My eldest son is 6 years old. He's a very smart, compassionate, and intuitive young boy. I'm amazed by him every day. In watching him grow, I've been trying to discern something, that I now turn over to you for your input.
This coming fall, my son is supposed to begin classes for his First Communion and First Reconciliation. I'm not sure if I want him going to CCD classes at our Parish or if I should do all of his formation for these Sacraments at home as part of his school curriculum. I personally know the teachers of the First Communion class and love their teaching style and classes. From what I know of them, I would say they both have solid Faith lives and would be a good example to my son. I'm stuck on the example presented to my son by fellow students. Children who are ignorant of the Faith (and not by any means is that their fault) coming to receive Jesus for the first time. It's a beautiful day in our Parish, with an average of 40 first Communicants there. The Church is packed to over flowing with parents, family, and friends to witness this glorious day. We usually hold our Parish First Communion on the Saturday morning before Mother's Day. I've been involved in the music for this day for several years, and its always the same thing. On Saturday morning there are 40 beautiful souls receiving Jesus. On Sunday morning we're lucky to get 6 back. My husband makes the point of telling me we can tell our son that the other kids went to another Mass. But again, the following Sunday morning in our Parish is usually the May Crowning. And all First Communicants are asked to come back and take part. So here are six of the same little boys and girls in their beautiful dresses and handsome suits, sitting in the front row, waiting to make their dedication to Mary after Mass. It's obvious the other 34 First Communicants are missing. I'm not trying to judge, but I have to wonder, are there really 34 sets of parents who would rather cut their First Communion parties short in order to go to the Saturday Vigil Mass? Or 34 sets of parents who are going to wake up early and get to the 8 in order to avoid the May Crowning? It doesn't look good, and it lends scandal to the Parish, and to the First Communicants who have made the commitment to show up. What starts as a beautiful day turns into a heartbreaking weekend for those who witness it. And if its to the point that my son might turn to me and ask "Why do I have to go to Mass twice in a weekend and all my friends get to stay home and sleep in?", I have to wonder about my response to him. The easiest thing I could do would be to homeschool him through his First Communion Prep. My husband is right to point out that Communion has a communal aspect in that it should be Parish/Church oriented. I could have my son receive at a Sunday Mass with our Parish. But I also struggle with this decision as I don't want it to become a form of spiritual pride for me, or for my son for that matter. I don't want either of us to think of ourselves as "Catholic Ultra" because we homeschool. It's like I told a friend this past weekend, we're called to faithful, not to be laundry detergent. I don't want my son to look down on other children because he's somehow "more Catholic". But I don't want him to be scandalized by the actions of his peers, or the blatant disregard of his peers' parents.
The homeschooling programs we've been looking into for next year have beautiful religious programs. And that brings up another discerning point for me. We are a "Catholic" homeschool. My husband and I reached an agreement about homeschooling based on academics. In study after study, it has been proven that homeschooled children do better in all tests and scholarships etc. But in discerning this First Communion issue, I realize that I can't just do this for the academics. If I'm going to homeschool, it also has to bring in my Faith. As I cannot lose my Faith identity when walking throughout my life, I cannot allow my school here at home to lose its Catholic identity because I've decided not to lend my teaching skills to preparing my children for the Sacraments. How many parents do this? Use the local CCD program at their Church as a crutch not to have to explain morality or the Faith of Christ at home? On Mother's Day, my Pastor said these words during his homily and it hit me hard, "...Saying things like 'I'm not going to force my child to go to Church. Instead I'm going to wait until they're older and then let my child decide what he/she wants to believe.' Isn't this just another way of saying 'I don't care about my kids?'" Whoa! That really hit me between the eyes. Am I using the term "Catholic homeschooling" because I'm a Catholic who happens to be homeschooling? Or am I trying to incorporate the Faith into my school life? And if I'm not going to prepare my children for the Sacraments at home, then why do I bother calling my school Catholic? Afterall, when I attended Catholic School as I child, I was exempt from CCD classes. Because I was learning the Faith in school. Am, I teaching the Faith to my children? Or just how to add, how to spell, how to read, and how to write. Wouldn't it be better for them to go through life completely uneducated and yet know the Lord? Well, I'm not extremist. I'd like them to know both:)
So this is where my journey has brought me so far on this...Undecided... Please let me know you're thoughts? Or what you have done with your own children that works, or doesn't? And please keep us in your prayers as we continue to discern this most important point in my eldest son's life.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Sunday, May 9, 2010
"The Fatherless and The Widow"
I've been on bed rest the past few days with vertigo from an inner ear infection. Luckily for me I had just received my copy of "11 On My Own" by Kristin Luscia, an amazing Catholic homeschooling mother. She pens her ordeals in raising these children as a single mom after her husband left her. She's honest to a virtue and very humble and open about her ordeals. This is not a recreation of the past for her, its a witness to the capitulations of the present. This book is one source of income for her, and I ask that if you can spare it to purchase the book, or at least to request it from your local library. And most importantly, please pray for her and her beautiful family!
