Heaven - The first place on my bucket list !

A little bit of heaven as I imagine it.

I someday, maybe soon maybe a long time off, maybe today I will be summoned home to give an account of my life to the Just Judge.  I hope that Jesus finds me worthy of being with Him in heaven for all eternity. 1 Cor 2:9 tells us that "eye has not seen nor ear heard...what God has prepared for those that love Him."  So the first thing we know about heaven that it is going to be better than anything that we can imagine. This being said, we can imagine the joy our spirit will feel when we hear that heaven is the place for us.  The fact that the battle is over, the victory over sin and death that Jesus won for us on the Cross is now made manifest to us and we enter into the Kingdom of God. This joy of knowing that you will never have to struggle, you will never be tempted or sin again has to be the thing that is greatest about heaven.  But what do we know about the particulars?  Not a whole lot unfortunately at least from authoritative sources.  There are a plethora of stories of people who say that they have visited or have been granted visions of heaven. 

I personally have never been granted a vision of heaven but I believe in my heart of hearts that I have been privileged to have been given a small sample of what it is like to be a citizen of The Kingdom of God Triumphant. Many years ago I believed that I had a calling to religious life and I joined an order called the Third Order of St. Francis which at the time was based in a little town in the Allegheny mountains called Loretto PA.  I lived on the old estate of a man who was a millionaire around the time of the first world war by the name of Charles Schwab.  It was a beautiful place with formal gardens and tree lined paths and I lived in a building called Bonaventure Hall, first in the "Tower Room."  Here is a picture of the place.  I have to tell you, it did not look quite as nice back in the 1970's when I lived there for a year. No, it was in was 

Bonaventure Hall

need of some repair and updating some of which we postulants  were set to work doing during that first year of training for religious life. It was a wonderful time in my life, not without struggles but it served to help me to grow both as an ordinary human and it helped me grow in my religious life.  Our class celebrated investiture for around thirty brothers. We lost several along the way. That is what the formation years are about, you discern if you have a vocation or not. Living with a bunch of men can be difficult and yet because you all believe the same things you almost automatically get closer to God as you support each other. It was not a life that was perfect, there were things that I did not like, but that will be the subject of another post some time.  

Class of 1977

This is a picture taken of the brothers that were selected to continue study at the novitiate in Winchester VA.  This picture was taken of the 24 Novices the day before we left Bonaventure Hall.  I blurred everyone else out except me to prove to you that I was actually there. Prior to this we went on a week long retreat for which I was the sacristan and had to set up the chapel for each of the conferences. On the last day of the retreat I asked Father Pat, our postulant master whose favorite saint was St. Isidore, the patron saint of farmers, if I could have this last day off of being sacristan so that I could immerse myself more readily into the retreat.  He appointed a substitute for me and that Sunday I got more out of the retreat than on the other six days because I had no duties to perform.  The last conference finished and my substitute set up for Mass. It happened while we were singing a song that had been left to us by the previous years class.  The title of the song written by two of the novices was entitled Caught Up in Wonder.  The song went something like this: 

Let me sing of your wonderful name,

Let my lips tell the joy of your love. 

The heavens proclaiming the glory of God 

And yet no sound can be heart 

The world and it stillness are wrapped in your silence

Now Father give us Your Word....

When we got to those last words something happened to me. I believe my soul left my body.  No I did not have an out of body experience, no I did not travel towards the light or anything like that. I felt a joy that was so great unlike anything I had felt before and unlike anything that I have felt after.  There are no words to describe the joy I felt. I could not hear the music being played anymore and for one time in my life I was centered upon Christ and could just feel the love He had for me radiating out from Him, the Center and Creator of the universe.  This joy lasted but a moment, had it continued longer I would have died right then and there because the Illuminating Love flowing from Christ into me was something I wanted more and more of.  I no longer had to have faith on God, I knew that He existed just as I knew that two plus two equals four or if jump of a building I will die. I felt His power and His love for me.  Not for the whole world but me personally, Michael J. Spoula, a well renowned sinner! Of course God loves the whole world but I think I was granted this experience to show me how important I was to God. God loves his children with a burning love hotter than the seraphim angels that surround the throne of God with their burning love for Him, Now, think what you want about this. Some might say that I had some sort of psychotic break with reality. Some might say that it was just your imagination or it was just a good spiritual day. But I was there and I know what happened to me and I thank God for this sample of heaven every day even forty years after the event I remember it like it was yesterday. 

