A Lesson in Public Relations ?

Jesus said to the crowd: "They will seize and persecute you, they will hand you over to the synagogues and to prisons, and they will have you led before kings and governors because of my name. It will lead to your giving testimony. Remember, you are not to prepare your defense beforehand, for I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute. You will even be handed over by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends, and they will put some of you to death. You will be hated by all because of my name, but not a hair on your head will be destroyed. By your perseverance, you will secure your lives."

Okay, I have to say that if I were an average Hebrew and was standing in the crowd that was listening to this talk that Jesus was giving, I might be tempted to continue to look for my messiah elsewhere.  I mean, just listen to what He says.  He says that they will seize you and persecute you, take you to court and even your parents, friends, and relatives will turn you over to the authorities and you will be hated by all because you believe in Jesus.  Where do I sign up?  

Look at today's world and this is what Christians face every day.  In the East our brothers and sisters, Catholics and Protestants alike have endured years of persecution due to the madness of ISIS.  In the United States, we watched during the Obama years as our religious freedoms were eroded and laws and regulations were passed that were completely contrary to Christian teaching and morals.  I include in this abortion under the guise of woman's health, mandatory provision of contraception under the HHS mandate, and the debasement of marriage with the adoption of same-sex marriage and the marginalizing of Christians nationwide. In Canada, a Catholic bishop was taken to court for preaching against same-sex unions under a commonwealth hate law. So, the law was being honed and shaped to disenfranchise and silence Christians and to make null and void the morals we have been living under for centuries. We should expect nothing less.

Our founder came into the world and teaching with authority He scared the powers that ruled His time. The chief priest knew that the Romans had a dim view of a coming Messiah and to protect themselves they had to distance themselves from any of these street preachers that might anger the Romans.  It never occurred to them that one day the real Messiah might appear as promised.  Thus, when Jesus appeared on the scene there was only one road that he could be placed on and that road led to the Cross and Calvary. 

Today, in the United States we are getting a short respite from the evils perpetrated during the Obama years.  But we must remember that it is only a respite and that the hatred of Christian values remains just below the surface and is ready to erupt again once the conditions are ripe for it to do so. We must be ready to bear our burdens cheerfully.  We must trust in the Lord to fill us believers with wisdom that will counteract the evil teachings of the enemy and we must remain strong in our faith and attract as many people as we can to become one with us.  Let our cry be, "This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad."  Let our cry be heard in a cheerful voice even as we carry our crosses.  Remember the promise of the Lord, "Be thou faithful unto death and I will give thee the crown of life." 

Please remember the poor souls in Purgatory today. Challenge yourself to take two minutes to pray for your friends and relatives that might be there.  Please say a special prayer for the soul that has been there the longest and has no one to pray for him or her.  

And Now For The News

Jesus said to his Apostles:
"Behold, I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves;    
so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves.
But beware of men, 
for they will hand you over to courts
and scourge you in their synagogues,
and you will be led before governors and kings for my sake
as a witness before them and the pagans.
When they hand you over,
do not worry about how you are to speak
or what you are to say.
You will be given at that moment what you are to say.
For it will not be you who speak

Christians being persecuted for their faith in Jesus is nothing new. The founder of Christianity was Himself hung by nails on a cross and left to die.  Die he did.  The life forces that animated the body of Jesus of Nazareth left His body and he was truly as dead as could be. This was not some simple trick that a magician might pull, no, Jesus suffered the reality of death of His body, experiencing every ounce of pain in the cup he drank for us.  He, of course, used this very set back to achieve final victory when he defeated death itself and rose on the third day. 

In our reading today, Jesus warns us that He is sending us out into a world that will be hostile to us because of Him and because of His message. Throughout the centuries we have been persecuted and martyred for our faith. What Jesus said came to pass. 

Today we face a world that grows ever more intolerant of the Laws of God. We have been called hate mongers when we point out that God created man and women and marriage can only between people of the opposite sex.  We are hated when we point out that the murder of the unborn in the womb is just that, murder.  We are told that our antiquated beliefs have no place in the modern world and that our Church should reform our teachings to conform more exactly to what the majority of people believe.  Unfortunately for those that want this change, God's Kingdom is a kingdom and not a democracy.  Where other denominations once stood side by side with the Church on these issues, now, they, after convening a meeting and voting, have voted themselves on to the side of the pagans.  They in effect voted themselves out of God's kingdom and the word Protestant takes on a new and more sinister meaning. 

If we pick and choose the laws of God that we will obey and discard the ones that are inconvenient, then we no longer believe in God, we believe in ourselves.  I am so glad that I am a Catholic and that I can believe in the authority of the Church to guide me.  The day may come when I will have to stand and either acknowledge the authority of the Church in my life or accept the punishment of the mob that hates God and His Church.  I pray that when that time comes, I have the faith of our fathers and I can depend on the Holy Spirit to tell me what to say and to hold fast to my course no matter what the consequences shall be.    God Bless. 

Please pray for the Holy Souls in Purgatory, they cannot help themselves. 

Blessed are you in these last days...

Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven. 

Some people say that there is only one prejudice still allowed to be expressed in America and that it is okay to be against anything Catholic.  Today the prejudice against the Church is much more subtle than it was in former years.  Our ancestors bore the brunt of the persecution of Catholics.  Catholics were distrusted in the 19th and early 20th Century because Catholicism came attached to people from Italy, Ireland, and Eastern Europe.  These immigrants were not looked upon as a blessing for the "Know Nothing" types that led the crusade against the Catholic Church.  In the press of the times, you can read want ads that specify that no Irish or no Italians need to apply for the job listed.  

Today, prejudice against Catholics still raises its ugly head from time to time but for the most part, we Catholics are now pretty much accepted into mainstream society.  Our Church has gone through some pretty rough times in the last decade. The scandal caused by renegade priests abusing the young under their care has given the Church a black eye.  The Catholic League has done a study about the scandal and over the years .004% of priests who have been accused of this behavior have had the accusations confirmed.  The balance was found to be unsustainable charges.  But the Church, simply because it was the Church, caught a lot of bad publicity because of this scandal but she has survived and against wishes of anti-Catholic bigots, she is thriving.  There is a lack of candidates for the priesthood but that is not because of the priest scandal, it is more likely because of the breakdown of the family unit in the United States.  Where families once had four, five, six, or more children, now couples are waiting longer to start their families and having fewer children.  Also, in previous years Americans, Protestant and Catholic alike based their values on the teachings of Christ while today political correctness is the rule and God is not to be mentioned in polite society.  But I digress.  

The future for Christians is a bleak one. While we may be getting a short reprieve while Mr. Trump is in office, I fear it will be short lived.  Once the liberals take back control, the anti-Christian policies engendered by Barak Obama will once again come to the forefront.  The Church and her unchanging doctrine will be called to change and we will bring upon ourselves persecution.  In the near future, Christians and especially Catholics will have to be strong in their faith and be ready to weather the coming gale.  

I am not a person who worries about the "end times."  Christ will return when the time is right.  Until then, we must do what we can to remain faithful.  We must be ready to experience what our forefathers experienced and that is persecution for our beliefs. We must prepare now while the storm clouds are far off on the horizon.  For once the tempest hits it will be too late. 

Pray and make yourself ready.  Clothe yourself in the armor of prayer.  Learn all you can about your faith.  What is absolutely required in these days is to Trust in Jesus and remember that He has already won the victory.