tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54548976763841607222024-03-13T14:34:58.866-04:00The Mother in the ValeThoughts of a Traditional Catholic MomCindy Willmothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04074715198310800028noreply@blogger.comBlogger49125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5454897676384160722.post-39351429027842130922015-04-27T02:30:00.003-04:002015-04-27T02:30:59.609-04:00Poverty and Perserverance <br />
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It's 12:45 am. I am wide awake. Normally, if I am up at this time, I am nursing a baby or tending a sick child, or in the past, tending to my mother. Not tonight. Tonight, or rather this morning, I am attempting to get on a new schedule and that let me to Simcha Fisher's blog. Normally, I don't read her. Okay. Sometimes I do, but we don't share the same outlook on life or Catholicism. <a href="http://www.patheos.com/blogs/simchafisher/2015/04/17/the-day-i-bought-steak-with-my-food-stamps/">But tonight, out of boredom, I checked her out.</a> And then I sat down to write this blog. Thanks Simcha, for giving me the courage to share it.<br />
We are a traditional Catholic family. Yes. It's a choice we made. But it's more than that. It's our lifestyle borne out of our strongly held value system. We actually really believe that our marriage is better and our children are better because my husband works and I stay home. We actually believe that the traditional teaching regarding the use of birth control is a serious matter. As each child came, and there are seven, we had faith that God would provide. As we watched our children develop in the decaying public school system, we began homeschooling because we actually believe that it's better for our children. We have had faith, regardless of our struggles, that God would guide us. But this past year has been a test.<br />
I know exactly what Simcha is talking about. We depend a great deal on the generosity of others. In the past few years, friends have brought cases of food to our home. Many times, that has been the only food we have had in our cupboards. When my mother became ill last year, we had an amazing outpouring of Christmas gifts for our children. We always seem to pull things together, but it's never without cost. Each month, we play the past due bill shuffle. The only bills that get paid are the ones with a shut off notice. Sometimes, we have to plead for extensions on those. Any home or car repair puts us in crisis. And each year we wait anxiously for income tax time. Our only hope, sometimes, is our tax return. And this year, we had to go on food stamps. That $100 really goes far. But sometimes its a matter of whether or not our kids eat that week or not.<br />
About December, I had a serious loss of faith. I knew how difficult our financial situation was and I became angry and afraid. Poverty today in America is a crime. If you don't have running water or don't have enough food in your refrigerator, the state, the government, will take your kids away. It's especially frightening when you homeschool because people assume that something sinister is happening in your home. So, we, as traditional Catholic parents with very limited resources, live in a state of anxiety. This is the reality of traditional parents: the constant fear that some legal authority will take your children because you are poor, or free range, or a homeschool, or natural, or anti-vaccines. I begged and bargained with God. I just did not understand why, after all the positive changes we had made in our lives, why we had to suffer financially like this. I even asked Him to give me a heart and love for poverty, so I wouldn't want the very few things I do have. Nothing changed. In fact, they seemed to have gotten worse.<br />
Last month, my mother finally passed away. The cost for her funeral, though mostly paid, is still lingering. It is yet another bill added to the bills we already can not afford to pay. As such, tomorrow afternoon, I will return to the work force. Yes, we will loose our food stamps. My children will not have their mother in the evening around the dinner table. We won't have our family Rosary. My focus, now, will be outside my home, on a warehouse floor. There will be men flirting and gossipy women. My husband will not see me when he comes home from work, nor will he have me to talk through his work place frustrations. He will be asleep when I come home. Our marital time will be strained. Fortunately, we will continue to homeschool, but our focus will be shifted and the mornings for the children will begin with cartoons and pop tarts instead of mom and morning prayers. <br />
I suppose many will read this and say "Welcome to the real world." We haven't wanted to be apart of this modern world. In fact, we have sacrificed a lot, to NOT be part of it. And tomorrow it comes to a screeching halt. It's a relief really, in some ways. Now we won't have to hear the whispers around the water cooler about my staying home with our children. We won't be the outcasts anymore. We will catch up on our bills. We will eventually get a second car, put some money in savings, repair the kitchen sink, and get a new washing machine. But our family, our relationships, our cohesion, that will change for awhile at least.<br />
As I close, I would like to share this. Living in today's American culture is economically painful. We are a culture of debt, mandated insurance premiums, high housing costs, astronomical utility fees, and the fear of government intervention always looming. Those people who wade their way through it, do so sometimes with blinders on . Mothers have to convince themselves that their day care is terrific. Fathers have to remind themselves that working 70 hours a week, many nights away from home, puts food on the table. Parents have to overlook what their children are exposed to a school. Instead, we live in denial. We become paralyzed. We pray and we plead. And then eventually, we just concede.<br />
So the next time you see a family of 6 or 8 or 10, pray for them. The struggles they face in this world are excruciating. They often don't have a lot of choices about where they live or where they work or how many hours. Many of them get food stamps, medicaid, and WIC. They don't do it because they are bums or lazy or ignorant. They do it because their backs are against the wall and they want to resist compromising their Christian values as long as they can. So be patient with them. Help them if you can. <br />
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St. Joseph, pray for us.Cindy Willmothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04074715198310800028noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5454897676384160722.post-84956456848860184972014-06-04T16:29:00.001-04:002014-06-04T16:29:16.896-04:00Tomorrow's People <br />
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Twice in as many days, I have been involved in different conversations on Facebook regarding some modern issues---one regarding a personal decision, really, and another regarding a rather scandalous subject. These discussions, as they typically do, became heated fairly quickly. But when the progressives became unable to defend their arguments or answer perfectly rational questions, they end the conversation by throwing out the Judgmental Card. It's a rather annoying practice and it has become quite common. It's so common that is has me wondering whether or not people really know what they are saying or what it means to be non-judgmental. I also wonder if, as Catholics, we should avoid these conversations all together, keep our mouths shut, jump in with both feet, or just pray more Rosaries.<br />
When I was growing up Protestant, I heard rather frequently the Biblical quote, "Judge not, lest ye be judged." Most of the time, though, I heard it when a person was defending some sinful behavior they didn't want to be admonished for. It was usually followed by the declaration that all of us are sinners anyway. I always found it rather insulting and slightly Eyorish. Why bother trying to be better or do better? After all, we are all sinners anyway. It just always seemed, well, cowardly. It never occurred to me though, that this non-judgmental attitude was not really part of of Christianity, even Protestantism. Well at least I never quite thought about. Until now. <br />
Way back before the 1930s or 1940s, I don't think there was that much difference in the<i> behavior</i> of Catholics and Protestants. Divorce was neither widespread or widely accepted. Sexual promiscuity was frowned upon and birth control wasn't readily available. Lying, cheating, and stealing were viewed by just about everyone as degenerate behavior. Whether you were Catholic or Protestant, if you did something morally wrong, someone was going to admonish you for it. Period. Misbehave at school? Mother knew before you got home. Steal eggs from the market? Grocer Johnson called your Dad. Got pregnant by your boyfriend? Shot-gun wedding or sent to help Aunt Betty for a few months. Almost everyone lived by the same moral standards of behavior. Heck, our laws even reflected this moral code. Stealing is a crime. Murder is a crime. And yes,<i><a href="http://www.epis.us/laws_on_infidelity_and_adultery.html"> adultery is a crime</a>. </i> During this time, what was considered normal social behavior closely reflected Christian moral behavior. As such, if some person was criticized for their immoral behavior, no one was screaming about being judgmental. Instead, most people either corrected their behavior, or in the case of the incorrigibles, they became more discreet. <br />
But during this time period our society was slowly progressing. What had once been considered normal Christian behavior, now seemed to be unattainable for large majorities of people. During the Depression, women resorted to prostitution to put food on the table. Protestant Christians were given permission to use birth control methods to limit their family size in the face of poverty. Husbands abandoned their wives. A lot of women were left to give birth to their babies alone. Alcoholism increased. And at the same time, psychoanalysis became dominant, and social work became an profession. These social problems didn't seem to be going away, not even with the help of priests and ministers. In fact, they seemed to get worse and the people themselves seemed to be suffering from depression, anxiety, and suicide. And then came Psychologist Carl Rogers and his Person of Tomorrow.<br />
Now before I explain what Dr. Rogers has to do with any of this, let me give you some background. He was born in 1902 into a Protestant Evangelical family. At first he wanted to become a minister and he headed off to seminary. Unfortunately, he rejected his entire religious belief system and left. Instead, he went on to study psychology and earned his PhD in 1931. In his personal life, Dr. Rogers embraced Eastern mysticism, spiritualism, and the occult. In the 1970s he reported that he developed much of his humanistic approach theory to his study of Taoism. Fundamentally, he taught that people were basically good, and that they only needed to self-actualize. To do this, they needed to do what feels right for them. In this way they could become a "fully functioning person." As such, a therapists goal in helping his clients "self-actualize" was primarily to listen---to be non-judgmental---to make no values judgment on their behavior or attitudes---only to help them figure out what was right for them. Self-actualized individuals he called Persons of Tomorrow and outlined in a book the qualities of such a person. <span style="color: #990000;"> </span><b><a href="http://empathicguidance.wordpress.com/2009/07/01/are-you-the-person-of-tomorrow/"><span style="color: #660000;"><i>You can read about that here</i></span></a><span style="color: #990000;">.</span></b> Good people, to Dr. Rogers, make their own moral judgments, are caring and empathetic without making moral judgments towards other people, and trust very little except their own experiences. His humanistic approach was novel when he introduced it in 1951, but it is absolutely predominant today.<br />
Unfortunately, as the Catholic Church began to lose influence in the culture, especially in the United States, the door was opened for society to become increasing shaped by modern psychology and social work. After Vatican II, priests became "servant-leaders." They became counselors instead of confessors. They began to focus on the social needs of the faithful instead of their sacramental and spiritual needs. As such they encouraged the faithful to focus on their social and mental well-being. Fraternal correction was replaced with<a href="http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/what-doesnt-kill-us/201210/unconditional-positive-regard"> <b><span style="color: purple;">unconditional positive regard</span></b>.</a> As Catholics, we are now chastised for admonishing sinners. Instead, we are told we need to value each person as they move through their life journey, no matter what they choose. And this is absolutely, positively UN-Catholic. In fact, it's the exact opposite of Catholicism. It is a rejection of everything Our Lord taught us, in favor of the teachings of <a href="http://www.daoisopen.com/WhowasLaozi.html"><b><span style="color: #660000;">Laozi</span></b></a>. <br />
Our modern society has devolved rapidly. It is absolutely NOT Christian in any form. This non-judgmental psychotherapy approach to our family, friends, and even strangers is not helping them. In fact, it is dangerous for them. And if you are a Catholic reading this, you might want to take a look at yourself if you have adopted this attitude. In fact, fraternal correction, i.e. admonishing the sinner, is an obligation. Admonishing sinners is, in fact, one of the seven Spiritual works of mercy. As Catholics, we are bound under pain of mortal sin, to perform these works! So when we are quietly "valuing" people on their personal journeys, we are committing mortal sin. When we are avoiding correcting peoples ignorance regarding Catholic teaching for fear of confrontation, we are committing mortal sin. <br />
So, yes, when someone sins, we are bound to correct them <i>with charity. </i>We cannot be mean, emotional, or irrational. We cannot call them names or shun them. But we must correct them privately, gently, and lovingly. St. Thomas Aquinas considered fraternal correction a great act of mercy. But sometimes correction can not be made privately but has to be made publicly. Today, I think that probably means in a forum like this one, a blog, a newspaper article, or some other social media. When can we do this? When the offense is public, when it effects a third party or the community, or when it causes scandal. Does this give us license to be cruel, through slurs, or damage a person's name or reputation? Absolutely not. It simply means we are bound to lovingly correct and instruct them. Perhaps they don't know what they are doing is wrong. Perhaps that person doesn't really understand what they are doing. Perhaps no one has even bothered to point them in the right direction. Unfortunately though, most of the time these people just continue down their own path of destruction. What are we to do then? We are to leave them alone and pray.<br />
While I have brought up psychology in this post, I do not want this post to be about psychological principals I addressed Dr. Roger's and his humanistic theories simply to show how modern social work and psychology has shaped our thinking, replaced Christian principals as a way of living, and confused us regarding Catholic teaching. This non-judgmental attitude is absolutely not Catholic. If you hear a priest or bishop or pope suggest that we are to ignore people's sin and simply value their life journey as persons, then close your ears. This is New Church Speak, not Catholic teaching. When you hear your friends admonish you for being judgmental, remind them that you are Christian and have an obligation to correct sinners. When they call you a hypocrite or a hater, just bear it patiently for Our Lord. But most of all pray. Pray that the Church is restored soon. Pray that faithful Catholics can save themselves from the New Church. Pray that the people you love will allow their eyes to be opened. And pray that we all remain charitable, loving, and humble as we share and defend our Catholic faith.<br />
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<b><i><span style="color: #990000;">But if thy brother shall offend against thee, go, and rebuke him between thee and him alone. If he shall hear thee, thou shalt gain thy brother.And if he will not hear thee, take with thee one or two more: that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may stand. And if he will not hear them: tell the church. And if he will not hear the church, let him be to thee as the heathen and publican. ~ Matthew 18:15-17</span></i></b></div>
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<span style="color: purple;">Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us.</span><br />
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<span style="color: purple;"><br /></span>Cindy Willmothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04074715198310800028noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5454897676384160722.post-53015278673720939892014-04-07T18:20:00.000-04:002014-04-07T18:20:44.169-04:00Begone, Satan! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Here we are, quickly approaching an end to our Lenten Season, anticipating the Holiest time of the year, Our Lords Resurrection. I am ready for it to end, not because I want to gorge on chocolates and eat regular meals again, but because I am spiritually exhausted. Usually, Lent in our house is mostly peaceful and relaxing. Lots of Monopoly, less bickering, quiet conversations after dinner, more prayer, more time for spiritual reading. But this year has been different. See, I was actually tempted by the devil.....and he almost won....<div>
When I was an evangelical Protestant, we were taught to see the devil everywhere. Got car trouble? It's probably the devil. Took a wrong turn? Again, probably the devil. The devil is talked about so much that it almost becomes paralyzing and one fears you can't really escape him. Ironically, when I became a Catholic, the devil was talked about fairly infrequently. So little, in fact, that one gets the impression that perhaps the devil doesn't really exist at all. But it has only been in the last few years really, that I have come to understand the devil and how he works. I owe that, honestly, to the instructions of a very good priest and traditional Catholicism. I am really grateful for this because I am not sure I would have had the graces to resist the devil just recently. Truthfully, I don't think I would have even realized I was being tempted at all. See this is how the devil works, actually. He is pretty wily. The less you recognize his temptations, the more freely you will succumb. </div>
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A few weeks ago, the devil was really working on me. Unfortunately, I didn't really recognize it. I just thought our family was having a financial crisis and that we would someone work through it. But it was more than that. It was temptation knocking and I almost opened the door. Let me explain a bit.</div>
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It is incredibly difficult to be a traditional Catholic in modern society. Everyone is modern. <span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;"> </span><a href="http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2013/05/29/breadwinner-moms-on-the-rise-tell-us-your-experience/"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;">4 out of 10 households have a mother who is the sole or primary breadwinner. </span> </a><a href="http://www.bls.gov/news.release/famee.nr0.htm"><span style="color: orange; font-size: large;">And 75% of women with children work outside the home. </span> </a>I have no idea how this translates to Catholic women, but among the Novus Ordo women my age or younger, I knew very few who stayed home and/or had large families. It seemed to me, then, that our family was out of place in our local parish, especially when we had our 6th (and later 7th) child. Later on, when we decided to homeschool, we had friends who actually questioned our sanity. But once we found our way to traditional Catholicism, we found our SILK (single income lots of kids) way of life was pretty normal. Almost everyone we know in our traditional Catholic circles homeschools. And for the last 4 years we have been getting along pretty well. But then things changed....</div>
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For the last decade, my mother has been living with our family. Its been sort of a symbiotic relationship really. She was disabled and needed care, which we gave willingly, and she contributed financially with groceries, homeschool supplies, holidays, birthdays, and college. But in December, just before our son graduated from college, my mother had a massive stroke. It almost claimed her life. Instead, she is now living in the nursing home under constant nursing care. I am truly grateful to the Lord for her life and the wonderful nurses in charge of her care, but in addition to the loss of her financial assistance, I have to contribute a small portion the cost of her care. It has been a stressful time just dealing with her health issues, but also making the necessary adjustments in our personal life as well. And this is when the devil hit me....</div>
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Day after day, he planted in my mind the idea that I needed to go back to work. This would help, he said. You only need a few hundred dollars each month, he said. Your working is the simplest solution, he said. Don't cut your grocery budget, he said, just go back to work. Oh, yea, and put your kids back in school. It will be alright. They will adjust, make friends. And the voices around me, my own grown children who are fully modern, kept saying the exact same things. I was ready, really ready to give in. Until I saw the robins dancing in the yard....</div>
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In the midst of my anxiety, I realized that I hadn't prayed in over a week. I had been so focused on money and finances and worrying about making ends meet and buying groceries that I hadn't bothered to ask Christ for help or direction. I hadn't prayed a rosary. I hadn't sought the intercession of a single saint. I had just given into to despair and depression. But one morning last week, in anticipation of spring, I saw two robins dancing with each other outside my kitchen window. It was a reminder that this long, hard winter was drawing to a close and that spring was coming. And some how I heard these words: "All these things I will give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me." It settled in my heart, I heard it, and I heard the twisted, lying voice who said it. </div>
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Through my fast, through my preparations, the devil had tempted me. I wasn't prepared. I almost caved. I was willing to put our children in public school, to risk their loss of morals and purity and innocence, their loss of faith, for a few dollars and a few groceries. I was willing to take myself, the mother, the heart of the home, away from the home, for a new car. I was willing to put myself into the workforce with all its sexual temptations, for a vacation. The devil had convinced me that evil was good, and I was willing to compromise my values and just do it!</div>
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The devil has one goal---to keep us from heaven. He searches and waits and plots and plans his attack. He creeps up on you and whispers things in your ear. He doesn't come to us in ugly forms because we would recognize him easily. Rather he comes to us in pleasing ways, in compromises, in practicalities. Once upon a time, the Catholic Church spoke out against evils and the whole world listened. In 1930, Pope Pius XI, in<i><b><span style="color: #cc0000;"><a href="http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/pius_xi/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xi_enc_31121930_casti-connubii_en.html"> <span style="color: #cc0000;">Casti Connubii</span></a>,</span></b></i> warned about the dangers of women working outside the home. He called the so-called emancipation of women a<b><span style="font-size: large;"> crime.</span></b> He warned that it would lead to the loss of dignity of motherhood, the debasing of women, and a danger to the husband and children who would lose a wife and mother. How prophetic! Strange how the New Church, led by Wojtyla and Ratzinger, have encouraged women to work outside the home and pursue their interests and have given them prominent roles in the New Church! <b> What the Church once called evil, it now calls good. </b><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;"> Is this even possible??</span></div>
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Fortunately for me, I have been given graces immeasurable these days. I have come through this temptation. But I am exhausted, both physically and spiritually. In the kitchen that morning I cried out loud and clear, "Begone, Satan! for it is written, The Lord thy God shalt thou worship and Him alone shalt thou serve." I've survived this temptation. Our family will weather this storm, this financial crisis. And we will continue to put our faith and trust in the Lord.</div>
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Pray many rosaries! Ask for intercession in these dark times! Never doubt that Our Lord will provide for us! And never forget the devil lurks like a serpent waiting for just the right moment, in your hunger, in your weakness, in your loneliness. He will tell you all sorts of things, convince you of anything, speak to you through your family and friends. So be prepared always! So stay true to your Faith. Know it. Study it. Cling to it! For without the Faith, we have nothing, and we certainly can't resist the temptations of the devil.</div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;">Immaculate Heart of Mary, ora pro nobis!</span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;">St. Joseph, Protector of the Church, ora pro nobis!</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Above image: Satan Tried to Tempt Christ: James Tissot, 1895</span></div>
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Cindy Willmothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04074715198310800028noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5454897676384160722.post-9621027429890921622013-12-26T16:31:00.002-05:002014-06-23T09:43:36.039-04:00For Christ's Sake---Let's Keep Christ in Christmas! <br />
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Merry Christmas everyone! I pray that your Christmastide is filled with revelry and celebrations that would have made the early American Puritan's heads spin and sent them raging on a demon-casting-out frenzy! Have fun, drink a lot, and celebrate Our Savior's Birth! Go visit your friends and neighbors these next 12 days and sing carols and dance by the fire! Enjoy the Holy Days!!!<br />
Now that I have wished you all happy Merry making, I'd like to get to the purpose of this little article. A few days before Christmas, another little article was making its way around Facebook with full support and glee of the secularists and so-called modern day Christians. It's an article from Tiffany Willis' blog called Liberal America. <b><span style="color: #990000;"> Here it is</span></b>.<b><span style="color: red;"> (This link has been removed at Ms. Tiffany Willis' request.) If you wish to read her article, you will have to go to her blog and search her archives. </span></b>You can read it if you wish, but be warned: it's neither pretty nor accurate. Now normally, I could care less what self-identified liberal Christians believe personally, but this topic---keep Christ out of Christmas---seems to be a popular theme among so-called Christians these days. As such, I felt like I needed to challenge this idea with some common sense and history. <br />
First of all, I am not a professional writer. I have no experience whatever in writing. I've never taken a journalism or writing class. I've never had an article or book published. I am just a simple person, sort-of educated but a heart and mind geared toward knowledge and the love of Christ. I am drawn especially to history because I understand that our whole world, culture, and society is organic in that it has grown and adapted over huge periods of time. We do not just "invent" ideas or customs or traditions. They develop over time as our understanding grows and as the forces guiding our society change. There is so much evidence to support this statement that no further explanation is necessary. Any person who does not understand this is either grossly uneducated or highly closed-minded or possibly ignorant. I am certainly not going to accuse Ms. Willis of being anything. I don't know her personally, and honestly I believe she means well. But her article regarding keeping Christ out of Christmas is filled with gross misunderstandings, age-old propaganda, and under-researched statements. I hope to refute everything she has written except for her personal confession of her profound belief in Christ. I do not know her heart. I only know that she is misleading people who are ignorant of the facts themselves.<br />
Ms. Willis begins her critique of Christmas by making the claim that Christ did not tell us, Himself, to celebrate His birth, and that, then is a primary reason for Christians not to do so. She contends that those who do celebrate Christmas are "misguided." This is an interesting comment and not one that I haven't heard before. In fact it is a common thread running through the Jehovah's Witnesses cult. Their arguments are simple: Jesus told us to remember His death, the Bible doesn't tell us when He was born, Christians didn't celebrate Christmas until the 4th century. Taken on face value, I suppose this is easy to accept, as Ms. Willis has, but a closer look at history reveals something interesting about the early Christians, and these details are important in many other statements Ms. Willis includes in her article. <br />
At the time of Our Lord's birth, the world was plunged in darkness. There were multitudes of pagans and barbarians who had filled the earth. Primarily, Hellenism, or Greek culture, had influence the entire known world beginning about 300 years before Christ. History books are filled to the brim with all the influences the Greeks had in the world and on society. Hellenism had, in fact, left a huge mark on Judaism itself which led to a revolt among the Jews about 200 years before Christ was born. The Greeks had taken over Judaism, taken over the temple, taken over the culture, and Judaism was all but underground. There were only a few faithful Jews left and they had enough of the outrage. It came to a head when this group, the Maccabees, fought back and reclaimed the Temple from the invaders. <span style="color: purple;"> <a href="http://www.aish.com/h/c/t/h/48942121.html"><span style="color: purple;">It's a beautiful story, found in the Sacred Scripture, one of which was commemorated in Jesus's time called the Feast of the Dedication, to which Ms. Willis refers through one single reference.</span></a> </span> It is still celebrated today by Jews, marked with a week long celebration of parties and gift giving. They just call it Hanukkah. If Ms. Willis is a Protestant, she may well have never heard this incredible story or know why Our Lord was celebrating. The story is found in completion in 1st and 2nd Maccabees, books that were removed from the Protestant Bible by Martin Luther. <br />
The discussion of the revolt and divisions among the Jews is historically significant, because this is the environment into which Our Lord chose to come into the world. His Incarnation and Birth are and have been the most significant invents in the world's history. However, He was born in obscurity to very poor and simple parents. He lived a quiet life until he was 30 years old at which time only a small group of people were ever to know him personally. During His earthly life, very few people believed Him, His own people persecuted and humiliated Him, and<a href="http://www.stellarhousepublishing.com/gospel-dates.html"><span style="color: #4c1130;"> nothing was even written about Him until at least 40 or 50 years after His Death and Resurrection. </span> </a>Saint Paul, a diaspora Jew from Palestine, did not begin his ministry until this time as well. He wasn't even born when Our Lord was crucified! As such, it is fairly easy to understand how the small band of Our Lord's followers were hidden among the crowds within the Roman Empire. In fact, they remained hidden in many ways for fear of persecution, humiliation, and death. Yet for over 300 years, Christ's Church survived hidden underground in the catacombs until the Constantine and the Council of Nicea in 325 A.D. Any information about the Christian Church before this time has to be gleaned from ancient documents and manuscripts which clearly suggests Christians across the Roman Empire were celebrating the Feast of the Nativity on January 6. In fact, the Orthodox Church still celebrates Christmas on that day. (The Catholic Church assigns January 6 as Epiphany.) Yet, we know from at least one ancient Roman document, <a href="http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/456641/Philocalian-Calendar">the Philocalian Calendar of 336</a>, that Christians celebrated Christmas on December 25. <br />
This brings me to Ms. Willis' question, "Why December 25?" She claims that the December 25th date was chosen (by whom she never suggests) primarily because it was the date of the much celebrated Roman festival of either Saturnalia or Dies Natalis Soli Invicti. It is true that the Romans were festival celebraters. They loved leisure and they loved their gods, of which they had many. Saturn was a particular favorite. During Saturnalia, slaves traded places with their masters, and young men dressed up like King Saturn, drank in excess, and engaged in explicit behavior. Saturnalia was an excuse to set aside all sense of restraint. However,<a href="http://www.bartleby.com/196/145.html"><b><span style="color: #990000;"> it has been refuted by many historians that the feast of Saturnalia began on the 17th and ended by the 23rd.</span></b></a> As such the idea that Christmas is derived from Saturnalia has absolutely <b>no merit </b>whatever. However, the celebration of Dies Natalis Soli Invicti is worthy of a mention. As I noted above, the early Christians within the Roman empire were sparse and hidden from society. When they were recognized, they were often killed for refusing to participate in Roman society. But because Roman society itself was not opposed to cult worship of foreign gods, cults from outside regions often erupted and disappeared. One such cult to the god Mithras emerged in the 1st Century A.D. <a href="http://www.tertullian.org/rpearse/mithras/display.php?page=main#note57"><span style="color: #660000;">Not much has survived regarding Mithras and his cult, primarily because by the 4th century, the cult had completely disappeared.</span></a> Not coincidentally, the Christians arose from the catacombs about this time. Records do indicate that Mithras cult followers had a banquet on December 25 in honor of Sol, the sun god. However, St. Justin Martyr, who wrote in the 2nd Century, accused the Mithraists of copying the Christians. This idea was held to be universal until the 1800s when philosopher Ernest Renan suggested that Mithraics and Christians competed with each other in the empire. <br />
As to December 25th being the date of Christ's birth, I offer to you a book written by Dr. Taylor Marshall, <i><b>God's Birthday</b></i>. <a href="http://taylormarshall.com/2013/12/your-free-christmas-book-gods-birthday-why-christ-was-born-on-dec-25-and-why-it-matters.html"><b><span style="color: #990000;">You can get a free e-book about this subject based on his research into the historian Josephus.</span></b></a> For early Christians, Christ's birthday was incredibly important. They would not have just chosen some random dates based on celebrations of the gods they held in contempt. As Dr. Taylor points out in his work, going back through the Scriptures, weighing the important events of St. John the Baptists conception and birth, it's clear to calculate exactly when Christ was born. <b>This event is so critical to our Christian faith, that declaring there is no way to know when Christ was born is tantamount to suggesting Christianity itself is a fabrication or purely an emotional experience.</b> So to answer Ms. Willis' question: They chose December 25 precisely because it was the day on which Our Lord became Man.<br />