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Hey Guys!!! I'm alive!!!
Sorry it's been so long since I last posted. Life has been crazy, and this pregnancy has left me with little energy at the end of the day for blogging. I miss it!!!
Yesterday I was asked to deliver the key-note address at my Alma Mater's National Honor Society induction ceremony. It was a wonderful opportunity, and I felt blessed to be able to present there. However, I realized some things, and I would ask for your continued prayers, as they concern me greatly.
A few thoughts of the day:
Thought #1:
My high school is a Catholic All Girls' High School. It is run by a group of traditional sisters in full habit, who are directly under Rome and are not employed by the Diocese. After giving my speech there, it came to my attention that this order, and the Church for which they live their vocation is under attack. And tragically, they're being attacked from within. There are many new lay teachers there now, and a spirit of rebellion exists binding them together. The female student body is caught in the fray of this culture war. It broke my heart to see it. I must pray for the principal (my former eighth grade teacher, one of the sisters there) and the lay staff that work there. The school would serve the needs of its students much more if they selected teachers of good merit who upheld a good Catholic life regardless of their vocation.
Thought #2:
This country is headed for a civil war of greater magnitude and severity than the one fought over the cessation of the South. This is a new battle over slavery - and its a slavery to this culture of moral relativism we face v the liberty that can only be had with the truth. My girlfriends and I, in pondering the repercussions of my speech yesterday, began to ponder that. The fight is between liberalism v. conservatism. Anyone who thinks that's divided down party lines or religious affiliation are smoking something. Nope, this fight won't be clearly deliniated along state borders. This will be a fight between neighbors, between families, between spouses. Our un-bloody civil war has already been raging. I pray it will come to a head without bloodshed.
Thought #3:
Why are feminists so unfeminine? Why do women tout the power of women and yet dress like a man? Why do women promote liberation through hormonal imbalances that directly effect their physiology (e.g. birth control)? Why would a woman never tolerate being told they were worthless because of their sex, and not wanted or needed because of their gender, and yet they feel compelled to promote this view of men? I've decided that I too cannot wait for sexism to die. Because then and only then will feminism be laid to rest as well. I'm not anti-woman. I just realized a long time ago that if we are going to rise or fall as a society then it will be on the shoulders of us all, men and women. I guess by those standards I've always been an equalist. The problem with the feminist movement is that it isn't really a movement. Females created the movement because they felt victimized without their "rights" as human beings. The movement was established to empower these women, these "victims". Victims do not need to gain power, they need to find healing. Otherwise, there will not be a movement, there will only be a vendetta. I feel the same way with racism. I can't wait for racism once again to bury itself in the grave. Not only because I, like my Irish ancestors, would never think of enslaving anyone based on their skin color, or race. No, because when racism dies, then the fallacy of liberation theology can die alongside it. Ugh!
Thought #4:
Our gym stage needs some new curtains. The mustard yellow that's adorned the stage since the 70's is tacky and it has to go.
Thought #5:
Holy cow!!! It's 3 a.m.!!! Time for me to get back to bed....*yawn*...I'll be back on later!!! Promise!!!
Yesterday I was asked to deliver the key-note address at my Alma Mater's National Honor Society induction ceremony. It was a wonderful opportunity, and I felt blessed to be able to present there. However, I realized some things, and I would ask for your continued prayers, as they concern me greatly.
A few thoughts of the day:
Thought #1:
My high school is a Catholic All Girls' High School. It is run by a group of traditional sisters in full habit, who are directly under Rome and are not employed by the Diocese. After giving my speech there, it came to my attention that this order, and the Church for which they live their vocation is under attack. And tragically, they're being attacked from within. There are many new lay teachers there now, and a spirit of rebellion exists binding them together. The female student body is caught in the fray of this culture war. It broke my heart to see it. I must pray for the principal (my former eighth grade teacher, one of the sisters there) and the lay staff that work there. The school would serve the needs of its students much more if they selected teachers of good merit who upheld a good Catholic life regardless of their vocation.
Thought #2:
This country is headed for a civil war of greater magnitude and severity than the one fought over the cessation of the South. This is a new battle over slavery - and its a slavery to this culture of moral relativism we face v the liberty that can only be had with the truth. My girlfriends and I, in pondering the repercussions of my speech yesterday, began to ponder that. The fight is between liberalism v. conservatism. Anyone who thinks that's divided down party lines or religious affiliation are smoking something. Nope, this fight won't be clearly deliniated along state borders. This will be a fight between neighbors, between families, between spouses. Our un-bloody civil war has already been raging. I pray it will come to a head without bloodshed.
