"I Stand with Indiana"

My prayer for New York

I saw this on my friend Melody's site "Blossoming Joy" and I feel that it is timely to see New York embraced by the Eucharist.  May we continue to make reparations to our Lord for the blasphemy committed there this past weekend.  Gay "marriage" could never be more flaunted in His face as a rupture of man, woman, and God.  Please God heal our nation.  Please God do not leave us orphaned in your wrath.

Women are hurt the most by feminism

So there it is.  Michelle Bachmann is all over the internet.  And by most liberals, she's being trashed.  Vehemently railed against by so called "women's rights groups" amongst others.

I focus on women's rights groups for the most obvious reasons.  Isn't she a woman?  And yet, feminists are accusing her of being "bashed over the head one too many times" or claiming that "she should be".  Where's the outrage at this violence against a woman?  Hypocrites.

You see, the real problem with feminists is that they don't really want to be women.  The liberal mindset of the feminist movement means that most women should be men.  That's why their mantra is "power to the pant suit", because they can dress as a man.  (Bachmann looked stunning in her modest skirt at the GOP primary, btw, imho.)  They chop their hair, again, to emulate a man.  They have abortions so that, as a man, they don't have to bear children.  They work as hard as they can at their employment, and spend as little time in the home, the same as their husbands.  They support men like Bill Clinton and Anthony Weiner for their sexual prowess.  No mention of the women these men exploited.  The biggest problem with feminism today is that it teaches women not how to be better women.  It teaches women how to become more like men.

And women who are just that, are the most hurt by these fakes.

Novena to St. Rita

What a great Novena!  I'm in the midst of praying for a friend of mine for the next nine days.  If you're sitting around on the blogosphere for a while with nothing else to do (aside from reading this fantabulous blog) could you recite this prayer with me?  Thanks!

NOVENA TO SAINT RITA,
PATRONESS OF IMPOSSIBLE CASES

O holy patroness of those in need, St. Rita, 
whose pleadings before thy Divine Lord 
are almost irresistible, 
who for thy lavishness in granting favours 
hast been called the Advocate of the hopeless 
and even of the impossible; 
St. Rita, so humble, so pure, 
so mortified, so patient 
and of such compassionate love 
for thy Crucified Jesus 
that thou couldst obtain from Him 
whatsoever thou askest, 
on account of which all confidently 
have recourse to thee expecting, 
if not always relief, 
at least comfort; 
be propitious to our petition, 
showing thy power with God 
on behalf of thy suppliant; 
be lavish to us, 
as thou hast been in so many wonderful cases, 
for the greater glory of God, 
for the spreading of thine own devotion, 
and for the consolation of those 
who trust in thee.

We promise, if our petition is granted, 
to glorify thee by making known thy favour, 
to bless and sing thy praises forever. 
Relying then upon thy merits and power 
before the Sacred Heart of Jesus, 
we pray thee grant that... 

(Make your request here...) 

as soon as God deems fit. 

Amen. 

Homosexual "Marriage"

"Male and female he created them...And God blessed them saying,  "Be fruitful and multiply.  Fill the earth and subdue it..."

So this month, I am overwhelmed with the outpouring of support for this strange concept to me "Gay Pride".  Pride?  For what?  One's sexuality?  Isn't that a curious concept?

I'd love to sit here and tell you that I'm "one of the good guys".  That gay "marriage" doesn't bother me, and I could get a lot of empathetic pats on the back, and the carryings on...But there will not and can not ever be a term known to man as "gay 'marriage'".  Not because men have decided to take it upon themselves to recreate and redesign all of civilization.  But because by our very  human natures, such a union could never exist.  And the fact that there is an overwhelming force in America this month trying to play God makes me downright uncomfortable.

Maybe its my history.  I've been friends with all sorts of people.  Really.  Who in America hasn't?  It's why we love Heinz Ketchup...57 varieties...Because we're all mutts.  We all interact, and intermingle.  And that's one of the social constructs that makes us a great nation.  Our diversity.

But we also have rights in this nation.  The right of the individual shall always be kept in mind.  This is a very Christian concept, and it lies in our Constitution.  Many of our nation's founding fathers enforced this right of the individual based on their experience of tyranny.  I have the right as an individual to say that, according to my belief and custom, homosexuality (e.g. the act of homosexual intercourse) is immoral and can endanger the souls of all who support or take part in it.  I have the right to say that, and to believe it, and to live by that belief.