So that is my experience with heaven. There are any number of writers that have captured stories from people said to have been there or those that have been given vision of heaven. The "seers" in Medjugorje have described it in detail as as place of great beauty where people all are no older than the age of Jesus and that they have seem them in beautiful park like settings.  All four of the "seers" give similar stories about when the Blessed Virgin showed them Heaven, Purgatory, and Hell.  I put the word "seers" in quotes because the Church has not ruled on the vision said to have been continuing since the 1980's so we have to treat what they say with discretion. 

Other non-catholic sources claim that they were in heaven and were told to return. All of them describe it as a happy place (of course) and most of the accounts I have read claim that you know everybody's name.  

What is your opinion on heaven?  I would love to have your comments. 

Marriage

This week my wife and celebrated our Twenty-Third wedding anniversary.  We drove to southwestern Michigan to my father's house in a blizzard. The journey which normally took three hours took over six hours. The next day dawned clear, the sky was so very blue and the sun so very bright. We drove from my father's house to a the county seat, Paw Paw Michigan.  There Mary and I exchanged vows in front of a judge.  We were civilly married. Our marriage was blessed two years later when Mary's annulment came through and we reaffirmed our vows in front of God and His Church.  From day one I have taken my marriage vows very seriously as I not only promised them to my bride Mary, but also to God.  I believe God brought Mary and I together, it was His plan and I am bound to fully cooperate with it.  

Our marriage is a marriage between one man and one woman. This is how marriage has always been from the very start. Go back to the story of Adam and Eve. Adam did not find a partner from among any of the creatures of the earth. God therefore created a special being for him, a woman.  All through Bible history most of the people God chooses for special tasks are men that have but one wife. God considers the bond of marriage a sacred thing, not just an ordinary relationship but relationship where man and woman can cooperate together and bring new life into the world.  This is the reason why a man leaves his family and clings to his wife, to join God in the creation of new life.

Gay marriage is something that does not exist.  Our Supreme Court may say it does, our president may paint the gay rainbow in light on the White House, but that does not make gay marriage any more legitimate. Marriage is about the creation of life. Two men or two women engaged in a sexual act cannot consummate the act to join with God in creating a new human being.  You can scream all you want to about "equality under the law" but the spiritual nature of marriage and the marriage act itself makes such equality something that is impossible to achieve in the Congress or in the courts. 

But why is the Catholic Church so homophobic?  Homosexual action organizations trot out the homophobic label when they detect any disagreement with their positions. It therefore removes a persons right to disagree with their position by in effect saying that those that disagree with them are in some way irrational.   The Catholic Church do not see homosexual men or women as sinful people. The Church, however, does see the sexual acts between people of the same sex to be contrary to God's natural law.  The Church can never approve of these acts as they are not able to produce life.  On the other hand those who are afflicted with same sex attraction are welcome to be Catholics practicing and living their live in a chaste and celibate way.  Does this seem unfair?  Hardly, the Church calls all her children to be chaste and celibate and to make use of the physical act of love in the way God gave it to us, to be used to pro-create between one man and one woman.

The Church also sees a redefinition of marriage to include same sex unions to be a danger to society. Same sex marriages lack the solemnity of genuine marriages. Same sex marriages are based solely on the feeling one person for another. It does not have the same depth as a genuine marriage because no matter what the two men or women can never use their procreative powers in the way that God intended.  The feelings of love one has at the start of a relationship change through the years.  With man and woman love becomes less of a feeling and more of a way of life.  A homosexual union will go through the same sort of change, the original feelings of love will give way and the relationship will no longer meet the emotional needs of the partners and they will split and go their separate ways. 

Well, maybe two men cannot mate and procreate but they can certainly adopt can't they?  Unfortunately this is true. The children pay the price for having two mommies or two daddies. A child needs both male and female influences for them to grow up emotionally.  This balanced nurturing is required for healthy growth. 

Finally, the proponents of gay marriage are trying to change society to recognize homosexuality as a normal way of life.  They are trying to achieve acceptance of the straight community for no other reason but to silence the nagging doubt in the back of their conscience that something is wrong in their life.  Legal pronouncements will do nothing to assuage their conscience, it will remain standing in the way of a complete joyful life because they are looking for something that does not exist nor has it ever existed. 

