There is no greater, more fearful injustice to a Catholic than to be denied Last Rites.

Young girls at a New York middle school were instructed to ask one another for a lesbian kiss and boys were given guidance on how to tell if women are sluts during an anti-bullying presentation on gender identity and sexual orientation, angry parents allege.

The special health class was held last week at Linden Avenue Middle School in Red Hook, NY. The students were separated by gender – with students from Bard College leading the workshops.

Parents are especially furious after their young daughters were told that it was perfectly normal for 14-year-old girls to have sex and there was nothing their parents could do to intervene. (more…)

Your child cannot take an aspirin at school without written permission from you, but if you have a teenage daughter age 15 or older, she can now purchase a morning after pill without your knowledge or approval. This pill can triple the risk of a life threatening ectopic pregnancy, as well as cause heart attacks, blood clots, and strokes. It is a Group I carcinogen as rated by the World Health Organization. The claim that this pill will not affect a woman who is already pregnant, or harm a developing fetus, is disputed by none other than Dr. James Trussell, Director of Princeton’s Office of Population Research. He is one of the world’s top authorities on the morning after pill, even though he is a member of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America’s national medical committee, and a board member of the NARAL Pro-Choice America Foundation.

“To make an informed choice, women must know that [emergency contraceptive pills] … prevent pregnancy primarily by delaying or inhibiting ovulation and inhibiting fertilization, but may at times inhibit implantation of a fertilized egg in the endometrium,” he writes with Dr. Elizabeth G. Raymond who co-authored an academic review on the drug dated February 2013. (more…)

Today we celebrate the birthday of Sharon, our soon to be famous author of the Mailbox and Old Barns posts that we all love so much on Sunday mornings. She generously shares her memories and lessons from her earlier years on a Montana farm, providing us with one of the Tree’s most popular and well loved features. Sharon has that rare gift-the ability to paint glorious word pictures, putting the reader right in the middle of the story. Soon she will have a book of those stories to share with us. (more…)

Today we celebrate a very special day, the birthday of our own dear Puddy. We don’t know which of her nine lives she’s on (that’s catfidential information) but we wish her the very best. Puddy has many important functions here in the Tree. She and her sidekick Wee provide the highest form of comic relief. That we can never do without. She brightens our day, brings us our smiles, and makes us belly laugh. Her wit is famous and unequaled in all the world. However, her roles behind the scenes make the Tree function smoothly and with a professional touch unique among blogs. She is the producer, director and artistic consultant on many Treehouse productions. Her talents, humor and giving spirit are a big part of what has made this Treehouse a virtual home on the internet for the wild and woolly crew we have assembled.

News of this event has spread far and wide. We have plenty of extra kibble, cake, and of course, our own spirits, brewed just for Puddy on a moonshiner’s ridge in the Georgia hills. Puddy has friends in all the good places!

She was also a hired assassin for the world famous Mossad in one of her past lives, and this year they offer her birthday cake for our celebration! (more…)

Today we observe Good Friday, the day of the death of Jesus. Many Christian Churches have different ways of observation, to prepare us for the coming resurrection of the Lord on Easter Sunday. Today, the sacrifices we have made during Lent culminate in our internalization of the great offering of Christ’s life. If we have been diligent in our Lenten preparations, Good Friday hits us with a power and force that brings us, literally and figuratively, to our knees with the grasp of what Jesus poured out for us. It becomes personal, a tiny sliver of the cross is buried in our heart. And so each year, we find that we give ourselves over to Christ just a little more through this time of penance and reflection. 

It is our wish here in the Tree that you all, so dear to us, and to each other, have a blessed and holy weekend, this most holy time of the year. May the lamb’s Good Friday sacrifice lead you to the joy we rightfully claim on Easter Sunday. This post mentions some things from my Catholic “language” or viewpoint, if you will.  I would love to have you share some of the traditions and customs from your church or family with us. Are there special observations and services at your church this weekend?

The Easter Triduum, the marking of the days of Jesus’ passion and resurrection, the  most important time of the church year, begins with the evening Mass of Holy Thursday, reaches its high point in the Easter Vigil, and closes on Easter Sunday evening. After preparing during the days of Lent, we celebrate these holiest of days in the Church year. (more…)

On Tuesday 19th of March the day the  Church remembers Saint Joseph, less than a week after his election as 265^th Successor of Peter , Pope Francis  was back in Saint Peter’s  Square.

It was 9:30 on the dot and a glorious sunny day and this first Jesuit and first Latin American Pope was there amid crowds, thousand strong, to celebrate the liturgical rite of inauguration of his Petrine Ministry.The Sacred College of Cardinals to elect him to the papacy – formed a crown around him – eager to present him to the Universal Church as the Chief Shepherd;   And was with them in procession – to the sound of the singing of the Litany of the Saints – that  Pope Francis emerged from the great door of Saint  Peter’s Basilica.

Wearing white vestments he made his way to the altar – removing  the  two pointed mitre symbolising the old and new testaments and  putting down the pastoral staff he was carrying.

