And the Word Became a Zygote, and Dwelt Amongst us: Catechesis on Dignitatis Personae and the Dignity of Embryonic Persons

The following is a homily that was given on the 4th Sunday of Advent, which contains a brief catechetical summary and exhortation about the Congregation of the Doctrine of Faith's Instruction on Certain Bioethical Questions, Dignitatis Personae.  This document is very short and is an easy read.  It contains lots of useful tips on how to explain the Church's position using arguments of common sense, or the natural law, besides showing supporting scriptures that teach the truth of morals concerning embryonic persons' inherent dignity.

If you have trouble listening click here.

Mass Readings for Today, the 4th Sunday of Advent.

And the Word became a zygote and dwelt among us

Jesus Christ the Lord became a tiny embryo and thus united himself to all embryos to show that their dignity is just as sacred at the first hour of conception as the rest of the nine months they spend in the womb.  The clarification of the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith issued in 2008 entitled, Dignitatis Personae, outlines bioethics in relation to embryos and scientific research.

“Thus the fruit of human generation, from the first moment of its existence, that is to say, from the moment the zygote has formed, demands the unconditional respect that is morally due to the human being in his bodily and spiritual totality. The human being is to be respected and treated as a person from the moment of conception; and therefore from that same moment his rights as a person must be recognized, among which in the first place is the inviolable right of every innocent human being to life”

Each embryo, especially because Jesus Christ himself was an embryo at one point in his human growth, has the same dignity accorded any human person.

By virtue of the simple fact of existing, every human being must be fully respected. The introduction of discrimination with regard to human dignity based on biological, psychological, or educational development, or based on health-related criteria, must be excluded. At every stage of his existence, man, created in the image and likeness of God, reflects “the face of his Only-begotten Son…

Therefore any infringement of this dignity of persons in embryonic level of their growth is a grave moral evil that must be stopped.

In vitro fertilization is an infringement of this dignity not only because

1.  "The process of in vitro fertilization very frequently involves the deliberate destruction of embryos" but also because it has the tendency to

2.  "dissociate procreation from the integrally personal context of the conjugal act: human procreation is a personal act of a husband and wife, which is not capable of substitution."

For this reason it must be said that intracytoplasmic injection is also gravely immoral.  However,

Techniques which assist procreation “are not to be rejected on the grounds that they are artificial. As such, they bear witness to the possibilities of the art of medicine. But they must be given a moral evaluation in reference to the dignity of the human person, who is called to realize his vocation from God to the gift of love and the gift of life”

There are many kinds of great medicine that are artificial and totally moral and excellent aids to man living out his vocation.

Other offenses against the dignity of embryonic life of man includes:

-cryogenic preservation of embryos (freezing)

-human cloning

-embryonic stem cell research

-hybridization of man with other animal species

-intraceptive and contragestative processes that compromise the life of the embryo or cause abortion (processes that interfere with implantation of the embryo on the uterine wall or other kind of interference)

It must also be held that genetic therapy or manipulation on embryos to produce a desired personal trait is also gravely immoral.  That is not to say that the use of adult stem cells or gene therapy upon adults compromises any ethical laws, but can greatly advance medical science as a means of healing man's ills in a completely ethical way.

May Our Lady help us to answer the call to defend the dignity of each and every single human person from the moment of conception to natural death.

Contemplating Jesus in the Womb of Mary Can Heal the World

Listen to my homily:

If you have trouble listening click here.

We often see Jesus in a certain way, crucified, risen, glorious, but do we contemplate him ever as he was in the womb of Mary?  Try it.  You'll like it.  It will change you.  It might heal you.  You and every other human person went through this silent darkness as you awaited the advent of your own life on earth.  Go back, go back to the womb of Mary and contemplate the little redeemer who prays and loves you from the silent holy darkness of the Immaculate Womb of Mary.

The Fatherhood of God Perpetuated in the Church

My Father, the deacon, and I at my first Mass

Recently a woman found herself apologizing for crying on my shoulder and taking up my time.  I reminded her that God consecrated me for that very purpose, that she would know especially in pain and sorrow, that God deeply loves and cares for her.

Listen to my homily today:

If you have trouble listening click here.