Am I homophobic?  No, I am not.  I am a realist, I am a Catholic, and the reading and research I have done tells me that everything we do in life that goes against God's natural law leads to sadness, sin, death, and eternal loss of one's place with God.  I also because of my beliefs have to stand up and point out that homosexual actions are wrong, are against God's law and will lead to pain.  I have to stand up for what is right no matter what rabid gays thing and say.  I am a gentle person, I love life, I love people but I also must stand tall and speak my beliefs.  I have this right and duty.    

Why Catholics Go To Church Every Sunday

The Main Ceremonial doors leading into St, Mary of Vernon
Church in Indian Creek, Illinois. 

One of the features of being a Catholic is the requirement that we attend Mass every Sunday and holy day of obligation.  For the average Protestant actual attendance at Church is not a requirement although there are many Protestants that attend both on Sunday and come back on Wednesdays, but this is not a requirement that binds under sin.  For a Catholic Sunday is the most important day of the week and attendance at mass is mandatory. Failure to attend is considered a very serious sin.  But, why is this so? Why is it considered so very important? There are any number of excuses that can serve to allow us to blow off Sunday Mass.  For example, we might just not feel like going, or we may feel that it is boring, or maybe we are convinced that we can worship God anywhere and do not need to be so formal about prayer and worship.  Maybe we think that we are too busy, too tired, or any number of other self-serving excuses. But as we will see, none of these excuses work very well. 

With thanks to Our Sunday Visitor here are ten reasons why Catholics believe attendance at Sunday Mass is so very important. 

• God asks us to make one day holy. We are to set aside one day to refocus physically, mentally, and spiritually. Going to Mass allows us to see things from a different perspective. We realize that not every idea that we have about God or how to live a Christian life is exactly on target. We exchange our agenda for God's.  We receive inspiration and strength for the week ahead. 
• Jesus gives us the gift of Himself. When we gather as a community we fulfill the command of Jesus to love and to be loved by God. We receive and are fed by the Word of God, the Scriptures that we hear proclaimed and we receive the very Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. 
• We need to be part of a community.  Man is a social creature. A human being who keeps themselves away from other human beings can become an authority in themselves in that they begin to believe that their ideas are the only view of the world that are correct. They have no one to answer to but themselves. This is scary. When we are in a Christian community we give each other support, we make each other accountable and we give encouragement to one another, sometimes just by being there.  We see that we are not alone and we are reminded that we are part of the Body of Christ. 
• God has a special message for us.  We come together and listen to the Word of God and the prayers of the Mass and God speaks to us in a special way.  Each Mass should allow us to walk away with one thought that will help us in our spiritual lives. We receive this gift simply by focusing on what is going on around us and we open ourselves to what God is telling us. 
• People need our prayers.  Scripture commands us to pray for one another.  Certainly we can (and should) do this at home but when we pray for others at Mass we pray in a special way.  We pray as part of the Body of Christ, the Communion of Saints, and heaven and earth are united and the bonds of space and time are loosened. 
• We need to stand up for what we believe.  Being a follower of Christ calls us to be counter-cultural. Think back to the early Church. People would attend the Breaking of the Bread knowing full well that they might be arrested and become entertainment for the emperor in the arena. Today too our attendance shows that we are not closet Christians but rather Christians that are testifying to the Truth by being publicly present at public worship. We pray the Nicene Creed and publicly proclaim what we believe and who we are.  
• We need to acknowledge our mistakes.  At every Mass we have an opportunity to review the previous week and see where we have fallen short in word, deed, and thought. We admit that we have sinned in what we have done and what we have failed to do and we seek the forgiveness of God.  This serves as a reality check.  Are we as "good" as we think we are? Before communion we acknowledge that we are not worthy and ask God to heal us. 
• We need ritual in our lives.  Mass is a ritual. This means that through the prayers, movement and the changing of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ we are formed, disciplined and consoled. The sameness of the Mass carries us along the spiritual journey and we pray even if we don't feel like praying. 
• We need to experience something bigger than ourselves.  At Mass we share in the death and resurrection of Jesus and enter into God's great plan for our world to bring the Gospel message to all people. At Mass heaven and earth are joined in expressing praise to God and we join the choir of angels and sing the eternal praise of God when we sing; "Holy Holy, Holy..."  The Mass gives meaning and purpose to our lives and gives us a sense of wonder and awe.  