As if it is not enough to attack Our Lord's Birthday, Ms. Willis goes on to present to her readers several Christmas traditions that she believes are rooted in pagan rituals. She mentions Christmas trees, presents, mistletoe, and holly. I have heard many of these arguments in the past and recently was involved in a discussion regarding the tradition of Christmas trees, but I was honestly surprised by Ms. Willis claim about something I had never heard: Asherah trees. Ms. Willis claims that Christians allowed the use of Christmas trees to convert the people of the Asherah cult who worshiped trees and brought them in their homes during winter solstice. Um. No. Was there an Asherah cult? Yes. However,<b><a href="http://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/asherahasherim-bible"> <span style="color: #660000;">the Asherah followers were actually a Canaanite cult in Israel</span><span style="color: #990000;">.</span></a> </b> A little research about the Canaanites reveals that they lived during Biblical times and they had many strange gods, particularly Baal and Moloch and goddesses Astarte and Ashera. They were a great nation with a command of architecture and language. Evidence of their influence can be found in both Egyptian and Babylonian culture. But they were a vicious and hateful people. And as the land of Canaan became the land of Israel, many of the Canaanite practices remained. The Ashera pole or tree was one such practice where the cult followers would erect trees next to the altars of the Israelites. The Jeremiah reference Ms. Willis cites which refers to adorning trees is an admonition to the Canaanites and their idolatry. It has absolutely nothing to do with a comment on modern day Christmas tree use. The Christmas tree in Christian homes is a long held tradition that developed organically over several hundred years. The practice of decoration with trees and greenery of various sorts, including holly and mistletoe, is well documented dating back to the Middle Ages. As for the mistletoe and holly, they were important plants that grew throughout Europe. In fact, Pliny the Elder wrote about the seemingly mystical qualities of mistletoe in 70 or so B.C. But it was the Celts who were completely mesmerized by the ubiquitous plant. They had a fondness for bringing it into their homes, and because there was nothing particularly anti-Christian about it, they continued the practice after converting to Christianity. They holly plant was often called "Christ's thorns" when brought into the home at Christmas as a reminder that Christ was born to suffer and die as a symbol of His Crown of Thorns and Drops of Precious Blood. Nothing unChristian here at all.<br />
Finally, I want to get to Ms. Willis's comments about the much loved and venerated St. Nicholas, particularly her commentary that the great Bishop's words were something harsh and hateful. Actually, St. Nicholas only repeated what Our Lord Himself said to the Jews of His time. Perhaps a good reading of Sacred Scripture might help Ms. Willis understand. Our Lord said this to the Jews: <br />
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<span style="background-color: #fffcf6; font-family: 'times new roman', georgia, 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica; font-size: 17px; line-height: 22px; text-align: justify;"><b>You do the works of your father.</b> They said therefore to him: We are not born of fornication: we have one Father, even God. </span><span style="background-color: #fffcf6; font-family: 'times new roman', georgia, 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica; font-size: 17px; line-height: 22px; text-align: justify;"> Jesus therefore said to them:<b> If God were your Father, you would indeed love me.</b> For from God I proceeded, and came; for I came not of myself, but he sent me: </span><span style="background-color: #fffcf6; font-family: 'times new roman', georgia, 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica; font-size: 17px; line-height: 22px; text-align: justify;"> Why do you not know my speech? Because you cannot hear my word. </span><span style="background-color: #fffcf6; font-family: 'times new roman', georgia, 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica; font-size: 17px; line-height: 22px; text-align: justify;"> <b><span style="color: #cc0000;">You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you will do.</span></b> He was a murderer from the beginning, and he stood not in the truth; because truth is not in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father thereof. John 8: 41-44</span></blockquote>
Which brings me to a commentary on Judaism itself. Mosaic Judaism, the Judaism of the Bible, no longer exists. In 70 A.D. the Temple, which is a sacrificial requirement in Judaism, was destroyed. It remains in rubble. Jewish priests no longer have a place for sacrifice and their is no active priesthood. Current Judaism is a man-made religion based on the Talmud. <a href="http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/487890/Rabbinic-Judaism"><b><span style="color: #4c1130;"> Rabinnic Judaism was formed in 70 A.D.</span></b></a> Our Lord was born a Mosaic Jew. He came to fulfill the Law. Our Lord was rejected by His own people. And Mosaic Judaism no longer exists. <br />
As I close this long but important article, I would like to make one final commentary. The only solid reference Ms. Willis makes regarding a reason to reject Christmas practices because of its pagan origins comes from the Puritan minister<b><span style="color: #4c1130;"> <a href="http://www.nndb.com/people/376/000048232/"><span style="color: #4c1130;">Reverend Increase Mather</span></a></span></b> in 1687. Now Reverend Mather was quite influential among the Puritans in Massachusetts. He became the first President of Harvard College and his son also went on to become a quite prolific Puritan minister. The good Reverend was highly superstitious and actively involved in the infamous Salem witch trials, until this own wife was accused of such shenanigans. In case you are unaware the Puritans absolutely loathed the Catholic Church and any traditions or rituals associated with Her. They hated the Church so much, they even rejected the English Anglican Church for being too "papist." When they settled here in the then Colonies, they outlawed all Christmas Celebrations, just as the English had done in the home country. English law prohibited any parties, merry making, decorations, singing, and or celebrating. Christians, particularly Catholics, caught participating in Christmas rituals or celebrations were fined, imprisoned, and killed. The Puritans extended this practice in the Colonies and Christmas celebrating remained illegal until the late 17th century. Although the laws were repealed, Christmas celebrating was discouraged in the United States and some people were inflicted with fines for closing their shops on Christmas. In fact, the Puritans were workaholics. Their calendar was the most leisureless ever, with 300 working days, and only time off on Sundays and a few other holidays. The Puritans had nothing but contempt for Christmas and the Catholic Church. <br />
I am sure that Ms. Tiffany Willis is a well-meaning self-identified Christian. But her conclusions are not only ill informed, they are dangerous, and perhaps blasphemous. The Incarnation and the Birth of Christ are the single most significant point in history. My 7 year old can tell you that in pretty simple words: If Jesus had not been born on Christmas, the gates of Heaven would have been closed forever. We celebrate Christmas in all its pageantry and revelry because of that fact. I do agree with Ms. Willis on one point: Know what you practice and why. Educate yourself. You can not call yourself a Christian if you leave Christ out of your faith, your belief, and your practice. <br />
Merry Christmas!!!<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Divine Infant, have mercy on us!</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Blessed Virgin, Mother of God, pray for us!</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Holy Family, pray for us!</span></b><br />
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<span style="color: red;"><b>***Editor's Note**** </b></span><br />
<span style="color: red;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: red;"><b>On June 23, I received an e-mail from Ms. Tiffany Willis, owner of LiberalAmerica.org, requesting that I remove the link to her article. Thus, the link has been removed. You may read her comment below in the combox. As a note, the following can be found at the bottom of LiberalAmerica.org:</b></span><br />
<span style="color: red;"><b><br /></b></span>
<b><span style="color: red; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Any article on LiberalAmerica.org belongs to the writer of the article. LiberalAmerica.org allows for sharing with attribution. You can not sell our writer's articles, but you can use snippets of our articles with attribution and a link to LiberalAmerica.org and the author's name on your ad-supported blog or website. Please check with individual authors before using an entire work</i>. </span></b><br />
<br />
<span style="color: red;"><b>My article clearly attributes Ms. Willis and clearly provides a link to her website. Thus I can only conclude that Ms. Willis is unhappy primarily with the content of my article. As is the case for most liberals, you are not allowed to have a differing opinion or value system contrary to theirs. This is also the case with non-Catholic's who identify as Christians. When presented with clear and concise evidence to contradict their opinion, they are unable to defend themselves. Rather than admit their error, they resort to name-calling, irrelevant remarks, and threats. </b></span><br />
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Cindy Willmothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04074715198310800028noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5454897676384160722.post-17065389641190201842013-11-18T03:07:00.000-05:002013-11-18T15:20:40.296-05:00Divided We Will Fall <br />
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We have been traditional Catholics for 4 years. And I can tell you, traditional Catholics are a strange and particular lot. Now don't get me wrong, I don't think trad Catholics are crazy. Heck, I'm one of 'em. I just know we have issues in our little small circles and I think the devil likes it that way. Let me try to explain.<br />
There are traditional Catholics everywhere. They are sitting in the pews at your local Novus Ordo parish, where they are easy to spot. Most of them, though, eventually find a place where the Tridentine Mass is offered. Some of these places are within the various societies and establishments "officially recognized" by the Church. Other trad Catholics, for various reasons, attend Masses at other chapels not "recognized" by the Church but where they can receive the Sacraments and practice their Faith. And while everyone has made their decision based on prayer, thoughtfulness, and information, there is an awful lot of name calling and accusations thrown around in real life and in the blogosphere. <br />
Considering the state of the post-concilliar Catholic Church, it's a real shame that traditional Catholics insist on stoking the tensions between them. The criticisms reach such heightened levels sometimes that many Catholics just simply begin to avoid each other out of fear of having to discuss "Faith issues." In spite of the one thing we can all agree on---that the post-concilliar Church is a danger to one's faith and quite possibly a new religion---the disagreements and divisions actually keep us from being able to make any real headway in the restoration of the Church.<br />
Generally speaking, it's like a dysfunctional family rivalry. Those traditional Catholics who attend the Tridentine Mass under one of the official "legal" wings of the Church, like the FSSP or ICK, often totally reject those people who attend SSPX chapels by labeling them schismatics. Then there are the SSPXers who don't trust any priests except their own. Both of those groups reject and avoid those Catholics that openly challenge the validity of the person who is the Pope. And all of those often lament that the independent priests with private chapels have gone off the deep end. It has become a nasty mess of bickering, attacking, fighting, and down right shunning. It's worse than an episode of Survivor or Big Brother and nothing good comes of it.<br />
You see, our salvation is at stake here. This is not about sitting on committees or singing in the choir. It's not about feeling good or important or finding your sense of belonging. It's not even about the Mass. It's about our Catholic Faith. If we lose that, then we lose everything, especially our place in Heaven. Isn't that what the devil wants after all? A generation ago, people knew where to look for their Catholic Faith. They could go to any Catholic Church and find a good, holy Catholic priest. They could send their children to Catholic schools and they could trust the nuns would teach them the Faith. But those days are gone for good. Now one must look for the Faith. One must know what it truly is and recognize if their priest or bishop actually has it. It's a crisis like that of St. Athanasius' time. How was the Church restored then when 95% of the priests and bishops were heretics? Did the "trads" in those days bicker and fight over who or who was not the Pope or whether or not their church was official? <br />
Isn't it the same in our modern day? It's no secret that the post-concilliar Catholic church is infused with Modernism, which, as Pope Pius X told us, is the synthesis of all heresies. Everyday we hear a priest orbishop spouting some Modernist drivel, yet we are afraid to call them out. Our Pope openly professes Modernist thinking and we are afraid to say so for fear of being disobedient. We are afraid to leave our Churches where our children are loosing their faith, where our altars have been ripped out, where many no longer believe Christ is present in the Eucharist, where our priests are teaching us lies, where our very souls are in danger. We are afraid to be disobedient to our priests, our bishops and our Pope. <br />
Unfortunately, traditional Catholics are no better. They criticize and condemn each other. They refuse to engage in real discussions, or consider the possibility that their priest or group is compromised or questionable. We must absolutely stop this bickering and in-fighting. Instead, we must do better to help each other find and keep our Faith. We can not do this if we are constantly fighting and accusing each other of not being real Catholics. How much could we accomplish together, how many souls could be saved if we just tried to work together?<br />
In reality, it's not about where we attend Mass. It's about the Faith! Your cathedral may have a large group of young families and beautiful music, but without the Faith, they are just noisy makers. Your chapel may have monks and nuns still in habits, but without the Faith, they are just men and women. Your church may have a vibrant priest, nice vestments, and a marble altar, but without the Faith, these are just props. We must know our Faith. We must be prepared to fight for it, defend it, and be willing to hide it among ourselves to keep it. Let us never forget the Japanese Catholics who hid underground for over 200 years without clergy, without the Mass, without schools. They had only their rosaries, their scapulars, and their Faith!<br />
Our Lord promised that the devil would not win this battle. The Church will survive. Of that we can be sure. But where is the Church? Where are the people of Faith? That is for you to search, to seek out, and hang on to as if your eternal life depends on it. After all, it does.<br />
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<b><span style="color: red;">Viva Cristo Rey!</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us!</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us!</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">St. Athanasius, pray for us!</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Martyrs of Japan, pray for us!</span></b><br />
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Cindy Willmothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04074715198310800028noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5454897676384160722.post-43941756345506387102013-08-04T22:18:00.000-04:002013-11-21T10:37:38.425-05:00Marriage Debt---It's Not About Finance. <br />
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I have tried to write this article three times. Initially, I wanted to write about Natural Family Planning, and I found myself overly critical and harsh. I gave up on the effort because I knew I would sound condescending and uncharitable. Then I got in a conversation with some traditional Catholics while, at the same time, my husband was engaged in a dialogue with some Novus Ordo Catholics. As it were, both conversations eventually got around to the number of children Catholic couples have and how they are spaced. Again, I wanted to address my observations regarding families in both the post-Conciliar Church and among traditional Catholics. Still, I couldn't quite sort out what I wanted or needed to say and figured I should do a little investigation of my own. Then when I thought I had collected my ideas, I sat down yet a third time to write. Nothing seemed right. So I prayed about it. I asked the Lord to help me sort through this. If I could, I would write but if I found more criticism, then I would avoid it all together. So, here I sit a 4th time, finally having found the root of the problem: the definition and understanding of marriage.<br />
Modernism is, by nature, a nasty thing. I will leave you to investigate Modernism on your own, with a good place to start being <b><i><a href="http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/pius_x/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-x_enc_19070908_pascendi-dominici-gregis_en.html"><span style="color: #cc0000;">Pascendi Dominici Gregis</span></a></i></b>, promulgated by Pope Pius X in 1907. Ideas, from faith to family to science, that were contrary to Catholic doctrine were beginning to infiltrate the Church. The seminaries were filled with instructors, bishops, and priests who were teaching these modernist ideas and cloaking them in ambiguity so they could be passed off as tradition. It was so bad, that in 1910 Pope Pius X required all priests, bishops, and prelates to take the <a href="http://www.papalencyclicals.net/Pius10/p10moath.htm"><span style="color: #990000;">Oath Against Modernism</span></a>. And though Modernism seemed to be kept at bay for awhile, it eventually infected the whole Church. No Catholic doctrine, truth, or tradition was spared. By the time Vatican II was convened in 1962, the stage was set to revolutionize and modernize the Catholic Church. <br />
The hallmark of Modernism is the self-conscious break with tradition. Tradition is considered sentimental. There is only value in what one can experience or perceive, theoretically known as <b>Phenomenology</b>. These two concepts, Modernism and Phenomenology, are intertwined. Many, if not most, of the Cardinals and theologians that participated and directed Vatican II held to these philosophies. <span style="color: purple; font-style: italic;">( I don't want to go into a long discussion about Phenomenology at this time. It is not easy to understand and I have had to consult my husband who holds a degree in Philosophy to help me recognize it's impact. If you would like to understand more, you can begin reading </span><a href="http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/phenomenology/" style="font-style: italic;"><b><span style="color: red;">here</span></b></a><i style="color: purple;"> about Edmund Husserl and Phenomenology.) </i>Karol Wojtyla and Joseph Ratzinger were two of the most influential priests during the Vatican II Council and they were both heavily influenced by the Phenomenology of Husserl and another philosopher named <span style="color: #990000;"><a href="http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/scheler/">Max Scheler.</a> </span>As such, every document that came out of Vatican II, every discussion, and every decree or Encyclical that flowed from Vatican II were all infected with Modernism in some form. All of it was in direct opposition to the Thomist Philosophy of St. Thomas Aquinas that had been the foundation of Church doctrine for 1,962 years. <a href="http://www.christianorder.com/features/features_2004/features_junejuly04_bonus_2.html" style="color: #351c75; font-style: italic;">(You will find a brief analysis here.)</a><i style="color: #351c75;"> </i><br />
As I said previously, Vatican II infected the whole Church with Modernism under many different philosophical ideas. The nature of marriage was not immune to this infection. Prior to Vatican II, the doctrines and dogma of the Catholic Church were rooted in <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14698b.htm"><span style="color: #990000;">Thomist Philosophy</span></a>. Essentially, St. Thomas taught and the Catholic Church formulated doctrine on the understanding that all human acts have natural purposes which are ordained by God and they must be respected as such by God's creation. In regards to marriage, St. Thomas spent quite some time discussing marriage in his <span style="color: #990000;"><a href="http://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/aquinas/summa/"><span style="color: #990000;">Summa Theologica</span></a>.</span> His thoughts on the matter made up the foundation of what every priest taught and what every Catholic understood about marriage. The heart of the doctrine regarding marriage was based upon Sacred Scripture, formulated philosophically by St. Thomas, instructed in the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Catechism-Council-Trent-ebook/dp/B0037Z6MIE"><span style="color: #cc0000;">Catechism of Trent</span></a>, promulgated clearly in two Encyclicals; <b><i><a href="http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/leo_xiii/encyclicals/documents/hf_l-xiii_enc_10021880_arcanum_en.html"><span style="color: red;">Arcanum</span></a></i></b> by Pope Leo XIII in 1880 and <b><a href="http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/pius_xi/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xi_enc_31121930_casti-connubii_en.html"><i><span style="color: #cc0000;">Casti Connubii</span></i></a></b> by Pope Pius XI in 1930, and re-confirmed by Pope Pius XII in his <i><b><a href="http://www.papalencyclicals.net/Pius12/P12midwives.htm"><span style="color: #cc0000;">Address to Midwives</span></a></b></i> in 1951 which he gave in response to the new philosophy on marriage that was beginning to take root.<br />
Another student of the growing Phenomenological movement was <a href="http://iteadthomam.blogspot.com/2007/06/von-hildebrand-what-do-we-make-of-him.html"><span style="color: #990000;">Dietrich von Hildebrand.</span></a> While he was personally and profoundly Catholic and openly critical of the changes in the Liturgy after Vatican II, his personalistic approach to married love was rooted in phenomenology and in direct opposition to Church teaching. Since Pope Pius XII help a deep and profound respect for von Hildebrand, it was precisely his new philosophy regarding marriage that he warned the Italian Midwives about in his address. <span style="color: #674ea7; font-style: italic;"><a href="http://www.saybrook.edu/newexistentialists/posts/01-15-13">(You can read more about von Hildebrand's philosophy of love here.)</a> </span>In the 1920s, von Hildebrand gave a series of lectures on the nature of marriage. He formulated the idea that there was not only a purpose or end of marriage, as had always been taught, but that there was also a distinct <i><b>meaning</b></i> of marriage. This meaning of marriage, von Hildebrand concluded, was the love the spouses feel in the marriage embrace. Ultimately, these lectures laid the ground work for this new philosophy and new understanding of marriage that developed out of Vatican II. That philosophy, the new way of looking a marriage, was finally decreed and promulgated by Pope Paul VI in 1968 in his Encyclical <b><i><a href="http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/paul_vi/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-vi_enc_25071968_humanae-vitae_en.html"><span style="color: #cc0000;">Humane Vitae</span></a></i></b><span style="color: #990000;">.</span> While Pope Paul VI re-affirmed the Church's constant teaching against birth control, he instituted a new concept of marriage.<br />
To see clearly the new orientation the Church has taken regarding marriage, I though it might be easier just to present the fundamental concepts from the traditional Church and from the post-conciliar Church. (For the sake of simplicity I will use the True teaching vs. the New teaching.) <br />
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<b>True Teaching</b></div>
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<li><b>Marriage Debt</b>: St. Paul outlines in 1 Corinthian's that married spouses are bound by their marriage debt, or the conjugal act. The marriage debt is designed for 3 ends or purposes in order: procreation, calming concupiscence, and fostering love and affection. In other words, conjugal relations are designed for first, the couple to have children, then to keep the spouses from falling into sin, and what grows from that is a mutual fondness and enduring love, often developed through sacrifice, submissiveness, and selflessness. The husband and wife are both obliged to pay their "debt" whenever the other spouses requests, provided that the request is not unreasonable. In this way, the marriage debt protects the spouses from incontinence: the inability to control one's sexual appetite.</li>
<li><b>Begetting Children: </b>The principal object of marriage is to have children, to bring them up in the true faith, and to teach them service to God. In other words, couples need to have always in their minds the birth of a child. They wait for children to arrive when God sends them, no matter how small or large a number. They have the duty and responsibility to bring up these children for Christ.</li>
<li><b>Mutual Help: </b>With the husband as head of the family and the wife as willingly submissive to her husband, the couple are able to work towards the common good of their family and the education of their children in matters of faith and morals.</li>
<li><b>Sacrament of Matrimony: </b>Matrimony is a word that comes from the Latin word, mater, or mother. Why? Because marriage is designed to make a woman a mother. Christ elevated the state of marriage to a Sacrament thereby giving graces to the couple. These graces enhance their natural love, increases the strength of marriage bond, and sanctifies the spouses, so that they grown in holiness and help to bring each other, and their children, into Heaven.</li>
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<b>New Teaching</b></div>
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<ul>
<li><b>Marital Embrace: </b>This is a concept defined by Dietrich von Hildebrand. According to von Hildebrand, the marital embrace, or the conjugal act, is designed for the couple to grow in mutual love for one another. While procreation is naturally a purpose of the marital embrace, it is not the sole purpose or even primary purpose. He taught that the marital embrace has two designs, one unitive and one procreative. In other words, through the marital embrace couples grow to understand, respect, and love each other and then, as a secondary but equal consequence, they procreate. Couples can not engage in the conjugal act without first considering the "personal" and "reasonable" wishes of the spouses. Couples are encouraged to practice self-discipline in matters of conjugal relations through periodic continence. Only through self-control can spouses truly express their love for one another.</li>
<li><b>Responsible Parenthood: </b>The concept of responsible parenthood first appears in Catholic thought in Pope Paul VI's Encyclical <b><i>Humanae Vitae</i></b>. Responsible parents are always aware of their social and physical conditions and "prudently" decide whether or not to have children, even for an indefinite period of time. </li>
<li><b>Separate Interests: </b>There is emphasis on personal respect and dignity of the spouses. Each spouse in encouraged to grow in understanding the other spouse and respecting his or her interests. Often times spouses are counseled to develop personal hobbies separate from their spouses. The education of the children, especially in matters of faith, is secondary. Often times there is a focus on the development of the children's personal interests as well. </li>
<li><b>Sacrament of the Marital Embrace: </b>In the marital embrace, the spouses are united spiritually. Through the conjugal act, the spouses "gift" themselves to each other. It is taught that the marital embrace, the conjugal act itself, is grace giving and sanctifying. The unity of the spouses is perfected and strengthened through sexual relations. And children are a "fruit" of this oneness. Sexual relations are to be enjoyed for the sake of their pleasure and through this pleasure, the spouses grow in love for each other. <b><span style="color: #990000;">(<a href="http://realcatholicloveandsex.blogspot.com/2012/04/sacramental-sex.html"><span style="color: #990000;">Here a writer discusses what she has learned from her parish and Theology of the Body</span></a>.) </span><span style="color: red;"> <i>Proceed with caution!!!</i></span></b></li>
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Ultimately this new orientation of marriage has had a huge impact on the Church. In a prior time, large Catholic families were not only a fairly normal occurrence, but they pointed to a healthy and vibrant faith. In his <a href="http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=5370"><span style="color: #990000;">Allocution to Large Families in 1951</span></a>, Pope Pius XII said this:</div>
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<span style="color: blue;"><i><b>Whenever you find large families in great numbers, they point to the physical and moral health of a Christian people, a living faith in God and trust in His Providence, the fruitful and joyful holiness of Catholic marriage.</b></i></span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: blue;"><i><b>In the modern civil world a large family is usually, with good reason, looked upon as evidence of the fact that the Christian faith is being lived up to... </b></i></span></blockquote>
Catholics, when they married, expected to become parents of many children and they entered into the Sacrament of Matrimony with full faith in God that His Divine Providence would help them provide for every how many children He sent them. These families were not judged on their wealth or lack there of nor their financial ability to support their children. Catholic families who were blessed with financial wealth welcomed the opportunity to help these families meet their needs. In fact, Pope Pius XI remarked in <b><i><a href="http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/pius_xi/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xi_enc_31121930_casti-connubii_en.html"><span style="color: red;">Casti Connubii</span></a></i></b> the following:<br />
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<b><i><span style="color: #990000;">When these means which We have pointed out [diminishing material obstacles] do not fulfill the needs, particularly of a larger or poorer family, Christian charity towards our neighbor absolutely demands that those things which are lacking to the needy should be provided, hence it is incumbent on the rich to help the poor, so that having an abundance of this world's good, they may not expend them fruitlessly or completely squander them, but employ them for the support and well-being of those who lack the necessities of life.</span></i></b></blockquote>
Today, it's not unusual for modern Catholics to view large poor families with criticism and skepticism. Due Pope Paul VI's new ideas regarding marriage and family, most modern Catholics consider "responsible parenthood" a Sacrament. They are unafraid to tout Natural Family Planning as approved Church Teaching, and it just may be a teaching of the New Church. In Humanae Vitae, Pope Paul VI suggests:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b><i><span style="color: magenta;">With regard to physical, economic, psychological, and social conditions, responsible parenthood is exercised by those who prudently and generously decide to have more children, and by those who, for serious reasons and with due respect to moral precepts, decide not to have additional children for either a certain or indefinite period of time. </span></i></b></blockquote>
Does this sound anything like the trust in God's Providence that Pope Pius XII mentioned? Actually it sounds more like the secular idea that couple's should seriously consider all factors before they decide to have children. Lost in this declaration is the thought that God sends the children He chooses to whom He chooses. As a natural consequence of this new orientation, many Catholics have lost the charitable generosity of past generations. Rather than offer to help the large and/or poor families in the parishes, those families are often criticized for making the poor decision to have more children when they are unable to financially care for them. This has left a coldness in the post-Conciliar Church that has not gone unnoticed.<br />
Something has gone terribly wrong in the Catholic Church. She lost her way in the 1960s after She was infected with Modernism. The whole Church and all the Catholics in it are diseased. Their whole way of thinking has been re-oriented. <b><i><span style="color: #990000;">What was once considered evil--intentionally avoiding pregnancy without very, very grave circumstances--is now considered good.</span></i></b> Large families, which were once considered the "flowerbeds of the faith" and a symbol of a living faith are now viewed with contempt. <br />
There is so much to discuss on the topic of marriage and families that I plan to have another installment, not quite so long, regarding the marriage debt, a closer look at NFP, duties of parents, and natural child spacing (not NFP). There is so much of our Catholic faith that has been lost to us. It's time to reclaim it, one step at a time.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Update: </span><br />
<img border="0" height="200" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/414G5A4uk5L._SY344_PJlook-inside-v2,TopRight,1,0_SH20_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg" width="133" /><br />
<span id="goog_194815506"></span><span id="goog_194815507"></span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/"></a>In recent weeks, Dr. Jay Boyd referenced this article on her blog<b> <span style="color: #990000;"><a href="http://philotheaonphire.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #990000;">Philotheo on Phire</span></a>.</span></b> Dr. Boyd has written a<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Natural-Family-Planning-Catholic-Bedroom/dp/1482570394/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1385045687&sr=8-1&keywords=natural+family+planning+trojan+horse+in+the+catholic+bedroom"><b><span style="color: #990000;"> book</span></b></a> on the subject of Natural Family Planning. I am very grateful and humbled that Dr. Boyd would consider my opinions and thoughts on this subject worthy of a reference. Thank you, Dr. Boyd, for your kindness. Since then, I have discovered just how controversial this topic is. Many Catholics, both traditional and modern, become very defensive regarding this subject. Without being overly critical, I suspect that Modernism is probably to blame. Sadly, it is becoming impossible to tell Catholic families from Protestant ones. I pray that, through the work of Dr. Boyd and more people like her, Catholics can begin to challenge that Modernism and rekindle their Faith.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;">St. Matilda, ora pro nobis.</span></b><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;"><b>St. Catherine of Siena, ora pro nobis.</b></span><br />
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Cindy Willmothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04074715198310800028noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5454897676384160722.post-24158200761256014212013-07-21T20:38:00.001-04:002013-07-21T20:38:21.397-04:00If Only I Had Known <br />
