Jan 1 - Death

Okay, why on January 1st, a brand new year, when many slates are wiped clean, why would I want to talk about death.  My friend and former pastor was called home to God this past week and later on today this January 1st I am going to join with members of his former flock to bury him.  I am not going to say much about him here because he was a man who served God and God's people his whole life and I know that today Father David is in heaven with his God. So while I mourn for him, I also am happy for him. He had been stricken with a disease akin to Lou Gehrig's disease and had been confined to a wheel chair for many years.  So his death, for him, was a release.



We are all afraid of death.  Death is the great unknown, a step into blackness for some, a ascent into light for others and for some an end with nothing to follow. 



Do you remember when you were a child and you went to the amusement park and rode the Merry-Go-Round.  First there was the wait in line after your parents bought your ticket. Then there was the excitement of mounting your horse and the thrill of the music and lights as you proudly rode your steed around and around.  Then it was over.  The music stopped, the ride glided to a stop and you got off of your horse and rejoined the crowds.  The ride on the carousel is kind of line our journey through life in microcosm.  The purchase of the tickets, well, that's Mom and Dad arranging for you to come into the world.  The wait in line is the time you waited to be born. The ride of course is life and when the ride ends would be death.  But think back, when you were young and the ride ended you were saddened a bit because your turn was over.  I propose that this is one of the things we hate about death.  Death is the point in time where your turn on the ride of life ends.  



I do not think that we can bear the thought that life on this world will go on without us being present on it.  I believe that is where the fear of death begins.  In hospitals, hospices, homes, and battlefields the world over people are going through the process of death.  Some go through it for a long period of time, some die in the blink of an eye.  But in the moment when life ends and death takes over I believe in that fraction of a second, all humans have the regret that their turn is over.  The regret is short lived.  I believe as well that when our life ends around us will be those that we have loved and have gone before us. I believe that God Himself will help us make the transition and ease our way into eternity.  That second of regret will dissolve as we are born into a new world. What happens then, once we arrive, we will discuss in our next posting.



Until then, Happy New Year to all of you.

What is happening in this world of ours? Madness seems to spreading from coast to coast and from continent to continent.  The blood lust of ISIS cannot be satiated as they move like a plague of locusts from one land to another.  Our president is too timid to anything of any value except to send in the air force and it is widely believed that fifth columnists are infiltrating many countries even as we sit here ready to spread their interpretation of Islam to the determent of the world. 

 

Has God abandoned his children on earth to the whims of the followers of the prophet?  I think not.  God will be moving His mighty arm and he will crush the enemies of The People of God in His time.  He knows the hour, minute, and second that He will move.  Until then we Christians must remain faithful to the Gospel, we must pray, we must sacrifice.  We must TRUST IN JESUS.  Remember Jesus has already won the victory.  All praise, honor, and glory to the Name which is above every other name.  Jesus Christ is Lord! 

MERCY

Mercy and Justice has a name and that name is Jesus.  Jesus is first of all merciful.  He  calls all of us to come to Him and accept His mercy.  He loves each one of us so much that He became one of us and accepted even death, death on the Cross. 

At some time in the future Jesus will return to put all things under His feet so that every person who ever lived will acknowledge Him as Lord.  He will come and bring justice with Him.  What we have done, the sins we have committed were all committed against God. If we do not accept the mercy of Jesus when it is being offered today, on that latter day we will have to accept His justice. 

The fountain of the Lord's mercy is unstoppable and unquenchable. You only have to ask for it and He will give it to you no matter how sinful, no matter how far away you have wandered from Him. 

Seek the Lord while He may be found...the Bible tells us.  There are those among us that say we are in the end times, that the return of Jesus is imminent. I say perhaps, but I know that my time grows closer and closer every day.  I seek the Mercy of Jesus for all of the many sins I have committed, knowingly and with little regard for Him or His Father.   I have been a bad adopted son, an ambassador that has committed treason against His kingdom but I have also, through the Church, confessed my treachery and I have received mercy from the Merciful one.  My desire today is to sin no more and to avoid the near occasion of sin. 

My friend, the time is now for you to seek mercy.  Offer your heart and soul to the One who loves you. Accept the mercy from the King of Mercy.  He is there today, this moment, waiting for your return.  It matters not what sins you have committed or how long you have been away.  Jesus is in love with you and calls your name softly and hopes with his Sacred Heart that you accept His love and His mercy.  

If you are a Catholic, examine your conscience, acknowledge your guilt privately to Jesus and tell Him how sorry you are and that you will with His help try to avoid sinning again.  Made a good act of contrition (see below) and the next time the opportunity presents itself take advantage of the Sacrament of Reconciliation to receive the forgiveness your soul desires. 

Act of Contrition

Oh my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended thee, 

and I detest all of my sins because of thy just punishments. 

