African Synod Web site.

The USCCB has launched a Web site devoted to the Second Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops. Check it out! Atlanta Archbishop Wilton Gregory will be blogging soon.

The Battle of Lepanto by Paolo Veronese

Check it out here!

Guests for Wednesday, 10/7/2009

Paula Westwood and Right to Life of Greater Cincinnati are online at affirminglife.org; The entire Son Rise Morning Show team will be at the Evening for Life banquet on Thursday night- hope to see you all there!

Peter Breen is online at thomasmoresociety.org.

Sunni Ayelle and Cathlink are online at cathlink.com.

To sign up for 40 Days for Life, visit 40daysforlife.com/cincinnati.

Barry Michaels is online at barrymichaelsbooks.com.

Mike Aquilina is online at fathersofthechurch.com.


Anthony Buono is online at avemariasingles.com.

Catholic Relief Services is online at crs.org.

Patrice MacArthur is online at spiritualwoman.net.


Brian Brockhoff and CISE are online here.

Marybeth Hicks is online at marybethhicks.com.


For information on all retreats from Presentation Ministries, visit presentationministries.com.

For information on the John Paul the Great Legacy Project, visit jptglegacyproject.com.

Today's news.

The Diocese of Bridgeport is disappointed over the U.S. Supreme Courts decision to not block documents related to sexual abuse cases.

Read the letter to the Diocese of Antigonish from Archbishop Anthony Mancini.

Pope Benedict addresses the Synod of African Bishops on the first day of deliberations.

An African Cardinal sees the possibility of a black pope.

Mother Angelica and Deacon Bill Steltemeier receive the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice Award.

Guests for Tuesday, 10/6/2009

Dr Mike Gable and the Mission office for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati are reachable at 513-421-3131.

For more information on the upcoming Dayton Rosary Rally, visit rosary-rally.com.

Barry Michaels is online at barrymichaelsbooks.com.


Info on upcoming retreats from Presentation Ministries is up at presentationministries.com.

Bill Donaghy is online at missionmoment.org and twistedmystics.blogspot.com.

Kevin Schmiesing is online at catholichistory.net.

Paula Westwood blogs at createdorder.blogspot.com.

Send your questions for Catholic counselor Kevin Prendergast to sonrise@sacredheartradio.com.

Peter Breen and the Thomas More Society are online at thomasmoresociety.org.

Fr John Waiss, author of "Born to Love"


Dr Paul Voss' article on how great thinkers from the past can help us today is up at Catholic Exchange.

Laura Sheahen and Catholic Relief Services are online at crs.org.

Rich Leonardi directs us to zenit.org for English transcripts of the Holy Father's talks.

St. Therese, Protect Us in... Battle?

Last week I wrote about the many unexpected things that happened after the death of St. Therese of Lisieux, who died young and unknown in a French convent but was since named a Doctor of the Church, and is one of the most popular saints of our times.

This weekend I learned yet another unexpected thing about the young nun who yearned to be a missionary -- and a martyr. Frail and sickly, she could not make a missionary journey, but in her heart she wished to be Joan of Arc leading troops or a soldier fighting heretics.

Apparently that, too, was granted to the Little Flower after her death. This post explains a little about a publication (in French only) that collected stories about her appearances to soldiers on the battlefields of World War I.

Assembled during the time her Cause for sainthood was being investigated and available online, Pluie de Roses ("Rain of Roses") catalogues appearances to soldiers of many nationalities, as well as miraculous interventions and conversions attributed to Therese.

In one, a British corporal prayed to her from trenches between fire from both sides on an October night in 1914. My French is rusty, but I can make out what James Dalton remembered:

"I prayed to the 'Little Flower' and suddenly a nun appeared before me, six or seven feet away. She was very beautiful... but her face had an expression of profound sadness, as if she had great pity on us. I remembered at once the saint of Lisieux. This happened at Houplines, near Armentieres. "Some weeks later, I received her two times again in this same attitude, seeming to pray for us, and I sense her effective protection envelope me every day."

