A Baby Boomers Nightmare - Again?

Not a Game Console 

  The device you see above is something that was never used for the reason it was manufactured for. This control panel is the launch control panel for a Titan missile that had on top of it a reentry vehicle that held three independently targeted nine-megaton nuclear bombs.  To call this a control panel is somewhat misleading.  In reality, there were only two things that were controlled by the officer who sat before this console.  First, in the upper left -hand corner there are three lights. Directly above the button that is glowing (target 2) is a key hole.  He could if ordered, change the target of his missile from target two to either target one or target three. To the commander, it was of little import because he did not know the destinations programmed for his missile.  The second thing he could do is to insert his key into the keyhole to the right next to that innocuous row of lights, hold it for five seconds, and launch his missile. Of course seven feet or so to his left was the deputy commander who had to insert and turn his key and hold it for five seconds as well.  Once started there was no turning back. There was no way to stop the missile from launching and there was no way to abort or destroy it.  Thirty to thirty-five minutes after the key was turned, target two, some six thousand miles away would be no more.  

I lived the majority of my life protected by missiles being manned 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, by dedicated professionals.  Today we are protected with the Minute Man III and Minute Man Peacekeeper missile system by men no less dedicated than the ones that tended the Titans and Atlas missiles before.   The payload, a euphemism for the bombs being carried on just one Minuteman surpasses the tonnage of bombs dropped in world war two including the two atomic bombs that were deployed.  

Why is this loon, I hear you asking, bringing up this nonsense on a blog that normally deals with religious thought?  Well, to be honest, I am afraid we are being played very skillfully by Vladimir Putin.  He is biding his time, playing Vlad the Magnanimous as opposed to Obama the Destroyer.  In the meantime, Vlad is pouring billions into refurbishing his nuclear arsenal, including a nineteen-eighties rail car silo system that constantly runs back and forth over the country.  This former head of the KGB is just waiting for the Donald to take office because then it is off to the races.  Vlad will use smoke and mirrors to distract Donald Trump while he builds unanswerable weapons systems and catches the United States with our pants down!  

The Cold War Mark II is on the way.  Unfortunately, we will have a man with a big ego in the highest office in the land.  Trump has already said that he is not interested in the daily intelligence briefing which indicates that he is going to rely on his gut feelings.  We've elected a man who will attempt to govern this country using the same methods that he used to govern his corporations.  The difference this time is that if he makes a mistake, the bankruptcy court cannot save him (or us.)  If Vladimir Putin can get the drop on us you can bet your life that the smiling, forgiving, uncle Vlad will turn into his namesake Vlad the Impaler, also known as Dracula. 

The Russians are in the stronger position right now because of the personalities involved.  The iron curtain may be rusty and falling into ruins but if it can be rebuilt, Vladimir Putin is the man that can do it.  

Pray for the United States of America.  Pray that we come together as a people, strong and united.  Pray that God spares us from the worst of the worst mistakes that Donald Trump will make and for heaven's sake, see if you can find those plans for a backyard fallout shelter.  You may need them.   

Silent Night No More

Christmas Eve is often memorialized by the song that every Christian loves, "Silent Night."  We romanticize the heck out of the birth of Jesus but let's be honest here, it was not a silent night.  It was not a night where all was calm and bright.  As a matter of fact, the world was in turmoil. People from all over the known world were on the move because the emperor had decided that he needed to make sure that everyone was paying their taxes.  There is nothing worse than to be a despot without having the money to throw wild parties or to send your army to conquer lands that are not yet in your control.  So everyone who did not happen to already be in the town their ancestors came from had to drop what they were doing and go there.  This caused a great deal of inconvenience to the people, not that the emperor cared.  So both Joseph and Mary found themselves on their way to Bethlehem to be counted.  Mary was ready to give birth, but that was not the emperor's problem either.  So the couple set out for  Bethlehem, the town of  David, the king.  Its name meant "House of Bread."   We know what happened next.  They arrived at the town and there was no room for them to stay at any of the places where traveler's rested.  They ended up in a stable, a cave really, and there Jesus was born.  The silence of the night was then broken and the world would never be the same again. 

