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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
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