Thought #3:
Why are feminists so unfeminine? Why do women tout the power of women and yet dress like a man? Why do women promote liberation through hormonal imbalances that directly effect their physiology (e.g. birth control)? Why would a woman never tolerate being told they were worthless because of their sex, and not wanted or needed because of their gender, and yet they feel compelled to promote this view of men? I've decided that I too cannot wait for sexism to die. Because then and only then will feminism be laid to rest as well. I'm not anti-woman. I just realized a long time ago that if we are going to rise or fall as a society then it will be on the shoulders of us all, men and women. I guess by those standards I've always been an equalist. The problem with the feminist movement is that it isn't really a movement. Females created the movement because they felt victimized without their "rights" as human beings. The movement was established to empower these women, these "victims". Victims do not need to gain power, they need to find healing. Otherwise, there will not be a movement, there will only be a vendetta. I feel the same way with racism. I can't wait for racism once again to bury itself in the grave. Not only because I, like my Irish ancestors, would never think of enslaving anyone based on their skin color, or race. No, because when racism dies, then the fallacy of liberation theology can die alongside it. Ugh!
Thought #4:
Our gym stage needs some new curtains. The mustard yellow that's adorned the stage since the 70's is tacky and it has to go.
Thought #5:
Holy cow!!! It's 3 a.m.!!! Time for me to get back to bed....*yawn*...I'll be back on later!!! Promise!!!
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Standing Tall to Take the Long View...(Humane Vitae Part II)
(This is the second part in a series of my reaction to the Universal Health Care Takeover, and what we as Catholics can do about it. Please read my first post on this subject, "Upon Further Reflection", found here. Also, if you haven't yet done so, please read the Papal Encyclical Humane Vitae, found here.)
Humane Vitae (Human Life) was written by Pope Paul VI in July of 1968. It was considered by some to be prophetic, others to be salvific, and still others to be more destructive than Martin Luther to the Church. No single document in the history of the Church prompted more unconditional dissent from its members. A flurry of protests fueled throughout the world by Catholic Hierarchy made this document's teachings cumbersome to implement, to put it mildly. What happened in Humane Vitae that caused such a great scandal amongst members of the Church? Humane Vitae, for all of its controversy, really did nothing more than reiterate the sacredness of the Sacrament of Marriage. It recalled the intrinsic evils associated with artificial contraception, both in its application within the bonds of marriage, and its effect on society. Basically, for all of its broadest concerns, Humane Vitae was nothing more than a recap on 2,000 year old teachings of the Church. The key to understanding Humane Vitae's reception is not so much in grasping what it says, but understanding the culture in which Humane Vitae was delivered.
1968 was a dark and chaotic time. The Church found Herself in the throws of Post-Vatican II, as many of those time-tested, age-old religious practices were thrown out in pursuit of a "Mass for the people". The Catholic Church went from being the Church founded by Christ to just one of another tenet of Christianity. The concept of "seamless garment" was invented and implemented, making matters of life and death just another issue of social justice equivocal to poverty and a lack of education. Most Catholics put away apologetics in order to "get along" with their Protestant neighbors. Secularism was on the rampage as the institutions of marriage, family life, and religion were under constant assault. The world was in tumult, recovering from the battle stained war of its second world conflict, and recognizing the great evils of then Nazi Germany. A new war had been initiated against Communist North Vietnam. More importantly, mankind had become aware of the fragility of its nature, both in his lifespan and his subjectivity. For the first time in the history of the world, one press of the button, could set off an atomic explosion to annihilate the entire population of a country. This left all of humanity staring into the unblinking gaze of death and destruction.
The United States was not free from this cultural upheaval. The decade of the 1960's had seen the promise of the first Catholic President of the United States, John F. Kennedy (although he promised his nervous Protestant politicians to toss his Catholic religion to the curb upon his Presidency). JFK was assassinated in 1963. In 1968 both Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. were killed. Racial riots ensued, bringing violence and destruction across the great cities of the U.S. in response to Dr. King's death. The Vietnam War "Tet Offensive" happened this year, delivering a crushing blow to the U.S. led invasion, and creating distrust between American citizens and their Government. The youth of America found themselves insecure in the shadows of the greatness of the generation before them. They experimented with everything, including sex and drugs, questioned all authority, and worked to reinvent themselves in the midst of a free society given them by a post-war/Depression generation. The youth singularly connected with the rock music culture that flourished during this time. Church leadership scrambled to keep up with the times both in America and Rome. Much of the authority of the Church was looked on as obsolete and superstitious, by young and old, Religious and laity alike.
This was the culture that Humane Vitae was to be born, but more important was her labor and delivery. In 1960, the first oral contraceptive was made available on the market. Many Catholic theologians thought this might be an acceptable form of birth control for Catholics as it did not physically interfere with the marital act. In 1963, Pope John Paul XXIII established a commission of six delegates to study this form of birth control, and to weigh in with their point of view on artificial contraception in Catholic marital relations. From 1963 to 1966 this commission deliberated, and in the end a majority of them agreed that birth control should be allowed in the vocation of marriage. In 1967, the findings of this commission were leaked to British and American press, and stories began that the Church would change her "archaic and oppressive" means of not allowing artificial contraception. It was in 1968, after all of this atmosphere had been established that Pope Paul XI released Humane Vitae, reiterating that artificial contraceptioin was intrinsically evil and therefore it was not to be used in the vocation of marriage.
