Can This Be Done?

Jesus said to his disciples:

"You have heard that it was said,

An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.

But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil.

When someone strikes you on your right cheek,

turn the other one to him as well.

It is a time of trouble for the Church. The Church is surrounded on all sides by those that wish her harm. In the Middle East, the very cradle of the Christian Faith we have seen more blood spilled since the time of the first Christians. Terrorists have killed innocent men, women, and children because the will not betray the Son of God. In our own country, our government has in recent time trampled upon the religious rights of its citizens, attempting to force even religious orders to provide contraception and abortion as part of the benefits that they provide their employees. Temporarily, the pressure has been removed because of the change of regime that came about this last January. Certainly, the amount of discrimination that is occurring against Christians in this country cannot be compared with that which is happening in the East. 

People in the East are willing to die rather than to forsake their Christian beliefs.  It has always been so in the Christian Church. Today, you can go on YouTube and easily find things that are pro-church and anti-church. On other places on the web, you can view evil men killing believers just because they are believers. What is it about this Jesus that makes people loyal unto death?  This is not a new thing, From the first century, Christians went to their deaths out of their love for Jesus and one another. The love the Christians had for one another was what attracted people to their group.  It was a different way of living in a culture that was cruel and hateful.  

I believe that inside of us all there is a desire to love and be loved. Through the generations, this desire has remained and we spend our time looking for what in most civilizations is lacking.  For the most part, we spend our lives being hunters and gatherers.  We reach out for the tings that we believe will make us happy.  Included on this list of things are food and shelter. I do not think that it is natural for a human being to say, "I now have enough."  I remember reading a story in high school about a man who visits a land where the natives will give him all of the lands that he can walk over in a twenty-four hour period.  There is just one rule.  He had to make it back to the starting position or he would get nothing. The man begins his walk and he notices how beautiful the land was. He walked over a huge portion of flat land that would be perfect for farming. He walked around a beautiful lake that would supply all of the fish he needed. He walked this way and he walked that way.  Time was running short he looked at his watch, he had to get back to the starting line.  He began to run.  Those hills that just yesterday which allowed him such breath-taking views of what was his now caused his legs to tire.  Minutes to go he sped up and just yards from the goal, he fell down dead.  The natives laughed and buried him where he lay.  In the end, the man claimed eighteen square feet of land, six feet down and three feet across. 

For the Christians, there was the point when they said that they had enough.  That point came when the love of Christ and their brothers and sisters filled up their hearts.  They shared with one another and they smiled and life became joyful.  This joyfulness was both a blessing and a curse.  For the world does not like to see what they do not understand.  What cannot be understood must be destroyed so that the normal way of hate and greed can be restored.  Yet, many were attracted to the Christian way because they saw it as the ultimate good and could change what was a hard life into what would become a joyful life as burdens were shared and people were loved for who they were and not what they could do for you. 

In the Eastern lands, the Islamic terrorists cannot understand the joy of these Christian people and so the will endeavor to destroy what they cannot understand. The Christians are not willing to give up the perfect joy of Christ for the misery of indentured servitude.  And so, they willingly accept death instead of betraying the One Who loves them. They know that their joy will be complete when they are with Jesus and while they do not look for martyrdom, they embrace it when it comes.  They do not die in vain.  Their example, their love for one another, will plant seeds in the desert and the seeds will grow and many of those whose lives are filled with hate for all things Christian will find themselves irresistibly drawn to the joy of Christ.  This is what happened in the first century and it is going to happen now. 

In America, our dry martyrdom cannot be compared to those who have given their lives for their belief in Christ.  But, we too will attract more believers if we stick to what Jesus has told us.  We are to turn the other cheek, we are to help carry other's burdens, we are to show love to our enemies and keep a holy joy in our heart.  It will not be easy for we run counter-culture to a people who seem to be in love with things that go against the law of God.  They confuse convenience with happiness and pleasure with joy.  Our example to them is that they can have so much more following Jesus than they can on their own.  

Today, I pray for the martyrs in the mid-East.  I thank God for them and for the example that they set for me.  I also pray that God moves His hand end brings to a conclusion the bloodshed in this part of the world.  I pray for our nation, that we take to heart the laws that God has given us so that we may have a happy life here and eternal life with Him later.  May we once again sing "God Bless America" and know that He will. 