Some people find St. Therese's writings to be juvenile and sickly sweet, while many others -- including the freethinking socialist -turned radical Catholic Dorothy Day -- find them the key to understanding holiness. The mystery of St. Therese, like holiness itself, is deep and broad. What does she have to say to you?

(The St. Therese image is another downloadable wallpaper from Philip K.)

National Eucharistic Prayer Vigil Info

Monday, Oct 12, there's a Eucharistic prayer vigil at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, featuring Fr. Frank Pavone and a number of other speakers. Visit iwopf.org for more information.

Guests for 10/5/2009

Kevin Schmiesing is online at catholichistory.net.

Steven Greydanus is online at decentfilms.com

Mike Aquilina is online at fathersofthechurch.com.


Dan Egan is online at bibletidbits.blogspot.com.

Pat Gohn writes for woman.catholicexchange.com.

Dr Paul Rahe, author of "Montesquieu and the Logic of Liberty"


Fr Kyle Schnippel is online at fatherschnippel.blogspot.com.

Rich Leonardi directs us to this talk from Pope Benedict XVI on the Transcendentals.

Dr Scott Hahn has a new book, "Covenant and Communion: the Biblical Theology of Pope Benedict XVI"


More information on the new Fatima film, "The 13th Day," is available at the13thday.com.

World Mission Sunday is October 18! For more information, call the Mission Office at 513-421-3131.

News Round-up.

The Pew Research Center finds a stronger pro-life stance in America.

Check out Cardinal Rigali's statement for Respect Life Sunday - which is this Sunday, the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi.

Pope Benedict meets with Pakistan's president.

The auxiliary of Westminster will be the ordinary at Birmingham.

Bishop Raymond Lahey turns himself into police - facing child pornography charges.

Flowers and Bones

To those outside the Church, the saints all look alike. But what's endlessly exciting and interesting about the saints is how different they are from each other. Each had a unique path to sanctity, some of them completely unexpected.

Yesterday, for instance, was the feast day of St. Therese of Liseaux, the "Little Flower of Jesus." A cloistered Carmelite nun who was sickly and died young, she would hardly seem like a candidate for one of the world's most popular saints.

But that she is. The little book about her life that she wrote under protest, The Story of a Soul, has been read and treasured by millions.

That in itself would be miracle enough for any saint: A 24-year-old girl becoming a Doctor of the Church. But there's more.

As a child she dreamed of being a missionary, but was too sick to ever leave France. Her book has been translated into more than 55 languages, and so her words have reached more people than one missionary ever could. In recognition of that, the Church named her the patron saint of missionaries.

But there's more. Among the many people influenced by her writings was an Albanian religious sister who took her name: Teresa. She taught happily in a girl's school for years before she felt God's call to serve the poorest of the poor. Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity are one of the greatest mission orders of our time.

Enough mission and miracles? Apparently not! Since the mid-1990s, some of St. Therese's relics have been touring the world (they were in the United States in 1999 and 2000). Currently they're in England and Wales where, according to a blogger who is cataloguing their progress, more than 100,000 people have so far packed churches and cathedrals to see them.

How could a young girl do so much? The answer is simple: She couldn't. Not from inside a convent in a town no one outside of France has ever heard of. Not on her own. But with God, all things are possible. And the miracles of St. Therese keep on coming.

(For a download of the very cool St. Therese computer wallpaper shown above, other Catholic wallpapers, posters, t-shirts, and more, click here for Catholic designer and blogger Philip K's website.)

Guests for Friday, 10/2/2009

Rita Heikenfeld is online at abouteating.com.

Fr James Kubicki is online at apostleshipofprayer.org.

For more information on the Bible Timeline retreat, visit presentationministries.com


Steven Greydanus is online at decentfilms.com.

Dan Egan is online at bibletidbits.blogspot.com.

Fr Greg Friedman is online at franciscanradio.org.

Joan Wester Anderson is online at joanwanderson.com.


Steve Mosher is online at pop.org.


In todays Vatican II segment, we discussed Presbyterorum Ordinis... to read it for yourself, click here.


For more information on this weekend's "Ascent of Praise" Christian music festival, click here.