Humane Vitae turned out to be an explosive, falling on the makeshift facade of "change" the Church was expecting based on rumors, hearsay, and the most blatant falsity. Two days after the release of this encyclical, many American Catholic Priests began dissent, led by Fr. Charles Curran. A majority of these Priests had not even read the encyclical itself, but knew that it spoke out against artificial contraception, thus spoke against what they had been teaching and implementing in their Priestly office for the past year. Many argued that this was a reformable document, that the Pope had erred, and that this was against "sensum fidelium" (the sense of the faithful). A clear message was sent to the Vatican, American Catholic couples have started to contracept, this encyclical needs to be changed or recanted, in order to meet the needs of these couples. (Notice the mantra of the 60's being injected here *think Bob Dylan* "The time's they are a-changin'"!)
Little was done in this time to call these dissenters into obedience, and to reassert the Teaching Authority conferred by Christ on the Pope. We see this effect in our Church today, where a mere 4% of all Catholics marriages are open to life, as opposed to those who use birth control (including those who abuse NFP). More than 1 in 2 marriages today end in divorce (this includes Catholic Marriages). There have been over 40 million abortions since Roe v. Wade. Homosexual marriages and Priestly vocations have run rampant, and are accepted in our culture as the "societal norm". Men continue to view women as sexual objects, leaving single mothers alone to face the challenges of parenthood without support or regard for the consequences of their own sexual actions. Co-habitation is regarded as the standard for relationships. The destruction and devastation of the Priestly Scandals in the Catholic Church over the last 10 years and more, aside from being hyper-inflated by the serpent media, speaks for itself.
Basically, the utter disregard and contempt harbored by those in authority in the Church led many Catholics astray. What's worse, we've not been led astray into the green pastures of Psalm 23. No we as a culture have been led into the pool of death. We've eaten its fruit and got drunk on its wine, and now the only way of this wicked path is death. And yet, God has given us this remarkable grace - this turning point in history. All signs have shown the way, how he's built us a bridge to cross over to ways of goodness and plenty. We'll examine this blessed encyclical Humane Vitae in the next post, how to live it, and how to use it to evangelize for our Church, for the culture of life, and inevitably for the future of the citizens of 'God's City', and, in the meantime, for the future of our country.
Humane Vitae (Human Life) was written by Pope Paul VI in July of 1968. It was considered by some to be prophetic, others to be salvific, and still others to be more destructive than Martin Luther to the Church. No single document in the history of the Church prompted more unconditional dissent from its members. A flurry of protests fueled throughout the world by Catholic Hierarchy made this document's teachings cumbersome to implement, to put it mildly. What happened in Humane Vitae that caused such a great scandal amongst members of the Church? Humane Vitae, for all of its controversy, really did nothing more than reiterate the sacredness of the Sacrament of Marriage. It recalled the intrinsic evils associated with artificial contraception, both in its application within the bonds of marriage, and its effect on society. Basically, for all of its broadest concerns, Humane Vitae was nothing more than a recap on 2,000 year old teachings of the Church. The key to understanding Humane Vitae's reception is not so much in grasping what it says, but understanding the culture in which Humane Vitae was delivered.
1968 was a dark and chaotic time. The Church found Herself in the throws of Post-Vatican II, as many of those time-tested, age-old religious practices were thrown out in pursuit of a "Mass for the people". The Catholic Church went from being the Church founded by Christ to just one of another tenet of Christianity. The concept of "seamless garment" was invented and implemented, making matters of life and death just another issue of social justice equivocal to poverty and a lack of education. Most Catholics put away apologetics in order to "get along" with their Protestant neighbors. Secularism was on the rampage as the institutions of marriage, family life, and religion were under constant assault. The world was in tumult, recovering from the battle stained war of its second world conflict, and recognizing the great evils of then Nazi Germany. A new war had been initiated against Communist North Vietnam. More importantly, mankind had become aware of the fragility of its nature, both in his lifespan and his subjectivity. For the first time in the history of the world, one press of the button, could set off an atomic explosion to annihilate the entire population of a country. This left all of humanity staring into the unblinking gaze of death and destruction.
The United States was not free from this cultural upheaval. The decade of the 1960's had seen the promise of the first Catholic President of the United States, John F. Kennedy (although he promised his nervous Protestant politicians to toss his Catholic religion to the curb upon his Presidency). JFK was assassinated in 1963. In 1968 both Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. were killed. Racial riots ensued, bringing violence and destruction across the great cities of the U.S. in response to Dr. King's death. The Vietnam War "Tet Offensive" happened this year, delivering a crushing blow to the U.S. led invasion, and creating distrust between American citizens and their Government. The youth of America found themselves insecure in the shadows of the greatness of the generation before them. They experimented with everything, including sex and drugs, questioned all authority, and worked to reinvent themselves in the midst of a free society given them by a post-war/Depression generation. The youth singularly connected with the rock music culture that flourished during this time. Church leadership scrambled to keep up with the times both in America and Rome. Much of the authority of the Church was looked on as obsolete and superstitious, by young and old, Religious and laity alike.