In the readings for today, the 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time, we see that a priest is a sign of the tender Love of God the Father, who arranges to give us very real and incarnate signs, or sacraments that we may know his love.  A priest is an alter Christus, another Christ, who has been given the sacrament of holy orders so that the people of God may filiate themselves to the Father in very real ways.

How many people find very real consolation, strength, blessing, life, and holiness in their relationship with the priests God has given them!  For it is clear that it is the will of God that the relationships of the Most Holy Trinity would be marvelously perpetuated in the Church.  When the faithful live as sons in the Son and filiate themselves to the fatherhood of God present in the priesthood of Christ, God is glorified and man is fortified.  Yet, on the other hand, there are some priests that do not give consolation but afflict the children of the Church.  In recent times we have been very aware of this, almost too aware.  The failure of priests has become often the most favorite topic at the bus station, in the grocery store, at homes and workplaces, so much to the point that it would seem that priests may be terrible villains.

It must be remembered that priests, while the dust has been kicked up a lot lately about the sex abuse crisis, are the lowest number of perpetrators and the management of the Church has handled it as the harshest of juridical penalties that civic law would never allow.  In Germany, the anti-catholic criminologiest Christian Pfeiffer claims that priests are the least number of offenders as .1% of all cases.  In the United States this number is even lower at .03%, while the insurance claims for married clergy are more than double this number and teachers triple.  Yet why are priests targeted?  Because they should be 0%.  They represent God's fatherhood and for this reason the damage is exponentially greater.

Thanks be to Jesus, who gave us this beautiful scripture, to "Call no man on earth our father" (Mt 23:9).  He said this so that when we do encounter the sinfulness of the Church, we will not ultimately allow this to shake our faith, because ultimately there is only One Father who is worthy of the name, before whom all other fathers whether spiritual or human appear as a very insufficient substitute or stand-in for the real thing.  Now, many so called "bible christians" interpret this scripture out of context.  The Catholic principle of interpreting scripture is context.  Let the bible interpret itself in light of itself and in light of the Catholic tradition, the magisterial teachings, and the teachings of the fathers and saints.

What is the context?  In Exodus 20:12 we hear to "honor our father."  In Matthew 3:9 and Luke 3:8 we see that Jesus himself called human men fathers such as Abraham and David.  The Blessed Virgin Mary called Abraham as father (Luke 1:55).  The Apostles Paul, who surely knew how to interpret scripture called himself father of the disciples in Corinth (1 Cor 4:5) and Thessalonica (1 Thess 2:11-12), and even called St Timothy, a young bishop, his son.  Clearly the New Testament tells us that it is right and good to call men by the title father.  So what IS the context?  Jesus immediately before this passage warns us of those teachers who do not practice what they preach, who

"They tie up heavy burdens hard to carry and lay them on people's shoulders, but they will not lift a finger to move them"

It is clear that this passage ought be interpreted in light of that seemingly harsh first reading for today:

You have turned aside from the way,and have caused many to falter by your instruction;you have made void the covenant of Levi,says the LORD of hosts.

It refers to those priests who do not teach the teachings of Christ present through the legitimate authority of the Church, and therefore rather than help souls enter into life, they impede them.  For those Catholic priests who oppose the teaching authority of Christ present in Scripture, Tradition, and the Magisterium, it is time to tremble.  The penalty God speaks of here is very severe.  But the faithful, ought not get too caught up in their failure, they ought not lose their faith because a so called, "father" or "teacher" has not taught them the correct doctrine, for they share their fatherhood only in a participatory or instrumental way.

In closing, I would like to share with you the words of Archbishop Chaput, which he gave in his homily for the national convention of the Knights of Columbus in Denver, Colorado on August 2, 2011.  Watch video here.