Patti Armstrong's article on the links between Susan B. Komen and Planned Parenthood is up at woman.catholicexchange.com

Dancing on Television

Like many other little girls, I used to dream of being a ballerina. My parents paid for years of dance classes, and though I never came close to dancing professionally, I danced in amateur troupes and for fun long afterward. No one could be more pleasantly surprised than I was by the success of dance on network television -- not one, but two contest programs dedicated to dancing are bona fide hits. Both are back for fall seasons.

Dancing with the Stars pits celebrities against each other in a Swarovski-crystal-soaked ballroom dancing duel. In Fox's unexpected So You Think You Can Dance aspiring dancers from different disciplines work with top choreographers to see who is the best all-around dancer.

Both television shows are frequently touted as family fare -- including, on this station, recent mentions by Catholic television critic John Kieswetter. And in general, they are. But...

Dance, like acting, has long been associated with loose morals and prostitution. Ballet dancers, today regarded as "artists" par excellance, were once considered little better than call girls. It doesn't take many viewings of either show to before you find out that the old connection is alive and well.

The routines in Dancing With the Stars sometimes cross the line of good taste -- although just one viewing of real international competitions will show you that the raunchiest network routines are toned down from what now passes as "sexy" Latin dance. On this ABC show, the real sleaze is from the guest performances on results night. Some nights you get Michael Flatley's military style Irish dancing platoons, but other nights you get writhing, half-naked dancers accompanying rap singers. We usually skip results night.

Although you would expect a Fox show to feature and encourage sleaze, So You Think You Can Dance has confounded expectations by showcasing some of the best working contemporary, jazz, and Broadway choreographers around, not to mention a host of other dance styles from contemporary African to hip hop. In its five seasons, So You Think You Can Dance has televised haunting, astounding, hilarious, perplexing, and gorgeous dance routines -- as well as a few downright offensive ones.

The "street" style dances are most likely to offend, but you never know. This spring, season five's much-touted final week presented many of its most memorable dances, Emmy-winning dances from past years, and new dances created for the occasion. In one of the latter the season's top 18 dancers returned to do a routine set in a strip bar. The female dancers dressed like hookers and did a bump and grind bit standing on top of tables.

As a viewer all I could think of was that after thousands of dollars in lessons and thousands of hours perfecting their technique, the nine incredibly talented young women ended up table dancing for millions of people.

So much for art.

Rita Heikenfeld's Grilled Flat Iron Steak with Garkic and Thyme

For each steak (1-1/2 # approx.)

Combine:

2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme

2 cloves garlic, minced

Salt and pepper

For sprinkling on immediately after grilling: a light coating of freshly grated Parmesan cheese and fresh chopped parsley if you have it



Rub each steak generously with olive oil, season with salt and pepper. Rub seasoning onto steak. Place on hot grill and grill until medium rare to medium, turning once. Remove and sprinkle with cheese. Let rest, tented, 5 minutes or so and slice thinly against grain.

Welcome, Philomena Walsh!

...her dad, Magazine Rack Morality guy Michael Walsh, reports that Mom (Amy) and baby are doing fine.

Guests for Thursday, 10/1/2009

Anthony Buono is online at avemariasingles.com.

Fr Philip DeVous is online at acton.org.

For more info on this weekend's "Ascent of Praise" Christian music festival, click here.

Send your questions for Catholic counselor Kevin Prendergast to sonrise@sacredheartradio.com.

Fr James Kubicki is online at apostleshipofprayer.org.

Rita Heikenfeld is online at abouteating.com and the Community Press site.

Gina Loehr, author of "Real Women, Real Saints"


Stephanie Mann is online at supremacyandsurvival.com.


Fr Cliff Ermatinger, author of "St Augustine Answers 101 Questions on Prayer"


For information on the "Making Tomorrow's Decisions Today" workshop, call Linneman Funeral Homes at 859-727-1250.

To sign up for 40 Days for Life, visit 40daysforlife.com.

Dr Scott Hahn's latest book is called "Covenant and Communion: The Biblical Theology of Pope Benedict XVI."