This was the culture that Humane Vitae was to be born, but more important was her labor and delivery. In 1960, the first oral contraceptive was made available on the market. Many Catholic theologians thought this might be an acceptable form of birth control for Catholics as it did not physically interfere with the marital act. In 1963, Pope John Paul XXIII established a commission of six delegates to study this form of birth control, and to weigh in with their point of view on artificial contraception in Catholic marital relations. From 1963 to 1966 this commission deliberated, and in the end a majority of them agreed that birth control should be allowed in the vocation of marriage. In 1967, the findings of this commission were leaked to British and American press, and stories began that the Church would change her "archaic and oppressive" means of not allowing artificial contraception. It was in 1968, after all of this atmosphere had been established that Pope Paul XI released Humane Vitae, reiterating that artificial contraceptioin was intrinsically evil and therefore it was not to be used in the vocation of marriage.
Humane Vitae turned out to be an explosive, falling on the makeshift facade of "change" the Church was expecting based on rumors, hearsay, and the most blatant falsity. Two days after the release of this encyclical, many American Catholic Priests began dissent, led by Fr. Charles Curran. A majority of these Priests had not even read the encyclical itself, but knew that it spoke out against artificial contraception, thus spoke against what they had been teaching and implementing in their Priestly office for the past year. Many argued that this was a reformable document, that the Pope had erred, and that this was against "sensum fidelium" (the sense of the faithful). A clear message was sent to the Vatican, American Catholic couples have started to contracept, this encyclical needs to be changed or recanted, in order to meet the needs of these couples. (Notice the mantra of the 60's being injected here *think Bob Dylan* "The time's they are a-changin'"!)
Little was done in this time to call these dissenters into obedience, and to reassert the Teaching Authority conferred by Christ on the Pope. We see this effect in our Church today, where a mere 4% of all Catholics marriages are open to life, as opposed to those who use birth control (including those who abuse NFP). More than 1 in 2 marriages today end in divorce (this includes Catholic Marriages). There have been over 40 million abortions since Roe v. Wade. Homosexual marriages and Priestly vocations have run rampant, and are accepted in our culture as the "societal norm". Men continue to view women as sexual objects, leaving single mothers alone to face the challenges of parenthood without support or regard for the consequences of their own sexual actions. Co-habitation is regarded as the standard for relationships. The destruction and devastation of the Priestly Scandals in the Catholic Church over the last 10 years and more, aside from being hyper-inflated by the serpent media, speaks for itself.
Basically, the utter disregard and contempt harbored by those in authority in the Church led many Catholics astray. What's worse, we've not been led astray into the green pastures of Psalm 23. No we as a culture have been led into the pool of death. We've eaten its fruit and got drunk on its wine, and now the only way of this wicked path is death. And yet, God has given us this remarkable grace - this turning point in history. All signs have shown the way, how he's built us a bridge to cross over to ways of goodness and plenty. We'll examine this blessed encyclical Humane Vitae in the next post, how to live it, and how to use it to evangelize for our Church, for the culture of life, and inevitably for the future of the citizens of 'God's City', and, in the meantime, for the future of our country.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Upon further reflection...(Humanae Vitae Part I)
I've had a few days to think this through, and while still in the midst of the chaos and the confusion from the massive vote on Sunday, I feel compelled to clarify a few points.
What a great and exciting time to be a Catholic! Look at this point in History. Our nation, our very democracy is at a cross-roads between life and death. We fight for our very lives, the lives of our brothers and sisters, our Church, the unborn, the ill and the elderly. This should send rivets down your spine, thrills of excitement. Like Joan of Arc, looking helplessly on the field of battle, and yet with the God inspired grace of a determination to help.
I was that fired up in High School. Having the grace of the Eucharist literally in the heart of our Motherhouse's dear Chapel, I could feel its effects on the school. I had discerned a religious vocation, and ardently loved the order that taught me. I felt the call of a Lover God, and could hardly resist Him. I was inhibited from joining after High School due to my mother. "Education first", she said, "and then we'll see." I vowed to my Lord that I would enter the world for Him, that I would live for Him, and love for Him. That I would show the world His love through my ways and actions. I had some high points of grace - converting a young man to the Faith. Leading my closest friend back to the Sacraments after he had left them for Xen philosophy. Watching him and praying for him, until he began dating his would be bride, who together would join in a Holy and Catholic marriage.
But like all things, I lost my way. I fell from grace and became completely lost. In coming from that distorted past, it took enormous amounts of grace; and my husband to help me crawl my way back to the Faith. And its taken until now for me to realize that I was completely wrong in my intent, or more directly I was completely wrong in my direction for this "missionary purpose" I had right after High School.