Despite the crowds there was prayerful silence in Saint Peter’s Square; Christians and non-Christians alike had come  eager to witness the rite in which the Bishop of Rome was to receive  the two liturgical symbols of his  Petrine Ministry: the fisherman’s ring in gold-plated silver representing the Apostle Peter and the keys;  And the pallium, a narrow stole of white wool made out of lamb’s wool and sheep wool and embroidered with five red silk crosses symbolizing the five wounds of  Christ – held in place by  three pins representing the three nails of Christ.

The celebration  began with the pallium being placed on the pope’s shoulders by the proto-deacon  Cardinal Jean Louis Tauran, representing the culminating moment of this inauguration. It had been symbolically laid out over the tomb of Saint Peter overnight – as a sign of the continuity of the papacy. Continue reading.

One year ago today, the world was made a little brighter by the birth of a special little girl named Sadie. She arrived on a blustery early spring day, staring intently, if not quite focused, at the window full of strange people waiting to greet her, family members from both sides, and many friends as well. Held in her father’s arms, she watched as we danced around, angling for a better view, what seemed like dozens of cameras making the first pictures. That was the start of a love affair that will last my whole life long. No matter what happens, Sadie owns a piece of my heart, and she always will. I was unprepared for the blunt force of love that hit me when Sadie was born. I had always thought that one of my gifts was my ability to love, and to love well and faithfully. Along came Sadie, and I learned that love cannot be contained, and it cannot be measured. A life and a heart filled with love can expand and grow, infinitely, as love comes from the one who is love.

Being the mother of sons, it was a new and wonderful experience for me to have a little girl to enjoy. It wasn’t too long before she learned to smile, and she does it with a radiance that lights up her whole body. When she smiles, she glows, and she smiles all the time. She laughs with her whole little body. She seems to have been crafted from pure joy, and every moment is sunshine to her. From her silky blond hair and shiny blue eyes to the tips of her tiny little toes, she is a blessing, a gift to be savored, loved, treasured as the greatest of gifts from God above, the gift of love. (more…)

When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea,
in the days of King Herod,
behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying,
“Where is the newborn king of the Jews?
We saw his star at its rising
and have come to do him homage.”
When King Herod heard this,
he was greatly troubled,
and all Jerusalem with him.
Assembling all the chief priests and the scribes of the people,
He inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.
They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea,
for thus it has been written through the prophet:
And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
since from you shall come a ruler,
who is to shepherd my people Israel.”
Then Herod called the magi secretly
and ascertained from them the time of the star’s appearance.
He sent them to Bethlehem and said,
“Go and search diligently for the child.
When you have found him, bring me word,
that I too may go and do him homage.”
After their audience with the king they set out.
And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them,
until it came and stopped over the place where the child was.
They were overjoyed at seeing the star,
and on entering the house
they saw the child with Mary his mother.
They prostrated themselves and did him homage.
Then they opened their treasures
and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod,
they departed for their country by another way. (more…)

Reading 1 Is 9:1-6

The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom
a light has shone.
You have brought them abundant joy
and great rejoicing,
as they rejoice before you as at the harvest,
as people make merry when dividing spoils.
For the yoke that burdened them,
the pole on their shoulder,
and the rod of their taskmaster
you have smashed, as on the day of Midian.
For every boot that tramped in battle,
every cloak rolled in blood,
will be burned as fuel for flames.
For a child is born to us, a son is given us;
upon his shoulder dominion rests.
They name him Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero,
Father-Forever, Prince of Peace.
His dominion is vast
and forever peaceful,
from David’s throne, and over his kingdom,
which he confirms and sustains
by judgment and justice,
both now and forever.
The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this!

Gospel Lk 2:1-14

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus
that the whole world should be enrolled.
This was the first enrollment,
when Quirinius was governor of Syria.
So all went to be enrolled, each to his own town.
And Joseph too went up from Galilee from the town of Nazareth
to Judea, to the city of David that is called Bethlehem,
because he was of the house and family of David,
to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child.
While they were there,
the time came for her to have her child,
and she gave birth to her firstborn son.
She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger,
because there was no room for them in the inn.

Now there were shepherds in that region living in the fields
and keeping the night watch over their flock.
The angel of the Lord appeared to them
and the glory of the Lord shone around them,
and they were struck with great fear.
The angel said to them,
“Do not be afraid;
for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy
that will be for all the people.
For today in the city of David
a savior has been born for you who is Christ and Lord.
And this will be a sign for you:
you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes
and lying in a manger.”
And suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel,
praising God and saying:
“Glory to God in the highest
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

When I hear that first reading at mass, my heart swells with joy, and I can barely contain my excitement, and my tears. Each family has special traditions and observations that make the holiday a holy day, and a truly memorable day, unique to them. I think we Treepers have managed to forge bonds, and find traditions of our own, drawing strength from each other, sharing the bad times and the good, making each other laugh, and praying for the needs we present here to our friends.

Merry Christmas Treepers, from each and every one of the Admins here in the Tree. God bless us every one.