So you can see that for a Catholic going to church each Sunday while it is an obligation, it also provides many benefits.  I think that regulations, such as the "obligation" to go to Mass every Sunday are written for the people that only want know what the minimum requirements are.  For most Catholics attending Mass on Sunday is the high point of each week and they attend willingly and are very sad indeed when serious circumstances do not allow them to attend. 

May the Lord Jesus Christ brighten your life this week and may you feel a part of the Communion of Saints. 

The 2016 Convert - A - Catholic Challenge is underway. I am looking to be saved from the Catholic Church and looking for your most compelling arguments as to why I should join your denomination.  Write me by clicking this link.Click Here 

Gaudete Sunday or We light the pink candle

Our wait is approaching its end. This Sunday is the third Sunday of Advent and is called Gaudete Sunday. Gaudete means "joyful" and the Church reminds us today that our Advent season is approaching the end and that which we were waiting for is just around the corner. 

For the secular world the road to Christmas is paved with greenback dollars!  I remember back in August one of our local food stores put up their Hallmark Christmas ornament display and most other stores start the avalanche of advertising for Christmas in early November before Thanksgiving Day.  The Christmas Carols are piped in as you shop in the mall before the first frost. 

Advent at one time was a time, just like lent, of fasting and repentance.  When I was a child I watched that wreath in church grow brighter and brighter, knowing full well that Christmas presents were getting ever closer. 

On this Sunday we light the pink candle. The intention of this candle is to make our hearts warmer, to brighten our souls, to feel the joy of expectation that soon Christ will be with us.  Of course this marks our progress towards the feast but it also reminds us that the day of the Lord, the day he returns, is getting closer too. 

On this Sunday, my heart is filled with joy, I know I am loved so much that Jesus came to earth and died for me and for my sins,  I am joyful this day because deep in my heart I know that I am what God wants me to be or at least progressing towards that goal.  I am joyful because I know my ultimate fate and destiny is to be with God and the saints in heaven,  How can I keep from singing!

My Protestant friend, I invite you to take the Convert-a-Catholic Challenge. With 33,000 Christian denominations out there someone must know where the Catholic Church has gone wrong, why won't anyone tell me why I should leave the Church and join up with your denomination?  Don't you want to save me?  Click on the link below and tell me why I should quit being Catholic and join your church, which I will do if you can convince me.  

Hey Michael! Let's get you out of the Catholic Church and into my Church.  (Click Here to Email Michael)

With Great Sorrow - The San Bernardino Attack - The Christian Response

May the souls of those killed in San Bernardino rest in peace and enjoy the bliss of heaven. 

Normally I do not use this blog to comment on news stories. I prefer to speak about my faith, my Church, and my God. It is with burning sorrow that I reflect on the events that transpired in San Bernardino this week.  

Among the creatures that God loves the best are those that are those that disadvantaged in some way. The deaths unleashed by two  misguided and crazed followers of the prophet are made even more horrible because of the identity of the victims, people who were handicapped in some way.

I was awake very early this morning and watched the sun change the sky from dark black to beautifully bright.  The sight of this transformation reminded me of the hope we as Christians have.  No matter what happens the seeming victory of darkness is at best only temporary because Christ has won the victory when he spread his arms out between heaven and earth and died on that Holy Cross for all of humanity. 

Jesus charges us to be very counter culture. My mother, God rest her soul, died in 1990 of lung cancer. Her disease did not start as lung cancer, it started as a growth on her shoulder.  She worked at a doctor's office and part of her employment benefits included care free care from the doctor.  Her doctor looked at the growth and without a second thought, without a biopsy, she gave my mother some medicated salve to put on it.  Six months later there had been no improvement.  My mother consulted her former employer and close family friend, another doctor, and he recognized it for what it was and immediately had my mother hospitalized.  She was diagnosed with lung cancer, pronounced terminal, and was placed on a course of chemotherapy to extend her life.  At her real doctor's suggestion she consulted a renowned surgeon who offered her hope and soon she was operated upon and the cancer was seemingly removed.  The doctor told her that there was no way that this surgery would cure the cancer, it would just buy her time.  The day came for the surgery and me, my two sisters, and my brother arrived at the hospital just as they were taking her down to surgery. We kissed her and she went into surgery knowing that she was loved.  They surgery was successful and the doctor told us that she probably had about a year to live, which was double the previous prognosis.  We went into the room where mom was awake and alert.  She could not talk as she was hooked up to a ventilator but she could write on a dry erase board that they had given her.  She was full of hope and so were we. Unfortunately, from that day she began to slide downhill and on post op day four she passed away, quietly with her family around her.  My heart filled with a rage against the doctor that had initially misdiagnosed her disease. For the very first time in my life I felt hate, raw, unrelenting hate of another human being.  Although I did not recognize it at the time I slid into a deep depression.  My symptoms included not really caring about anything.  Going through my day as if I were a robot. Not taking care of my personal business matters, reading the same book over and over again.  In essence I shut down the thinking part of my brain because it hurt too much.  

