Someone today was telling me of a Catholic couple who practices Natural Family Planning rather than using contraceptives. When this person described the couple she said that they are “very Catholic”. My wife and I also use NFP and I fail to understand how this places one farther along on some imaginary scale of Catholicity. There is not a system of measurement used to determine one’s devotion to the true teachings of the Church. There either is devotion, or there isn’t.

The cultural Catholic phenomenon is not something to be taken lightly. We all need to be united in a faith that burns but does not consume; a faith that ignites fervor and devotion to Jesus and His Church; a faith that places things of God before things of man always. Our Lady has told us again and again that true devotion to her Son and constant prayer to Him are what is needed for the salvation of mankind and yet we continue to drive ourselves farther from Him by our lukewarm attitude.

My oldest son has a habit of doing whatever I do. If I sit, then he sits. If I get a drink of water, then he gets a drink of water. If I pray, then he prays. You see my point? If we neglect our faith then we are not living up to our calling as parents. Jesus specifically said not to hold the children back from coming to Him, but our poor attitudes regarding the practice of faith are doing just that. We have a responsibility to ourselves and our children to practice the Faith with vigor and devotion because we do not belong to ourselves and neither do our children belong to us. We were all created by God and we belong to Him, so it would be wise to treat His creation with care and attentiveness.

So whether you are very Catholic or just a little bit Catholic, let’s all practice the Faith the way God desires, with love and vigor and joy.

Most Holy Virgin Mary, Help of Christian,
how sweet it is to come to your feet
imploring your perpetual help.
If earthly mothers cease not to remember their children, 
how can you, the most loving of all mothers forget me?
Grant then to me, I implore you, 
your perpetual help in all my necessities, 
in every sorrow, and especially in all my temptations.
I ask for your unceasing help for all who are now suffering.
 Help the weak, cure the sick, convert sinners.
Grant through your intercessions many vocations to the religious life. 
Obtain for us, O Mary, Help of Christians,
that having invoked you on earth we may love and eternally thank you in heaven.
              

-St. John Bosco

I hear so often of people praying for relief from illness with such vigor that they never take the time to consider the value of suffering. God speaks to us in so many ways that we sometimes forget that suffering is a language. I’ll grant you that it is not always a pleasant language, but nonetheless God is trying to communicate with us. If we would stop our protests and just pray and listen then we might be able to hear the voice of God in the most troubling of times. Think about it: God came down to earth in human form, born into poverty, was ridiculed, tortured and put to death like a common criminal. Where do we get the idea that we should be immune from suffering?

Christ said, ” If one wishes to follow me, he must take up his cross daily”. As believers in Christ we have been forewarned that the road that lies ahead is not easy. We will have many trials and sufferings, but, if we truly desire to be changed by Christ, we can unite our sufferings with those of the Crucified. What better way is there to come to terms with the reality of suffering? The Lord, in His goodness, will accept our sufferings for the benefit of others. Why are most people ready to suffer and die for their family but are not willing to suffer for their Christian family?

So why am I offended by the “health and wealth” faith? Because it ignores the redemptive value of suffering. How could you look a man like Saint Maximilian Kolbe in the eye and complain about having to take your kids out of private school because of the economy? How could you look at poor Jesus on the cross and demand that your life be trouble free?

The Catholic Church is the only church that teaches the redemptive value of suffering. Do not abandon her. We must love the Lord and praise Him in good times and in bad because, as long as we walk in faith, He will give us what we need most to get home to Him. So let this Lent be a time of reflection and renewal of our faith. Real faith for the real world.

God Bless.

Most religious organizations are quite ambiguous on hot-button political issues because they are scared of losing their tax-exempt status. The threat to take away this privilege is a very dirty trick from opponents of the Church. Liberals have somehow managed to twist a clause in the Constitution that was designed to protect religion from government into something that protects government from religion. If you are truly living your faith then you vote by your faith. It is impossible to separate faith from daily life. But that is what we are expected to do by humanists. I refuse.

Another tactic that I find to be most distateful is to infer that we ”hate” those who don’t agree with us.  Of course we don’t hate anyone, but we should not back down just because our opponents slander us and call us names. We have been on defense for so long that we have forgotten how to fight. I say no more. I will not back down. I will not give up the fight. I will not let you go to hell. I will not pass this fight on to my children. No, I don’t hate anyone, but I do hate bad behavior. I don’t respect twisted points of view, nor do I respect people who berate my religion and call me names.

Let me lay it out for all the people who are pro-gay “marriage”, pro-abortion, pro-euthanasia and pro-cloning. I love you, but I’m sick and tired of backing down from you. I won’t do it anymore. Your actions are disgusting and vile. There are many people who are trying to become holy and you are making a mockery of the struggle of mankind to become closer to God. If you are homosexual, I love you. There is nothing wrong with you and you shouldn’t feel marginalized. But I will not see you corrupt the institution of marriage under the banner of “equality”. The Church demands that you live a chaste life and this will give you more graces and strength than you ever thought possible. Come back home. If you are pro-abortion, how dare you seek to kill our children!!! What gives you the right to take another life? Repent and come back home. The same goes for you if you are pro-euthanasia. If you are pro-human cloning, stop playing God! God will show you how low you really are if you continue to do this. Repent and come back home.