"Bishops, priests, and deacons are too often weak and sinful.  We need to be held to high standards.  Some of us deserve to be chastised.  The Church's leadership, the clergy, should always be marked by humility and service, and never by a sense of entitlement.  But it is important to remember that men and women did not found the Church.  They don't own her and they have no license to reinvent her.  The Church belongs to Jesus Christ.  The different roles within the Christian community, clergy, laity, and religious life - have equal dignity but different purposes.  Certain failures, including the sins of the clergy, need to be named, but when people deride their bishops and priests out of pride or resentment or some perverse desire for what they perceive as power, they undermine the Church itself, and they set themselves against the God whose vessel the Church is, and that, as Scripture suggests, leads in a painful direction.  All real reform in the Church today requires two things….renewal begins not in vilifying others but examining ourselves, honestly, repenting of our own sins, and changing ourselves.  This applies to every baptized person, from the Pope to the average man or woman earning a wage.  We are all sinners.  We are all in need of repentance and in need of God's mercy.  When we really understand that we can speak to each other with honesty and love and the reform of the Church can begin.  The second thing we need for reform in the Church is faith, not faith as in theology, or faith as a collection of doctrines and practices, although these are important, but faith as a single-minded confidence in God.  Faith as the humility, and in a sense, the passion and recklessness to give ourselves entirely to God.  That kind of faith changes people, that kind of faith shifts the world on its axis, because nothing can stand against it,"

Why Abortion is THE Issue of Our Day - Render Unto God what is God's and Bears His Image

In the Gospel for today, the 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Jesus teaches us about the two realms of faith and government as his disciples have dual citizenship both of this world and of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Listen to my homily for this Sunday:

If you have trouble listening click here.

A coin bears the head of the person in charge of the state on it and his name.  A human person has inscribed within the very image and name of the Creator, bearing a divine dignity and rights with which he is endowed.  To say then that faith can have no bearing on the state is a lie.  Anyone who doesn't allow their faith to bear influence on their own political views, the social and economic sphere, not only has dead faith, but actually the words of Jesus apply to him, "You hypocrite!"

THE issue in our time for faith and government is abortion.  The reason for this is because the fundamental right to life, and to treated as a human person from the moment of conception is being violated by governments.  For those who say that we cannot be stuck on one issue, I would simply point out that Hitler was an ingenius leader who did everything legal but had one little issue of exterminating a portion of the population.  Why get stuck on one little issue of genocide?

Like hitlerian germany and the environment of slavery, we are now in an environment where millions are deceived into thinking that a fertilized embryo ought not have acccorded full rights of a human person.  When then does their personhood begin?  The fertilized embryo is not that of a duck, nor is it simply a tissue, or a machine.  It is a person who is simply very small growing every day into a larger person.

In our time, the young, in particular, seem to not have the same fear or reverence for the lie that a child in the womb is not a person, and it is the young that are doing the most in the pro-life movement.  A 22 year old woman, Lila Rose, started uncovering the illegal and unethical activity of Planned Parenthood, the world's largest abortion provider, and now it is being defunded slowly of taxpayer's money.  A young 23 year old founded 40 days for life, the world's most successful pro-life campaign to stop abortion.

When we look back at hitlerian Germany or times where slavery was decriminalized, we ask those people living in the time, why didn't they see it?  Why couldn't they see the evil right in front of them?  Why didn't they do anything to stop it?  Will generations from now ask that about us with regard to abortion?  It isn't going to last forever.  Eventually the image and likeness of the human person will be restored.

The question Jesus asks you today is,

WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT?

Prayer and Kindness Stops Abortion

Young People are Taught Chastity by Jesus Christ Himself in the Sacraments: PURE IN HEART CONFERENCE IN PANTASAPH, WALES II

There are many wonderful programmes for young people to teach them about living the Gospel in their human relationships. However, what the are yearning for is not powerpoint presentations, world-class musicians, speakers, venues, but the unfailing love of Jesus Christ.

This can only be given in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist. Here Jesus himself touches them, heals them, and reveals to them the glorious face of their Eternal Father, who is Love.

In the Sacrament of Confession, wounds are healed and bound up while the precious and life-giving wounds of Jesus are given to restore to our true dignity.

Here is the second talk I gave at the Wales Pure in Heart conference:

If you have trouble listening click here.

Theology of the Body in Wales: PURE IN HEART CONFERENCE IN PANTASAPH, WALES I

Blessed Pope John Paul said that Jesus Christ has a living dialogue with a person about their body. He called this "A Theology of the Body." In this dialogue God the Father reveals that he has made man in his image and likeness, creating him in Christ before the world began. Jesus shows that he accepts man exactly in his historical situation right now and loves him. The Holy Spirit, who is Love itself, shows that he is ready to bring us from where we are now to where we need to go.

Here is the teaching I gave at the Franciscan Friary Retreat Center in Pantasaph, Wales for the Pure in Heart conference.

If you have trouble listening click here.