As a Catholic I believed, and still do believe, that the Holy Eucharist is the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of our Lord, the Resurrected Jesus.  I was in the habit each day as I was going to work to make the sign of the cross as I passed this Catholic church on my way to work because I knew what was inside that Tabernacle and that brick walls could not separate me from Jesus.  One day as I did this in a mindless manner, just by habit, God in effect sent me a message.  He told me to release that hate I held in my heart for that heartless doctor that killed my mother because He forgave me my many sins. I released the doctor from bondage and from that very moment a weight was lifted from my shoulders and I snapped out of the depression that was strangling me for over six months.  I forgave that doctor.  I still did not like her or what she had done, but I had forgiven her and granted her a full and complete pardon. I would not eat dinner with her, but I would not raise my hand against her.  From that moment on it has been impossible for me to hold a grudge.  If you've killed my mother and I have forgiven you, what more could you do to me that would be worse?

Okay, I've been going on for a while here and I want to get to the point of this blog entry.  There is a power in Christianity that does not exist in any other religion. That is the power to forgive.  When we are slapped it stings, it hurts, but when we do not retaliate and we turn our cheek and offer it up for further insult we give pause to our tormentor even if for a nanosecond. Christianity is able to break the cycle of hate, the cycle of an eye for an eye that most of the world thinks is what is mandated for us. 

In our present day where Muslim treachery is a fact of life we have to ask what we can do.  As Christians we must bring out our most powerful weapons.  Our weapons cannot be resisted by any force on earth.  These weapons are the weapons of peace.  We need to pray and pray hard for those afflicted by ISIS terror.  We must pray for the conversion of Muslims - yes - Jesus wants us all to be one flock.  We must forgive and live our lives in a manner worthy of a child of God.  We must ask God to move his hand and restore peace and tranquility to this wonderful garden He has given us to tend. 

The Convert A Catholic Challenge has not been taken up by anyone yet. 30,000 denominations out there against the Catholic Church - surely someone will take up the cause and attempt to convert this cradle Catholic to your denomination. You can begin the process by leaving a comment here or you can email me at 

michaeljspoula@outlook.com 

Thank you for dropping by and may the light of Christ light up the darkness in your life. 

Been away from the Church for awhile? Don't know what to do to come back, help is available.  You ARE missed.  For help go to this website: CATHOLICS COME HOME

Amazing Grace - Should A Catholic Sing the Hymn?

Amazing Grace, How Sweet the Sound 

That Saved A Wretch Like Me. 

I Once Was Lost, But Now am Found 

Was Blind But Now I See

This hymn, written by a Protestant, reformed slave trader, is a staple of Christian music that is sung in just about every Christian denomination and is also quite a popular hymn in the Catholic Church.  The question of the day is simple.  Is it appropriate for a Roman Catholic to sing this song as it is written?  Some critics of this song say that it teaches patently Protestant teachings.  In the very first line of this song we call ourselves "wretches."  The classical definition of a wretch is a person who is both unfortunate, unhappy, and base, mean and/or despicable. This, some say, is a very Martin Luther-ish and John Calvin-ish view of the human condition whereas we Catholics believe that humans are not totally depraved as the "reformers" taught, but rather, as taught in Genesis when God created man, He saw us humans not only as good as he had seen all of His other works of creation, he pronounced us "very good."   I think, and I may be wrong about this, that when we Catholics sing and call ourselves wretches we are calling ourselves poor sinners, going outside of the classical definition of what a wretch actually is.  Of course in some hymnals the words are changed to a more Catholic "that saved and set me free."  In either case I think that if we exclude the classical meaning of wretch and go with the thought of poor sinner, we are okay.  Quite honestly probably most of the people in the pews are not thinking so deeply about the meaning here anyway. 