I’m sorry if I sound mad, but I am. All of mankind should be united in an effort to grow closer to God, but we are so divided that we are on the verge of self-destruction. I will not let Truth be drowned out any longer.

God Bless.

One thing I do not want to hear is rationalization. The simple fact is that nothing trumps the spilling of innocent blood. I don’t care if the economy is bad. I don’t care if unemployment is up. I don’t care if you can’t pay your mortgage. CHILDREN ARE BEING SLAUGHTERED EVERY DAY! What will it take for the faithful to wake up and say with one voice “No more”? We need to start living our faith instead of talking about it.

You know, we had a visiting priest at our parish recently. He is a Jesuit who plays fast and loose with the Word of God. He changes the pronouns in the Gospels to gender-neutral pronouns; He says that purgatory is only a state of mind; He preaches a “personal” God who can be mother, father, or lover. After Mass last weekend one of my fellow parishioners confronted him on the issue of purgatory. He told the priest that he shouldn’t preach things that are contradictory to Church teaching. This act of faithfulness to the Word of God is awesome and necessary. So my question is this: Why can’t we take our attitude from the Church to life? We can’t live by two different sets of values. I pray to God that we can be Catholic outside of the church as well as inside it.

Things are only going to get worse in the next few years. The liberals are in power and we need to step it up. What’s the worst that will happen to us if we take a stand? Will we be unpopular? Maybe. Will we be chastised? Certainly. Will we be called dirty names? God willing. Make no mistake about it: Satan will match our efforts with increased ferocity. We have to stand strong and be faithful to God. We need to pray for those who do not heed the Word of God so that they won’t be condemned to the eternal flames.

God Bless.

Today is election day in America. I’m sitting here watching the poll results come in. It’s still too early to call, but I have an uneasy feeling. I get the feeling that all the hard work we’ve been doing in the pro-life movement may be in danger. Why are people so quick to forget that we are killing babies every day?

Look, I know that the economy is in bad shape. I’m the father of three children so I’m well aware of the value of a dollar! But I would give up all of my money to save one child and I hope that you would too. My point is that there is no issue out there that is more important than that of baby killing. No matter who is elected today, we can’t cease in our efforts to eradicate this Satanic practice from the face of the Earth!

Yes, I said “Satanic practice”. Does that make you feel bad? Good. I do think that Satan is very active in America. He’s been very busy the last hundred years and he’s making progress. He’s been very successful in convincing people that he doesn’t exist. I’m sure that you may even feel unintelligent by mentioning him. Think about it: when someone asks you why Catholics pray to saints, do you ever say “For protection from the devil”? Can’t you see how Satan is at work? We may all lose our jobs in the next Great Depression, but Satan will be very busy making sure we continue to kill our children, objectify women and men, mock God, desecrate the Eucharist, and sin like there is no tomorrow.

Sorry that I’m rambling. Its been so long since I posted that I’m scatter-brained. But I do promise to post on a regular basis from now on. At least every six months! For all one of you who cares.

God Bless! Pax et Bonum!

I’m sick and tired of people tying to make the Church fit into their misguided beliefs. I know I talk about this all the time, but I can’t wait for the hippie generation to pass away so we can get the Church in America back on track. Our goal should be to guide people to holiness, not affirm them in their sin. Let me lay it out for you in case you forgot: Contraception is evil. Premarital sex is evil. Abortion is evil. Homosexual acts are evil. The Church has spoken on these issues. Don’t expect this to change.

I know that a lot of these older folks think that Vatican II did something that it didn’t. They tend to take liberty with the documents of Vatican II and infer that the Church is shifting to a more “modern” theology. The Church has been the same from the beginning. What worked in the past works now. The only thing that is different today is that people seem to embrace Satan instead of rebuking him.

I tell you, it would just make my day if the priests giving communion refused to give it to these very vocal politicians. God willing.

I think the problem is that most Americans refuse to be told what to do. They refuse to be obedient because obedience, in their mind, is counter to freedom. So let me lay it out for all of the people too proud to follow Church teaching: God demands that we be obedient. “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done..” is not a hollow request. Every time we pray the Our Father we are asking that God do His will in our lives. Even Christ begged for God to do His own will. I don’t recall the part in the Gospels where Jesus took a vote from the disciples to affirm that He should be crucified. God does His will through His Church and it is our duty to shut up and do what we are told. Does that make you feel bad? Does it make you feel low? Good. Humility is an important step to holiness.

I really hope that Pope Benedict XVI will get the American Bishops in line. I know that sounds bad, and I really love my Bishop (Bishop Robert Muench of Baton Rouge), but American Catholics need to learn how to be Catholic first and American second. The simple fact is that America was founded by men and the Church was founded by Christ. Which one do you want to serve?

Now I’m not being unpatriotic. I certainly love my country, but I refuse to let anyone undermine the Church with the cry for “freedom”. If you don’t understand how to use freedom, then freedom will take you straight to hell. With the increasing number of dissidents of the Church, we should be very alarmed and we should work to correct any errors that we see being spread among the faithful.