Contemplating Mary's Assumed Womanhood

There is great need today for the whole Church, indeed for all mankind, to be taken up into contemplation of the beautiful and graced womanhood of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Here is my homily for the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

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How to Face Sin and Scandal in the Church (Video)

Do not be crushed by sin. Let it be the very thing that inspires repentance and humbles you before God. Continually ask him for mercy through the intercession of Our Lady.

Marriage is a Union Between One Man and One Woman - Anything Else is Not Solid Ground

In today's readings for the Thursday of 12th week in Ordinary Time, Abraham agrees to conceive a child through the servant of his wife, Hagar. This was not God's plan. Adultery is never God's plan. Conceiving a child outside of the loving covenant between one woman and one man goes against the very image of the Trinity present in marriage and the life it brings.

It seems there is always a "good" motive for going against this covenant. With in vitro-fertilization the couple would claim they want to be fruitful and love a child; in same-sex unions they claim they care for one another, in contraception they claim responsibility, in fornication they claim to be an act of love. Yet in all of these cases, a relationship is not being built on the solid rock of living in the image and likeness of the Most Holy Trinity which the one man - one woman union brings, which is can only be protected by a covenantal and indissoluble seal we call a sacrament.

Marriage once again needs to shine forth in the way God created it. In this way, we will be building our house on solid rock, and when the storms of history come, it will prove steadfast and enduring. May Our Lady, Queen of the Family renew the gift of the family for the building up of the world.

Do Not Diminish the Power of the Witness of Celibacy

Watch Video of Homily

Mass for the 5th Sunday of Easter

Acts 6:1-7; Psalm 33; 1 Peter 2:4-9; John 14:1-12

I was walking though a supermarket one day, minding my own business when a woman stopped me and asked me with disgust in her face, "What are you?" I prayed to the Holy Spirit. I heard myself reply, "I am Celibate. Jesus is Celibate to be totally dedicated to our salvation and so am I." She was one of those that Jesus spoke about in Matthew 19:11, "Not all can receive this, but only to those to whom it is granted." Not everybody can understand celibacy, however, that does not mean that we ought to diminish the sign that Jesus has made it by allowing people to tarnish its beauty or diminish its power.

When a man gifts his whole manhood in Christ to the Father for the sake of salvation ofsouls,it is powerful. He thinks, moves, and breathes for the pu

rpose of getting as many people to open their hearts to the One who loves them as possible. He does this day and night without rest because it is the reason for his existence, he is consecrated for it. I myself have the common experience of fatherly anxiety for my flock, waking up in the middle of the night praying for my parishioners, being preoccupied with their welfare and constantly concerned about their good. I can do this, I am free to do this because for this is I am consecrated. When I speak the words of consecration at Mass in which we believe that Jesus gives us his true Body and Blood, "This is my body," I don't just say it in Persona Christi, but I say it to my parishioners as well, this body is consecrated for you and is yours to serve you and to make you know that you are worth it, that God is worth it, worth a man laying down his whole life.

At this time, there is an attack on the witness of celibacy, and we ought to take care that through

our own negligence or ignorance we don't add to it. The modern media has tried to blame celibacy as the root cause of paedophilia. In a recent study conducted by the US bishops, it has been made clear that celibacy is not the cause of the priest crisis, as CNN and BBC would like you to believe. In fact Catholic priests have the least amount of offenders than in any other profession. Christian Pfieffer, the famed independent German criminal sociologist "reported that approximately 0.1 percent of all offenses are committed by priests. Among clergy offenders Catholic priests are least likely to offend" (Peter Seewald, Light of the World). Insurance claims in the United States report that while 13% of the offenders reported are from protestant married clergy, 6% are catholic priests - less than half!

It seems that priests are being branded, identified, or typified as the ones who are offending yet they are the very least of society and of most Christian denominations. Why then is the news media permitted to do this? Why is there a double standard? George Wiegel, a biographer of Pope John Paul II and a famous Catholic lecturer, has an interesting take on this. He says that it is an implicit recognition of the dignity of the Catholic priesthood. It should be held to a h

igher account because it is a higher calling than simply being Pastor Joe of Joe's church. And why not? There should be 0% cases. The law in every country is stricter on priests than any other group. The statute of limitations is absolutely waived in the United States. "Ernst Wolfgang Böckenförde, a former German constitutional judge, remarked, 'The words that Pope Benedict used years ago in the Untied States and now in his Letter to Irish Catholics could not be harsher,'" (Peter Seewald, Light of the World).