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I have the fortunate good graces from the Lord to have a very amazing priest. Not only is he caring and concerned, warm and interesting, he also gives the most amazing sermons. On most Sundays, I leave Mass asking myself, "Why have I never heard that before?!" Obviously, I know the answer. I was a Novus Ordo Catholic where one is not likely to hear anything particularly Catholic. In contrast, the past 3 years as a traditional Catholic has brought me to a whole new level of understanding about my faith and the world. Admittedly, there have been Sundays where Father's sermon has hit me so hard that I had real difficulty getting up off the kneelers. But many Sundays, I leave with, as Father says, another piece of the puzzle of the Catholic picture. Today was one of those sermons, and it really put into perspective for me how our belief, our religious faith, actually affects our lives and our world.<br />
Today, in the traditional calendar, is the 9th Sunday after Pentecost. The Gospel is a familiar one from St. Luke where Our Lord has an encounter with the money-changers in the Temple. I think pretty much everyone, Catholic and non, is familiar with this story. You know the one---Jesus gets mad, flips over some tables, and calls people thieves. This Scripture has been interpreted 10 ways to Christmas, by Catholics and Protestants alike. But today, I heard this Gospel explained by a true Catholic priest and it opened my eyes just a little more to the beauty of our Faith. I would like to share it with you and hope and pray I stay true to Father's instruction.<br />
It is impossible to understand Catholicism without a fundamental knowledge of Biblical Judaism. As such, a little explanation of Jewish law is necessary to grasp what was happening that day in the Temple and why Our Lord became so annoyed with it. According to a Jewish law established by Moses, each year, every adult male aged 20 and over was required to pay a tax to the Temple. <a href="http://www.forumancientcoins.com/catalog/roman-and-greek-coins.asp?vpar=828"><span style="color: #990000;">The tax was the same for everyone---a 1/2 shekel or a shekel---paid once a year, and only in Tyrian coinage, a coin that was minted with near pure silver.</span></a> Since it was a requirement for all Jews to make the pilgrimage to offer sacrifices at the Temple during Passover, the tax collection tables were set up around Jerusalem also at the time. Most people didn't carry around with them Tyrian shekels. Instead, they carried the coins used in their native lands and had to have it exchanged into shekels to pay their taxes. Ergo the money-changers. To make currency exchange easier, the money-changers set up their tables right in front of the Temple so pilgrims could exchange their currency and pay their taxes at the same. And in Jesus's time the money-exchange had become big business. Likewise, selling animals for the required Passover sacrifice also became big business.<br />
Just like the rules for taxes, there were also specific rules for animals for the Passover sacrifices. While a spotless lamb was the usual Passover sacrifice, poor people could offer instead two turtledoves. But it was incredibly difficult for Jews during this time to travel to Jerusalem, let alone travel with lambs or turtledoves. As such, merchants often sold sacrificial animals along the way and in the city to make it easier for people to offer their sacrifices. Many of them could be purchased for small amounts. However, the Temple was set up with priests inside to judge whether or not a persons sacrifice was acceptable. More often than not, the priests did not accept the sacrifices but offered instead their own lambs and doves for sale at a much higher price. Thus the Temple not only became a market, it also became a way for the Jewish authorities and priests to exploit and oppress the poor for their own profit.<br />
It was for this reason, then, that Our Lord became angry at the Jews and wept over them. They had become corrupt, money-loving thieves. They cared not if some poor old couple, devout in their prayers and faithful to God, could afford to buy doves for their sacrifices. They cared not about charging excessive exchange rates for taxes and pocketing the money. The Jews in authority, the priests, no longer were concerned about God's laws, they cared about themselves. They had been given the true faith, the only covenant and they were about to lose it all. And Our Lord could do nothing but let them be and cry.<br />
Does Our Lord's statement to the Jews apply to us? Has the Catholic Church become a den of thieves? When the Jews set up their tables to exploit the poor, the Lord flipped their tables and ran them out of the Temple. <a href="http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/hcc6.iii.x.ix.html"><span style="color: #990000;">In the Middle Ages, corrupt clerics took advantage of the poor and sold indulgences.</span></a> As a punishment, the Lord allowed the Protestant Revolt to form, take root, and explode. In contemporary times, we have our own corruption---<span style="color: #990000;"><a href="http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-07-02/a-money-smuggling-scandal-threatens-to-sink-the-vatican-bank"><span style="color: #990000;">the Vatican bank is embroiled in more than one corruption scandal at the moment.</span></a> </span>And who knows how many money-grubbing "priests" there are like<span style="color: #990000;"> <a href="http://gloria.tv/?media=391497"><span style="color: #990000;">John Corapi</span></a>. </span>As a punishment for this, the Lord has allowed hundreds of Churches to shutter their windows, close their schools, and pay out millions to the little boys the priests have molested. And just as the Jews set out to silence and murder Our Lord for His Truthfulness, the modern Catholic Church sets out to silence and marginalize traditional Catholic clerics and lay people who refuse to support the concilliar Church and who remain faithful to the One True Church.<br />
I am incredibly grateful, today, that I have the ability and means to a good priest, a true priest, faithful to the Magisterium, and unafraid to defend the True Church. I am grateful I have access to the True Mass and the Sacraments. It's an injustice of incredible proportions that the concilliar Church has become so corrupted, so pillaged, so desecrated, that most Catholics don't know what the True Church is must less where to find it. If only I had known, I would have flipped the tables long ago. Surely, our chastisement is coming soon.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;">Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us!</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;">St. Joseph, Protector of the Church, pray for us!</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;">Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us!</span></b><br />
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<br />Cindy Willmothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04074715198310800028noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5454897676384160722.post-18182026888340105372013-04-15T00:43:00.003-04:002013-04-15T12:17:05.015-04:00Suicide Is Painless? <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd3_9F9yppqlB5RmvalBkh5Y1UKvPX1gPDIWrtaRbb1Z2nCd4ySEFEjZZLZqb9lMEPGoXurUkQYCqhwalilWrfMH0_UY7FGXQrEzcGbjxBZKag5xMaP33YaWwoyAyMmRYLyK0VvBushA/s1600/suicide-cartoon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd3_9F9yppqlB5RmvalBkh5Y1UKvPX1gPDIWrtaRbb1Z2nCd4ySEFEjZZLZqb9lMEPGoXurUkQYCqhwalilWrfMH0_UY7FGXQrEzcGbjxBZKag5xMaP33YaWwoyAyMmRYLyK0VvBushA/s320/suicide-cartoon.jpg" width="186" /></a> On March 7, my mother, whom I care for as best I can, went into the hospital. It wasn't anything serious other than something she has become accustomed to doing---seeking comfort in medicine for her chronic aches and pains. Sadly, my mother is one of the <a href="http://www.aoa.gov/AoARoot/AoA_Programs/HPW/Behavioral/docs/Issue%20Brief%205%20Presc%20Med%20Misuse%20Abuse_508_Color.pdf"><b><span style="color: #cc0000;">26% of the elderly population in the United States that misuses or abuses prescription medication, particularly pain medications.</span></b></a> Unfortunately for my mother, this recent hospital stay was almost her final one. She was over-medicated which led to other serious conditions that nearly cost her life. While it was an incredibly difficult time for me, I suspect, in many ways, my mother was almost relieved to be unconscious and confused. Since she also suffers from chronic depression, her recovery from her hospital near-death-experience has been incredibly challenging. In fact, it's been so difficult for her that the poor woman crawled into her bed and withdrew from reality. Unfortunately, it's nothing new.<br />
My mother has suffered from depression for a very long time. She probably has had bouts with depression her entire adult life, and quite possibly while she was a young girl. Life changes cripple her. Temporary setbacks or unexpected events become overwhelmingly tragic. Her only coping mechanisms are sleep and avoidance, neither of which help and often times cause more problems. It becomes a vicious cycle of tragedy brought on by personal sorrow and despair. <br />
For the last decade, my mother has lived with our family. It has been a time of great reward for us and great trial. It has been a test for me, for my patience, my strength, my resolve, and my forgiveness. And while I am not always good at passing this test, my greatest challenge has been loving my mother through her depression, mood swings, and drug dependence. You see, I have been depressed. There have been a few occasions in my life where I was completely overwhelmed with my living conditions, my loneliness, my responsibilities, my doubts, and my limitations. At times, I have found it incredibly difficult to get off the couch or out of bed. I have even, in times of utmost despair, considered that I couldn't handle the sadness, sorrow, pain, or misery anymore. So when my mother pulls the covers over her head and mumbles that she wishes God would take her, I understand. <br />
It is excruciating for me to watch my mother suffer this mental anguish. Yet, I know there is not much I can do to help her. I believe very strongly, that if she had access to pills, like she did recently in the hospital, that she would end her own life. As shocking as that may seem, <a href="http://www.agingwellmag.com/news/exclusive_03.shtml"><span style="color: #990000;">elder suicide is a growing problem in this country, often attributed to depression, failing health, and loneliness. </span> </a>In my mother's case, the life she had planned for herself, her nursing career at the center, working well into her 70s, was abruptly interrupted when she lost her job and had a disabling stroke over a decade ago. She has struggled to make sense of it all ever since. <br />
<span style="color: purple;"> </span><a href="http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/04/06/pastor-rick-warren-son-commits-suicide/?test=latestnews"><span style="color: blue;">So when news broke, last week, regarding the suicide of the son of the evangelical leader Pastor Rick Warren</span></a><span style="color: #990000;">,</span> I was neither shocked or surprised. Some were, of course, because Pastor Rick Warren has made quite a name for himself in the Christian community, especially since the publication of his book <i style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://purposedriven.com/books/pdlbook/#purpose">The Purpose Driven Life.</a> </i>While there was an online outpouring of support for the Warren family, there were also the obvious questions. Why would a Christian kill himself? Was it his depression that drove him to take his own life? What is the condition of this poor man's soul? Without becoming judgmental, I think it's perfectly fair and incredibly important to consider all these questions honestly and truthfully.<br />
<a href="http://www.suicidology.org/c/document_library/get_file?folderId=232&name=DLFE-246.pdf"><b><span style="color: blue;"> Most people who kill themselves suffer from some form of depression or drug and alcohol abuse.</span></b></a> This is a sad fact resulting from prolonged feelings of hopelessness and despair. Interestingly though, while Christians experience bouts of depression like everyone else, <b><span style="color: #990000;"><a href="http://www.adherents.com/misc/religion_suicide.html"><span style="color: #990000;">they don't actually commit suicide as much as non-believers</span>.</a> </span></b> Why? Because traditionally they have some really strong deterrent fact that actually prevents them from taking their own life. And that deterrent is the belief that they will spend all eternity burning in the fires of Hell.<br />
So what of Pastor Warren's son, Matthew? He was obviously a Christian. I think the answer to why he decided to end his life after suffering so long from depression can be found in his own words. "Dad, <b><span style="color: #cc0000;">I know I am going to heaven. Why can't I just die and end this pain</span></b>?" In a phrase---Once Saved, Always Saved. This is what Matthew Warren believed. This is what his father taught him and his whole congregation. It is what my mother, a self-proclaimed Southern Baptist, believes. <b> The Perseverance of the Saints,</b> as the idea is officially called, is a fundamental tenet of several Protestant sects, <b><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;">and it is a lie.</span></b> <b><span style="color: purple;">It is, in fact, a heresy that has caused many souls to face eternal damnation.</span></b><br />
The whole idea of the Perseverance of the Saints began with the grand heretic, John Calvin. In the 1500s, Calvin, with very little theological education, rejected all the doctrines that the Church had taught and came up with his own! His contribution to the attack against Our Lord and His Church was Calvin's Five Points, or <a href="http://www.calvinistcorner.com/tulip.htm"><b><span style="color: #990000;">TULIP</span></b></a><span style="color: #cc0000;">.</span> The P in this acronym is Perseverance of the Saints, commonly called Predestination, or <b>Once Saved, Always Saved</b>. Simply put, Calvin suggested and taught that God, for reasons known only to Him, determined beforehand who would be sent to Heaven and who would be sent to Hell. Those people whom God has chosen, then, will go immediately to Heaven, even if they commit acts that are evil. Those people whom God has destined for Hell can, ultimately, do absolutely no good works to merit Heaven. For modern Protestants who hold the OSAS belief, this basically means a person, once they accept Jesus Christ, cannot lose his or her salvation. Calvin's crazy idea is a central tenet in the Southern Baptist church, of which my mother aligns herself, and also of most of the Evangelical and Pentecostal churches. <br />
Just like Matthew Warren, my mother believes <b><i>there is absolutely nothing she could do to lose her salvation.</i></b> And because she suffers on a daily basis, there is then absolutely no deterrent, no fear of Hell, no fear of God's wrath, to stop her from taking an overdose of pills or admitting herself into the hospital and just checking out. <br />
This time, my mother almost died. In the aftermath, my husband and I considered it might be best for my mother to leave our home for the nursing home. In my anguish over having to make that decision, I talked to my priest. I want to do what is best for my mother, but I first and foremost want to please God. Sensing my guilt, my priest informed me that my first and foremost duty to my mother was concern for her eternal soul. It was a shocking consideration, indeed. As such, he insisted that I speak to her about conversion. It was a hard subject to approach, but when she appeared to be fairly coherent, I asked her the question. "Do you want to become a Catholic?" She answered, of course, the only way she could, "I don't see much purpose in that." My mother's Once Saved, Always Saved heart is hard. It will be truly an act of God's grace and mercy for her to convert. And I will constantly live wondering if one day my mother will do like Matthew Warren and end her suffering so she can "just go on to Heaven." <br />
What are we to make of Matthew Warren's death? <b> His poor soul will never see Heaven, in spite of what he took his life believing.</b> <span style="color: #990000;">It is a sad, but terrible truth</span>. I don't doubt Mr. Warren's life was filled with sadness and suffering. But that is what this life is, a valley of tears. Our Lord was born into this world to die for our salvation. He opened the gates of Heaven for us. Unfortunately, very few of us will ever get to share the Beatific Vision. <b><span style="color: #cc0000;">The Devil will see to that.</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="color: #cc0000;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="color: #cc0000;">St. Dymphna, ora pro nobis.</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="color: #cc0000;">Our Lady of Fatima, ora pro nobis.</span></b><br />
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Cindy Willmothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04074715198310800028noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5454897676384160722.post-42091685871263924762013-02-22T16:20:00.000-05:002013-02-22T16:20:38.732-05:00Defenders of the Faith! Earlier this week, I made a serious error in judgment. I defended Catholicism on Facebook. Let me explain. A traditional Catholic friend had made a simply stated post about <a href="http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20675310,00.html" style="color: #660000;"><b>the suicide of the country music singer, Mindy McCready. </b> </a>As one who doesn't listen to modern music or watch reality television, I know absolutely nothing about Mindy McCready other than what the news reported. So, personally, I had no comment. It was of absolutely no surprise to me that another celebrity took their own life. It shouldn't be to anyone else's surprise either. I suppose my friend was simply commenting on the sadness of it all, the wasted life, and the consideration that two small children are without a mother. Whatever her motives, my friend mentioned she wished she had prayed harder for the country music star before she killed herself. That simple statement unleashed a chain of Catholic friends hoping to console their trad Catholic friend by offering her hope and education by reminding her that "the Church doesn't think that anymore" and "Christ is so merciful!" Whatever.<br />
I admit, I should had left it alone, but I can't control my choleric nature sometimes. I NEEDED to defend the Church. Let me clarify that. <b>I didn't particularly put in my two cents just to defend my friend.</b> While that was part of it, certainly, <b><span style="color: #cc0000;">my main motive was to defend Christ and His Church</span></b>. The fact is simple--most Novus Ordo Catholics have no idea what the Catholic faith teaches. And they don't know it because no one, not their families nor their priests, have every explained it to them or defended it. Oh sure, they go to Mass every Sunday, but they can only tell you what Pope John Paul II said or what Pope Benedict XVI wrote about. Begin discussing the true doctrines and dogma of the Catholic faith and they take the same approach---the Church doesn't teach that anymore. What???<br />
Since I have become a traditional Catholic, I have learned something about Novus Ordo Catholics. They feel sorry for us. They think we are stupid. They think they need to go around all the time and "correct" us. Every single time we say something, whether it is insignificant or not, they take it as an opportunity to chastise us for "leaving" the Church. And when we attempt to defend ourselves, defend our position, defend our reasons for being traditional Catholics, they criticize and condemn us. They even shun us. <br />
I used to think it's not worth it. The debating and discussing with Novus Ordos Catholics seems to go no where sometimes, with no one willing to concede. But does that really matter? Eventually, if we keep telling the truth, defending Our Lord and His Church, something will make sense. A few Sunday's ago, our priest gave a sermon about the Master and Workers in the Vineyard. I thought about my own path to traditional Catholicism. I wasn't "hired" in the beginning of the day. In fact, it took me a long time to become even a Novus Ordo Catholic much less find tradition. So I have to believe that is true for so many others.<br />
I also considered for a short while, that it wasn't my place to help Catholics find tradition. I believe that's a temptation from the devil. <b> If we truly believe there is no salvation outside the Catholic Church, then how could we not try to convert people, especially our Novus Ordo friends who may have lost or be in jeopardy of losing their faith?</b> Is it really Catholic to have the attitude that "I have mine, you get yours on your own?"<br />
It's hard today to be a traditional Catholic. Many times, our adversaries are our own fellow Catholics who think we have abandoned our faith and the Church. We risk, at any moment, losing our friends and, sometimes, our families. And since we are still human, these broken relationships can be very painful. I think that is why a lot of traditional Catholics just decide to remain silent about the faith or not to "make waves" when discussions, like the one about Mindy McCready's suicide, pop up.<br />
I don't regret stepping into my friend's Facebook conversation. In fact, I saw it as my duty to defend my faith. The Baltimore Catechism says this regarding this matter:<br />
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<b><span style="color: purple; font-size: large;">326. Q. Are we obliged to make open profession of our faith?</span></b><br />
<span style="color: purple;"><br /></span>
<b><span style="color: purple; font-size: large;">A. We are obliged to make open profession of our faith as often as God's honor, our neighbor's spiritual good, or our own requires it. "Whosoever," says Christ, "shall confess Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in Heaven."</span></b><br />
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<b><i>It is not necessary for us to proclaim in the streets that we are Catholics; neither need we tell our religion to impudent people that may ask us only to insult us;<span style="color: #660000;"> but when a real need of professing our faith presents itself, then we must profess it.</span> You must keep up the practice of your religion even if by so doing you have to make an open profession of your faith and suffer for it.</i></b><br />
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Does this mean we have to go around telling everyone how Catholic we are? Absolutely not. Does this mean we have to constantly engage people in "teachable moments?" Of course not. But does this mean we have to clarify Church teaching, doctrine, and dogma when having conversation with Novus Ordo Catholics, Protestants, or non-religious? Yes, <b>most especially with our Catholic friends.</b> Even if that means they argue with us or stop inviting us to parties.<br />
So be brave! You never know when some lapsed, indifferent, or confused Catholic is touched or motivated by our good examples. After all, the Master is always out calling for workers for His Vineyard.<br />
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<b><span style="color: red;">St. Peter, ora pro nobis!</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="color: red;">Our Lady of Good Success, ora pro nobis!</span></b><br />
Cindy Willmothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04074715198310800028noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5454897676384160722.post-30132917836955046082013-02-12T11:54:00.000-05:002013-02-12T11:54:22.021-05:00The Great Refusal<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY4bhUgIXGfBmUg34acjrYXao3u9zCoOxoyJ2gEdLsoTwGzMCzwmLVeNsXyYS0Q2H9O-q3M_kHwLKt5XUeHQzfodGSFcWEI3ObwgZ0W-V8t0KseG3Zm7t8m8eRtDokNzlS6vqk-UgJKA/s1600/Passion-of-the-Christ-Cross.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY4bhUgIXGfBmUg34acjrYXao3u9zCoOxoyJ2gEdLsoTwGzMCzwmLVeNsXyYS0Q2H9O-q3M_kHwLKt5XUeHQzfodGSFcWEI3ObwgZ0W-V8t0KseG3Zm7t8m8eRtDokNzlS6vqk-UgJKA/s320/Passion-of-the-Christ-Cross.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Yesterday morning, my house sounded like a cage full of canaries. My twitterfeed was tweetin' overtime about the "resignation" of Pope Benedict XVI. I wasn't going to write about it at all. I figured I would leave my opinions regarding the matter to myself and my husband. But I am a melancholic by temperament, and the more I thought about the Pope's resignation, the more perplexed I became. I researched, contemplated, and questioned most of the day yesterday and I came up with some very interesting facts and disturbing conclusions.<br />
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1) Yes, a Pope can resign. In the entire 1,979 year history of the Catholic Church a Papal resignation has happened only 4 other times. In percentages, this means that 0.2% of the Vicars of Christ have ended their Papacy through resignation. But it's rarer than an appearance Halley's Comet.<br />
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2) Of the 4 Popes who have previously resigned, 3 had some very good reasons. Here's a brief synopsis:<br />
~~~Pope Benedict IX resigned in 1045. He inherited the Papal Office and viewed it as his birth right. As such, he was a terrible Pope and a disgrace to his Office. He was a scandalous man, who used his authority as political power. He openly carried on with many women and when it was learned that he was about to marry, the Cardinals insisted on his resignation. Eventually, his successor, Pope Gregory VI paid him a large sum of money in exchange for his resignation.<br />
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~~~Pope Gregory VI, after bribing his predecessor, resigned in 1046. The events surrounding this fight for the Papal Tiara was quite scandalous. Benedict immediately recanted his resignation, accusing Pope Gregory of simony. Pope Gregory refused to abdicate his authority and King Henry III was forced to intervene. Eventually, Pope Gregory VI resigned and another Pope was chosen. <br />
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~~~Pope Gregory XII was chosen Pope during the Great Western Schism. He resigned his Office in 1415. Each Cardinal, during this difficult period, took an oath declaring that, if elected Pope, he would willing abdicate the Papal Office to end the Schism. Though Gregory XII was the true Pope, two others held claim to the same. Truthful to his oath and for the sake of the Church, Pope Gregory XII resigned to prevent further rupture. <br />
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3) The 4th Pope in the History of the Church to resign was Celestine V in 1294. Before he was Pope Celestine V, Pietro di Murrone became a monk at 17 and later a priest. There is no doubt he was a pious man. He spent his life in solitude and in constant prayer and penance. He spent his entire, long life as a hermit in the wilderness. As such, those who knew him, greatly admired his piety and his holiness. In a shock to his sensibilities, Pietro found his pious life interrupted, when the Cardinals found him on his mountain after having elected him Pope in 1294. The See of Peter had been sede vacante for 2 years. Reluctantly, Pietro accepted the Office and chose the name of Celestine V. But within 5 months, it was obvious that the old man, nearly 80, was unfit and ill equipped to hold the Office of the Papacy. He made a lot of poor choices in appointing Cardinals, which eventually laid the foundation for the Great Schism that was soon to follow. He could refuse no one, and granted favors to prelates without restraint. As such, the affairs of the running the Curia fell into disarray and corruption. After recognizing such, Pope Celestine V longed only to return to his hermit life rather than mend the problems he had created. He retreated into his private apartment and contemplated that his soul was in grave danger. When he thought of resigning under these circumstances, the Cardinals agreed, and a consultation of the Canon law ensued. It was then concluded, after 5 months, that, for the preservation of the Church, a pope could resign his Papal Office. Celestine V resigned in that same year. Interestingly enough, the Cardinal who helped to formulate the decree on Papal Resignation became the next Pope, Pope Boniface VIII. He promptly rescinded all decrees issued by Pope Celestine V, save one--the decree on Papal resignations. Celestine spent the rest of his life confined to a cell in a castle. It was there he died, in solitude, the following year.<br />
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4) After Celestine V resigned his office, the Catholic world was in shock. He was considered by most Cardinals and faithful alike to have been a very weak man. Most viewed him as a coward. It is to this Pope Celestine V than <a href="http://www.online-literature.com/dante/inferno/3/"><b><span style="color: #990000;">Dante's Inferno</span></b></a> refers. Dante places the cowardly Pope Celestine V at the vestibule of Hell, where their punishment is the continued pursuit of self-interest, chased by wasps and hornets who constantly sting them, and where maggots drink their blood and their tears. <b><i>(Canto III)</i></b>.<br />
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<span style="color: #134f5c;"> <i><b>This miserable mode</b></i></span><br />
<i><b><span style="color: #134f5c;"> Maintain the melancholy souls of those</span></b></i><br />
<i><b><span style="color: #134f5c;"> Who lived without infamy or praise.</span></b></i><br />
<i><b><span style="color: #134f5c;"> Commingled are they with that caitiff choir</span></b></i><br />
<i><b><span style="color: #134f5c;"> of Angels, who have not rebellious been,</span></b></i><br />
<i><b><span style="color: #134f5c;"> Nor faithful were to God, but were for self. </span></b></i><br />
<i><b><span style="color: #134f5c;"> The heavens expelled them, not to be less fair;</span></b></i><br />
<i><b><span style="color: #134f5c;"> Nor them the nethermore abyss receives, </span></b></i><br />
<i><b><span style="color: #134f5c;"> For glory none the damned would have from them.</span></b></i><br />
<i><b><span style="color: #134f5c;"> </span></b></i><br />
<i><b><span style="color: #134f5c;"> These have no longer any hope of death</span></b></i><br />
<i><b><span style="color: #134f5c;"> And this blind life of theirs is so debased</span></b></i><br />
<i><b><span style="color: #134f5c;"> They envious are of every other fate.</span></b></i><br />
<i><b><span style="color: #134f5c;"> No fame of them the world permits to be;</span></b></i><br />
<i><b><span style="color: #134f5c;"> Misericord and Justice both disdain them.</span></b></i><br />
<i><b><span style="color: #134f5c;"> Let us not look at them, but speak and pass.</span></b></i><br />
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5) It is this Pope, the cowardly Pope, that apparently Pope Benedict has modeled his own resignation after. <a href="http://protectthepope.com/?p=6739"> <span style="color: #660000;">In 2009, Pope Benedict XVI visited the tomb of Pope Celestine V. </span></a><span style="color: #660000;"> </span>It was here atop the tomb of Celestine V that he left his pallium, <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11427a.htm"><span style="color: #660000;">The pallium is a woolen band worn around the neck of the Pope that symbolizes his pontifical office. </span> </a>In 2010, Pope Benedict found the time to pray in a cathedral near Rome where the relics of Pope Celestine V are located. <br />
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6) Since Pope Benedict XVI is a man who seems fascinated by dates and symbols, does his fascination and homage to Pope Celestine V indicate that his Pontificate is similar in more ways than just his resignation? How many of his personal friends did Pope Benedict XVI elevate to important offices? <a href="https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/articles.cfm?id=563"><span style="color: #660000;">Archbishop Meuller?</span></a> How many others? Does his homage to Pope Celestine indicate that the magnitude of the office of the Papacy is too much for him to bear? <br />
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7) Does the Popes "resignation" and his "retirement" indicate that he considers the role of the Papacy that akin to a CEO of a company? Is that how he views the Catholic Church, as a company run by a board of officials who make decisions regarding how many "offices" they have or how many "stores" they have? With all the church closings and restructuring, it might seem so. Does he also want to have some sort of say-so over who his "replacement" will be?<br />
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8) Why would a Pope, any Pope, resign his office during Lent, the Holiest Season of the year? If his health is really bad, why wouldn't he just do what all the other Popes in history have done and wait for his death?<br />
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9) Does he want to "retire" so he can write another book and show us his intellectual abilities?<br />
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10) Is there something about to happen or some news about to come out that might bring scandal upon the whole Catholic Church regarding more of his responsibility and knowledge of the pederasty and sodomy in the clergy?<br />
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While all of the above observations and questions are important, the biggest curiosity I have is why in the world the Catholic faithful are being so kind and gracious to this Pope under these circumstances. <a href="http://www.churchmilitant.tv/free/index.php?vidID=vort-2013-02-10"><span style="color: #660000;"> Michael Voris is even giving an excuse for this Pope--that he couldn't fight off the wolves in the Vatican. </span> </a>All the news media is reporting about the <a href="http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865572919/Catholics-hail-popes-resignation-as-courageous-humble-and-good-for-church.html"><span style="color: #660000;">"Pope's humble resignation."</span></a> And while Cardinal Dolan was saddened by the news,<span style="color: #660000;"> <a href="http://swampland.time.com/2013/02/11/cardinal-dolan-reacts-to-the-popes-resignation/"><span style="color: #660000;">he issued a statement of admiration of this Pontiff and his humility.</span></a> </span> <a href="http://www.thesacredpage.com/2013/02/did-benedict-xvi-take-page-from-gregory.html"><span style="color: #cc0000;">Some people are even suggesting that the Pope is so humble that he simply admitted his own unworthiness to be the Pope! </span></a><br />
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I find this all rather disconcerting but not surprising. We live in an age where modern Catholics love the Popes more than they love the Church. They love the Popes so much, that they hold onto every word they say as the Gospel Truth. They view every action of the Pope as the Divine Will of God. They are so blind to the PERSON in the Papacy that they can't grasp what the Papacy even is or what it's purpose is. It is a sad day for Catholics and for the Church. <br />
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The most profound statement regarding Pope Benedict's resignation came from Cardinal Dziwisz of Poland when he said <a href="http://vaticaninsider.lastampa.it/en/news/detail/articolo/wojtyla-wojtyla-wojtyla-22147/"><span style="color: #660000;">"Wojytla (Pope John Paul II) stayed to the end because one does not come down from the cross." </span></a> This is absolutely correct. <b>The Pope is the Vicar of Christ.</b> He serves as the agent of Our Lord. He is chosen, not by mere men, but by the Holy Ghost. It is God himself who gives us our Pope to guard and protect the faith. <b><span style="color: red;">Just as Christ did not come down from His Cross, the Supreme Pontiff cannot relinquish his responsibilities unless the life of the Church is at stake.</span></b> <b>To say that the Pontiff could no longer fight off the wolves is the ultimate act of betrayal and cowardice.</b> If the Supreme Pontiff cannot fight off the wolves then how can we, the faithful, who depend on the Pontiff to guide us????<br />
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Our Lord suffered extreme humiliation, extreme pain, extreme agony, extreme abandonment, extreme loss of those He loved and yet HE STAYED! He stayed because without Him, we cannot ever hope to obtain salvation. Ever. What does this say about the Pope if he cannot stay and defend the Church against Satan? <br />
