St. Bernard

Today is the feast day of St. Bernard. I hesitate to say "one of my favorites" or "most loved" as I find it hard to become too attached to just one saint. Often times the saint I seem most attached to depends on my happenings in life at that time. But it is safe to say that St. Bernard of Clairvaux always comforts me in all situations. If you have not read much on this saint or you are looking for a GREAT book to read aloud to your children, you must pick up The Family That Overtook Christ (see link below). Also, a great introduction for adults is St. Bernard of Clairvaux from Amazon (below) or Tan.

St. Bernard's writings are awesome. In his treatise On Loving God, he describes four degrees of love. We see clearly here why we learn and teach our children to know, love, and serve God. You must know before you can love and serve!

• First, man loves himself for his own sake due to his earthly nature
• Next, man sees that he is dependent on something and faith leads him to seek God and love Him because of his dependence on Him - a selfish love.
• Through the practice of our faith and worship of God, we learn of God's Goodness, and love Him not only for what He had done for us, but because He is God.
• The perfect love being a totally unselfish love, where man loves himself only for God's sake - a total abandonment to oneself and a total giving of oneself to God.As expressed in the Psalms: "I will go forth in the strength of the Lord God: and will make mention of Thy righteousness only" (Ps. 71:16)

Quote

OK, I have been feeling really bummed out lately over a whole multitude of worries, so here is my thought for the day/week/month:

The world holds us to be fools; Let us hold it to be mad.
St. Francis de Sales

Although, I guess I should be thinking in these terms:

God bless thee; and put meekness in thy mind,
love, charity, obedience, 
and true duty!
William Shakespeare

A Couple of Videos

A couple of great, short videos from Real Catholic TV.com .

Please Support Belmont Abbey College

My daughter graduated from Belmont Abbey College this past spring. I would appreciate all support that you can give to help them in this matter. Please see contact info at bottom of this article from LifeSiteNews.com.

Feds Accuse Catholic Belmont Abbey College of Sexual Discrimination for Not Covering Contraception

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By Kathleen Gilbert

BELMONT, North Carolina, August 10, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has accused Belmont Abbey College of discriminating against its female employees by not covering contraceptives in its health insurance plan.

The EEOC stepped in after eight teachers filed a complaint over what they considered a discriminatory health insurance policy, and what Belmont Abbey says is simply faithfulness to basic Church teaching.

In December 2007 Belmont Abbey, a conservative Catholic campus in North Carolina, stopped offering abortion, contraception, and sterilization coverage that had been accidentally included as part of its employee health insurance packages.

"As a Roman Catholic institution, Belmont Abbey College is not able to and will not offer nor subsidize medical services that contradict the clear teaching of the Catholic Church," said Belmont Abbey President William Thierfelder. "There was no other course of action possible if we were to operate in fidelity to our mission and to our identity as a Catholic college."

After faculty members filed complaints with the EEOC and the North Carolina Department of Insurance, Belmont Abbey says the EEOC told the school in March 2009 that it would close the file on the discrimination charge, as it had not found the school's decision in violation of its statutes. But the agency later reversed itself, and issued a determination letter to the school on August 5 affirming that the ban amounted to gender discrimination, because it pertains only to women.

"By denying prescription contraception drugs, Respondent (the college) is discriminating based on gender because only females take oral prescription contraceptives," wrote Reuben Daniels Jr., the EEOC Charlotte District Office Director in the determination. "By denying coverage, men are not affected, only women."

Belmont Abbey College has been directed by the EEOC to reach an agreeable resolution with faculty. If this does not happen, Daniels will advise the parties of available enforceable court alternatives.

BAC president Dr. William K. Thierfelder said he was surprised at hte EEOC's reversal, and called their decision "disappointing."

"We are disappointed that this matter has taken this very unusual twist, but we remain committed to ensuring that all of the College's policies and practices follow the teachings of the Catholic Church, which includes valuing all life and treating individuals with dignity and respect, and providing equal opportunities for all," said Thierfelder in a statement on behalf of the school.

"The College is confident that its actions ultimately will be found to be in compliance with all federal and state laws and with the U.S. Constitution," said the statement. "Accordingly, the College will be asking the EEOC to reconsider each of the current determinations it has made in connection with the charges filed against the College."

The Cardinal Newman Society (CNS), who has included Belmont Abbey in its list of top conservative Catholic campuses in the U.S., told EEOC acting chairman Stuart Ishimaru in a letter today that "It is ironic that the federal agency responsible for protecting against discrimination has so blatantly engaged in an inexcusable violation of religious liberty in its Belmont Abbey ruling,"

CNS also is sending a letter to all Catholic bishops in the United States, informing them of the EEOC action against Belmont Abbey College, and highlighting the dangerous precedent this ruling sets to force Catholic employers to include contraceptive coverage in employee health plans.

"No Catholic college or other institution should be required by government to violate the Catholic Church's clear moral teachings," said Patrick J. Reilly, President of The Cardinal Newman Society. "The apparently increasing insensitivity to religious beliefs should frighten all employers and employees. We urge religious leaders to stand in defense of Belmont Abbey College."

To respectfully express concerns:

Reuben Daniels, Jr.,
EEOC Charlotte District Office Director
129 West Trade Street
Suite 400
Charlotte, North Carolina 28202
phone: 1-800-669-4000
fax: 704-344-6734

Stuart Ishimaru,
Chairman, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
131 M Street, NE
Washington, DC 20507
Phone: (202) 663-4900
TTY: (202) 663-4494
info@eeoc.gov