We must then hold celibate priests to a higher standard, yet not diminish the power of its witness by perpetuating lies or slurs that have been cast on its true purpose. I met an Anglican priest a few weeks ago. He said that he thought celibacy is an obstacle to vocations. "You don't really buy those lies, do you?" I asked him. We need to point out the lies to those around us, to unmask them. The fact is, this Archdiocese of Southwark has 39 men preparing for celibate priesthood while the Anglican diocese this priest belongs to has less than 4 candidates. It is a lack of faith that diminishes vocations, not the charism of celibacy. If anything, men are attracted to the high ideals and high standard, not repulsed by it.

Celibacy also has power to complement the married state. It is not in competition, does not diminish, or lessen, the dignity and vocation of marriage. When you see that a man can be faithful to his vow of celibacy you are inspired to be faithful to your vows of marriage and vice versa. If a man can be faithful to the flock of God another man can be faithful to his own little flock, his family. It is possible for him to be madly and passionately in love with one woman for his whole life because the same principle of chastity that is working in celibacy is working in marital chastity. The way a woman treats her spouse, thinks and feels about him, loves him or doesn't love him, is the very way she treats Jesus, thinks and feels toward him. At the end of her life, Jesus will ask her, how much did you love me and permit me to love you in your husband? Yes, this is not easy, but the witness of celibacy encourages us to be faithful.

The person who helps us be faithful is Mary most pure. She can obtain for the Church to be the shining witness of purity and holiness that Jesus calls us to. She can pray for us to obtain holy priests, who are preoccupied in a holy way with the salvation of souls and the welfare of the Christian people. May Our Lady bring about this shining witness and help us not to diminish the power of the witness of celibacy.

Following the Church Teaching on Contraception

Homily given for the 4th Sunday of Easter. Also celebrated is the World Day of Prayer for Vocations by the Vatican and the International Day of the Family by the United Nations. One of these attempts to build up the family, the other to destroy it.

WOMAN: You Are Beautiful

The author and singer of this song wrote it about his daughters. I cannot help but think that it is the way God the Father sees each and every single beloved daughter. Read this short piece which is a selection from a book I am writing called "Graced Womanhood."

You are an enclosed garden, my sister, my bride,
an enclosed garden, a fountain sealed. (Song 4:12)

Woman is a wonderful mystery. Often even to herself, she is an enclosed garden, a fountain sealed. When approaching the topic of womanhood, and especially when approaching women, what is most important is to reveal that each woman is, like any wonderful mystery, meant to be accepted, contemplated, cherished, and most importantly, to be loved. This is ultimately what it what is at the heart of being feminine, to be a receiver of love, primarily the love of Jesus Christ. It is he who cries out, “How beautiful is your love, my sister, my bride!” (Song 4:10). It is he who is pursuing woman, knocking on the heart of each one, daily walking along side them, encouraging and affirming the mystery that they exist to remind the world that it exists primarily for God, to be loved by him and thus to become his beloved.

Despite the beauty of woman, today we find a terrifying cultural and social landscape, where women are not loved or accepted for the gift of who they are and are called to be. The ghastly result is that so many women are deeply wounded. At a time when women have more rights and privileges than never before in human history they are also never before more denigrated and objectified through the improper use of modern media, magazines, internet porn, and a role of women promoted in society that is not at all feminine or worthy of the beautiful mystery of woman.