In the fields there were shepherds watching their flocks of lambs at night, keeping them safe.  It was not cool to be a shepherd as your duties kept you from the temple and you were considered to be unclean.  So the silence of that Silent Night was broken by the sound of angels proclaiming that God had come to earth, that a savior had been born.  The good news was first revealed to those who had no say in the world, shepherds of all people.   They were a simple people, they believed what they had heard and went to see the Child.  

The silence was broken and the world was forever changed because of this Silent Night.  The old world would pass away and this birth of Jesus would usher in a New Way.  We would be taught by God Himself as to how we would live.  The old rules would soon no longer apply.  The silence of the olden days would be broken forever as God fulfilled His promise to send a savior.  

It would be thirty years before Jesus would begin to preach. This time he used to give us an example.  He worked beside his step-father, Joseph., and learned to earn his bread by the sweat of his brow.  Here is another fact.  The job of a carpenter was also looked down upon because there was a lack of wood in Judea because it was a desert community.  So, Jesus worked humbly and quietly at his trade.  

Since the Saviour's birth, there can be no more silent nights.  We have to make a choice.  Either He is the Son of God as He says He is or he is a pious fake.  Some people say that he was not the son of God, but he was a good man and a good teacher.  This is not right. Jesus is who he says he is or he is an evil madman.  There can be no other choice.  

So, who do you say Jesus is?  Or will you remain silent?

The Christmas Truce - The Power of the Holy Name

The Christmas Truce 1914

In 1914 something happened along the western front in the no man's land between the British and German lines.  Peace or at least a temporary and very unofficial truce broke out on Christmas 1914. British and German soldiers wandered into that death zone and exchanged the joy of the season with each other.  They traded tobacco, Christmas carols were sung and a soccer (football) match broke out. (it is not recorded who won the game)  For a while, there was peace on the western front.  Such is the power of the events that took place in a little-regarded town in Judea almost two thousand years previously. The very thought that God came to earth was able to, at least temporarily stop the wheels of that terrible, bloody war that was fought using industrial methods that never were seen on the field of battle before.  The leadership of both sides in this war were attempting to fight the war using outmoded tactics suitable for the nineteenth century but not for this "War to End All Wars."  As a result of this outdated old fogey thinking from the field grade officers millions of men, Germans and Allies alike went to their deaths in a war where one side was trying to "bleed the other side white." 

Jesus is the Son of God.  The very thought of His birth that holy night stopped the bloodshed. What it took on both sides was simply a recognition that the other side was populated with people no different than those that were under arms on your side. Christmas Carols and a bit of bravery on both sides caused the slaughter to cease. 

Today we face an enemy that targets us because of our beliefs, one that has no respect for the Name that is above all other names.  As a matter of fact, they are targeting us because of the Name of Jesus. Their publications are calling for Christmas to become a celebration of blood.  They call for their followers to make their presence felt at our places of worship.  We know that they have no respect for Christian things and a basic "live and let live" policy is not part of their plan.  

What do we do?  Can there be a Christmas truce between them and us?  Unfortunately, no truce is possible for it is not within our power to create. The enemy has chosen to entrench themselves deeply in their beliefs that reward them for creating chaos and bloodshed.  So we cannot do anything on our own to cause a truce to happen.  

What we must do is to remember that the there is power in the name of Jesus.  We must trust in His name, we must trust in His power.  The name of Jesus is the antidote to hatred and discord.  We must call on the name and trust in his reply.  Our example in trusting in His name will baffle and confuse our enemies.  I have written about this example once before but it bears repeating in the present context.  Isis had lined up a group of Christians and one other non-Christian person, in order to execute them.  The Christians were on their knees and they kept praying and repeating the name of Jesus.  The non-Christian, also on his knees waiting for the knife, observed all of this.  His captors approached him and told him that if he declared himself to be Muslim that his life would be spared.  The man looked at the Christians, saw the joy on their faces and their brave countenance and he heard them repeating the Holy Name and he told his captors; "Their God is my God." 

