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Written by Saturday, 21 July 2012 16:31

GLADE PARK, CO (Catholic Online) -- Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York recently wrote about the importance of viewing the U.S. as "mission" territory. He noted that Catholics in America must move from "keeping our faith to ourselves to letting it shine to others!" With those words, Cardinal Dolan kindly reminds Catholics that the Church has never advocated a Christian discipleship which is based solely on silent witness to the Gospel.

That message, one which calls Catholics to embrace and live their faith openly, zealous in spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ in both word and deed as it has been guarded and transmitted by the Church for twenty-centuries, is not new. In fact, it began with the example of St. Peter and the other apostles on Pentecost, that day on which the Church was made "manifest to the world" by "the outpouring of the Holy Spirit" (CCC 1076; see Acts 2). On that glorious day, the apostles began to speak openly and actively in favor of the way of Christ.

When we look at the apostles method of evangelization, we immediately notice that it energetically involved the whole person; i.e., it became their way of life -- even if that way of life meant martyrdom. And it indeed did for all of the apostles save St. John.

Today the context of evangelization is different -- thus it is called the "New Evangelization." While the apostles labored to water the seed of the Church planted by Christ, nourishing it with their very blood that it may become a vine whose tendrils of truth and light would reach across the fields of the earth, evangelization has been shaped in recent times by the affects of an increasingly post-Christian era. That is, nearly everyone knows of Christ, but few people truly and intimately know the Person who is Jesus the Christ. A vine overgrown with weeds is more often encountered than a land of weeds. As Pope Benedict XVI has emphatically stated more than once, men are living as if God does not exist. It would be a serious error to imagine the Holy Father is speaking only to those who openly reject God, however often as the case may be, for he is speaking primarily to reputed Christians.

This situation in which America has become imbued with the ambience of practical atheism, is due in large part to the "we're all fine" phenomenon. It goes like this: "God loves me and you the way we are, so not to worry. Sure, everybody has their faults, but Christ died for our sins. God will work it all out." As is evident, such a convenient religious philosophy is not entirely unrelated to the unbiblical doctrine of unconditional salvation, also known as "eternal security" or "once saved always saved." That people are on different paths is true, but the notion that all these paths invariably lead to the same glorious end regardless of how the individual person exercises free will, is one giant, diabolical lie.

Written by News Sunday, 15 July 2012 14:16

 

 

.- The Franciscans in Syria are calling upon foreign powers to stop sending arms to the country after reports that over 200 civilians have been massacred in the village of Tremseh, potentially the bloodiest single incident of the Syrian conflict so far.

“It is a tragedy, the news is confusing, truth is the first victim,” Franciscan Father Romualdo Fernandez, Director of the Ecumenical Centre of Tabbaleh, said on July 13 in Damascus.

“If foreign powers continue to arm and finance the warring parties, the war will continue and victims will increase. This is not the way of peace: the road to peace is through dialogue,” he told the Vatican’s Fides news agency.

The armed revolt against Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad began in March 2011 and has since claimed over 10,000 lives, according to the latest U.N. estimates.

Reports as to what happened in the village of Tremseh are conflicting. United Nations observers have confirmed that the village in the western Hama province was subject to heavy fighting, including helicopters, tanks and heavy artillery on Thursday, July 12.

Written by News Sunday, 15 July 2012 14:10

The Supreme Court has ruled that those fines or penalties for non-compliance with the Affordable Care Act are a tax. Thus, the Federal Government will soon tax the Catholic Church for abiding by its deeply held religious convictions in its ministry to people in need. These taxes could have the practical result of closing many of the Church's outreaches, ministries and institutions of care and compassion.  This not only injures the Church and violates the Constitution, it injures American society and is an offense against the common good.

 

 

By Deacon Keith Fournier - WASHINGTON, DC (Catholic Online) - On Thursday, June 28, 2012 the United States Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the individual mandate of the Affordable care Act (aka Obama Care). The dense opinion was authored for a 5- 4majority by Chief Justice John Roberts. Justices Kennedy, Alito, Scalia and Thomas strongly dissented. However, a Court speaks through its majority. The Majority opinion upheld the mandate of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, not under the Commerce Clause, but as an exercise of Congress' power to tax.

The Obama Administration initially argued that the penalty for non-compliance with the Affordable Care Act's mandate to purchase insurance was not a tax. In fact, candidate and then President Obama, as well as the Congressional proponents of the legislation, argued that it was not a tax. They changed their position in the Chambers of the US Supreme Court. Now that the Supreme Court has held that the penalties for non-compliance are a tax, the political opposition has shifted. For all of us concerned about Religious Liberty, this is about much more than semantics. The Administration is saying violate your faith or pay a punitive tax to the Federal Government!