Yes, the world needs love. And I love and admire the Missionaries who deliver it, even to the point of their Sainthood (Mother Theresa of Calcutta is a stunning example). In getting to this point though, I have to realize, and get it through my heart still that the world will not be transformed by our love - whether that love is centered in God or not. We are completely incapable of transformation, for transformation is a power that rests solely in the Divine. No, it is the grace of God, and that grace alone is what can change the world. We have plenty of Brothers ans Sisters out there in Missions throughout the world (mostly Protestant) with the witness of the love of God as their purpose to change the world. But this is misguided. Only the Church, the Bride of Christ, the Steward of His Grace, can transform the world. We can love and laugh and smile and serve all we want. And this is what Christ wants for us, but not what we are called to do namely. We are to seek out His Bride, to unite ourselves to her, to rest our heads upon her breast and learn of Her greatness, to live it, to live in the grace of God through Her ways, through Her Sacraments. For this reason, it will be the Catholic Church that will lead the world to redemption - not for the love of man one to the other, but because of the grace of God - given to the Church to sanctify the world.
We don't just need another lover of God in the world, then, is my point, we need good Catholics.
This is a dark hour in our nation's history. It might be akin to the time on the British Aisle, as Hitler's plains kept coming, night after night, across the British Chanel to bomb the city of London. Days were spent making artillery and munitions, nights were spent in make-shift bomb shelters in the subway. Sleep was not found, and food was scarce. There was work and then hiding. These must have been dark days of the war, when the British felt alone and apart from the world. From a League of Nations 'hesitant' to go to war and help their ally, from a Fascist dictator who had repeatedly lied and invaded surrounding European countries and now controlled everything except Britain. I think the Conservative movement in this country might feel this way after the Socialist Universal Health Care became the law of the land. Alone and apart from our countrymen who sit cheering, not knowing their own destruction and the demise of their country. Separated from the Church who have long been advocating "Universal Health Care" and doing little to promote pro-life measures in the bill (case in point: How many homilies were delivered on the protection of life this past weekend? The weekend before?). It is a bleak time for the Patriots of this country. It is a time of searching, of pondering, of reflection.
Some may ask, what is the final result of this bill going to mean for me and my family? Afterall, won't we still have health care. Well, the long and short of it is, yes, you will still have health care. The difference is, the health care you receive will be paid for by the United States Government. A government that has long seen you not as a person, but as a figure, a sum, a dollar amount. So what? As long as I have my health? What does it matter who pays for it in the end.
To that end, I must ask first: What are the differences between a healthy man and a sick one? One simple answer: Independence.
A healthy man is allowed the freedom to live as he wishes. He can work, rest, move about, as he pleases. He can carve out his own lot in life, his own work, his own future plans, his own vocation and avocation. A sick man, on the other hand, is at the mercy of his fellow men to care and provide for him. He has limited ability to work, he needs more care and attention due to his illness. He is not able to function as well in society as he would if he has his health. To Catholics, this sick man is a means for our charity. To the Government, this man is a waste of money.
Abortion is in this bill. Everyone realizes it, pro-life as well as pro-death groups. Obama offered a falsified and empty gesture to Senator Stupak. And Stupak bought it for 30 pieces of silver. It won't be there at first - due to Obama's "executive order", but it will be there. When? When the funds run out, and our health care needs go "over budget". Then we will begin to ration. The voiceless first, those who "don't count" those "blobs of tissue" who "aren't wanted". The unborn first. Abortion will become funded as a means of "controlling costs", as even Democrats have argued with Stupak about. It's clear the slippery slope this will provide. Then what about the chronically ill? They have long term health care that is so costly, and they provide little to nothing back to society in the way of taxes. They will be next. And then there will be the elderly, again in need of long term care. Silenced in the name of utilitarianism. And the biggest problem is that we, the American people, can do absolutely nothing. We will stand by powerless while some beaurocracy destroys the lives of our mothers and fathers, our brothers and sisters, the very lives within our wombs - ALL IN THE NAME OF COST.
I know the retorts have been "Well, that's what you get when you live in a Capitalist society who's only goal is profit!" WRONG - abysmally wrong! Correctly, this is what happens when you take the will of the people to live their lives as they please, and place the means to do so healthily in the hands of a single government. All decisions will come from the Health and Human Services Secretary - Kathleen Sibelius. She is not an elected official, her office is not one of election, but rather appointment from the President. Therefore, she is only answerable to the President for her decisions. No problem, right? Well...The only person who is more pro-death at this point in American History than Kathleen Sibelius is BARACK OBAMA. And he will appoint a committe headed up (the infamous "Death Panel" that's been floating around on the net) by Kathleen to "control costs". Again, no immediate intervention from the people in their own health care choices and decisions. So much for "choice and competition" right?
It's a dark time, my fellow Americans. The sun is setting on our democracy. In the darkening twilgiht I can see the hands of death tightening the choke hold on our liberties, on our very lives, and the future lives of our children, their children, and their children's children. Death is all around us, our past, our present, and our future, shed by the blood of the innocents we will kill with our own tax money. It's a bleak time.