Second Sunday of Lent - Hardship and Triumph

Paul writes in his Second Letter to Timothy 

Beloved:

Paul writes in his Second Letter to Timothy 

Beloved:

Bear your share of hardship for the gospel

with the strength that comes from God.

He saved us and called us to a holy life,

not according to our works

but according to his own design

and the grace bestowed on us in Christ Jesus before time began,

but now made manifest 

through the appearance of our savior Christ Jesus,

who destroyed death and brought life and immortality

to light through the gospel.

Hardships and suffering for being a Catholic in the United States of America actually do exist. Fundamentalist Evangelicals of the Jack Chick, the "Christian" that produces those hateful little comic books that spread nonsense about the Church and Lorraine Boettner who published an error-filled tome with the clever name "Roman Catholicism" form the sources of Anti-Catholic Thought in America which allows the prejudiced to trot out those antiquated lies about the Catholic Church  that have been their stock in trade for years. 

In the 1960's the world marveled as a Roman Catholic was elected president of the United States.  The fear for the "Old Time Religion" boys was that Kennedy was going to invite Pope John XXIII to move into the White House and dictate policy. We know that this did not happen. 

In prior years Catholics were kept from certain jobs and were considered second-class citizens. Even today when Christians, in general, are looked down upon by the liberal left wingers and proponents of abortion and so-called gay rights, Roman Catholics seem to receive especially harsh treatment. It is a fact that at one time most of the mainline Protestant churches were aligned with the Catholic Church in its stand against abortion and even birth control. Today, some of these same denominations now see no issue with birth control and abortion as a matter of choice. Some denominations have admitted gay clergy, and see nothing wrong with same-sex marriage which is an affront to the Law of God. The problem is that these denominations have abandoned doctrine based on the law of God for doctrine based on popular vote. The Catholic Church stands alone in maintaining the pure doctrine from Apostolic times until today. Yet, it is quipped that Anti-Catholicism is the last allowable prejudice in America. 

I don't want to make it seem like it is too bad for American Catholics because it isn't.  Today, while there is certainly still an undercurrent of prejudice against Catholics, it is a war of words and as the old cliché states, "Sticks and stones can break my bones but words will never hurt me."  We are still free in the USA to practice our religion as we see fit and no one can stop us. In the rest of the world, not so much. 

In parts of the world Muslim fundamentalists, spouting a strange interpretation of Islam are carrying on genocide against any group that does not believe exactly as they do. This includes Catholics, Protestants, Orthodox and oddly enough Muslims who believe differently. For the Catholics in the middle east, the luxury of attending mass has been taken away from practicing Catholics as over three-hundred-thousand Christians, including many  Catholics, have been chased from their homes by ISIS.  The passage from Paul was written for these refugees.  These martyrs were peaceful people. They were people just like you and me. They had their homes, their families, their dreams. They also had Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and it is in His name that they suffer. Children have seen their fathers killed, some of them crucified in imitation of our Lord.  Mothers and fathers have buried their children who have been killed by ISIS because they professed the name of Jesus.  Please pray for the people chased from their homes and those that have been the victims of genocide in the war-torn middle east. 

God weeps when people of any religion kills in His name. We must remember that we know how this story will end.  The Transfiguration of Jesus prefigures His return to earth to bring His children to glory. God is Love and on this Sunday we heard the words of God approving of his Son, Jesus when he said, "This is my beloved Son in whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him."   I think we should do as God suggests.   

The Age of Martyrs

In 1998 my wife and I had the pleasure of visiting Ireland.* It is a most beautiful country with a warm and charming people. After a nights rest in Limerick and a call to the car rental people to send someone to fix our boot (trunk) because someone had hit our rental car in the parking lot, we set out for one place and ended up in another.  We actually ended up in Galloway Bay, a beautiful town on the coast.  We found a bread and breakfast that had room for us and after a wonderful dinner we found our way to the local church for Saturday Evening Mass.