That is how powerful the very name of Jesus is. Carry His Name in your heart, and have His words upon your lips and you will be safe in all circumstances because he will be at your side. 

A Christmas Story

I am sorry, it just could not be done, not even in a bastion of learning such as Saint Joseph and Saint Ann School in Chicago was back in the 1960's.  

How could a young boy or girl hope to master number lines, adding negative numbers or even diagramming sentences when Christmas was so near.  How could we be expected to remember the seven cardinal acts of mercy or the spiritual acts of mercy?  No, at this time of year the excitement of bright lights and wrapped packages and the looming Christmas break held every child’s attention.  While the good sisters taught us about the Advent season our eyes were focused on homemade cookies, tinsel, and those mysteriously wrapped packages now appearing underneath the Christmas tree.  And the tree itself filled the home with the rich scent of pine unless of course, your family had an aluminum tree because then you had to imagine the pine scent as the colored light changed and caused the tree to change color. No child, not even the teacher’s pets had much interest in reading, writing, or arithmetic as the nights grew longer and the time to Christmas came closer.  All of our eyes were turned to the sky not waiting for the Christmas Star, oh no, we were waiting for that mystical and magical ingredient of the season – called snow.  Because every kid had some way to propel themselves down a neighborhood hill.  For some it was a sled, for others, it might be the top of a garbage can, a hunk of cardboard or a plastic saucer.  It didn’t matter what vehicle you had or what hill you went to, you just wanted to experience the wind in your face as you slid down your favorite high spot. And who could concentrate on school work when in the afternoon you knew that the work would cease and that cupcake feast and present exchange called the Class Christmas party put all academic pursuits on hold until that time that seemed so far away called “after the New Year.”  Then finally the bell cheerfully chimes it permission to leave and donning scarves, coats, hats and boots we would leave the school, and soon the school would be silent and abandoned and as the echo of the kids excited voices faded the only thing that could be heard at SJSA was the sound of desks being moved so that the janitor could buff the floors to a lustrous shine to greet the returning revelers at the end of Christmas break.  .   Those days before Christmas at SJSA were very magical ones.  The sisters were released from their perpetual vow of not smiling and the crankiest among them adopted a Christmas countenance.  Meanwhile, in our homes things were made ready for visiting relatives. Children coming in from the slopes were warmed with hot cocoa and depending on their likes and dislikes perhaps a marshmallow or maybe some whipped cream would dot the surface of the chill chaser.    Yes, when we were young the Christmas season lasted a long time.  There was the anticipation of what was to come and that was for a child is what put the joy into the season. On Christmas eve, as the sky began to darken, excitement stirred in our hearts.  In our house there was ritual that was carefully followed every year. We would be allowed to open one of the beautifully wrapped packages before we went to bed. Every year we wondered what treasure would we behold once we opened that package.  Would it be the toy we had asked Santa Claus for?  No, no, it wouldn't.  Every year we would open that package and the contents would always be pajamas.  By the time I was eigh I got the idea but always hoped for something else.  Wearing our new pajamas we would cluster at the kitchen table where we were given hot chocolate made with real milk and whipped cream.  I suspect there may have been a sleeping pill in it too because no sooner would we be done with the treat than our eyes would start to feel very heavy and without being told, on this one day of the year, we went off to bed to dream of the treasures that would be ours the next day.  Chrismas Eve was a night filled with joy. It was the joy of innocence  Today I challenge each of you to become joyful as a child as you prepare yourself for Christmas. Let your heart anticipate the joy of Christmas day as we remember that the joy of giving to others will fill us with the same feeling for the Christmas season as we had when we were young.

Mary and The End Times - Fatima

The year was 1917 and the Blessed mother appeared to three simple shepherd children six times.  The children were Jacinta who was 7 at the time, Francisco age 9, and Lucia age 10.  What our Lady was that they were to warn the world about upcoming tribulations.  They were told that the first world war would end but if we did not change our ways another more terrible war would come. 