Working on women’s retreats and days of recollection, teaching toddlers and children, high school and college students, and serving as a spiritual director for many married, single, divorced, widowed, and consecrated women, I found myself mingling tears not a few times with Jesus, who mourns the loss of so much beauty. At the same time, I find myself rejoicing with great thanksgiving at the healing that comes when women become who they are―persons primarily of relationships. It is in the grace and friendship with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and the graced-friendships with all creatures that takes the form of motherhood, that women find profound renewal and life, healing and growth, the fulfillment of their dignity and vocation.
There seems to be quite a bit of material on this topic already. What good is another book about it? A girl once asked St Edith Stein, “Why is it that at this time, so much is being said, even by men, about the nature and vocation of women? It is astonishing how this topic is constantly being taken up by various parties, and how differently it is being treated.”1 We could also ask, what good is a book about women by a man? What can man know about woman? I would not reply to these questions solely with the fact that the man who speaks here about woman is a priest and therefore a servant of women. True, a priest, because of his second-hand experience of the inner world of women may have a point of view that is unique in the vastness of their experience, especially the experience of their own sinfulness that they reveal in the Sacrament of Reconciliation which most women might not share even with their husbands or co-workers. Also a priest has the experience of the inner world of Jesus, particularly the experience of the redemption of woman. If he is ever so slightly attuned to the Priestly Heart of Jesus, he discovers his own heart to be a refuge and oasis for women, where “their tears are collected in his bottle” (Cf. Ps 56:8). This pastoral charity bears with it a certain wisdom that comes from desiring to lay down one’s very life in Christ for women and their redemption. When you would do anything for a person, even die for them, God gives you a special knowledge proportionate to your sincerity of how to love them and what to say to them, “the good things that they really need to hear, things that will really help them” (Eph 4:29). I must also say that I have experienced for many years a great love for women and an indebtedness to them. It seems that the Lord Jesus, finds himself, as every man, in some sense, indebted to women. Firstly because he would simply not exist, but more profoundly because he would not exist well, not experience the tender, maternal nurturing, by which the personhood of a man is developed and grows, “in wisdom, age, and grace,” (Luke 2:52). God has willed himself to need the love of a mother! Every man, especially every priest, also finds in his own heart a kind of indebtedness to women. Not only by his own mother, or by the Blessed Mother, but by so many women who a priest serves, finding himself receiving from them a continuous source of inspiration, wisdom, and courage to be a man. Many women too find themselves indebted to men. Not only would Jesus not exist without Mary, but of course, Mary would not exist without Jesus. God has made man and woman interdependent upon each other in a relationship mutual love. This is true also for the healthy growth and healing of both men and women.

In my moral theology class at the Angelicum in Rome I remember being told by a priest who would later become the Papal Theologian, Fr Wojciech Giertych OP, that future priests need to be formed and affirmed by both masculine and feminine saints, however, women saints have a special role in calling out the manhood of priests. Likewise, we can be certain, that men have a special role in calling out the feminine healing and sanctity of women. Why is this? It is perhaps because there is not only a very deep need in us when we are young to receive the adventurous masculine love of a father and the calming feminine love of a mother, but we also have this need a second time, when we cross the threshold of Christian emotional and spiritual maturity in love. The Lord Jesus himself has shown us this when he was born of a woman in a manger the first time in Bethlehem, and then spent most of his years as part of the plan of redemption in daily communion with the same woman in Nazareth. Then he brought forth a new birth of the mystical body of Christ, the Church through the same woman and her birth pangs at the foot of the Cross in Jerusalem.

It is to THE WOMAN of redemption, the Blessed Virgin Mary, that we must look to find the path for every woman today. Every woman, like Our Lady, in her essence is a mother, and every woman lives out this motherhood in a real relationship with each person of the Most Holy Trinity as a beloved daughter of the Father, a mystical spouse of the Son, and as a real friend of the Holy Spirit. This book could be said to be a journey into the enclosed garden and sealed fountain of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. It is to Mary, Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity, that I entrust you dear reader. May Our Lady’s relationships with the Most Holy Trinity bring about healing and growth for every woman, a light for understanding the mystery of womanhood for every man, and the renewal of this world in Christ.

Healing Wounds from Contraception, Abortion, Divorce, and Unfaithfulness

Bishop Rene Henry Gracida Gives Opening Blessing to the Love and Responsibility Lecture Series at Hester's Cafe

SESSION 1: Introduction & The Analysis of the Verb "To Use"

Fr Samuel Medley, SOLT, Gives the Introduction and Speaks on "The Analysis of the Verb 'To Use'

Fr Samuel Medley, SOLT is a Professor of the Theology at Our Lady of Corpus Christi, where he is a formator for SOLT Seminarians. He also teaches high school at John Paul II High School. He enjoys very much teaching toddlers how to pray and adore the Eucharistic Jesus in the Our Lady Loves You Formation Program.

He is on Facebook, Twitter, Youtube.

Listen to his homilies here. View his notes and presentations here.