Well now there's a group.  A group of supposed victims.  A group of supposed outcasts.  Who say that I don't have the right to believe that.  That in order to believe what I do, that I am nothing but a bigot.  And they're going to enforce their right to "marry" so that I can no longer hold that belief.  They're not only trying to take away the basis of civilization that is marriage.  They're trying to overthrow the natural law for which my individual rights are based upon.  And they're redefining the meanings of words, namely "marriage" and "bigot".  I am not a bigot for believing what I believe.  I have never hated a homosexual.  I have never been intolerant of a homosexual.  As a matter of fact, there is no legal way for any American to be a bigot to any homosexual.  That's bunk.  If homosexuals in this country think that Americans are unfair, prejudiced, bigots, maybe they should spend some time in a Muslim nation?  Maybe they should re-read what happened to homosexuals in the Nazi era, under Hitler?  It's propoganda.  The first thing the "gay rights" crowd understood was that, in order to get their way, they have to make people understand that they are victims.  That the people who don't understand them are intolerant.  Bunk.

Homosexuality is a psychological disorder.  It is a disordered sexuality.  And the people that suffer from it, suffer from psychological issues.  I know the A.P.A. was bought out a few years ago.  But again, we can change the very Bible itself, but that will not change the truth.  The Truth.

I'm jaded.  I admit it.  I had family members across the spectrum in this issue.  I had a close family member who was molested and almost raped by a homosexual while he was serving in the military.  It haunts me to this day that someone would violate a person whom I love so much.  Would we say that a rapist has a healthy psychological grasp on their sexuality?  No.  And this person who was psychologically ill was a homosexual.  I had another family member who "decided she was gay".  When I confronted her in a letter on the relationship she was having with another woman, she betrayed me to her lover.  This woman, after reading my letter, flew into a rage and threatened to kill me and my then newborn son.  This family member that had betrayed me, had to call me and confess what she had done in order to protect me, for she had seen the handgun her lover had concealed from her up to this point in the relationship.  Did this woman have a healthy grasp on her sexuality?  No.  And this woman was a homosexual.

Now, those are two isolated incidents.  One would like to think that homosexuals in general are well adjusted members of society.  Tell that to the supporters of Proposition 8 in California a few years ago.  Those people whose names were found out as donors and received death threats every day from homosexual groups.  Those people whose book of Mormon were burned on their temple steps.  Those people who were held hostage at gunpoint during Church so that homosexuals could take over the homily and preach about "tolerance".   What about the people who were rallying in support of marriage at NOM?  They were bullied and harrassed, and gay rights activists threatened to abduct children from their mothers, terrifying both the women and children who were out to defend the family.  These people sound like rational, well adjusted, members of society?

In the United States, it is not illegal for homosexuals to engage in whatever activities they feel they are compelled to do.  No one can say boo about it, regardless on one's stance on it.  But pushing homosexual "marriage" to the forefront of the "gay rights" issue forces all of us to stand for or to betray our religious beliefs.  In pushing a group's "right to marry", it impinges upon my right to practice my religious beliefs.  How?  Because as soon as I say that marriage should be between one man and one woman, I'm silenced.  It happened to Miss USA last year.  It happened during Michelle Bachman's response at the GOP debate.  And these are enormously powerful women.  And they have been silenced.  Does everyone have the right to health care?  Absolutely.  Does everyone have the right to enter into a relationship?  Absolutely.  But marriage is a public commitment to one man or one woman for life.  And I, as a dissenting member of that public, can not and will not give my support to an illicit marriage.  And its for people like me that the gay rights group is pushing for nothing more than "the right to 'marry'".

We all have a dignity.  We all have a worth.  We all have the opportunity for grace.  Homosexuals have a very special call from the Lord.  A terrible cross, and yet a most blessed one.  God calls them to this cross to bear witness of the sacrificial love He intended for us all.  Homosexuals, by their very persons, are not sinners. Another great weapon that the "gay rights" group uses specifically against the Church is the blurred line of distinction between homosexuals and their actions.  Every person is loved into existence by God.  That makes them of immense value, and not a sinner.  Every person, through the gift of free will, has the potential to sin.  Homosexuals, like every other person, have the choice before them always.  To offer up their sexuality to the Lord to do with it as He wills.  Or to engage in acts that are not pleasing to the Lord, not life giving, and sinful. If you sense a common theme there, you're right on.  We all have that same choice within us, regardless of our sexual orientation.  The gay rights movement, in their cunning, have seized upon a moment in history when sex has been so divorced from its proper context that it can be used by anyone, anytime.   Lots of people have this concept wrong, and have abused themselves and one another mightily through the terrible, beautiful, and powerful tool that sex is.  Sex is meant for marriage.  It is the consummation of marriage.  It is the sacramental of this great lay sacrament.  This means that homosexuals can never engage in sex.  This also means that Priests can never engage in sex.  This also means that Religious can never engage in sex.  This also means that people who are not married can never engage in sex.  Homosexuals who embrace God's call and will for their lives can be a powerful testimony to the chaste love of God for the world.  The Church is needed, now more than ever, to be a sign and source for these individuals through the witness of Holy Vocations in all walks of life.  And that means that it is only through the Church that sex can be held in its proper place, within the context of Holy Marriages.