The apparitions began not with Mary but with an angel who identified himself as both the Angel of Peace and the Angel of Portugal.  The angel told the children that they mus pray and pray a great deal, "The Hearts of Jesus and Mary have designs of mercy for you.. Offer unceasingly to the Most High prayers and sacrifices."  In the autumn the angel brought them a chalice and bid them to, "Take and drink the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, horribly outraged by ungrateful man. Make reparation for their crimes and console your God." 

The following spring, May 13, 1917, "a lady clothed in white, brighter than the sun, radiating a light more clear and intense than a crystal cup fill with sparkling water, lit by burning sunlight appeared to them.  Lucia asked what the lady wanted of them and was told that the lady came from heaven and told them to come to this spot on the 13th of each month at the same hour and later she would tell the children who she was and what she wanted. 

On June 13th the Lady told them to pray the rosary every day and once again she told them that she would tell them later what she wanted. 

On July 13th Lucia asked what she wanted the lady told her come on the 13th of next month and the pray the rosary every day in honor of Our Lady of the Rosary to obtain peace.  Lucia again asked her who she was and if she could perform a miracle so that all present would believe. She asked the to cure some sick people and Mary replied some would be cured and others would not, all must say the rosary to obtain such graces.  She told them to sacrifice themselves for sinners and to say many times this prayer when making a sacrifice, "O Jesus it is for your love of You, for the conversion of sinners, and in reparation for the sins committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary."  Then the first secret of Fatima was revealed to the children.  She opened her hands and rays of light appeared and revealed a scene of poor souls in hell. She then revealed the second secret of Fatima and said to the children that they had seen the horrors of hell and to save poor sinners from going there Jesus wants to establish devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. To do this she asked for the consecration of Russia to her Immaculate Heart and to request a communion of reparation of the First Saturdays.   If we do this then Russia would be converted, if we didn't do this then there would be a terrible war, persecution of the Church and Russia would spread her errors throughout the world. The Third Secret was now revealed - more about that later. 

On August 13th the children were in custody and subjected to lengthy interrogations but in spite of this and in spite of being offered a large sum of money held their ground.  On August 19th the children saw Mary again. She told them to continue to pray the Rosary and that that in October there would would be a miracle so that all would believe. 

On September 13th Mary appeared again and told them pray the Rosary in order to obtain the end of the war. 

On October 13, 1917 the sixth and final apparition happened. A crowd estimated at 70,000 found their way to the Cova because of reports that a great miracle would occur.  Rising into the air Mary opened her hands towards the sun. Then to the left of the sun the children saw St. Joseph from the chest up holding the Child Jesus.  They saw Our Lady dressed in blue and white, the colors of Our Lady of the Rosary and Lucia alone saw Our Lord dressed in red as the Divine Redeemer,  

The crowd saw none of this. But, when all of this began it was raining in the cova, Lucile told everyone to close their umbrellas which everyone immediately did.  The rain stopped and all the people were dry as was the formerly muddy ground!  The people looked up into the sky where they could see the sun and they were able to stare at it without hurting their vision.  The sun appeared to spin and dance in the sky and then it appeared to zig zag downward causing many to scream in terror and called out for mercy. 

The "Third Secret of Fatima" was written down by Sister Lucia and eventually made it way to the Vatican.  It was in an envelope that said it should not be opened until 1960.  Since 1960 each pope has had a chance to read the Third Secret and decide if it should be made public. None of the popes had it published.  

Today the Third Secret of Fatima can be read in its entirety (in Portuguese in Sister Lucia's hand if you want to) or in an English version.  The third secret is not much of a secret at all as it turns out.  It is written in an apocalyptic style and is a call for penance.  

Much has been made of this Third Secret of Fatima and why it was held secret until 1960.  It turns out the year 1960 was chosen not by Mary but by Lucia because she thought no one before that date would understand the message.   The third secret features a story of a bishop dressed in white (The Pope) walking through a war torn landscape littered with corpses.  The Pope is praying for the souls of the dead he encounters as he makes his towards a large wooden cross atop a hill.  In a hail of bullets he is mowed down. Is this a vision of things to come or is it a vision of something that has already occurred with the assassination attempt on Pope John Paul the Second or perhaps it encapsules the horrors of the twentieth century?  Lucia herself said she was given the secret but not the interpretation of it.  She said the interpretation was to be made by the Church.  