But most of all because they offend thee my God 

who art worthy of all my love. 

I firmly resolve with the help of thy grace 

to sin no more and to avoid the near occasion of sin.  

We slip again on the Slippery Slope - What is Wrong with "Gay Marriage?"

First let me begin by saying that I am not homophobic.  I do not judge those who identify themselves as being gay.  My God in the wonderful book He wrote called  "The Bible" tells me that whoever is without sin should cast the first stone.  Alas, I do not have the right to throw that stone. In the same book He tells me also to point out egregious violations of His law to my brothers and sisters. So I have to point out to those that practice homosexual acts appear to be acting contrary to the Law of God.  I heartily recommend that such practitioners reflect on their actions and decide for themselves if what they are doing conflicts with what is taught in the Bible.

As far as "gay marriage" goes, I am very sorry to say that there is no such thing as gay marriage.  there never has been nor will there every be.  True, as a matter of law there might be a statute that says it exists but that is on the books of law written by man and this law goes against the laws that God has set up for man to follow.

Some will say; "That's fine for you, but me, I am not a Christian, as a matter of fact I am an atheist and I do not believe in the fairy-tails in your Bible so why should I care about what you say?"  The fact of the matter is simple.  The fact that you do not believe the truth does not make it any less true.  If you stated you did not believe in the rule of gravity and stepped off the roof of a twenty story building since you reject gravity, does that mean you will float?  Certainly not!  The self operating rule will claim its power over you and you will have a few seconds before the sudden stop causes the life forces in your body to depart and you finally find out if there is a God or not.  So truth is unchangeable law and that type of law is written by the Creator.  He wrote the rules of science to keep the universe working at His pleasure.  He created a world for you and me.  He provided you with a mother and father so as to participate in His creation.

It is this procreation that makes gay marriage a farce.  Marriage was instituted by God because he knew that it was not good for man to live alone.  He created a woman for man and instilled in them the instinct to propagate the human race.  He told us to be fruitful and multiply.  The marriage act is the way man and woman participate in bringing life into the world.  Sexual activity between two people of the same sex cannot bring life into the world.  Some might say that every act of intercourse between man and woman does not result in conception and they would be right.  It is God's timing that counts.

So, gay marriage exists on paper but not in the reality of the spirit.  No matter how loving a relationship between two people of the same sex is, not matter how many legal papers are in their possession stating that the two have become one, that union is according to man and is not recognized by God.  This is a hard truth but it is truth none the less.
  

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? 

2013 - What Should We Expect From It?

Well 2013 is here and blogs everywhere are blooming with advice.  Let this blog be no different!  

What can we expect from 2013?  I think we can expect more of the same.  It is not that I am cynical but if you examine history carefully you will see that very little changes over time.  That is because we are human beings and the human beings that came before us had the same concerns, same problems, and there were some that chose to solve problems by being less than ethical in their practice.  I think that things are actually getting worse as we get farther and farther away from honoring the Law of God.  We allow abortions on demand.  We shoot one another on the streets of our cities because we are wearing the wrong color shirt.  We have sick people that shoot innocent children and so on and so on.  

What can we (I) do about it.  I intend for the year 2013 to a year where I won't complain about the darkness around me.  I will do all in my power to bring light.  I will become a positive influence over the part of the Earth that God has placed into my care.  I will not curse the darkness, I will light a candle.  In short I will begin again. When I was young (a long time ago now) I had the world by the tail and was optimistic about the future.  I tried to improve things where I could. So today I will begin again.

May the year 2013 bring you peace and prosperity and may the end of this year find you closer to God and may the world be at peace. 

Christmas - I Don't Understand.....

Christmas is here! Jesus is born ! Like all of you I am filled with joy because of this Holy Birth. But there are some things that I do not understand.

• Why does God love us so much that He would send His only Son to earth?
• Why did he come to be born unknown and in poverty being born in a place where animals were housed?
• Why would a young Jewish girl risk being stoned as an adulterer by returning from an out of town visit three months pregnant? 
• Why was the Holy Birth first announced to shepherds in the field? They were looked down upon because their jobs kept them out of the temple.
• Why didn't He simply appear on a cloud of glory with the heavenly host at His side?  He could have appeared in His Glory and could have converted the world in a split second.

I think the answers to all of my questions is Love.  God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are complete love.  Things happened the way they did so that we could make up our own mind and choose to become a member of the Household of God or if we wanted to, we could ignore Him and the gifts He brought for us.  That is true Love.  God gives us the power to accept or reject Him. When you think of it is an awesome power. But He entrusts us with that power because He wants us to be happy. 

On this Christmas day I wish everyone a very Merry Christmas. To those that are lonely, to those who are estranged from their family, to those who have lost a loved one, this day is for you too!  Rejoice for the march to victory has begun today with the Birth of The Great King who began  life as poor child with no place to lay is head except in a manger.