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As more news comes out regarding Pope Benedict XVI's resignation, the more questions I have. Although I do not personally hold the view of my sede vacantist friends, I am walking closer towards that line. These are indeed very dark times.<br />
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Regardless of this news, in March we will have a new Pope. What kind of Pope will he be and what will happen to the Barque of Peter? <br />
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Lent begins tomorrow. I intend to spend this time in prayer and penance that the Church is restored and the Holy Ghost chooses for us a Pope to lead us out of this modernist cesspool.<br />
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<span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><b>Our Lady of Fatima, ora pro nobis!</b></span><br />
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<span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><b>St. Peter, ora pro nobis!</b></span>Cindy Willmothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04074715198310800028noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5454897676384160722.post-88187597447884166582013-02-07T20:41:00.000-05:002013-02-07T20:44:00.608-05:00Clown of the Week----Cardinal Joachim Meisner<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Before I sat down to write this blog, I hesitated. I could almost hear the sighs from my few readers..."Ugh. Another article about birth control!" It's tired. I know. But at least once a week, a Catholic in a position of authority says something publicly about contraception that is so utterly stupid and ridiculous that I just can't hold my tongue. <br />
This week the Clown of the Week Award goes to the German Cardinal Joachim Meisner of Cologne. What, you say, did the good Cardinal do to deserve such an award? <span style="color: #990000;"><a href="http://www.dw.de/german-cardinal-says-yes-to-morning-after-pill/a-16570866"><span style="color: #990000;">He issued a statement in response to the "controversy" surrounding two Catholic hospitals in Cologne who refused to dispense "emergency contraceptives" to a rape victim.</span></a> </span> What exactly was that statement? Read it and weep, good and faithful Catholics. <span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: italic;">"If, <b>after a rape</b>, a <b>supplement is used</b> with the intend of <b>preventing fertilization</b>, that is <b>in my view</b> justifiable." </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Congratulations Herr Meisner! You have just declared utter nonsense, and confounded and confused another generation of Catholics! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Since many of today's Catholics are being led around and spoon fed by these clowns, I think it's time for another primer on the absolute absurdity of such a statement. Good and faithful Catholics should be outraged every time one of these statements comes to light in the media. Why? Because many Catholics are blinded by obedience and will believe every single word they say without hesitation, thus finding themselves fast on the path to Perdition! Enough! Let's see if we can clarify, then.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">1) <span style="color: blue; font-style: italic;">If, after a rape.....</span>Yes, rape is a horrible crime against a woman. Woman who are raped feel shame, quilt, anger, sadness, confusion, despair, remorse, disgust, and hatred. <a href="http://www.nij.gov/topics/crime/rape-sexual-violence/victims-perpetrators.htm"><span style="color: #990000;">What makes the situation worse is that most women are raped by someone they know or are at least familiar with.</span> </a>After women are raped they feel so many emotions for months, perhaps even years, that it is sometimes difficult for them to even think straight. And that is precisely the problem. These women who have been raped and have come to a medical facility are not thinking straight at all. They are over-run with pure emotion. In such a state of raw emotion a woman couldn't possibly consider the idea that she <i><b>might</b></i> have fallen pregnant with a man whom she feels nothing but disgust. Difficult dilemma, yes?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">2) <i style="color: blue;">...a supplement is used with the intend of preventing fertilization.....</i>This is called contraception. Period. <a href="http://www.fda.gov/downloads/ForConsumers/ByAudience/ForWomen/FreePublications/UCM282014.pdff"><span style="color: #990000;">Even the FDA, which is not noted for honesty or transparency regarding pharmaceuticals, identifies "the Pill" and the "emergency pill" as contraceptives,</span></a> or methods where hormones are used to prevent ovulation or the fertilization of the egg. There are many natural supplements that have been around for millennia that women have to prevent fertilization---<span style="color: #990000;"><span style="color: #990000;"><a href="http://www.sisterzeus.com/pomegranate.htm"><span style="color: #990000;">pomegranates</span></a>,</span> <a href="http://www.neemfoundation.org/neem-articles/neem-in-health/neem-cures/birth-control.html"><span style="color: #990000;">neem oil</span></a>, <a href="http://herbalisl.blogspot.com/2009/11/queen-annes-lace-conscious-choice-for.html"><span style="color: #990000;">Queen Anne's Lace seeds</span></a>, <a href="http://www.sisterzeus.com/rue.htm"><span style="color: #990000;">rutin</span></a>, <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=8AJkBmPDRUUC&pg=PA676&lpg=PA676&dq=smartweed+contraceptive&source=bl&ots=MLI1rf3qBC&sig=Iek5Jk-A2Qq3KnVvlBOTEXmGtx8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=24EQUdL9KtGH0QHs34CAAw&ved=0CGQQ6AEwBjgU#v=onepage&q=smartweed%20contraceptive&f=false"><span style="color: #990000;">smartweed</span></a>, and apricot kernels. </span> You see, contrary, to popular belief, ours is not the first society who desired not to have offspring. There were many people before who discovered certain herbs and flowers could bring on a menstrual cycle, prevent fertilization, or cause a miscarriage. Why not use one of these supplements instead of hormones which are known cancer agents? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">3) <i style="color: blue;">...in my view....</i>It seems the good Cardinal's view is the same view as the "experts" and "scientists." But what about God's view? And the Church's view? You see, the Cardinal's view doesn't really matter does it? The only view that actually counts is God's and He left the Catholic Church solely responsible for teaching everyone what that view is. Sorry Herr Meisner.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">4) <i style="color: blue;">...justifiable. </i>This one word, alone, is what qualifies Herr Meisner for the Clown of the Week Award. What exactly does this word mean? When a decision or action is justifiable, it must be proven that the action is just, right, or reasonable. Is preventing fertilization with a supplement in any case just, right, or reasonable? Not according to God! Not even in the case of rape. What is just about denying a child created by God his natural right to live? What is right about intentionally and willfully suppressing a woman's fertility so that she will not fall pregnant? What is reasonable about telling a woman that it is okay to take a "supplement" to prevent a child from being conceived or born? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> What's the big deal, you say, about Cardinal Meisner anyway. Well, he is in a position of authority. Faithful Catholics see him as a representative of the visible Church. Those Catholics who are still attending Mass and who still listen to their priests and bishops will take what the Cardinal says and actually believe it is true. This is what makes his statement absolutely absurd and dangerous. And this is precisely why the Catholic Church is in the rotten state that it is in! The hierarchy is rotten and they are liars. And while they may or may not hold legitimate places of authority, one just cannot believe a word they say. Period. In these times, it's best not to listen to them at all or measure everything they declare with what the Church actually teaches. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> C</span>ontraception and abortion, contrary to popular belief, are not new ideas. Any study of the use of contraception clearly indicates that both practices, contraception and abortion, were commonplace throughout antiquity. <a href="http://universalium.academic.ru/245527/Soranus_of_Ephesus"><span style="color: #990000;">In fact, an exhaustive analysis of women's health, including contraception, was published in the 2nd Century by Soranus of Ephesus, a Greek gynecologist.</span></a> His works were so important that they were read and referenced for over 1500 years. <span style="color: #351c75;"><b>I mention this because it is important to note that these practices were part of the life and culture that Our Lord and His Apostles were teaching against.</b></span> And since these practices were part of the general culture, Christians were in direct opposition to it. As such, this is not a new idea that just suddenly popped up in the 1960s with the invention of a birth control pill. On the contrary, ours is not the first culture in which men and women wanted to enjoy the pleasures of the flesh without any consequences. <br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> <b><span style="color: #351c75;">From the beginning, Our Lord, His Apostles, and His Church have condemned the practice of contraception and abortion.</span></b> One does not need a degree in theology to know what the Church teaches in regards to these matters. <b><span style="color: #351c75; font-size: large;">Neither are acceptable--both are intrinsically morally evil.</span></b> Period. This concept is so simple that even the Protestants understand it. God, and God alone, is the author of life. He decides, in His ultimate Wisdom, when or if a child is to be created. This is very difficult for us to understand, especially when the circumstances involved are so difficult. But who are we to question Our Lord's Ways? After all, they are not ours. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Is rape a horrible situation? Yes. Most definitely. But sometimes Our Lord chooses this precise situation to bring a new human being into this world. Why? I do not know. It would be highly presumptuous of me to contemplate why the Lord would allow a child to be conceived in this way. <a href="http://www.cinews.ie/article.php?artid=9812"><span style="color: #990000;">A report that come out in Ireland last year highlighted the fact that most women in this situation keep their children. </span> </a>If a child conceived out of rape is so horrible, why do all these women keep their children? Perhaps this is a question Cardinal Meisner ought to investigate. The Cardinal might begin his research by reading the blog by </span><a href="http://www.rebeccakiessling.com/PregnantByRape.html" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #990000;">Rebecca Kiessling,</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> a woman who was conceived in rape and targeted for abortion. I am certain she would have to disagree with Cardinal Meisner that "emergency" contraception is ever justified. There are women there who have lovingly and courageously shared their stories in hopes that they can have an impact. </span><br />
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It is a really sad day for humanity the leaders of the Holy Catholic Church lose their faith and their marbles at the same time. For this reason, German Cardinal Joachim Meisner wins the Clown of the Week Award.<br />
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<b><span style="color: red;">Our Lady of Good Success, Ora Pro Nobis!</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="color: red;">St. Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Ora Pro Nobis!</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span>Cindy Willmothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04074715198310800028noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5454897676384160722.post-75604583343343935282012-12-17T14:16:00.000-05:002012-12-17T14:16:48.066-05:00We Have Become Death<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><i><span style="color: #990000;">~I Am Become Death, The Destroyer Of Worlds~</span></i></b><br />
<b><i><span style="color: #990000;">J. Robert Oppenheimer, 1945</span></i></b><br />
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On Friday, a young man, the age of my oldest son, walked into a public elementary school and brutally gunned down a classroom of children, the same age as my youngest son. It is not only a tragedy, but a horror. Every where we turn, there is senseless murder. <b><span style="font-size: large;">We have become death</span></b>. (Click links below.)<br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;"><b>Shooting Mass Murders</b></span><br />
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<a href="http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/14/us/connecticut-school-shooting/index.html"><b><span style="color: purple;">20 Dead Children In Connecticut.</span></b></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/12/us-usa-shooting-oregon-idUSBRE8BB01720121212"><b><span style="color: purple;">A Young Man On A Rampage In An Oregon Mall.</span></b></a><br />
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<a href="http://articles.latimes.com/2012/jul/20/news/la-14-dead-at-least-50-injured-in-shooting-at-colorado-movie-theater-20120720"><b><span style="color: purple;">Shooting Rampage in Colorado Movie Theater.</span></b></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/assessment/2004/04/the_depressive_and_the_psychopath.html"><b><span style="color: purple;">The Columbine School Bombing and Rampage.</span></b></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/08/05/possible-injuries-after-shooting-at-sikh-temple-in-wisconsin/"><b><span style="color: purple;">7 Killed At Sikh Temple in Wisconsin.</span></b></a><br />
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<a href="http://abcnews.go.com/US/oakland-shooting-dead-oikos-university-suspect-idd-goh/story?id=16056854#.UM9GR-S7Pao"><b><span style="color: purple;">Several Students Killed At Christian College in California.</span></b></a><br />
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<a href="http://content.usatoday.com/communities/ondeadline/post/2012/05/seattle-shootings-kill-3-wound-3/1#.UM9G0uS7Pao"><b><span style="color: purple;">Gunman Opens Fire In Seattle Cafe.</span></b></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/28/us-usa-crime-minneapolis-idUSBRE88R00E20120928"><b><span style="color: purple;">Disgruntled Worker Kills 5.</span></b></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/16/us/16cnd-shooting.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0"><b><span style="color: purple;">Virginia Tech Shooting In 2007</span></b></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15105305/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/t/th-girl-dies-after-amish-schoolhouse-shooting/"><b><span style="color: purple;">Amish School Shooting </span></b></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/04/nyregion/04hostage.html?pagewanted=all"><b><span style="color: purple;">Immigrants Killed In Binghamton, New York Shooting.</span></b></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShlbXlfQlkU"><b><span style="color: purple;">The 1966 Shooting At The University of Texas</span></b></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1993/12/08/nyregion/gunman-kills-5-on-lirr-train-19-are-wounded.html"><b><span style="color: purple;">The Long Island Railroad Shooting in 1993</span></b></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.tucsonnewsnow.com/Global/story.asp?S=13807906"><b><span style="color: purple;">Tucson Mall Shooting That Injured Congress Woman.</span></b></a><br />
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<a href="http://violenceintheworkplace.lettercarriernetwork.info/Postal%20Shootings-Suicides.pdf"><b><span style="color: purple;">"Going Postal"--Postal Worker Shootings In The 1980s</span></b></a><br />
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<b><i>While all of these deaths were senseless and unnecessary, what are we to make about it? </i></b> <b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">This is what our secular society has truly wrought and what goes unreported every day.</span></b> In context of the people killed, these rampages have nothing on the real agents of death and destruction in our society. Wake up, Americans! <b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;"> It's not the guns that are killing! It's this culture, this Godless culture, that has given us this legacy of death! </span></b> It will not end; it will never change unless we allow Our Lord to truly reign in our hearts and in our nation. <b><span style="color: #4c1130;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">The only one who can end it now is Our Most Blessed Mother. Our only weapons in these dark times are the Rosary and Our Lady's Scapular</span>. </i></span></b><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;"><b>Euthanasia</b></span><br />
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<a href="http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/51-assisted-suicide-deaths-in-washington-in-201051/"><b><span style="color: purple;">51 Assisted Suicide Murders in 2010 Alone.</span></b></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2010/03/22/prse0325.htm"><b><span style="color: purple;">95 People Were Assisted in Their Own Murders in Washington and Oregon.</span></b></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.mercurynews.com/california/ci_22193235/man-charged-assisted-suicide-wifes-death"><b><span style="color: purple;">Man Murders His Wife But Fails To Kill Himself. Is Charged With Assisted Suicide.</span></b></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.wbur.org/2012/10/25/massachusetts-physician-assisted-suicide"><b><span style="color: purple;">Movement To Change The Definition Of Suicide To Assisted Dying.</span></b></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/law/jan-june05/schiavo_3-31.html"><b><span style="color: purple;">Terry Schiavo Starved To Death For 13 Days.</span></b></a><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-size: large;"><b>Murder of The Disabled</b></span><br />
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<a href="http://host.madison.com/news/local/chris_rickert/chris-rickert-disabled-man-s-murder-delivers-message-for-all/article_5b05768e-2b54-11e2-9c9b-001a4bcf887a.html"><b><span style="color: purple;">Autistic Young Man Tortured and Murdered By Brother</span></b></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/feb/28/tp-did-state-tolerate-murder-of-disabled/"><b><span style="color: purple;">Abuse And Death In Homes For The Disabled.</span></b></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/1090176/"><b><span style="color: purple;">Family Murders Disabled Mother For Monthly Benefits.</span></b></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.komonews.com/news/local/101411719.html"><b><span style="color: purple;">Rape And Murder Of Disabled Girl.</span></b></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/07/24/disabled-girl-found-dead-mom-unconscious-in-apparent-murder-suicide-try-hours/"><b><span style="color: purple;">Girl With Cerebral Palsy Murdered By Mother Hours Before Wedding</span></b></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/09/15/north-carolina-woman-accused-killing-disabled-stepdaughter-due-in-court-on/"><b><span style="color: purple;">Woman Murders And Dismembers Disabled Step-Daughter.</span></b></a><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-size: large;"><b>Elder Abuse And Murder</b></span><br />
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<a href="http://www.ravallirepublic.com/news/opinion/mailbag/article_3fafcdd7-df10-5c31-baa6-d51d57078f77.html"><b><span style="color: purple;">Elder Abuse Masked Under Disguise Of Assisted Suicide</span></b></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.11alive.com/news/article/203710/1/Marietta-woman-charged-with-felony-murder-elder-abuse"><b><span style="color: purple;">Woman Murders Bed-Ridden Mother</span></b></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.walb.com/story/15355929/elder-abuse-murder-lands-mother-daughter-in-jail"><b><span style="color: purple;">Woman and Daughter Allow Elderly Aunt To Die Of Neglect</span></b></a><br />
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<a href="http://articles.mcall.com/2006-09-09/news/3680740_1_martin-elder-abuse-chair"><b><span style="color: purple;">Man Allows Elderly Mother To Sit And Rot In Her Own Waste.</span></b></a><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Murder of the Unborn</b></span><br />
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<a href="http://www.abort73.com/abortion_facts/us_abortion_statistics/"><b><span style="color: purple;">In 2008, 1.21 Million Children Were Ripped From Their Mother's Wombs.</span></b></a><br />
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<a href="http://cnsnews.com/node/37421"><b><span style="color: purple;">90% Of Babies With Down Syndrome Are Murdered Before Birth.</span></b></a><br />
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<a href="http://liveaction.org/blog/sex-selective-abortion-thrives-in-america-courtesy-planned-parenthood/"><b><span style="color: purple;">Pregnant Mothers Counseled To Murder Unborn Daughter Because She Was Not A Boy</span></b></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/05/31/u-s-house-democrats-defeat-sex-selective-abortion-ban/"><b><span style="color: purple;">Bill To Ban Sex Selective Abortion Defeated In Congress.</span></b></a><br />
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<b><span style="color: purple;"><a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2012/05/sex-selection-in-america-why-it-persists-and-how-we-can-change-it/257864/">Murder Of Unborn Babies Based On Sex Is A Real Problem In The United States</a>.</span></b><br />
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This is what we have become! <span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;"><b>We are a people without God.</b></span> We are a people without love. We are a people without compassion. When we, as a people, as a nation embraced the willful murdering of our own children in the womb, we dropped the Atomic Bomb on our society. We can not stop the fall out. We we can kill the children we cannot see, what is left to stop us from killing the people we can see? If we have no God, how are we to stop ourselves from starving to death our own helpless aging parents and disabled children? <br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;"><b>We have become death, the destroyer of worlds.</b></span><br />
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<b><i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px; text-align: justify;">Know also this, that, in the last days, <u>shall come dangerous times.</u> </span><span style="color: #20124d; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px; text-align: justify;">Men shall be lovers of themselves, covetous, haughty, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, <u>wicked</u>,</span><span style="color: #20124d; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px; text-align: justify;">Without affection, without peace, slanderers, incontinent, <u>unmerciful</u>, without kindness, </span><span style="color: #20124d; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px; text-align: justify;"> Traitors, stubborn, puffed up, and lovers of pleasures more than of God: </span><span style="color: #20124d; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px; text-align: justify;">Having an appearance indeed of godliness, but denying the power thereof. </span><span style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #990000;">But evil men and seducers shall grow worse and worse:</span><span style="color: #20124d;"> erring, and driving into error.</span></span><span style="color: #20124d; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px; text-align: justify;"> But continue thou in those things which thou hast learned, and which have been committed to thee: knowing of whom thou hast learned them; </span><span style="color: #20124d; line-height: 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">2 Timothy 3:1-5; 13-14</span></span></span></i></b><br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Our Lady Of Guadalupe, Pray For Us!</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">O, Emmanuel, Come, Bring Your Justice! Show Your People Mercy!</span></b><br />
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<br />Cindy Willmothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04074715198310800028noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5454897676384160722.post-29181622428797958622012-12-10T14:12:00.000-05:002012-12-10T14:12:39.730-05:00Oh, Mom, You're So Old School!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIuvlXCpnJ66_N3fQ0U6u2b_Z7WTc6kgXHJS7iGNk3Rhj1CWt90xlkPAJMDun1G5pP4xgm0PyxXRRtIT6mX7DRiqSbQ9OuNb07mxtmaspuKrAwU21GHCkv4y5gQ3W3H5stRabdW3hpcQ/s1600/commipropaganda.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIuvlXCpnJ66_N3fQ0U6u2b_Z7WTc6kgXHJS7iGNk3Rhj1CWt90xlkPAJMDun1G5pP4xgm0PyxXRRtIT6mX7DRiqSbQ9OuNb07mxtmaspuKrAwU21GHCkv4y5gQ3W3H5stRabdW3hpcQ/s1600/commipropaganda.jpg" style="cursor: move;" /></a> On Saturday, my husband and I had a meeting with our priest. He is a good and holy priest, filled with gentleness and wisdom. We met with him because our teenage son is rebellious, more so than we can handle, and we hoped for some guidance. While we did get just that, we also came away with a greater understanding of why we are having this trouble in the first place.<br />
<b>Our oldest two sons were raised by and in the culture.</b> In those early days, I worked, they went to the babysitter or daycare. As they became school age, they went off to public school. The schools were good, we believed, and they had programs and activities before and after school to accommodate most schedules. Finding a place to live with a good school system was imperative because public education by trained teachers was important and necessary. It mattered and we believed in it. <i><b><span style="color: #4c1130;">And it's a communist lie.</span></b></i><br />
Before you dismiss me as some McCarthian nut, please hear me out. <i>See I didn't believe it myself</i>. Oh, yes, I have known for a long time that the public school system is wrought with problems. I know that the schools are failing, students are failing, money is being wasted. Everyone knows that. We all know they eliminated prayer in the classrooms, they've instituted diversity programs, they've emphasized sports. But these are good things right? Not all children share the same religious beliefs, not all children share the same cultural background, not all children are physically active. These are all things that children need to feel comfortable about. If they feel comfortable, then learning is made easier, right? We also know that our society is increasingly technological. We need more scientists, more science, more technology. And where are children going to get that when their parents aren't so inclined? We need the public school system, right? We need the educated to educate. The children need to learn, need to think about their futures, need to join the workforce, need to be healthy and fit, right? The sooner they begin learning, the better, right? And all little children have a right to this, a right to learn, a right to be guided, a right to be treated equally and fairly? Yes! All of us agree on that, right?<br />
Keep all these thoughts in mind. Keep these ideas of fairness, equality, science, religious freedom, and diversity in mind when you read what I am going to share with you. Keep all of it in mind when your 9 year old daughter is practicing her hip-hop dance moves. Keep all of it in mind when you drop your 3 year old off at pre-pre-school. Keep all of this in mind when your 5th grader is working on his Earth Awareness Project. Keep this in mind when your teenager tells you that your values are not the same as hers. Keep this in mind when your son invites you to his wedding at the Elvis chapel in Las Vegas. <br />
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<b><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/862585.The_ABC_of_Communism"><span style="color: red;">From the ABC of Communism by Nikolai Bukharin and Evgenii Preobrazhensky</span></a></b></div>
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<span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 16px;">It is the task of the new school to adapt the mentality of adults to the changed social conditions. <b><i>It is the task of the new school to train up a younger generation whose whole ideology shall be deeply rooted in the soil of the new communist society.</i></b> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 16px;">The attainment of this end must be promoted by all our educational reforms, some of which have already been inaugurated, whilst others still await realization.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 16px;"><span style="color: #660000;">In bourgeois society, the child is regarded as the property of its parents - if not wholly, at least to a major degree. <b>When parents say, 'My daughter', 'My son', the words do not simply imply the existence of a parental relationship, they also give expression to the parents' view that they have a right to educate their own children. <i>From the socialist outlook, no such right exists</i>.</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 16px;"><span style="color: #660000;">The child, therefore, belongs to the society in which it lives, and thanks to which it came into being - and this society is something wider than the 'society' of its own parents.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 16px;"><span style="color: #660000;"><b><i>To society, likewise, belongs the primary and basic right of educating children.</i></b> From this point of view, <b>the parents' claim to bring up their own children and thereby to impress upon the children's psychology their own limitations, must not merely be rejected, but <i>must be absolutely laughed out of court.</i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 16px;"><span style="color: #660000;">Society may entrust the education of children to the parents; but it may refuse to do anything of the kind; <b>and there is all the more reason why society should refuse to entrust education to the parents, <i>seeing that the faculty of educating children is far more rarely encountered than the faculty of begetting them.</i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 16px;"><b><span style="color: #660000;">Social education will make it possible for socialist society to train the coming generation most successfully, at lowest cost, and with the least expenditure of energy.</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 16px;"><span style="color: #660000;">Hundreds of thousands, millions of mothers will thereby be freed for productive work and for self-culture. They will be freed from the soul-destroying routine of housework, and from the endless round of <b>petty duties which are involved in the education of children in their own homes.</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 16px;"><span style="color: #660000;">That is why the Soviet Power is <b><i>striving to create a number of institutions for the improvement of social education, which are intended by degrees to universalize it.</i></b> To this class of institutions belong the <b><i>kindergartens, to which manual workers, clerks, etc., can send their children, thus entrusting them to experts who will prepare the children for school life.</i></b> To this category, too, belong the homes or residential kindergartens. <b>There are also children's colonies, where the children either live permanently, or for a considerable period, away from their parents.</b> There are in addition <b><i>the crèches, institutions for the reception of children under four years of age; in these the little ones are cared for while their parents are at work.</i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 16px;"><span style="color: #660000;"><b>The Communist Party</b>, therefore, <b>must</b>, on the one hand, <b>ensure</b>, through the working of soviet institutions, <b>that there shall be a more rapid development of the places <i>where children are prepared for school life,</i> and it must ensure that there shall be a steady improvement in the training given at such places</b>. On the other hand, <b>by intensified propaganda among parents</b>, <b>the party must overcome bourgeois and petty-bourgeois prejudices concerning <i>the necessity and superiority of home education.</i></b> <b>Here theoretical propaganda must be reinforced by the example of the best conducted educational institutions of the Soviet Power.</b> Only too often, the unsatisfactory condition of the homes; crèches, kindergartens, etc., deters parents from entrusting their children to these. <b>It must be the task of the Communist Party, and e<i>specially of the women's sections,</i> to induce parents to strive for the improvement of social education, not by holding aloof from it, but by sending their children to the appropriate institutions, and by exercising the widest possible control over them through parents' organizations.</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 16px;"><b><i><span style="color: #660000;">The preparatory institutions are for children up to the age of seven.</span></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 16px;"><span style="color: #660000;"><b>Universal, equal, and compulsory education is made available for all children from the ages of seven to seventeen.</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 16px;">T<span style="color: #660000;">he school must be unified. This means, first of all, that <b>the segregation of the sexes in the school must be done away with,</b> that boys and girls must be educated together, that there must be co-education.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 16px;"><span style="color: #660000;">The unified school provides a single gradated system, through which every learner in the socialist republic can and must pass. <b><i>Boys and girls will begin with kindergarten, and will work their way together through all stages to the top.</i></b> This will conclude general compulsory education and also such technical education as is compulsory for every pupil.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 16px;"><span style="color: #660000;">It will be obvious to our readers that the unified school is not merely the ideal of every advanced educationist, but <b><i>is the only possible type of school in a socialist society, that is to say, in a classless society or in one that is striving to abolish class.</i></b> Socialism alone can realize this ideal of the unified school, although certain bourgeois educationists have entertained aspirations towards it.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 16px;"><span style="color: #660000;">The school of the socialist republic must be a labour school. This means that instruction and education must be united with labour and must be based upon labour. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 16px;"><span style="color: #660000;">Finally, for communist society, the labour school is absolutely indispensable. Labour should be a need, like the desire for food and drink; this need must be instilled, and developed in the communist school.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 16px;"><span style="color: #660000;">The unified labour school, and nothing else, can provide for the training of workers who will be able to perform the most diverse functions of communist society.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 16px;"><span style="color: #660000;">Up to the age of seventeen, all the young people in the republic must attend the unified labour school, acquiring there the sum of theoretical and practical knowledge indispensable to every citizen of communist society.</span> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 16px;"><span style="color: #660000;"><b>Until seventeen, the pupils at the labour school are scholars rather than workers.</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 16px;"><span style="color: #660000;">The fundamental aim of the labour processes in the school is not that of creating values and of contributing to the State budget, but that of conveying instruction.