What about the concept that the song teaches about when grace is received?  It says that it is received "the hour I first believed,"  If we did not have God's grace before we believed, we never would have come to believe!  Jesus Himself told Simon Peter that it was God that made it possible form Peter to know Jesus as the Messiah.  The same principle is evident at the Annunciation - The Angel Gabriel says, "Hail Mary, Full of Grace."  The fact that she was kept free from the taint of original sin through the grace of God made it possible for her to be completely open to God's will for her life.  The grace came before she accepted God's proposal.   Again here, the average Catholic is not going to be thinking like a Calvinist or Lutheran here. I believe that the pew dweller knows that God's grace has been with him/her self since Baptism and when singing this hymn that is what comes to mind. 

To my way of thinking the rest of the song is innocuous from the point of view of Catholic doctrine, although I would imagine that is only because I am educated less robustly than the experts. 

My favorite verse is the fifth verse, "When we've been there ten thousand years, bright shining as the sun, we've no less days to sing His praise, then when we first begun."   This verse says a lot.  It speaks of the eternal love of God and how we as Christians will be transformed into what God has always wanted us to be and we will praise Him forever. 

So what is my final verdict on this hymn?  It is not a Catholic hymn. The author's intention was to make a song exhorting the principle of saved only by grace. However, the song as sung by Roman Catholics is understood by them in the light of their Catholic upbringing.  The song does have a place in Catholic liturgy as far as I am concerned because of the way Catholics have been trained to think about how salvation is gifted to us.  The Catholic hymnal would be complete without this song but its inclusion does not harm and many of the concepts are universal and those that are not are filtered by Catholic singers to fit Catholic thought properly. 

In Love With The Bride of Christ - A Catholic Speaks His Mind.

I was born a Roman Catholic, and therefore in the jargon of the day I am called a cradle Catholic.  I thank God for my membership in His Church and want to share some of the reasons why being a Catholic makes me happy.

• Eucharist - as a Catholic, every time I go to Mass I receive the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ - as He is in Heaven today!  You can get no closer to God this side of heaven.  Catholics take very seriously indeed Christ's instructions to eat His Body and drink His blood as found in the Gospel of John Chapter 6. 
• Bible - At every Mass besides being fed the Bread of Life we receive generous portions of the Word of God to further enrich our souls. 
• Preaching - At every Mass the priest explains to us what the readings we just heard mean and how to apply them to our lives.  I know Protestants say we can interpret the Gospel for ourselves but then why are there thirty-thousand denominations each with a slightly different interpretation of the same concepts?  I feel safer relying on the Holy Spirit working in accordance with the promise of Jesus to keep His Church, the Bride of Christ pure and safe until He returns.
• Reliability - The Catholic Church has never once changed her doctrine.  She teaches the same truths that were handed down to her by the Apostles.  It is the Sacred Tradition that assures me that her teachings are true. One example of how her teachings have not changes comes to mind.  Back in the 1950's all churches stood united against birth control and abortion.  These things were viewed as evil and against the Law of God.  One by one the denominations gave in to "modern thought."  One by one they began to allow birth control and later on abortion was seen to be okay.  The Catholic Church stands virtually alone today in speaking up for the rights of the unborn and continues to preach against the culture of death afflicting the world today.  
• Real First Century Christianity - Some denominations today are trying to get back to the original teachings of the Apostles and the Church Fathers.  Well, the Catholic Church is already there and as a matter of fact, she never left the teachings of the Apostles.  Remember that for the first fifteen centuries there was only one Church, the Catholic Church.
• Universality - The Roman Catholic Church is universal.  It is not a national church, it is open to all.  It has one leader, the Pope, successor of Peter whom Jesus appointed as the leader of His Church.  We can trace the origin of the Catholic Church to that day when Jesus gave the keys of the Kingdom to Peter.
• Sacraments - The seven sacraments of the Church are opportunities for her members to experience the gift of grace of God in different ways.  I have already mentioned the Eucharist, the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of the Triumphantly Raised Jesus but there are six more sacraments each providing grace for the soul.  
• Reconciliation - Yes, reconciliation is one of the seven sacraments but I have to mention it separately because it is such a powerful gift.  Some Protestants say that a priest has no authority for forgive sins. They do not take into account the words of Jesus when he said; "Those things you loose on earth are loosed in heaven, those things you bind on earth are bound in heaven."  This gave the power to forgive sins to the Apostles and to those that followed.  Some say that they go direct to Jesus and pray for forgiveness so they do not need to confess to another human.  Well, okay, but if we take the words of Jesus seriously we need to ask ourselves if a priest can forgive sins, how will the priest know if he is going to loose or bind unless we tell him our sins?  I go to confession regularly - because I sin regularly.  I confess my sins to God's minister and he in the name of Jesus and His Church grants me pardon and absolution for all of my sins.  I in effect get to start over again, grace floods my soul and I try to not commit the sins I confessed again. To experience forgiveness is to experience love in its most exquisite form.  To hear the words of absolution gives me assurance that the rend I created in the fabric of my relationship between God, man and His Church has once again been healed. 