What can we do? We are powerless. But I believe that God has brought us here to this point for a reason. There is nothing more we can do to rally the cause of life. Our voices have been silenced, our democracy is dying. We have no more rights and freedoms given us by God, no, they must be passed through the Government first - our new American god. I think this a time of powerlessness to be felt through to our core. For "when I am weak, then He is strong". I think God wants us to be able to do nothing, nothing except to be able to turn to prayer. This radical time in our history, is a time of an even more radical means of grace. But where can that grace be found - the Church is the answer. It's time to call forth one of her greatest gems, and hope that it's seeds of wisdom can restore and regrow our nation. American Catholics, its time to take on the call, once and for all, of Humane Vitae. To let this teaching of our most Beloved Church take root in our hearts, in our marriages, in our homes, in our Churches, in our societies, in our nation, and in our world. The world needs transformation, and this can only be brought about by God's grace - the grace that is found in the teachings of Humane Vitae.
More on this in a later post.
What a great and exciting time to be a Catholic! Look at this point in History. Our nation, our very democracy is at a cross-roads between life and death. We fight for our very lives, the lives of our brothers and sisters, our Church, the unborn, the ill and the elderly. This should send rivets down your spine, thrills of excitement. Like Joan of Arc, looking helplessly on the field of battle, and yet with the God inspired grace of a determination to help.
I was that fired up in High School. Having the grace of the Eucharist literally in the heart of our Motherhouse's dear Chapel, I could feel its effects on the school. I had discerned a religious vocation, and ardently loved the order that taught me. I felt the call of a Lover God, and could hardly resist Him. I was inhibited from joining after High School due to my mother. "Education first", she said, "and then we'll see." I vowed to my Lord that I would enter the world for Him, that I would live for Him, and love for Him. That I would show the world His love through my ways and actions. I had some high points of grace - converting a young man to the Faith. Leading my closest friend back to the Sacraments after he had left them for Xen philosophy. Watching him and praying for him, until he began dating his would be bride, who together would join in a Holy and Catholic marriage.
But like all things, I lost my way. I fell from grace and became completely lost. In coming from that distorted past, it took enormous amounts of grace; and my husband to help me crawl my way back to the Faith. And its taken until now for me to realize that I was completely wrong in my intent, or more directly I was completely wrong in my direction for this "missionary purpose" I had right after High School.
Yes, the world needs love. And I love and admire the Missionaries who deliver it, even to the point of their Sainthood (Mother Theresa of Calcutta is a stunning example). In getting to this point though, I have to realize, and get it through my heart still that the world will not be transformed by our love - whether that love is centered in God or not. We are completely incapable of transformation, for transformation is a power that rests solely in the Divine. No, it is the grace of God, and that grace alone is what can change the world. We have plenty of Brothers ans Sisters out there in Missions throughout the world (mostly Protestant) with the witness of the love of God as their purpose to change the world. But this is misguided. Only the Church, the Bride of Christ, the Steward of His Grace, can transform the world. We can love and laugh and smile and serve all we want. And this is what Christ wants for us, but not what we are called to do namely. We are to seek out His Bride, to unite ourselves to her, to rest our heads upon her breast and learn of Her greatness, to live it, to live in the grace of God through Her ways, through Her Sacraments. For this reason, it will be the Catholic Church that will lead the world to redemption - not for the love of man one to the other, but because of the grace of God - given to the Church to sanctify the world.
We don't just need another lover of God in the world, then, is my point, we need good Catholics.
This is a dark hour in our nation's history. It might be akin to the time on the British Aisle, as Hitler's plains kept coming, night after night, across the British Chanel to bomb the city of London. Days were spent making artillery and munitions, nights were spent in make-shift bomb shelters in the subway. Sleep was not found, and food was scarce. There was work and then hiding. These must have been dark days of the war, when the British felt alone and apart from the world. From a League of Nations 'hesitant' to go to war and help their ally, from a Fascist dictator who had repeatedly lied and invaded surrounding European countries and now controlled everything except Britain. I think the Conservative movement in this country might feel this way after the Socialist Universal Health Care became the law of the land. Alone and apart from our countrymen who sit cheering, not knowing their own destruction and the demise of their country. Separated from the Church who have long been advocating "Universal Health Care" and doing little to promote pro-life measures in the bill (case in point: How many homilies were delivered on the protection of life this past weekend? The weekend before?). It is a bleak time for the Patriots of this country. It is a time of searching, of pondering, of reflection.
Some may ask, what is the final result of this bill going to mean for me and my family? Afterall, won't we still have health care. Well, the long and short of it is, yes, you will still have health care. The difference is, the health care you receive will be paid for by the United States Government. A government that has long seen you not as a person, but as a figure, a sum, a dollar amount. So what? As long as I have my health? What does it matter who pays for it in the end.
To that end, I must ask first: What are the differences between a healthy man and a sick one? One simple answer: Independence.