The Church itself says that the events shown in the Third Secret of Fatima belong to the past.  There is no revelation about the end of the world here.  

In spite of this, the Fatima message remains as important today as it was back in 1917.  We are called by our Blessed Mother to pray, pray, and pray some more.  We are called to make sacrifices and to do penance for our sins.  This message is as fresh today as it will be tomorrow.  The Fatima message is not just for those who came before us but rather is for us today as well. 

When we look at the events that are occurring in our world today we can see that the heart of man (generic - meaning men and women) has not changed so much since that rainy day in 1917.  In fact our hearts may have grown more tepid or in some cases even cold.  The commandments of God are watered down and since Roe v Wade we have gradually declined to where we are today.  Evil is slowly taking over the world and it is only through prayer that we Catholics will be able to slow and God help us, reverse the tide.

Our next destination will be a small town called Garabandal.

Mary and The The Last Days

Of all creation, Mary, the Mother of Jesus is second only to her Son in importance to mankind. She was chosen by the Father to be the physical earthly mother of Jesus. As such she was preserved from the moment of her conception from the stain of original sin. She still had free will and could choose to serve God or not, it was her choice.  Of course she did say yes to the angel Gabriel and her fiat, her "yes" started the final act in the redemption of mankind promised in the garden of Eden.  When the time came she delivered into this world Jesus who would go to the cross and save us from our sins. When her earthly life was finished she died as all of us will and displaying His great love for His mother Jesus caused her to be assumed body and soul into heaven.  

I do not think that anyone would disagree with me when I say that Jesus perfectly kept the ten commandments.  If He did not then He would have committed sin and we know that is not possible.  Since Jesus kept the commandments perfectly, that would mean he kept the fourth commandment perfectly and he honored his father and mother. So, we can see Mary is a very important person indeed. She is very close to her Son. Jesus even began his ministry early at the wedding feast at Cana when he changed water into the finest wine. 

It is important for us to realize the importance the Mother of God plays in the history of salvation.  To this very day some people believe she is interceding for the race of man and delivering urgent messages warning us of the coming of the end times or at the least a great chastisement because of the way we have strayed from the will of God. 

Mary, it is said, has appeared at various places in various times and has brought both requests for prayer and fasting and warnings of punishments that are to come upon the race of man. The Church classifies these appearances as private revelations and we are free to believe in them or not.  

Let's take a look at some of the apparitions and see what they were all about. 

 The first apparition is that which is called Our Lady of

Guadalupe.  This took place in Mexico in the year 1531 right after the city of Mexico had been pacified and the Catholic faith was starting to take hold.  A new bishop had just been appointed and had just taken up residence there.  Juan Diego, a typical peasant, was on his way to Mexico to attend Mass when he heard some beautiful singing. He topped the hill and was stopped by a beautiful woman whose garments shined like the sun. She identified herself as "the ever virgin Holy Mary, Mother of the True God"  She told him that he was to go to the bishop and tell him that he is to build a church in her honor on this spot.  Juan Diego went of and with some difficulty he was admitted to see the bishop. The Bishop was named Father Juan de Zumarraga, a Franciscan, listened to the peasant courteously and he told Juan basically. "I'll think about it." 

Juan left and was broken hearted because it appeared to him that he was not believed by the prelate. Mary appeared to him and Juan related with happened and told Mary that she had entrusted her mission to a nothing of a man.  Mary told him that she had many servants and he was one of them and she chose him for this mission. She sent him back telling him you come in my name and he should start the erection of the temple that I am asking for.  She said "Tell him that I, in person, the ever virgin Holy Mary, Mother of God, has sent you." 