These are but a few of the reasons that I have for the joy in my heart that I experience because I am a Catholic.  My Church is despised by those who think her ideas are outmoded.  She stands as a conscience to a world that has lost it's way.  She points in loving ways as to what should be and she, like her founder receives a crown of thorns for the trouble.  I will never, ever, leave the Catholic Church for She is the repository of all we know of God, His laws and His love. 

God bless you and your family and friends,  Come home to the Catholic Church.   Below please find some links that you may find helpful.   Remember, I answer questions about faith, I am happy to do so.  I do not respond to hate mail. 

http://www.catholicscomehome.org/

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Christians Are Under Attack ! A Prayer Crusade is THE answer !

Christians are under attack world wide.  In many places the followers of Islam burn churches and kill believers, both Catholic and Protestant.  It's time to do something about this unwholesome situation.  Should we arm ourselves and take to the streets?  No, that is not what Jesus would have done.  What we need to do is to embark on is a Prayer Crusade.  Our Father in heaven is waiting for us to join together and ask for help against the people who are injuring His people. 

What do we really know about Islam and their holy book, the Koran. Here are a few quick facts for you. Get to know the enemy so that they will not be able to trick you. 

Islam and Civil Rights:  Islam does not recognize freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of assembly, freedom of the press. 

The Koran: The Koran was supposedly handed down directly from Allah to Mohammed and is in perfect Arabic.  In actuality it contains sentences that are incomplete, sentences with poor grammar, and contradictions in what a follower should do.  The Koran contains text ripped from the Hebrew Bible because the Prophet hoped that by putting in something the the Jews were familiar with he could convert them.  This failed and the peaceful Prophet began attacking caravans and Jewish settlements.  Through this means the Prophet was able to obtain great influence and huge monetary resources.  

Islam and Women:  (From the Koran Sura 4-34) "Men are the managers of the affairs of women. Those you fear may be rebellious - admonish them; banish them to their couches and beat them."

The Prophet: The Prophet used the Koran for his own benefit on many occasions.  For example; the Koran says that a man may have up to four wives.  The Prophet had at least sixteen wives and had relations with up to six more concubines or slaves. Aesha was nine years old when the Prophet took her into his bed. In another instance he fancied the wife of another man and son of a gun, Allah spoke and told the man to give his wife to the Prophet.  

These are just a few facts about the Islamic faith that everyone should know.  We, Catholics and Protestants of all denominations MUST enter into a Crusade against the Muslims.  Do not be deceived by their words of honey.  They play only by their rules and peaceful co-existence with any other religion will not happen.  Look at what the Taliban did to those ancient statues in Afghanistan.  

Do not engage in any violence against these poor people.  Remember they have been brainwashed their whole lives to accept the mush-mosh that is the Koran is the word of God.  Our Crusade must be completely non violent.  We must pray to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit and ask them for help against a vicious foe.  

So, fellow Christians, will you commit to praying each day for God to move His mighty arm and to rebuke the followers of Islam that employ violence against His children.   We have to show by our actions that we trust in God, that we trust in Jesus and we have to be ready to put our action where our beliefs lead us. 

Fellow Catholics, the Rosary helped bring down the Berlin wall and communism. Let us resort to our sharpest sword and dedicate one Rosary per day to the defeat of violent Islam. 

Other Christians, pray however you want, but do it daily and do it faithfully.  We need to unite to defeat this enemy.  We will either hang together now or hang separately later. 

God is watching and waiting for His children to ask for help.  His mighty hand will protect us.  We must remember too that Jesus has already won the victory for us.  It is the duty of every Christian to participate in the work of Christ, in the manner he has taught.  We must not trade violence for violence.  For if we do this we are not trusting in God, we are trusting in our weapons.  If we enter into prayer and ask our Father for what we need and we are all united in our words, what Father could refuse us?