The major First Amendment Free Exercise of Religion concerns triggered by the HHS Mandate in the implementation of the Affordable Care Act have given rise to numerous lawsuits on their way to the US Supreme Court. They properly argue that the implementation of the Act through the HHS Mandate is unconstitutional because it violates the Free Exercise of Religion under the First Amendment. Those cases might have become moot had the Court struck down the Act. They are now more important - and much more urgent - than before.

 

 

Written by News Tuesday, 10 July 2012 21:15

 

.- It was the end of March when the violence in Syria became unbearable for Salwa, a young mother who lived in the besieged city of Homs with her husband and four children.

After more than a year of almost daily bloodshed, she and her family left behind everything they owned, and fled Syria with nothing more than the clothes they were wearing.

They crossed the border into neighboring Jordan, where they finally found safety in the town of Mafraq. There, with the help of Catholic Relief Services, Caritas Jordan is helping families like Salwa’s get through the crisis.

Salwa told Caritas Jordan volunteers that she’s grateful her family is safe, but that her children are still fearful. “Whenever they hear fireworks—often part of local wedding celebrations in Jordan—they fear that the violence has followed them from their home in Syria to Jordan.”
 
CRS helps thousands of Syrians affected by crisis

The violence that erupted in Syria in March 2011 has spiraled into a tumultuous, terrifying conflict and has led to paralyzing fear for innocent civilians—many of them women, children and the elderly. It’s unclear exactly how many Syrians have been displaced by the fighting, but the United Nations estimated at the end of May that at least 500,000 Syrians had fled their homes for the safety of neighboring countries.

Written by News Sunday, 8 July 2012 21:06

 

 

How do marketers determine social media ROI?

It’s certainly been a hard, especially when you consider that the majority of CEOs believe that marketers don’t really know what they’re doing. Some 73 percent of CEOs think that marketers lack business credibility, and more than three-quarters (77 percent) think that they don’t talk often enough about what really matters: sales.

But there’s the rub. The rules have changed. Measurable success in social media comes in a variety of different forms, including customer support, increased brand equity and market research, and businesses have to work hard to ensure that their message is seen by being creative and patient. And yes: if you build it, sales will come. Those brands that go the extra mile can and will see a noticeable boost in revenues, as this infographic shows.

 

 

Written by News Thursday, 21 June 2012 18:50

 

If the World did not have internet - here what will happy click read more - What say you?

 

Written by News Tuesday, 19 June 2012 22:29

 

Click read more for large picture

The speculation game over Twitter’s revenue is going wild. Some believe the company will bring in $226 million in revenue this year, others predict closer to $400 million, and some even think it will reach a billion in just two years.

And while it’s still private, we probably won’t be hearing any official numbers from Twitter for a while – but this infographic from TheNology.com explores what we do know.

Whether Twitter’s revenue will reach $540 million in 2014 – or whether it will explode to $1 billion as two sources told Bloomberg this month – is up for debate. The infographic explores both possibilities, and it does point out that many advertisers prefer Twitter to Facebook, which may lend credence to the high predictions.

The various types of advertising solutions on Twitter are also explored in this infographic, and a few case studies including the Red Cross and Airbnb are included to highlight how big advertisers are using Promoted Tweets, Trends and Accounts creatively.

 

Written by News Tuesday, 19 June 2012 22:18

While LinkedIn remains the top way that headhunters find talented employees, businesses with top-quality Facebook pages can attract quality applicants, too.

 

Canadian business publication Benefits Canada offered some ways that companies can use their Facebook pages to not only connect with their fans, but with future employees. Writer Tod Maffin explains that 63 percent of job seekers have used Facebook to look for employment, so the social network can be a credible tool.

The story points out that companies should gauge their reputation by seeing what others are posting about them on Yelp, Twitter, and Foursquare. It’s OK for employers to Google themselves. Businesses looking to attract top applicants should also make sure they have a strong mission statement posted on their page, which should be clean and clearly designed.

Maffin also feels that businesses shouldn’t be shy about using all of the tools that come with Facebook pages:

Facebook pages incorporate tools that can be useful in recruiting, and these tools have been further enhanced with the site’s timeline page redesign. Stories form emotional connections with people, and timeline allows you to publish compelling stories about your organization’s history, significant events, and achievements. Pin highly relevant content to the top of your timeline for more prominent positioning.

Hosting a hiring fair? Want to get soon-to-be-graduates thinking about you as a potential employer? Spread the word by posting the information to Facebook events. You can also target possible attendees with an ad.

Readers: Have you ever networked your way to a job through Facebook? Tell us what worked.

Find more great social media jobs on our job board. For real-time openings and employment news, follow @MBJobPost.