Click here to see his: Theology of the Body Taught at the Street Level Blog

The Glory Estate Opens for Session 1

The Glory Estate recently Published their first album, "Fading into the Light."

http://thegloryestate.com/

You can listen to their music here on MySpace.

You can purchase their music here on iTunes.

SESSION 2: Interpretation of the Sexual Urge

Matthew Moore Speaks on "The Interpretation of the Sexual Urge"

Matthew Moore is a Professor of Philosophy at Our Lady of Corpus Christi.

http://www.colcc.com/

Alexis Saski is a local up-and-coming artist. She will be signing on a Christian Music label soon and we look for more great things from her.

You can listen to more of her great music here: http://www.myspace.com/alexisnsaskimusic

SESSION 3: Metaphysical Analysis of Love

Dr John Purk, DDS, Speaks on "The Metaphysical Analysis of Love"

This is Part One. Scroll down to view Part Two.

Dr John Purk is a lay member of the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity

and on the advisory committee of the United States Council of Catholic Bishops.

He has been teaching Theology of the Body and Love and Responsibility

for over thirty years.

You can find his outline of Love and Responsibility here:

http://scripturerosary.com/Love_and_Responsibility_HEI.html

You can tune into his radio program "Religion on the Line" Sundays 6-8am CDT here.

This is Part Two.

Revelation 101 Opens for Session 3

Revelation 101 is a local pro-life rock band from the Corpus Christi Area.

You can see more of their music at: http://www.myspace.com/revelation101band

SESSION 4: Psychological Analysis of Love

Fr Thomas Loya Speaks on "The Psychological Analysis of Love"

(Be patient, he will start speaking after a few moments)

Fr Thomas Loya, the Pastor of Annunciation Byzantine Catholic Church, is a nationally renowned speaker of the Theology of the Body. http://www.byzantinecatholic.com/

He has two radio shows: A Body of Truth and Light of the East, which you can view here:

http://www.catholicradiointernational.com

He is available for talks and retreats:

http://taborlife.com/

Every 2nd Saturday of the Month 10:30am - 12pm CST

There is a Theology of the Body Study Group

Mason and Crystal are part of One Step Closer, a local band that plays at Ingleside, TX.

SESSION 5: Ethical Analysis of Love

Steve Pokorny Speaks about the "Ethical Analysis of Love"

Get this widget | Track details | eSnips Social DNA

Steve Pokorny is the director of Theology of the Body Ministries.

He is the Associate Editor for Theology of the Body Channel for CatholicExchange.Com

He the Associate Director for the Office of Marriage and Family Life and Natural Family Planning for the Archdiocese of San Antonio.

Daddy Vic and the Drew Flu Open for Session 5

More from Daddy Vic and the Drew Flu can be viewed here:

http://www.myspace.com/vicbenys

SESSION 6: Rehabilitation of Chastity

Sr Anne Marie Walsh, SOLT, Speaks About "The Rehabilitation of Chastity"

Sr Anne Marie is the General Sister Servant of the SOLT Sisters

She speaks regularly on the Theology of the Body and is an expert on Christian Womanhood, particularly the teachings of Venerable Pope John Paul II, Mulieris Dignitatem.

Natalia Canales and Josh Garza Opened up for Session 6

Hear more from the angelic voice of Natalia Canales.

Hear more amazing classical guitar from Josh Garza on MySpace and Youtube.

PART II

SESSION 7: Metaphysics of Shame and Problems with Continence

Joe McClane the "Catholic Hack," talks about Shame and Continence

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We are sorry that, due to problems with an internet connection, we did not get the whole webcast recorded, but look soon for the MP3 downloadable episode on iTunes.

Joe McClane is a Catholic Evangelizer who has a podcast called, "The Catholic Hack." He is also the national coordinator for the Fullness of Truth Conference, which is coming to Corpus Christi July 17-18, 2010.

Here is T.J. Tomazin, praising the Lord:

SESSION 8: Vocation

Sr Helena Burns FSP Talks about Vocation

Sr Helena Burns is a Sister in the Congregation Daughters of St Paul

She runs a blog called, Hell Burns where she does movie reviews and gives commentary on Theology of the Body, culture, art, film, etc.

Here is a clip of the Play, Love Set Ablaze.

It was written by Elizabeth George, who in her theology class wrote it as a catechism of vocational discernment.

She is also the inspiration of this whole lecture series.