A healthy man is allowed the freedom to live as he wishes. He can work, rest, move about, as he pleases. He can carve out his own lot in life, his own work, his own future plans, his own vocation and avocation. A sick man, on the other hand, is at the mercy of his fellow men to care and provide for him. He has limited ability to work, he needs more care and attention due to his illness. He is not able to function as well in society as he would if he has his health. To Catholics, this sick man is a means for our charity. To the Government, this man is a waste of money.
Abortion is in this bill. Everyone realizes it, pro-life as well as pro-death groups. Obama offered a falsified and empty gesture to Senator Stupak. And Stupak bought it for 30 pieces of silver. It won't be there at first - due to Obama's "executive order", but it will be there. When? When the funds run out, and our health care needs go "over budget". Then we will begin to ration. The voiceless first, those who "don't count" those "blobs of tissue" who "aren't wanted". The unborn first. Abortion will become funded as a means of "controlling costs", as even Democrats have argued with Stupak about. It's clear the slippery slope this will provide. Then what about the chronically ill? They have long term health care that is so costly, and they provide little to nothing back to society in the way of taxes. They will be next. And then there will be the elderly, again in need of long term care. Silenced in the name of utilitarianism. And the biggest problem is that we, the American people, can do absolutely nothing. We will stand by powerless while some beaurocracy destroys the lives of our mothers and fathers, our brothers and sisters, the very lives within our wombs - ALL IN THE NAME OF COST.
I know the retorts have been "Well, that's what you get when you live in a Capitalist society who's only goal is profit!" WRONG - abysmally wrong! Correctly, this is what happens when you take the will of the people to live their lives as they please, and place the means to do so healthily in the hands of a single government. All decisions will come from the Health and Human Services Secretary - Kathleen Sibelius. She is not an elected official, her office is not one of election, but rather appointment from the President. Therefore, she is only answerable to the President for her decisions. No problem, right? Well...The only person who is more pro-death at this point in American History than Kathleen Sibelius is BARACK OBAMA. And he will appoint a committe headed up (the infamous "Death Panel" that's been floating around on the net) by Kathleen to "control costs". Again, no immediate intervention from the people in their own health care choices and decisions. So much for "choice and competition" right?
It's a dark time, my fellow Americans. The sun is setting on our democracy. In the darkening twilgiht I can see the hands of death tightening the choke hold on our liberties, on our very lives, and the future lives of our children, their children, and their children's children. Death is all around us, our past, our present, and our future, shed by the blood of the innocents we will kill with our own tax money. It's a bleak time.
What can we do? We are powerless. But I believe that God has brought us here to this point for a reason. There is nothing more we can do to rally the cause of life. Our voices have been silenced, our democracy is dying. We have no more rights and freedoms given us by God, no, they must be passed through the Government first - our new American god. I think this a time of powerlessness to be felt through to our core. For "when I am weak, then He is strong". I think God wants us to be able to do nothing, nothing except to be able to turn to prayer. This radical time in our history, is a time of an even more radical means of grace. But where can that grace be found - the Church is the answer. It's time to call forth one of her greatest gems, and hope that it's seeds of wisdom can restore and regrow our nation. American Catholics, its time to take on the call, once and for all, of Humane Vitae. To let this teaching of our most Beloved Church take root in our hearts, in our marriages, in our homes, in our Churches, in our societies, in our nation, and in our world. The world needs transformation, and this can only be brought about by God's grace - the grace that is found in the teachings of Humane Vitae.
More on this in a later post.
Monday, March 22, 2010
IMPEACH OBAMA!!!
And for those who may be reading this blog entry who might describe themselves as a Democrat
For any who are artistic I have a sponsorship for you. I'd like to see a political cartoon drawn up, with Obama dancing in front of The Statue of Liberty who has her hands tied behind her back. He's got three daggers, and She's got a dart-board over her heart. He throws the first dagger labeled "Stimulus" and it misses. He throws the second dagger labeled "Bailouts" and it misses. He walks up to this Lady Liberty, and tapes a copy of the health care legislation on the bulls-eye, walks back, aims, and throws. DIRECT HIT!!
For any business entrepreneurs out there, I've got the perfect idea. If you take this idea, that's great! But all products must be manufactured in the US (my only stipulation). Make a stuffed peach (akin to, but not quite the "Haircut Peach":) Across his chest stitch "I'm Peach Obama". Grassroots efforts can sell these peaches for $2 each until we've enough to ship them down to Washington and line the White House lawn with them! Or we can buy peaches from an American Orchard and label them accordingly "I'm Peach Obama" and start shipping them to the White House attn: Pres. Obama. I'm sure with her concerns on poverty Michelle won't let them go to waste. She can fry them up as a fritter and serve them to those poor public school children.
Alright alright, back to the Rosary for me. But thanks for reading my vent! But know this my fellow Americans. This isn't just the promise of death for many of Americans citizens, her sick as well as her bound to be sick. No this legislation signals the bell of the death toll for our entire country. And if I sound bitter this morning, I believe I am on that very most point.
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