 When we walked into the church we were greeted with the sound of angels singing.  The youth choir at this church was singing a prelude song before Mass started.  It was absolutely beautiful. I noticed that the Irish people had a great reverence when they were in church. It was quiet, no idle chatter disturbed the peace. The mass itself was said with a joyfulness that I have only found here in the states a couple of times.  All through Ireland we found this same attitude towards worship. I got the feeling that the people actually wanted to be there. As we explored the country I tried to figure out why the Church seemed so different there.  Then it hit me. The pestilential British made martyrs of Catholics and the right to worship came at a very high cost. Much blood was spilled and many churches were destroyed yet the Church could not be extinguished at the point of a sword. 

Today we face barbarians that make the shenanigans of the British against the Irish seem like child's play. The people who claim to be Muslims jihadists in the Arab countries are enriching the soil of the lands that they infest with the blood of Christians some of which have been there since the second century.  These members of Isis will not be able to win. It is not the military might of the United States or the Coalition that will defeat them, it is the blood of those that they martyr that will serve to extinguish their lust for power.

I look at what my brothers and sisters in those lands have gone through and still have kept the faith and I wonder if I too would have the strength to offer my life for my fellow Christians.  I like to think that I would.  The power of the example of the martyrs is what will keep the church alive. The barbarians had lined up about 30 Coptic Christians to execute them. Included in the group was one man who was not Christian.  The Coptic men kept repeating the name of Jesus and kept praying while waiting for their death. The cowardly barbarians asked the man who was not a Christian to immediately convert to Islam and his life would be spared. The man, without any hesitation said, "Their God is my God."

In today's first reading at Mass we see that Paul and Barnabas where brought before the leaders and they without fear spoke out on how they had to obey God's word and not man's.  They were punished and expelled from the district, but the church still grew. 

As you enjoy your Sunday bring to mind all of those that came before us that made it possible for us to worship as we do.  Thank God for the martyrs and for his One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.  

If you are interested in more information about the persecution of the British against the Irish, click on the link and you can read a brief paper about it.    (  LINK  )

*1998 was a long time ago of course, and the Irish Church has had some set backs as has the Church all over the world. The errors of common society have unfortunately been embraced by many Irish people. 

Martyrs

This week Islam in a show of just how it sows peace and love throughout the word created more Christian Martyrs in Yemen. At least four nuns who were working and taking care of the elderly were brutally shot and killed by these manly and brave jihadists. Why is it that these people always are going after those that cannot defend themselves? 

But let's move beyond the mayhem and talk a little bit about the martyrs themselves. I know that they have arrived in the bliss of heaven. These women had dedicated their very lives to working with poorest of the poor and caring for them in a land that is violently hostile to Christians.  They knew the chance that they were taking, but they stayed and did their work anyway. 

There have been so many martyrs of late giving us their example. The Coptic Christians come to mind. As they knelt waiting for their cowardly captives to execute them they were praying in the name of Jesus. One of those kneeling was not a Christian and he was asked if he would like to become a Muslim and he said simply that to his captives "Their God is my God." In joining his brothers in death, he secured for himself everlasting life. 

We in America have it good. Even though our society is becoming more and more anti-Christian we still have the right to worship as we want to. We do not have to live in fear that our churches will be set upon. Even Muslims in this country receive this protection. 

With all of the protection afforded us I have to ask myself if I, a Christian and a cradle Catholic would have the wherewithal to be a martyr for my faith.  I would like to think that I would but I just do not know. 

Let us pray this day for the defeat of ISIS and radical Islam. Let us pray for the day when we do not train for war anymore and be change our spears into pruning hooks.  Let us renew our prayers and ask God to protect our brother and sister Christians of all denominations in the Middle East from the evil of terror. 