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 16px;"><b><span style="color: #660000;">After the age of seventeen, the pupil becomes a worker. He must perform his quota of labour, must play his due part in producing goods for the human community. He can receive specialist instruction only in so far as he has first fulfilled his fundamental duty towards society.</span></b> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 16px;"><span style="color: #660000;"><b>All distinction between professors and students will have disappeared.</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 16px;"><span style="color: #660000;"><b><i>The transitional period between capitalism and communism has given birth to a special type of school, which is intended to be serviceable to the revolution now in progress and to assist in the construction of the soviet apparatus.</i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 16px;"><span style="color: #660000;"> Such were the aims of the party and soviet schools which have grown up under our own eyes, in order to give brief and occasional courses of instruction, and <b><i>which are being transformed into permanent institutions for the training of those who work in the party and in the soviets.</i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660000;"><b><span style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 16px;">T</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 16px;">he Communist Party<i> has to create out of the younger generation an entirely new school of educationists</i>, consisting of persons who have <i>from the very first been trained in the spirit of communism, and above all in the spirit of the communist educational programme.</i></span></b></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: red;"><u>From the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Selected-Writings-Alexandra-Kollontai/dp/0393009742"><span style="color: red;">Selected Writings of Alexandra Kollantai</span></a></u></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #660000;"><b><i>Communist society will come to the aid of the parents</i></b>. In Soviet Russia the Commissariats of Public Education and of Social Welfare are already doing much to assist the family. <b>We already have <i>homes for very small babies, creches, kindergartens,</i> children’s colonies and homes, hospitals and <i>health resorts for sick children.</i> restaurants, <i>free lunches at school and free distribution of text books</i>, warm clothing and shoes to schoolchildren. <i>All this goes to show that the responsibility for the child is passing from the family to the collective.</i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #660000;"><b>The parental care of children in the family could be divided into three parts: (a) the care of the very young baby, (b) the bringing up of the child, and (c) <i>the instruction of the child.</i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #660000;"><b>The more the workers became conscious of their rights and the better they were organised, <i>the more society had to relieve the family of the care of the children.</i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #660000;"><b>Communist society considers the social education of the rising generation to be <i>one of the fundamental aspects of the new life. </i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #660000;"><b>The old family, narrow and petty, where the parents quarrel and are only interested in their own offspring, <i>is not capable of educating the “new person”</i>. </b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #660000;"><b>The playgrounds, gardens, homes and other amenities where the child will spend the greater part of the day under the supervision of qualified educators will, on the other hand, <i>offer an environment in which the child can grow up a conscious communist who recognises the need for solidarity, comradeship, mutual help and loyalty to the collective.</i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: #660000;"><i>What responsibilities are left to the parents, when they no longer have to take charge of upbringing and education?</i></span></b> <b><span style="color: #660000;">The workers’ state aims to support every mother, married or unmarried, while she is suckling her child, and to establish maternity homes, day nurseries and other such facilities in every city and village, in order to give women the opportunity to combine work in society with maternity.</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: #660000;">Do not be afraid of having children. Society needs more workers and rejoices at the birth of every child. Communist society takes care of every child and guarantees both him and his mother material and moral support. <i>Society will feed, bring up and educate the child.</i></span></b> <b><i><span style="color: #660000;">At the same time, those parents who desire to participate in the education of their children will by no, means be prevented from doing so.</span></i></b> <b><i><span style="color: #660000;">Communist society will take upon itself all the duties involved in the education of the child, but the joys of parenthood will not be taken away </span><span style="color: magenta;">from those who are capable of appreciating them.</span></i></b> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #660000;"><b>Communist society wants bright healthy children and strong, happy young people, <i>free in their feelings and affections.</i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 16px;"> This is why we are having trouble with our oldest children. They were raised and educated by our culture in our public school system. The indoctrination begins at birth. It is preparation. <b>The communists knew it. </b> <b>That's why they pushed parents to placing their children in day cares and nursery schools. To prepare them for the communist indoctrination. </b> And that is <b><i>exactly</i></b> the system we have willingly instituted in the United States. And it is that system that has instilled in them the idea that we, their parents, do not have a right to them. We have no parental sovereignty. We have no obligations given us by Our Lord. We can't tell them what to do or seek to offer them advice. We are not to interfere with their actions or their judgments. We are to be silent. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 16px;"> They were taught that they were scholars first, tasked with learning information and data. We could not expect them to work summer jobs and save money for college or work after school to help pay for food or clothes. They could only do it, if they wanted to and only if the school board gave a business permission to hire them. They were taught that someone else was supposed to provide for their needs, their clothes, their food, their entertainment. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 16px;"> They were taught that their happiness comes first. We are supposed to respect their feelings, their desires, their emotions. If they love some young person, we are supposed to support it and encourage it. We are supposed to accept it if they have sexual relations, if they are homosexual, or if they "feel" they are a girl in a boy's body.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 16px;"> And now on this day, those sons we entrusted to the care of the state, the institutions that were made available for us to go to work and provide food for our family, come to us to tell us to leave them alone. Stay out of my business. Your values are different from mine. I don't need an education; I can just go to work. I don't believe in God. I need a new computer. They come to us and spit in our faces, disrespect us, ignore our pleas, disobey our rules, and mock us behind our backs, lie to our faces. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 16px;"> My husband and I are reaping what we have sown. We are getting what we deserve. We didn't know. And that's the wickedness of it all. Our society, our culture is positively evil. We became young adults when our society was beginning the transition from capitalism to communism, from Christianity to Paganism. We accepted it because our parents embraced it. We wanted it. We liked the freedom from responsibility. We liked the independence to do our own thing, follow our own paths. We accepted it as normal, as modern, as necessary, as progress. We bequeathed it to our children. But we didn't know what we were doing! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 16px;"> Unfortunately, our transition period is over. Our nation has already adopted communism as its ruling principle. And it happened not through war or invasion. It happened in our public school system. They educated our children with the freedom of the parents. As parents, we willingly dropped them off, day after day, into the day care centers, the kindergartens, the play groups, the elementary schools, and the high schools. We paid for them to go to colleges and universities were they were trained to take over our children and educate them in the "new ways." We did it all willingly. We relinquished our responsibilities because it was too hard, too time consuming, to much trouble to raise them and work. They told us we weren't smart enough to raise our children, to teach them, to guide. We believed them and we packed them up and sent them out. We took them to their counselors when we were troubled. We followed their advice when we were confused. We bought their books. And now we are a nation of socialists and communist sympathizers. And it happened without a single bullet being fired.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 16px;"> As for us, we can only pray that our two oldest children find God. They have no foundation other than the one they got from the culture. It is where they will turn by default. But Our Lord is the Lord of Mercy. We pray constantly that our sons will consent themselves to God, to His Divine Will. It is all we can do. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 16px;"> Our priest, on Saturday reminded us, "Train up a child in the way he should go, and he will not part from it." That gives me hope for our 5 remaining children. Will they be rebellious? Maybe. But it is we who have raised them. And we raised them at home, with Catholicism as our foundation.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 16px;"> Almost 100 years ago, Our Lady came to visit us at Fatima. She told the three little children that Russia had to be consecrated to Her Immaculate Heart. She left specific instructions on how to do this. She said that if this was done, Russia would be converted and the world would have peace. She warned that if it did not happen, the errors of Russia would be spread throughout the world and all the nations would be annihilated. This has not been done in the manner that Our Lord requested and therefore we are experiencing His chastisement. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 16px;"> May God grant His Mercy to us all!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 16px;">Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us!</span></div>
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Cindy Willmothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04074715198310800028noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5454897676384160722.post-65012004958479191832012-11-30T14:15:00.000-05:002012-11-30T14:15:55.489-05:00Love, Peace, and Deer in the Headlights<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: #660000;"><b><i>Tolerance is the only virtue common to those who don't believe in anything.----G.K. Chesterton</i></b></span> <br />
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This is going to be a really quick post. It is entirely in response to my personal opinion of an audio that was posted on my Facebook by a friend, who just happens to be Novus Ordo. I'm sure you've seen it posted on Facebook, too, or YouTube. But just in case, here is <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CI8UPHMzZm8"><b><i>Donna, the Deer Lady.</i></b></a> I remarked on Facebook that there is no excuse for the stupidity of the American people. Personally, I think that was a fair representation of the situation, and <b><i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JB1yEcdomt0">something poor Donna even admitted herself!</a> </i></b> What surprised me, really, in the whole matter, was that eventually I was admonished for my comments and counseled to be more tolerant and compassionate. And why? Because I found this poor woman's ignorance to be offensive rather than humorous. What a shame.<br />
Somewhere in the comments, there began a conversation regarding the nature of what I was saying. I was reminded that the poor woman was just "an airhead" and I should give her a break. Most people, my Catholic friends, seemed to be offended by my not finding any humor in the ignorance and stupidity of this woman. They were offended by me! Finally, I was completely admonished and then reprimanded for not being tolerant and lacking compassion. I shouldn't be surprised, really. <b><span style="color: #4c1130;">The modern Catholic Church has taught her children well: Be Nice At All Costs! Some People Are Just Born That Way. They Can't Help It. You MUST Show Them Compassion! You MUST Be Tolerant! </span></b><br />
Of course, poor Donna has zilch to do with Catholicism. <b>But lucky for Donna, she has had good friends who have been charitable enough to instruct her in her ignorance. </b> And because she is warm and forgiving, she has, by her own admission, learned the truth about the deer. Good for Donna's friends! So in a like manner, I am going to be charitable with my friends and instruct them in their ignorance. What will happen as a result: I will probably be unfriended and chastised for being judgmental! <br />
As always, I suppose the best place to start is with the words themselves. Words have meanings. Yes, some words, like "nice," have changed over time, well because we just don't like what they mean! I will let you do your own research on that word and focus my thoughts on just four: ignorant, stupid, compassion, and tolerance. Oh this is so much fun!<br />
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<span style="color: #990000;"><b><i>Ignorant:</i></b> <b>lacking knowledge or comprehension.</b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000;"><b><i>Stupid:</i></b> <b>acting in an unintelligent or careless manner.</b></span><br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;"><i>Compassion:</i> a sympathetic consciousness of others' distress together with a desire to alleviate it.</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;"><i>Tolerance:</i> sympathy or indulgence for beliefs or practices differing from or conflicting with one's own.</span></b><br />
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Let's talk about poor Donna first: <b>Poor Donna was <i>ignorant.</i></b><i> </i> She lacked a real knowledge about the nature of animals. She really believed that these poor creatures had some primitive form of intelligence and could be convinced to cross the highway at specifically designated points. I don't know why this poor woman thought this. Perhaps this lack of comprehension grew out of her genuine love for animals and elevating them to some status they don't deserve. Who knows? But she admitted that this is indeed what she thought, that animals could understand road signs. Her phone call into the radio station, her letter writing, her insistence were all very stupid. She was acting in a very unintelligent manner. Her actions were based purely on her lack of knowledge. <b>And she embarrassed herself. </b> And that is absolutely not funny. But lucky for Donna, her friends decided she was important enough and loved enough to be saved from this embarrassment. <b><i>Out of genuine compassion, a desire to alleviate her stupidity and embarrassment,</i></b> they called her and instructed her on the true nature of deer---they cannot read. They do not follow road signs. The deer crossing signs are not to guide them, but are there to ALERT US to their presence! Out of love for their friend, they just could not tolerate her ignorance. Why? Because she had already had 3 accidents due to her ignorance and stupidity. <b>They love her and just could not imagine allowing her to continue to risk her life over her ignorance.</b> Such good friends that sweet Donna has. And yes, I think Donna is genuinely sweet. Bless her heart!<br />
Now let's talk about what any of this has to do with Catholicism: <b><i><span style="color: #660000;"> Modern Catholics are ignorant.</span></i></b> <b>They, by their own admission, lack any real knowledge about their faith.</b> Oh sure, they know who the Pope is. They love him dearly. They trust him. <b><i>But they couldn't tell you a thing about Catholicism, other than what their priest tells them. </i></b> Syllabus of Errrors--what's that? Extra Ecclesiam nulla salus--Huh? Christ is Really Present in the Eucharist---what does that mean? Why are so many Catholics ignorant of their own faith? I don't know. Most have never been properly instructed by either their parents or their priests. Many just don't have time or no where to go. Some or blissfully happy with the way things are because of sentiment. <b><i><span style="color: #660000;">Whatever the reason for their ignorance, these Catholics just do the silliest and nonsensical things.</span></i></b> They marry people who are not Catholic or who have no faith at all. They don't have their children baptized. They receive the Precious Body of Our Lord in their dirty hands. They continue to send their children to public schools. And they do so in good faith and in all sincerity. And eventually they embarrass themselves, <b><i><a href="http://www.traditioninaction.org/RevolutionPhotos/A495-SLeopoldo.htm">like these people in Germany</a>.</i></b><br />
Lucky for our modern Catholics, they have friends of the traditional variety, who love them and don't want them to continue to risk their souls. So out of compassion, we approach them. We bring them books on the dangers of the New Mass. We invite them over on Fridays in the summer for fish and chips. We encourage them to read the Encyclicals of all the Popes, not just the modern ones. We keep on encouraging them to find a traditional Mass and go there. We share with them the necessity for confession. Most of all we pray for them. What we don't do is tolerate the ignorance, the stupidity. Why? Because <b><span style="color: #660000;">tolerance is an infection.</span></b> It grows in our hearts like a virus, eventually making us comfortable with whatever anyone wants to do. <b><i>All we become concerned with in our tolerance is making people happy, being nice, and making people feel comfortable.</i></b> In our tolerance, we've decided to replace compassion with acceptance. <b><span style="color: #660000;">Instead of sharing other's distress and attempting to alleviate it, we just approve of whatever they are doing because it makes them happy or feel comfortable.</span></b> It is truly sorrowful. But that is the state of modern Catholics and the modern Catholic Church.<br />
Advent is upon us. Perhaps during the time of fasting, sacrifice, and contemplation, we can offer prayers up for the whole Church. She is suffering. She is not what she used to be and many Catholics are confused and many souls are lost.<br />
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St. Andrew, pray for us!<br />
Cindy Willmothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04074715198310800028noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5454897676384160722.post-65634376652765193522012-11-14T20:37:00.000-05:002012-11-14T20:37:12.620-05:00Oh, Beautiful Lady, Why Do You Weep? A day or two ago, I stumbled across a blog of some really amazing political cartoons by Me & Folly. They have some great conservative political commentary through their cartoons over on their blog. <b><span style="color: purple;">Check it out, <a href="http://meandfolly.blogspot.com/">here</a>.</span></b> Just the other day, they posted this cartoon, in honor of the re-election of President Barack Obama. <br />
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Here she sits, Lady Liberty, an icon of our great nation, weeping in sorrow over what this election might mean for the United States. And as shocking and representative as this image is in the outcome of this past election, let me offer you another image, of greater significance to compare.<br />
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This photograph is a picture of the statue of Our Blessed Mother in La Salette, France on the site where she appeared to two little children, Melanie Calvat and Maximin Giraud, on September 19, 1846. According to the children, they found this Beautiful Lady weeping in Her hands. She wept the entire time she spoke to the children. Why was this Beautiful Lady weeping so? She was crying for Her children, Our Lord's children, because we have become so lost and have turned so far away from Our Lord. She was weeping because She knew that Our Lord was going to punish us for our disobedience, for our rejection of His Commandments, and for our loss of love and faith. She knew and She came to warn us. What She had to say to these little children has gone mostly unheeded, except for a few. What She warned would come to pass has been all but dismissed and, in recent years, redefined. <b>The leaders in the Catholic Church haven't wanted you to hear Our Mother for fear that you might "worry" or become "overburdened." </b> Well, American Catholics, it's too late now. <i><b><span style="color: #990000;">Our Lady Liberty weeps now because she is finally realizing that what Our Blessed Mother said is true.</span></b></i> If you don't know what Our Blessed Mother said, or if you aren't sure of the significance of it, I'll clarify it here.<br />
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When Our Mother appeared on the Alps in Southern France in 1846, she spoke very seriously and sweetly with these two little, poor, uneducated children. She gave them messages to take back to the bishops of the Church and secrets to be revealed only when She wanted them to be known. Many of the messages Our Blessed Mother told the children were very disturbing. In these messages, Our Lady warned that the whole world would suffer loss of faith, decline of morals, waging of war after war, poverty, and devastation. While most of her messages have to do with France and the French Revolution in the 1850s, She made some dire predictions that would effect the entire world. And while some priests and religious have continued to discredit what Our Mother said to little Melanie in the fields that day, I am inclined to believe the entire message. <b>And while there is much to read in <span style="color: #cc0000;"><a href="http://www.catholicapologetics.info/catholicteaching/privaterevelation/lasalet.html">Our Lady of LaSalette's messages</a>,</span> I specifically want to highlight something that applies to our times, in our beloved United States, and in the Modern Catholic Church.</b> After that, you can read Our Lady's messages and decide for yourself if what she said is true or not.<br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>In the year 1864 Lucifer, together with a great number of devils, will be loosed from hell; little by little they will abolish the faith, and that even in persons consecrated to God; they will so blind them, that without a special grace, these persons will take on the spirit of these evil angels; a number of religious houses will lose the faith entirely and cause many souls to be damned.</i></b></span><br />
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Why in the heavens would Our Blessed Mother mention the year 1864? It seems like such an arbitrary number, doesn't it? But a pretty quick search of history, reveals that 1864 was pretty significant for the Devil's work. It was this year, that the Communist Karl Marx, in political exile in England, was able to exert his influence through the <b><span style="color: #4c1130;"><a href="http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/iwma/index.htm">International Working Men's Association.</a></span></b> Where he had previously been isolated and ostracized, Karl Marx, through his journalism experience, was able to draft and launch a platform that would eventually become what we know as Communism. In September of 1864, workers from across Europe met and organized to address the political and social plight of the working class. And it was through this newly founded organization that Marx's was able to frame his political and social ideas in a way that seemed positive and hopeful. <b>He drafted his platform and set it in motion in his<a href="http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1864/10/27.htm"> Inaugural Address</a>, and thus, as Our Lady foretold, a great number of devils were loosed from hell. </b><br />
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T<b>hat evil, repugnant, godless philosophy called Communism has many names, most specifically Socialism but one you may not have heard of---<span style="color: #20124d;"><a href="http://floppingaces.net/2010/03/19/communitarianism-the-new-communism-reader-post/">Communitarianism</a>.</span></b><span style="color: #20124d;"> </span> Communism has all but taken root in the entire world, and now, under another term of President Barack Obama, Socialism is set to become the new norm in the United States of America. Oh, sure. You've heard people proclaim that Communism is dead. They will jump up and down insisting that Communism died with the last thud of the bricks from the collapse of the Berlin Wall. Oh, Catholics will tell you that Pope John Paul II dedicated his Papacy to dismantling Communism. These same people will tell you that Ronnie Reagan and Maggie Thatcher tirelessly and doggedly forced an end to that vile social, economic, and political system called Communism. But they are all wrong. Communism is not dead. Communism lives on and it continues to invest every nation and every institution on earth, including the Catholic Church, just as Our Blessed Mother said it would.<br />
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So pay attention my dear American Catholics! Each year, our nation grows more and more socialistic in practice. Almost half of American citizens depend on the government to do something for them: Social Security, food stamps, Medicare, Medicaid, farm subsidies, student loans, public schools, school lunches, day care subsidies, unemployment, disability. Each year the programs grow and the people become less dependent on themselves and their families and more dependent on the government. And there is nothing to be done. The train has left the station, folks, and it ain't gonna stop until individuals have lost their personal sovereignty. But of course, every American knows this. And that is why there was so much backlash against another Obama term. And who helped him get re-elected? Why, the Catholics, of course!<br />
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You see, just as Our Blessed Mother told little Melanie and Maximin, the priests, bishops, and religious will slowly become infected with the Communist spirit that they will lose the faith entirely and souls will be damned! <b>Once upon a time, Popes defended the Church from evil.</b> In 1878, Pope Leo XIII condemned the rising ideas of communism in <b><a href="http://www.ewtn.com/library/ENCYC/L13APOST.HTM">Quod Apostolici Muneris.</a></b> He was certainly not trying to play nice when he called the socialists and communists a "wicked confederacy." <b><span style="color: #20124d;">He exposed their plan for all to see--the overthrow of civil society.</span></b> He showed us how they work. He condemned their ideas: refusal to acknowledge God, absolute equality of all men in rights and duties, sexual freedom, greed, materialism, and their assaults on the natural right of property. Not only did Pope Leo XIII condemn the evil scourge of communism, <b><span style="color: #660000;">he also forbid Catholics from becoming involved in any organization that promoted such ideas.</span></b> In fact, Pope Leo XIII recognized that the <b><span style="color: #cc0000;">ONLY</span></b> defense against the spread of communism across the world was the One True Church: <b> <i><span style="color: blue;">Since they know that the Church of Christ has such power to ward off the plague of socialism as cannot be found in human laws, in the mandates of magistrates, or in the force of armies, let them restore that Church to the condition and liberty in which she may exert her healing force for the benefit of society.</span> </i></b><br />
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But is the Catholic Church speaking like this now when socialism is running rampant throughout society and beginning to take root in the United States? Nope. <a href="http://www.religionnews.com/faith/beliefs/st.-dorothy-day-controversial-yes-but-bishops-push-for-canonization">Instead she is busy bringing the cause of sainthood forward for Communists!! </a> Just today, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops lead by the ever jovial Cardinal Dolan announced that they intend to canonize Dorothy Day, the communist turned communitarianist. In case, you have never heard of Dorothy Day, let me share with you a few things I discovered on my own.<br />
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<a href="http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Jday.htm"> Dorothy Day</a> was born in New York at the turn of the 20th century. She spent her 20s roaring through the 20s and embracing every feminist ideal that was popular in her day. She had multiple sexual relationships, an unwed pregnancy, and an abortion. She had been a nude model and was a member of the American Socialist Party. She was a journalist, a peace activist during WWI, and a champion for women's suffrage. She is by all signs, a model for modern women feminism. It was perhaps her daughters illegitimate birth that led Ms. Day to her "personal" conversion, as she had her daughter baptized a Catholic. In 1932, she met up with a man who shared her cause and together they established a newspaper called the Catholic Worker, which became a vehicle for her to promote her ideas regarding Catholic social justice. Throughout her life and career, Dorothy Day, through her newspaper, which later became a movement, she continued to criticize the capitalist economic system, she supported the rising trade unions which were calling for worker's equality, she challenged the Catholic Church to embrace pacifism, and she insisted that Our Lord's teaching was one of non-violence and peace. She spent her life leading causes such as ending nuclear war, opposition to WWII and Vietnam, the Civil Rights movement, and working with<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cesar_Chavez"> Cesar Chavez' </a>United Farm Workers. In short, throughout her entire life, Dorothy Day, in spite of claiming she had a conversion, continued to live, embody, and promote socialist ideals. In fact, I don't believe she ever recanted her communist beliefs or apologized for her actions even until her death in 1980.<br />
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Some say that Ms. Day was no longer a communist, that she did a great service for the Church, especially the poor. But I say this is purely an attempt to mislead Catholics. In fact, let me share with you her own words from her own newspaper in 1948:<br />
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<span style="color: #351c75;"><b>To see only the good, the Christ, in others! Perhaps if we thought of how Karl Marx was called "Papa Marx" by all the children on the street, if we knew and remembered how he told fairy stories to his children, how he suffered hunger and poverty and pain, how he sat by the body of his dead child and had no money for coffin or funeral, perhaps such thoughts as these would make us love him and his followers. Dear God, for the memory of that dead child, of that faithful wife, grant his stormy spirit a "place of refreshment, light, and peace."</b></span><br />
<b><span style="color: #351c75;">And there was Lenin. He hungered and thirsted and at times he had no fixed abode. Mme. Krupskaya, his widow, said that he loved to go into the peace of the pine woods and hunt mushrooms like old Mrs. Dew down at Easton did, and we with her one October. He lived one time in the slums of Paris, and he lived on horse meat when he had meat, and he started schools for the poor and the workers. "He went about doing good." </span><a href="http://dorothydayworker.blogspot.com/2012/05/glorious-st.html">(For reference see this link.)</a></b><br />
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<b style="color: #351c75;"> </b>Here is your new saint, modern Catholics! Your new saint has told you to forget about the millions of CATHOLICS who were slaughtered by the Bolsheviks and Vladimir Lenin. Is that the good he went about doing, Ms. Day? Are we supposed to forget about it the repression, the gulags, the forced migration? Are you so blind, Catholic faithful, that you cannot see what Our Lady of LaSalette warned you about your bishops and priests???<br />
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Just as this is a dark day for the United States of America, this is an even darker day for the Catholic Church. Yes, Our Lady is weeping. She is weeping because their is nothing left for us to do. The devil has been unleashed. The Catholic Church, who once stood in armor battling evil, particularly communism in all its forms, is now either silent or embracing the very evil itself! Our Lord is going to punish us very severely and soon. The United States and the Catholic Church are about to suffer the same fate---we are all about to be chastised. <b><span style="color: #990000;">What can us Americans do to prepare for the economic and social depravity we are about to face at the hands of our socialist government? </span></b> <b><span style="color: #990000;">Stock up on food and supplies. Keep some cash on hand. Find a safe place to go when it all comes crashing down. </span></b> <span style="color: red;"><b>What can Catholics do to prepare for God's wrath over the desecration of His Altars and the loss of faith of His holy priests? </b></span> <b><span style="color: red;">Find a True Mass. Wear Our Lady's Scapular. Pray a daily Rosary as Our Lady of Fatima told us.</span></b> Keep your family close. <b><span style="color: #741b47;">There is nothing left for us to do.</span></b><br />
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May God have mercy on the United States and on His faithful Catholics!<br />
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Our Lady of LaSalette, pray for us!<br />
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<br />Cindy Willmothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04074715198310800028noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5454897676384160722.post-22086551077053989362012-10-31T12:05:00.001-04:002012-10-31T12:17:15.518-04:00Halloween? Holy Day or Pagan Playtime?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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As the uber-American holiday, Halloween, is getting underway today, I thought I'd re-address the topic that I discussed a few years ago on another blog. <b><span style="color: red;">If you wish, you can read that post here: <a href="http://judiciouschristianparenting.blogspot.com/2009/10/saints-souls-and-saturday.html">Saint, Souls, and Saturday.</a></span></b> Since Halloween is one of those days that many of my Catholic friends are reluctant to give up for fear of being cast as an extreme Christian fundamentalists, I thought I would approach it again on this blog. If you are new to Catholicism or new to this blog, if you are a cradle-Catholic or a modern Catholic, if you do nothing else today, please spend some time looking at the origins of Halloween using reliable Catholic information. <br />
In my previous article on Halloween, I mentioned in brief detail how and why the Church, in Her wisdom, introduced the feast days of All Saints and All Souls Day. These Holy Days have very real significance in the lives of faithful Catholics. In fact, they are central to what we know about our lives, the lives of the Saints, Our Lord and Our Blessed Mother. <i><b><span style="color: #4c1130;">Celebrating these days in Catholic fashion is significant and important. It is something we should be doing as Catholics.</span></b></i> These days remind us that death is nothing to fear, as long as we are living in faith and following our Lord's Commandments. They remind us that, if we live our lives properly, we will be united in Heaven with all the Saints who have gone before us. We are reminded that Our Lord conquers evil, that Our Lord conquers death, that death brings us to Heaven. <br />