It is not a mistake on the part of Her enemies that the Church's view of sex and namely marriage is being battled against.  It is not a mistake that many want to make the Church's view of marriage to be arcane and burdensome rather than the building block of society.  It is not a mistake that our great society stands on the brink and we are being pulled ever closer to that edge...

"A man shall leave his mother and a woman leave her home and they shall cleave to one another and become one spirit, one flesh..."

LGBT "Pride"

I will be writing more on this later, however, I find no one more articulate and passionate on this issue then my fellow Catholic lay activist, Brian Brown from Connecticut.  Please watch this video and I should have my thoughts put together in a couple of days.

And as Lucifer learned, if this is a month of Pride, then may it go before the fall.

A shout out to Melody!

So my friend and fellow blogger, Melody from "Blossoming Joy" has been tackling the erroneous publication in Our Sunday Visitor "Homeschoolers sometimes at odds with dioceses" head on.  She's been doing a fantastic job, and I recommend to all of you to read her insights, her responses, and her prayerful witness to homeschooling (and if you have enough time to waste you could read the article linked above as well;).  Melody continues to be a source I wish to emulate.

On a lighter note, and in need of a little comedic relief, I realized that I've never posted this fantastic video.  I give it as a shout out to Melody, to my homeschooling friends, and to those who have a sense of humor (you know who you are!)  Keep up the great work, and finish up with school!  It's summer for Pete's sake!!!  LOL!!!

About 8 years ago this month...

...I was asked to chaperone a youth conference (The Steubenville East Youth Conference, for anyone aware of those awesome experiences!)  Mike and I had both attended these conferences during high school.  It is one of the many vehicles God used to prepare us for our vocation, while bringing us closer together as spiritual friends and prayer partners.

Mike and I had been married for a little under three months at this point.  I had been so excited to start a family with him that I took it for granted that our good Lord might call us to wait.  I was so saddened when the month and then the next went by with no signs of pregnancy.  Well meaning friends and family members encouraged us and prayed for us.  I entered this youth weekend with a heavy heart.

As the weekend progressed I was able to pull outside of myself, my own fears and worries to help minister to the youth that were there.  One girl in particular, a very rambunctious young woman was having trouble settling into the weekend's more reflective moments.  The "big tent event", the Saturday night Eucharistic procession was leaving her jittery to say the least.  I had left the group that night, "to go off and pray" with our Lord.  I was kneeling there, in the dirt, waiting for our Lord to pass when out of the corner of my eye I saw her, this same girl, weeping in the back of the tent.  I quietly slipped out of the side of the tent and went to console her and be with her.  She fell apart and opened her heart to me, and to our Lord.  It was such a moment of grace for us both.  Our Lord was coming, the procession was nearing us.  I helped the girl find a place in the dirt to kneel with me, we were right on the edge of the aisle.  I began rethinking through my hurts, but I tried to lift them all up and out of the way for this dear soul trembling next to me.  As the Lord passed me, I said to Him "I give it to you, I was so busy with this one you sent me that I didn't even get to see your face as you passed me, Lord.  But I offer that too, as a great sacrifice for this young woman you've put here with me.  O Lord, you know my heart.  You know how badly I want a child.  But I give it to you.  As I didn't see your face tonight, Lord, I don't exactly see your will in this time.  Give me Faith Lord.  Give me Faith!"

At that moment, the Priest hesitated.  Even though he was about 2 feet behind me, I saw him falter in his step, as if being held back.  Then, in that moment, it was like the world stopped moving.  I saw the priest turning, ever so slowly towards me, stopping right there in benediction over my head.  My heart cried out its "fiat" followed by a rush of my human tears.

We came back that weekend a changed group.  The young woman went on to be a leader in her youth group at Church.  She had healed from a past of sin, and was looking for the means to continue on in Holy Innocence.  I still pray for her as I think of that night.

And three days after coming home from that retreat, Mike and I found out we were pregnant.  I sought a child from our Eucharistic Lord and my prayers were heard.

Please pray for our family as now this same child is seeking the means to receive our Eucharistic Lord for himself.  What a blessing for my first blessing.  And now, as a Mom, I must maintain that same confidence of Faith to say "I am a handmaiden of the Lord, let it be done to me as You will."

On Innocence

"Every innocent human being contributes to the good of society."

Fr. Walsh, EWTN radio