So off he went and once again with much difficulty he was able to see the bishop. The bishop sent him away stating that he had to bring him a sign from heaven that what he said was true.  Juan immediately left. This time servants of the bishop followed him to see where he went and who he spoke to. When Juan reached the crest of the hill on which Our Lady appeared to him he vanished from their sight and they could not find him. They decided that if this churlish peasant ever darkened the door of the bishop again that they would punish him severely.  Juan told the Virgin what had happened and she told him to return the next day and that she would give him a sign of the bishop.  Juan returned home and found that his uncle was ill and near death. The next morning Juan set out to fetch a priest to hear his uncle's confession but the Virgin once again appeared to him. He told her of his uncle's sickness and she said not to worry, that his uncle was cured. He then sent him to the top of a hill where, once he arrived, he could not believe his eyes. Here it was in the chill of December and all around him were beautiful roses, they do not bloom in December.  They Virgin told him to gather them and she put them into his robe and told him that this is the sign the bishop needed to see and to show them to noone before the bishop saw them. 

Juan went off to the bishops house again.  True to their word the servants of the bishop gave Juan a hard time and refused to tell the bishop that he was there to see him.  But soon he was admitted to the presence of the bishop and he told him that the sign that the bishop wanted was in his robe.  The bishop opened the robe and the beautiful roses spilled on to the floor and inside the robe was a picture of the Blessed Virgin.  The bishop now believed and needless to say the church was built.  Juan Diego himself has been canonized as a saint.  

Okay. some peasant finds some flowers and paint a picture in his robe, big deal, cute, but not miraculous. It's not that simple, we cannot just throw away the possibility of the miraculous.  Let's talk about the robe, or as it properly called a "Tilma."  The tilma was a typical garment used by the natives in the 15th and 16th centuries. It is made of two pieces of coarse cloth fibers and is approximately 70 inches by 41 inches.  The normal life of this typical garment is approximately thirty years.  This tilma has been with us for almost 500 hundred years and in the early years it was handled by literally thousands of people, hung without any protection from insects, uv light and contamination of tens of thousands of candles that have been near it over the years and it has suffered no degeneration. 

In 1879 Dr. Jose Ignacio Bartolache had two copies of the image made by local artists placed them in identical conditions as the original and the copies disintegrated in twenty years. Further, human artists tried to embellish  the original by adding a crown around Mary's head and adding gold to the sun burst. All of these things faded away but the original remained perfectly preserved. 

Modern investigations have been made as well.  In 1936 a Noble Prize winner in chemistry examined the fabric and he was unable to tell how the pigments were made as they were from no known source, neith natural, animal, mineral, or vegetable. 

NASA has ascertained that the image floats above the surface of the tilma a distance of 1/100th of an inch without touching it! The Kodak Corporation in Mexico examined the image and says it bears more resemblance to a color photograph than a painting.

Microscopic examination of the eyes of the image reveal a most remarkable thing.  In the pupil of each eye can be seen miniscule image of a bearded man, Juan Diego!  Also, if a bright light is shined into the pupil, it reacts and the retina contracts and when the light stimulation is removed the retina returns to a dilated state, just as what happens to a living eye.  

Finally, one other miraculous occurrence bears mentioning.  On November 14, 1921 a bomb consisting of 29 sticks of dynamite was left near the tilma and the subsequent explosion broke the marble communion rail and windows up to 150 meters from the explosion but the tilma, housed in an ordinary frame covered with standard window glass was not damaged at all. A heavy brass crucifix near by was almost bent in half. 

So, given the facts above, I think we can say that the tilma is a very special piece of cloth that was left as an ongoing reminder of the love of the Blessed Virgin Mary for her children.  But what can we learn about the end times from this miraculous event that happened so very long ago.  About the end times, probably not a whole lot. But I believe that this visit of Mary to her Mexican people shows that she is a caring mother who will do what she needs to help her children.  And I think it also proves that Mary does appear on earth and that she uses the powerless of the world to get her message across.   We move next to a place called Fatima. 