These days from All Saints to All Souls also remind us to pray for our loved ones who may be suffering in Purgatory, waiting on the Mercy of Our Lord. In fact, praying for the souls in Purgatory is a great moral good. <b><span style="color: #990000;">As such, traditionally the entire month of November is dedicated to the Suffering Souls in Purgatory. </span></b> To ensure that faithful Catholics continued to pray for the souls of the faithful departed, the Church attached to these prayers a plenary indulgence, or a forgiveness of the temporal punishments of sin. In the special circumstance of All Souls Day, this indulgence shortens the time in Purgatory of our loved ones. In other words, praying for the Suffering Souls in Purgatory actually helps them. <br />
In Catholic countries around the world, All Hallow's Eve, All Saints' Day, and All Souls' Day were spent in seriousness, joy, and prayer. Families made long trips to the cemeteries where their loved ones were buried. On these days, they cleaned the graves, lit candles, and often prayed for hours. In many places, family members gathered together before or after Mass on these days, sharing family stories of their loved ones, and gathering to pray Rosaries for their souls. These were days that ushered in a month long period of prayer and penance in hopes that the souls of long lost mothers, fathers, grandparents, and even children made their way to Heaven where once again families could be reunited. It was a special time, a beautiful time for families to reflect on their own mortality and hope in the Lord's salvation.<br />
However, <b><span style="color: #990000;">these age old Catholic traditions are something our nation has never known.</span></b> American Catholics have little or no knowledge of these beautiful, ancient traditions. Yes, our immigrant ancestors brought with them the ancient practices of praying for the dead, especially in the cemeteries during Hallow Mass and All Souls' Day. But these early Catholics ancestors were few and far between. But because the Protestants dominated our new country, they despised these practices, considering them superstitious and evil. To counteract them, they began to establish there own fall festivals and bonfire parties. They began to have plays, dances, and costume parties, mostly celebrating <a href="http://www.bonfirenight.net/gunpowder.php"><b>Guy Fawkes</b></a> and <b><a href="http://www.monergism.com/directory/link_category/MP3-Audio--Multimedia/Holiday-Sermons/Reformation-Sunday/">Reformation Day</a>,</b> and incorporating American Patriotism.<b> <a href="http://www.wackyowl.com/creepy-vintage-halloween-costumes-1800-1959/">By the 1920s, the celebration and costume parties had become just another part of American life.</a></b><br />
Catholics in America were faced, on a daily basis, with a dilemma. How could a faithful Catholic survive in the workplace, in the neighborhoods, in an increasingly hostile Protestant environment? In spite of <a href="http://www.papalencyclicals.net/Leo13/l13teste.htm"><b>Pope Leo XIII warning Catholics regarding the dangers of "Americanism,"</b> </a>Catholics found themselves accepting of and influenced by Protestantism, just to get along with their neighbors. As such, American Catholics, Catholics first in heart, doctrine, and spirit, slowly evolved into Catholic Americans, Americans first in heart, doctrine, and spirit. And one of the quintessential celebrations of American life was the Halloween/Fall Celebration. <br />
By the 1950s, Halloween was so popular in the United States, that trick-or treating, what had previously been a night young people used to tip over outhouses and vandalize fences, became a night for little children to dress up, go door to door in the burgeoning suburbs, and get piles of candy. Shortly thereafter, the celebration itself lost all religious and political meaning. It had become just another day for Americans to celebrate their Americanism. It was fun and it was mostly harmless. And it was a chance for Catholics and Protestants to play together all nicey-nice. <br />
Over the years, <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/abc-blogs/halloween-christmas-153059277.html"><b><span style="color: #990000;">Halloween celebrating has become so popular for Americans, that it is poised to take over Christmas. </span></b> </a> At the same time that Halloween has become so popular for Americans, it has also come along way since the kids trick-or-treating and candy of even my day in the 1970s. <b><a href="http://www.aaanything.net/wp-content/gallery/halloween-is-crazy/thumbs/thumbs_retro_vintage_halloween_costumes.jpg">And while these were familiar Halloween costumes in my neighborhood</a>,</b> costumes are becoming more macabre and frightening. Adults are increasingly becoming more involved, using the night for drunken parties and mischief. Even Americans agree. <b><a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2012/10/24/halloween-adults-costumes-elvira-mistress-of-the-dark/1593177/">Halloween has moved from childhood fun time, to adult party time</a>.</b> As such, it is becoming sexualized and scary, reminiscent of pagan rituals of ancient times.<br />
So what is happening? And what are Catholics to do? Sadly, whether anyone Catholic wants to acknowledge it or not, Halloween <i><b>is</b></i> returning to it's pagan origins and celebrations. <a href="http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2012/10/09/survey-one-in-five-americans-is-religiously-unaffiliated/?hpt=hp_c1"><b>As a growing population of Americans identify themselves as non-religious or not affiliated with any religious group,</b> </a>there are bound to be ramifications. The holidays that once held some religious significance have become completely engulfed by secular materialism and commercialism. The sad thing, though, is that those who do consider themselves religious continue to fully participate in the slide to secularism. This slide into secularism, the loss of religious practices and identity, has opened the gates for Halloween to return to its godless, pagan origins. Very few people, even Catholics, recognize what Hallows Evening is supposed to be about.<br />
All Hallow's Eve begins this evening. This is the evening many Catholics would do well to go to Mass instead of trick-or-treating. Visit the cemetery where your loved ones are buried. Light a candle as a reminder that the Light of Heaven is their guide. Pray a Rosary. Instead of spending time at the shopping mall looking for that last minute zombie costume, reflect on the Communion of Saints. Read a story about your name saint, if you have one. Help your children make a costume of St. Joan, St. George, St. Lawrence, or St. Kateri. Instead of grabbing bags of candy for trick-or-treaters, bring out the old photos of grandma and grandpa. Make a list of all the faithful departed in your family. Work on your family altar. Call your friends, have them over for a Rosary and tea. Rejoice. Pray. Make it a Holy Day again. Help a Poor Soul in Purgatory. <br />
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<b><span style="color: red;">But most of all, leave the pagans to themselves.</span></b><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;"><b>Efficacious Prayer for the Faithful Departed</b></span><br />
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<i>O most compassionate Jesus, have mercy on the Souls detained in Purgatory, for whose redemption Thou didst take upon Thyself our nature and endure a bitter death. Mercifully hear their sighs, look with pity upon the tears which they now shed before Thee, and by virtue of Thy passion, release them from their pains due to their sins. O most merciful Jesus, let Thy Precious Blood reach down into Purgatory and refresh and revive the captive souls who suffer there. Stretch out to them Thy strong right hand, and bring them forth into the place of refreshment, light, and peace.</i><br />
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<i>Amen.</i><br />
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<span style="color: #990000;"><b>May the souls of the faithful departed rest in peace. Amen.</b></span><br />
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<b><span style="color: #4c1130;">This is dedicated to the baptized Catholics in my family, whose souls are hopefully in Purgatory, awaiting their eternal reward. May God have mercy on their souls.</span></b><br />
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<br />Cindy Willmothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04074715198310800028noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5454897676384160722.post-10717868940791128782012-10-23T13:24:00.000-04:002012-10-23T13:28:13.303-04:00Don't Look Now! The Emperor Has No Clothes!<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> It has been some time since I posted. I apologize. I've had a mother to care for and a handful of children to homeschool. It's been a rough two months. But as issues with my mother are improving and the children are managing, I thought I'd write some more on politics as I had promised in the summer.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> I had wanted to write a lot of things, particularly about the history of Catholics in the United States, but recent events of the Catholic Bishops in the U.S have come to the forefront. And I think it's a good opportunity to address what is wrong with the modern Catholic Church and why so many Catholics are ignorant of their faith and confused about how to cast a vote in this upcoming election.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> In case, the above image is not familiar to you, this is a photograph taken on October 18, 2012 at the <a href="http://www.alsmithfoundation.org/thedinner.html#about"><b>67th Annual Alfred E. Smith Memorial Dinner</b></a> in New York. Okay. So what? Who is Alfred E. Smith anyway? And why is this dinner occasion for Bishops to cozy up to politicians? Interesting questions, really, with answers I had to research myself.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> <b><a href="http://www.kevincmurphy.com/alsmith.htm">First just who is Alfred E. Smith?</a></b> Most notably, Al Smith was the Governor of New York in the 1920s. He was a Catholic and he was elected 3 times in New York to guide and serve the people of that state. Al Smith was an Irish Catholic, born in Manhattan, and a member of the Democratic Party political machine called <a href="http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/582027/Tammany-Hall">Tammany Hall.</a> In spite of his involvement in Tammany Hall, Al Smith was smart enough to separate himself from it, expose the organizations corruption, and propose necessary reforms in the State of New York. This made him both popular and unpopular, but made him a favored candidate for President in 1928 against Herbert Hoover. Unfortunately, the religious sentiment across the country proved doom for the Democratic party ticket with a New York Catholic at is head and a Southern Protestant underneath. The campaign was rife with problems and it brought to the forefront anti-Catholic bias in this country, particularly in the South.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> <a href="http://www.traditioninaction.org/History/B_001_Colonies.html">Anti-catholic sentiment was nothing new to the United States.</a> The first permanent settlements in the United States were made up of English and German Protestants fleeing their own persecutions. They brought with them the propaganda and hatred borne out of Martin Luther's Protestant Revolt. Catholics were routinely accused of horrible crimes, banned from communities, and prohibited from owning property, home educating their children, or participating in political activities. There was, of course, the theological prejudices accusing the Catholic Church of being the "Whore of Babylon" and the accusations that Catholics, themselves, were Satan worshippers and idolaters. In fact, it was dangerous in the early years of our Nation to be a Catholic. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> Aside from the theological differences, many people in the Colonies feared the secular mindset of Catholics, in general. It is perhaps why the Protestant legislators in the colonies enacted laws prohibiting Catholics from voting or holding office. Catholics were primarily unafraid of a monarchical form of government. They weren't opposed to municipalities governing with Catholic ideas or theology. In fact, from a Catholic theological and political perspective, this was necessary. As such, the Catholics weren't necessarily in support of freeing themselves from rule of a King, even if that King was not Catholic or corrupt. It posed a great problem for the Protestant colonists in the colonies and there was always propaganda floating around to humiliate and isolate Catholics in the United States.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> <a href="http://are.as.wvu.edu/baker.htm">As Catholic immigrants began flooding the United States in the 1800s, anti-Catholicism reached it's peak.</a> Protestant preachers ignited the flames in there sermons across the country. They called for prohibiting Catholics from settling in many places and continued to ostracize them. Across the country, churches were burned, Catholics were killed, and tempers flared. It was a very nasty time in American history, and one of the only ways for U.S. Catholics to defend themselves was to fight back and separate themselves from the Protestants. The U.S. soon became a nation divided between Catholics and Protestants. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> One way the Catholics sought to defend themselves was through the school system. In 1875, <a href="http://www.catholicessentials.net/christianeducation.htm">Pope Pius IX wrote a letter to the U.S. Bishops cautioning them of the danger to the souls of their children in the public schools.</a> In 1897, <a href="http://www.papalencyclicals.net/Leo13/l13milit.htm">Pope Leo XIII issued an Encyclical insisting that Catholic children be educated in Catholic schools by Catholic instructors.</a> And as anti-Catholic sentiment continued to rise, it was this instruction that the Catholics in New York took seriously. Tammany Hall, the political machine in which Alfred E. Smith was made, invested millions of dollars in Catholic schools across the country. This caused such a controversy in the United States, that <a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a8/Ganges1876.jpg">political cartoons</a> sprung up further inciting the anti-Catholic bias in this country. This was a very dark time for Catholics.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> Yet, in spite of the Catholic hatred in the country, Alfred E. Smith won the Democratic nomination for President in 1928. And his nomination let loose another hailstorm of anti-Catholic sentiment, particularly in the South, where the KKK rose up in loud protest. Of course, the campaign was doomed to fail, with Al Smith receiving merely 87 Electoral College votes. In spite of the Democratic platform of improvements in education, federal money for farmers, and an end to Prohibition, the Republicans fostered the sentiment made by a Southern preacher: "No subject of the Pope should be allowed to become President." <a href="http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5073/">Even members of his own party campaigned against him out of fear that he would make America a Catholic nation. </a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> After Al Smith's humiliating defeat, he attempted to run for President once more in 1932. Of course, he lost that nomination to FDR, and he went on to become very outspoken against that President's New Deal. He spent the rest of his life in vocal opposition to Roosevelt's New Deal policies, hoping for reforms. He did in 1944. In 1946, the Archbishop of New York, Cardinal Spellman established the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation in memory of Mayor Smith and all the good works he had accomplished for Catholics in both politics and public service. The goal of the foundation was and is to raise funds for the neediest people, especially children, in the Diocese of New York. The main fundraiser for the Foundation has always been the Al Smith Dinner, the black tie affair where the wealthiest donors come for a night of fun and entertainment, with the explicit purpose of political elbow-rubbing. Cardinal Spellman hoped to remind people of the importance and significance of Al Smith and Catholicism in our political history. There have been only few occasions where current presidential candidates have not participated in the dinner. In other words, it's a big deal for politicians and it's a big deal for Catholics.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> The Al Smith Dinner has a long history, then, in American politics. It also has a long history with Catholic Charities and collecting donations for health care, schools, and food for needy families. Perhaps these are the reasons why Cardinal Dolan saw fit to invite both the President and his rival to the dinner this year. But for whatever reason, the Cardinal has left Catholics scandalized and confused. Yet, this does seem to be the mantra of the modern Catholic Church---keep the faithful ignorant, confuse them more, and lead them to believe that evil is good, no matter what the degree.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> Bloggers all over the blogosphere are rightly outraged and confused by the Cardinal's actions this year. <a href="http://www.alsmithscandal.com/">There was a petition out to stop the Diner completely</a>. <a href="http://www.patheos.com/blogs/kathyschiffer/2012/08/breaking-bread-with-the-enemy-the-al-smith-dinner/">Others have just questioned why Cardinal Dolan would invite President Obama.</a> <a href="http://wdtprs.com/blog/2012/08/of-card-dolan-pres-obama-and-the-al-smith-dinner/">Some retained hope that Cardinal Dolan would use this as an opportunity to confront President Obama about his abortion views. </a> <a href="http://catholicsforobama.blogspot.com/2012/10/al-smith-dinner.html">And then you've got the Catholics giving rounds of applause to His Emminence, Cardinal Dolan. </a></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://catholicsforobama.blogspot.com/2012/10/al-smith-dinner.html"> </a> What are Catholics to make of this whole mess anyway?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> For clarity sake let's have a look at what the stink is all about anyway. Most of the individuals in opposition to Cardinal Dolan's invitation to President Obama has to do with his view and policies on abortion, homosexual marriage, and his Marxist ideology. They argue that the President's pro-abortion, pro-homosexual, pro-government control of health care are incompatible with Catholicism and, therefore, he should not have been invited to the dinner at all. These same people argue that Mr. Romney should have been the only one to speak since his views are consistent with or are at-least not as extreme as the President's. I suppose that's their opinion. However mine is much different.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Until the 1980s, neither abortion, homosexuality, or Marxism had been on the radar or lips of American politicians. Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, Walter Mondale, George H. W. Bush, Bob Dole, Al Gore, and Dick Cheney were at one time or currently are all supporters of abortion and or homosexual rights. They have all been speakers at the Al Smith Dinner. If these politicians have been invited and spoken at the Dinner, then why the outrage over Obama? For what it's worth, Mitt Romney is also pro-abortion. Why not be outraged that he was invited and spoke at the Dinner? It's truly a puzzle to me.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Why has there never been outrage before? Simple. Money. The modern Catholic Church is no longer interested in saving souls or avoiding the cause of scandal. The bishops and cardinals are only interested in one thing--political posturing to raise money for this project or that. It's a real shame. The Cardinal, if he had really taking his role as Shepherd seriously, could have refused to invite them both, and instead invited Rick Santorum who is both Catholic and unequivocably pro-life and pro-family. He could have invited Mike Huckabee who is also. Perhaps he could have invited Todd Akin. Now wouldn't that have made a statement! But no, His Emminence decided it would be best to continue to confuse Catholics by allowing them to think that Catholics can simply separate Catholicism from their life, from their political decisions, from the voting booth.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> This is a complete insult to the memory of Albert E. Smith. There was a man who faced assault after assault for his Catholicism. Here was a man who denounced the KKK, who openly tried to rid it's influence from the Democratic party. He was ridiculed and derailed by members of his own party. Why? Only because he was a Catholic. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> The Catholic Church has always been the last bastion of hope in the world. She has always defended the helpless and hopeless. She has always stood for Truth. She has always protected her children from evil and guided them to the Son. Yet, here we are with Cardinals hamming it up with two pro-abortion politicians telling you on one hand "This is a political dinner and we are raising money for a good cause." and on the other hand telling you "That both parties, both candidates are acceptable choices as long as you don't think too hard." It is scandalous!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> So be careful, my Catholic friends. You simply can no longer trust your Shepherds! They are all wolves in disguise!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Our Lady of Fatima, ora pro nobis!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span>Cindy Willmothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04074715198310800028noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5454897676384160722.post-57464051284824763162012-08-27T11:56:00.000-04:002012-08-27T12:12:18.225-04:00Our Lord Jesus Christ---King of All Nations<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7usqjoxQ_sADc0fvRRVPqQ1wgHL-xbhyphenhyphenQxnTV1oaXOSOvQjnr0wybPHYm8H8tPZ4YYmdZspdlv3U-V522y-GH_TheLQ0eAUSDYiG4u56tGB89qYgN6f5e-C0Fo1s4esvwbOJtoY7plA/s1600/Christ+the+King+11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7usqjoxQ_sADc0fvRRVPqQ1wgHL-xbhyphenhyphenQxnTV1oaXOSOvQjnr0wybPHYm8H8tPZ4YYmdZspdlv3U-V522y-GH_TheLQ0eAUSDYiG4u56tGB89qYgN6f5e-C0Fo1s4esvwbOJtoY7plA/s1600/Christ+the+King+11.jpg" /></a> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Just over 2 years ago, our family made the final transition from modern Catholicism to traditional Catholicism. Of course, there were a lot of changes in our lives that were immediately obvious, most of which had to do with the Mass itself. But there were also some changes that occurred in our lives that were, in many ways, unintentional. In fact, we couldn't have really anticipated them as they merely flowed out of our participation in traditional Catholicism. In other words, these changes just became a natural part of our lives as traditional Catholics. As such, traditional Catholicism has given me a perspective I don't believe I would have ever had while remaining in the Novus Ordo Church. One change in perspective actually occurred quite accidentally around the time of Halloween. Weird, I know. But, if you will permit, you will see what I mean and how it relates to our current discussion regarding politics.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> In May of 2010 we began assisting at Mass at a small chapel affiliated with the <a href="http://www.sspx.org/">Society of St. Pius X.</a> We really new nothing about the Society at that time, we only knew that we needed to leave our local Novus Ordo parish for our own personal reasons. For the most part, the traditional Tridentine Mass was completely unknown and foreign to us. We were confused some as well as awe-struck. But we found a sense of immediate peace and we kept returning each week for Mass. We muddled through the summer without really knowing much of what was going on, but participating in every way we could. At the same time, we were trying to reconcile our modern way of living and thinking with t traditional Catholicism. It was not an easy task.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Perhaps not coincidentally that year, Halloween fell on the last Sunday of October. Normally the only significance that held in our families life was when and what time the Trick-or-Treating would begin. As Our Lord would have it for me that year, our little town faced a dilemma that annoyed me a lot and would start me reconsidering the American festivities a bit. In our town, when Halloween falls in the calendar on a weekend, the city officials move Trick-or-Treat night to the previous Thursday. Why? Because Friday night is football and the weekend is too dangerous for little children to be out in the streets. Whatever. That conversation with the mayor where I learned this little tidbit irritated me to no end. My response was one of tradition--who has the authority to just change the date of Halloween? In my mind, it didn't make any sense, so we decided not to participate in our communities Halloween events that year. And ordinarily, had we not been attending our new chapel, we might not have given the whole thing a second thought the following year. But on this particular year, Halloween fell on a Sunday, the last Sunday, and we went to Mass instead.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> That evening, the last Sunday of October, we celebrated the <a href="http://www.catholictradition.org/Christ/cking-feast.htm">Feast of the Kingship of Our Lord Jesus Christ</a>. Now, we had celebrated this Feast day before, but never on the last Sunday of October. <b><i>As a Novus Ordo Mass goer, that Feast day was celebrated on the Sunday before Advent</i></b> and I, admittedly, never really thought about the significance of it. But that evening <b><i><span style="color: #351c75;">I began to wonder about the Feast of Christ the King, why it was moved in the liturgical calendar, and if it was important anyway.</span></i></b> I did a lot of digging into the Feast of Christ the King and found some really interesting things, most of which are relevant to these coming months and Catholics response to their civic duties.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> In 1864, <i><span style="color: #741b47;">Pope Pius IX recognized that the nations of the world and the people in them had begun to reject Catholicism and begun to embrace ideas that were a danger to their faith.</span></i> As such he issued for the entire world, the <a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1017281170">Encyclical </a><i style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.papalencyclicals.net/Pius09/p9quanta.htm">Quanta Cura</a> </i>along with his <i style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.papalencyclicals.net/Pius09/p9syll.htm">Syllabus of Errors</a>, </i>in which he outlined and condemned all the errors of the modern world. In this Encyclical, <b><i>the Pope observed that nations had begun to declare and put into practice the idea that progress in society could only be made if civil institutions governed without regard to religion or religious beliefs.</i></b> This, Pope Pius IX, declared <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b>has always been condemned</b> </span>by the Church. <b><span style="color: #073763;">He noted that the natural outcome of this opinion would be the rise and control of a secular state, which would be absolutely detrimental to society and the people living therein.</span></b> By the early 20th century, Pope Pius IX's words seemed almost prophetic as nation after nation quietly and diligently abandoned Catholic principles in favor of a society absent of Our Lord and his laws.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> It was in the wake of this Godless society that <b>Pope Pius XI decided to revisit the issue of God and civil society.</b> As such, he, too, issued an Encyclical, <b><i><a href="http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/pius_xi/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xi_enc_11121925_quas-primas_en.html">Quas Primas</a></i></b>, reaffirming what the Church has always taught about Our Lord by establishing a Feast Day to recognize the same. <b>In 1925, Pope Pius XI observed the same erroneous ideas as his Holy Predecessor recognized 60 years before</b>--that <b><i><span style="color: #741b47;">"the majority of men had thrust Jesus Christ an His holy law out of their lives, that these had no place in private affairs or in politics."</span></i></b> He prophetically concluded that <b><i><span style="color: #990000;">"as long as individuals and states refused to submit to the rules of Our Savior, there would be no really hopeful prospect of a lasting peace among nations."</span></i></b> As such, to reminder the faithful and leaders of the world's nations of Christ's authority as Ruler of the whole world, the holy Pope instituted upon the whole Church the Feast Day of Christ the King. <b><span style="color: #990000;">When we read the document it is quite clear that Pope Pius XI understood and recognized that Christ is not only our spiritual King for us in Heaven but also our temporal King, our King on Earth. </span></b> For this reason, he placed the Feast Day on the Liturgical calendar in October, before the Feast of All Saints Day, as an implication that Our Lord is the Supreme Ruler here and now. <b><i>In 1969, Pope Paul VI moved the Feast to the Sunday before Advent, the last Sunday of the Liturgical year, indicating, not so much Our Lord's temporal Kingship, but insinuating that Our Lord will merely become a Ruler in some future time, the end of the world.</i></b> <a href="http://www.angelusonline.org/index.php?section=articles&subsection=show_article&article_id=463">(For an in depth look at the significance of this, please see Michael Davies', of fond memory, commentary on the Kingship of Christ since Vatican II.)</a> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Initially, after I did my research on this, I didn't really think moving a Feast Day around in the Church's calendar really made that much difference. But I have come to realize, even in such a short time, that this is not true at all. As we celebrate the Feast of Christ the King at the end of October, immediately followed by All Saint's Day, I am reminded of how many men, women, and children suffered and were martyred in this world because they recognized Our Lord as the Sovereign King of all Nations. Last year, because my son was reading of one particular great saint, <b>I thought of St. Thomas Becket who understood the State's duty was to support the Church in her mission, who understood that no earthly king or ruler had supremacy over Our Lord and His Church, who willingly gave his life to defend Our Sovereign King. </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> This truth, that Our Lord rules now and forever, was passed on from the Apostles through out the whole Church. It was this truth that gave rise to Christendom, this truth that led all nations to convert to Christianity, and rulers to consider Our Lord's instruction first, that gave rise to great nations and great rulers, particularly in the Middle Ages. And it was to this Truth that St. Pius IX addressed at the end of the 19th Century. It was for this reason that St. Pius XI decided to institute a Feast Day in the Church's calendar, so that we could not forget that Our Lord Jesus Christ is, here and now, Our Sovereign King and to Him alone do we owe allegiance. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> So it is with this in mind, the Kingship of Our Lord, that I begin this series on politics and civic life. It would seem that many of our great Popes were prophetic in their observations that, once we lost this Truth of Our Lord's Kingship, that our nations would sink into secularism, materialism, and barbarism. It would also seem that our Catholic politicians think that they can hold personal opinions regarding matters of faith without attempting to institute Catholic principles in our society. It would also seem that the Catholic faithful consider it acceptable to support financially and emotionally people in positions of authority that do not hold the view that Our Lord's laws apply to everyone, everywhere, in all ages. <i><b>If this is indeed the case, may God have mercy on our souls!</b></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Stay tuned....</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<i><b><span style="color: #660000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">St. Thomas Becket, pray for us.</span></b></i><br />
<i><b><span style="color: #660000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></i>
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><b>St. Pius IX, pray for us.</b></i></span><br />
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span>
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><b>St. Pius XI, pray for us.</b></i></span><br />
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span>
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><b>Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us.</b></i></span><br />
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span>