On The Feast of Stephan

THE STONING OF ST. STEPHAN

Here we are on this day after Christmas, December 26, 2015 which is celebrated in the Catholic Church and many of the main line denominations as the Feast of St. Stephan. We are all at home warm and fuzzy, presents proudly displayed under the Christmas tree.  Christmas dinner is a fond memory and inside us there is a gentle feeling of peace.  Then it happens. The Church sends us to read about Stephan in the Acts of the Apostles.  Stephan is talking to the same people that not too long ago had Jesus crucified.  Yet Stephan is proclaiming the Gospel to them.  They can hardly keep their anger in check.  But then Stephan goes to far. He tells them that he sees Jesus ruling at the right hand of God.  This is too much for them to bear.  Stephan is snatched up and taken outside of the town and stoned to death as a blasphemer.  The accusers had the duty of throwing the first stone so they took off their cloaks and laid them at the feet of one named Saul of Tarsus who of course later would become Paul. 

The feast of Stephan reminds us that being a Christian is not something that will be easy. We have to proclaim the Gospel and yes, we care called to back up the story with our very lives. Today, in the middle east Christians of all sorts are being martyred for being a Christian.  Sometimes they are being killed outright and sometimes they are being forced to flee the homes their ancestors have occupied for a thousand years or more. 

We have to pray to the Lord our God for the persecution to end, for peace to be restored in the troubled area, and we have to pray for the people undergoing the ultimate test of their Christian faith. 

I  would also suggest that we pray for ourselves that we not be placed into the situation we find our brothers and sisters of the middle east in and for the courage to shout out for justice wherever we see injustice and to give love back to those who hate us as Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord has taught us to do. 

God bless you and yours during this Christmas season.

Thirty Thousand different denominations make up the Christian community in America.  The largest of these is the Roman Catholic Church.  The Convert-a-Catholic Challenge is still going on.  I am challenging my Protestant brothers and sisters to convert me to their denomination.  Click here to get the ball rolling.  Convince me and  maybe next Sunday I will worshiping at a church that bears your denominations name. Prove to me that the Catholic Church is wrong in any one belief and that will be enough for me. 

Storm Clouds Gather - A Modern Christian Writes a Psalm of Lament

STORM CLOUDS GATHERING

Today is the 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time and the Church presents us with readings that tell us of storm clouds gathering in the life of Christ.  The first reading form Wisdom  tells us that there are those that will be plotting against God's Holy One to the point where they will put Him to death in a shameful way.  The second reading is from James and reminds us that discord and disharmony come from our propensity to covet what we cannot have and from our unbridled passions. In the Gospel, Jesus reminds us that He will suffer and die and after three days rise again,  Here is my "Psalm" of lament to My God. 

Hear us oh Lord for our fears are many. 

We are simple human beings my Jesus,

How can we be unmoved and unconcerned as we watch 

Daily the violent deaths that are inflicted on God's children,

By Isis And the Army of Satan 
And the followers of the False Prophet?

They sow death and destruction .

The people and land cry out. 

Their malevolent eyes and hands spoil the land. 

They kill, rape, maim, and martyr Your holy ones. 

They cannibalize their own followers as well.  

These followers of Satan take joy in murder. 

Day and night they water the soil with blood of the innocent.

Young and old, men and women, girls and boys and babies at the breast fall to their swords.

We look on in horror and ask; "What can we do?" 

The answer comes on the wind, 

The answer is audible to all of your servants, 

You call us to trust in you Lord..

Lord, fill my heart with trust in You.  

For You know the day of your triumph. 

On that day all things in the cosmos, in Heaven, on the Earth and under the earth will call You Lord. 

Let me trust again Lord in the Rainbow. 

Let my heart be lightened by the Star of Bethlehem.  

Let me trust that you will move your mighty arm when the time is right and bring all things under your subjection. 

Lord, let me work for the establishment of your Kingdom on earth. Let me be a brother to my brothers and to my sisters as well 
For we have but one Father.  
Let my example be one of patience and joy 
For I will wait in prayerful hope for your victory to be manifest. 
Let me last just one minute longer than your enemies 
Lord, for in that minute your strength and love will be forever written in the sky. 

Lord, I trust in You to be my Hiding Place, my Rock and my fortress. 

I hand to my enemies my body.
With my body my Jesus, with that they can do as they will 

But my soul, my soul, my soul Oh Jesus, that I give to you! 

I am your possession, 

I am your slave, 

I accept Your will for me and thank you for your great mercy.

All praise and glory and honor be to the Name of Jesus, a name of the Son of God our Father   

Amen

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?