(Thanks to Infallible Catholic which provided the facts quoted above. Please visit the blog by clicking on the link below. ) 

Infallible Catholic (Click Here) 

The Truth about the Crusades

The followers of ISIS constantly bring up the crusades in their propaganda.  They call the alliance fighting them crusaders and the word itself is a loaded word which for the ignorant (such as those marching under the flag of ISIS) brings to mind evil hordes of Christian knights attacking and killing the peaceful Muslim people.  It brings to mind men filled with greed and taking the spoils of war from these same peaceful Muslims as they tried to mind their own business and make a living selling things to nomad traders.  Well, nothing could be farther from the truth. 

Beginning in the year 632 AD the following countries were all Christian lands; Egypt, France, Italy, Sicily, Sardinia, and Corsica but in less than one-hundred years they would become under Muslim rule. The Christian communities in Arabia were destroyed when Jews and Christians were expelled from the peninsula. Between 850 and 950 Benedictine monks were driven out of their monasteries, the Papal States were overrun and plundered by Muslim pirates that set up their bases on the coast of Italy and France. But what about the Crusades?  All we have heard about so far is Muslim conquests.  We will get there in a minute, but let's talk about the conditions that surviving Christians had to endure under the rule of the followers of Islam. By the eleventh century AD conditions for Christians living in lands controlled by Muslims were harsh. They had to pay a special fax and were considered a second class known as the dhimmi. Churches were destroyed and harsh conditions were imposed.  In 1067 a peaceful group of seven thousand German pilgrims lost two thirds of their members to assaults from the Muslims. 

The call for the first Crusade went out in 1095 AD. It was called to address the tyranny and the spoiling of places such as the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the site of the crucifixion where Christian pilgrims were massacred.  Before the capture of Jerusalem, Muslim fighters taunted the crusaders by profaning religious objects and taunting them. The commanders of the crusaders lost control of their men and the melee that followed was brutal and bloody and while it happened it should be remembered that the Crusaders were deeply religious men and the blasphemous things done to the cross would strike deeply at what they were there fighting for.  They were there not only to retake the holy land but they were there fighting for Cross and all that the Cross meant to them. 

So, the Crusades were not a war of aggression. The war of aggression had been started 450 years BEFORE the first crusade was called for by the Muslim armies of conquest.  History clearly shows that the Christians had no hair trigger, did not rattle swords but waited four and a half centuries before attempting to right the wrongs of Islamic conquest. Once again the Muslim jihadists are on the move like a plague of locusts laying waste to all that they can get their hands on.  Their cruel and bloodthirsty ways are not unlike their forefathers in the early centuries. I am afraid that I have come to the belief that Islam caters panders to the evil impulses of the creature we call man. I am not saying that it is completely evil and depraved, only that it can be turned that way by the "correct" reading of their holy book which contains such charming instructions as to cut the head off of the infidels wherever you find them. Or to beat your wife if she disobeys you.  All very practical and made so you can live peacefully with other people. 

The scary part of Islam is that it is a religion without any leader. There is no one in charge to say this interpretation is correct and this interpretation is wrong.  So for my neighbor down the street, Islam is a religion of peace because he does not take the verses that preach violence to heart.  On the other hand the follower across the street, he believes in the sword and is biding his time waiting for his opportunity to strike. Until then, he smiles, nods, pays his taxes, votes and worships at the local mosque where he hangs with other radicals who also are biding their time. To be quite frank about it, I am afraid of most Muslims because you just do not know. 

Let is be said and let my voice be heard.  I am an American. I believe in the American way of life and part of that way of life is the freedom of religion for ALL of us.  It was not so long ago that Catholics were looked down upon as second class citizens and unworthy to be called Americans just because of their religion. Today there is still great amounts of anti-Catholic rhetoric out there and still much prejudice against us. Some say it is the last acceptable form of prejudice in America.  So, I know my Father in heaven loves all of His children, including the misguided followers of the prophet and I want them to be free in this great country of ours. 

So when you read Islamic propaganda that uses the word Crusade  or Crusader in ways that make it seem evil. remember, that the Crusades were just wars undertaken to return peace to the Holy Land, to protect Christians and other that lived there from Muslim injustice.  

Many thanks to Scott Eric Alt whose article formed the basis for the facts quoted here.