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><b>Christ Our Sovereign King, have mercy on us!</b></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span>Cindy Willmothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04074715198310800028noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5454897676384160722.post-30162037101412741462012-08-24T13:26:00.000-04:002012-08-24T13:26:17.941-04:00Catholics and Politics---Church and State<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I never intended this blog to be about politics. It isn't that I don't have an opinion about it, it's just that I wanted the focus of this blog to be on matters of faith. Also, out of fear mostly, I didn't want to become too personal about my own life. You see, I didn't want to come across as preachy, judgmental, or a religious know-it-all. And in an effort to be polite, I have avoided addressing topics that, I believe, are critical to Christian living. And after this year, I've come to realize how silly that is. Contrary to what many believe or insist, our religious beliefs dictate our very existence. What we believe about God, or don't believe, affects every single area of our lives. It determines how and why we do the things we do. It dictates where we live, what jobs we have, how we raise our families, what we eat or drink, our health care decisions, our choices in spouses, where we vacation, what we read, what we do for fun, and how we vote. People can no more separate their spiritual selves from their physical selves than could a person separate his head from his body and still live. It is just not possible. Rather, how we live our lives is a reflection of what we believe <i>spiritually</i>--what we believe about God. So it is with that in mind that I write this series of blogs on religion and politics.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> In these next few months, every American is going to be inundated with political ads and robo calls. This is an election year. And as we hear every 4 years, this current election will matter more than ever to average Americans. There is going to be talk about all sorts of issues: religious freedom, the economy, job creation, human rights, dignity, poverty, work ethic, and liberty. We are going to be told by who knows how many politicians and reporters that one issue is more important than another or than several issues are more important than just one. People are going to be categorized into voting blocs and courted in exchange for a particular candidates vote. And just like every other year I can remember, it's going to be ugly and lots of people are going to be disappointed. It's inevitable. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> More importantly however, and what concerns me most, is that Christians, particularly Catholics, are going to be called upon by both sides of the political aisle. The parties are going to divide Catholics as many ways as they can. The Democrats are going to attempt to appeal to the social issues they believe are most important: poverty, immigration, equal rights, and the Republicans are going to attempt to appeal to the social issues they believe are important: work ethic, jobs, religious liberty. We are going to be told that single-issue voters, i.e. those who vote primarily for pro-life candidates, need to put aside their personal beliefs and focus on the bigger picture. We are going to be told, also, that we have a moral obligation to vote, a moral obligation to remove one political party from office, and a moral obligation to support this value or that value. Many Catholics will accept this and persuade their family and friends that all of this is indeed true and holy. But will they be right?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Until 2007, I was not registered with any political party. I had lived in States where a person did not have to be a registered anything to vote in political primaries. One could just show up to the polls and pull the lever. You see, I was always a discriminate voter. I believed, whether rightly or wrongly, that most politicians were out to serve their own purposes and push forth their own ideas. My earliest political memory is the Watergate hearings that aired on television in my own living room. I was 6. And whether or not I really understood what was happening or why it was significant, it left an impression on me that politicians, no matter how high a political office, were only out for power and could not be trusted. And that impression remained with me through every single election cycle from Jimmy Carter to G.W. In fact, <a href="http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1987-06-24/news/8702160438_1_smu-funds-bill-clements-clements-press-secretary">the first election I ever voted in was marred by such scandal and controversy</a>, that I was convinced the whole political system was a scam with big financial payoffs. I was so leery of politicians and the political system that I wasn't moved or motivated by any issue to vote for one particular candidate over the other. To me, they were all equally reprehensible. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Yet, in spite of my mistrust or perhaps because of it, I have continued to pay close attention to the political climate and the civic affairs of every community I have ever lived in. Because I have not been politically associated with any party, I have been able to remain neutral--a political observer, if you will. And in the years since I converted to Catholicism and have become a traditional Catholic, I have been able to assess the situation with any form of prejudice. And what I see is frightening. It's also motivated me to write a series of blog on politics, most specifically Church and State and the plight of politics and Catholics in this country. I hope that what I have to offer is not judgmental in nature, but instead helpful and consistent with our Catholic faith.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> I hope to have several blogs on politics in the next coming weeks, so please bear with me. Many of them, I hope, will be quite interesting and forthcoming. Much of what I have learned over the years might be surprising to those people who are younger than I or who have never been interested in politics before. I don't know how many blogs I will write or what many of the topics will be, but I do have some ideas. However, before I can discuss any thing about politics, it would be prudent to begin with the Catholic Church. As such the first article in this series with be in regards to what the Church teaches about the politics and civic duty. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Stay tuned...... </span>Cindy Willmothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04074715198310800028noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5454897676384160722.post-53864658581322858402012-08-22T14:28:00.000-04:002012-08-22T14:28:07.289-04:00Shut Up, You Freak! You Are Not In Command Here!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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What an outright mess of a country we live in! The <strike>monkeys</strike> media are running the zoo. And in cases like this recent statement by Missouri Congressman Todd Akin, the "experts" also get a big hat and a name tag. What are they doing, really? They are having a very good run of making Christians appear to be uneducated, backwards, unsympathetic, ignorant, rigid, and cold. Why are they doing it? There are two reasons, both closely related. First and foremost, there is a call for an ever increasing secular society--a society that is not governed by religious principles or moral values. In order to achieve that goal (and it is a real goal), the powers-that-be--the media, the elite, the political parties--must silence any meaningful discussion about moral issues as quickly as possible. The second reason is something like that. The political parties, fundamentally, want to eject social issues from their platforms. When this happens, they argue, our leaders can focus on the things that really matter, like jobs and the economy. It's a twisted little game they are playing--and winning. And Congressman Akin just happens to be a token to use on their playing board.<br />
I feel really very sorry for Congressman Akin. Even though he was confused about the biology of how pregnancy works, I understood exactly what Congressman Akin was saying. He was saying that it is very, very rare for a rape victim to fall pregnant. And, in the case, that she did, it is morally unjust to murder the child for the crime of his father. Mr. Akin is right, of course, and the media is using him to hammer into everyone's head the radical feminist agenda. His own political party, the Republicans, are using him to pander to the secular, modernist voting bloc, because that is who they believe they need to win elections. Personally, I think it's incredibly important to look at the issues, because many Catholics will be voting in this election. <br />
We have some real problems in this country and some of them stem primarily from the use or misuse of terms and language. Mr. Akin used the term "legitimate rape." Now any reasonable person knows perfectly well what that means. In spite of what the media is telling you or what the law defines, there ARE different kinds of rape. Rape is a crime, but so are theft, robbery, and murder. There are several different types of theft all carrying penalties related to how this crime is committed and under what circumstances: extortion, theft by deception, shoplifting, carjacking, theft of service, receiving stolen property, identity theft, etc. Robbery, of course, is a form of theft but is more egregious because the theft happens in the owner's presence, willfully, and with violence. There are different types of robbery, also, like armed robbery, home invasion, breaking and entering, aggravated robbery, etc. These offenses, too, come with varying penalties and punishments regarding the circumstances. Murder, yet again, has various classifications and punishments. There's capital murder, manslaughter, involuntary manslaughter, vehicular homicide, felony murder, etc. And while all of these crimes are terrible and horrible trespasses on our citizens, they do have varying degrees of seriousness. <br />
Rape, as horrible as it is, is this way as well. There is rape by force, rape by coercion, marital rape, acquaintance rape, drug induced rape, etc. They are all crimes, yes, but they carry with them different penalties regarding the circumstances. Yes, all rape is horrible, but some rapes are worse than others. But what's worse about rape than the above mentioned crimes, is that it is often difficult to prove, and often places the victim's behavior under the spotlight. For this reason, many, many women never report that they have been raped and many rapists never are arrested or convicted. And precisely because rape is so hard to prove, it can be hard to disprove as well. That's the reason many women have claimed rape or faked rape out of revenge, guilt, or to cover their own sexual misadventures. The plot of Nell Harper's <i><b>To Kill a Mockingbird </b></i>centers around just such an injustice. Think my statement is unfair to women? Here's a bit of news that the media doesn't want to bring to anyone's attention.<br />
Women fake rape all the time. In 2002, a young 17 year-old football player had a bright future. A class-mate charged him with kidnapping and rape. He plead non-contest at the advice of his lawyer, served 6 years in jail, and the school system paid the girl $1.5 million. <a href="http://sdvoice.info/teens-nfl-dreams-came-to-an-hault-by-fake-rape-claim-woman-confesses-y-p1587-101.htm">10 years later, she admitted she lied.</a> In the spring of this year, a woman in California claimed she had been attacked from behind and sexually assaulted. <a href="http://www.ocregister.com/news/woman-344322-report-admitted.html">She later came forth to tell the police that she had lied about the assault.</a> Two women in Fort Collins, Colorado accused three men of drugging and raping them in January of this year. <a href="http://denver.cbslocal.com/2012/03/02/2-who-reported-possible-sex-assault-faces-charges/">Those two women have since been arrested for lying and extortion. </a> There is also the story of the young teenager who was charged with raping a friend. He plead guilty on the advice of his lawyer. After the young man went to prison, his accuser recanted. <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/therootdc/post/va-supreme-court-rules-in-favor-of-family/2012/03/02/gIQA7NDCnR_blog.html">It took the Virginia Supreme Court to finally determine that he was falsely accused and improperly counseled, allowing his name to be removed from the sex offender registry.</a> <br />
These are just a few cases that I could find easily with a Google search. Who knows how many cases of fake rape women report each year. The point is, it is not unheard of. And who knows how many women, past and present, who discover they are pregnant and claim they were raped or coerced. In fact, sometimes women get drunk, go home with men, regret it the next day and charge that they were raped. Often, these men, who freely admit the events that happened, are found guilty and spend long periods of time behind bars. It's a mess! So in Mr. Akin's defense, his term "legitimate rape" makes a whole lotta sense to me. <br />
But, for the sake of argument, let's consider that a woman is raped and she does fall pregnant. What in the world to do about that? First of all, no one is certain how many actual rape victims fall pregnant at the hands of their rapist. <a href="http://www.pandys.org/articles/rapeandpregnancy.html"> It is estimated that the number is between 1-5%.</a> Of that number, no one is certain how many of those women have abortions, how many keep their children, and how many are put up for adoption. What is clear, though, is that induced abortions as the result of rape makes up only a small percentage of the abortions performed in this country. <a href="http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/fb_induced_abortion.html">In fact, the Guttmacher Institute reports that only 1% of women seeking abortion have been forced to have sex against their will. </a> Because facilities are not required by law to report how many abortions they perform, abortion statistics in the U.S are only estimates gathered from the CDC and Planned Parenthood. The estimate is that 1.2 million babies died from abortion last year. If the statistics are correct, then that means over 100,000 of those babies were babies of rape victims. In some people's view, that is 100,000 women did not have to suffer unnecessarily at the hands of her rapist by carrying the child, the reminder of such trama, to term. Compassionate, right? <br />
The fundamental issue that really lies beneath abortion and abortion laws in this country is primarily one of language and technicality. You see, in terms of the law, unborn babies in their mother's wombs, are not people and they are not citizens of the United States. This is a very important distinction, legally, because under the Constitution then, they are not guaranteed any rights at all. It's called Due Process. It's a pretty ambiguous legal term but it is that clause that permits all woman to have an abortion in this country. Under Due Process, everyone has a right to privacy, including when it involves a pregnancy. In other words, a woman's pregnancy is purely a medical condition and a woman has the right to seek whatever treatment she chooses to treat that condition. It is the liberal, feminist, ace-in-the-hole, if you will. Under these terms, already defined by Roe v. Wade, pregnancy is a health condition, the "fetus" is a blob of tissue, and the woman can "choose" to do with it what she wants. Induced abortion, the intentional expulsion of the products of conception through medicine or instrumentation, is THE cornerstone of feminism. In real terms, it is perfectly legal to kill an unborn child by poison, stabbing with a sharp object, burning with acid, and dismemberment to remove it from its mother's womb as long as the mother chooses to do so. And as long as we continue to consider pregnancy as a health condition and not a process by which new human beings come into existence, we will continue to face the wrath of Our Lord over the direct bloodshed of 1.2 million innocent children.<br />
Personally, I think Congressman Akin is a lot braver than most politicians. He approached the abortion issue from the only completely logical avenue can be taken. If it is true that unborn babies are people, then there can never be one single reason to allow for their execution. Since they are not capable of acting in any capacity, they cannot be found guilty of any crimes committed. They are 100% innocent. Since that is true, they cannot be convicted and found worthy of death. They have a right, as persons, to live. Ending their innocent lives would be willful murder, a sin most grievous that it cries out to Heaven for vengeance. As such, no God-fearing Christian could ever in good conscience claim that abortion can and should be permitted in certain cases, particularly in the case of rape, incest, or the life of the mother. This would in essence be saying that it is okay to willfully murder people under whatever circumstances we deem appropriate. <br />
I recently read in the combox of someone's blog regarding this issue. This was a Catholic blog, I can't really remember which one now, and the author was discussing what the Catholic Church teaches regarding abortion. Quite a few people chimed in, but one person's comment was particularly disturbing. She was a Catholic around the age of 65 or so. She is a cradle-Catholic, educated her entire life in Catholic institutions. She was college-educated by the Jesuits in the 1960s and was clearly outraged to discover that the Church had changed Her teaching regarding abortion. You see, she had been taught, as did all of her peers, that abortion was perfectly acceptable in three cases--rape, incest, and the life of the mother. She absolutely could not believe that, suddenly, the Church changed her position. I am not certain that the author ever corrected her there. So I will clarify her. The Catholic Church has never taught, nor ever will teach, that abortion, the willful murder of an innocent child, is morally acceptable in any case. It can not teach this because our Lord did not teach this to be so. Any Catholic who believes otherwise will suffer under pain of mortal sin. It would be best to educate yourself and get to confession. <br />
I believe that the devil is at work over time in this country and particularly with Catholics. The Catholic Church is the One True Church left to us by Our Lord Jesus Christ. Nothing that she teaches within the Magisterium is false. Nothing. It cannot be. If it were, then Our Lord would be a liar. And He cannot be. But the devil can. The devil is having his hey-day with the general population at large, including many priests, bishops, cardinals, nuns, and Popes. Not one of us is immune. Not one. The only thing we can trust or depend on is the One True Church, Our Lord, and Our Blessed Mother. <br />
I applaud Mr. Akin. He may have missed biology class when the professor was talking about how the female reproductive system works, but at least he has back-bone. He is right. Rape is not as clear cut as people would like you to believe. Some rapes are not "legitimate." Induced abortion is always morally reprehensible. There is never an excuse to murder an innocent child, particularly in the case where its execution is for a crime committed by its father. <br />
On this Feast Day of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, let us ask her to end this scourge of humanity. Because of Her place as Queen of Heaven and Earth, Our Blessed Mother can end this today, if we devote ourselves to Her Heart and ask her to take their unheard cries and buckets of shed blood and sorrowfully place them at the feet of Our Lord. Otherwise, the United States is soon merit Our Lord's Justice.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;"><i>Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us!</i></span></b><br />
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<b><i><span style="color: #660000;">Holy Innocents, pray for us!</span></i></b><br />
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<b><i><span style="color: #660000;">St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle!</span></i></b><br />
Cindy Willmothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04074715198310800028noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5454897676384160722.post-11190579052543679162012-08-16T10:35:00.001-04:002012-08-16T10:38:01.939-04:00Pearls of Wisdom<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i><span style="color: blue;">But where is wisdom to be found, and where is the place of understanding? Man knoweth not the price thereof, neither is it found in the land of them that live in delights....The finest gold shall not purchase it...Gold or crystal can not equal it....High and eminent things shall not be mentioned in comparison to it...Whence then cometh wisdom? and where is the place of understanding?...Behold the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom: and to depart from evil, that is understanding.</span></i> ~<b>Job 28:12-28</b><br />
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Last night my brother called to speak to my mother. Normally, there's a lot of small talk about how people are doing and what books they are reading. But sometimes their conversation gets around to our family, especially our 7 children. You see, we are something of a freak show with my Protestant extended family. For some reason, they say what disrespectful thing they are thinking, right in front of our faces, and pretend that we don't hear it. It's sorta like going to the circus and talking about the bearded lady while you are staring at her through the glass. It's almost inhuman. And last night was no exception.<br />
What's so freakish about us? Well, we are real Catholics. We are poor. We have 7 children. We obviously do not use birth control. I do not work outside the home. Our family is devoted to Our Blessed Mother. We have icons all over our house. We pray the Rosary and make the sign of the Cross often. We go to confession and we believe that it's possible to control one's sinful behavior. For my Southern Protestant family, we are not to be taken seriously. We are out of touch with reality. We are silly. We are wicked and we need to be saved. So every little chance my Southern Baptist brother gets, he offers some practical Protestant "wisdom" and "truth."<br />
The little pearl of wisdom he offered last night was in regard to our 17 year-old son. Truth be told, we've had a difficult go with him. He's grown up in the Northeast where religious belief of whatever sort is personal and marginal. He came of age in the public school system where social activities are overly encouraged along with the idea of teenage personal sovereignty. As such, our transition from a modern Catholic family to a traditional Catholic family has been especially difficult for him. He openly questions God and, thus, morality. And as frightening as that seems, somewhere underneath is a little seed; a seed of Truth that Our Lord will allow to blossom in His own time. I have often been reminded, when I go to the confessional confessing my own doubts and fears about him, that St. Monica prayed for 30 years over St. Augustine. So I know from the lives of the Saints that it only takes a seed. Eventually, it will grow. <br />
Unfortunately, Protestants don't have the beautiful treasury of the Saints. They don't have the inexhaustible collection of men, women, and children who overcame the snares of the devil and lived their lives with eyes solely on heaven. They don't have the beautiful gift of the Sacraments, especially of Penance and the Eucharist. They have no understanding really of God's grace in our lives. They are, sadly, facing a broken world, a sinful world, with only their intellect and will to guide. So it was no surprise to me when my brother threw in his unsolicited 2 cents in regard to our son.<br />
You see, our son has a girl-friend. These two have been sweet on each other since they were 14. Back in those days, we knew about their fondness for each other, and we chose not to over emphasize it. Yet, every chance we got, we talked about chastity, respect for each other, and the necessity to protect each other's reputation. We've insisted on that. As they approached 16, a quite vulnerable age in this modern world, we upped our conversations about chastity and respect. Not once, in any conversation that we have had with our son, have we mentioned or encouraged he and his young girl to sin. In fact, we have reminded him that he can control himself-he must control himself-until they marry, if that is the Lord's will. And yet, we realize, completely, that this modern world is fallen. And we've also recognized that, as their feelings grow, there might be occasion to sin. And with a young son whose grown up in a modern Catholic, Protestant, and secular world this is a frightening situation. Yet, we have peace, hope, and faith in Our Lord and our young son.<br />
But as the case with most Protestants, they don't see sin in this way. For them, we are all totally depraved. The spirit might be willing, as my brother thinks, but the flesh is weak. So his advice, freely given to the trad Catholic freaks, is to "hope and pray they are using birth-control." Now isn't that special? Not that I am surprised at his suggestion. He has offered his practical Protestant position on many occasions. And in an effort not to seem "preachy", he disguises the "birth-control is beautiful" ideology within almost every conversation. "It's hard enough to pay for one child to go to college. It's impossible to pay for 4." "Groceries are high." "You've got to drive a big ole' gas guzzler 'cause you can't put 6 kids in Ford Focus." "You've only got three bedrooms?" And the one that I love--"You're pregnant again? Aren't you 43?" He feels justified in his tid-bits of advice, though, because they are practical. And even when counseling unmarried teens, the practicality of not having babies always trumps the sinfulness of one's actions. So us pesky Catholics, always focused on our personal sins, are just stupid and silly because we just can't embrace the practicality of living. <br />
So how do I respond to my pompous, Protestant brother? "Oh boy. You'd encourage them to pile one sin on top of another? How Christian of you." And there in lies the rub, doesn't it? And here is where our Protestant friends are let loose running in the corral. They have lost the concept of actual sin, how we participate in it, and that we can doing anything about it. And because we Catholics still believe in sin, still believe that Our Lord hates sin, still believe that Hell is a real place and that we can merit it by committing mortal sin, we are freaky, impractical, illogical individuals. And, in their opinion, we aren't doing ourselves or our children any favors.<br />
Protestant theology and ideology has brought the United States to complete moral decay and economic collapse. In practice, it is a Godless faith. It is a faith where men and women make their own rules, decide who God is and what He wants, and determine for themselves how to merit heaven. Protestant theology causes one to eventually embrace evil because they believe it to be practical or morally acceptable. It also causes one to look upon certain people through judgmental eyes. It is grave danger to the soul because, the ultimate outcome is a belief sin is not real, that morals are relative to circumstance, and that material possessions are a reflection of God's grace. <br />
I love my brother dearly. I believe that he is sincere in his Southern Baptist beliefs. I know, without doubt, that he loves Our Lord with his whole heart and soul. I don't doubt his sincerity or his piety. I don't doubt that most Protestants are this way. I was one. I know many. They are good, hard working people, without question. But Protestantism is diseased. It is a lie from the devil and, if one is not careful to recognize the dangers, leads to hard-heartedness, selfishness, sinfulness, and loss of faith.<br />
I am absolutely never going to tell my sons or daughters that sin, in any form, is acceptable. I am especially not going to tell them, when they are older, that sexual relations outside of marriage is okay or acceptable. Sin is a horrible thing. It damages our relationship to Our Lord. It hurts him. Sometimes, in the case of mortal sin, it separates us completely from Him. And although we have a human nature, a desire for the things of this world, the things of the flesh, we also have a free will and God's grace. Through the reception of the Sacraments we can have a continuous flow of Our Lord's graces. And with that, we can have the will to never offend God again, the desire to avoid sin, the ability to reject Satan and all his vices. And that is the pearl of wisdom I am going to give my son.<br />
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<b><span style="color: red; font-style: italic;">More souls go to Hell because of sins of the flesh than for any other reason. </span><span style="color: blue;"><i>~</i>Our Lady of Fatima</span></b><br />
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<i><span style="color: #990000;"><b>Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us!</b></span></i><br />
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<i><span style="color: #990000;"><b>St. Monica, pray for us!</b></span></i><br />
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<i><span style="color: #990000;"><b>St. Augustine, pray for us!</b></span></i><br />
Cindy Willmothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04074715198310800028noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5454897676384160722.post-79036036300417049742012-07-31T14:50:00.000-04:002012-08-01T14:51:27.298-04:00You Didn't Build That...Really You Didn't<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1P3SAg8Y-p2_bWfVddtPpOpEuR6Bco6YIcj-ljYVXaNWfEYi4NLAupznE72t_zgGw47596lVqGS6cyfLqNsVrbAWj-Luw1iK21OnSD5ZYXJlj17t7hpdAFVnVqxZZ1KFBsjhgQ854zg/s1600/5_1_joseph_worker3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1P3SAg8Y-p2_bWfVddtPpOpEuR6Bco6YIcj-ljYVXaNWfEYi4NLAupznE72t_zgGw47596lVqGS6cyfLqNsVrbAWj-Luw1iK21OnSD5ZYXJlj17t7hpdAFVnVqxZZ1KFBsjhgQ854zg/s1600/5_1_joseph_worker3.jpg" /></a> I never really wanted to write about politics. I am of the belief that both political parties in America--the Democrats and the Republicans--have the same goal in mind. And in effect, it doesn't really matter who you vote for, the outcome is going to be the same. The only difference is one party will wreck the boat faster than the other. So, as a Catholic, I don't really see where it's an absolute imperative that Catholics vote in elections. In fact, it may be an imperative not to participate in any capacity in electing morally questionable people to public office. Perhaps it's a better option, regarding the salvation of one's soul, to just sit it out. But that's just my opinion. What I think is a better use of time, is to examine exactly what these politicians are saying and weigh them carefully with facts and examination. That's what I try to do, and I often find myself recognizing some important things.<br />
Now let me make it absolutely clear--All politicians lie. I am not a supporter of either Republicans nor Democrats. There are numerous ideologies in both parties that are absolutely in direct opposition to both parties. <a href="http://www.sspxasia.com/Documents/Catholic_Morality/Abortion-What_does_the_Holy_Roman_Catholic_Church_have_to_say.htm">A good Catholic cannot support abortion in any circumstance</a> nor homosexual marriage. However, they surely cannot support the assault on poor people in this country or the lower middle class workers, especially those who work in factories and our roads and highways. As a society, we by definition do not live in a vacuum or independent of all other human beings. When we live and think individually we get a nation like we have today--everybody looking out for themselves and their bottom line. A nation of individuals trying to get ahead without consideration of what is right or wrong, or how personal choices effect the whole of society.<br />
If you will permit, I will use the so-called gaffe of the Presidents latest speech. You know the one. The one where he said, "You didn't build that." The liberals are applauding the whole thing and the Republicans are attacking the President's "anti-business" rhetoric. Both sides are pandering. And while I am NOT a Democrat and think almost all Democratic policies are an abomination, the President is right about this and the Republicans are hypocrites.<br />
You see the truth is---individually we are nothing and we can accomplish nothing. Left alone, very few us ever find the truth, discover something important, or learn anything meaningful. And socially, if we are left alone to figure things out for ourselves, to build things for ourselves, we might be successful at building our own tree house, but how did we get our materials and who will enjoy our accomplishments? <br />
I was recently watching a YouTube video of the Venerable Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZgWOmnSoIY">He was giving a speech to young people a few years before he died.</a> In his speech, he referenced how our society, our culture, has changed so rapidly in just a short period of time. Once, not so long ago, people didn't lock their car doors or houses at night. They weren't afraid to walk down the city streets at night. They weren't worried that someone would mug them or attack them. We were a moral people, constantly thinking of other people, and how our actions or lack thereof, affected us all. He mentioned a story a business owner told him about a law suit he was involved in, in which a young woman, a union worker, was caught stealing cash from the the cash register. The business owner fired the young woman, but the union returned with a law suit based on the grounds that the business owner had wrongfully fired the woman because he had not told this particular worker that stealing money from the register was wrong. The good Bishop went on to explain the inconsistency and the danger of this attitude. And this attitude seems to be quite prevalent in our society today, on both ends of the political spectrum.<br />
From an economic perspective, if we examine things honestly we might be surprised what the reality is. Aside from a very small group of individuals, most people have many of the things they have, precisely because someone helped them get it. How many people actually got their education, completely on their own? In times past, many young people lived at home with their parents. Their parents fed them and clothed them while they went to school. Sometimes they had jobs to pay for their educational advancements, but they often stayed home living off their parents success. How many people are gifted cars, houses, and cash from their parents or other relatives? What about start-up money for that business? Or the apprentice job at the butcher shop? What about the sheer numbers of companies in this country that are FAMILY businesses, built on the shoulders of fathers and grandfathers? There was a time, not so long ago, where this type of economy was both normal and expected. A son took over his father's business, whether that was the family farm or the grist-mill. This is how our nation was built. Wealth was built over generations of hard work, determination, and family cohesion. <br />
From a spiritual perspective, is it any wonder how this attitude has led our nation to the precipice of complete moral decay? All of Christendom was brought to Christ and His Church through the passing on and teaching of the Catholic faith. Men and women risked their lives to convert whole nations of people to Christ. They replaced superstition with tradition. They challenged pagan belief systems and ideas with Truth and piety. Some of the greatest nations grew up out of Christ's Commission to bring all souls to salvation. Whole families were converted and Christianity, Catholicism, was passed from father to son, mother to daughter for generations upon generations. It was our parents who taught us the Our Father. Our parents who told us about the angels, the saints, Our Lord's commandments. Our parents who taught us to care for our grandparents and elderly neighbors. Our parents who taught us how to love. And where did they learn it? From their parents before them. Whole communities built up around this dissemination of the faith. Catholicism thrived, and culture sprung up with clear demarcations between right and wrong, goodness and evil, mercy and justice, faith and superstition. Neighborhoods grew. Families worshiped Our Lord and shared their blessings with each other, especially the poor and disadvantaged.<br />
This model of wealth and education from our families on down is Our Lord's plan. It has always been His plan. His own Divine Family is an example for us. When Our Blessed Mother heard of her cousin Elizabeth's pregnancy, in loving kindness and perfect goodness, She went to her to help her in time. St. Joseph lovingly and patiently taught Our Lord how to be a carpenter, not that Our Lord needed that, really, but because Our Lord was a Perfect Son, he allowed St. Joseph to teach him and guide him. And Our Lord, by the nature of His Divinity, taught His Mother and St. Joseph about God and His law. They lived, loved, and worked together. They gave themselves to each other. And it is by following this example that families thrive and grow strong. <br />
Unfortunately, what has been popular in modern times, is to see ourselves as individuals, disconnected from our families, disconnected from our communities, disconnected from God. This philosophy has destroyed and decimated my own family and countless numbers of others. It began with the so-called Greatest Generation and it adopted by the <a href="http://www.fourthturning.com/html/silent_generation.html">Silent Generation</a>, my parent's generation. They openly questioned their futures, their pasts, their morals, their religions, and their stations in life. They were willing to leave behind the people and places that "held them back." There were no limits, no boundaries, nothing to stop them from achieving their dreams or their financial successes. They were willing to share it with us, but not give to us, not bequeath it to us. They expected us to do what they had done. In fact, they encouraged us to do so. They told us to leave home, make our own way in the world, to make personal sacrifices, to let nothing get in the way. They reminded us that our success was our own doing and our failures were not their fault. In essence, they loaded us in the Winnebago, took us on a tour, and threw us out to make find our own way. And it is destructive, devastating, and ungodly. It is unnatural. And this is the Republican ideal. <br />
But the Democratic ideal, the one that President Obama touts, is no better. It is only a consolation, a counterfeit, that has to fill the void left behind in the wake of the destruction of the family. It is the federal government. When the family, natural single cell of society, is destroyed and lying in waste, something or someone has to take it's place. And the government has. On the local level, it educates our children in the public schools. It takes care of the sick, the aged, and the poor. It gives young people financial resources to go to college and start businesses. It's given us science, atheism, and political correctness. And we are dependent on it to feed us and take care of us when we cannot work. Our government has replaced our families. And whether anyone wants to admit, or will believe it, President Obama is right---"You didn't build that." No, you inherited it from your parents and your grandparents. It is their legacy, and unwittingly, we are passing that legacy right on along to our children.<br />
