarified his point. 

          And since “many” of the disciples left Jesus because of this teaching, Jesus would have certainly felt obligated to explain to them, if it was true, that he was just speaking in purely “symbolic” terms.

But Jesus did not make such a clarification.

 Why not?

 

THE HEART OF THE EUCHARISTIC CELEBRATION

           At the heart of the Eucharistic celebration is the bread and wine. There is an important symbolic meaning to these gifts of bread and wine:

·        They are gifts brought forward by the baptized to be presented to the priest, thus symbolizing the action and involvement of the community.

·        Bread and wine are not purely “natural” symbols as is water in Baptism, but are the product of cooperation between God the Creator and we as human beings. God does not make bread and wine; human beings do.

 THE GATHERING OF THE FAITHFUL

           We come to a particular place for the celebration of the Mass, being aware that our coming together is not like our coming to any other place.

It is the grace of God that brings us together in this place. It is in this coming together we form a sign that it is God who gathers us, and that now He will act. Both the priest and the assembly interact together. Everything that is said and done is done together, the priest and the assembly. It is all a sign of the Church as Christ’s body and Christ as the head of that body.

 EUCHARISTIC PRAYER

During the Eucharistic Prayer, Christ in the person of the priest, gives thanksgiving for the action and praise that He is now about to perform.

Through the hands of the priest that rest over the gifts of bread and wine, he prays:

 ·        asking the Father to send down His Spirit so that they may become the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ,

 ·        That those who take part in this Eucharist may be one body and one spirit.

 ·        The priest lifts up the true presence of the Body and Blood of our Lord, and

 ·        Presents them to God the Father as the perfect offering made to the glory of His name.

 In that moment, we as the Church are doing what Christ did and forever does: the Church offers His one Body, to which the Church has been joined, to the Father for the glory of his name and for the salvation of the world.

HOLY COMMUNION

Each one of us in receiving, eating, and ingesting the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ are:  

·        now united to Christ in an intensely and deeply personal way.

·        now In the body of the gathered assembly, we become an enormous sign of Christ’s presence in the world.

 How should all this affect . . .

 

·        Our belief in God? 

·        Our relationship with Jesus?

·        Our relationship with each other?
·        Our living out our Christian life as Catholics?

 Let us pray,

“Lord, I believe, help my unbelief.”

 

        Strengthen our faith, reinforce our belief, and banish the darkness of doubt.  Help us to pray courageously, to do good to all, and to guard against losing the spiritual salt of our faith. Give us the resolve and the wisdom to be Jesus’ follower, even when it isn’t easy.  Help us to receive the truth of your presence in our lives.