Personally, I have carried around a bitter pill for just shy of 4 decades. My father abandoned his religious beliefs, his heritage, for a few years of marriage. My parents divorced when I was 9 because they couldn't solve their problems. My mother signed away her inheritance for a few jewels, without considering the consequences. My parents remarried and started new families, leaving behind the fragments of the old. My father died, leaving nothing to his children for fear someone else might benefit from what was given to him. Ironically, the future my parents created for themselves when they disconnected from their own pasts, is the past that I long for. The family, the traditions, the unity, the wealth, the love, the knowledge; all the things that Our Lord showed us were important in His example within His Holy Family. And yet, I didn't know it, I couldn't know, until I became a traditional Catholic.<br />
This disconnected, disjointed, individualism is the norm in modern society. If you live in it, it's hard to escape it. In fact, most probably don't know they are being shaped, formed, or infected by it. We educated our 2 oldest children in public schools where the indoctrination begins. Children are systematically taught to be independent of their parents' philosophies, values, and tutelage. They are thrust into social groups based on individual ideas or interests. They pair off and peer up. Parents and siblings, if they are lucky enough to have any, are secondary. They seek advice from peers or academic counselors rather than parents and relatives. And we, their parents, hock off our houses and exhaust our savings to pay for them to pursue their individual educational interests. We willingly stretch our budgets to the limits and fill up all of our free time encouraging our children to be independent, willful, and self-centered.<br />
The legacy the Greatest Generation burdened us with has destroyed our society and leaves in its wake economic upheaval. It's this same legacy, because we refuse to open our eyes and follow Our Lord's example, the very same devastation we are certain to leave our children. So the next time we are lamenting how we are worried that our children have lost their faith, the next time we are spending 4 nights a week at soccer practice with Jimmy, racing to get Sarah to karate after basketball practice, the next time the college tuition sucks up the rainy-day fund, remember how we got here and where our children are going.<br />
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<br />Cindy Willmothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04074715198310800028noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5454897676384160722.post-19684168902187722932012-04-24T12:28:00.002-04:002012-04-24T12:29:35.993-04:00In Regione Caecorum Rex Est Luscus---Erasmus of Rotterdam<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I don't quite know how to say this without sounding rude and "uncharitable." But it really needs to be said. So, I am going to say it. The hierarchy of the Catholic Church are completely clueless, bordering on ignorant. I can easily back that statement up, if given the time. But here is just one example to prove my point: These people are dumb and if you are listening to them, you are probably going to end up dumb, too, and definitely clueless, and perhaps faithless.<br />
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His Eminence, Cardinal Dolan, has a blog on the Archdiocese of New York website. And this week's post titled <a href="http://blog.archny.org/?p=2470">"Keeping the Faith"</a> is about as ridiculous and out-of touch as they come. To show you what I mean, let's have a look at some of his utter confusion.<br />
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Without going into a commentary about the Jews, I sincerely doubt Cardinal Dolan needed to reference the crisis of faith in the Jewish community to open up a discussion about the loss of faith of Catholics. In the Diocese of New York, Catholic school enrollment has declined by half since the 1960s. Schools have been shuddered, churches have been closed and sold, parishes have been consolidated. The good Archbishop knows that most of his Catholics don't adhere to Church doctrine, few are getting married in the Church, a few are being baptized. In other words, in ain't no secret what is happening, and we ain't stupid. But check this out from Cardinal Dolan's blog:<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span><span style="color: purple; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 16px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>We Catholics have known this for years: <u> </u></b></span></span><b><u>there is no more tried-and-true way of passing on our Catholic faith to our kids than by sacrificing to put them in a Catholic school. Data proves they persevere in the faith at higher rates, pray better, are more faithful to Sunday Mass, live gospel values, are more generous to their parish, even have happier marriages, volunteer more, and transmit the faith to their own children, than those not in a Catholic school.</u></b></span></blockquote>
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But what about this statement from the<a href="http://www.cardus.ca/research/education/"> Cardus Education Survey on North American Religious Education </a>and their actual research into this matter.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;"><u>Catholic schools provide superior academic outcomes,</u></span></b> an experience that translates into graduates’ enrollment in more prestigious colleges and universities, more advanced degrees, and higher household income. In Catholic schools, administrators put a higher value on university than their Protestant Christian peers, and Catholic schools’ academic programs consist of more rigorous course offerings across the board... <b><span style="color: #990000;"><i><u>At the same time, however, our research finds that the moral, social, and religious dispositions of Catholic school graduates seem to run counter to the values and teachings of the Catholic church. For example, students graduating from Catholic schools divorce no less than their public school counterparts, and significantly more than their Protestant Christian and non-religious private school peers. Similarly, having attended Catholic school has no impact on the frequency with which those graduates will attend church services,</u></i></span></b> and Catholic school graduates are less likely to serve as leaders in their churches.</blockquote>
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And what about this bit of data from the <a href="http://religions.pewforum.org/reports">Pew Forum</a>:<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 16px; text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #cc0000;"><u><i>Catholicism has experienced the greatest net losses as a result of affiliation changes. While nearly one-in-three Americans (31%) were raised in the Catholic faith, today fewer than one-in-four (24%) describe themselves as Catholic.</i></u></span> </b>These losses would have been even more pronounced were it not for the offsetting impact of immigration.</span></blockquote>
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Cardinal Dolan goes on to explain that he has actually met with some of his educators in the Catholic school system. This is what he tells us.<br />
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<span style="color: red;"> </span><span style="color: purple; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; text-align: left;">I recently had the pleasure of meeting with leaders in our Catholic high schools. <b><u>They observed that, in some of their areas, the public schools were, <i>thank God,</i> offering a good education......</u></b></span><br />
<span style="color: purple;"> <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 16px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 12px;">They asserted,</span><b><u> <span style="font-size: 12px;">there was </span>only </u></b></span><b><u><em style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 16px; text-align: left;">one</em><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; text-align: left;"> reason for a parent to sacrifice financially to send his/her son/daughter to the Catholic high school: </span><em style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; text-align: left;">formation</em></u></b><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; text-align: left;"><b><u> in faith, values, character, discipline, and religion</u> .</b> . . along with a first class education.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"> IF the public schools in New York are actually offering a good education, then why did the New York Daily News report last summer that although graduation rates are up, <a href="http://articles.nydailynews.com/2011-06-14/local/29675551_1_graduation-rate-english-regents-regents-exams">75% of students are not ready for college?</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"> Unfortunately, I have no good data suggesting that private schools currently are better or worse than public schools academically, but there is evidence that SAT scores are higher for those students. How ready are they for college? It's hard to say. But I digress.....</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"> If the only one reason for a parent to sacrifice financially to send their children to Catholic school is faith formation, then we have a serious problem that Cardinal Dolan wants to be ambiguous about. But what's worse, doesn't seem to really want to do anything about it anyway.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"> </span></span><span style="color: purple; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"><b><u>If our schools are not visibly and robustly Catholic, let’s save a lot of money and close them in areas where our children can get a decent academic education free of charge.</u></b></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"><span style="color: #333333;"> </span><b><span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>This is the solution Cardinal Dolan advances. Our schools are not really Catholic in identity, so let's just close them and send our children to public school where it is free. Yes, that is really what he said.</i></span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"> In other words, Catholics, the Catholic hierarchy doesn't really care if the teachers are Catholic and adhere to Catholic doctrine. They don't care if Catholic students are actually losing their faith when they become adults. They don't seem concerned that the public schools are a hotbed of immorality, liberalism, and modernism where your children are certain to lose their faith. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"> This is the main reason we decided to home school our children. We want to put forth every effort and make as many sacrifices necessary to pass on our Catholic faith to our children. At home, every single subject is infused with Catholic thought and teaching. There is no ambiguity here. We use a Catholic curriculum and traditional Catholic catechisms. Along with the math, science, reading, grammar, and history, our children will know what it means to be a Catholic--visibly and robustly. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"> Our two oldest children were educated in the public school system. We could have sacrificed to send them to Catholic school, but what would have been the point? We would have gone without and our children would have lost their faith anyway. Today, we are struggling with faith issues with these two. One believes what he wants to believe about his Catholic faith, the other has rejected it mostly. </span><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">While one is doing fairly well at a private non-Catholic college, the other is struggling with reading, writing, and critical thinking---the product of a "good public school education." </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"> I suffer greatly over the loss of faith of my oldest children. I, daily, unite my sufferings to those of Our Most Sorrowful Mother. How much sorrow must she feel that almost all of Her children have left the Church, don't know what Our Lord has taught us, don't know what the Catholic Church teaches, nor do they care. I pray daily that the Our Lord will have mercy on my children and bring them home. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"> I also pray daily that the Catholic hierarchy, like the priests, bishops, cardinals, and even the Pope, have the courage to take action. Because that is the only thing that is going to save our souls and the souls of our children.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"> My priest reminded us of this: <i>"For what shall it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and suffer the loss of his soul? For he that shall be ashamed of Me, and of My words, in this adulterous and sinful generation: the Son of man also will be ashamed of him, when He shall come in the glory of His Father with the holy angels."</i> Mark 8:36-38</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"> It has become quite clear to me, as from Cardinal Dolan's blog, that these men who are responsible for huge flocks of Christ's children are leading them down the road to Perdition. And it is these very men, these favorite sons, that the Catholic faithful are clinging to for some direction and hope.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"> And thus the words of Erasmus ring ever loud and clear:</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000; line-height: 16px;"><b>In the Land of the Blind, the one-eyed man is King</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"><i>Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"><i>Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us.</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"><i>Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us.</i></span></span></div>Cindy Willmothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04074715198310800028noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5454897676384160722.post-78090636548955063082012-01-10T15:17:00.001-05:002012-01-10T15:22:32.934-05:00Living in Wonderland<b><i><span style="color: purple;">Everything has a got a moral if you can only find it.</span></i></b> <b>Lewis Caroll</b><br />
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I don't remember my fall through the rabbit hole, but surely there was one. The only other explanation is that I have actually gone mad. Things are not what they seem and every thing is topsy-turvy. On the surface, it just seems that our society keeps progressing in such fashion that demarcation lines are blurred and all things are tolerated. My traditional Catholic sensibilities, however, assure me eventually our stay in Wonderland will come to a terrible, yet glorious, end. Nonsense, you may say. Well let's have a look.<br />
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<b><i><span style="color: #cc0000;">As for the Sacrament of Matrimony, which symbolizes the Union of Christ with His Church, it will be attacked and profaned in the fullest sense of the word.</span></i></b> <b>Our Lady of Good Success</b><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKZS12Ut1mZ75P8jdRdU4nWrFNagj5TDB8gZCzr-n3oYPAvaADc8H-D4GJX5IVHP0kwZ3o2byvo9-ccYVBVsUSHSuriYKSElrVX4AG5IBYPBoDWa-Q8gQGN1dOLSI4C3jm320SNYD26A/s1600/black-bridesmaid-dresses.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKZS12Ut1mZ75P8jdRdU4nWrFNagj5TDB8gZCzr-n3oYPAvaADc8H-D4GJX5IVHP0kwZ3o2byvo9-ccYVBVsUSHSuriYKSElrVX4AG5IBYPBoDWa-Q8gQGN1dOLSI4C3jm320SNYD26A/s1600/black-bridesmaid-dresses.jpg" /></a></div>Not so long ago, weddings were joyous events where the wedding party and guests wore dresses like the rainbow or in jewel tones. Today, weddings seem like funerals. Perhaps since so many marriages end end divorce, this fashion statement is appropriate. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx7WROA7fvyXRiyOoN0jzRwqLJC4nMspRiG5qYFbTYi2Slb2qiSdfd7LnceZAU94CGAhXx1ZEg0RuIJ31CIQj2NnzGMVhi_PBWUNs1QtxTyf4-NuEe1CG_TvZM_6yEQcLAXDG2IF3U-g/s1600/same-sex-marriage-with-priest.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx7WROA7fvyXRiyOoN0jzRwqLJC4nMspRiG5qYFbTYi2Slb2qiSdfd7LnceZAU94CGAhXx1ZEg0RuIJ31CIQj2NnzGMVhi_PBWUNs1QtxTyf4-NuEe1CG_TvZM_6yEQcLAXDG2IF3U-g/s320/same-sex-marriage-with-priest.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Coming to a state near you is state-sanctioned "marriage" of homosexuals, as if anyone other than Christ has a say in the matter. But in these times when men and women are interchangeable, are we surprised?<br />
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<b><span style="color: #cc0000; font-style: italic;">Masonry, which will then be in power, will enact iniquitous laws with the objection of doing away with this Sacrament (Matrimony), making it easy for everyone to live in sin, encouraging the procreation of illegitimate children born without the blessing of the Church. </span>Our Lady of Good Success</b><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAHz8TtoJO44_TZwVb3cP1zTCCmmQQax1Z00kzBXAmzyBtipbcIkmL0Ev0VbKPxO_DjxOhya9HmD-hi_UHo-wW8BD-3N_9oMBiNfJU744WrqvZMTDX4BHrBV7KUStxt1ao3QIP9lkIxQ/s1600/LivingTogether.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAHz8TtoJO44_TZwVb3cP1zTCCmmQQax1Z00kzBXAmzyBtipbcIkmL0Ev0VbKPxO_DjxOhya9HmD-hi_UHo-wW8BD-3N_9oMBiNfJU744WrqvZMTDX4BHrBV7KUStxt1ao3QIP9lkIxQ/s1600/LivingTogether.gif" /></a></div> UNS--Unmarried, Not Single--that's the new status of a growing population in the United States. And who knows how many of them have children. In 2010, the number of babies born to out-of-wedlock mothers reached higher than 40%. When this number is broken down into racial categories, the implications are startling. 72% of black children, 53% of Hispanic children, and 29% of white children are growing up in homes where their parents are not married. Some of these poor children will never even meet their father. Considering that we know these children grow up into adults with poor social skills and live in poverty, why would a society attempt to make it easier and more convenient to live in these conditions?<br />
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<b><i style="color: #cc0000;">The Sacrament of Holy Orders will be ridiculed, oppressed, and despised. The demon will try to persecute the Ministers of the Lord in every possible way...., corrupting many of them. These corrupted priests will scandalize the Christian people, will incite the hatred of the bad Christians, and the enemies of the Roman, Catholic, and Apostolic Church to fall upon the priests. </i>Our Lady of Good Success</b><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl2mduj7n6SnXiuKaA8OfoC4qBatc3mz3VHScaXhRSG1H8v9WlJ4oyjrDf8ak8xGtRAH0OU4oQclkiO9XcNxOC7Bs0CHQk6qKM66ZmDwfluLekUAiCFhrFo1knDRZaj1xz5LnQcRyHLQ/s1600/catholic+church+pedophile+scandal+child+rape+sexual+abuse+pope+benedict+global+denial+hypocrisy+blind+leading+blins.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl2mduj7n6SnXiuKaA8OfoC4qBatc3mz3VHScaXhRSG1H8v9WlJ4oyjrDf8ak8xGtRAH0OU4oQclkiO9XcNxOC7Bs0CHQk6qKM66ZmDwfluLekUAiCFhrFo1knDRZaj1xz5LnQcRyHLQ/s320/catholic+church+pedophile+scandal+child+rape+sexual+abuse+pope+benedict+global+denial+hypocrisy+blind+leading+blins.png" width="320" /></a></div> What a horrible tragedy the priestly sex abuse scandal has been. Who knows how many young boys these perverts molested. Instead of running these priests out, removing their faculties, and prosecuting them, the hierarchy has hid these vile actions. Most of this happened under the watch of the "Great Scandalizer" Pope John Paul II. In the wake of it, many Catholics have left the Church and it has given fodder for anti-Catholics to continue to persecute her. For those who have remained, there is constant mistrust and doubt. And this is the Church that is entrusted with saving souls?<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho4NkXxRD7fZFWCLyNt1uHtGMQyWXyp6KaAzB0CTebtJMpP_MQ9pe9Z1BRx1lTU7I1rOseM-YELXKtm9-oYckyJCqIP8VrjFGD2tyRTGRwDd7-H_uRqvmN-q5c0WOOSG3_oKQqJKeEdA/s1600/Father+Corapi.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho4NkXxRD7fZFWCLyNt1uHtGMQyWXyp6KaAzB0CTebtJMpP_MQ9pe9Z1BRx1lTU7I1rOseM-YELXKtm9-oYckyJCqIP8VrjFGD2tyRTGRwDd7-H_uRqvmN-q5c0WOOSG3_oKQqJKeEdA/s320/Father+Corapi.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> While the sex abuse scandal is stirring up the angst of the Catholic haters, there is something more happening to the priesthood that only Catholics really know about or care about. This issue is a crisis of tremendous magnitude and importance. There is a level of corruption and scandal that hits at the heart of all the Sacraments. Destroy the priesthood and destroy the Church. Martin Luther knew it and these so-called priests no it too. John Corapi is just one example of the gravity of this situation. Here is a man who had a horribly sinful past. He amended his ways and found a "calling" to the priesthood. Prison ministry or a drug and alcohol counselor just wouldn't do. This one had to go for the gold medal---priest. In a past time, his deeds would have automatically eliminated him from Holy Orders. Not today. For the New Church, any old man will do, whether he's a businessman, womanizer, or truck driver at heart. In the 15 years since I have been a Catholic, I have known 3 priests to leave the priesthood for other "callings.' One of these priests so scandalized me that I was confused and lost for over 3 years. How many faithful Catholics are confessing to their priests to find out they are now chefs or hairdressers? What a joke the priesthood has become.<br />
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<b><i style="color: #990000;">Civil governments will all have the same objective, which will be to abolish and make every religious principle disappear, to make way for materialism, atheism, spiritism, and vices of all kinds. </i>Our Lady of La Salette</b><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1KSkjDWwWYUJqWMCa00E_1bpU-Nb-jQREVLXKfS0mFOb-eKaqh3wV10GyNRhXl4qoucl2y_eiwCAScQYzUnqGmEvc251ynDbm0S281KnXYCqczwhqEHImMpmmdKS_yvasuBjhj5ZFnA/s1600/sunday-opening.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1KSkjDWwWYUJqWMCa00E_1bpU-Nb-jQREVLXKfS0mFOb-eKaqh3wV10GyNRhXl4qoucl2y_eiwCAScQYzUnqGmEvc251ynDbm0S281KnXYCqczwhqEHImMpmmdKS_yvasuBjhj5ZFnA/s320/sunday-opening.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> When I was a young girl, you had to make sure you had eggs and milk on Saturday because running out on Sunday morning just couldn't be done. There was no where to go. Everything in town, except for one lone gas station, was closed tight as a drum. The Lord's Day was for worshiping not for shopping. Sunday mornings in 2011 is just another business day as usual. There are more people at the malls than at Mass. And not to be hindered our materialistic society, the modern Catholic Church makes it really easy for her parishioners--there's a Mass on Saturday evening so all the faithful can go about there business shopping and hopping on Sunday. After all, there is lots of money to be made on Sundays since church attendance is down and youth soccer games are up. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJwNSEotQ8AHaOK4ldPvYN1wEN4tGOBB8aZpEZTNwgFLR7am7Vovn6Rb2r5m_FXzWbkjg76RzcZj0kVrhGf0J3ZE6YTT_GPSE4iP8Fab_w9ZsS2P0HMh9-gNIfulIw6tybmTwMAdk5EQ/s1600/76032-st-patricks-felt-pin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJwNSEotQ8AHaOK4ldPvYN1wEN4tGOBB8aZpEZTNwgFLR7am7Vovn6Rb2r5m_FXzWbkjg76RzcZj0kVrhGf0J3ZE6YTT_GPSE4iP8Fab_w9ZsS2P0HMh9-gNIfulIw6tybmTwMAdk5EQ/s320/76032-st-patricks-felt-pin.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
There is an unrelenting, ongoing attack on Catholicism in the country and around the world. It was first seen in the 50s and 60s when there were campaigns to rid prayer from the public schools. Every so often there is an article about removing the Crucifix from Catholic universities and hospitals because they "offend" non-Christians. Americans spend more money celebrating the macabre of Halloween than decorating for Christmas. Each year there is increasing effort to secularize Christmas even more, placing more emphasis on Santa Claus, "Holiday" shopping, and winter vacations. Our public school system has gone from worshiping Our Lord by closing on Good Friday to worshiping Martin Luther King, Jr., a man of questionable moral character and motives. The atheists and non-Christians love a party but hate the One True Faith, so they have replaced St. Valentine's Day with Happy Hearts Day and St. Patrick's Day with Shamrock Day. What in the world will they do when they realize that shamrock represents The Blessed Trinity?<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000; font-style: italic;">Rome will lose the Faith and become the seat of the Antichrist. </span>Our Lady of La Salette</b><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_vGInuhyphenhyphenkPVxF5XDeeOZbMAe6enzMV6JIHgDN5_VJMGR5Fu-HyG25NG1mojvKxK3DKWB9T78Rbj4ogkqbbT6Fn23bs-w-if285qKErDxyNTa67sKFkr1srw1DTxSWv2ri-PHlpYtrSQ/s1600/circusandpop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_vGInuhyphenhyphenkPVxF5XDeeOZbMAe6enzMV6JIHgDN5_VJMGR5Fu-HyG25NG1mojvKxK3DKWB9T78Rbj4ogkqbbT6Fn23bs-w-if285qKErDxyNTa67sKFkr1srw1DTxSWv2ri-PHlpYtrSQ/s320/circusandpop.jpg" width="259" /></a></div> What a circus the Vatican has become---really. Modernism began creeping into the Church along time ago, but no secrets were kept after Vatican II. During the process 6 Protestant ministers and a Jew helped to rewrite the Mass and took it upon themselves to attempt to altar the 1,960 years of Catholic tradition and theology. The more I study about the popes since Vatican II, the more I read papal encyclicals before Vatican II, the more the veil is lifted from my eyes. It would take several blog posts to address how the Catholic Church has changed over the last 45 years. When these changes were first put into place in the 1960s many faithful Catholics left the Church, never to return. They went to their deaths, many of them, without ever receiving Extreme Unction or Penance. These poor souls suffered in life and in death, grieving over the loss of the Church. Those that did remain helped to usher in some of the most ridiculous and egregious practices that have led to a massive loss of faith, hemorrhaging of the faithful, an aging clergy, and closings of churches and schools. The churches that remain are devoid of beauty and stripped of all Catholic images and icons. Our Blessed Lord in the Sacrament has been pushed aside or moved to a private chapel. Images of Our Most Beautiful Mother have been removed or hidden. Catholics of a prior time were remarkable. They lived very different lives from their Protestant neighbors. Sadly, now Catholics are virtually indistinguishable from any one else. For many Catholics, the Church and the Pope are irrelevant. Many others adore the Pope but are unable to determine what is True Catholicism and what is pure conjecture. If Catholics are so divided among themselves, how is the Church to recover from whatever crisis she faces?<br />
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And lest anyone be confused, there are abuses that go one at Catholic Masses around the globe. There are Clown Masses, Polka Masses, "Gay" Masses, and Puppet Masses. Masses with native dancers, modern dancers, mariachi bands, and trapeze artists. It is a complete and total mockery of Our Lord Jesus Christ and very little, if anything, is done to stop this problem. Rather, when traditional Catholics complain or demand due reverence, they are ostracized, ridiculed, and made to feel like outcasts.<br />
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We are living in very difficult times, indeed. In words taken from my mother, the whole world has gone crazy. It has indeed. The devil is running loose and wreaking havoc---but only for a time. Our Blessed Mother has continued to warn us that if we do not return to Our Lord, we will be punished. But She also has promised us that, in the end, Her Immaculate Heart will triumph.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #660000;"><i>Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us.</i></span></b>Cindy Willmothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04074715198310800028noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5454897676384160722.post-24368489465136166652012-01-09T22:15:00.004-05:002012-01-09T22:34:16.664-05:00Destroying the Family, one ideology at at time....<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk7uueiOB1oPiTm45ynToZe7oU_AWAyd2bT-pKYGWQhUHQEdLlz7GkAXdHYErVoJV2eLB2NGGNwOUj96gRqMJ-VScZsZruZp_J4yLVO3UQApma8fALsHjQBdKm5CKSDyUQW2Er4cwulg/s1600/HolyFamily.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk7uueiOB1oPiTm45ynToZe7oU_AWAyd2bT-pKYGWQhUHQEdLlz7GkAXdHYErVoJV2eLB2NGGNwOUj96gRqMJ-VScZsZruZp_J4yLVO3UQApma8fALsHjQBdKm5CKSDyUQW2Er4cwulg/s320/HolyFamily.jpg" width="226" /></a></div> <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I have been away from this blog for a long time. As yesterday was the Feast of the Holy Family, I thought this would be a great day to start a new blog. It's especially fitting since many of the thoughts I have had lately have revolved around marriage and family.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> St. Joseph, Our Blessed Mother, and Our Lord were the model family. They lived quiet and humble lives before, during, and after Jesus' Nativity and Crucifixion. The Holy Scripture is mostly silent about them until Jesus' ministry became a public one. As Holy and magnificent as they were, they went about their lives doing God's will. They lived quietly, simply, honestly, and purely not completely understanding the outcome but living in obedience to the One True God. As such, they are the best example for family life that any of us can have---a father whose goal is to protect and care for his Wife and Child, a Mother who's pure, prudent, obedient, merciful, sorrowful, and a Son who's Holy, obedient, and patient. This was not a family seeking financial security, self-actualization, or fame. They only wanted to do God's will. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> It seems to me, then, that this would be the example that Catholic families would follow. I suspect this was mostly the case before WWII in America. Catholic families came to this country from homelands suffering famine, desolation, and war. They came here, mostly into the cities, found jobs or opened up small businesses. Priests were sent, pennies were offered, and churches were built. Children were born, families and neighborhoods grew, communities thrived, and most lived simple lives following the example of the Most Holy Family.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> Over the last century though, family life, and ultimately Catholicism, has been under attack and slowly the fabric of our society has begun to unravel. The threads are laid bare now and we are hanging on by a few strings. Slowly modernism has crept into the thoughts and minds of educators, business owners, and law-makers until it has stretched its ugly roots all under the ground of our society. One can't escape it, really, without much suffering and sorrow. While modernism and the destruction of society and the Church arguably began with the Enlightenment, there are some ideas that have taken root so deeply that it may be difficult, if not impossible to get rid of.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span><b><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1) The Protestant Work Ethic.</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> When the Protestants rejected the Sacraments as the necessary means for salvation and opened the pearly gates to "all believers in Jesus," they had to develop a means to fight off the devil and determine who had received God's graces. These outward indications of grace have subsequently evolved into working 10 or 12 hours a day and accumulating material possessions. The discussion of the Protestant Work Ethic is worthy of an entire blog post. But since space and time limit many of the details, I can say that this concept has led to an immediate breakdown in families, the rejection of good works and true charity, and the U.S's attraction to entertainment. Americans spend all their time working and spend all their money on things they can't do because they are working. What sort of toll does this have on the families?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span><b><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2) Egalitarianism.</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> This concept has quietly and systematically stripped our society and institutions of all structure and sanity. I am not talking here about human dignity. Yes, all people are created in the image of God. I am also not talking about the missions and abilities that God has given to people over the course of history. Some of the greatest monarchs and saints have been women. Rather I am talking about the idea of egalitarianism that attempts to erase the desire or need for social class, status, or role. The French Revolution, The Protestant Revolt, The American Revolution, Marxism, Socialism, Feminism, Occupy Wall Street---all of these "revolts" hold as one central idea to completely eradicate the classes. Titles which used to foster respect and due reverence have been rejected for fear of creating class-warfare. Everyone is on a first name basis and everyone looks the same. As a result, children have little respect for their parent's authority, bosses hang out with their employees, and the Catholic priesthood has been reduced to just another career option.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>3) Feminism.</b></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> I could spend a lifetime refuting feminism. This ideology has probably done more damage to our society and families than anyone could care to imagine. No organization or institution is exempt from the effects of feminism. Women, in droves, have abandoned their children to day care providers, so they can become self-actualized by joining the work-force. Feminism, without dispute, has been a major catalyst in the sky-rocketing of divorce rates. Feminism, without dispute, has led to the plummet in birthrates across the globe and the death of millions of unborn Americans through abortion. It has led to the attitude that unless women are working outside their homes, they are worthless, ignorant, oppressed, or a combination of the three. Feminism is an insidious disease that has infected countless numbers of homes, individuals, and children. Divorce among married women with children is common place. Pregnancy is inconvenient and birth control is considered responsible parenting. Some may believe that the Catholic Church has held her own against feminism, but that is simply not true. Altar girls are standard fare on any given Sunday and in many parishes more women take on liturgical roles than do men. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> The family is the basic unit of society. When families are healthy, the society that grows around them is robust. But when the families begin to break down, society begins to fall into an abyss. Modern people, who are invested in the ideologies mentioned above, would like you to believe that there are all "kinds" of families and that these families are all equal and good for society. To hear them tell it, it doesn't really matter what kind of family children are raised in as long as there is love. They believe this because if they didn't, they would have to take a long hard look at their work ethic and their value system. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> It has long been reported by anyone with a voice that our society is in a downward spiral. There is also no shortage of opinions on what the cause is and what to do about it. But the answer is simple. Families are falling apart---and our society encourages it. As long as we buy into feminist ideology, egalitarianism, and the Protestant work ethic our families are going to continue to suffer and fail. Those families who recognize the problems and are determined to make a difference in their own lives through God's graces may well find themselves facing suffering and hardships they cannot imagine. When times seem particularly difficult, though, we always have the example of the Holy Family to guide us.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><b>St. Joseph, protect us.</b></i></span><br />
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><i>Most Beautiful Mother, pray for us.</i></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><i>Divine Infant, have mercy on us.</i></b></span>Cindy Willmothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04074715198310800028noreply@blogger.com0